The chances of tripping over a film crew around the Mountains in the next few weeks are pretty high as the makers of Book Week have moved in to start shooting.
Glenbrook director, Heath Davis, is using locals – both in front of and behind the cameras - as well as local settings for his new movie.
Katoomba High School has already provided the backdrop for some scenes. Other locations to be used include houses at Lawson and Leura, Gearins and the Station Bar in Katoomba, and outdoor sites at Blackheath and Wentworth Falls – “we go for the leafy areas for exteriors”, Davis said.
An open day call for people to act as extras generated an enormous response, with about 2,000 people expressing an interest in playing a role.
“We had probably too many,” Davis said, “but I’m trying to squeeze them in.”
He needed plenty of extras to fill the seats in the Katoomba High School hall for a spelling bee scene shot on Monday, but Davis said that was easy to direct as they were all sitting down.
It’s when the extras have to move around that logistics become more challenging.
Book Week stars well known theatre and film actors including Al Dukes, Susan Prior and Steve Bastoni as well as newcomers Rose Riley and Airlie Dodds.
Riley, originally from Perth, plays Melanie Murphy, a precocious senior student who wins a writing prize at school.
She loved the story, she said.
“It’s funny, sweet and has a lot of heart.”
Khan Chittenden, a New Zealander who trained in Western Australia, said he was “really excited” about the film.
“It seems to be just the quality of the set and crew and what Heath has managed to conjure up in the script. It’s relatable, it’s darkly funny and will be a lot of fun for the audience.”
Davis said the cast and crew will spend about 23 days filming in the Mountains.
“It’s hard work,” he said. “It’s very long days but it’s going really well.”
It’s very long days but it’s going really well.
- Heath Davis
Davis’ first feature film as writer and director, Broke, was shot on location in Gladstone and Rockhampton in Queensland.
The film, which takes a look at gambling addiction through the eyes of a disgraced former rugby league star, was a major success, with screenings around the country as well as selection in a number of international film festivals.
Follow Book Week on its Facebook page.
