Images of USA

I’ve been travelling again. That’s why not many posts. Having too much fun… as usual.

Here is a visual diary of some things I’ve been doing. I’m back in AU next week, so posts, and thoughts, to resume here soon.

Meantime, enjoy these…

My Father Died – RIP David Wolstencroft

My father died a week ago September 20 after his heart stopped for maybe up to half an hour a few days before. It’s been a terrible time. One of the worst things that can happen in life. I’m pretty inconsolable.

Family and friends have been looking after me. And I them…

Here is some pictures of David William Wolstencroft – 1942-2009, aka  The Aussie Auditor, “Woofer”, “Rain Man”, and my dear old Dad.

I’ll publish my speech from his Service, last Thursday, sometime soon.

See you Dad! If there is anything after this life, I’ll find you…

Meanwhile, I’m off to the US this week as a guest of The 10th F. Scott Fitzgerald Festival in Baltimore. I am throwing myself back into some work and travel  to help me move on. Normal posts will return here shortly.

Prayers for David Wolstencroft

My dad David Wolstencroft’s heart stopped last night. An ambulance was called, and he was resuscitated, but we don’t know how bad the oxygen loss was to his brain. If you are religious, say a little prayer for my dear old Dad, David “Woofer” Wolstencroft. He has been a great friend, supporter and buddy for my entire 4o years on this Earth. A sweet, loving and kind man who certainly liked a drink, a smoke and a lively social chat. But, I guess we never thought his drinking and smoking would catch up with him…he has been sick recently with a cold that was getting worse.

My father is a Christian, and after being asked, Father Bob was nice enough to visit my father today, and give a blessing and say some words. All our hopes and prayers are with him in his hour of need. Come back to us! Time is crucial for him to regain consciousness… and we do need a miracle.

Here is a recent photo of my old man in happier times. Times I would give anything to share with him again.

- His loyal son forever, “Rick”.

The Prostitutes – A blast from the past

Here is an article sent to me by Kent Morris of the band The Prostitutes. The Prostitutes were am electronic industrial band from Melbourne in the late 80’s and early 90’s. Here is an interview I did with them when I was editor of Beat magazine back in 1990 and 1991.

Uncut “15 seconds” Interview from If magazine

I was interviewed by Simon De Bruyn of If Magazine for their section “15 seconds” recently. Here is the uncut text of the interview, too long, or controversial, to publish. Enjoy! Thanks to Simon for being a MUFF supporting guy at IF.

1. The biggest issue facing the Australian film industry is…
Becoming relevant, becoming more financially viable in its returns, overthrowing and replacing some of the tried and worn out people currently running it, recognising new young talent, halting giving most of the funding money to failures (some from 20 years ago), enacting a new low budget fund to make 10 to 20 new half million to a million dollar Indy features each year – selected from the best talent from all fests including MUFF, SUFF and Revelation, fostering the new wave of Ozploitation by further pursuing edgy genre filmmaking, stop making  so many political correct and mandated Aussie content movies (…that no one really wants to see anyway!) that are better suited as Sunday afternoon ABC TV movies (Black Balloon, Somersault, Esther Blue Burger, September, My Year Without Sex, etc.)…
2. Favourite film of all time:
Impossible, I love to many, it’s a religion with me…see MUFF, or my blog Idea Fix …recent recommended viewing of old and new Huston’s Wise Blood, Martyrs, Bret Ellis’ The Informers (directed by Gregor Jordan), Wings Hauser in Vice Squad, Ellie Parker with Naomi Watts, Atomised – Michel Houellebecq adaptation, Baader Meinhof Complex.
3. Classics I would like to remake:
I don’t like remakes. At a push Salo (- De Sade’s novel The 120 days of Sodom) or American Psycho, to do it properly…
4. Biggest break:
Starting MUFF and discovering so much talent we have in Australia. How did MUFF end up being the first fest in the world playing the films of James Wan, Greg McClean, The Speirig Brothers, Scott Ryan, Steven Kastrissios, Stuart Simpson, Kel Dolen, David Nerlish and Andrew Traucki? We did it by simply looking for talent regardless of budget and having a welcoming attitude to genre and daring filmmaker that sometimes included violence, sexuality and controversy.  And there are many more where those names above came from. I think this is a real achievement that MUFF has helped foster an alternative voice and vision in the Australian Film Industry, against the odds and dull mediocrity of the mainstream local Industry…
5. Biggest mistake
Some would say the David Irving attempted screening. But I’m proud to have fought for unpopular speech… and am even more proud of MUFF’s uncompromising anti-censorship platform. Censorship is a most onerous and insulting practice to any intelligent and cultured human being.
6. Worst filmmaking experience:
Seeing our film industry controlled by a group of selfish and short sighted mandarins dolling out the majority of Film Finance funding to a bunch of sycophantic and at best untalented TV directors. Being hated sometimes for simply standing up and speaking out, from a love of our film industry, about the real lack of diversity in subject matter, innovation and film style to be seen on display in our national cinema. Being sick and tired of seeing its resources and potential abused by incompetents and dilettantes…etc., I could on, and on…
7. If a film about your life were made, who would play you?
Quentin Tarantino, Charlie Brooker or Colin Firth.
8. If money were no object, what would your next film be?
A project I have had in my head since I was a kid…a kind of post apocalyptic Mad Max type of thing…that is quite different, aggressive and original I dare say …but it seems we don’t really make those kind of films anymore in this country? And you wonder, why the fuck not?
9. Unsung Aussie film hero/heroine:
Jon Hewitt, Antony I Ginnane, Frank Howson, Jamie Leonander, Mark Savage, most of the more talented MUFF discoveries.
10. If I weren’t in the film industry, I’d be:
A Dictator on a Island in the Pacific …
11. I’d spend my last $20 on:
Bullets.

Back from Uganda…

…and ready for action. MUFF X here we come!

Blowing my own horn…

…And a reviewer who gets Bloodlust and Pearls Before Swine!!!… in the same damn review. Time it appears is on my side.

Check out Digital Retribution’s erudite reviews here, of my first two features. Its nice to have someone take your work seriously in the underground critical community and for them to find some value in it. Jolly good show.

Here’s a fun picture of Boyd Rice.

Avid fan

Got a letter from a fan. Thought I’d repost it here. I get these every now and then. I’ll answer some of his questions in the comments column soon.

Dear Richard,

I’m emailing you completely out of the blue because I’ve just spent an afternoon away from uni reliving one of your films that I really loved as a young, snotty 90’s teenager – Bloodlust.

As I started to become more interested in film, one of the things that I began to notice as I became more seriously interested in the medium was the lack of anything familiar to me. My Australia wasn’t the one that the mainstream Australian film industry seemed particularly interested in depicting.

On the commentary track, you describe your intended audience as being ‘15 year old boys eating pizza’ – that was absolutely who I was at the time, and as a young, horror-obsessed nascent pervert, Bloodlust was something I simply had to see. As I’m sure you remember, there was something intimidating about video shops at the time – they didn’t just stock whatever pablum Hollywood was shovelling at us, there were all kinds of weird little underground films that found their ways to the shelves. Out of this environment, I found David Lynch, Cronenberg, Troma, John Carpenter, Kenneth Anger, and a universe of films that defied description. Bloodlust’s cover was intimidating, and held the air of something naughty – something that I really shouldn’t be watching.

The thing that I got out of it, though, was that it was the first film I can remember watching that caused me to really identify with the surroundings. The film wasn’t simply shot in Melbourne – it WAS Melbourne, in some weird kind of way. It felt familiar, and had a truth to it regarding the environment that I grew up in. I’m 30 now, and I still can’t remember too many films that give me that feeling of regional identification.

It certainly sparked off my interest in underground cinema and deepened my obsession with horror cinema – for those reasons, you and Jon created something that was very important to me, so for that, I thank the pair of you.

Waxing nostalgia aside, I was curious to know if Bloodlust is ever going to receive a local DVD release. I’d love to get a proper, non-bootleg print of the film – are there any plans to reissue it?

Also, out of curiosity, whatever happened to Robert James O’Neill, Kelly Chapman, and Jane Stuart Wallace? I think I saw Robert O’Neill as an extra in ‘Proof’ – but I’ve never seen the other two in anything.

Anyway, this is just a gushy fan letter because I was having a bit of a moment. Best of luck with all your success with MUFF.

David Elliott
(A Fan)

And then there was Uganda

Sorry if Idea Fix has been a little spare in recent weeks. Been busy as a lizard drinking putting togerher MUFF 10’s Poster and catalogue and prepping a two week trip early July to Uganda.

Yes, Richard Wolstencroft is going into Africa. And I’m told I will have net access, so stand by for a travel diary here at Idea Fix.

I am shooting a documentary, more on this later, and this will be a unique experience for me. I have had my vac shots, I have got my anti malarials and I’m ready to journey into the heart of the mysterious and at times dangerous continent of Africa. Uganda has always fascinated me since I idealized Idi Amin as a child. Here was a strong black leader standing up to the West. There was something wonderful about that. I found Amin a charismatic and fascinating media presence. I knew nothing of the atrocities until I grew older, but Uganda’s past will hopefully find its way into this new project.

More details on all this later…

Until then a map of Uganda to look at. Former homeland of aforementioned Idi Amin and location for conflict in the past 20 years between the democratic current government of Museveni and The Lords Resistance Army in the North lead by Joseph Kony. We land at Entebbe airport in under two weeks.

I will put MUFF in place before I go… and then away we go! Oh, I will write my directors statement for MUFF X from Uganda, so that’s bound to be a treat…

I welcome any thoughts and advice on travel to Uganda and Africa. Cheers RW

A prayer for Dave Gahan

Dave Gahan has been sick with bladder cancer, and has had a tumor removed. Mode have canceled shows for a month, and in my opinion should cancel more, so Gahan can rest up.

To me, my favourite band was never The Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin or Dylan. To me they were naive sixties idealists and hippies espousing an absurd and lazy philosophy, their music good… but so 20th century. My favourite band growing as a teenage, and in many respects to this days was/is Depeche Mode. They were something else, something alien. They were the Future, baby. They were my Beatles. And I dare say it, a more profound outfit, and of a longer lasting significance, than those baby boomer 60’s assholes…

Why? Nihilism, proto fascist imagery, dark moody lyrics, sadomasochism, tortured love, technology, perversion, dance music and clubs, leather and sex. This was the world of Depeche Mode. This was my world as a teenager, and later… Gore’s amazing songs, the electronic sound scapes of the band and Gahan’s amazing voice made for a brilliant and long lasting combination. And still Mode are releasing classic albums 29 years into their career. They have been a consistently strong and amazing band, that define the 80’s generation.

So Idea Fix sends out our heart felt best wishes to Dave G. Mode has been the sound track to my life… and if I feel a little Nostalgia… …well, lets allow Dave Gahan himself to say it best…on this brilliant side project track from Mirror… Get well Dave and keep bringing us the ’sounds of the universe’…