A prickly subject

Jeff Crawford

05May08

WHETHER it's a blockbuster or an indie film on a shoestring budget, Bryan Brown reckons it's all the same once the cameras are rolling.

He ought to know, having just juggled schedules between filming Baz Luhrmann's epic Australia and first-time director Jasmine Yuen-Carrucan's low-key thriller Cactus, which he also executive produced.

``It's exactly the same moment when you're talking to the director about what you're trying to achieve and then he or she says `action','' Brown says.

``But what's wrapped around them are very different.''

In Australia he was sharing screen time with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman and showing up on set when requested, but with Cactus he was integral in getting the film off the ground.

``It was just a matter of receiving a script from a young girl who'd never directed anything in her life, and reading it and thinking it was quite fresh,'' he says of Cactus.

``I thought the script had a lot of potential, so I helped and said `let's see if I can help you get this made'. Once I'd done that then I had to say `alright, I'll play the cop'.''

The 60-year-old actor said it was a challenge moving between the different sets, and relieved that the heavy demands of the two movies ``didn't bump into each other''.

``It was wonderful fun doing Baz's movie but it was really stimulating to get Cactus going. You know you can't miss the plane going to Broken Hill because they haven't got the money to buy you another ticket. With Australia, you're about to board a plane when they say `nuh, we've changed the schedule, we'll ring you in three days' time'.''

As a champion of Australian cinema, Brown says he's excited to help give young talent such as Yuen-Carrucan and Cactus stars Travis McMahon and David Lyons a launching pad.

Yet he remains the reluctant producer, having played a behind-the-scenes role on a number of feature films and TV productions in recent years, including his next project, Beautiful Kate, soon to start filming in SA.

``Whether I like it or not I've become someone in Australia who's produced more movies than anyone else, I'd be up in the top three.

``I keep saying I'm not going to do it any more and then someone like Jasmine comes along and I go `let's see if we can't get this going'. I'm my own worst enemy when it comes to that, I'd much prefer to be off surfing or something.''

Cactus (M) is now showing.