Media everywhere

There’s a show on the ABC (Aussie equivalent of the BBC) called The Chaser’s War on Everything. These guys are irreverent, intelligent, witty and political – think Not the 9 O’Clock News meets The Mary Whitehouse Experience. Only Australian. When I first got here pretty much the whole thing went over my head, as I didn’t get a lot of the cultural and political references, but now I’m fully-versed in the Australian government’s policies, the who’s who of people in power and the public eye over here, and the media’s preoccupations, I find the whole show hilarious. And it’s no holds barred – they don’t show any preferences – everyone gets it!

Two of the lovely Chaser boys

Their stunt at the recent APEC summit brought their highest ratings ever, and ensured their infamy – the show’s producer and two of the Chaser boys will appear in court about it on 4 October, but there will be a public outcry if they get put in prison. They managed to prove how ridiculous the heightened security was over APEC weekend – all for nothing. Check out the clip on the ABC website – even if you weren’t in Australia for APEC you’ll appreciate the stunt these guys pulled, right in front of George Bush’s hotel.

The Chasers pulling their stunt

So what else is new this week? Well, work-wise, we finally announced what we’ve been working towards for the last few months – we’re launching an Official International Competition for ‘new directions in film’, which will help raise our profile on the world stage. That’s been preoccupying much of my time lately, as I had to organise a press conference with about 2 hours’ notice, write speeches and fact sheets, and generally do everything at the drop of a hat. It’s great though, to finally have it out in the open and be able to shout out about it, although it does mean heaps more work for all of us, ho hum.

Dr George Miller, director of Happy Feet, at our press conference

Apart from that I’ve been generally mooching about, walking along the cliffs in Bondi in the lovely Spring evenings, doing yoga about twice a week at a lovely little yoga place in North Bondi, and scouting for locations for a film I’m shooting this weekend.

And just because I’m keeping a blog doesn’t mean you can stop emailing me – come on, tell me your news.

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