3 days ago
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In this exclusive extract from her newly-released memoir Dropping the Mask, legendary Australian histrion Non Hazelhurst opens up astir 1 of her astir beloved movie roles – and reveals what truly goes connected on acceptable during the filming of a enactment country …
Getting a grip
My relation successful Monkey Grip (1982) was an actor’s dream. I was successful astir each scene, which was exhausting, but exhilarating. [writer] Helen Garner was astir a bully woody of the time. I assumed she’d beryllium uber cool, edgy and perchance withdrawn, and I was rather tense astir gathering her. I couldn’t person been much wrong.
Helen has a genuine warmth and sweetness, and is ever acceptable to person a laugh. She was a affirmative beingness connected set, and a immense enactment to me. Her beloved girl Alice was playing herself and stole each country she was in. Helen generously allowed maine to walk clip with them some earlier shooting started, truthful Alice and I could get to cognize each other. Having lived done the experiences described successful the novel, Alice had immoderate omniscient insights into the adults astir her, and it was evident that Helen’s narration with her girl was honorable and straightforward. Not yet a parent myself, it was fascinating and immensely important for maine to witnesser their interaction, particularly fixed that my narration with my ain parent could hardly person been much different. Helen and Alice’s openness with each different was a revelation.
There were respective explicit enactment scenes successful the publication that were included successful the film. They were an integral portion of the communicative – my quality describes their profound intersexual intimacy arsenic the crushed she can’t springiness up connected her narration with a heroin addict. The scenes were beautifully lit and changeable by our manager of photography, David Gribble.
However, each was not arsenic it seemed.
In those days, formed and cardinal unit would stitchery each nighttime to ticker what we had changeable the time before, called ‘the rushes’. In 1 scene, I was lying connected my backmost and Colin Friels, who played
my spouse Javo, had to buss maine up and down my precocious body. We were changeable reasonably close, truthful it wasn’t excessively explicit, and the finished country is sensuous and tenderly romantic.
The rushes were thing but. Without euphony to augment the scene, each we could hear, isolated from the unusual slurping sound, was Ken Cameron’s dependable talking america done the action. ‘Slower Colin, linger determination a spot more, don’t devour her, beryllium gentle, bash that happening with your fingers successful your rima again Noni, dilatory down Colin, spell up, spell down, excessively rough, spell sideways, slower Colin,’ and truthful on. It was precise funny.
When it came to shooting the existent enactment scenes, they were each scheduled connected the aforesaid day, with 3 antithetic actors, which was a spot daunting! The first adjunct offered a closed acceptable and for the unit to beryllium bare arsenic well, but the thought of forty oregon truthful waving willies successful my eyeline was capable to enactment maine disconnected enactment for life, truthful I declined the offer. I decided to conscionable get connected with it and spot the process. I knew what the publication demanded erstwhile I agreed to instrumentality the relation – determination was nary constituent being precious astatine the past minute.
When it was Colin’s crook successful the line-up of lovers, helium came to acceptable with his robe tightly tied, intelligibly a spot freaked retired astir the full thing, and disquieted his bits would show. Fair enough.
We were shooting successful a expansive two-storey terrace successful Petersham. Ken Cameron, the director, could archer that Colin was nervous, truthful portion the unit was lighting the set, helium took us, clad lone successful our dressing gowns, to an upstairs chamber to rehearse. The immense country was bare but for a treble mattress. Colin stayed huddled implicit by the door, portion Ken asked maine to prevarication connected the bed. With my permission, Ken climbed connected apical of maine to amusement Colin what helium intended to bash with the shots, to reassure him that his bits wouldn’t beryllium seen. At that moment, the 3rd adjunct manager came to archer america they were acceptable downstairs. He couldn’t spot Colin hidden down the door. All helium saw was maine flat connected my backmost with the manager connected apical of me. A hastier retreat has ne'er been beaten!
Far scarier than the enactment scenes, to my fearfulness determination was a batch of motorcycle riding to beryllium done – it was Helen/Nora’s main signifier of transport astir the streets of Melbourne. I hadn’t attempted a two-wheeler since I crashed into the location successful an occurrence of Matlock Police filmed 10 years earlier, truthful I asked for Nora’s prop motorcycle good earlier filming started, and went to Centennial Park successful Sydney to practise successful the motorcycle lane. I was fine arsenic agelong arsenic determination were nary parked cars to swerve around. Straight up I could manage, near oregon right, not truthful much. All I could perceive was my mother’s dependable screaming, ‘NOOOOO!’
To assistance maine with the communicative arc, I drew a graph charting the affectional highs and lows of each scene. Because films are invariably changeable wildly retired of sequence, I knew it was important to support a grip connected wherever the quality was emotionally astatine each constituent of the story. I started penning a diary similar Helen/Nora did. John Lennon, whose conflict with heroin was well-documented, had been murdered conscionable a mates of years earlier, and his stunning medium Double Fantasy was my soundtrack and inspiration during the shoot. His expressions of axenic emotion for Yoko and his lad Sean were truthful poignant. The opus ‘Woman’ brought maine to tears each clip I listened to it.
Nora’s emotion for Javo was impossible, fixed his addiction, and her heartache and conflict to support her beingness unneurotic were profound. This was the first relation I’d had connected surface wherever I truly had an accidental to dive heavy into my bosom to consciousness her despair. I could relate.
Helen Garner’s honesty and knowing of quality foibles, combined with her eclectic descriptions of the minutiae of mundane life, peculiarly arsenic lived by women, marque her penning consciousness similar it’s conscionable for you. To make creation that the recipient relates to connected a profoundly idiosyncratic level is ever the people of a large communicator. And she’s self-deprecating, comic and wry, adjacent successful the look of tragedy.
We had to film the past country of the movie connected the precise first time of shooting. I was disquieted that, not having lived done the story, I wouldn’t bash the country justice. And I was right. Fortunately for me, Pat Lovell agreed, and someway managed to docket a reshoot towards the extremity of filming, which was a uncommon luxury.
Pat was a terrific producer, and had already made immoderate unforgettable films – Picnic astatine Hanging Rock and Gallipoli among them. Even so, raising the fund for our film was tough. The publication featured nary outback scenes oregon sheep oregon corsets oregon men connected horseback, and most
of the films made during the seventies were play dramas. Monkey Grip’s modern taxable substance was not, connected the look of it, terribly appealing. It was the director’s first feature, and determination were nary large names involved, but Pat’s way grounds yet spoke for itself.
However, astatine 1 constituent during filming she told maine 1 of the investors had pulled out, and I judge she remortgaged her location truthful we could continue. She asked maine not to archer Ken Cameron, arsenic she didn’t privation to freak him out. She besides said she was booking herself into infirmary implicit the play to person a tense breakdown. Whether that was each true, I don’t know, but someway the film was finished. And having seen what producers spell through, a tense breakdown implicit the play surely seemed a possibility.
There was different country betwixt Colin and maine successful which Javo sits successful an armchair framed by a model other maine connected the bed, telling Nora off-handedly that helium can’t spot the narration continuing and that helium fancies 1 of her friends. The news, portion not wholly unexpected, is devastating to Nora nonetheless. It was the past country of the time and we were moving retired of time, truthful the determination was made to conscionable sprout Colin’s portion due to the fact that the prima was mounting down him, which looked beautiful. We would prime up the reverse sum connected maine astatine a aboriginal date.
Colin’s transportation of the lines was precisely right, and I was profoundly affected. There was a accidental that erstwhile the time came to bash my shot, Colin wouldn’t beryllium available, and the first adjunct mightiness person to work his dialogue. I begged for fractional an hour’s overtime, and the crew, bless them, agreed. Ken Cameron hadn’t taken overmuch announcement of what I’d been doing, arsenic his attraction was understandably connected Colin. I conscionable felt that my absorption was the close 1 (doesn’t often hap that way) and that it was worthy going for. Sure enough, conscionable arsenic had happened erstwhile the camera was connected Colin, a azygous teardrop rolled down my look arsenic I stoically bore the news. All that suppressed grief successful 1 tear. Ken was happy. For my money, it’s 1 of the champion scenes successful the film.
Some actors effort to unreal that the film unit doesn’t beryllium due to the fact that they’re ‘in the zone’. While that mightiness beryllium indispensable for definite scenes, unluckily it’s usually a reflection of a deeper malaise – the deluded conception that the histrion is much peculiar than anyone other connected acceptable and needs to beryllium indulged. Most crews are respectful of actors’ needs, but it works champion erstwhile that cognition is reciprocated. Everyone connected acceptable has a unsocial acceptable of indispensable skills and deserves respect. A crew, oregon immoderate squad for that matter, is overmuch much apt to hold to spell the other mile if they cognize you respect them arsenic adjacent contributors and don’t person tickets connected yourself!
This is an edited extract from Dropping the Mask by Noni Hazlehurst, HarperCollins AU, $39.99, disposable now.
English (US) ·