Haven't we all at some point in time fantasized about stepping through a cinema/TV screen and into the world of our favourite movies and television shows? I certainly have!

With its modern, urban setting and stunning harbour, it is easy to see why Sydney leads the way as an ideal and versatile shooting destination. Movies shot here have been set in New York (Godzilla: Final Wars, Kangaroo Jack), Chicago (The Matrix and sequels), London (Birthday Girl), Seville (Mission Impossible 2), Bombay (Holy Smoke), Darwin (Australia), Myanmar (Stealth), Mars (Red Planet) and the fictitious city of Metropolis (Superman Returns, Babe: Pig in the City).

Whether popular landmarks or off the beaten track locations that are often hard to find, you can now explore Sydney in a fun and unique way with the SYDNEY ON SCREEN walking guides. Catering to Sydneysiders as much as visitors, the guides have something to offer everyone, from history, architecture and movie buffs to nature lovers.

See where productions such as Superman Returns, The Matrix and sequels, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Candy, Mission Impossible 2, Mao's Last Dancer, Babe: Pig in the City, Kangaroo Jack, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Muriel's Wedding, The Bold and the Beautiful, Oprah's Ultimate Australian Adventure and many more were filmed.

Maps and up-to-date information on Sydney's attractions are provided to help you plan your walk. Pick and choose from the suggested itinerary to see as little or as much of the city as you like.

So, come and discover the landscapes and locations that draw filmmakers to magical Sydney, and walk in the footsteps of the stars!

A GREAT ALTERNATIVE TO EXPENSIVE TOURS, YOU CAN NOW ENJOY EXPLORING SYDNEY FOR UNDER $10 WITH THE SYDNEY ON SCREEN WALKING GUIDES. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US AT SYDNEYONSCREEN@HOTMAIL.COM

Subscribe to the blog and keep up with all the latest Aussie film and entertainment news. Read about what the stars are up to, who's in town, what movies are currently filming or being promoted. Locate us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sydneyonscreen and "like" our page!

Sydney on Screen walking guides now on sale!

Click on the picture above to see a preview of all four walking guides and on the picture below to see larger stills of Sydney movie and television locations featured in the slideshow!

Copyright © 2011 by Luke Brighty / Unless otherwise specified, all photographs on this blog copyright © 2011 by Luke Brighty


Sydney on Screen guides are now available for purchase at the following outlets:

Travel Concierge, Sydney International Airport, Terminal 1 Arrivals Hall (between gates A/B and C/D), Mascot - Ph: 1300 40 20 60

The Museum of Sydney shop, corner of Bridge & Phillip Streets, Sydney - Ph: (02) 9251 4678

The Justice & Police Museum shop, corner of Albert & Phillip Streets, Sydney - Ph: (02) 9252 1144

The Mint shop, 10 Macquarie Street, Sydney - Ph: (02) 8239 2416

Hyde Park Barracks shop, Queen Square, Sydney - Ph: (02) 8239 2311

Travel Up! (travel counter) c/o Wake Up Sydney Central, 509 Pitt Street, Sydney - Ph (02) 9288 7888

The Shangri-La Hotel (concierge desk), 176 Cumberland Street, The Rocks, Sydney - Ph: (02) 9250 6018

The Sebel Pier One (concierge desk), 11 Hickson Road, Walsh Bay, Sydney - Ph: (02) 8298 9901

The Radisson Plaza Hotel Sydney (concierge desk), 27 O'Connell Street, Sydney - Ph: (02) 8214 0000

The Sydney Marriott Circular Quay (concierge desk), 30 Pitt Street, Sydney - Ph: (02) 9259 7000

Boobook on Owen, 1/68 Owen Street, Huskisson - Ph: (02) 4441 8585


NSW, interstate and international customers can order copies of Sydney on Screen using PayPal. Contact us at sydneyonscreen@hotmail.com to inquire about cost and shipping fees.


All four volumes of Sydney on Screen are available to download onto your PC or Kindle at:
Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.fr, Amazon.de, Amazon.es and Amazon.it


Back to happy haunting grounds for director James Wan

James Wan
The Conjuring director James Wan says his fear of the supernatural helps him tackle his films. Source: Supplied
 
 

James Wigney, The Daily Telegraph, reports

Aussie Saw director James Wan is at home with the horror in his new movie The Conjuring, writes James Wigney.

[*] How did you come across this extraordinary story of real-life spook hunters Leslie and Ed Warren that forms the basis of The Conjuring?

It's hard to not have heard of these guys when you have made as many movies as I have in this genre - their names just kept coming up. After the first Insidious movie I didn't really want to make another ghost story or haunted house film but the idea of doing a film that is 'based on true life characters' - that was what intrigued me. After Insidious I knew that I wanted to get back into studio filmmaking and the way to do that is to do something that you have been successful in, but at a studio level. They weren't going to give me a romantic comedy after Insidious so I knew I had to do something in that world or with that kind of flavour.

[*] What did you make of the Warrens - did they make you believe in the supernatural through this haunted house story? Or were you already a believer?

I wanted to have a movie that was subjective - through their point of view and that of the family in the film. The Warrens come in and help this family going through these really bad supernatural experiences and I wanted to hear their stories and tell it from their perspective. I'm not here to make a documentary but I wanted to bring my approach to how I see this world.

[*] It sounds like you have a pretty open mind on things that go bump in the night though?

Definitely. I was raised with a pretty strict Christian upbringing but coming from an Asian background as well I grew up with a lot of ghost stories and superstition. So from a very young age I was subjected to this world and very much fascinated by it.

[*] Have you ever had an experience you couldn't explain?

One time I woke up in a hotel room and I thought I saw something - but I suppressed that and tell myself I did not see a ghost. If I believed that I saw a ghost I would be terrified beyond belief and I would not be able to make these films. People say to me that because I make a lot of these films I must not be afraid of ghosts. Quite the contrary - I am a real chickens---t when it comes to the supernatural and I believe my fear of that is what allows me to tackle these films.

[*] People have been watching and loving haunted house movies for years - is that familiarity a help or a hindrance when it comes to making something like The Conjuring or Insidious?

It's both. People have been sitting around the campfire and telling ghost stories since the dawn of time so that means as human beings we love to be scared and love the roller-coaster ride these movies take us to. But the flip side of that is that people are so used to seeing these stories and it takes a lot to scare a modern audience. Trying to stay one step ahead of that is quite a challenge but that's what I strive to do with all my films.

[*] Why do horror movies do so much better in America than Australia - is there something dark in the American psyche?

There is just a real genuine love for the genre that is just built in. I think a big part of that is that the second biggest commercial holiday in the US is Halloween and they love to dress up and scare each other. So I think it's very much entrenched in their pop culture. Insidious didn't do as strongly in Australia as it did in the US and other parts of the world and yet the first Saw did crazy good in Australia. I don't know why some things work and some things don't.

[*] And yet you had to go to the US to actually get Saw made - could you do what you do here in Australia?

We really gave it a shot - we spent a year to two years trying to get financing for Saw in Australia and we just couldn't get it off the ground.

[*] Would you like to make a film in Australia?

I have been wanting to for a while. I would love to take a project back to Melbourne. All my family is in Perth so they have been wanting me to shoot something in Western Australia. I have been talking to Vin Diesel quite a bit recently and we were talking about Coober Pedy where he shot Pitch Black. I have been trying to hint that future Fast and Furious films should take place in Australia.

[*] How far down the track are you with directing Fast and Furious 7?

I am knee-deep in pre-production and it's a pretty crazy world but I have been wanting to make a big-budget action film forever. Growing up, that's the sort of stuff I loved and ten years after I made Saw I finally get to do it so I am really excited.

[*] Fast and Furious is literally a billion-dollar business - are you feeling the weight of expectation that comes with that?

Definitely. Especially given how well the last two have done, not just financially but critically as well. It's funny, if you hang in there long enough the critics eventually turn around and say 'oh, you're not too bad'. The filmmakers, the studio, the cast and crew have done such a great job in letting people know it's a fun franchise and it doesn't pretend to be anything else. People really appreciate that and go along for the ride.

[*] Vin Diesel said he thought you had a darkness that would suit where the story is at the moment - what are you hoping to bring to the franchise?

I love what Justin Lin has done in revitalising the franchise and I want to honour the world they have created but at the same time I want to bring my own style to it. I want it to be a bit more gritty and grounded and I want my action scenes to feel more realistic. Number seven is at its core a classic revenge thriller and I feel that's a world I can really sink my teeth into and do it justice.

[*] And with Jason Statham as well.

Exactly - that's where the revenge comes from. Statham's character is so single-minded in what he wants to achieve and that is basically to get at the people who hurt his loved one. But he is not just a bad guy - he is a bad guy with a code. He doesn't want to hurt innocent people, he just wants to go after the people that hurt his family and you had better not get in his way. He's more like a classic, '70s antihero who straddles that grey area of a bad guy with a good guy's code. My approach to Fast 7 is the Seven Samurai - it even has the word seven in the title so I just see that as a good omen.

SEE THE CONJURING OPENS 18 JULY.

No comments:

Post a Comment