Blueback is now screening in cinemas nationwide. But when the awards started coming in, Winton was more embarrassed than proud. She's initially alarmed when the fish snatches an abalone from her hand. Timothy John Winton (born 4 August 1960) is an Australian writer. As a writer, I normally have to fight for every sentence, but Blueback felt like a gift and continues to feel like a gift, he says, revealing its the one book he still gets most mail about, although it was first published in 1997. Eric Bana: Yeah, similar experience. Eric Bana: Yeah, we shot the follow up which is called Force of Nature last year, and were just finished in the post-production phase, literally within the last couple of weeks. Since his first novel, An Open Swimmer, won the Australian Vogel Award in 1981, he has won the Miles Franklin Award four times (for Shallows, Cloudstreet, Dirt Music and Breath) and twice been shortlisted for the Booker Prize (for The Riders and Dirt Music). This service may include material from Agence France-Presse (AFP), APTN, Reuters, AAP, CNN and the BBC World Service which is copyright and cannot be reproduced. He helps his mother each day and loves to dive. There's even a fish species named after him you can find the 30-centimetre 'Hannia wintoni' (or Winton's Grunter) swimming in the freshwaters of the Kimberley. Uploaded by Carys Arnold. They're really unflappable. And to see the fish, which was a puppet, really come to life. The waters and land of the Bay both sustain and enrich their lives. Probably towards the end of this year would be a rough guess. This story was first published on The New Daily. Blueback was shot on location in Australia's pristine Bremer Bay, a picturesque locale with crystal clear turquoise water and sublime ocean views. The story of Abby, a young girl living with her environmentalist mother on Australia's pristine west coast. Australian author Tim Winton has published dozens of novels, short story collections, plays, children's books, and non-fiction works in a career that spans four decades. Editon Published June 25th 2014. The teenage Abby (Ilsa Fogg) is the perfect child, intellectually gifted, uncannily calm in a crisis and free of all the stroppiness that punctuates the adolescent years of more credible beings. emotions. Like to send a message to Tim? 100% (1) 100% found this document useful (1 vote) 2K views. Report abuse. Winton says he learned a valuable lesson from this "dark, dark time". Winton's first novel, an open swimmer won an award and it marked the beginning of Winton's literary career. I just love the film. it," he allows, "probably more fun than anything I've written for years. has stooped to the mawkish in this tale about world ecology that as message is indisputable but that as fiction is inane. We have an Listen back to his conversation with The Book Show's Claire Nichols. It was interesting changing the gender, Connolly says. TIM WINTON Abel Jackson loves to dive. An ecological novel on a boy who protects a fish from property developers and rapacious fishermen. I t's the end of the road for Tim Winton. Blueback intertwines three decades in the lives of mother and daughter Abby and Dora. Its absolutely stunning; theres absolute magic in it.. Australian. The acting is mostly great, the underwater cinematography is superb and the selection of songs on the soundtrack suggest that Robert Connolly's record collection would be an agreeable place to spend a couple of hours. Tim Winton's narrative 'Blueback' is set in Longboat Bay, Robber's Head. One day he meets Blueback, the biggest and most beautiful fish he's . Since his first novel, An Open Swimmer, won the Australian Vogel Award in 1981, he has won the Miles Franklin Award four times (for Shallows, Cloudstreet, Dirt Music and Breath) and twice been shortlisted for the Booker Prize (for The Riders and Dirt Music). And then one day he turned up with this polystyrene fish. The fish has a profound impact on Abel and Nora's lives. Thank you to Penguin Books Australia. Actually, we already know thats not going to happen. Blueback is an achingly beautiful story about family, belonging and living a life in tune with the environment, from Tim Winton, one of Australia's best-loved authors.. Abel Jackson lives with his mother, Dora, at Longboat Bay, an isolated stretch of coast whose waters teem with fish. Blueback premieres in cinemas on January 1, 2023. Since his first novel, An Open Swimmer, won the Australian/Vogel Award in 1981, he has won the Miles Franklin Award four times (for Shallows, Cloudstreet, Dirt Music and Breath) and twice been shortlisted for the Booker Prize (for The Riders and Dirt Music). Theirs is a simple life. Book recommendations, author interviews, editors' picks, and more. tough opposition. Is that something you guys can relate to having witnessed first-hand the environmental impact on Australia and the world thats been ongoing throughout your lives? cover-awkward-bases tactic. Because I think as human beings, we do respond to that positivity as well. Wasikowska plays environmentalist Abby as an adult Abby returns home upon hearing of her mother, Doras, stroke. So getting in was a bit of an ordeal. We need beauty in our lives, so we don't go mad.". The directors other family film, 2015s Paper Planes, reflects a similar commercial mindset as Blueback, providing a broadly appealing if a little indistinct experience that doesnt speak down to younger audiences but certainly hands them unambiguous moral lessons. And they are the most "I'm in the business of useless beauty," he says. ", Blueback is subtitled "a fable for all ages", a marketing Audiences open to an ecological ocean drama thats gentler, more grounded and certainly more Strayan than James Camerons squillion-dollar screensaver can find an appealing if slight companion piece in the latest Tim Winton adaptation, brought to the screen by writer-director Robert Connolly. Were sorry, this feature is currently unavailable. His books have been adapted to the stage and screen, and he's been named a National Living Treasure. you be a fool to discuss such ideas. In terms of how it pushed me personally, I got to do a crash course in scuba diving, which I'd never done before. The Western Coast of Australia. I got a lot of grief from my daughters about the idea that I was making another film where the hero was a young boy after Id made Paper Planes. From The Lord of the Rings to Ulysses, Hemingway and lesser-known gems - these are the books writers revisit for inspiration, comfort and insight. It asks us, without ever lecturing, how it is we have designed a world so completely insane, that the concept of "money" is somehow worth more to us than the actual water, air and land that keeps us all alive. Winton is philosophic about that: "I guess it is So I guess it was a period when I was in my 20s when I wanted to try and capture that.". BLUEBACK Review January 5, 2023 Written by Dave Griffiths My love affair with the work of Australian author Tim Winton began way back in my first year in High School. We shot in the middle of the pandemic when it felt like any sort of travel was not really allowed, explained Wasikowska. Using straightforward prose and stark, uncomplicated characters it carries a clear environmental and conservationist message. He felt indebted to the teachers and mentors who'd helped him to succeed, who didn't get the same accolades themselves. Its very exciting to take the audience there.. Blueback, from Quiver Distribution and Roadshow Films, is a co-production of Screen Australia, Screenwest, West Australian Regional Film Fund, Film Victoria, HanWay Films, Pick Up Truck Pictures, Soundfirm, and Arenamedia, hits theaters March 3. And so seeing the film for the first time is like being a normal audience member, but I really love working with young actresses, the young cast were fantastic. seductions of fame. The story follows Abel Jackson as he and his mother earn a living by finding and selling abalone. Like the excellent, more adult-oriented Breath also based on a Winton novel this wholesome and modestly affecting coming-of-age story is set on the west coast of Australia, in a fictitious community called Longboat Bay. It should be required reading in creative writing classes: Winton is Since his first novel, An Open Swimmer, won the Australian Vogel Award in 1981, he has won the Miles Franklin Award four times (for Shallows, Cloudstreet, Dirt Music and Breath) and twice been shortlisted for the Booker Prize (for The Riders and Dirt Music). "One area is the environment, in giving up certain liberties to deliver If there's something ahead that good training. Eric Bana: Yeah, same. Reviewed in the United States on July 11, 2013. I wanted the actors to do their own swimming rather than stunt people. "We belong to it, Abel.". I mean, its one of the great things about when you really come in and do a supporting role is you dont get to see the rest of the film. His religious - and social - faith sustains him, he admits, "although at requires sacrifice to save it, we'll do it. On the one hand, it's a time when students should be challenged by texts more complex than anything they've experienced at primary school. Blueback like the great big fish it is named for is a story that needs a few decades to make its purpose known. "It's certainly a celebration of all that feral , Exclusive: Blueback's Mia Wasikowska and Eric Bana Open Up About Their Heartwarming New Film, Two Planned DCU Projects Remain a Mystery, Including James Gunn's Favorite, 10 Gut-Wrenching Movies That Are Too Sad to Rewatch, The Little Mermaid's Live-Action Sebastian Design Revealed in Merchandise - and Continues a Disappointing Disney Trend. There are so many different messages in the film, and I loved being a part of it.. She said shed never spent time in Western Australia before and the experience, overall, was wonderful, if not incredibly rare. McGirr, Michael (1999)Tim Winton: The Writer and His Work, Macmillan Education. Eric Bana: Yeah, I have to recommend Blueback today. a master of language who writes unadorned sentences that build in power and Eric, you of course previously worked with Robert on The Dry which was a massive hit in Australia and has become something of an unsung cult favourite around the world, so theres going to be a lot of people excited for the sequel, if youre not forbidden from sharing any details on that. You were both obviously very committed to the project because a small film shooting during the restrictions caused by the pandemic cant have been an easy or straightforward for either yourselves as actors or the cast and crew, especially shooting on location where there are so many more variables than there are on a closed set. Hes the developer who has plans to dredge the bay and set up a marine resort. Mia, did you spend much time or have a lot of discussions with Robert, Ilsa, or Ariel at all to try and create a through-line of sorts for who Abby becomes from the first act to the last, or was your approach to more focus on where she was during the time you were playing her? At eight, shes already mastered the art of free diving. After the ambition of So it was a lot of fun to make. MY FIRST look at Robert Connolly's film adaptation . His mum had been a swim teacher as a younger woman, but was now too frail to swim on her own. Really excited about it. Local arts and culture covered. Here are a couple to think about: Blueback is a story about a young boy called Abel who lives in a bay called Longboat. disconcerting. Like in Connollys previous feature The Dry, theres plenty of air in the frame and space for contemplation. But then I've always hated the idea He is also a strong supporter of marine and environmental conservation. "I've had a great experience working with Tim in the past, and his work, and I feel like this is a novella he wrote over 20 years ago that remains on the school syllabus around Australia and lends itself wonderfully to a screen adaptation," the director said. then it's our source, our ancestral life and we are obliged to nourish it.". Despite this idyllic image they lead a hard, basic life. As Winton and his wife held his mother in the ocean, they were both very aware that this was a scene that Winton had imagined, and committed to paper, more than 20 years earlier. And it means that Blueback puts a very eloquent case for the care of this marine paradise. 1. Everything I learned about the ocean was at the end of a spear or hook and I became interested in marine conservation in the early 1990s and got very active. (A screen adaptation starring Mia Wasikowska and Eric Bana is slated to hit cinemas in January). When out fishing for some abalone with his mother Abel encounters a massive blue groper called Blueback and promises from then on to the protect this beautiful fish. The family film will be produced by Arenamedia and directed by Robert Connolly as the follow up to his award-winning box office hit . winner of the 1981 The Australian/Vogel Award. Blueback intertwines three decades in the lives of mother and daughter Abby and Dora. Abel Jackson has lived by the sea at Longboat Bay ever since he could remember. "That book just slipped out," he says. times I'm not sure whether it's a balm or just another prickle under the Mia Wasikowska: Yeah, absolutely. It made me very envious, actually, watching the film like, what an amazing place to have a childhood.. We also wanted the audience to see the actors jump off boats and swim 20 metres down. The talented writer he has published 29 books for adults and children including Shallows, Cloudstreet, Dirt Music and Breath says he wrote the bestseller Blueback within a week. Skippy the Bush Kangaroo was from the Waratah National Park, wherever that was, but it wasn't where we were.". each of my first three books, and that was for years and years of my life, for Were thrilled with how the films looking, and looking forward to sharing that with Australian audiences and the rest of the world. In the book, for example, Abby . But in some ways, only just. Abel Jackson has lived by the sea at Longboat Bay ever since he could remember. but in an innocent way, it's discussing these things - we have been taking [The bay] is beautiful one day, muscular and tough and visceral another day I didnt want the film to be set in a sweet, nostalgic fishing village, Connolly says. And Dora is no more convincing. Even as Abby is played by three different actors (Mia Wasikowska, Ilsa Fogg and Ariel Donoghue), the storytelling remains easy to follow and most importantly we understand there is purpose in constructing the film this way. I liked this film immensely. And It's pretty special, and it was a great choice on Robs part., I just saw a blue groper 10 minutes down from where I live in the bay there, so they're around, Wasikowska pointed out. avoiding or recovering from" and (b) "something I do for myself and because I If you weren't aware of the realities of what you held to, READ MORE: * The movies I'm most looking forward to in the first-half of 2023 * I Wanna Dance with Somebody: Phenomenal performances lift Kiwi screenwriter's disappointing Whitney Houston biopic * Top Gun: Maverick, Whina and Moonage Daydream among the films I truly loved this year * The Lost King: Sally Hawkins shines in a breezy, enjoyable and very watchable tale. 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