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Garage Days

"…an infectious, toe-tapping, smile-inducing blast of a can-they-make-the-big-time rock band comedy…"

PRINCIPAL CAST & CREDITS

CAST
Freddy – Kick Gurry
Kate – Maya Stange
Tanya – Pia Miranda
Lucy – Chris Sandrinna
Joe – Brett Stiller
Shad Kern – Marton Csokas
Kevin – Andy Anderson
Bruno – Russell Dykstra

CREDITS
Director – Alex Proyas
Producers – Alex Proyas & Tohper Dow
Co Producer – Adrienne Read
Screenwriters – Alex Proyas, Dave Warner & Michael Udesky
Cinematographer/DOP – Simon Duggan ACS
Editor – Richard Learoyd
Choreographer – Paul Mercurio
Casting - Greg Apps
Peter Grace – Sound

GENRE
Comedy/Musical

PRODUCTION COMPANY
Mystery Clock Cinema

RELEASE DATES
Australia – October 3, 2002
USA – July 18, 2003

DISTRIBUTOR
Fox Searchlight

AT THE BOX OFFICE – Australia
In its first week of release, Garage Days grossed $0.48million at the Australian box office.
In its second week, Garage Days dropped down the list slightly and only recorded $0.29million.
After the second week, Garage Days dropped off the Top 10 movies of the week and figures are n/a
In total, Garage Days grossed $1.3million at the Australian Box Office which meant it just missed out on a spot in the Top 100 Australian Films of All Time.

INTERVIEWS WITH FILMMAKERS
David Stratton talks to Alex Proyas about Garage Days (audio N/A)
(http://www.sbs.com.au/movieshow/interviews.php3?id=127

Maya Stange on Garage Days
http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?a=6605&s=Interviews

Review and interview with Alex Proyas
http://sunday.ninemsn.com.au/sunday/film_reviews/article_1150.asp


PRESENCE IN ONLINE LITERATURE
At first glance I thought there were heaps of Garage Days reviews on the net. The majority of these turned out to be simple cast lists or just random opinions. A selection of the more "reputable" reviews follows.

Favourable
Box Office Online
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/click/movie-10000882/reviews.php?critic=all&sortby=default&page=1&rid=851081

Adelaide University Film Society
http://www.aufs.org/reviews/film/garagedays.html

ABC Hobart
http://www.abc.net.au/hobart/stories/s710914.htm

E-film Critic
http://www.efilmcritic.com/review.php?movie=6044

Urban Cinefile (2)
http://www.urbancinefile.com.au/home/view.asp?a=6586&s=Reviews

Not favourable
Hollywood Reporter
http://www.rottentomatoes.com/click/movie-10000882/reviews.php?critic=all&sortby=default&page=1&rid=799411

Triple J
http://www.abc.net.au/triplej/review/film/s696323.htm

CRITICAL REVIEW

Synopsis
So you wanna be a rock star? So does Freddy. Garage Days (Alex Proyas, 2002) follows the trials and tribulations of an up-and-coming rock band in Sydney's inner suburbs. Desperate for his band to make it to the top, Freddy takes it upon himself to track down Australia's Rock Manager of the Year and get his band signed. In their quest for fame, the band members and their entourage face many of life's problems and have to deal with issues of their own, as well as each others. On a rocky road to the top, they learn about the things that can ultimately tear a band, and a group of friends, apart. Take one egotistical lead singer and his confused but crazy, bass playing girlfriend, add one mohawked, drug-f*#*@d drummer and a depressed, suicidal guitarist. Now that's a recipe for success!

Plot
The narrative of Garage Days primarily follows Freddy (Kick Gurry). Freddy is the lead singer of a band trying to break into the world of rock 'n' roll. Nothing is really going right for the band and after their glorified first gig flops, they put their problems down to their manager, Bruno (Russell Dykstra). Freddy sets out to get the band a new manager while the others, Lucy, Joe, Kate and Tanya try to sort out their own lives. Joe (Brett Stiller) and Kate (Maya Stange) are involved in a very complex relationship, confused by Kate's feelings for Freddy and Joe's bizarre connection with another woman (Yvette Duncan). Tanya (Pia Miranda) is trying to have a fulfilling relationship with Freddy, until she finds out about Kate and seeks comfort in the arms, nay the bed, of Lucy (Chris Sandrinna). Lucy is on a mission from God to find 'the perfect ten' of drugs, but he may be just what Tanya needs. After battling through all this and more, Bruno comes through for them, and the band is given the chance to live out their ultimate rock dream, to play at the Homebake festival.


Criticism
It was one giant leap from the dark, gothic styles of Dark City, and The Crow that we have come to expect from director Alex Proyas. Garage Days followed a much more light-hearted approach. Definitely not a serious movie, Garage Days was simply and at most, a couple of hours of fun.
I found several – but not all- of the characters to be fairly badly developed and annoyingly stereotypical, particularly "Australia's Manager of the Year", Shad Kern (Marton Csokas). He was predictably sleazy, slimy and nasty, and although he did this well, there was very little else one learnt about him. Generally, the acting was fairly impressive, despite what the actors had to work with. In my opinion, the standout actor was Brett Stiller and his portrayal of the brooding, depressed and a little crazy, guitarist, Joe. A severe twist in the story disrupts the logic that seems to surround Joe and the things he does. Stiller pulls this off without a hitch and depicts a powerful portrayal of the charming, sweet boyfriend Joe and crazy, psychotic sex fiend Joe.
The stunning visual effects bring the movie up a notch and make it exciting and hilarious to watch at times. In particular, the two scenes entitled "Fun with Drugs-Part 1 & 2". Proyas and his designers used both live action and cartoon animation to craft several visually stimulating sequences.
Both the high and the low point of the film came within seconds of each other. You have to admire Proyas and his team for the way they were able to create and shoot a believable concert scene at a live concert. At the conclusion of the film the band are onstage at Homebake, one of Australia's largest music festivals, playing to a massive, but real crowd and somehow, the entire Garage Days crew managed to pull it off, now that is impressive! The letdown comes a few seconds later, in what I believe was a major plot fault, when the band totally sucks (for want a better word!) onstage. The crowd was quiet and obviously unimpressed and the band realises they are failures. The End. This tragic ending is neatly tied up with a nice little slogan of "You don't have to BE a rock star to feel like one." Aaww how sweet!

Critical Uptake
At its Australian release, Garage Days took $0.48million on the opening weekend. Throughout the duration of its screening here, it took a total gross of $1.3million at the box office. Garage Days was then nominated for 3 AFI Awards for Best Production Design, Best Sound and Best Actress in a Supporting Role (Maya Stange). Unfortunately, it did not win any awards, pipped at the post by Rabbit Proof Fence, Walking on Water and Dirty Deeds. The fact though, that Garage Days was nominated for three prestigious awards in Australia is proof enough of its success in its home country. It is harder to gauge the success of Garage Days overseas and in the U.S. especially because it has not been released yet. Garage Days was shown in the "Premiere" category of the Sundance Film Festival in January this year, so if that is any indication of what is to come, Garage Days looks set for a good showing in the U.S.

FILMOGRAPHY

Kick Gurry
Buffalo Soldiers (Gregor Jordan, 2003)
Looking For Alibrandi (Kate Woods, 2000)

Maya Stange
XX/YY (Austin Chick, 2003)
In a Savage Land (Bill Bennett, 1999)
Head On (Ana Kokkinos, 1998)

Alex Proyas
I, Robot (2004)
Director; in pre-production
Riverworld (2003) TV
Executive Producer
Dark City (1998)
Director; Producer; Writer
Book of Dreams (1994)
Director; Writer; Cinematographer
The Crow (1994)
Director
Secrets of the City (1994)
Cinematographer
Spirits of the Air, Gremlins of the Clouds (1989)
Director; Producer; Writer

Topher Dow
Riverworld (2003) TV
Executive Producer
My Mother Frank (2000)
First Assistant Director
Dark City (1998)
Second Unit Director

GARAGE DAYS & AUSTRALIAN CINEMA
The Australian cinema industry is known throughout the world as a medium-sized, English-language cinema. It is labelled as medium-sized because of the small amount of films produced compared to Hollywood, per year. A ratio of one to ten would not be unlikely. In the year that Garage Days was produced (2002), 22 Australian films were released, 19 feature films and 3 documentaries. Last year (2002) there was a total 258 films released into Australian cinemas, so the Aussie flicks made up 8.5% of all movies released worldwide. What makes this even sadder is that in that same year, Aussie films only grossed 4.9% of the total box office takings, a total of $41million.
Source: http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/01/29/1043804405298.html

The reason Australian films are pitched against the dominating force in cinema that is Hollywood, is because of the "English-language" classification both industries have. This means that Australian movies are constantly competing against American movies, and very rarely coming out of top, even at the Australian Box Office. In the week of its release in Australia, Garage Days came in at number 8 at the Box Office. Behind in at 9 & 10 were the American films Eight Legged Freaks and Insomnia. Ahead of Garage Days were 6 Hollywood films, including Austin Powers 3 and Lilo & Stitch. The Australian film, Crocodile Hunter came in just ahead of Garage Days at number 7.

Source: http://www.movieguide.com.au/07102002.htm

COLLECTING INFORMATION
I began my quest for information about Garage Days on the Internet, using several search engines, but predominantly Google. This proved to be a very efficient way to gather information and I discovered that I could find almost everything I needed this way. Occasionally I ran into trouble whilst trying to access secured sites such as Urban Cinefile, but on the whole information was readily accessible. I did attempt to locate Garage Days information in print sources by using the library catalogue database, but my numerous searches proved fruitless and it seemed there was nothing to be found.