the Curb

In this episode, Andrew interviews celebrated author Paullina Simons about her latest novel, Light at Lavelle. It tells the story Finn Evans, a Bostonian banker who at the end of the 1920s finds his life unexpectedly swirling into the orbit of Isabelle Lazar, a young Ukrainian farmer. Light at Lavelle takes readers on a journey over the breadth of its five hundred plus pages of romance fiction through stories of war, unspeakable hardships, and the unexpected unions that arise during these difficult times.

In the following interview, Paullina talks about her own emotional journey of bringing her characters stories to life, especially as she is the first person to get to know them and hear their stories. Paullina also talks about the emotional connection that her readers have built up with her over the years since her worldwide best seller debut Tully and her bestselling novel The Bronze Horseman. She also talks about bringing herself into the world of her novels, amongst many other fascinating topics.

Light at Lavelle is published in Australia through Pan Macmillan, who provided a copy of the book for the purpose of this interview. Light at Lavelle releases in Australia on 31 October 2023 and is available online and in all good bookstores.

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On this episode, Andrew chats with director Matt Vesely about his feature film debut Monolith.

Monolith is a chilling sci-fi thriller follows a journalist, played by Lily Sullivan, whose livelihood is at stake after a defamation case threatens her career. In a bid to escape the pressure of the case, she heads to her parents remote home and starts working on a podcast called Beyond Believable, a show that looks at unbelievable true stories. Over the following taut and tense ninety minutes, the journalists world unravels as a story about mysterious black bricks that appear in peoples lives come to her attention. The more she interviews people, the deeper the mystery takes her.

In this interview, Matt talks about the process that he employs to create a personality for an inanimate object, about how the writer Lucy Campbell, producer Bettina Hamilton, and himself gave Lily Sullivan the space to build a performance where she is the only character we see on screen, and just what exactly is going on in South Australia which has made it the hotbed for great Aussie films this year.

We also touch on the space of comedy in science-fiction, as previously shown in his short films My Best Friend is Stuck on the Ceiling and System Error, both of which are available to watch below.

Monolith is in Australian cinemas from October 26. To find out more, make sure to visit the Bonsai Films Facebook page for details.

Read Andrew's review of Monolith here and Nadine's interview with actor Lily Sullivan here.

My Best Friend is Stuck on the Ceiling

System Error

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In this double interview episode, Andrew chats with two of the creative minds behind Ben Affleck's latest film, Air. Air tells the story of how sports marketing executive Sonny Vaccaro (Matt Damon) pursued Michael Jordan and changed history for Nike and basketball with the creation of the iconic Air Jordan shoe.

First up is Academy Award winning editor William Goldenberg who reunites with Affleck for the fourth time, having won the Best Editing Oscar for Argo. Bill talks about the short hand that he and Ben have built up over the years, how he creates emotion within an edit, and more.

Following this interview is costume designer Charlese Antoinette Jones. Charlese talks about her work creating era-specific clothing for the actors, the difficulty of sourcing material from the 80s, and how she helps the actors create their characters with their costumes.

Air is currently available to watch on Amazon Prime. Read Nadine's review of Air here.

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On this episode, Andrew chats to writer, director, and editor Adrian Powers about his new film Love is in the Air. This romantic drama tells the story of Dana, played by Delta Goodrem in her return to acting. Dana is a seaplane pilot in Far North Queensland and when she's not monitoring the region from the skies, she's delivering much needed supplies to remote communities. Her job is thrown into disarray when the business that helps fund the operation sends the handsome William (Joshua Sasse) to come and value the business with the intention of decommissioning it. Naturally, romance ensues. Supporting actors include Aussie icons like Roy Billing and Steph Tisdell.

In the following interview, Adrian talks about working in a Hallmark-model of film and TV production in Australia with Jaggi Entertainment, he also talks about the contrast of a film like Love is in the Air with his earlier work like the short film Brolga, which was partially shot in the Chernobyl exclusion zone. We also talk about the need for light and fluffy films like this, before heading into a discussion about working with the elements in Far North Queensland and how the beards of characters are decided.

Love is in the Air is on Netflix internationally right now, while Adrian's next film, A Royal in Paradise, will receive a limited theatrical release in Australia next week.

To listen to further interviews, make sure to subscribe to the podcast feed so you never miss an episode. New interviews are released on Fridays, with bonus interviews appearing on Wednesdays. To read reviews, head over to TheCurb.com.au.

Watch Adrian's short film Brolga below and read an earlier interview with Adrian about the short here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pbc2cbM_kRY 

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In this episode, Andrew interview filmmaker Heidi Lee Douglas about her new film Suka. Written by Tsu Shan Chambers and Lily Cheng, this neon-soaked action flick tells a story that spans decades, detailing the the fury that rages between two feuding families in Western Sydney. Suka is both a multi-cultural Romeo and Juliet style revenge film, with a touch of real-life events thrown into the mix.

In this interview Heidi talks about the importance of casting actors who could handle both the acting requirements as well as the fighting sequences, while also touching on the value of global appreciation of the banner term 'genre filmmaking' when it comes to horror, action, and sci-fi films. Additionally, Heidi talks about the role that neon plays in storytelling.

Suka is available on demand right now and is released by Umbrella Entertainment.

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Listeners are advised that this podcast includes mention of sexual assault and trauma.

In this episode, Andrew interviews writer and director Matthew Holmes about his latest film, The Cost. This is a searing vigilante thriller that tells the story of two men, David and Aaron, who abduct the newly released felon Troy to inflict their own version of justice and retribution. While on paper The Cost appears to be a routine rape-revenge film, it eschews the genre trappings to become a grounded thriller that explores the potential brutality of masculinity.

In the following interview, which contains slight spoilers, Matthew talks about the construction of the film, how he framed the tension with cinematographer Cable Williams, and what work the actors did to get into the mindspace of three characters who are pushed to horrifying places.

The Cost is receiving a limited run in Australian cinemas from October 5th before heading to physical media by Madman films. To find out the details for screenings and where to buy tickets, visit The Cost's Facebook page. To purchase The Cost on Bluray, visit Madman here.

Read Andrew's review of The Cost here. To listen to other interviews head over to TheCurb.com.au. New podcast interviews appear each Friday, with bonus interviews appearing on Wednesdays. 

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In this episode Andrew interviews Dena Curtis and Citt Williams who are the producers behind the new NITV four part series Rebel With a Cause. This compelling and engaging documentary series follows four First Nations trailblazers - Senator Neville Bonner, poet Oodgeroo Noonuccal, magistrate Pat O'Shane, and radio presenter and media icon Tiga Bayles - and ultimately asks the question of what does it take to make a difference in the world?

In the following interview Dena and Citt talk about their work as producers and what it means to delve into culturally sensitive archives and present these stories on screen. Additionally, they reflect on the importance of recontexutalising archives that have so often been curated or managed by white people. 

To say that Rebel With a Cause is an essential series feels like an understatement. It's arriving at a time where Australia as a nation is going through a major change, with the referendum on the Voice to Parliament being decided on October 14. Within the stories of Neville, Oodgeroo, Pat, and Tiga, we see four people who saw the potential within themselves and their community to change history and the future of Australia. It encourages viewers to consider and contemplate the impact of their actions, and the manner that they have helped amplify, support, and better the lives of First Nations people in Australia.   

Rebel With a Cause is directed by EJ Garret, Jill Robinson, S.F. Tusa and Douglas Watkin. It will screen on NITV from October 1st, with episodes dropping each week. 

To listen to other interviews and read reviews, head over to TheCurb.com.au. New podcast interviews appear each Friday, with bonus interviews appearing on Wednesdays. 

For Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander listeners, the trailer included in this podcast contains the voices of people who have passed away. 

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On this episode Andrew chats with Aussie filmmaker Jack Dignan about his found footage horror film, Puzzle Box. Olivia (Laneikka Denne) heads out to a remote house in the woods to help her sister Kait (Kaitlyn Boyé) rehabilitate and escape her life of addiction. Olivia aims to document the process, almost in a way to show how far Kait will heal and change. Little does she know, instead of documenting Kait's rehabilitation, she instead manages to document the labyrinth-like house that they become trapped in where time loops over itself and unsettling events occur in the night.

Puzzle Box will have its Australian Premiere at the upcoming A Night of Horror International Film Festival in Sydney on September 29. This is the second time that Jack has had a film screen at the festival, with his previous film After She Died winning the Best Australian Feature Film and Best Australian Feature Performance in 2022.

Jack talks about where his interest in found footage films comes from, how working on films like Marvel's Shang-Chi and George Miller's Furiosa differs from working on an independent feature film, as well as how his previous work as a film critic informs his work as a director.

To find out more about Jack's work, head over to JackDignan.com.

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Oh hey, would you believe it, Awards Don't Matter is back. After almost a two year break, we're back with an episode from the vault where David Giannini and Andrew F Peirce discuss the 1946 Best Picture winner The Best Years of Our Lives. Winner of an impressive seven Academy Awards, including Best Director (William Wyler), Best Actor (Frederic March), and Best Supporting Actor (Harold Russell), The Best Years of Our Lives is widely considered one of the great Best Picture winners.

But don't trust everyone else! Listen to two dudes who chat about whether it's good or not and ask whether The Best Years of Our Lives matters any more.

We aim to bring more episodes in the future, including a promised discussion on It's a Wonderful Life very soon. And while we mention AwardsDontPod on Twitter, well, that place doesn't really exist anymore, so just make sure you're subscribed to The Curb podcast feed for updates.

Clips presented in this episode: The Best Years of Our Lives trailer // Homer and Wilma scene // "And for what?" // PTSD Scene

Listen to Dave and Mike discuss Brief Encounter on Off Screen Death here.

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On this episode, Andrew chats with the filmmaking duo Glenn Fraser and Amelia Foxton about their latest film Mother Tongue, which screens at the upcoming A Night of Horror International Film Festival alongside Ursula Dabrowsky's The Devil's Work on September 28 2023.

Mother Tongue tells the wickedly humourous tale of Alex (Chiara Gizzi) and Jade (Amelia Foxton), a couple who are trying to have a child, yet struggle to do so. After trying all manner of methods, and finding that biology is not on their side, they decide to turn to the realm of the occult with the assistance of suburban bloke Brian (Stephen Hunter) who works his mastery on bringing a baby - of some kind - into their lives. Told with a darkly comedic stretch, alongside a trio of excellent performances that makes the struggle that Alex and Jade are collectively going through all the more believable, Mother Tongue is a treat of a film.

In the following interview, Glenn and Amelia generously discuss their working process together, outlining the importance of telling queer stories on screen, while also highlighting the need to tell varied stories about motherhood as well. They also talk about the creation of the Coastal Surge Film Festival and the support they've received from local governments to help create a busy film scene in their local region.

To find out more about Mother Tongue, make sure to visit the films Facebook page.

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