Former ABC journalist Kerry O’Brien is starring in a campaign-time call-to-arms video.Illustration:John Shakespeare
The former host ofThe 7.30 Report andFour Corners is starring in a campaign-time call-to-arms video produced and funded by the ABC Alumni speaking out about the national broadcaster’s importance to not just democracy but life as we know it.
It starts with footage of the January 6 attack on the US Capitol and points out that the United States has very low levels of public broadcasting funding.
“I don’t work for the ABC these days,nor speak for it,” KO’B says in the video,released Wednesday morning on YouTube. “But at no point in my lifetime has the ABC been more important than it is today,” continues the public broadcasting icon,who retired from the ABC in 2015 after 32 years.
The Gold Walkley winner then takes aim at the IPA and its five-part podcast series which called the ABC a “danger to democracy” and the dozen or so Coalition MPs who took part in the series,including SenatorAndrew Bragg (the chair of communications legislation committee) to whom this column owes an apology given that we haven’t mentioned the old publicity craver in nearly six weeks. Soz mate,but 2022 is all aboutDave Sharma.
O’Brien doesn’t endorse any candidates but urges viewers to “stand up and be counted” and “back the candidates who support a stronger,better-funded ABC”. B1,I don’t think he’s talking aboutPeter Dutton andBarnaby Joyce,do you?
IN THE FLESH
O’Brien is lacing up his boots to be a speaker at an ABC Friends rally on Sunday,May 15. He will be joined by Labor’s spokeswoman for communicationsMichelle Rowland,Greens communications spokeswomanSarah Hanson-Young,teal independent member for WarringahZali Steggall and ABC Friends national presidentMargaret Reynolds. Comms ministerPaul Fletcher has been invited. But he’s probably watching reruns ofVerathat day.
NORTH V SOUTH
It’s been a big two weeks for producer extraordinaire and NSW South Coast exportMichael Cassel. Last week,the Minnamurra-born theatre executive who broughtHamiltonto Australia received an honorary doctorate from the University of Wollongong. A privilege and some major kudos for the bloke who skipped tertiary education for the express lane of live production working for Sydney’s late famed promoterHarry M. Miller.
But the academic honour wasn’t the Cassel blockbuster of the month. That title went to&Juliet,the jukebox show born from the urgent question:“what if Shakespeare decided Juliet shouldn’t die,but instead should go on to live a fabulous life and sing a heap of pop songs by Swedish one-man hit factoryMax Martin,who created anthems for everyone fromBritney SpearstoKatie Perry?”
Or as event host ABC newsreaderKarina Carvalho put it,“if you prefer Britney to Beethoven,or Backstreet Boys over The Beatles,you’re going to love this announcement”.
Except of course,if you are the NSW government, for the rights to host a major production.
In the corner of Tuesday’s launch at The Forum in Melbourne,Victorian major events ministerMartin Pakuladeclined to give away how much the state paid Michael Cassel Group to secure the Australian premiere:“What we don’t want to do is give our interstate opponents a heads-up on what it would take for them to steal the theatre crown from us”. Still smarting from losing theHamilton tussle to Sydney,no doubt.
We already know,thanks toAge arts editorNick Miller’s exhaustive reading of the Visit Victoria annual report,that Victoria paid $1.4 million to lureMoulin Rouge to Melbourne. Jayco caravan kingGerry Ryan is chair of production company Global Creatures and on the board of Visit Victoria,so they had to declare it as a related party transaction.
Producer Michael Cassel says Melbourne will play home to the hit musical& Juliet in February of 2023.Scott McNaughton
Asked if there were a bunch of Britney fans in the state government who’d been pushing for this one,he replied,“not that I’m aware of,but I’m sure that there are many Britney Spears fans in government generally”.
Intriguing. But he quickly shut down speculation:“I can confirm that that played no role in the decision to pursue this.
END OF THE REEL
How’s this for the executive head scratcher of the week:at a critical time of the year for movie buffs,Sydney Film Festival has surprisingly announced the departure of chief executiveLeigh Small.
After 12 years heading one of the city’s major cultural organisations,Small had left by the time a media release about her exit was issued on Monday. She also won’t be attending either the program launch at Sydney Town Hall on Wednesday morning or the festival next month.
Leigh Small has resigned from her role as Sydney Film Festival chief executive.Kate Geraghty
Despite the profoundly odd timing,Small insisted there was no mystery behind the move.
“The last two years have been really taxing,” she said. “I just felt ‘time for a sabbatical’ and we’ve got the farm and Greece and health scare things. You just go ‘right,time to go’.”
Small and actor husbandWilliam Zappa have a farm on the NSW South Coast and are heading to Greece to visit family while the festival is underway. She is also producing his stage adaptation of Homer’sThe Iliad,which is getting a run around the country and in Greece.
“Being CEO of the film festival,particularly in these pivotal times for the film industry and the film festival industry,it’s not a part-time job,” she said. “It’s a very full-on job so,for everybody,it was the right time to go. I’m extremely proud of how the festival got through the pandemic years.”
The festival ran online in 2020 then,after a short summer event,returned to cinemas in November last year. It is now back in its traditional winter slot,opening at the State Theatre on June 8.
Festival directorNashen Moodleywill act as chief executive until a new boss is recruited.
In the media release,the festival said it had “doubled in scale,built financial security and reached a broader and more diverse audience” during Small’s time. A considerable legacy to leave behind.
The Morning Edition newsletter is our guide to the day’s most important and interesting stories,analysis and insights..