Strange Planet (1999)

Director:

Emma-Kate Croghan

Writers:

Stavros Kazantzidis (story)
Stavros Kazantzidis (screenplay) ...
(more)

Release Date:

7 October 1999 (Australia)

Genre:

Comedy | Romance

Tagline:

3 girls. 3 guys. 365 days to get it together.

Plot:

This romantic comedy takes place over the course of one year - opening on New Year's Eve of one year and closing exactly one year later...

Plot Keywords:

Friend | Marriage | New Year's Eve | One Year Time Span | Father Complex

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Claudia Karvan	...	Judy
Naomi Watts	...	Alice
Alice Garner	...	Sally
Tom Long	...	Ewan
Aaron Jeffery	...	Joel
Felix Williamson	...	Neil
Hugo Weaving	...	Steven
Rebecca Frith	...	Amanda
Marshall Napier	...	Robert
Loene Carmen	...	Amy
Heidi McDonald	...	Bridget
Harry Cripps	...	Paul
Rebel Penfold-Russell	...	Producer
Hugh Baldwin	...	Bob
Helen Thomson	...	Lulu
Gennie Nevinson	...	Therapist
Andrea Moar	...	Dating Agency Woman
Kim Deacon	...	Joan
David Gibson	...	Danny
Kate Beahan	...	Poppy
Ling Hsueh Tang	...	Verna (as Ling-Hsueh Tang)
Emily Rickard	...	Flora
Leah Vandenberg	...	Sarah
Jeremiah Dupre	...	Sammy (as Jeremiah Tickell)
David Walsman	...	Nightclubber
Cressida Wilson	...	Nightclubber
Sandy Gutman	...	Old Hippie (as Austen Tayshus)
Louise Birgan	...	Loser-Magnet Woman
Nathalie Roy	...	Ewan's NY Kissing Girl
Miles Paras	...	Solicitor
Brian Fox	...	Rabbi (as Rabbi Brian Fox)
Reg Mombassa	...	Bon
Mental As Anything	...	The Band
Martin Plaza	...	The Band
Greedy Smith	...	The Band (as Andrew Smith)
Peter O'Dougherty	...	The Band
Dave Toohill	...	The Band
Megan Ormsby	...	Groupie

Directed by
Emma-Kate Croghan

Writing credits
Stavros Kazantzidis		(story)
Stavros Kazantzidis		(screenplay) and
Emma-Kate Croghan		(screenplay)

Produced by
Bruno Charlesworth	....	executive producer
Stavros Kazantzidis	....	producer
Maggie Lake	....	line producer
Anastasia Sideris	....	producer

Cinematography by
Justin Brickle

Film Editing by
Ken Sallows

Production Design by
Annie Beauchamp

Art Direction by
Michael Iacono

Set Decoration by
Richie Dehne

Costume Design by
Emily Seresin

Makeup Department
Kathy Courtney	....	hair stylist
Kathy Courtney	....	makeup artist
Mary Georgiou	....	additional makeup artist (as Mary Georgio)
Mary Georgiou	....	assistant hair stylist (as Mary Georgio)
Kerry Lee Jury	....	hair stylist
Kerry Lee Jury	....	makeup artist
Lynn Wheeler	....	hair styles supervisor
Lynn Wheeler	....	makeup supervisor

Production Management
Robert Graham	....	unit manager (as Bob Graham)

Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Debbie Antoniou	....	second assistant director (as Deb Antoniou)
John Martin	....	first assistant director
Jessica Turner	....	third assistant director

Art Department
Martin Bruveris	....	scenic artist
Brandon Hendroff	....	storyboard artist
John King	....	stand-by props
Mike Murphy	....	art department runner
Beth Pickworth	....	graphic artist
Beth Pickworth	....	property buyer
Beth Pickworth	....	set dresser
Amanda Schmidt	....	art department attachment
Yann Vignes	....	property buyer
Yann Vignes	....	set dresser
Russell Wade	....	art department runner
Jack Whiddon	....	greens

Sound Department
Andrew Belletty	....	sound recordist
Steve Burgess	....	foley artist
Craig Carter	....	sound designer
Bruce Emery	....	stereo sound consultant: Dolby Stereo
Helen Field	....	sound post-production
Laura Gothiery	....	sound post-production
Morgan Gregory	....	sound attachment
Bryce Grunden	....	sound effects
Nicole Lazaroff	....	boom operator
Frank Lipson	....	dialogue editor
Gerry Long	....	foley artist
Ian McLoughlin	....	adr
Paul Pirola	....	sound mixer (as Paul 'Go Hawkes' Pirola)
Livia Ruzic	....	sound editor
Roger Savage	....	sound post-production
Liz Wright	....	sound post-production

Special Effects by
John Bowring	....	special effects

Visual Effects by
Fiona Crawford	....	title design and production
Grant Everett	....	digital compositor
Grant Everett	....	title design and production
Krista Jordan	....	title design and production
Zareh Nalbandian	....	title design and production
Angela Pelizzari	....	title design and production
Ken Phelan	....	opticals
Melanie Ritchie	....	title design and production

Stunts
Damian Bradford	....	stunts
Paul Doyle	....	stunts
Tony Lynch	....	stunts
Rocky McDonald	....	stunt coordinator
Steve Morris	....	stunts

Camera and Electrical Department
Phil Balsdon	....	Steadicam operator
Joe Bruneteau	....	grip
Sionlad Buhler	....	clapper loader (as Sionead Buhler)
Kiren Chang	....	still photographer
Grahame Dickson	....	best boy (as Graham Dickson)
Cameron Dunn	....	focus puller
Karl Engeler	....	gaffer
Silver Henenberg	....	camera attachment
Pip Shapiera	....	key grip (as Pip 'The Grip' Shapiera)
Andrew Williams	....	generator operator

Casting Department
Jodie McKenna	....	casting assistant
Mim Weger	....	extras casting
Shauna Wolifson	....	casting

Costume and Wardrobe Department
Shareen Beringer	....	costume assistant
Ivana Daniele	....	costume attachment
Celeste Franklin	....	stand-by costume
Kerry Thompson	....	costume supervisor

Editorial Department
Arthur Cambridge	....	grader
Maria Kaltenthaler	....	assistant editor

Music Department
Josh Abraham	....	music supervisor
Libby Blakey	....	music supervisor
Roger Grierson	....	music supervisor
Simon Kain	....	music supervisor
Gary Seeger	....	music supervisor
Leah Warwick	....	music supervisor

Transportation Department
Tim Parry	....	vehicles coordinator

Other crew
Greg Blandy	....	safety officer
Anni Browning	....	completion guarantor
Anton Denby	....	location assistant
Leisa Francis	....	production accountant
Rob Greenough	....	safety report
Peter Hicks	....	location assistant
Mojgan Khadem	....	continuity
Mojgan Khadem	....	script supervisor
Rob McKenzie	....	studio assistant
Sue Milliken	....	completion guarantor
Jeannie Nove	....	production runner
Bill Pepper	....	acting coach
Gary Pettersen	....	coach: kick-boxing
Laurie Pettinari	....	unit assistant
Phillip Roope	....	location manager
Ian Russell	....	laboratory liaison
Blair Slater	....	studio assistant
Mardi Thompson	....	unit assistant
Ruth Watson	....	production coordinator
Joe Weatherstone	....	production secretary
H.W. Woods	....	insurer (as H.W. Wood)
Allanah Zitserman	....	producer's attachment

Thanks
Martin Lubran	....	thanks

Production Companies

• Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC) (presents)
• New South Wales Film & Television Office (in assocation with)
• Premium Movie Partnership (in association with)
• Showtime Australia (in assocation with)
• Strange Planet

Distributors

• Madman Entertainment (2004) (Australia) (DVD)
• New Vision Films (Australia)
• Prism Leisure Corporation (2005) (UK) (DVD)
• Redbus Film Distribution (UK)

Other Companies

• Animal Logic  title design and production
• Animal Logic  visual effects
• Atlab  laboratory
• Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC)  funding
• Charlesworth Josem Partners  solicitors
• DFILM Services  opticals
• Empire Production Services  production vehicles
• Film Finances  completion guarantor
• Island Films  cutting rooms
• Kodak Australasia  film stock
• Moneypenny Services  production accountant
• More Than A Morsel  catering
• Motion Picture Lighting  lighting
• Mullinars Casting  casting (as Mullinars Casting Consultants)
• Negthink  neg cutters (as Neg Think Pty Ltd)
• Panavision Australia  camera equipment
• Soundfirm  sound post-production

Runtime:

96 min

Country:

Australia

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Iceland:12 | Australia:MA | New Zealand:M | UK:15 | Argentina:16 | Canada:14A (Ontario)

Filming Locations:

Kirribilli, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Company:

Australian Film Finance Corporation (AFFC)

Quotes:

Ewan:I'd tell my friend it's a risky game falling in love with a married man, and that if you play tennis with the devil, you can't complain if he cheats.

Movie Connections:

References Taxi Driver (1976)

Soundtrack:

Hold Your Head High

It tries so, so hard for you to like it.

Strange Planet is set in Sydney and is the story of six twenty-something young folk -- three girls, three boys. If you're thinking "Oh, it's an Aussie version of Friends", you'd be right, and wrong.

What Strange Planet has over the sit-com is characters who you can sort of like, and not want to punch. Unfortunately, as much as you want to like them, they're let down by some appalling writing, especially for the male characters. Tom Long does well with what little he has, while Jeffries and Williamson make do. Of the girls, Claudia Karvan acts Watts and Garner off the screen. Why Karvan isn't a huge star is one of life's great mysteries.

While Strange Planet is hard to dislike, it leaves you with a sickly feeling, not unlike after eating an entire packet of jelly babies. And the ending -- holy mother of... Has there ever been a more tooth-rotting conclusion to a film that has tried so hard to make you like it? No. This is one of those 'close but not really' efforts -- all it needed was a better, punchier, cleverer script with just a touch of insight into the psyche of men. is it worth seeing? Maybe, but for what it's worth, it's still better than Friends.