Subdivision: subdivide and conquer
A family that writes together, stays together. That was probably what the Bradnams had in mind when they created Subdivision. Miguel Gonzalez reports.
From a script by Queensland mother/husband team Janice Bradnam, Terry McCann and Ashley Bradnam, comes Subdivision, the story of a family – and a community – in the building industry, threatened by the arrival of a large property developer. Ashley Bradnam also plays the lead, the son trying to find his own place in the world.
Bradnam’s previous experience as a writer was a script during his time at university, Itchy Onions, which was optioned but never made. Years went by and his writing/acting career was put on hold, until one fateful day he ran into his own mother and her partner at Robert McKee’s seminar. Janice suggested the three write something together, a story that combined the building industry, Hervey Bay, mateship and rugby league, all of them important elements in their lives.
Produced by Trish Lake and Owen Johnston from Freshwater Pictures, this is in many ways a risky film. Lake had just completed Getting Square when she was approached by the Subdivision team.
“I was the only local who knew about the project, and that was a geographical and cultural advantage, because it’s a strong representation of a particular way of life that might look ‘ocker’, over-the-top on paper, but it’s quite universal,” explains Lake.
A long journey began, but the producer says the introduction of the Producer Offset eventually made the $5.5m film viable to the private investors who contributed half the budget. Director Sue Brooks (Japanese Story) joined the project, which was shot on location in Queensland in 2008.
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While Bradnam believes the core of the story is the father-son dynamic, Brooks says it’s all about the community. According to Brooks, the combination of storylines and balancing comedy and drama was challenging, from the script through to the edit.
“They are new writers embarking on a lot of things, incorporating a large part of their personal lives. There is, however, a strong sense of truth about it,” she said.
Brooks has nothing but words of praise for her lead, who was ready to leave his writing credit behind to deliver an “intuitive” performance, overcoming his initial nervousness. And nerves aside, Bradnam always knew what he wanted; the story was written with the intention of him playing the lead: “I wanted to write something I could act.”
Producer Trish Lake admits that in the beginning, having a then-unknown Bradnam attached to the lead was a liability [“a double handicap” she calls it, referring to her own relative lack of experience and recognition in the industry at the time], but it became a key element during the long development and financing process, while he achieved success in other media. Bradnam has used his own celebrity as a regular on The Footy Show and one of the hosts of Nova 106.9’s successful breakfast radio show in Brisbane to raise awareness of the film. During production, he would even broadcast from the Hervey Bay location.
“I’m using my position, but it’s not only to promote my own film; I want people to get out there and support our film industry. I make sure we get as many local directors and talent on air on Nova; it’s hard enough to get the exposure that you need to give people the confidence to know their $15 will be worth spending.”
Lake adds that Buena Vista wouldn’t have picked the film for distribution without Bradnam: “It was his potential to be a star, and the fact that he’s proven he can reach a broad audience with his radio show.”
Buena Vista’s investment in marketing has been ‘significant’, and the initial Queensland/New South Wales release will be supported by a number of promotional partners, including Nova 106.9, the NRL, Netball Australia, the Housing Industry Association and Flight Centre.
“If we’re all mindful of the difficulties, crowded marketplace, tight money, and the fact that prints are still $3,000 each, we must be as innovative as we can. It’s tough for any home-grown film.
“We’re rolling it out in only two states; it’s too big a country to spread yourself so thinly, particularly for a film that has regional ideas behind it. If you find your broad market, and with good screen averages, other states might follow as you adjust your campaign to suit volume,” Lake explains.
Subdivision will be released on August 20
