12/23/05

The guy who does the 300 Blogs About 300 blog reports that the filming location for '300' is Icestorm Digital Studios.

There's been some question about whether David's character's name is Dilios or Delios.  In the book, it's "Dilios", with an "i" as in "eye patch" (which he wears for about half the book, after being wounded in battle).  His mission is to guarantee the kleos of the 300 warriors, their glory and immortality, and to ensure that their story will be told for generations.   If it weren't for Dilios, there would be no movie at all.  Think about that for a minute.

And remember, it's only funny till somebody loses an eye.

12/19/05

So this is the answer to all the riddles.......

The news everybody's been anxiously waiting for was confirmed on imdb.com recently.  David will be playing Dilios the storyteller in 300.

Adapted from a Minkey scan

(actual Dilios may vary)

Join us next week, as we unravel the Bermuda Triangle, discover the Holy Grail, and interview Elvis from his Masonic hideout on the set of the NASA moon landing.

Posted yesterday on Live Journal:  this 10MB video clip taken by a fan who met Billy Boyd and David Wenham at last year's Comic Con in San Diego.  It's almost like you're there!  But without having to dress in a superhero costume and stand in line for 5 hours.

Current international release dates for The Proposition:

U.S. - New York 3/31/06, LA 4/7/06
U.K. - 3/3/06
Cannes - 5/11/06
Finland - 2/3/2006

Finally, in the spirit of the season, we leave you with two traditional Gondor holiday carols.  The first is by Galenmir, the second is by make_it_stop:

(to the tune of "Good King Wenceslas")

Steward Denethor looked out
On the town's defences
As the orcs marched round about
Then he lost his senses

Brightly shone the pyre's blaze
As he immolated
Later, Gandalf sadly says:
"He should have been seda-a-ted."

(to the tune of "Winter Wonderland")

Dad is mad, are you listening?
By the throne, eyes are glistening,
A death ride for you, 'cause you're #2,
Charging in a wasted Gondorland.

At the sky, you can stare-o,
When you're hit by an arrow,
And wish that you had, a cleverer dad,
Charging in a wasted Gondorland.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS
from Dessicated Coconut!

12/15/05

I'm gonna go way out on a limb here, and speculate that David is playing some kind of Greek guy in 300.

Of course, I could be wrong.  He could be portraying Audrey's great-great-great-great-etc. grandmother, Swishios.  Unlike Aristophanes, Euripides, and Sophocles, whose works survive to this day, Swishios was tremendously bothered by the insufferable droning noise of battle, and never finished any plays.

Shooting for 300 ends January 25th, according to the Comics2Film Fan Feed (why does "fan feed" sound like something that comes in 25-lb. bags at the local farm store?).  Creature FX Inc., whose other credits include The Chronicles of Narnia and The Last Samurai, is providing special makeup and mechanical effects.

JoBlo.com reviews Frank Miller's graphic novel, and its potential to translate onto the screen.

Here's an excerpt from a UGO interview with Tyler Bates, who is composing the score for 300:

UGO: Are you working on Zack Snyder's next movie?

Tyler: 300, yeah.

UGO: What kind of score are you putting together for that?

Tyler: That's...well, the movie is an ancient battle epic. There are beautiful themes on the top and large choir and whatnot, but it's tempered with some extreme heaviness. Zack did an elaborate test shot for Warner Bros to illustrate exactly the kind of film he wanted to make. I scored the test shot and I said to him, "You are aware that this is probably five times heavier than anything that's ever come out in this genre?" (laughs) This has a lot of weight and intensity in the low end of the percussion, so he's down with it. He wants to spawn a new generation of this kind of film.

UGO: What was the test shot exactly?

Tyler: It was one single unedited shot that was about a minute and a half of a battle scene. We see a line of the Spartans line up against the army of 10,000 Persians ready to invade. It was really fantastic. I was really blown away and, like I said, there were no edits in the whole shot, so it was really cool.

UGO: Did he make it look like Sin City at all, or did he put his own look to it?

Tyler: He definitely put his own look. Sin City is its own thing, and I think that the team of guys who worked on it did a fantastic job, but this is a completely different feeling and look from that. It almost looks animated, but it's all live action.

12/12/05

Anynewson300yet?Anynewson300yet?Anynewson300yet? How about now? Anynewson300yet? 

If you kids don't stop that racket, we're turning this web page around RIGHT NOW.  I mean it.

Here's a little holiday cheer, DC-style:  The 12 Days Of Davemas

12/06/05

Rumor has it that Zach Snyder has recently switched gears and started filming a conceptual postmodern version of '300' featuring clown shoes, tennis rackets, and thick Brooklyn accents.  David is currently undergoing intensive training in interior decoration, mime, and trapeze.

See, this is what happens during lengthy news blackouts.  We have to start making up stuff.

August 2005

8/30:

The Trailer for

I'm sorry.  I'll stop yelling.

The trailer for The Proposition is out!

Also, the Montreal Film Festival is going on this week.  From the Aug. 25 Montreal Mirror:

Emanating from Australia - and that's usually good enough reason to attend in itself - is Three Dollars, the latest from director Robert Connolly (The Bank). The film recounts the story of Eddie (David Wenham), a government employee who has always played by the rules, and expected that his needs would be taken care of as a result. Sadly, government cutbacks mean dear old Eddie, who's pushing 40, is out of a job. All the man has as he walks away from his job are $3 in his pocket. Based on Elliot Perlman's novel of the same name, Three Dollars examines morality in contemporary Australia.

And finally, because we at Dessicated Coconut are always thinking of the children.....  Doug's Rap: G rated version

8/17:

David's Pimp Name:	Dopetastic D. Squeeze
Hobbit Name:	Drogo Danderfluff
Pirate Name:	Black Davy Flint
Prison Name:	"The Receptacle"
Smurf Name:	Trusty Smurf
Jedi Name:	Wenda Brnat of Planet Viagra
Goth Name:	Liquid Dreams
Taxi Driver Name:	Pheckbarrrr Peterson
Mafia Name:	"No Brainer" Emilio
Mormon Name:	Clarvid St. Benjamin
Indian Name:	Improvisational Toad
Porn Name:	Jizzy Kielbasa
Pope Name:	Pope Unspeakable Willie VI
Outlaw Biker Name:	Wrench Head of the Toecutters MC
Spammer Name:	Clammy C. Reykjavik
Reggae Name:	Tuff Prophet

8/15:

UH!! DAVID ROCKED! UR JUST JEALOUS OF HIS HOTTNESS!! AND WONDERFUL ACTING!!! ATLEAST HES FAMOUS U POMPOUS JERK!!

-- jl50jjl on imdb.com
(courtesy of Phantasmagoria)

*****

Two of David's movies have been longlisted for this year's AFI Feature Film awards: Three Dollars and The Proposition.  Rowan Woods' Little Fish also made the list.  Judging screenings start in September.

According to Robert Connolly's blog, Three Dollars has been selected for official competition at this year's Montreal World Film Festival.  The film will have its international premiere at this event on Aug. 29, with director Robert Connolly and actor David Wenham in attendance.

The "retail" release date for Three Dollars is unknown, but it will be available for DVD/VHS rental on Sept. 28th,  according to these fine people.

8/10 - Senses of Cinema has an in-depth interview with Robert Connolly, Empty Pockets, in which he talks about his work on Three Dollars and The Bank. (warning: possible spoilers)

Of all the odd things you're likely to see on the internet today, this Faramir's Nose Xanga will easily rank among the top 100.

Fun clip of the day: a short video interview from the Monster Legend site (posted by Eliza at WW).  Scroll down to the second "MONSTER LEGEND" entry (in the "Sources" column) and click on the three crosses.

8/3 - ABC's 7.30 Report has done a special report on filming for Answered By Fire.  Many of the actors appearing in the production lived through the events in East Timor, and the filming has been stirring up some strong and painful emotions on the set.

Bits and Pieces has been updated with a mangled translation of a televised interview David gave to Inter-FM in Japan last summer, when he was in Tokyo to promote Van Helsing.   Parts of it sound like those tote bags emblazoned with random English words ("Big Wednesday!    Elephant sport!"), but you'll be able to get a rough idea.

July 2005

7/29 - Oooops.  We forgot to include the lovely photo of David and Jenni Klaus that goes with Jenni's radio interview.  Go look!  Now!

Filming on Answered by Fire has been disrupted twice this month, once by torrential rains, and again by kangaroos.  The July 27 Daily Telegraph reports that during recent filming, a mob of kangaroos hopped into a shot of an "East Timorese swamp", and the sequence had to be reshot.

Earlier today, David was confirmed as a guest at RingCon 2005, to be held at the Esperanto Hotel in Fulda, Germany from Oct. 7 - 10.  David will join Sean Astin, John Noble, Craig Parker, John Howe, and a host of others who worked on the Lord of the Rings trilogy.

7/27 - Grateful thanks to Jenni Klaus of Edge Radio 99.3 FM in Hobart, Tasmania for sharing with us a summary of her recent interview with David.

The thinking casting agent's crumpet   Today's theme is "Possible Future Roles For David".  First up is an interview with Sandy McCutcheon, author of The Magician's Son, a riveting memoir of his lifelong struggle to recover his lost identity.  McCutcheon, a fascinating storyteller, mentions David as being a good candidate for the lead role, but adds "He's a bit too good looking - he'd need to go on a diet".

Below, a list of other characters that have been proposed for David on various film and book message boards:

1. Conan the Barbarian

2. Professor Lupin (of Harry Potter fame)

3. James Bond  (of James Bond fame)

4. Jonathan Strange (from the bestselling novel by Susanna Clarke)

5. Vincent Van Gogh

6. F'lar (from the Pern series by Ann McCaffrey)

7.  Drizzt Do'Urden  (no idea who this is, but it sounds like it involves a prosthetic forehead)

8. Bree (from the Narnia series)

9.  Tintin

10.  Archie Andrews

11.  Aramis from The Three Musketeers

12. Dr. Who

13.  Dr. Watson

7/25 - Apologies for the lack of recent updates.  I've been "roughing it" in darkest New Hampshire for the past two weeks, and just got back to civilization yesterday.  Without further ado, here's some random stuff mined off the internet.

Freeze Dried Movies has a round-table interview with David and Billy from last summer's Comic Con (recently discovered by Minkey).  In a stroke of marketing brilliance, David proposes a super-super-deluxe edition of LOTR in 4-D.  Just imagine:  In a 4-D version, the trilogy would exist simultaneously at all points in time and entertain the ancient Phoenicians, as well as the master race of sentient hamsters that will, in the future, conquer us and take over the earth.  David and Billy would then find themselves booked on a hyper-dimensional tour, giving sphere-table interviews on behalf of New Plane Cinema.

A pleasant prospect, but for now we'll have to be content with the flat version of LOTR.

elflady2001 has posted a link on her blog to an Amazon LOTR 10th Anniversary Making Of video, which is hosted by one Mr. D. Wenham.  The .wmv files can be downloaded here, beneath the first photo (thank you, Phaz, for finding this).

Rowan Woods has a new film out, Little Fish, which is an expanded version of Tran the Man, his senior project at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School.  Tran the Man featured a youthful David as Raymond "Tran" Moss, a shopping mall security guard who gets mixed up in some serious shizzle when his brother and uncle's heroin business gets undercut.  Little Fish, which opened at the Melbourne International Film Festival last Wednesday, stars Cate Blanchett and Hugo Weaving.

 David as Mark Waldman in Answered by Fire. Scanned by Yolanda, from an article in the July 22 Brisbane Courier-Mail.  Text from this and another recent interview in the Gold Coast Bulletin (transcribed by Minkey) is available in the Bits and Pieces section.  As always, a huge round of thanks to Yo & Mink for their unwavering devotion to the cause.

Occasionally, we get submissions of poetry, fan art, and the like from readers.  Hence, we are introducing a new section called the Fan Korner (for lack of a better name), to spotlight these creative efforts.  Today's featured poem is by Nancy Hibberd, who composed it in honor of David's return to the stage as Cyrano.  Nancy has also put together a downloadable slide show tribute to David (to the tune of "I Need A Man" by the Eurythmics).  Enjoy!

7/6 - Good news for North American fans-in-exile:  The Proposition will premiere at this year's Toronto Film Festival (Sept. 8 - 17, 2005) as part of the "Visions" showcase.  This is a real coup, according to The Age, which notes that Toronto is one of North America's most prestigious festivals, and that major distributors will be on hand looking for suitable material.

CORRECTION:  It appears that the name of David's character in Answered By Fire may not be Mark Worth, but Mark Waldman.  The earlier information came from a Montreal newspaper article which gave his name as "Davis Wenham".

You know Davis:  he appeared in Van Helsinki (the Finnish vampire movie), Lard of the Rings (in which The One Doughnut gets tossed into a deep fryer), and the cheap bootleg knockoff Two Dollars And Seventy-Nine Cents.  (Always check the label carefully before you buy.)

*****

On a somber note, our deepest condolences to the family and friends of film director William Mather-Brown, a close friend and fellow performing-arts schoolmate of David's, who drowned last week in Nice while trying to save his son from a swift-flowing river.  David had this to say about his friend:

"Bill was one of my great mates. He was the only person that would make me cry with laughter every time I saw him.  His kids were the No. 1 love of his life."

Mather-Brown co-directed the documentary Troy's Story, narrated by Ewan MacGregor, which recently won the grand jury prize at the New York Independent Film and Video festival.

6/6 - Dessicated Coconut is 1 year old today!

Yes, in just 12 short months, DC has learned a few simple words, and can now recognize and reach for bright, colorful objects.  We're so proud!

To celebrate, we've broken up the Movies section into several smaller pages.  Now you no longer have to wait 8 trillion hours for all the pictures to load.  (Hallelujah.)

May 2005

5/31 - David has a new project!

From the May 29 Sydney Morning Herald:

WENHAM'S MISSION

David Wenham will star in a three-part ABC miniseries, Answered by Fire, about the 1999 referendum in East Timor and its aftermath. Wenham plays a policeman who volunteers for the UN mission. It is the first drama co-production between the ABC and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation and will co-star Canadian actor Isabelle Blais. It will be directed by Jessica Hobbs (Love My Way). Shooting begins in south-east Queensland next month and it will air next year.

The film tells the story of two UN peacekeepers (an Australian volunteer officer and a Canadian volunteer officer) and the young female translator from East Timor whom they befriend amidst the violence sparked by the August 1999 independence referendum in East Timor.  The name of David's character is Mark Worth.  The mini-series will broadcast as three 60-minute episodes on ABC in Australia, and CBC in Canada.

In other news, Three Dollars is tentatively scheduled for release on Region 4 DVD September 21st.  On the deluxe edition, a small electronic chip embedded inside the cover will play "Happy Birthday, Dear David" again and again until you whap it with a hammer, or leave it out in the rain.  (I speak from similar, bitter experience.)

Three Dollars was also shown at the Cannes Film Festival's Market a couple of weeks ago, in hopes of attracting interest for international release.

5/23 - Attention "Star Wars" fans!  Leahrif, also known as Phantasmagoria of TORC, has conjured an entire page of Jedi Daves on her Livejournal. (May 20th entry)  Put on your sunglasses, 'cause they're brilliant.  Who knew the Force also had a red side?

SPOTTED in Pennsylvania recently, adorning the car of one of the co-admins of this site:

Which has inspired me to apply for my own custom license plate:

The Shane Maloney telemovies will be available on Region 4 DVD May 25.  Special features include interviews with John Clarke, Sam Neill, and David Wenham, and a guided tour around Murray Whelan's haunts by the author himself.

Pure will get a limited theatrical release in the U.S. on July 10.  Check your local theater listings.

According to the voices in my head Sydney Morning Herald, the tentative release date for "The Proposition" is October 6.

5/3 - Last week, David and Robert Connolly flew by helicopter down to Recherche Bay in Tasmania, a rainforest area that has recently been threatened by pulpmill and logging plans.  They were given a tour of the Styx River Forest by Greens Senator Bob Brown.  There's an article in the May 1 Sunday Tasmanian, as well as a writeup and photo links on Robert Connolly's blog.  For further information about the campaign to save the Tasmanian forests, visit The Wilderness Society's website.

On April 15, David did a return engagement with the folks on ABC's Triple J Breakfast.  The interview is archived as MP3s in 2 parts (thanks to Yolanda for the link!).

April 2005

4/29 Lately I've been thinking that they really should come out with "Three Dollars" action figures.  Children always enjoy re-enacting complex, contemporary urban dramas out in the backyard.

Some new interviews & snippets today, in the Bits and Pieces section, and a radio interview with Sarah Wynter at Nova 100.3 FM, Melbourne.

And a stunning David wallpaper from a German graphic artists' site (found by POI).

Three Dollars Review from infilm.com

4/20 For some of today's links, we're deeply indebted (as always) to the internet sleuths at Wenham Wonderland.

Three Dollars A Good Bet   Photo and short cast interview in The Daily Telegraph, April 12

Stars Cheer Their Teams  David and "The Thorpedo" root as one for the Swans.  The Daily Telegraph, April 18

720 ABC Perth Saturday breakfast interview, April 16.  Transcript and downloadable audio file.

Davidwenham.net has tons of photos from the Melbourne premiere of Three Dollars.  (Well, not literally tons.  Jpeg files don't actually weigh very much.)

Download a 9MB .wmv video file of the ABC 7.30 report here...

The Human Consequences of Economic Rationalism   Green Left Weekly reviews Three Dollars.

Bits and Pieces has been updated with two new blurbs from Spy magazine (thanks to Minkey) and an October 2000 article about David from Variety.com.  I took shameless advantage of their 14-day free trial subscription to pilfer it.  On the other hand, they'll be filling up my in-box, and the in-boxes of my descendents, with spam from now until eternity, so I guess it's a fair trade.

4/12 - David chatted with Sally Loane yesterday on the 702 morning radio show.  An audio file is available in RealPlayer format (scroll down the page a bit).

Tracey Bowden interviews David on ABC's 7.30 report.   ABC Online has a condensed version with photos.

For A Few Dollars More Three Dollars premiered last night at Dendy Opera Quays.  As far as we know, there were no injuries reported.

4/1 As 'Cyrano' winds down, Three Dollars gets ready for release on April 21.  Mission Australia, in addition to releasing commemorative stamps, is sponsoring some special screenings and Q&A sessions around the country.   David is scheduled to appear at a red-carpet gala in Sydney on the 11th, and in Adelaide on the 14th.

Workers Online recently ran a review of Three Dollars which discusses the movie in depth, frosted with a thick layer of tongue-in-cheek pretension and satire (at least, I hope they weren't using the term "allegorical nexxus" with a straight face).  Beware: spoilers!

March 2005

3/23 -

I must apologize...I've been very much behind the curve recently in getting news out here in a timely fashion.   Um, has everybody heard yet that David Wenham will be playing Faramir in Peter Jackson's upcoming Lord of the Rings trilogy?

Robert Connolly, director of Three Dollars, has started a blog which offers some insights into the making of the film and its release.  Among other things, he talks about upcoming Q&A sessions in major Australian cities, the official commemorative stamps, and prospects for international release.  There are definite plans for distribution in several countries, including Italy.  The U.S. and U.K. may be included if Reiko, the film's distributor, can capitalize on the significant amount of interest coming out of these countries.  Oo!  Oo!  Over here!  *waves hand wildly*  We're interested!  We're interested!!

Meanwhile, over at LiveJournal, Cousin Shelley has started a new community called David Wenham Daily (or Daisy Daily, for those of you on a first-name basis).  Go check it out!  It's got tons of goodies: screen caps, interviews, a downloadable Three Dollars trailer, cocktail recipes, and general mayhem.  In fact, the next several Cyrano links are direct from Cousin Shelley herself (thanks, Cuz!):

Theatre Notes: Cyrano de Bergerac by Alison Croggon, Feb. 26

Broadway Australia review

Big Hats And Big Noses Mean Big Laughs  Review in The Blurb

And for those who can't make the 12,000 mile trip to see Cyrano de Bergerac in person, here's an eyewitness account by a young theater-goer.  She also did this amazing pencil sketch of Faramir.

Another Broadway Australia article: "Monumental Story"

3/16 - Extra!  Extra!  Get yer red hot Three Dollars trailer right here!

Reports from TORN on the recent "Evening with Peter Jackson" in Sydney include some funny moments from the LOTR blooper reel. Among the highlights: what Faramir was really thinking during the coronation scene.

3/11 - Another great review of Cyrano, this one by Owen Richardson:  Cyrano de Bergerac.

Photos from Three Dollars may be had here (thank you, Fruby of TORC, for finding these).  Scroll, and enjoy.  The last photo is strangely reminiscent of the cover of Abbey Road (also of Murray Whelan; perhaps it's the plastic bag).

IMDB is currently recommending Babe for people who also enjoyed Three Dollars.  (We assume they're going by title, not by content.)

Hey look!  It's the other David Wenham!

PrincessFaz and make_it_stop proudly present Chapter 1 of our first joint fan-fiction: Lawd of Them Hills.  In this version of "Lord of the Rings", everybody is a Gondor brother, and the Moon Pies flow like dandelion wine.  It's got talking hillbillies and everything.  Go on...y'all know you want a peek....

Archived Site Updates

2004

8/18  For anybody who's having a bad day, we offer you this:   Faramir and the Terrible, Horrible, No-Good, Very Bad Day.  Also, anuhealani has graciously screen-capped the Japanese video that was posted here yesterday, and posted them on a page called Fazgul Fancies

8/17   Added links to two more video clips in the Multimedia section of the Interview page.  One of them has some nice off-camera footage of Faramir.  Updated the Seachange and Pure reviews, and the DC blog.  Thank you to all the lovely people who have signed the guest book and left comments in Daisy's Sacred Grove!

8/9  De-cluttered the front page by moving old items to the Archive page.  Comic Con 2004 is just so five minutes ago.

8/4  New blog entry, various news tidbits (including the AICN interview).  New reviews of Simone de Beauvoir and After the Deluge in Movies.  Over in Fiction, added links to some gratuitous 'Mir Brothers smut, for which this site disowns all responsibility.

7/26 Thanks to Comic-Con, we have lots o' new stuff on the ROTK Extended Edition page.  Also added a review of Gettin' Square.  Coming soon:  Reviews of After the Deluge, Simone de Beauvoir's Babies, Seachange, and Pure.