2020 in all its glory
Well, it has been an interesting year to say the least. And I am not going to say it has been all awful, because it hasn’t. There have been some good things happen this year. Plus, I am one of these people who love to celebrate the positives. So, we’ll do that. Let’s celebrate the bright things that happened for me in 2020:
YOU, ME, THE 80s & THE 90s
My good mate, Emma Louise, and I decided to start a podcast this year. Anyone who knows me remotely, knows how much I love music. Even at 45, I still get heavily into new music; but my favourite era of music will always be the 80s and 90s. That’s what this podcast celebrates, this music and the artists who made the songs. We have so much fun getting together every fortnight and discussing these songs. We disagree, a lot. You will often hear me saying the phrase, “Hate Speech”. Then there is the stuff we love together.
The great thing, people are enjoying it. You make it, hoping people will like it. In reality, you just hope your friends will listen (which doesn’t always happen). So, to say we have had tens of thousands of listens, it is amazing. We even found out just today we have made the Apple Music Australian Podcast Music Charts. Plus, our online community is building and I love having all these chats about music.
We are ready to keep building in 2021, and I hope you all will have a listen:
OVERCATERERS ANONYMOUS
When Sydney began to emerge from lockdown I was very excited to do something creative. I had had the idea for “Overcaterers Anonymous” for a long time. I mentioned it to a few friends and they said should I should write it. In classic Wayne fashion, I wrote it a few days later. My amazing friends, Jacinta Moses and Suz Mawer, came on board to produce it with me, and was so happy to have such positive and supportive producing partners. We shot it over three days and it felt so good for all of us to be creative again after being stuck inside and behind our computer screens. The crew was phenomenal, I loved working with all of them. Christine Anderson, the Director of Photography, was a breath of fresh air. I want to work with her many more times. The post production crew, Paul Anthony Nelson, Nicholas Cavanagh and Thomas Wood, really brought the fun to life. The rest of the crew, Dean, Becky and Carolina, really are incredible. Then there was the cast, some of my closest friends. Always a treat to work with them. Got to work with some new actors, which is always nice and then there were my talented students. Any time I can cast a student, I am happy, and each of them did an amazing job.
I was nervous before the release. Let’s face it, this film is batshit crazy and I hoped others would find my bizarre sense of humour funny. So happy they did, people seem to really love the film and can identify with these insane characters, or at least see a little of themselves in their flaws. We have also been blessed with some awards already and some great nominations. I was especially happy to see Suz Mawer win Best Supporting Actress for her work, well deserved.
I love mockumentaries, so it has inspired me to make more, watch this space….
And check out the film:
AFTER NIGHTFALL
Several years after making this web series, it is still going strong. One of my favourite things this year was that one of my classes discovered the series and have been watching it and quoting it in class. I love they got so heavily into the story. The series continued to do well in festivals around the world (I have really begun to discover that people seem to like my work more overseas than here in Australia).
Some of the festivals we love were postponed, Miami and New Jersey. I was planning on heading to Jersey again, so it was sad to see it cancelled. Though I now worry I won’t be able to leave Australia to attend in September 2021, the government seem to be writing off 2021 for overseas travel.
We got a lot of nominations and selections early in the year, but it took to the end of the year before we started winning. Was so proud of the nominations we received at NYC Web Fest, Minnesota Web Fest, Seoul Web Fest, Toronto Web Fest, London Short Series and Apulia Web Fest.
Now these wins, they were incredible. Best Director (Horror / Thriller) at Baltimore Web Fest, Best Thriller at the Asia Web Awards and a massive 4 wins at British Web Awards for Best Actor, Best Script, Best Editing and Best Music.
We still have Miami and Jersey next year, but I am ready for us to give a big thankful farewell to After Nightfall. This series has been a big part of my life and gave me so much, I love it and am so proud of it. Now I want to build on what I have learnt and create some new and exciting things.
MY NOVEL – NORMAL OR NOTHING LIKE IT
While in the US in 2019, I started writing my novel, “Normal or Nothing Like it”. It is a series of connected short stories about Sydneysiders in their 40s. Lockdown meant I was able commit to the book and really loved spending days working on it. I managed to finish midway through the year (the photo is from the day I finished) and have been working on edits. Just got it back from my good mate, Jacinta, who gave me some great notes. I have made the decision to self-publish without even sending it to publishers or agents. I just want to get it out there and take my chances. I wrote a teen novel years ago and it broke my heart having people interested and then not interested, and even though the people closest to me loved it, I abandoned it. I want this one out there. I want to launch it for my birthday in July, so stay tuned. Here’s hoping things improve and I can have a book launch for you all to come to.
KYLIE GALE MUSIC VIDEOS
I am so thankful to the amazing Hayley Jensen for introducing me to the amazing Kylie Gale. We made her first clip, “Fading to Grey” a week after I had emergency hernia surgery and a week or so before lockdown came into effect. The team worked so well together, especially our great DOP, Emily Bui. It rained, and we planned on shooting outside most of the day, but the team did a great job finding new solutions, and I got to light the fire I wanted. I think it’s a great clip and Kylie is a talent. Check it out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U9dbM-MlCpI
In late December, we shot her next video, “Upside Down”. It is currently being edited by the brilliant, Paul Anthony Nelson. And I am excited about this one. We worked very hard to do it all in one day and there were three amazing stories we shot. I think they will turn out well. And Kyle was again brilliant in her performance. We managed to make the bush in Blacktown look like the country. It will be released in mid-February, and I can’t wait for you all to see it.
TEACHING
I love teaching, and I am so happy that so many of my students have been with me for years now. They constantly inspire me and I love to see their growth. So many of them are heading out now and doing work, and it brings such a big smile to my face. While it was a trying time with lockdown, and a whole term behind the computer screen, we made some great work.
My CASPA students shoot a great short film called, “The Way I Remember It”. It will be screened in Catholic Schools next year and I am so proud of the work my students did. My adult students at Sydney Talent Company made a cute horror film called, “One Eye Open”. I got the finished product yesterday, and it is FUN. Plus, my Centre Stage teens made some fun movie teasers, just shoot simply on my phone, and they make me chuckle. Check out Karen below:
WAYNE
It wasn’t the easiest year for me. I got the surgery I needed, finally. 2019 was a painful end with my hernia and touring a kids theatre show. Thank God it was done, and just before they cancelled all operations. I have had some other illnesses, getting old sucks. Hopefully it means I will live healthier now.
I grew and evolved this year. I learnt more about myself. I learnt that I need to stay on my path and I can’t do things to please others. I am also trying to worry less about what others think, that one is never easy. I am a strong believer that no one wants you to succeed more than you do. And they shouldn’t. It is no one else’s responsibility to make you feel good about yourself or to see you succeed. I love collaboration, but it is up to me to do what I need to make myself the best version of myself and to get the success I have always craved.
So what does 2021 have instore? I hope to be having that vaccine sooner than later. My novel will come out. I hope to finally have my feature film finished and out. I cancelled my next feature, “Bitch”, for many reasons and it felt right. I am working on a new web series I hope to shoot in the next few months, and I am excited to make it. Plus, my next mockumentary short. Want to do a lot more writing and build up what I have already done. I am getting closer to 50 and now is not the time to rest. You quote the great Britney Spears, “You better work bitch”.