ABC North Queensland Radio Interview -
21 May 2007
ABC North Queensland Radio Interview -
21 May 2007
On 21 May 2007, 630 ABC North Queensland Radio interviewed me live on air at just after 5:45pm local time. I would like to thank the producer for getting in touch with me via e-mail, and the presenter, Nicole Dyer, for a fun and fantastic interview.
Audio - 630 ABC Radio
National - Radio Interview with Me
Date: 21 May 2007. Duration: Approx. 9 minutes.
Nicole Dyer (N) - But right now we're not going to go so
local, because we're going overseas. We're going to Glasgow in fact. Here's a
tip - if you love jumping on the internet and having a look around for things
that interest you, you're very interested in the film Australia, and you're
thinking I'm just going to Google Baz, you'll come up with a site that says Baz
the Great. And the woman behind it is from Australia but now resides in Glasgow
and her name is Vanessa Stubbs. Good morning to you, Vanessa, in Scotland.
Vanessa Stubbs (V) - Good morning Nicole, how are you?
N - Oh, I'm very well. We're so excited to have made this connection because
here in North Queensland we're abuzz with Baz.
V - Yes, I know, I've been reading on the net!
N - Why are you so keen on Baz Luhrmann?
V - Well, I've kinda been fascinated with Baz for many years now since seeing
his film Moulin Rouge. I set up my website after seeing the film in fact,
because I couldn't find any other fansites on the internet about Baz and I still
believe that my fansite's the only one regarding the director himself. I've been
following his projects ever since and of course his next movie's Australia and
finally, after 2 years of post production, it's filming right now in Bowen.
N - Your website is so up to date. You've even included some of the things that
we've done here at 630 ABC North Queensland. Michael Clarke's interview with
Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman as well. Is it hard to keep things so fresh when
you're so far away?
V - Oh, it is hard, it is quite time consuming, but I am a devoted fan and I
don't mind at all. I check the internet several times a day for any news and as
soon as I find it, I put it on my website. I just think it's important to keep
fellow fans updated with everything going on with Baz and of course Australia.
N - Is there a lot of interest in Scotland for Australian films?
V - Probably not so much Australian films, no, unfortunately. The media
surrounding Australia at the moment is mainly Australian based. But hopefully
through my website I do try and promote it as much as possible for the UK
audience as well.
N - Are you getting lots of feedback from people who are jumping on your website
from all around the world?
V - Oh yes, I get lots of e-mails every day. Basically from fans and from people
wanting to submit photographs, people who are lucky enough to be in Bowen at the
moment and want to share their news with me. So I get some insider tips
sometimes which is quite exciting. But unfortunately no word from Baz himself
yet.
N - That would make your day, wouldn't it?
V - It would, it would. So Baz, if you're listening, please feel free to give me
a call!
N - If you've got any baby shots Baz, I'm sure a lot of people don't have those
and they would look great on this website, because it really is amazing. Do you
have to pay for the photos?
V - No, the photos that I'm using are mainly sourced from the internet, news
articles and things, and a lot of photos are from fans themselves. I always give
proper credit though. But it's just there for fans to enjoy really and to spread
the news about everything that's going on with Baz.
N - So this is just a hobby of yours?
V - Yes, it's just hobby. I'm just a fan basically. I've got no monetary gain
from it or anything. I just do it purely for my own personal interest and to
share news, because I think it's important, because I just think Baz is such an
inspiration for fellow Australians. He's done so much for the Australian film
industry and I think it's fascinating to follow his works.
N - How did you end up in Glasgow, Vanessa?
V - Oh, well, I travelled after University. I decided to come to the UK, as many
Australians do. I'm lucky enough to have a passport, a British passport, so I
can stay here as long as I like. I've been here for 6 years, but I am planning
to return to Australia in August for good. I'm going back to Adelaide, I'm
homesick, let's face it, and I'm ready to come back to the sun.
N - The Scottish accent is one which is just so hard not to adopt straight away.
Even if I was just speaking to someone here in Australia and someone is
Scottish, because it's so thick.
V - Yes, well I still think I sound Australian, to tell you the truth! I don't
really know what I sound like anymore.
N - You're a hybrid. What happens when you send an Adelaide girl to Glasgow,
well this is the result, and it's going to take you a while I think. But I love
it. It sounds fantastic. Everybody here in North Queensland is wrapped, because
these sorts of sites are great. Had you ever heard of Bowen being from South
Australia before this movie?
V - No, I actually hadn't heard of Bowen, but obviously now I do, and I'm sure a
lot more people around the world are aware of it. And I think websites like my
own are obviously helping spread the word internationally and I hope that it
does good for the town and Australia.
N - You mention Moulin Rouge as your favourite Baz Luhrmann film.
V - Yes, that's right.
N - What about Romeo and Juliet?
V - I loved Romeo and Juliet as well. Moulin Rouge is my favourite, Romeo and
Juliet is a close second. I loved Romeo and Juliet when it came out, but I
didn't know who Baz was back then. It wasn't until Moulin Rouge that I did
research and I realised who was creating these fantastic films. But Australia is
going to be very different from those films. It's going to be a historial epic.
Baz is changing direction so it's very exciting to see what he's going to come
up with.
N - You need to be a film critic when you come back to Australia with all this
knowledge of Baz Luhrmann. So your love for films started many years ago,
because you worked in a cinema, is that true?
V - Yes, I worked in a cinema to fund my University. I worked in Greater Union
in fact in Adelaide for 4 years, and I was always sneaking into films and
watching as many as possible and trying to get as many tips as possible. But
yeah, so I've been fascinated with movies for most of my life, and especially
Baz films.
N - Oh look, if Baz is listening. Hugh Jackman may be listening. Nicole Kidman,
anybody could be listening. Please tap Baz on the shoulder and say get on to
this woman's website, because she's dedicated it just to you Baz. Well, here's
the ultimate. You walk up to Baz, what's the first thing you're going to say,
Vanessa?
V - At the moment, I would actually ask him what Hugh Jackman's character's name
is in Australia, because we still don't know, and it's quite a topic of
conversation on the internet. We know all the principal character names, but we
still don't know Hugh Jackman's character name, so if anybody knows, please give
me a call!
N - There you go. I don't have the answer to that either. None of our spies on
the ground in Bowen have been able to come up with that, so Hugh Jackman's
character name, we do not know. What's Nicole's character name?
V - Her name's Lady Sarah Ashley. She's an English aristocrat and she comes to
Australia thinking her husband's cheated on her, but actually finding he's died.
She then meets Hugh Jackman's drover character, who's still unnamed, and it
turns out she's been left a cattle station the size of Belgium, and you can
imagine the chaos that ensues after she arrives - an English lady not knowing
what to do - so it's up to the drover to help her out with the cattle station
and they go on a huge cattle drive across the landscape, showcasing Australia's
landscape, and they end up in Darwin just as the first of the World War 2 Darwin
bombings occur. So it's got a bit everything, it's got some romance, some action
and adventure, and I think it's going to do really well and I really hope it
does.
N - And have some of those people who have logged on to your website, Baz the
Great, and I'm speaking to the webmaster, Vanessa Stubbs, on 630 ABC North
Queensland, have they given you any tiddly bits that you can probably share with
us right now?
V - Unfortunately I don't think I've got any insider information that's not
already out there at the moment. Everything that I hear is immediately reported
on my website, so I can only suggest logging on as much as possible for any
information that I find, I'll put it right up there.
N - Well, we have heard that the cattle scenes in Bowen are being shot. There
was a lot of conjecture as to how many heads of cattle were going through the
streets. Someone said 750 but was quickly corrected and said no, maybe it was
less than that. But that's how many cattle they've got.
V - Yes, apparently it's supposed to be about 1500 in the film, so I'm not sure
whether they're going to digitally insert some in there, or there's going to be
larger numbers later on, but I do know it's a bit less in the town itself at the
moment and they're doing cattle drives, today and tomorrow the shoot is supposed
to be revolving around the cattle.
N - Well, it certainly is. Stay out of their way, I've been told by the locals.
Hopefully you'll get some great photos coming your way in the not too distant
future. It's been a pleasure, Vanessa Stubbs.
V - Thank you very much.
N - All the way from Glasgow in Scotland sharing her passion for Baz Luhrmann,
who of course is directing Australia in Bowen at the moment.
