The Gravesite

  Feature films of John Graves' career: from Down Under

	Picnic at Hanging Rock John was an executive producer of this classic psychological thriller filmed on location in Australia. A critical and box office success in Australia and Europe upon its release, the film was part of a renaissance of Australian Cinema – and became a foundational work in the careers of many prominent Australian cast and crew.
	The 1976 film Storm Boy is based on the novel of the same name by Australian author Colin Theile. The film was well-received by critics and the public, winning several major awards both here (including an AFI award for Best Film) and overseas (Children's Film Festivals in Moscow, Russia and Tehran, Iran in 1977), and making an almost tenfold profit. The film was one of the first Australian feature films made for children to become well-known and both the book and film are still widely used in English school programmes
	Storm Boy Description Storm Boy and his father Hideaway Tom live in a shack in the sand hills of the rugged South Australian coast, an area known as the Coorong. Storm Boy saves the life of a baby pelican and names him Mr Percival. More about Storm Boy Actor David Gulpilil (left) Storm Boy Author Colin Theile

“You’ve got the job.” Barry Diller, then Vice President of Programming for the ABC Television Network, had just hired me as a West Coast Program Executive for the network. But I got a much better job offer, so I went to Australia instead.

The newly formed South Australian Film Corporation was looking for someone with network, major studio, and international experience to head up their feature film and television area in1974, and Graves accepted the challenge. Under his guidance, the Corporation made its first major feature success: Peter Weir's critically acclaimed Picnic at Hanging Rock, of which Graves was Executive Producer.
During his two year contract, he was also responsible for the BBC's feature Storm Boy, the re-editing of Sunday Too Far Away, and a TV feature movie, The Sound of Love.

Twiggy was interested in a script to be shot in Australia, on which I had the option. When I went to my first meeting with her, I was quite excited about meeting such a celebrity. Imagine my surprise when it turned out that Picnic at Hanging Rock, on which I was Executive Producer, was her favorite film of all time , and which she had seen five times! She seemed more excited to meet me than I had been to meet her! Unfortunately, the Aussies decided they didn’t want any co-productions with the U.S. at that time. But I still have that lovely accent on my answering machine.


Links to John Graves' Film Career

Internet Movie Database  / South Australian Film Corporation

Director Peter Weir had a casting technique which was quite a surprise to me, when we were casting his Picnic at Hanging Rock at the South Australian Film Corporation offices in Adelaide, Australia. For instance, if the part to be cast were that of a household maid, the unsuspecting actress might enter the room to be greeted with a finger-pointing, shouted accusation: “We know you stole the silverware from the dining room drawer! What have you got to say for yourself?” The thespian would immediately have to invent a story and a character to fit that story in her reply. What amazed me was that nobody seemed taken aback by this approach, and managed to immediately respond with totally believable characterizations. Maybe they had worked for Peter before.

Storm Boy

'Every once in a while there is a special film, a film that appeals to all ages, a classic family entertainment that celebrates life and joyfully touches the heart. Storm Boy is that film.
Storm Boy lives with his recluse father on South Australia's lonely and beautiful coast. Here his free spirit roams with his pet pelican, Mr. Percival, and his secret Aboriginal friend, Fingerbone Bill. He knows no other world.
Suddenly there are intruders, the local school teacher who wants him to take lessons, a resentful wild-life ranger, duck shooters... Storm Boy, growing up is forced to choose between a life of continued isolation and the challenges of the outside world.