Latest / Cinema Yūgen / KENT'S CLASSICS: A Legend Unleashed: The David Argue Interview Part 2
Transcript
- 0:00G'day, that's right, it's that time again. Time for CINEMA YUGEN!
- 0:07Music.
- 0:19I don't know. Yes, welcome back little yugenites. Kent's Classics as promised part 2 of David Argue.
- 0:27You gallipoli bmx bandits razor back
- 0:30escape from absalom or no escape he is
- 0:35an australian icon he is the man
- 0:38you don't argue with he is david argue get
- 0:41ready for part two unleashing the legend david argue here he is you told us
- 0:51a great story the other day i wasn't recording though about you witnessing your
- 0:56own head getting cut off in blood oath well.
- 1:00I had bandages on and all this stuff from these Japanese guys and they got this,
- 1:07this pitch big 12 foot dug pit obviously for body stuff and they were shooting
- 1:14the execution scene where my character was on the front of the box for a little while,
- 1:20didn't get a look in much but you heard me I was,
- 1:24screaming in terror, but that was only because my agent was on it.
- 1:28I'm sitting out there. We're sitting down in the middle of this gulch in Queensland somewhere.
- 1:33It's a hotel truck counter, and it's a really sweaty, hot, awful day.
- 1:38All these people looking too real.
- 1:40I mean, it really looked like they were going to kill me. I thought I wondered if they might have.
- 1:45Anyway, they nearly did. Because what happened to me, I had the guy that was
- 1:49marching me in. was marching me in like he was sort of ushering me into a,
- 1:54you know, a booth restaurant.
- 1:57I said, no, don't be polite. Please.
- 2:00You're just about to push me down on my knees and chop my head off.
- 2:05You want to bolt it up a bit, will you? But the poor bastard,
- 2:09it's not his fault, but he got picked up.
- 2:13They needed some Japanese to, you know, march us around.
- 2:17And they could only get tourists.
- 2:20From Sea World, where we were all staying. So it was very strange.
- 2:24The guy was being very polite.
- 2:26And I had to explain to him that with this acting thing, I'm not on his side.
- 2:33Not tabby-tabby, but push. Anyways, so we come in.
- 2:38My hands are shackled by on the back. I can't see anything. They've gone in action.
- 2:42They've come in. They've gone, Do that.
- 2:47Oh, somebody going to fucking kill me or what.
- 2:54So then this guy goes, oh, I don't remember.
- 2:58And he gets these big hands on top of my shoulders and he pushes me so far into the dirt.
- 3:06My knees came loose of the dirt. Suddenly I was sort of flying mid-air with my hands down my back.
- 3:16Blindfolded in air. I didn't know how long it was going to and that was when
- 3:21that was what that felt like I was thinking something and it just stopped as
- 3:25I hit the bottom of this grave,
- 3:29with no, like, not a mattress or...
- 3:32And I thought, oh, man, come on. And I got up and I was screaming out. I just couldn't see.
- 3:38It was like, you know, people were starting to whirl around. I've never had that.
- 3:43And I said, oh, they're pulling on the stretcher. I said, oh,
- 3:46that's going to do me a lot of good things.
- 3:49They put us in that traffic. And it was just like that. It was just horrifying.
- 3:54Things were starting to... You know, I was having Johnny Young's flashbacks.
- 3:57That's sick I was a god was a god bummer so then I woke up they had the latex
- 4:05me out when I woke up right,
- 4:07kneeled at the side of the bay right and they're just going to shoot the sequence
- 4:12where the knife comes down and they get to use all their special effects right
- 4:16and my head's going to roll,
- 4:19so on action I've just sort of got up and wrapped my eyes and I go oh there's
- 4:24me and just as I saw that I looked at the knife I said, fuck that.
- 4:28And I saw my own head slide through the air. All this blood splurged all over the place.
- 4:34I said, if I wasn't stung, I'd be good. I fucking am now. I'm going back to bed. I'm pathetic.
- 4:41Somebody get me something, please.
- 4:44It had been a big day for David.
- 4:47Just saw myself killed.
- 4:50I wonder who scored the head. I was trying to football with it.
- 4:57Queensland, bloody movies.
- 5:00World up there.
- 5:03Someone's probably,
- 5:06got it. Where do you reckon? I don't know. They're sticking pins into it.
- 5:10That's what they're doing.
- 5:12Every time you get a headache, there's probably someone doing a bit of voodoo.
- 5:17No, I believe it, James.
- 5:21Somebody's got my head. Some voodoo actor that pissed off with me because I took his line.
- 5:27I remember what happened. No one was going to do this throughout the scene where
- 5:31they're all being checked to see what their teeth are and stuff.
- 5:35Right. The dentist is looking in my mouth and he says his teeth aren't too good
- 5:39and Mel's supposed to say he's supposed to shoot him and they might not bite him.
- 5:42And then he's supposed to say the next thing if you haven't got if you don't
- 5:47take in you don't take any of it.
- 5:49And I said why don't I just why don't I say we're supposed to shoot him and
- 5:54they might not bite him. You know.
- 5:56And then Mel it makes Mel's character stronger because he says Now if you don't
- 6:01want this not us and the other thing, you know, it might hint No,
- 6:06how about that? No. Yeah, that's cool.
- 6:09Everything's cool But that moments just snowy started to develop a little fan club.
- 6:16No Yeah The character really feet go.
- 6:21Yeah, and I was really fine It was beautiful to play because it was very gentle Yes.
- 6:30You know, he was, you know, so committed to whatever.
- 6:34And so sort of, oh, how dare they, you know, and oh, you know, all that stuff.
- 6:40Yeah. But such a, yeah, such a naive person to be going, you know, into the market.
- 6:47Right. I mean, it would be only mates with him. Yeah, yeah, okay.
- 6:51Yeah, but, you know, we had Pat Lovell, Peter Weir, David Williams, It's amazing.
- 7:00Just reached the people that knew what they were doing. Yeah.
- 7:03Every single department was, without fail, the best in what was going.
- 7:10Yes. And we had some great people. Yeah. Great, great, great crew.
- 7:15Yeah. And that's what I, and you miss those. Yeah, sure. You know,
- 7:19because I don't make them now. No, not anymore.
- 7:22It's all CGI and rubbish now. Yeah. I spent a lot of time in a green suite,
- 7:29you know, where I was in a space suit.
- 7:33Or I had my pajamas in a space suit.
- 7:37Anyway, I'm floating around in bloody Greenland.
- 7:41Right. And I still don't know what it looks like. I've got no idea what it's about.
- 7:46Because when I got off, when they put me back down on my feet, I just couldn't walk.
- 7:51About being detoxified from the real world or detached from it and put in was green.
- 7:58You've taken your mind somewhere else today and you can achieve this performance.
- 8:02When you come out and you go, where the hell did that just take me?
- 8:05Whoa, that ride was fast.
- 8:08That one shook me up. If anybody needs me for the next scene,
- 8:12I'll be crying over the next dialogue.
- 8:17Neither did your book It's all It's Listen a movie I've always wanted to ask
- 8:25Or talk to you Movies are a different A movie I've always wanted to Talk to
- 8:34you about is Hercules Returns,
- 8:38Oh, yeah, I'll throw it down one condition. Okay. You lower your nipples.
- 8:43So did you do a lot of... Yeah. Did you do a lot of... Yeah.
- 8:53Very trying to tell. So did you do a lot of the voices in the dub?
- 8:57I did some. You did some? I did some. I have no idea what they eventually ended up using.
- 9:03Right. I was going to mail them the... yeah I
- 9:06think mainly it was Sally Patience Lance
- 9:10Mangan Michael King Matthew King
- 9:14of course I've heard a little
- 9:17guy that was in Crop Shop for a while I'm not sure he's
- 9:20a good actor but just a few people you know Phil Jaroslow who was behind Anki
- 9:27Cat on Home Cookies he's I mean he's he's so he's still got the rights to the
- 9:35play a piano in his family. I'm like, what?
- 9:40That's like some legacy. That's like having Isaac Newton's first phone. Right.
- 9:47Like it was a seven. Rated music.
- 9:50That movie's always cracked me up. I thought I'd forget to talk to you.
- 9:56It's very clever. Very clever.
- 10:00And David Diver just wrote a scary one. He could have pushed us a bit more.
- 10:05You and Bruce play very well together.
- 10:11We've been together. I was thinking that I'll send him a thing like that on Facebook.
- 10:16We've been together. It just seems to me that out of all my working life,
- 10:20they keep putting us both.
- 10:23And it works. It does work. You know, I'm the sort of angry little one.
- 10:27He's the sort of cool, stand-up one. Yeah.
- 10:31Slow to anger. I love that line. When he cuts off. I love that line.
- 10:35I love that line, the line that you tell him, okay, I'll pay your shit wages
- 10:39and you can live in the theatre.
- 10:40Yeah. That's what a line. Yeah. I'll do it on one day. I'll do it.
- 10:45All right. How about this? I'll pay your shit and you can live in the cinema. Yeah.
- 10:51Deal. I thought, well, great deal, because I'm living there as well.
- 10:55Yeah, yeah. I'll be down in the dressing room.
- 10:58And then you had, oh, geez, what was her name from Acropolis now?
- 11:02Mary. Mary, yeah. She was good in that as well. Yeah, she was a lovely girl. Really nice.
- 11:11Because as Bruce says, you know, if there's a God in heaven,
- 11:14she's come for the job as a publicist.
- 11:17Absolutely. Absolutely. Absolutely. Yep. That, yeah, that was all,
- 11:22that was all written, well, that was written by Des Mangan, all of the screenplay was. Yeah.
- 11:28But, yeah, it's just, like, everybody that got aboard the screenplay,
- 11:32they're just, you know, yeah, whatever you want to do, Parker, whatever you like.
- 11:36Yeah. And we can try things out, you know, do this for this bit.
- 11:41We could have shown a few more sound effects that we were making.
- 11:45Yeah. A bit more slap bang.
- 11:47You know, like, and Usher could have come up and just got caught. Yeah.
- 11:51People kept slapping it. There was a lot of hits, you know.
- 11:57And it kept cutting back to us slipping around in swimming pools and stuff. Yeah.
- 12:02What a bizarre day. It's full of great lines like, you know,
- 12:05he looks like a condom full of walnuts and... Oh, it's every pub joke you've
- 12:10ever heard in your life. Yeah. It is.
- 12:14That's why it's good. But it's perfect. Just really a sense of humor.
- 12:18I've got a home, but I've got a boy named Sue.
- 12:24Do you know a guy named Scott? No, but I've got a boy named Sue and something
- 12:28else. We both get the same thing.
- 12:31Yeah, good on you. I like Samson's line. He says if I have to fight Hercules,
- 12:36I'm buggered not to marry him. I'm buggered again.
- 12:58When you look at it you actually think how these people actually made this and
- 13:03somebody's convinced them that that's what they're doing. Right.
- 13:07It still makes me laugh. I just, I'll let you with the sound out. I just do it that way.
- 13:13Do you think today, like in the age of the instant celebrity,
- 13:18that actors are only interested in being famous and not so much being actors?
- 13:23Oh, yes. Yeah. Oh, yes.
- 13:26I don't know how the hell it is. Yeah. You know, it's like it's getting like Hollywood now.
- 13:33Yeah. You know, where everybody's an actress.
- 13:36Yeah. And they're serving you coffee.
- 13:38Everyone here is a filmmaker. Yeah. You look on Facebook, there are so many filmmakers. Yeah.
- 13:45And it's just a.
- 13:49It's indie, indie making films. Yeah.
- 13:52I don't understand it. I think it's just stupid, you know, just to make make new directors. Yeah.
- 13:59But the actors seem to always be brought into the stick.
- 14:03You know? This time, this time I'm just thinking about what I might,
- 14:08what I might like to direct.
- 14:10Yeah. Because that's one thing I've always been good at.
- 14:15I think it's the one thing that John Clark, when I was talking about NIDA,
- 14:18he came out and he showed me helping another girl.
- 14:22And we both got in. And that was because John was looking for that in me.
- 14:26You know I was really inspiring her she was doing Let Me Entertain You from
- 14:32Jitsi horrible Smile Baby Gensmar you know,
- 14:37anyway I was playing Ethel Merman for her right anyway so I had,
- 14:44the big wing that I saw that, and he thought, all right. So he said,
- 14:48so we're all in a big meeting.
- 14:50He said, okay, I think we'll do it. So it was about 80, I would say.
- 14:56And there were people from 32.
- 15:00But mainly sort of 24 down, 24ish, 25, they'd done a couple of units in psychology.
- 15:07So they thought they'd do a couple of units in something, fuck drama.
- 15:13Yeah. You know, I was just a guy that neither auditioned me and when John Clark
- 15:22said, I go, we'll do it by audition.
- 15:25And he said, who wants to go first? So I put my hand up, literally thought,
- 15:28I just wanted to get out and go home.
- 15:31So I said, okay, right, I'll do it. So he said, what's your name? I said, don't know.
- 15:37He said, David, how do you say that? I said, I give it a lot of looks.
- 15:43I think it was easy. Yeah.
- 15:45I was going to get a name change immediately, but Peter argued it didn't sound right.
- 15:52And most of the room laughed. Yeah. And I said, shall I start now?
- 15:57He said, yes. I said, what's the input? He said, okay, you're a boy,
- 16:00take it. The dog's a wolf.
- 16:02And I said, okay. I did all these sort of Jackie Gleeson's made from upstairs,
- 16:08or Norman. I went, you know, lots of this bullshit hand is preparing.
- 16:13And I finally said, how old's the boy? And I looked at each other and I went, eight.
- 16:20All right, thank you. And I went back to thinking, how big's the dog?
- 16:26And I said, it could be anything. I said, could it be a wolfhound?
- 16:30I said, yes, that's right. I said, great.
- 16:34What sort of day is it?
- 16:37Can it be raining? I said, yeah, if you'd like. I said, yeah,
- 16:40well, make this tram for it. I thought, well, there is a team.
- 16:44I said, I see it. So I suddenly turned into this, like I was lifting,
- 16:48I was being pulled off the ground by big dogs dribbling off my head.
- 16:53Right. And I was actually quite good at mimicking the mind stuff because of
- 16:57the ice skating comedy stuff, you know.
- 17:00And I just did a little bit more on them. You know, I just, I think,
- 17:05or Robin Williams, Yeah, so I threw myself up when I saw another one.
- 17:12I was just thinking, well, that was very slow.
- 17:17Yeah, so just, what was I told then? I just, off I went.
- 17:21You were helping this young girl with the scene. Oh, yeah.
- 17:25So I did this audition where I basically, what I did was I answered all the
- 17:33texts that you need to really know. No, I was interested in their direction. Right.
- 17:40I wanted to know what they wanted, not what they didn't want. Right.
- 17:45And that is something that has got me through every film.
- 17:49Yeah. Just go to the director and say, what don't you want from me? Yeah. No.
- 17:56Now what do you want? Can I have a baby?
- 18:00Yeah. Okay, yeah. you know and you establish that you've got you've got the
- 18:04baby and you know you know yeah and all that right but it's just a little sort
- 18:10of thing that a director you do right yeah,
- 18:15either way I had to take he took us aside once it was a bit overwhelming I think
- 18:20the whole shoot and sort of did that it was like one of those good slaps in the face guys.
- 18:27Remember you're lying to me,
- 18:31I mean, we were quite nervous and raw, you know, but that was good because it
- 18:39translated into the characters anyway. It's fantastic.
- 18:42But yes, I thought I'd like to teach to people, but people can't get to peace, so I don't know what.
- 18:49You know, the really committed ones, they're great. The ones with a natural
- 18:54gift, but they all have to go through this. It's one of those old ringers.
- 19:00You used to put towels and things through to get the water in. Right, yeah, yeah.
- 19:04It's a ringer to make them flat. Yes. You know?
- 19:10Now, this one doesn't fit. We can roll him up. Oh, he can fit in that way.
- 19:15There was a guy, the last guy, I just did a film with Aaron,
- 19:19my brother-in-law, and he said to me, when you were on school,
- 19:24you had a certain, he described me as a snake well he said he had this analogy
- 19:31I want the snake you know I don't want a medicated or sort of,
- 19:41earthled out friggin snake on people I want you and this whatever this whatever
- 19:52this funny valentine of my,
- 19:54My parents and I have got a sense of humor.
- 19:58I mean, and it's important when all your senses are on.
- 20:05It's like, you don't just turn your sense of humor off, or, well, I live with mine because.
- 20:10It's just been activated and I can't stop it. It's too interesting.
- 20:14Right. You learn so much truth from comedy. Yes.
- 20:18You know, and observing people in the street there, you know,
- 20:24you actually end up, if you're an actor, a decent one, you're very sensitive.
- 20:31You're a very sensitive person because you can sense what somebody else is actually
- 20:36going through, not just observe it.
- 20:38Right. And you can create that.
- 20:41You can remember it, think it through, style it, and so I can use it. Yeah.
- 20:47And if you don't, you're a wanker.
- 20:52I do the stratified method. That's why you've got string up in a house.
- 20:59Yeah. Potential. I love them.
- 21:02Yeah. Well, you stopped just saying that and just get off the stage. That's what it means.
- 21:09Yeah. Not for you to say it, John. Oh, I thought I had an extra line. Well, you didn't.
- 21:15Now, what's lost?
- 21:18Well, I'm seafront.
- 21:22I think I'm so tall. I had a close story.
- 21:26I didn't come to the wife one night. But the opening night, I had a panic disorder most of my life.
- 21:33I think everybody has. They just get bored and they rush you out.
- 21:37It's like being in a thing with a machine that says, show fetus farting to another
- 21:41and then put it in a fetus farting tub, you know? Right.
- 21:45That's it. Monty Bison had it down flat.
- 21:49Right. But there's just this.
- 21:55And, like, I'm a mad artist as well.
- 22:01Every five seconds I'm either making a puppet or half-wakes,
- 22:05we're making a big stupid duck at the moment. Right.
- 22:10But just, you know, otherwise your brain, that's what people go through, that they're being fed,
- 22:17when to die, you know, and, like, half-wakes we're doing the hoovering,
- 22:22there's an ad on at 10.30 in the morning about your prepaid shopping right,
- 22:28yeah the first thing Neil Mitchell said in the morning and how many people are
- 22:32getting out to Scustadese about it yeah it's just like just hop along through
- 22:38all those channels and just take your full day full of misery yeah,
- 22:42yeah and then you get the 9 o'clock one and then they put on all the misery
- 22:46shows like deaf people being pulled over and I mean obviously
- 22:52two pets you know and these being some of their role model pets like them and
- 22:59there's recreation there was a recreation last night of some,
- 23:05some you know some sort of whole panel van rapist that had an evil wife and
- 23:14they both used to attack you know it's just looking you think I will at least
- 23:19get many young mid-summer yeah at least I can follow that one,
- 23:25you know another one it's already it's too greedy I've had two storylines already
- 23:32can't have another one no Whoops, I just found another body.
- 23:35Oh, shit. I was going for another three hours.
- 23:39Yeah. I hope it's a house I need to watch. I quite like those.
- 23:42Yeah, yeah, yeah. It's annoying, isn't it? Yeah.
- 23:45But listen, David, it's been a singular thrill to finally get to talk to you.
- 23:51Yeah, it's been great. Yeah. I think we need to put our heads together and get
- 23:55a hold of Trenchard and get BMX B. Oh, absolutely.
- 23:59Yeah. Yeah. And you'll imagine. It would be a bigger turnout than a rocky high pitch. I think so.
- 24:10Start selling him. I'll start investing in red wigs. Yeah.
- 24:18Because I think maybe... Make her a fashion statement.
- 24:21Oh, yeah. Because I think this time, maybe since so much time has gone by,
- 24:26you might have a son and you're playing like the father, You know trying to
- 24:30teach you something, you know educating with the life of crime or something
- 24:33on it Yeah, we're still be stuck in it myself,
- 24:37By now I would have learned You know we met.
- 24:45That's the third dialogue sequence so we met and all of a sudden it's just back on again and,
- 24:51Because I think Nicole needs a hit, so I think she needs to come back and get the frizzy wig on.
- 24:58It would be great to see her having a laugh. She was great. One thing she did
- 25:01where she was through the old
- 25:04housewife was just have murder in her veins to be a weather girl. Yeah.
- 25:10Whatever it was. It was very funny. I thought, that's it. Good on you. Yeah.
- 25:16Made a bit of a gag out of yourself. You know, why you can't.
- 25:19Yeah. And she's just like a levitating.
- 25:25She just levitates everywhere now. That's their walk.
- 25:30She drips. She drips. Like a queen.
- 25:36The boat, Tasmania. Drifting off into the distance.
- 25:42Wow. It would be funny. Yeah. But it's been... I'm so enraged with that too.
- 25:53I'll re-imagine Re-imagine, do A re-imagined version of,
- 26:00Roosevelt Or I think
- 26:03I'd actually bury it Yeah Because it won't When Roosevelt came out We had made
- 26:10it a thing like that Yeah Our version of Jaws Sure That was the Aussie Jaws
- 26:16We did a creature picture And it was great Yeah Preach it all stupid.
- 26:21In one shot When he comes in To bite my leg off It's But they've cut that very
- 26:27well I still look at it today And go no It's all right It's good So this guy's
- 26:31got So much He's picked much better now Yeah Much better,
- 26:36Everything's bigger Better about the pig And he's all talked about The fucking
- 26:40pig And how it's not like Just another,
- 26:43Razorback Right Except he's actually Spoken to me on the phone Hmm you know,
- 26:49up until the point where I wasn't in it.
- 26:51Yeah. I was when he first started to talk to me on the phone.
- 26:56You know, he ended up putting Chris Hayward in.
- 26:59He got his nose out. Yeah.
- 27:02But they look you up on Facebook and suddenly just get you.
- 27:07And I sort of seem to basically want to help anybody that said, well, I'm a director.
- 27:12You know, good luck.
- 27:15Well, I think the climate's right for a sequel there, too. Oh,
- 27:19mate, I'm tried for the question. Yeah.
- 27:22We can call it... I think Australia actually needs to actually say to its folk,
- 27:30this is our Bill Murray. Yeah.
- 27:32You know? Yeah. With all our actors in Australia.
- 27:37Yeah. Not just, you know, start the film with the producer's name. Yeah. That. Yes.
- 27:45Nobody is interested. And I thank you for your 300 fucking million investment,
- 27:49but no one wants to read your name. You're not in it. That's right.
- 27:53The closest you'll get to fucking showbiz is you'll be invited when we're finished. Have you got it?
- 28:00Geez, I've made a great producer. Oh, I think so. Oh, I think so.
- 28:05Can you imagine me doing it? Oh, that'd be great. I'd love to see it.
- 28:09I'd have to have the making of me following me around everywhere.
- 28:14You know? I could see you in the plus cores with the riding crop.
- 28:20Oh, absolutely, absolutely, with the lead sink. Yeah, and the little monocle, perhaps. That's it.
- 28:29All right, darling. Yes. Magic time.
- 28:36Sparkle, darling, sparkle. We're shooting a war film.
- 28:41Yeah. Okay, everyone.
- 28:45It's on the top. Can you die more passionately, darling?
- 28:50I saw that death wasn't real. I didn't believe him.
- 28:53There were hundreds in the scene, but there was one there, and he wants to reshoot it. Yeah.
- 29:00Jesus, Tony's here. Yeah. So they put each other over the director's mouth,
- 29:05and he wakes up, and he's coming to get a great scene, which he didn't actually
- 29:10do. They did it while he was out. Right.
- 29:14I'm checking I'm checking Well it's Yeah it's been a blast Yeah it's been super
- 29:20mate I'll cut it up And I'll Give you a listen,
- 29:23Yeah It's kind of Sunny Especially
- 29:26when you Oh I know I know It's
- 29:30been great I threw the question sheet Out about an hour ago So I
- 29:33know I know That's what happens
- 29:36When they get me on set Yes That was the legend David
- 29:39Kent's Classics and what a classic
- 29:42it was a laugh yourself off your seat classic and as always thank you little
- 29:50yuganites for listening to us on spotify or wherever you choose to listen to
- 29:56your favorite podcasts i'm kent hill and we'll see you next time on the one and only cinema.
- 30:04Music.