Picture of the month: June

Sydney Eye Hospital - Babe: Pig in the City, The Man Who Sued God, Son of the Mask

Picture of the month - January

Governor Phillip and Governor Macquarie Towers – The Matrix Reloaded, The Man Who Sued God, Mission Impossible 2, Risk

Picture of the Month - December

The University of Sydney – Garage Days, The Man Who Sued God, My Mother Frank, Looking for Alibrandi, Strange Planet, The Nostradamus Kid, Young Einstein, For Love Alone, Starstruck

US producer snaps up the chance to sue God

Billy Connolly and Judy Davis star in Aussie movie The Man Who Sued God. Picture: Variety

Michael Bodey, The Australian, reports

THE remake rights to The Man Who Sued God, the 2001 Australian comedy starring Judy Davis and Billy Connolly, have been sold to a US company.

Director and co-producer of the film, Mark Joffe, has confirmed the sale but couldn't say to whom.

Reel Time understands the buyer is Sam Feuer, US producer of coming film The First Grader, and there are whispers that Will Smith is circling the project.

The comedy, which earned a handy $8.5 million at the local box office in 2001, was written by Don Watson and John Clarke from an original idea by Patrick McCarville.

The idea was such a pure comic set-up it seemed a cert to be picked up and remade by Hollywood.

Watch this space!

Sydney on Screen: Where Adventurers Roam

Click on picture for larger size!

Excerpt:

“St James Station, at the northern end of Hyde Park, gets its name from St James Church. The underground station began regular service on 20 December 1926 and was meant to serve four different directions. However, the plan fell through and two of the completed four platforms were never put to use. Construction was halted and the tunnels connected to the station were abandoned which resulted in one of the tunnels flooding and producing an underground lake. In the early 1990s, the tunnels were used by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation as a location for Police Rescue (1991-1996), the television series starring Gary Sweet. More recently, they were the inspiration for horror movie The Tunnel (2011).”

“Before Superman (Brandon Routh) is rushed to hospital in Superman Returns (2006), he is seen falling from the sky and crashing into Hyde Park - Metropolis Park in the movie. The scene depicting a crowd of people witnessing his fall was filmed in the courtyard in front of the cathedral. The producers of The Man Who Sued God (2001) approached St Mary’s to ask for permission to shoot both inside and outside the cathedral. They only got clearance for exterior shots and, consequently, had to relocate to St Andrew’s Cathedral on George Street to film interior scenes. Problem is, St Andrew’s is an Anglican cathedral and the story required a Catholic setting. St Andrew’s received a slight makeover and the scenes were put in the can in record time so that the team could return the establishment to its original faith.”

“The successful mini-series Underbelly: The Golden Mile (2010) starring Firass Dirani as John Ibrahim was shot on Kellett Street and in the Sugarmill Hotel at 37 Darlinghurst Road. The TV show about police corruption and the running of the golden mile in the 1980s and 90s also used Longueville Road in Lane Cove to recreate the infamous stretch of road that cuts through the Cross. Two Hands (1999) had Heath Ledger spruiking in front of a Darlinghurst Road doorway next to the ex-Westpac bank. Further filming took place near Fitzroy Gardens, at the landmark El Alamein Fountain, also a location for Candy (2006) and Blue Murder (1995).”

For information on how to obtain your copy of “Sydney on Screen: Where Adventurers Roam”, contact sydneyonscreen@hotmail.com