Federal Budget Bad for Film Business

I am getting a handle on where you are coming from. First of all in defence of "The Man Who Sued God" which I really like it may not have been a blockbuster but it did OK once again better overseas then here but it featured an all australian cast other than Billy Connolly and was a very Australian film in many ways. Beyond that I do tend to agree with you I think. The Australian Film industry makes very bad films on the whole. That's largely because of, in my humble opinion, bad writing. I still don't feel that if a film made in this country is not about Australia you can say it is not an australian film unless like some of those fifties Hollywood films made here the entire cast crew and production team are imported. After all if India makes (as they have) films about other countries they are still considered Bollywood and the US make huge numbers of films set in other countries and using nationals of other countrys in them and they are still Hollywood movies. No I can't name an iconic Australian Movie made in the last ten years that was successful. In fact if I'm not allowed to include Baz Luhrman the only Aus film made in the last ten years that I have seen and enjoyed was the road trip movie with Steady Eddy in it and I can't remember what it was called. Oh and "He died with a Felafell in his hand" which proves one of my points because overseas audiences simply won't understand it. Oh and my wife just read this thread and said "Jindabyne" which is recent and seems to have been very successful and very Australian. (Later edit: I have just realised that Jindabyne almost certainly fails your test as an aussie film as it stars Gabriel Byrne and Laura Linney.) If this offends I am sorry but your definition of successful seems to include "If I saw it and liked it." Is that all there is? Well if that's all there is my friend, then let's keep dancing. www.tonymoore.id.au