Adopted Aussie Ben Elton begins filming his first Australian movie in WA

ALMOST local Ben Elton has called action on his first ever Australian movie. The cast is a who’s who of Aussie comedy talent, with a surprise international star.

Ben Elton has long been dreaming of making a feature film in Australia. He finally called action today. Picture: Chris Pavlich.

BEN Elton today kicks off his most Aussie undertaking yet — a movie set at a music festival.

Though the Australian-based British writer and comic has contributed to many TV series, Three Summers will be only his second feature film as writer and director.

And it marks the first time Elton will film one of his stories in Australia since the 1993 miniseries Stark. Based on his first novel, that was a BBC/ABC co-production.

Three Summers has begun filming in Western Australia’s Peel region, south of Perth.

The romantic comedy, said to embrace the diversity of the Australian community, will star Blue Water High, Home and Away and Molly graduate Rebecca Breeds as well as local comedy favourites Magda Szubanski, Michael Caton, John Waters, Deborah Mailman and Pete Rowsthorn.

Young Irish actor Robert Sheehan, from cult TV series Misfits, is the import in the cast. Supplied: ABC.

Rebecca Breeds leads the cast of Ben Elton’s first Australian movie, Three Summers. Picture: Supplied.

The international import in the cast is Robert Sheehan, a young Irish actor best known for his role in UK sci-fi series Misfits. Sheehan also appeared in 2013 YA film The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones and will be seen alongside Gerard Butler and Abbie Cornish in next year’s action thriller Geostorm.

Elton, who has lived in WA on and off for 30 years, has been brewing the Three Summers story for some time.

AACTA winner Michael Caton will be part of the cast. Picture: Phillip Rogers.

Magda Szubanski will join an impressive list of local comic talent in Three Summers. Picture: Anna Rogers.

In a statement he said: “I have always wanted to make a film set in an iconic Australian landscape that speaks to audiences around the world. To see Three Summers come to life and go into production and to have such an extremely talented ensemble cast attached really is a dream come true.”

The film will follow the ups and downs of festival goers who return to the same event over three consecutive years.

“Festivals are the great levellers,” said Elton.

“We’re all equal in the queue for the portaloos and no one looks cool dancing in a swamp. Stories collide, cultures clash and romance blossoms beneath the glorious Australian sun. Then it rains. Whoever said music was the food of love didn’t play the theremin.”

Elton’s movie will be set at an Australian music festival over three consecutive summers. Picture: Luke Marsden.

Earlier in the year, Elton told the Mandurah CoastalTimes that Three Summers was “a multi-stranded tale with a love story at its core” and that the film “embraces our newest Aussies — our refugees — and our oldest Australians — our indigenous brothers and sisters”.

Elton last week launched his revamped stage production of Queen musical We Will Rock You in Melbourne.

The movie is expected to be released in Australia next year.