Category: Interview

That Interview Show: Episode 25

Cinemaniacs’ latest committee member, Julian Meyers, has a YouTube channel where he heroes physical media and interviews people doing filmy things. He’s been running through the Cinemaniacs’ cadre—including John Harrison, Caitlyn Koller, Natali Papak and Lee Gambin— now it’s my turn!

Over a couple of hours, Julian and I sit in the couch in my living room—a location you may recognise from Blu-ray extras on Umbrella releases Long Weekend, Razorback and Dark Age—and bang on about contributing to physical media releases, the local ‘critics’ scene and whatever else took our fancy.

This is not the longest interview I’ve recorded. That honour goes to Bill Ackerman on his Supporting Characters podcast. But it was very relaxed and a lot of fun.

Thanks for the opportunity, Julian ❤️

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Interview with Charles Williams, director of INSIDE (2025)

All too often, great Australian films get lost upon their release, for no fault of their making. Our cinema industry has a habit of burying its own, then claiming ‘Australians don’t want to watch Australian films’. Sadly, it usually takes an international cult following to give legitimacy to something we should have been championing ourselves all along. Lake Mungo is a case in point.

On Thursday 27th February, INSIDE––starring Guy Pearce, Cosmo Jarvis and Vincent Miller––gets released locally and I’m really hoping it doesn’t suffer the fate of many other Australian features. It’s a stunning exploration of intergenerational trauma, addiction, poverty and crime. It’s also the debut feature of writer-director-producer Charles Williams, who draws from his personal family experiences to give even greater gravitas to this story of a young man being transferred from juvenile detention to an adult prison population.

To support the release, I interviewed Charles Williams for the Primal Screen radio show, which you can listen to in full (30 minutes) on the Triple R website. Or, just play it directly here:


Guy Pearce is at his career-best with a Victorian-specific performance (and when I say ‘Victorian’, I’m referring to the Australian state/territory, not the era). Cosmo Jarvis is absolutely transformative. Toby Wallace has a small but pivotal role. Vincent Miller is the big revelation––his debut screen performance playing an 18 year-old while only aged 15 (usually, it’s the other way around). And here’s the trailer to further whet your appetite:

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ABC Overnights with Trevor Chappell

In the wee hours of the morning in the mad lead-up to Christmas (02:50 on Thursday 23rd December, to be exact), I joined Trevor Chappell on ABC Overnights in Australia to discuss actors playing against or out of type. And what a hoot that proved to be!

If you’re interested in having a listening, my appearance occurs at approximately the 41-minute mark and goes for around 45 minutes, padded out with help from the callers (including one call that came from inside my house).

Clubhouse winner for film/actor mentions came from the woman who nominated Lucille Ball’s dramatic breakout role as a homeless lady in The Stone Pillow (1985).

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The Projection Booth’s Special Report: SECONDS

Both Jez and I have been involved in Mike White’s The Projection Booth podcast in the past (and I have an appearance slated for next year – to be announced!) so we were thrilled when he approached us to record a Special Report on our book, SECONDS.

Mike gave us the opportunity to talk through the inception of our project, the process of co-writing and the appeal of writing about a generally maligned film in an interview that inches towards an hour in duration. It’s a deep-dive interview into our deep-dive book.

We hope you like it…

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Touched by an angel: Miss Salome Jens

Jez and I have been doing the media rounds for our book on SECONDS. The fruits of our labour include this piece that we wrote for the excellent publication, Diabolique Magazine, featuring an interview with the divine Miss Salome Jens that was conducted specifically for the SECONDS book.

She also talks about her noteworthy screen debut in ANGEL BABY (1961, additionally Burt Reynolds’ debut), which is quite the film, if you’re not familiar with it.

I encourage you to read on, and appreciate the mastery of an actor who has never really been appreciated for the full extent of her talents.

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Interview with Sandra Wollner

Sandra Wollner is an Austrian filmmaker who’s gained some notoriety for creating a film that has been deemed controversial, THE TROUBLE WITH BEING BORN.

If you don’t know about this controversy, I won’t reveal anything at this point but, instead, let you listen to the interview that I conducted for Triple R’s Primal Screen program. You can hear the interview via the link below at approximately the 6:20-mark.

I’d encourage you to listen to the whole show, especially when Sally Christie, Flick Ford and I discuss THE TROUBLE BEING BORN post-interview and put our spin on this quiet, lonely and philosophical film. As Flick so perfectly articulated, “Representation is not endorsement.”

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Mary: The graphic adventures of Brea Grant

My dear friend, Alexandra Heller-Nicholas, had recently interviewed the highly prolific horror filmmaker and actor Brea Grant for Fangoria. Her radar pinged when the subject turned to one of Brea’s upcoming projects: a graphic novel on the hypothetical adventures of Mary Shelley’s great-great-great-great-great granddaughter and the heavy literary burden such a teenager was likely to have carried on her shoulders.

Something of interest to Emma? Natch.

Given I am currently ensconced in my next book project on THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN, Alex saw the opportunity for a professional hook-up. She introduced me to Brea, I interviewed Brea, Diabolique published the resulting article and the rest is history.

You can read the article here but you can also scroll down further to see some stunning artwork from the book that didn’t make it into the Diabolique article.

Continue reading “Mary: The graphic adventures of Brea Grant” →

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Interview with Leigh Whannell: THE INVISIBLE MAN

Triple R’s Primal Screen (formerly Plato’s Cave) introduced interviews into the show’s format in 2020, and I was lucky enough to speak with Leigh Whannell about his excellent take on THE INVISIBLE MAN concept.

Care to listen back to the interview? You can do so here…

Or why not enjoy the whole episode, which includes our critical dissection of the film…

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