ASDA (ADG) DINNER 2007

by Mark Poole

This article was first published on Screenhub, the online journal.

The new livery was rolled out. The new tax rebate was embraced as a positive move. George Brandis sent a note of congratulations and said that he had received delight from the industry at the Govt’s largesse.

Some tried to work out with mental arithmetic how the 40% rebate would work.

One person said that it was a ship we had to get on board, and sail away.

The detail is yet to come, but it’s on its way.

200 guests saw Gillian Armstrong, Peter Andrikidis and Donald Crombie gonged for their outstanding work as directors.

The new Australian Directors Guild logo was prominent on the menus for the night.

3 courses including pudding – surely a positive omen. But then we were thrown out at 11.45 pm. The bar at the Sebel was closed, so the gathered headed off in the direction of Shangri-La. These are portentious times indeed.

Brian Rosen is clearly elated at achieving no cap on the tax rebate scheme, allowing the $25million films he’s been exhorting us to make for years to actually happen.

Kim Dalton seemed to be having a good time.

Mary Anne Reid assured me that it’s all good news; even for docs, which may not be as advantaged as other sectors of the industry, will not be disadvantaged. According to Mary Anne, the new regime cleverly enables a transition period, so that for the next 12 months, production can be fully funded by the agencies until the rebate kicks in. Over the next 2 or 3 years, the rebate and the agency funding can both flow, but then the government may decide to reduce the agency funding, if the rebate system is taking up the slack.

Trevor Graham, still smarting at the budget’s shunning of SBS, forsaw that the rebate system would be irrelevant for docs, and for TV as well.

Apparently there is some trickiness about TV drama, especially kid’s TV. The agencies may have to subsidise this area of production, as the 20% rebate will probably not be enough.

As well, the new rebate system for TV drama has the advantage that it won’t require a story arc, the way the current FFC rules do, creating a 13 part or 26 part miniseries.

The clips were good, especially Gillian Armstrong’s. What a body of work! Her speech was long but entertaining and interesting. She paid homage to her regular crew, especially cinematographers Russell Boyd, Geoffrey Simpson who was present, and Don MacAlpine. Her first AD Mark ???, and longterm editor Nicholas Beauman, who finally received a gong for her work.

Gillian said she felt deeply sorry that Margaret Fink didn’t feel that she had been appropriately thanked for her contribution to My Brilliant Career over the years, and consequently wouldn’t allow the film to be screened at the Chauvel the previous night.

Tony Buckley presented the Cecil Holmes award to Donald Crombie, whose clips included Caddie.

Colin Friels presented an award to Peter Andrikidis, commenting that Friels felt all directors are aliens, and enemy aliens at that. Andrikidis said the secret of directing was working with the best talent, and singled out DOP Joe Pickering who has shot virtually everything.