How the Queen’s death cost this Aussie filmmaker $1m
A Melbourne-based producer and director somehow raised $100 million to make a movie starring Robbie Williams as a CGI monkey. It didn’t all go smoothly.
Robbie Williams is played by actor Jonno Davies as a monkey in the biopic Better Man. Paramount Pictures
There is an old saying in the movie game, says producer Paul Currie, that it’s a minor miracle when a movie actually gets made.
Take Currie’s latest project, Better Man, a collaboration with the director of Hugh Jackman hit The Greatest Showman, fellow Australian Michael Gracey. Currie faced the unenviable task of raising $100 million on a pitch that the life story of singer Robbie Williams was best told as a musical biopic, featuring the star transmogrified into a computer-generated monkey.
Patrick DurkinBOSS Deputy editorPatrick Durkin is Melbourne bureau chief and BOSS deputy editor. He writes on news, business and leadership. Connect with Patrick on Twitter. Email Patrick at pdurkin@afr.com
