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'In this article, I will examine the work of contemporary Australian filmmaker Robert Connolly (b. 1967), a director who could be considered amongst the most successful contemporary filmmakers working in Australia today. While many of his colleagues have struggled to make their second (or even first) feature film, Connolly, in his various roles, has made a feature roughly every other year since graduating from the Australian Film Television and Radio School in the late 1990s. To date, he has written and directed four feature films, produced nearly a dozen others, worked on such quality television series as The Slap (2011), written and directed a made-for-television-movie, and produced the epic film adaptation of Tim Winton’s short story collection The Turning (2013). His track record in the contemporary industry makes him a significant case study, and as a means of introducing this analysis, I want to briefly consider Graeme Turner’s 1994 article “Whatever Happened to National Identity? Film and Nation in the 1990s” to help situate Connolly’s work in the context of Australian cinema and the narrative trends of recent decades.' (Author's Introduction)
Section: Contemporary Australian Filmmakers Dossier
'This article discusses one way Malaysian-Australian James Wan (b. 1977-) (1) can be considered or constructed as an author. Wan is best known for the film Saw (2004), which he co-wrote with Leigh Whannell (2). Saw was made for around $US1.2 million but grossed just over $US103 million worldwide at the box office (3). Saw also turned out to be the first instalment in a seven-part series. Wan and Whannell have both claimed that they did not make Saw with the intention of producing a sequel, even though at the end of the film the criminal mastermind John Kramer (aka Jigsaw, played by Tobin Bell) escapes leaving one of his victims, Adam Stanheight (Leigh Whannell), locked in an industrial bathroom. In what would become an iconic moment for the film series Kramer turns off the lights and closes the room’s large sliding door saying to Stanheight “Game Over” (not only is this scene directly referenced at the end of Saw: The Final Chapter [2010], but the idea of playing a “game” is developed in various ways across the series)...' (From Author's introduction)
Section: Contemporary Australian Filmmakers Dossier
