#693 – Shane Jacobson On Australian Film, Family & Mental Health/
- April 22, 2020
Shane Jacobson – Actor, Writer, & Comedian
Shane Jacobson is one of Australia’s most loved actors, presenters and entertainers. Shane starred in, co-wrote and produced Kenny, for which he won the AFI Award for best lead actor. Shane has also appeared in Charlie & Boots alongside Paul Hogan, whilst also starring in Beaconsfield and Top Gear Australia.
Shane has also written a best-selling bio ‘The Long Road to Overnight Success’ and, explored his life as a motoring tragic in Rev Head.
On today’s episode of The Daily Talk Show, we discuss:
– Dad jokes
– MCing and small talk
– Enjoying the process
– Licences and trucks
– Family time
– Mental health
– Gigs and being recognised
– The Australian film industry
– The film process and distribution
Shane on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theshanejacobson/
Shane’s website: http://shanejacobson.com.au
Email us: hi@bigmediacompany.com.au
Send us mail: PO BOX 400, Abbotsford VIC 3067
The Daily Talk Show is an Australian talk show and daily podcast by Tommy Jackett and Josh Janssen. Tommy and Josh chat about life, creativity, business, and relationships — big questions and banter. Regularly visited by guests and gronks! If you watch the show or listen to the podcast, you’re part of the Gronk Squad.
This podcast is produced by BIG MEDIA COMPANY. Find out more at https://bigmediacompany.com/
Episode Tags
0:03
It's the daily Talk Show Episode 693.
0:08
And joining us today, Shane Jacobson. Welcome to the show. Nice.
0:13
Thank you. How are we doing?
0:18
I've got my missus cat.
0:20
I'm really naughty my wife that I do what I want. Ironically, we both This is not planned. We both have cups with crowns on them. Mine says, King of dead jokes, and I don't think that's a compliment.
0:34
What's your favourite dead joke at the moment?
0:38
Look, my favourite one. At the moment is two snakes sliding through the grass together. And one of them says, We poisonous and the other one goes. I don't know. Why do you just think about it? Are we poisonous? And he said, No, we're not why do you I thought thank God for that. He has well I guess I'll just pick me Tom. It's
1:00
fine with I find with sorry, going I
1:03
was just gonna say I just want to have a quick chat about dead jokes for a minute because I think dead jokes have been getting a really bad rap for way too long. And I'll tell you why I have an issue with it is because everyone says, that's a dead joke. And I have to explain. Yeah, because I have four children, and they're 1410, eight and five. And that's the actual names because I couldn't be asked naming them. The children and I have better jokes than the one about the snake, but I just can't say to my children, okay, there's this nun in a goat.
1:43
If anyone can think of a joke that ends with that, actually, me and Steven Kerry used to play a game which was you had to come up with a punch line for a joke that doesn't exist, and then see if anyone can and we never actually came up with the jokes but we just loved the punch lines and our favourite one was Yeah, well, it was a goat when I gave it to you.
2:06
I love that. Do you think I'm dead jokes? I've kind of I've tried to think of them in the moment. I mean, you're you're a professional comedian. I'm just the gronk. But I find it hard to pull on dad jokes, but somehow I find them in the moment. I think that's the essence of a dad joke, right? Oh, true. Dad that doesn't know that he's being a dad and dad joking in the moment.
2:29
Well, the reason they come easily is and the reason people have an issue with them, I guess is because they're low hanging fruit. Like it's the first thought that comes to your mind, or the easiest gag you can come up with is a dead joke. And there are some that are kind of better dead jokes, you know, like, you know, the, you know, babushka dolls, you know, those babushka dolls. I don't like them, you know, why, why they're too full of themselves. So that actually is the city guide. It's got a little punch line in it, but for the most part You know dad jokes are the simplest low hanging fruit but again it's because it's normally sit around children where you can't be doing the jokes you want to do i mean i do and as a result my kids get expelled a lot but
3:13
they're definitely clever like I think they looking at what people are observing in the moment and and so and what do you think do you think the dead jokes are clever even though they are first thought?
3:25
No they're not they're not clever this this safe
3:31
wasn't it? Sorry.
3:33
It's just you don't want to get you don't have dogs turn up at your front door going we believe you told the one goat joke to your four year old.
3:45
Do you like small talk Shang
3:48
build a career on it.
3:53
Educated unfactual small talk is that
3:57
because I feel like that's like you done so much emceeing and speaking, is that a lot of it?
4:04
Um, I think so number one they give you, you know, if you're doing an awards night, and they're not always as much fun for anyone really, as they say there's only one thing better than an awards night, and that's the end of one. And so people there that the thing that's exciting for anyone there is people who are genuinely in with a chance of winning an award, get to dress up and not everyone gets the joy of going to a nice ballroom dressed up with their wife or partner or friends. You know, usually the drinking booze, the drinking food is all free the food and beverage, so they're out for a few drinks, they get a nice meal and they're out with a whole bunch of friends and they might win the award. The second and I always get asked at awards nights and I got a call from Jaipur. I always get asked or if not always, often enough to mention the fact that just by being there at the awards night and being a nominee, you're all in fact winners and I always say That's bullshit. Because in a minute, we're about to find out exactly who won. And if your name doesn't get mentioned, you've absolutely lost this.
5:10
Because you just weren't good enough and you've got a year to get your shit together.
5:14
So the truth is, the room starts usually pretty good. They one have more alcohol. And that obviously increases the volume. And then after that, once they've realised they have or haven't won, either way, if they've won, they've got something to celebrate, and then have to listen anymore. And if they haven't, they've got something to commiserate neither way they're drinking, and they're making more noise. So it actually changes through the night you start. Just you know, formalities. thank everyone for coming. Great to be here. You know, I was here from the general manager, let's hear from the CEO a couple of words from our sponsors, got to thank our sponsors who without we couldn't do tonight, they're all exactly the same of these events, or they are enough to and then after that, it becomes crack a few jokes in between the awards. And then after that it becomes a fistfight of words in an attempt to capture their attention. And by the end, it's the LA riots of 92.
6:12
I'm hoping you can make me feel better. So yesterday, we had our accountant on the show, giving us sort of tips on business and finance. And when I introduced him, I panicked. And in the moment, I said the wrong business name. I said, a completely different business name, and it was from I was hoping that maybe, given that you're a professional, maybe throughout your career, you've had an absolute massive fuckup that you could share to make me feel better based on saying something you shouldn't have said as an emcee. No, no.
6:51
No, that's, that's a lie right there. Um, so look, we've all done it. But you don't have to feel as bad because you only did it to an extent And as we know
7:02
they use a personality as a contraceptive
7:09
that's the Odyssey they
7:11
have a really a hot and likeable accountant it's a rare it's a rare breed he's actually more charming than us it's pretty annoying
7:21
um you know I I'm not here to judge or qualify or quantify with my accountant is hot or not.
7:29
That was my next question.
7:33
It's a weird muscle to flex that thought I've had a chance to test it. So I'll take some of that in no particular order, although they do tend to come out in order of the ones that are most memorable therefore probably the worst. So stuff that's people have forgotten to think he's the one when when I want to if I award for the film, Kenya did a film called Kenny which is what 1415 years ago now. I got up on stage. Now might Thanks, everyone, the people that read the music, people who came and drove a truck for 15 minutes. The only people I forgot to thank was the investor that paid for the entire film. Just Just omitted Glenn prisco. From splashdown the company in fact, that gave us full access to the company for two years. And, and the film was about the company, and he paid for the whole film. Didn't think he didn't think that I didn't think that's true. It's just the time got away. And I had that nervous moment where I'm like, I think I've spoken too long, which is not a thought I often have, but on this day I did. And then the other person I didn't think which probably doesn't matter, I suppose it's just my brother, who directed and wrote the film with me and produced it who was the creative genius behind the entire existence of Kenny so this that this one Josh in the film Kenny in the Caribbean, to film Kenny, my best mates father who, tragically we only want to mention his name because many lost him a few weeks ago. There's Lauren who was like another father to me. And he works for a company called shell fix and they did all the Pyro for the film for free. Their competitor back in the day, not sure how severe or existent that competitive battle between them is these days, but they had an a company called AV effects. And I have no idea why. But when I was writing all the credits out to give to my brother to include in the film, I listed their name in the credits and I was sitting at the premiere with all the people from shower fix, and that's worse. As I'm sitting there, it went past on the issue now you put them in the credits there that small on the television, they're sticking his finger on a movie screen when you're sitting down the front. That word is like 20 feet wide as as the lead as a vehicle go past I'm like, Oh,
10:06
never occurred to me until it went past me. And I'm like, oh,
10:14
and I get here.
10:18
What do you do? Are you someone to sit at leaning to that and have the high conversation or apologise instantly? What do you do?
10:26
I like all of us being human. It's a mixture of all of them. You overcompensate, you talk about it, like wait for way too long. Your startup, you never start to sense the way it should be. You just go look. You should never start a sentence with look.
10:45
It means I don't care what you think this is what? And
10:51
look, and that just sounded like you bet you have to forgive me. I hear what you said. I was just, I was so bad. And you know what made it worse is that was so okay about it which of course made me feel worse. So now I reacted terribly and mentioned that every time I saw them until they said, you have to stop talking about it because we don't think about it until every time you see when you bring it up. Yeah.
11:16
Hey Shane, we we've talked about a few things I'm saying cinemas these things not happening at the moment. How is how is what's going on at the moment affected your corner of the world and, and the work you do day to day.
11:32
It's affected in a couple of small ways. I no longer have a job. My income has been reduced slightly by 100%.
11:47
It's not It's not funny.
11:56
My children never had to stare at an unemployed bomb in there. house.
12:01
I was a bum when I was employed. It's just now I'm an unemployed. But now that the obviously ground to a halt having having said that there's things I'm working on, which is a documentary on the collapse of the West Gate Bridge, which at the moment I'm still funding so
12:18
it's interesting when there's nice fans coming in Happy Birthday because it's you turned 50 last month. And so yeah, 50 years ago that the West Gate bridge collapse happened.
12:30
Yeah, 15th of October, this year will be its 50th anniversary. And for those that don't know, it was the largest and still is the largest industrial accident if it all happened in Australia and 35 men on that day lost their lives in an instant. And so yeah, so it's a thing that I've been passionate about commemorating a lot of people. Number one, I'm from the western suburbs of Melbourne. It was a working class and a migrant trophy when that was being built. Which will because the people who build cities are the working class and I've just always had this thing that whenever I mentioned the whiskey breach I just always assumed I've always known it was the year that I was born was the same year that so many died and again, being from the western suburbs, this West Gate bridge that links the West you know, the working class was in southern with more affluent sort of eastern suburbs. This thing was like, you know, that the the joining of the working class, the white collar and the blue collar worker, so I always saw it as a monument of great loss but also a great achievement for the for the working class. And I would sell mention it a bit because I'd have maybe once said, and I don't even know I've always had this thing about the West Gate Bridge but you know, he said all the story bridge in Brisbane is as big as it and I said, are at the tail, but she was talking about and I said no, it's not. He said, I think you'll find it's bigger than the West Gate. And I said, No, no, it's not and he said, Well, I want to make a bit and I said, I really want a bit so that's slightly beers. Yeah, we'll go so that'd be so I won that bit by a kilometre. Seems good bridge. So if one if one misled a beer and I've never felt like I've owed the bridge something ever since, but, um, anyway, every time I would mention the West Gate Bridge, for whatever reason, over, you know, not all the time, but periodically over 50 years, people would say, oh, what was that? I didn't know it fell, or that's the one with the car hanging off the end. I go, No, that was the one in tezi. And I was kind of amazed how many people weren't really aware of the collapse of the whiskey breed. So anyway, I'm still doing a documentary on that. But to go back to your question about how much it's affected me, the entire industry has, you know, has literally had the handbrake pulled on. Without us sort of being aware. Of course, we're all aware of what time was trying to do the handbrake got caught on pretty quick. So anything, anything I do for the most part involves dragging a crab there. And of course, that's the thing we can't do so, but you know, the thing that there's, as you know, a lot of people turn to entertainers, in times of tragedy, so and now is no different. It's just the differences. We're in The tragedy that we're a part of trying to make people feel good about. But the thing is we I just don't feel like I'm complying because there are so many people, so many people in exactly the same position, who aren't in the time and so, so you know, I mean, we will go to the me in times, we're all in this together, and it is true. It's just that we're all in something together. That's quite sure there's
15:18
a win win when you were starting out, like I think about a friend of mine who was living in LA, he just went back to do another sort of stint there at pushing for a show that he's trying to get up. And he's since moved back, which like, puts a big full stop in the current journey to try and make it right. What Yeah, you know, thinking about all the people that, you know, vying to do what you've done. What about you in the early days, what do you think you would have done in a time like this as a young entertainer?
15:51
I'm
15:53
a little bit more nuts and bolts I guess. I've always been I've had another life a few other lives like I've actually in the last Five weeks started up a transport and logistics company with some of the tracks I've got. So instead of waiting tables, I was a lighting. So I was a lighting designer, a lighting operator, I ran a lighting company I was national General Manager for a lighting company for 13 years. So you know, I put lighting crew out on tours with Taylor Rainer and I worked on I was a pilot technician for Guns and Roses and Bon Jovi and AC DC and all that so I had a book called the long road to overnight success because I worked so many jobs where I literally went so whenever there I kind of always have to work on that kind of personality. You know, even my wife laughed at me recently when I before bc before Khurana I said you know things will calm down one day you'll get quieter and she laughed and said Oh sweetheart yawn that's never gonna happen with you. You just want that to happen. I've loved I've loved being busy doing lots of things even when acting didn't happen. I wasn't like I was the person etc and game of bagger iconic I would just do other things which is produced or write, or develop, you know, even now I'm developing stuff that will happen once the worlds allow to catch up close to other humans again, you know, so, but But to answer it So to answer your question I would have I just, I instantly just find something else to do because I have to be busy, you know, but that may not help anyone listening who goes well, what am I supposed to do, but now is a good chance to think of expanding your your knowledge base of entertainment. So there are online courses, you know, get online and Google what you know, what is the line producer versus the producer? You know, how do you put together a film budget or you know, watch other performances, watch online acting classes, start to write raw material, have a go at writing, read other scripts and have a look at how they formulate them. So I see downtime as time to pick something else up.
17:51
You know, what do they say don't don't
17:54
make the time count. Don't count the time as it goes by, you know, so that's how I would do it.
17:59
Yeah, the On the lighting technician stuff Have you seen on YouTube? The video of you from 1994 as the sales manager and lighting technician at premier lighting?
18:11
We gotta start with my mother
18:15
because of copyright, but you guys, you've got to search Shane Jacobson. No, no.
18:22
I don't think it can be done for copyright because I did
18:30
yeah, it was government training thing
18:32
was great because you You look so different, but you've got the exact same voice. It's actually a beautiful piece of art. I loved it. I watched it last night.
18:43
That was a that was before I could afford to eat properly. So
18:50
look, right now, I think I mean, it's a good point in regards to you have done the whole crew stuff, the like, you've worked all those different roles, obviously, with everything that's happening and what the government sort of providing there is that mist bit within entertainment. Is there an easy way to get around get around that stuff? Like for people who go from doing one TV show to work to another? Is there a good solution?
19:19
Absolutely not.
19:22
There's entertainment, I can't help but compare it to sport quite often.
19:29
Only because it's an easier analogy, which is Excel. Often people do say, you know, I've got a son or a daughter or friend who wants to be an actor, which they do. And it's similar to if someone says, I've got a son or a daughter who wants to, you know, play professional golf or being a professional footballer, or soccer player or nipple play, whatever it might be. And the answer is always the same Mark Mark horizon is the sign is you just have to do it over and over and over and over and over. To act naturally in front of the camera is a very unnatural act. And and if it was, if it was football, for instance, just to pick a pick a sport, everyone says, you know, you know what can you what can my son do to get into a professional team? And the answer is if they're not adding a field kicking a ball every single day handling with both hands kicking with both feet, and you know, you know, everyone's heard the Don Bradman stories of he was a great batsman because he used to hit a golf ball against the corrugated metal tank with it with a stamp so by the time someone bought a messy cricket ball at him and he had a whole bat his hand he couldn't help it hit it. So that's it. There's there's no evidence What's the secret? You go? Well, that's it. There's no secret you just have to you got to anyone goes, Well, what sort of performance should I be doing? And the answer is everything get up and bask
20:45
in it, or do you just have to accept the fact that it is, you know, a mix.
20:51
It's no stability. It's like wanting to be a famous painter. You have to paint just paint and paint and paint and no one's going to pay for those paintings for a long while until they start to get good. But that's why you better love it. And that's the same as sport. You can, you can try and for 20 years to get into ifl time and the first day you go out, they get knocked to the ground and I can snap your Achilles and you're off the field again for free. You know? It's not it's if you're looking for stability, maybe drive through the town of entertainment and keep going to
21:21
probably Korea. If you drive a truck in entertainment, you will get mentioned in your speech.
21:30
From a transport logistics,
21:34
I think, yeah, you know, speaking with lots of people and hearing different stories, there's always the part of the story that is the pain. So you mentioned an artist and it could be the point where they're feeling so much pain about not having achieved or lift their little studio, and that's when it starts to turn in your career. I mean, has that have you felt that have you felt like, Oh, this isn't going anywhere? And I've been in that moment where you found the gold, which is very annoying because it's painful, right?
22:04
Yeah. Well, I was, I was 36 until I had the thing that people remembered me for so and I've been trying, you know, every week before that. So, you know, I started performing at eight, actually it was quarter past eight
22:21
it's a very big
22:25
so the around about eight was when I actually started performing and it took me you know, till I was 36 until it until people started to let us see it until I was considered an actor or even remotely considered an actor. But that's why I did amateur theatre for 13 years and sang in bands and did stand up and all that kind of stuff. And it warm up for TV stations. The thing is, you have to love it. You really do like racing car drivers, you know, again, always got a sport. I mean, they love driving a car, they you know, their dream is to do their hobby, professionally and if people are going inactive just to get back to the cracking It's gonna be a hard journey but standing up in front of an audience and getting paid or not getting paid you enjoy it the same I've I love doing amateur theatre I loved it and and don't have more fun now being paid to do it so you're right it did was there a moment there's not a singular moment but there was a brilliant moments when you're like, Man, I wish I could do this full time and you know, I still watch you know, I still want to be able to go on the don't wine show and it's like, keyed in and think, gosh, you know, wish I was able to go and hide satellite, you know, watch Shane Bourne and Omari field a bloody boring field and shine boom. And just think I you know, imagine if I could get to the point that I could go on TV and tell jokes. How cool would that be? You know, so there's it was it was just a collection of a million moments of wanting to keep doing whatever it took to get there. But I have always said you have to love the journey. If you're only focused on the destination. Yeah, you know, it on applying guy to a holiday if you're going to Paris for holiday, I mean everyone's excited the hallway on that flight just have a champagne and all the stretch would chill we go to Paris because they're excited about what might be so I always say if you can enjoy that time on the plane as well as when you get to Paris, you got to enjoy two more days for two week holiday, you know, so you got to enjoy the process. I think
24:20
you're a redhead. Shane Holden obviously announced the big news of shutting the doors is at the end of the year or Wednesday actually officially happening.
24:30
Well, it's kind of been happening for years depending on how you feel about it. So the name Holden will cease to exist as a badge But as you know, they stopped manufacturing Holden's A while ago you know, it's been over a year. So for diehard fans. So for anyone who doesn't care about my ring, I've always go to music for this one is my analogy or sport. So yes, they have a manufacturing wisdom Bulldog jumpers for a while but the team hasn't run out on the field for over a year and a half. with you as a home analogy, but I've always said to people who don't get what modern fans are so you know kind of devastated if you will, because it is it is devastation for motoring fans that Imagine if we got, you know, one music fans one day when the last Beatle has passed away and you realise even go and listen to their old albums but you can never see them or hear them again. That's it and imagine for football fans if they said you can still run around and a jumper that you purchased for you know Collingwood five years ago but the team doesn't exist anymore. They're making pneumonia jumpers and you can never see a new Collingwood same walk out on the field like they would go all so that's what happened. Yes, Holden's is still on the road. And I've got quite a quite a few of ones I click cause. Having said that, I've been blind for the collapse of home because my wife as a surprise to my 50 have brought me I said the feline 500 which was a car that turned 50 this year with as do I Except for that I've always loved and she purchased me that as a surprise, and it got delivered another week and a half later, Haldeman announced they would no longer gonna make it will no longer exist and my friends said you brought one Ford
26:18
onto blind apparently, that's a monster.
26:21
What what sort of cause like so first of all, I won't know what cause you have but second of all, then what licences you have because I remember chatting to a name and you named all the different types of licences you have.
26:34
A very good memory just is the problem when you've got friends like Joshua, remember everything you say? I want what this what we're talking about stuff that that you remember that people say Do you remember where I buried that body from that night?
26:46
Yeah, I think it was. It was under the Westgate wasn't it? Yeah.
26:53
It's In fact, it's on my radar.
26:56
So licences so I've got a motorbike I've got car. I've got bass. I've got semi licence. So that's your drive heavy rigid and articulated. semies forklift scissor lift, boom lift jetski Bart, see this thing? Yeah.
27:16
And then you've also got your pyrotechnics licence.
27:21
I had the ability to blow things up which the licencing is a separate part of
27:29
what is the permission to do so I'm one has a passion to want to blow things up. Yeah, so I did that. I had that for a while and that's probably laps now the par stuff, but I can see I've got a h Holden was always been my my dream car. So I'm going to 19 6040 h home. I did a film with Paul Hogan, called chalian boots and in that film was a haich j Kingswood that I purchased after we finished filming that so that's been restored and lives at the whole Museum in a Chica
27:58
HQ. It's been restored
28:01
And I've got a Morris 1100 which is for my wife it's been restored America said they fail I'm and then I've got my daily draws in a Toyota Land Cruiser you just because you got to have a Land Cruiser you
28:17
katha are actual actually functional. Maybe you might have an insight but I used to live in shepparton and you drive you know through the sort of country towns you know around and it's it almost came hand in hand to have a paddock and a fuckload of cars that are broken and in the paddock for one What are they doing there and why people you know why people getting so many broken cars in the paddock
28:42
that I'm with you. It doesn't quite make sense. All of mine do run and as soon as like, as soon as I get them. It'd be like having a fridge full of food and not eating it. I get it. Yeah, everything comes back eventually to a food analogy you'll find I give up on sport and I always end up back at food. In a model word, a lot of people used to do it because they get them because you know, they don't have to fix that car one day, and then that would cost money so they wouldn't do it. Then someone else had got this other car and get for 300 bucks and you go, yeah, I'll grab that. fix that one day. They just don't some people do it because they want to keep them for parts. I'm partly guilty every time offers me anytime someone offers me a part of something. That's a car that I've got, you can't help it go. Maybe I do need a spare set of rims. And you think at the point you've damaged all four of your rims, you've probably written the car off, you've probably done so if I took you to a petty petty boss, I've actually also got a vs Commodore you vi that I have as a rally car so that I do have a few spare bits for that because that that's probably going to go wrong because I do a bit of rallying as well and that going through trees tends to go bad at some point.
29:49
Do you think that I was gonna say today,
29:53
have you still got your bath, the big bass,
29:55
I do drive.
29:57
I do have I do have a bus which is a No one
30:03
ever heard of us? Yeah, I've got now got four tracks. So that's
30:07
Yeah, that's getting four tracks and four refrigerated delivery vans. What was the thinking behind the trucks quickly? Like are you someone to buy the tracks and then work out the business model or did you have the business model first?
30:20
Yes and no. So yes to half of that. And so the other half being that I had I have it I have a company called film trucks Australia. So it's a big commercial kitchen in the back of a truck that does catering for film and TV. So you know, things like neighbours and things like that and even even down to feeding Katy Perry's crew when she played a Brighton truck was used to shift for elton john used to cook for him and then the crew for Quane within fit by my truck. So it turns up to locations with this huge big kitchen in the back of it. And then I have a green room truck which is actors can use that to sit in an As a toilet in the shower and a caption a little distinctly in the radio scripts on and stuff, so I had those two tracks and then when Coronavirus hit I had I have a mate Dave Pittman who has a trucking company and we had to he has quite a few trucks but we had two trucks sitting there that we were going to sell or convert into maybe green rooms or something else. And then when kuranda barks he realised rather than change them they are load carrying tractive 26 and a half tonne 16 pellet tall liners Liga so um, so we we've got those on the road now and that beats the so the other bits were have an idea and then bought the trucks and now with those other trucks I've got those just got them registered in the last few weeks and then we're now trying to build expand a business with them. So half of them had a plan and the other one so one was the was the chicken first and the other one was the egg for this
31:52
one. I mean it sounds pretty entrepreneurial in terms of business sense. How have you taken a an entrepreneurial business approach to your career in entertainment.
32:04
I, I probably always have one thing I've known, I've been lucky to have a brother and still have a brother who's you know, a director. He's a writer, he's a producer. So I've always known that entertainment is an industry. And the one thing that I've also always known is that it's called show business. And business is a far bigger word than short. Because shows will show but business is what will kind of help you in the end, I think. So. I've always liked so I produce as well, which I get a kick out of I, I've always liked the running of an event. So I used to be an event manager as well. And I did site management for you too, and used to build events. So it's to design the lighting sound security plans is to come up with security plans for security companies for at a major event and then design the study. And the pair and pair distribution and all that kind of stuff. And I've always loved that I love that, you know, I love you know, it's kind of if you like Lego, it's kind of an extension of that in my mind, like building big events and then packing them up. So I've always loved the back end of both sides of the lens and both sides of the curtain. And I've been a venue manager in the Pele theatre, I was the house tech there and and that's where I learned all my lighting and sound skills. So I've loved the building of something. The putting it together and pulling it apart. So So does that make me entrepreneurial? I don't know. But I've always known the business side of the understanding, truly understanding if you're going to get a contract. To read as an actor, it's nice to know what that contract means. And when I turn up, the thing that you know if anyone listening to this, and watching this has something to take away from this, I'll tell you something I figured out a really long while ago, which was that people are so interested to tell you what they know. If they're a mechanic and you got half a dozen engine work, if you meet anyone, when you go to a wedding or Mike's place or you know, a friend of yours has a new boyfriend or girlfriend or a new partner, and and you go, what do you do? And they go on mechanic, if you say to them, how does an engine work? They'll tell you because they're about they'll be really happy to share their knowledge. And honestly, I think eight out of 10 people would do it in the olden days, you know, and in some ways people might get you know, might go if you saw my girl My telling you that oh w stupid but honestly, I reckon it's worth continuing to ask those questions. Because if you go to a lot and you're in a theatre, if you're if you're in a theatre as an actor, and you stand beside one of the lighting crew and go, what does that light do? They'll tell you, they will tell you and I spent years driving people mad with questions and in the end, I became a lighting designer, and that was I knew there's no cause for it. In fact, in the end, I became a lecturer at the university for a short stint on entertainment logic, and then I'd never done a course myself. I'm standing lecturing. But it was because I just asked so many questions. You know, Peter Brock didn't go to race driver school. He just drove a car ran a paddock and asked people questions about cars and learned on the fly until he got great at it.
35:11
What's a new skill that you've picked up recently, Shane?
35:16
What's a new skill? Oh, well, this last week, we planted a veggie garden. So me and my wife have been online and looking at when you plant certain vegetables, and so I've built a rather large veggie garden. So I'm now finding out about that and they're supposed to build a net over them so that the birds don't get to them. But what they hadn't told warned us about is maybe one of our three dogs might find the veggie garden interesting.
35:45
Maybe bigger than the birds
35:47
just sitting in digging.
35:49
Knowing what because we put the this thing called three way mix which is a really good soil mixer, which it has some a newer in it. Not mine yet, but someone's But I imagine it's animals um and and of course the smell was pretty enticing to air we've got we always have I don't know why we have to have a lot of dogs we got you know, three dogs and youngest dog which is only a pup a tiny bit three months old just went Wow That smells amazing we turned around and he was running all over the thing and the digging because it smelt like there was something alive in there but there wasn't there was dead humans or dead animal species
36:30
we learned the other day that potatoes come as a potato in the plant that potato we know that sales have you got your potatoes yet? We've got the potatoes. We haven't planted them yet. No. Okay,
36:42
so why eventually
36:44
Well, we get to fill the planter boxes up so we we get to buy heaps of soil.
36:48
It takes a lot of So did they just look like potatoes then? Yeah. Okay, Shane. Did you plant entitles? Yeah.
36:55
No, because I think you see to this new newly acquired skill. I think you've got to wait and see November I think is the best time and they say I think it's the after the Melbourne Cup they reckon is a good time to do potatoes but yeah you do what you got to do with the potatoes when they go old you'll see they start to sprout, you know, a little grainy bit will poke at the top and that's the point when you go wow, that potatoes to be the old I should throw that away well you can throw it away or you plant that potato you can do is you can cut them up into if there's a few spreads coming out you can actually sort of cut them as long as it's got a bit of a sprout and plant those and yes, they will grow into potatoes. What
37:30
went wrong? What did you end up like? What did the dog actually ruin the whole thing here?
37:35
What is
37:37
the winner growing a dissatisfied family and a really happy dog?
37:46
No, we're good. It didn't destroy everything.
37:50
So we've got we've got carrots, we've got beetroot, we've got onion, we've got garlic, we have broccoli,
37:59
we have
38:01
Silver bait. We have caused lettuce we have a sorted lettuce. Yeah, it's a bit there. And we've got a Sony Bravia because I just realised you just shove stuff in the ground and whatever you put in there multiples come out and I had an old TV. So I've shoved that in the ground and I don't know, hopefully, that will come
38:25
for TVs,
38:27
maybe a 4k, yeah, we tend to put water on it.
38:32
or what have you learned in this time? I mean, there's more downtime than most have. I know you sort of get to work when there's nothing to do but through anything you've sort of realised or focused on or having more downtime that's forced upon you.
38:47
The absolute silver lining of this is I've got children and, and I'm fortunate enough to still be with a woman that I am madly in love with so I get to be At home with my best mate who happens to me my wife and my kids. So homeschooling you know I love those jokes going around at the moment that if homeschooling continues, they're pretty sure a parent will find the cure for Coronavirus before the site is due just to get the kids back to school but I'm having a chance to be at home with the kids every single day we've ever used to. We can't I'm lucky to be on property we've got six acres up in the mess of the Rangers so we you know like big fires we do marshmallows. I've set up tents we camped out for Easter. You know they've we've planted the veggie garden together and just we like fires every night but either outside or inside last night. We had to catch the media or share and because I'm not on at airports or on planes anywhere near as much as I'm normally we sit outside last night I made them cups of peppermint tea and we sat on the back steps and looked at the sky for you know an hour and stuff like that that you don't normally get to do so. What I love about it is it has reset But I'm not taking away from the fact that there are a lot of people suffering terribly during this time. But the but what we're discussing is what is the good for me that has come out of it. As you said, I'm just making sure that, you know, I'd hate to think there's people listening to this game. Well, that all sounds great. But my last kind of shift, which is short is for so many families. But again, going back to the silver linings just being told I have to stay at home with my wife and children. means I'm doing that and that being unloving, and my kids have, you know, every night we joke, God, it's nearly every night I do kids, when you wake up in the morning, I won't be here. I've got to go to the airport and I'm flying to Sydney and I'll be gone for a week Am I go? You know, because they've heard that, like so many times, I won't be here. When you get here in the morning. I'll be gone for a few days, but I'll be back on Friday night. And we joke about it now. I keep saying it and they wait for me to finish and go now. You'll be here you know, so for us, it's that nobody's never gonna wear off so that that's My takeaways and I were filming my kids say I'm doing a little doc over and family to document what they're doing during ISO so that when they're older they can show their kids you know, I'm hoping they'll think it was a special time but it is for me and my wife it is and we hope it is our kids
41:14
because you you travel more than anyone I think I know like the how many like in a single year do you know how many kilometres you're flying?
41:25
I don't know how many kilometres last year I did last year last year I did over 200 flights and I'm you know we've caught us have made something like three and a half or 4 million frequent flyer points or something and everyone goes that sounds great it's like no because I'm stuck on those points to do it. You know on you know on Platinum with both airlines have been so yeah I no idea I did over 200 flights last year. So yeah, I've got you know got if you name the hotels if you name a if you name a state or city, I can tell you that hotels and we To the best rooms just to buy, you know, I've got, I've got in Sydney, I've got certain venues where I say can I can offer him five by five, please because it's the better room. I know, because I've stayed in half the rooms, a lot of actors are the same. And there's a lot of people the same, but I do because of my type of work that I'm not on a network every single night. I do fly, you know, quite often, you know, three states a week, you know,
42:22
do you think it'll be hard getting back to that normal? Or do you think that all this calibration has maybe changed what you're gonna do forever?
42:31
I don't know. You know, I might have said it best when he said there's two kinds of people in the world at the moment. There's those who don't know what the world would look like after Coronavirus and then there are those who are lies. It's no one knows. I mean, we've not done this. We've not done this in a modern in a modern era. We've not had Coronavirus, the 2020 before. So I don't know what it'll look like I think I'm gonna it's gonna be harder for me to leave the house. It's been getting hotter anyway, because The older kids get, you know, the more you're aware that they get on so quick it's, it's, you know, it's a cliche and as we know cliche means it's something that has been proven to be right every single time throughout history. So I've always known that they do grow up quick, but I will find it harder to leave because I'm loving. You know, I was helping them school and read books with them every day and yeah, we breakfast every morning together every morning we get together and we all have breakfast and every night we sit down have dinner together. You know, we got a lot watching time ish with Lego masters the moment and the kids are loving that and we sit down and you know, we're gonna schedule you know, of what we do as a family. So yeah, that that will be hard to walk away from it.
43:45
Yeah,
43:45
I'm having some momentum within a career. Can you know it? I don't know if it's just like the thought that you have the momentum or if it's a real thing, wherever you placed momentum within your life and and I guess this is the moment where Momentum is slowing based on something being forced like this.
44:05
That's the only reason it is guilt free for me is because I'm being told to stay at home. I don't, I've still got bills to pay. And everyone's life is different I've through circumstance I haven't got all the money I've made. So I still have debts to pay. I've got a full time staff that worked for me within my businesses. So there's reasons why I've always sort of tried to keep moving forward. But I've always felt like I'm supposed to go and achieve more and and don't be wrong if I once I've got you know what I need to survive I'm more than happy to stop and I probably will allow a really come back off the throttle so to speak. But there's this main reason there's main reasons in life, you know, I've been through a breakup and things like that where you go, Okay, well, you know, your things get separated, we start again. So, I've had, I've been through all that. And, but I, the thing that so normally I do wake up with a sense that I should be achieving something I can't, I'm trying to shape that I spent a life trying to build, you know, boy from the western suburbs trying to make a career and you can't help it go, I should do that because that would be good that might lead to this and I should go and wait for that guy just to prove myself to him. And I always try and deliver on every promise I that's my dead, set that up pretty early that your word is your bond and without, again, nothing that you sacrifice, nothing to erase or damage the reputation of the family, which is where do we say we have to we got to do what we promised, you know, pretty much at all costs. So I have now it's guilt free that I have stopped momentum because I didn't stop it. So it's funny. It's a weird thing. But every other time if it's someone because we've got a job for you and anyone that's been in entertainment work from nothing To where we are, comedians have very, very guilty of this wonderful thing which is a work ethic you know, I don't got the gig back because next week because I'm, I'm currently unemployed I mean, this is, you know, this part this feeling of being unemployed is not a stranger to any person in entertainment. It's, it's terrible, the industry and stock we've lost our ability to to that there's not opportunity there. But the feeling of going I don't have a gig. It's permanent every time we finish a show. That's it, the contracts done what we lose their job 40 times a year. So but this time, I I'm not allowed to try and find work for myself in the next few months so that I have guilt free momentum loss, but as soon as the shackles come off, as some people are allowed to go out and dreads you can guarantee I'll put fuel in the current floor.
46:51
It feels like your generation was very much like the men don't cry, you know, mental health insane. Like it was a huge thing in 2020 How much have you evolved in regards to how you view things like your mental health?
47:08
Yeah, it's, it's it is very different. It's, um, I mean, everyone's heard this said a million different ways and a million times, but that the world is, is more complicated to navigate. Whenever someone says the good old days, I think sometimes that means simpler, simpler times. Also, good old days, we all know what you know, between sort of, you know, for a lot of people for people fortunate enough to have lived an enjoyable life, you know, sort of that that 14 to 20 i 26 year old period is just awesome, no matter what you're doing for a lot of people who are blessed with an up with a good life. But he looked at mental health thing, especially if it's like a, you know, a part of many organisations who, who work in that area and, and it's like I said, life is just sound more complicated now there are there are more schedules there are more things I if anything good comes out of anything good comes out of Coronavirus. The one thing I, I'm hoping it is is that it's back to basics, which is food, water, shelter, and the love and comfort of those around you be that family, friends or otherwise. So I'm kind of hoping that resets that I think it's gonna make it tougher for many, many, many people not once in the joyful situation that I am to be in a family that they adore. Not everyone has that comfort. But I do think the 2020 How much have I changed and evolved a lot. I've had a lot of friends. Entertainment, unfortunately has the highest suicide rate by three of any other industry on the planet. So the horrible stats that I know, unfortunately, too well, so I've had to say goodbye to a lot of mates who've taken their lives in at a time and so it's not it's not a fad. It's not a phase. It's just the world is different now and as I said it's harder to navigate. So This ru ik is so so so important and now with Coronavirus Ma'am, I can we know the answer to this. There's a lot of people who are not okay, so that's changed I was from a generation or like come on, obligated to get on with it. And it was, you know, sensors like and I was raised by them, it doesn't matter if you get punched out, my dad was a boxing trainer at boxing, I was a sparring partner for 13 years. And the thing was, it doesn't matter if you get punched out, what you get judged by is how quick you get off the cameras. So that was that was the expression which which kind of means Chin up, get up and get on with it. But not everyone can do that. Not everyone has the ability to do that. And, and I think my parents generation, I've had to talk to quite a few people, that sort of generation above me or one or two above me that God tab on can't be that bad. Just get on with it. They don't understand that it's not a choice. That depression is not a choice. It's I can't choose my height. And people can't choose whether they do or are not depressed, they can try their best to try and navigate their way out of it. But that's what depression is someone who can't find a way of navigating the way I am. I need help. And that and the first port of call for that is France.
50:16
Do you think that, like the entertainment industry, there's a lot of pain in the process of achieving? Do you think people are drawn to the statistic around people taking their lives and the types of people that get involved in doing this? You know, are you seeing a similarity in the types of humans that are involved in the entertainment industry, and sort of that connection to mental health? You know, it's like, Robin Williams, one of those people on earth, and one of the people that struggled the most on Earth, you know?
50:48
Yeah. Oh, yeah. I've watched about three projects with him in just the last week. He was, uh, he was he was, you know, an idol of mine without doubt. And you know, I remember exactly Luck gonna have exactly what it wants when I heard that he was gone. The to answer your question i i think we are emotional beings people in the arts tend to be because out of any kind is emoting. And you know, even if it's painting, it's expressing yourself. There's also it is a long road, there is a lot of addiction anytime and if anyone if you imagine a builder on a work star, if you're an actor and you do a performance, you're going to place a lot of people but you are going to annoy a percentage of the audience just facts, just stats and social media they've got access to so you can give the performance your life and pour your heart into her and a rather large number of people are going to rip into you. And I don't and that can be hard and that can take a toll on people and as you heard me say there's a there's a long period of time where I start with Josh said you know, is there any security in this I'm like no. And and I'm permanently unemployed and you know, some of that comes at a at a toll it does more than just sits in the back of your mind? It actually infiltrates your entire brain space and your whole body. But I'm not sure if people would know an analogy I have and it might sound unfair but imagine if you're a builder and when you're building that house or when you finish building it and you stand in front of you go there you go, I build it. If 100,000 cars drive cost while you're staying they very quickly get on my nice house, good house, love the house good has that shit. You call that a house? Well, I could build better than that. You're the worst I've ever seen. My might record your alengka piece off might do another job. Imagine if faders all of a sudden went What the hell is going on and you go that's these all these things driving past and people yelling out the window. That's the social media analogy of what happens when you do performance. So that can come at a top because people are so vocal and for whatever reason I don't know what are these but it's because we you know, we put yourself out there but once you finished your performance, people and now it does tend to come With a lot of anger it's like How dare you give that performance on the channel that I could turn off with a click of a button it's like you've turned up in their house and insisted they sit down and watch your performance I paid some some people no one get really involved with it Top Gear man I I can't even say that I got off really lightly people for the most part liked it but when I did talk to you, I can't even tell you some of the things I just can't say the words on the show or any show really. I think even in a bikers damn they probably got do back off on the language. I just can't tell you some of the stuff I had said about it because people didn't watch for what I look like in a car they walking on different worlds. Yeah, look
53:46
at Shane. I want to take this time when you played Mackey in the Bourne Legacy when I favourite franchises. One of my favourite characters not absolutely, absolutely not as I was blown away when I saw you in there, and I was like made, you have nailed, nailed it.
54:03
Of not many. This is my favourite story about Bourne Legacy. So for those listening who don't know, I played a very small role in one of the Bourne movies. That was the one with Jeremy Renner, Bourne Legacy. Anyway I am. I was going through an airport once and this guy and a girl, boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, whatever they were, well worked out to me. And the guy said, Oh, you're a guy. You're a guy. I said, Yeah, I'm a guy. And he goes, now you would you in that in the end it the girl was staring out, she had no idea who I was. I could see that clearly. And then he goes, you were you in that thing during that thing? And I'm like, because I just thought, you know, if someone goes, Hey, you look for me. I never go. That's because I'm Shane Davidson, or do I know you from somewhere? You know, I usually say Australia's most modern. There's no way you go. Or if they go You look a lot like that guy, Shane Jacobson. I don't go well. That's because I am. It's just I think I'm gonna get struck by lightning. So let's Something goes wrong if somebody, if I don't ask the right question, I just go well, you know, I get an idea. You look a lot like that guy that Kenny I go, I get that a lot. Because otherwise I've got I'm almost turning them around to go, Hey, stop. Don't you realise I am that guy? Like So anyway, I saw I must have helped them too much unless they know who I am. Because there's otherwise it feels a bit braggy. But he goes, you're in that thing. You're in that thing. I suggest obtaining some things. I've been in cars and cabs and been in depth and in lots of things. And he has not you during that during that, you know, born film. And when he said the boardroom, his wife or girlfriend had this look on her face like she'd been asked to like just ate a hat. I don't know what happened. Like the back of a footballer after her grandfather was sorry. She had this weird face and he goes not the one with Matt Damon, who was it? I said, Jeremy Renner and he's girlfriend her wife goes, Oh, Bourne film. I thought she said
56:07
It is still my favourite day on earth that some woman thought I was in a porn film.
56:20
The whole thing if you're someone I think that's humble, the being known for something so say Kenny, for instance, you would be cold out as Kenny I'm sure still today. Yeah. Do you just do you just reconcile it How has it changed over the last you know, 1515 years, your relationship with all
56:42
the people call me Kenny all the time all the time and I've always said my brother have always said it is so much better to be remembered for something you've done then forgotten for everything you've tried. And that is we will never turn it back. I do get a bit disappointed. if you will. Want a bit of terms, when I hear actors kind of turn their back on all that old thing, God, you know, because when they did it, it would have meant the world to them and they and my brother and their family when we're making Kenny, we we wouldn't give it. We just wanted some people to see it and for them to enjoy it. And we poured our heart into that. My brother worked tirelessly for two years and I toured for seven months in character, hoping that an audience would get to see this film we've made and just hoping they think it was okay. And it went really well. And we are never going to forget how much we wanted that to work and then how much people enjoyed it like that's fantastic. You know, if everything stopped after that, that still would have been enough so it's funny when people go Ghana will talk you know people yellow cars and you know, it still happens everywhere I go. Some people think my name is Kenny I my favourite is when they abbreviate it as like a question for you, Mike.
57:54
I get this stuff all the time and I go with so many people
58:06
Do you notice like if you go to an IGA Are you known as the IGA guy? Do you have to serve people today? Do they think at the store manager?
58:13
No, it's just kind of look at that Kenny's in IGA
58:20
looks a lot like the guy from the ArcGIS
58:26
it's Kenny na ga
58:26
the one from the porn film.
58:32
Kenny's revenge coming from the wrong end
58:37
would be expected on the show before there is a bunch of parodies on porn parodies and I feel like Kenny they could be a good one.
58:47
Have you gone through the names of the porn parodies,
58:51
saving saving Ryan's privates.
58:57
The Australian film industry in general Had it like as someone who was focused on the business side of things and having an understanding of business, the Australian film industry I guess gets a lot of knocks of not being up to scratch what's your perspective having been in there?
59:13
So we are we are we punch so far by their weight and I'll tell you why. Veera are thousands and thousands and thousands of films made a year in America. And only a few get to cinemas for people to see Australia don't make thousands and thousands of films, we'd be lucky to make 100 hundreds of them a year and so many of them are good enough to watch. And we do it we have a really small population they want to go to the main times or fast track and we don't have a big population so we can't feel as soon as like they came in America. And the other product we make is fantastic. Look at how many Australians look at per capita, how many Australians I hit in Hollywood, so act as a fantastic technicians. Ah, I know people say it and when you hear it at work a lot of us What have you Gotta just sign that I actually will class they are. But we, we just and there's good reasons for it because in Australia in America, you tend to focus on one particular thing and there's reasons for it, there's there's unions that that protect each person's job and, and that would be required in a big population like that. But in Australia if one gets on with it, so, and I'm not saying which one is better or worse, I'm not judging either for either. However, the upside is on a job in Australia, you know, people tend to know more about the art of filmmaking. So you know, me and my brother can pull together two or three people and with me and him we can come together and make a movie. I mean, we do Kenny was made with about three of us so so we can, we can have all that skills and you know, my brother is literally between me and my brother. We could pull together four or five people and make a movie. So there's that. But look, it is. It's a it's a very tough industry. I've always said getting a film up in Australia is like trying to rise the Titanic on a map full of aim, films are incredibly when someone goes, Hey, I've got a great idea for a film, I go, Hey, we got hundreds of we just can't get it up, you can't get them to screen. So it's an incredibly hard industry. And on average, if people want to know, on average to get a movie, from an idea to on a screen is pretty fun. The most part is their stories where it's been less, but for the most part, it will be eight years. So if someone goes, I've got this idea for a movie. From that point, if they run the normal course that it would take. They're eight years away from ever being on the screen. So when someone says, I want to sit down a little aside from movie we should make I go, are you ready to dedicate the next eight years of your life to it and just say no, there is no guarantee whatsoever that it will get made. It is
1:01:49
exciting, Kenny.
In terms like I see you and your brother. It's almost like the The big YouTubers that are just getting the camera they're making it happen they're doing all the bits. It's like you got those films made back in the day. And is there a difference now in terms of getting something made I know you said AI is but is there you know the times different cameras are cheaper things are more accessible. There's more more content needing to be made for Netflix and streaming services. Are you actually once you get the green light is a film being done quicker than it was say 1520 years ago? Or 10 years ago?
1:02:31
Yeah, so film and content will separate those because there's TV that can happen fast turnaround and you guys I mean, you know Josh, Josh can go out with all the gear he's gotten all his knowledge and shoot something and have it have it on air in a week you know. So content is still King this thing here that their content is king. Because we're all walking around with televisions in our hands now that never happened 40 years ago. You know, on the average family had one TV in the house if they had one when I was kid you I have one and now as we know every pocket, you know, what is one out of four pockets on your jeans as a as a viewing device in it and then you walk home and there's 14 days and three computers and five iPads.
1:03:12
And so I've got about 10 screens.
1:03:16
He's not joking.
1:03:21
So content is still King. So you're right, it has changed from the point of view that content can get made faster now, but if someone wants to make a traditional, let's just call it for now a traditional movie so you know, you know it's a three x story, a start middle and an end, proper movie, what's called an hour and a half with you know, big scenes everything else that if you go you want to make one that is going to get shown in a cinema. Having said that, now Netflix is you know, in MX movies, they can do it fast a bit. But the difference with Netflix is they are they funding and my other distributor and the producers have their own products my thing they go, we're doing this so they they can get it up quicker. Whereas what traditionally used to happen, was a filmmaker or a writer would come up with a great script and then write it and then they got to find a director and you got to find the actors. So that and then it's got to be rewritten and rewritten everyone that gets involved that brings money in has a say over the script. And then the world changes. They want to change the plot and then they go actually, that actor doesn't want to play it. We've actually got this actor be better if we change the characteristics of that actor, or that their character so that model will take on average IPS. I did a film called us oddball. That was seven after I walked on set for that start filming that when I first got handed that script was seven years before that. So the script was already finished. out It took seven years from that
1:04:43
lady's like brothers brothers nest, like you're the farm egg with clay is it Was that it? Was that a different process?
1:04:52
very different, but that's my brother who's afraid, who wanted to make another film and in the end had a lot of a lot of delays. Distribute is coming on board people not not quite knowing whether the audience was for or how to get it funded. And we couldn't get funding for it. And in the end, my brother said, the only way to make something happen is to give yourself a deadline. And I'm not saying this will work for everyone, but he's a bit of a freak like this. And you know, there's bit of advantage that he's a director, and our friend wrote the script and my brother and he worked on it. And then me and clay, were going to executive produce it. We had producers and all that sort of stuff. And we knew the crew we wanted. And so we made sure the script was a one location script. And my brother rang and I said, When have you got four weeks you can give me and so we, it was 12 months out before I had a four week period that I could walk out and go, I can give you four weeks here. And he rang his producer, Jason Byrne and said we are filming in 12 months time and here's the start date. And cleitus decided to work back from the date but you that we had a script then that was finished. And we were we had a way of doing that with my brother and me doing it. A few close friends doing a lot of the work. And you know, he got me a lot cheaper than other people get me and all that kind of
1:06:06
stuff. Do you get access to distribution though? Like if you go down that route, you then do you still have the doors open? Or do you have to go through the process?
1:06:15
So we did something or my brother come up with an idea that we've never done before? And I'm not sure it has been done before I did it, which was we actually did. We went around the distributors. Now distributors have been great to us. Over the years without doubt, however, we actually clay come up with an idea for funding and distribution. We went away from distributors. And we went away from the major cinemas, from all the majors and we got independent cinemas to invest in the film. And for that, they got the film to play as often as they want to basically and depending on how much they put in, like we would guarantee a premiere at the cinema where main clay turned up. And so the small independent cinemas invested in the movie. And then they got the movie and I got shouted their sentiments. What it meant was, it could never be a box office smash hit, because it wasn't playing at village. And you know, it wasn't playing at the majors. So you couldn't get go down to you to most local cinema ism, or to most big cinemas and watch it go when you could go to his independence universe and see it. So that was how we did that. And that was see right joshy we went completely around the entire model of how you would make a film and do it that way. And that's how we got along strains in a year.
1:07:34
And see you guys what did you work out success being sort of at the end of that cinema run? What was the idea? And did you make the success that you had in mind?
1:07:45
God, that's a good question. Success, what's the measure of the success in that? So it's a few things because there is that when you get the script, right, and you read it. That's one We're going to call that a milestone and you know my brother and Jamie brand who wrote it my brother worked on it with him you know, you get to that go now that that's ready that's a shooting script now that's not a draft. That's not a first draft the second draft and it can be you know, 1015 by the time you get to the first day of shooting that can be 15 drafts 15 changes and I don't mean just one more I mean major changes and so you get that met for the for the rider and that that's that's that's that's a take you go bang that's that's that's success there we've got a great script and a hand so then you got to get the getting the film funded and getting to the point you go, Okay, we're shooting this thing that is another success because you've now got it. You know, I'll go back to Modi car races. You can have a racecar driver but and these can be a car they but until they get them as a sponsor, that car is not going anywhere near a racetrack. Other than test that's not going to race in anything. So when you get you might just sponsor that's a big bang success. We're making this thing then you shoot the film and when you're finished when you're wrapping up, oh my god, we've just shot a film. Then like our wine has The dual the post production versus the editing and the sound mixing and the grind that can take forever. And when that's finished, and you have your cast and crew straining, your first sort of casting crew or your first audience test training, when you sit there in the audience, then trust me, the director and the writer sit there and the producer with a heart in their mouth, and they wait for the audience to react all the way through. And if the audience behind them reacted the way they hoped they would, or even near and after that, during that screening, then that is a huge success, because they've just had an audience enjoy what they did. So if you wrote a summary, you sat down in a room with five people and sung the song and all five of them cried for about a year out, he would go that is what I wanted. So then you that's a success right there. But then you've got to go for box office success. You got to try and make your money back and you got to try and pay your investors. And so there's that and then once that happens, you want it to be Do you want it to be a box office hit or do you want it to be a critically acclaimed movie, or do you want it to be a cult hit? Or do you want it to be all of them? It's really hard to be all of them there's only one I'm not too many of those that they have this sort of one in 10 10,000 or something. What about the
1:10:14
festival stuff like cuz you did a bit of the festival round with the film as well done
1:10:20
yeah, so so brothers nets got there's a list of one that was in the South by Southwest Film Festival 2018 official selection. So little poster up there. So he got accepted into a whole bunch of film festivals and and applauded it played at South by Southwest I think twice as which was, which was pretty awesome. So then after that, was it a box office success? Nine. No, it wasn't. So you go in a way you go. That's really disappointing. But then you read the write ups about it and they saying it's an awesome film. So You know, one Palmer brothers out there, one of the only people to have had two films, which was between Kenny and brothers nest that both at one point were 100% on Rotten Tomatoes, or 99% or something, which was but I think Kenny was 100 for ages. And then one bad review came out which gave brothers nest a big drop that so that sort of answer question six, the success of that was all of those points when the script was right when he got the thing funded, when we finished shooting it, when we did a Carson film and they loved it. And then and also every time you're in an audience with a ma at the end, they you know, they burst into applause or whatever they do that when it's your own project that that does make you go Oh, that felt good. That felt good like that. That's a payment that's a payment of sorts, you know, is it
1:11:46
unfair to to look at the box office stuff as a success metric. When you look at say brothers nesting clay, designing it in that way, is there still that friction of the old school mindset being applied to this new way of doing things?
1:12:04
It is because the question is,
1:12:07
who should you applaud louder that person with the gold medal around their neck? Or if you found that there was a guy or a girl in Kenya that could run the race two seconds quicker than them? What? Like, who's the winner in that? You know, that's the thing is, is is it? Is it the accolade around it? So yeah, the box office, because here's the thing is, the box office successes aren't the ones that necessarily win the Academy Award. In fact, quite often, that's not the case is, you know, an arthouse film is not going to be it for the most part of box office Smash. So you can have a Ben Stiller film, for instance, that that will just take massive dollars at the box office and everyone's going to enjoy it. But if someone says, so how would you compare that to, you know, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest or something where someone's going to go, we don't compare that it's like how does that compare to the shining, you go out, you can't pay those guys who are not in movies you go. Once a racehorse once a donkey By comparison, you know,
1:13:06
I mean the blessing and the curse is that everyone is a movie critic writer now like I was, I got so annoyed reading all these sort of like people on Facebook. And it was an article posted by just you know, a junk media outlet talking about the Irishman, the Netflix film that was about three hours long. But I mean, these are some of the best actors in the business. And I thought it was amazing. I thought it held my attention for anything that can hold my attention for a long time is, I think, bloody good. And now and they're amazing, but I just found myself getting so annoyed at these people who were just like, slamming it as the as the professional critics themselves. When it is so subjective. Do you think the time of a movie critic is on the way out based on things like Rotten Tomato and, you know, things that actually move the needle in terms of the population That have voted.
1:14:02
Yay the film critic thing you know there's one in particular in Australia who just tends to hype most things he watches and he's probably got the biggest voice in fact, my dad has said that anything that this man hates my dad wants to see cuz he disagreed with him so much. That was what was so great about David and Margaret was they liked such different films. And I thought they were a good fair way of looking at some films not everyone would agree because so Margaret Pomerance loved Kenny and David really didn't like it and we were I mean they were really okay with that it's like that's good that that suggests this is for gonna be great for some people and not for everyone else. And but you do question about film critic sees so some of the some of the stuff I've had said about films I've seen is some of memes they even carry play a game of what's the worst thing that's been said about you, or about a film you've been in. So one was the search for The second worst film of the year.
1:15:08
Second would be this film. The plot in this film is like a fight in an elevator searching for a nose.
1:15:21
I've got I've got films that when you're shooting me go I know the critics who will hate this film. And yet it's exactly what's in this script and we're delivering exactly what this film promises to me. Well, I did a film called the barbecue and I knew it would get slide. So laid by the credits. It's called the barbecue. It's not called frame the enslaved tribes of Judea. It's called the barbecue. If you're going in there expecting to come out there, you know, blown away by you know, the most incredible cloth I mean, stop. Yeah, I've always loved by, by families and children and you know, it's a true story. It's about a chicken farmer who footsies maremma on an on to stop foxes killing penguins. That's the story that's eat. And guess what it works everyone thought it wouldn't work in a deed as a story as a plot, but you know what that you know? And if you notice the shortest, you know the shortest Hollywood pitch in history and apparently this is a true story. I can't confirm it, but apparently it is. Do you know the shortest Hollywood pitch ever? A guy walked into one of the heads of one of the major studios and said out of Swartz negar Danny DeVito twins and my Wait, we fucking love it. Ah, that's not a plot. That's not anything. But it's no it's gonna work on a poster. It's got Danny DeVito you look at the poster and go outsourcing. Danny DeVito twins. That's funny. I'm gonna watch it.
1:16:46
So and that they were the highest grossing films, wasn't it? He got like $20 million on a back end deal. Arnold Schwarzenegger. I heard he made this. Yeah, he's highest grossing film in the early
1:16:59
snakes. on applying
1:17:03
you think they made that fulfil critics
1:17:08
shine. I always love chatting. I, I always feel calm after we chat. But also, I want to say thank you because when I was, you know 19 or 20 years old, I knew no one in the industry. I did some social media for chalian boots and then we start working together. I just felt like you were the the biggest celebrator of what I was doing, but then also, I'm never going to forget the low GIS when I was there behind the camera. Shane walks in he's on the red carpet pushes all the celebrities to the side. Yeah, Josh, he gives me a big hug. And yeah, I appreciate all the support over the years.
1:17:49
Mike, thank you but you deserve every bit of it. You are well there's the fact that I think I was obsessed with you but there's that but anyway everyone I even know that gets Anyway, I need Josh, I always got he's the nicest guy so incredibly capable, like, you know, I mourn the day that you started getting so busy and everyone fed and how good you are that I kind of I had more access to you and then everyone like, you know, at the same time I English and everyone's like, oh my god so amazing and like we're all saying the same thing. Oh my God just is awesome. He's like he is the nicest man on the planet, and then you're more than capable of everything you do. And then my greatest dissatisfaction was watching you succeed where you became less and less available. Fine. She came on the show just to say go to hell. Yeah, just
1:18:36
social media for a bit. I mean, Shane, you
1:18:39
told your brother you needed 12 months until he could find four weeks Well, it's taken two years for Josh to find a
1:18:44
spot for you.
1:18:47
sitting in front of this model for 12 months waiting for you to fit me into your goddamn schedule jobs.
1:18:54
It was great chatting.
1:18:56
Thank you and and also you thanks to all of you guys. And thanks for the show you're doing and also thanks to all the wonderful listeners who, who, you know, give a show like this. It's time to get an audience because without an audience kind of we kind of yelling into a shoe box pointlessly but I love the fact that this this kind of realistic format where people are having a proper chat exists. So thanks for listening and thanks to you guys for doing a
1:19:21
bunch of people in the chat to that absolutely loving having Shannon
1:19:25
Shannon said. You're utterly delightful. Shane, what a magic chat. Rory says what a legend just needed this on a Wednesday morning. And Jasmine says well you definitely need a write up autobiography.
1:19:38
Well, you have this is that this is the like, I've got the copy. Of course. love a good love good book. But no, it's I mean you're you're a storyteller. I think that that's the thing like you could just you being around a fire or something like that. That's your like, I feel like you need a podcast as well. I feel like this is your element. You could you You've got stories for days.
1:20:01
Yeah. It's I've been, I've been asked a lot to do them and, and is this one that I'm looking at doing which I just want to do unsung heroes because the Australia is filled with so many stories of we know all the celebrities or celebrities can celebrate it too much. I think and I've always found it amazing that, you know, celebrities get discounts on stuff and single mothers pay full price like it's always confused me. It just should be they should just go Oh, you're an actor. Well, that's 200% more
1:20:30
Coronavirus stuff is changing all that like when we start seeing the essential workers and, and that type of thing that seems to be changing it.
1:20:38
Yeah, I think it'll reset some stuff. And I think some of it does need to be reset, you know, but I really feel like the podcasting. Yeah, this this. It's funny I keep I do love. My dad's a great storyteller. He's the best I'll ever meet. And, and the funniest man I've ever been near, and he's a wreck on tour. You know, that's the old time. He's a great storyteller. And in this time, we're trying to have our smart brothers actually got him He's placed looking after him dead 35 now and so my brother is filming my dad, his entire life story stand every day for about an hour with the cameras on him and has this amazing lighting setup where it's just that's him asleep in the studio, my brothers go to these property and he's filming my whole dad's life his stories and I keep watching him and my wife keep trying, you know, laughing and every other emotion in between. But um, I'd say storytelling is a thing I celebrate. And I do think there are the unsung heroes of Australia you go and get you know, people that work on cattle stations and sit them down and talk to them and they make acid shitless because they are there properly. I thought I saw about this train storyteller, so I'm tempted Josh heavy. You guys can tell me how to do it because Josh, you're the man that used to teach me how to look after my tech before the
1:21:46
show. Your iCloud is all backed up and then have to work out your iCloud password.
1:21:52
Just before you boot me off your show. tell everyone how long it took us to get this shit sorted.
1:21:58
isn't too bad. I was excited. I was I, I was definitely reminding myself of moments. I was like maybe I should have just gone gone there and set it up for you. But it was actually fine. You handled it very well you're you're a bit like me, I feel like we're similar. You You want to get things right. And so
1:22:16
there's the whole he's also a great actor Josh.
1:22:21
Together, but also Shane. I think the other thing too is that spotlight on the stories and exactly what you're doing with the West Gate Bridge story, it's an important story that needs to be told in Australian history. And otherwise, if these stories don't get told they get lost shine just on that I remembered when I was a kid mom told me about the West Gate Bridge falling down and she told me that she worked in the city and she heard it fall down that day.
1:22:47
She could hear from the city it's
1:22:49
it shook Melbourne it um so yeah, that there's some stats around the reason I'm so I'm sure there's people who wrote that thing to the ground survived, but some terrible stairs sounded servers storage. So the men that worked on that bridge had to spend two days helping pull their minds body well bodies or to be big graphic body parts, because a lot of them work and play out of the mud. That was the that is sort of that that part of the banks of the era they and and then as soon as they finish spent, it'll be just wouldn't happen today. You wouldn't have people on a work site where they've just watched it, 35 of their mates die around them, and then stay there for two days actually pulling the bodies out to rescue them. And as soon as I did that, I got one day off, and then they were fired without pay. I just go watch the I yeah, so the West Gate bridge collapse was actually pretty much the start the impetus of WorkSafe. So WorkSafe didn't exist until before that, and that was one of the things that kickstart a worksite you know, even Johnny sanka who's obviously one of the people it's on the front page of the paper a lot. He's the head of the cfmeu. He's a union man and he's a sort of one of those figures that creates controversy. In the papers and in roundtable conversations, he's father worked on that bridge and wrote it to the ground and survived. But what all of these mics die? And I and you know, that's one of the reasons I think why Johnny sick his family is so hell bent on unions and trying to keep a safe workplace now, what are the people think of that I'm not trying to lecture anyone on any part of that, but just fascinatingly, Johnny's sick. His father was one of the men on that region. He wrote it to the ground and survived, but 35 years I've seen and in fact, he was saved by smoking, which is the weirdest story he walked out of the lunch shop there was on top of the bridge, walked out, lit up a smoke and that's why he was on a part of the breach that he still wrote to the ground but he's made for Paris so he was saved by cigarette smoking. So there you go, kids. Not that bad for you.
1:24:45
And so is so Shane, have you got so you've been working on the doc Oh, is it got like a like release date and things like that or what?
1:24:54
Believe it or not, I'm still I'm self funding this is one thing so it all comes easy where we're hoping to get it to Free to wear network. We're talking with networks now. So I still don't have it funded. I've spent quite a lot of my own money on it. Because I promised the families years ago, and just joshy would know this makers you before you deserted me. You went and filmed the memorial service for me a couple of times in your mind. So, you know, how am I being on this? What's the main app for
1:25:23
four or five years, like it's starting to get older. But also the other thing too is these stories if the people who did survive they pass away and things like that, so it is that importance of getting it done. And if we know anything, guys,
1:25:37
eight years, eight years, it takes eight years.
1:25:42
And so and so with the UN post product, like he still filming interviews and stuff like
1:25:48
that, so we finished all the interviews with them, they're all done. And so now we're just gonna wait for the for which network says yes to go ahead because we will then access them archival libraries. And of course it depends on which network you end up with as to what what footage you get access to. To gain to purchase footage, archival footage is quite expensive. So yeah, we want to partner up with a with a network. So I have another company, which is a a documentary making company with myself and a lady called Aria white. And it's called, had to be told productions, so stories that we think have to be told, and we've partnered up with them WTF. And so they do shows like the living room and Bumblebee and all that sort of stuff. So yeah, we've teamed up with them for us to all work on this together. So we've shot the interviews, we've actually just we've just finished editing the sizzle reel this week. And then there's a treatment that's gained all the networks and we hope to have an answer in the next four to six weeks because we wanted on air on in the weekend, preferably on the night of the fifth of October. So it is the actual anniversary that the show is all
1:26:55
great. Awesome. Shane, thanks so much for coming on the show. Can you say hi to Felicia The kids and
1:27:01
we'll go
1:27:03
back to you, what are you going to do now? what's what's, what's your day.
1:27:08
At home, we're doing some more homeschooling. So I'm going to go outside with my wife by now we'll probably have set fire to herself rather than try and teach these kids anymore. I'm going to go ahead so I do a couple of a couple of assignments with the kids. And then I have to go and make some more. Some sand and concrete mix together to put between some papers to finish up a small job. And and we're finishing off our insurance policy for our FTA transport and logistics tracking company. Before I have three zoom meetings, as we know that's the way the world operates now to do some productions and a tour I'm putting together so and I'm gonna have a good night's quiet one. Yeah, I'm gonna have a toasted sandwich in about two minutes.
1:27:53
Yeah, so it's, it's the daily talk show. If you would like to watch live, you can do that@youtube.com COMM Ford slash the daily talk show. This is a podcast as well so you can listen on your favourite podcast app. And otherwise we'll see you at 4pm guys have a good one.
1:28:09
See you guys