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Breath
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| Ivana |
Date: Wednesday, 15-Jul-15, 10:02 AM | Message # 136 |
 Fair Dinkum
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thanks to @finepickle
https://instagram.com/p/5JWSImIxSb/
westernaustralia This superb location will be home to the movie adaptation of WA author Tim Winton's best-selling and award-winning novel, Breath. #Denmark in @australiassw was chosen by Australian actor and director Simon Baker for its "incredible beauty and attachment to nature." Filming is expected to start later this year and will feature the infamous surf break The Right! Photo credit: @gregorsnell. #thisisWA #australiassw #westernaustralia #screenwest #simonbaker
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| Fran |
Date: Thursday, 16-Jul-15, 9:42 AM | Message # 137 |
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Breath excerpts from the ScreenBlog article 'Drawing Breath: Simon Baker on surfing, directing & returning home'
( full article is posted here http://thebakerboy.ucoz.com/forum/2-191-21653-16-1436947283 )
I’ll confess I’m not a big reader of novels as I have to read so many scripts but as soon as I read it I recognised a world I grew up in, where I knew all the characters. I also thought it contained the best descriptions of surfing I had ever read. And what really appealed to me was the bigger theme of identity and where you fit in.
“I wasn’t too sure who I was in my teens, but the beach tribe I hung out with at the beach, helped define who I am now. They had a big hand in raising me. I wasn’t a big risk-taker as a kid. I was more the cautious type, a thinker, a bit like Pikelet. I was at my core, introspective.”
“Like Tim, I’m a country boy. I grew up in an overtly masculine environment. I think we speak a similar language – we’re both pretty direct. We met and there was an immediate ease, but at one point I had to say to him, ‘Mate, no disrespect, but I have to feel free to make Breath mine now’. He was very supportive and encouraging, more than he needed to be. He told me I was brave. That scared me!’
After early drafts by Winton and Peter Duncan (Rake), Baker worked on the script with Gerard Lee (Top of the Lake). “I didn’t know Gerard at all before this but what I liked was the way he captured the kid’s voice in an early draft of My Mistress. He’s not a surfer, so this was quite bold of him to take on. I took him around to some of the places where I lived as a kid, bored him senseless with stories, introduced him to the world in which the film had to exist. He’s a very sensitive and open guy and our collaboration has been real joy.
“It was a challenging story to distill while keeping its essence but I’ll say this: what we’ve done is not literal, but it’s faithful to the spirit of the book.”
Of shooting in WA, Baker says “I love the scale of the place, it’s so massive. I like the idea of telling what is an intimate story against a vast canvas as the boys push their boundaries. As you pull back from Pikelet and Loonie wide to where they are, that should really express his vulnerability and fragility.”
Despite his passion for surfing, Baker is keen to emphasize that Breath is not specifically a surfing movie. It provides us with a dramatic backdrop but the physical element could just as well be any other sport or activity. Although he clearly feels there is a certain poetry in the graceful art of surfing that adds a rich texture to the piece.
Initially, Baker was intending to co-produce with Johnson and Jamie Hilton and to play the charismatic role of Sando, who initiates Pikelet and Loonie into a dangerous adult world they are unprepared for.
“We met with all the hot up-and-coming directors, whether they were working in commercials or film until one day Mark turned to me and said ‘Has it ever occurred to you, that you should direct this film, because you understand it like a director?’ It felt a bit presumptuous of me to ask,” said Baker. “But the thought had been sitting in the back of my mind, and with Mark’s encouragement, I decided to take the leap.”
He acknowledges that readers are often infuriated by Winton’s endings and is playing his cards close to his chest about how the film resolves – although his version has the author’s seal of approval.
“I just got a short email that said: ‘You are on track, now go make it.” |
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| Fran |
Date: Thursday, 16-Jul-15, 9:43 AM | Message # 138 |
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I thought there were several interesting comments in this interview, but these 2 particularly interested me:
Quote “It was a challenging story to distill while keeping its essence but I’ll say this: what we’ve done is not literal, but it’s faithful to the spirit of the book.”
Quote He acknowledges that readers are often infuriated by Winton’s endings and is playing his cards close to his chest about how the film resolves – although his version has the author’s seal of approval.
I've thought quite a lot about how literal Simon's adaptation would be, and what he would change. Because when I read this book I felt that some parts of it wouldn't translate well to the big screen, particularly for an international audience. I think it's an inherent risk with book adaptations, that lovers of the books often feel disappointed with the film, but I feel that movies are a very different medium to books, and so retaining the spirit of the original is what I think is most important.
For me, what's best about Winton's writing is its authenticity, and I'm sure that Simon feels its important to retain that authenticity. But, as a result, I think it makes it difficult to ensure that it resonates with an international audience not just an Australian one. |
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| DS_Pallas |
Date: Thursday, 16-Jul-15, 1:07 PM | Message # 139 |
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Quote Fran (  ) For me, what's best about Winton's writing is its authenticity, and I'm sure that Simon feels its important to retain that authenticity. But, as a result, I think it makes it difficult to ensure that it resonates with an international audience not just an Australian one.
I don't know Fran. I'd like to calm your anxiety here…  I'm not Australian, I've never lived in a small town in a rural environment, I dont know nothing about surf, rough boys etc etc. But it never prevented me from loving the book and the story, as it's about a teenager discovering life, and there's nothing more universal than that.
Everybody experiences this. In different ways of course, but it makes it possible to all of us to understand what happens to the characters.
So I think it can resonate with any audience around the world if it's well written and filmed. The beauty of Western Australia, of the ocean and the gracefulness of surfing are just a bonus.
Of course it won't be very "commercial" (coming of age stories usually are not blockbuster material), and you have no means to ensure anything when it comes to any art production… but I can't see why it could only potentially appeal to an australian audience. |
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| coral |
Date: Thursday, 16-Jul-15, 1:37 PM | Message # 140 |
Cobber
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| Ivana |
Date: Thursday, 16-Jul-15, 7:02 PM | Message # 141 |
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I loved the book very much, it speaks about growing up and life choices, and I agree DSP, it's very universal theme, and I think that Simon, with his Australian upbringing and Hollywood professional life, can find a way to make this movie appealing to wider audience. And judging by his TM episodes, he is great at conveying specific atmosphere and feelings on the screen and makes beautiful wide shots of nature. I do think and hope that he will do one of these movies where you leave the theatre changed. |
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| Fran |
Date: Thursday, 16-Jul-15, 7:58 PM | Message # 142 |
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Oh yes, I agree, I wasn't for one moment suggesting that it can't be done, just that I think it's one of the challenges Simon is facing, especially if he wants it to be seen by a wide audience and for it to have reasonable commercial success. |
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| marta75 |
Date: Thursday, 16-Jul-15, 8:06 PM | Message # 143 |
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In my opinion, it will be a difficult movie to do because many parts of the book are very "atmospheric" and on the other hand the story is about a journey of life and the transition from childhood to adulthood and requires a realistic approach to avoid being insipid. Remember in Cannes that Simon mentioned two very different films which could inspire him : La vie d'Adèle (Blue is the Warmest Color) which is very crude but accurate and Léviathan. I think Simon will try to conciliate these two aspects of the book and I hope the film won't be too "slick". As Winton said, Simon is very brave 
A last, I think european audience will be open to an indie film made by Simon Baker who is extraordinarily famous and loved (at least in France). |
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| Ivana |
Date: Thursday, 16-Jul-15, 9:04 PM | Message # 144 |
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You are right ladies, it will be very difficult but Simon is a very brave and capable man, and as they say: Fortune favors the brave. There are lots of people around the world who wishes him well and will be sending him good vibrations. I am. |
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| Raven |
Date: Sunday, 26-Jul-15, 6:18 PM | Message # 145 |
 Dinkie-Di
Messages: 165
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I can't wait to watch his masterpiece.
http://mariaanchiss.tumblr.com/post....irst-is
Bigger Version
Message edited by Raven - Sunday, 26-Jul-15, 6:18 PM |
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| DS_Pallas |
Date: Friday, 31-Jul-15, 0:02 AM | Message # 146 |
Fair Dinkum
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 Our Tasmanian devil…
(from d_erin) |
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| kim |
Date: Friday, 31-Jul-15, 3:24 AM | Message # 147 |
 Bee's Knees
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I've been loving that little devil on twitter lately! Very cute and it gives me a grin every time!
As for Breath, I am very excited to see how it goes for Simon. I am so missing TM and can't wait to see him again in a new role. I am really hopeful for Simon that he can make this his as he sees it. I am not really tied to the ending in the book and don't care much what changes he brings to the story. I really just want to see Simon on the big screen again. |
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| marta75 |
Date: Friday, 31-Jul-15, 10:39 PM | Message # 148 |
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Thank you DS Pallas. That devil with its glasses makes me laugh |
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| Smileygirl |
Date: Thursday, 12-Nov-15, 11:07 AM | Message # 149 |
 Dinkie-Di
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Update on Breath
They aren´t even done with the casting and won´t be before next year  #foreverwaiting
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| Tina |
Date: Thursday, 12-Nov-15, 2:28 PM | Message # 150 |
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Thanks Smileygirl. That's what I thought ...that it will take quite some time til they start shooting ...we are lucky if it will be next year I guess |
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