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Me filming Excursion in May 2013. Photo by Leon Fry
The first film, Homecoming, is at the final stages of sound postproduction and should be released very soon. This is an amazing film featuring production and performance work from some of Perth’s finest creatives. The second film is called Excursion and features an enormous cast of established and fresh Perth talent, as well as some fine production work from a variety of collaborators I’m proud to have worked with.
It’s been a highly productive year for me, so as the curtain comes down on 2012 I’d like to share some great things that have happened to me this year.
1. Dr Stuart Bender
In November I was confirmed as Dr Stuart Bender for my Ph.D research at Murdoch University. This is extremely satisfying to me, and I want to thank my supervisor Mick Broderick for his support throughout the research.
2. First book coming out!
I’m proud to announce that my first book is being published early in 2013 through Cambridge Scholars Publishing in the UK. This book is titled Film Style and the World War II Combat Film. It addresses significant aspects of the aesthetic of these films including handheld cinematography, the editing style of battlefield killings, bodily performance of death and immersive sound design. This is very exciting for me and I’ll provide ordering information etc as soon as it hits international and online book stores. I have a number of people to thank for the help organising the research of this book, including Dale Dye, Pedro Loureiro, Stephen Prince, Jim Overman, Lawrence Suid and Noel King.
3. Interesting research publication!
My research article investigation acting and performance technique has just been published in issue 8 of the international peer-reviewedInteractive Media Journal. I argue that the dominant performance style and rehearsal methods for actors have changed in recent years and result in increased detail and nuance which encourage audiences to regard contemporary performances as more “realistic” than those of earlier periods of cinema. The paper is called: “‘I’ll See You On The Beach,’ Masculine Performance in Saving Private Ryan and Objective Burma!“
Click HERE for a link to the entire journal’s contents.
4. Exciting new film about diamond smuggling!
I produced and directed an exciting new film called Homecoming, which exposes the human cost of the underworld of international diamond smuggling. This is an impressive step up from everything I’ve created before and I can’t wait to share it with you early in 2013. It is co-produced with Luke Griffiths, and features a superb script from my American colleague J. Rocky Colavito. I’m completely proud of this piece of work. Feel free to enjoy these behind the scenes teaser photographs, shot by the fantastic Perth photographers Alex Howell and Rob Securo.
5. Nominated for international awards
My action/adventure film The Argentinian Escape screened to a crowded cinema here in Perth in May. The film was also a success internationally, being nominated for 2 awards at the AOF Festival in California in August.
When it was screened at the Krikorian Theater in Monrovia California,The Argentinian Escape was nominated for the following two awards: Best Breakout Action Star (Stuart Bender) and Best Composition (Sam Cutri). Thank you so much to everybody involved in the film for helping to create an exciting piece of work that has captivated huge numbers of audiences worldwide. Everybody else, you can see the exciting teaser trailer here:
6. My personal favourite film
Finally, I also directed my personal favourite film which is an experimental work called Inside the Dance. This film enabled me to really push my filmmaking skills in a totally new direction. I’m extremely proud of this work created with a superb choreographer and group of dancers, as well as an excellent lighting technician, sound designer, and two other highly skilled cameramen.
Please check out the teaser of Inside the Dance here:
Next year looks great so far; with a feature film in pre-production and a lot of other exciting developments! Enjoy your new year celebrations, everybody!
G’day. I’m currently in production of a new short film which is a crime-thriller about diamond smuggling. More details as the film gets finished.
In the mean-time, thank you to everybody who rolled up to support the March premiere of “The Argentinian Escape” and “Inside the Dance”! I hope these films will prove as successful internationally as the award nominated “Double Cross” in 2011!
Double Cross Exclusive Internet Release! 5th January, 2012
Double Cross: On the run from his drug-dealing boss who works out of a strip-club, a hit-man seduces a sexy woman into helping him get revenge and get back the money they owe him.
Stuart Bender Films is very proud to present the exciting short film “Double Cross” for general public release!
What began as a quick fun movie to be filmed with a group of friends turned into a massive action film which surpassed the expectations of everybody involved! After a sold-out premiere in Perth, Western Australia in May 2011, this explosive action film went on to be nominated “Best in Show” at the 2011 Action On Film Festival in Pasadena, California.
The film features swearing, epic shoot-outs, hot girls, tough guys and crazy driving stunts! For the most entertaining viewing experience, please click full-screen and High Definition. When you’ve finished enjoying the film, please share it with your friends, colleagues and anybody who loves action films.
A Background to the Production
The film was initially shot in two fast-paced days in February 2010, in which a hard-working cast & crew filmed the amazing car-stunts, the interior dialogue, the jetty sequence and the entire strip-club scene. After seeing the superb quality of many of the scenes it was decided that some of the action inside the house could be reshot and fine-tuned. Later in 2010 the cast & crew refilmed the inside scenes, creating the exciting action sequence in which the house is ripped to pieces in the shoot-out!
The scenes shot at The Voodoo Lounge in Northbridge look absolutely stunning. The interior design of the club allowed me to stage the shots and the action in interesting ways. Additionally, a number of sexy performers volunteered to take part in the scene and their aesthetic value is obvious! Prior to filming, Michael Bozza (the car stunt coordinator) invited me to accompany him to a stunt driving school in Queensland. Under the instruction of professional stunt coordinators, Michael increased his driving skills and learned to perfectly control the particular maneuvres required for some of the scenes. This incredible weekend helped me as a director to visualize the amazing car stunts in the film. It also benefited my acting because I learned some of the driving techniques and that gave me an internal understanding of the skills involved in such precision procedures.
Many members of the cast & crew have worked with me on a number of other projects. If you watch back over films such as “Asphalt and Lace” (2009), “Blind,” (2009) and “Loverboy 3″ (2010) you’ll see many of the same names appearing in very crucial roles. You’ll also see a huge improvement in production values from one film to the next. This incredible team know how to work fast and get the sort of footage needed to make this kind of action film. Of course, the post-production really brings “Double Cross” into its own league. I’m very proud of the visual effects, as well as the finely textured sound design by Luke Griffiths.
Film Premiere
In April 2011 we organized a private party and screening of the film for the cast & crew to celebrate the completion of my favourite production so far. The exclusive event was a great occasion for this amazing group of people to share the film with some of their closest friends.
[Photo credit: Kjetil Astrup]
In May 2011, “Double Cross” was premiered in Perth to a sold-out theatre at Belmont Reading Cinemas. This was of course a huge achievement for everybody who promoted the film, as well as a great opportunity for everybody involved in the film to see their work on the big screen! I extend an enormous thank you to all of the people who came along to support the film!
[Photo credit: Josh Horton]
International Success!
Of course, the most exciting part of the “Double Cross” saga is its international success at the 2011 Action On Film Festival in California! It was great to have the film accepted to be screened at this festival, which is considered to be the world’s largest film festival that is friendly to action films. But most exciting of all was the news that the film had been nominated “Best in Show”.
“Double Cross” was an incredible experience for me as a filmmaker. Firstly, I had the chance to work with some great people who kindly volunteered their time to make what they knew would be an amazing movie. Secondly, I learned a huge amount about team-work, as well as a lot of specific film skills that you will see me develop in future productions.
The story doesn’t end here, of course. Very soon I will be announcing the trailers for two up-coming releases: “The Argentinian Escape” and “Inside the Dance.” The first of these is a thrilling action adventure set in South America. “Inside the Dance” is an experimental film that is something very different to any other film I’ve made in my career. I want to say a huge thank you to all of the dancers, musicians, pilots, drivers and filmmakers who have worked on these two films.
You will be hearing much more about these two films very soon. Thank you for your support and please keep watching http://www.stuartbenderfilms.com!
“Double Cross” film credits:
Producer / Director: Stuart Bender
Executive Producer: Michael Bozza
Cinematography: Murray Christian and Liam Underwood
Sound Design: Luke Griffiths
Screenplay: Matt Zappala and Luke Farrell
Story by: Luke Farrell & Stuart Bender
Continuity Girl: Rachel Winning
Cast:
Stuart Bender, Matt Zappala, Priscilla Forder,
Michael Bozza, Wade Ranson, Dave King, Kien Pham,
Mark Bentley, Adam Burstein, Brendan Kerkvliet,
Rachel Winning, Tatum, Tarsha Timms, Kelsie Williams Laurette Bell
Camera Assistant/Gaffer: Dion Borrett
Visual Effects: Stuart Bender
Stunts: Ricardo Braga
Car Stunts: Michael Bozza
Location Sound: Stewart Kemp and Luke Griffiths
Music in this version: Kevin MacLeod
Strip club music courtesy of: PremiumBeat.com
End credits music: Moby Gratis
Special thanks to:
Jay Bentley, Ryan Burnell and The Voodoo Lounge (Best Gentlemen’s Club in Australia 2009/10, Australian Adult Industry Awards), Danny Aghaie, Rochelle Emanuel-Smith, Anthony Crocker and Audi Centre Perth, Mick Broderick, Joan Bender, Jill Winning, Ryan Albrey, Peter Collings, Jason Johnston, Natalina Bozza, and Vedran Yaksich.
An army pilot travels to South America on vacation with his fiancée, where she is kidnapped and he is drawn into a violent encounter with an underground Argentinian drug smuggling operation.
Film enthusiasts can see some amazing behind the scenes teasers by clicking here.
Details about tickets etc for the March premiere in Perth will be available next week. The screening will also premiere my awesome short film “Inside the Dance.” See the trailer below:
Screening at the Perth premiere of Stuart Bender’s “The Argentinian Escape!” Be capitivated by, and taken inside, the sensational choreography and performance of this beautiful dance. The amazing full version of this gorgeous film will be screened at the premiere of “The Argentinian Escape” (Thursday March 8th. Ticket information very soon!).
Directed by Stuart Bender Choreography by Dawn Paulson Miller Sound design by Julian Costa Dance performance by the Centre of Rhythm Studio dancers
Cinematography by Stuart Bender, Murray Christian, and Tim Brade // Lighting by Lars Jensen // Performance by Rachel Winning, Kellie Golding, Helen Misson, Shael Daniel, Zoe Morris, Georgia Knox, and Jessica Beckwith
Information about tickets to the premiere will be announced very soon. Watch this space!
Thanks to Michelle Daniel and the Centre of Rhythm Studio Thanks to the Lady Wardle Theatre at St Mary’s Anglican Girls School
Music by Moby (used with permission of Moby Gratis)
The screening in March will also premiere my action/adventure film “The Argentinian Escape.” See the trailer here:
Behind the scenes of the climactic shootout in “The Argentinian Escape!” This week shows you how we filmed at the Claremont Showgrounds.
Special thanks to Matt, and the Royal Agricultural Society of WA for arranging access to the showgrounds. Thanks also to Kevin Clarke for providing the awesome cars to add that interesting touch to the location.
Remember to click the very simple links at the end of the video for more exciting behind the scenes and completed action films!
To set the authentic flavour for “The Argentinian Escape,” we created sexy a Buenos Aires tango show! See behind-the-scenes of how the amazing music, captivating dancers and beautiful club location kick this film off with a classy touch. Thank you once again to Ryan and the Voodoo Lounge for furnishing us with an amazing location to film in! Thanks also to Cathie Travers and Saggezza for the incredible music, and Matt & Grace for their beautiful tango performance!
This exciting short film will be premiering very soon! Check out some previous behind-the-scenes of the film below:
