‘She just conjured electricity': Celebrating Divinyls legend Chrissy Amphlett
Before Madonna talked sex and sexuality on stage, a working-class girl on the other side of the globe was shocking audiences with her fierce and powerful performances.
Chrissy Amphlett was unlike anything Australians had seen when she burst on the stage in 1980 as lead singer of Divinyls. Without her it's hard to imagine Amy Taylor from Amyl & the Sniffers, or Amphlett's fellow Geelong-born rocker Adalita.
A new show opening next week called Amplified showcases the work of the late artist – Amphlett died from breast cancer in 2013, aged just 53 – as well as her extraordinary impact and legacy.
Making the work has been a wonderful process, says Sheridan Harbridge, who stars in the show, and co-created it with acclaimed director Sarah Goodes and musical director Glenn Moorhouse (Hedwig and the Angry Inch).
Trawling through YouTube and watching old performances by the Divinyls and Amphlett solo, Harbridge says there are hundreds of comments from people writing things such as 'I saw them at the Crystal Ballroom and it was the most amazing thing I've ever seen'.
'And then women saying, 'I'd never seen a woman act like that and I didn't know you could',' the actor-singer-writer says, adding that 'equally for men, they were watching something quite electric'.
'I spoke to someone who worked with her and they said, 'she just conjured electricity'.'
Raised in a Pentecostal Christian family in Gippsland, Harbridge wasn't allowed to watch shows like The Simpsons and The Golden Girls, but thankfully her mum didn't know what Rage was, so that was where she first came across Amphlett.
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Sydney Morning Herald
43 minutes ago
- Sydney Morning Herald
The team behind Top Gun takes on F1 in this year's biggest blockbuster
Sitting in a hotel in 2023, Damson Idris had just landed the most important role of his life. Legendary producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Joe Kosinski, the team who took over the box office (OK, and the world) with Top Gun: Maverick, wanted Idris for their high-stakes Formula 1 blockbuster, F1. Idris would play Joshua Pearce, a young gun rookie modelled on Lewis Hamilton (also a producer on the film), and Brad Pitt would play his team-mate and rival, Sonny Hayes, a grizzled veteran who returns to the sport to partner Pearce on the fictional APXGP team. As far as big breaks go, they don't come much bigger than this. So you'd imagine Idris' mind might be racing faster than the F1 car he didn't know how to drive (but would soon master). 'Not really,' deadpans Idris, speaking to me from South Africa, where he is shooting his next film. 'I was just consumed by one thought: I need to be faster than Brad Pitt.' Fast-forward a year or so, and after hundreds of hours on the practice circuit, seven months of training, more than a few crashes, several headaches, and roughly eight kilos lost purely from sweating on set, Idris learned a valuable lesson. 'Brad Pitt is annoyingly good at everything,' he laughs. 'And I mean everything: acting, racing, even walking. The way he walks on screen is second to none.' I mention that one of my favourite YouTube clips is a super cut of Brad Pitt eating in all his different films (it's called 15 Minutes of Brad Pitt Eating, and well worth a watch). 'Oh, don't worry, I've seen it,' says Idris. 'I attempted eating in one scene during F1, and they scrapped it, and you know what? Good on them. I'm with the greatest on-screen eater of all time. Come on, man, what were you thinking?' 'What were you thinking?' is a question I've been meaning to ask director Joseph Kosinski. In 2022, he helped 'save cinema' (Spielberg's words, not mine) with Top Gun: Maverick, a sweeping sequel to the 1986 original that was critically and commercially celebrated, grossing $1.496 billion worldwide at the box office. Such a feat warrants time off. A mini-break. Honestly, Joe, what were you thinking? 'Well, as with so many people, during the pandemic, I became obsessed with Drive to Survive on Netflix,' says Kosinski. 'I went to school for mechanical engineering and aerospace, so the way these cars work is fascinating to me, and then factor in the personalities and team dynamics, it's rich with story.' Pitt and Bruckheimer shared Kosinski's obsession, and they all agreed that if they were going to make a racing film, it had to look real. The first step was getting Formula 1 on board as an official partner on the film, with a view to embedding production in real Grand Prix races worldwide. Having seen F1's popularity surge following Netflix's Drive to Survive, CEO Stefano Domenicali was open to the idea but harboured concerns about how the sport would come across. Thankfully, super producer Jerry Bruckheimer is no stranger to sweet-talking nervy organisations. 'When I did the first Top Gun, the navy was worried about how they'd be portrayed, so Tom Cruise and I went to the US Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego to convince them it would be a good thing, and instead the admiral threw us off the base,' laughs Bruckheimer. 'So Tom went to Washington and met with the Secretary of the Navy at the time, and he understood what a movie could do for recruitment. We got to shoot Top Gun, and after it came out, naval recruitment went up 500%. Oh, and the other admiral was fired.' Bruckheimer's Top Gun -inspired pitch was enough to convince Domenicali, and the group secured Formula 1 as an official partner, allowing them to film at 14 Grand Prix events. Current F1 drivers, including our very own Oscar Piastri, agreed to appear. The next hurdle was figuring out how to bring the audience inside the chaos of a machine that can reach a top speed of 374.97 km/h. 'Cameras,' says Kosinski, perking up. 'And lots of them.' He's not lying. To ensure authenticity, the film's team, in collaboration with Mercedes-AMG and Formula 1 team engineers, built six F2 cars, which were then customised to resemble modern F1 cars. Each car came affixed with four IMAX-certified cameras in 15 possible positions, plus up to six additional cameras inside the car's cockpit. 'We worked closely with Sony, who created the cameras for Top Gun, to create a smaller version that would allow us to swivel between the driver and the track.' Kosinski is a self-described 'attention to detail fanatic,' meaning F1 would always look the part. However, few people know how it feels to race—the sounds, smells, noise, fury, joy, and heartbreak. Enter Lewis Hamilton. With seven World Drivers' Championship titles, Hamilton is the most successful F1 driver of all time (tied with Michael Schumacher), a driving prodigy who holds the records for most wins (105), pole positions (104), and podium finishes (202). He also happened to be the only driver Kosinski knew. 'We talked about casting him in Top Gun: Maverick; he's friends with Tom [Cruise]. We couldn't make it happen, but through that conversation, I had Lewis' email, so I asked for help, and straight away, he was on board,' says Kosinski. According to Bruckheimer, Hamilton wasn't shy of critiquing the film's inaccuracies during production. 'We were filming in Silverstone, where they host the British Grand Prix, and in turn three, Lewis could hear that we were in the wrong gear,' he says. 'Brad was in third gear, and you take that turn in second gear; not many people in the world would know that.' Aside from gear changes, Hamilton's insight as the first black driver to compete in the F1 proved invaluable to Idris. 'The beauty of this movie is that Lewis exists, and the barriers that he's broken down means Joshua Pearce can exist on screen too,' says Idris. 'We spoke about what it means to be an advocate without seeking out that label, so I modelled Joshua on Lewis.' On paper, F1 is the kind of film destined for success. A high-octane blockbuster based on a hugely popular sport featuring an all-star cast on screen and Hollywood heavyweights behind the scenes. However, in an increasingly competitive marketplace, films still need to be sold to audiences, which might be the one thing Brad Pitt isn't good at. Earlier this year, Bruckheimer attended Liberty Media's (the company that owns Formula One) investor day in New York. He discussed Pitt's reluctance to self-promote there, telling the crowd, 'He doesn't like to do press.' This approach is at odds with Bruckheimer's other most recent A-list collaborator, Tom Cruise, a famously shrewd marketing machine who boosts the profile of his films with attention-grabbing stunts and endless global press tours. However, with a reported budget of $463 million, Bruckheimer requires Pitt in full salesman mode ahead of the film's release. 'Brad has told me he loves the movie and wants to go out and support it, so he'll join us on the world tour.' As for Idris, he seems to be channelling the rookie energy of F1 's Joshua Pearce, all wide-eyed enthusiasm accompanied by mild disbelief that any of this is happening. 'To be talking about working with Brad Pitt on a Formula One movie still blows my mind,' he laughs. On the day we speak, it's announced that he will play jazz legend Miles Davis in the upcoming film Miles & Juliette. The movie will explore Davis's romance with French singer Juliette Gréco during his 1949 trip to Paris. Anamaria Vartolomei will portray Gréco, and the film is produced by Mick Jagger's company, Jagged Films. 'There are so many interesting icons out there that I want to pay homage to, and Miles was at the top of my list,' says Idris. 'This is my dream job, and I can't wait to stretch myself, show my range and learn the trumpet!'
The Age
43 minutes ago
- The Age
The team behind Top Gun takes on F1 in this year's biggest blockbuster
Sitting in a hotel in 2023, Damson Idris had just landed the most important role of his life. Legendary producer Jerry Bruckheimer and director Joe Kosinski, the team who took over the box office (OK, and the world) with Top Gun: Maverick, wanted Idris for their high-stakes Formula 1 blockbuster, F1. Idris would play Joshua Pearce, a young gun rookie modelled on Lewis Hamilton (also a producer on the film), and Brad Pitt would play his team-mate and rival, Sonny Hayes, a grizzled veteran who returns to the sport to partner Pearce on the fictional APXGP team. As far as big breaks go, they don't come much bigger than this. So you'd imagine Idris' mind might be racing faster than the F1 car he didn't know how to drive (but would soon master). 'Not really,' deadpans Idris, speaking to me from South Africa, where he is shooting his next film. 'I was just consumed by one thought: I need to be faster than Brad Pitt.' Fast-forward a year or so, and after hundreds of hours on the practice circuit, seven months of training, more than a few crashes, several headaches, and roughly eight kilos lost purely from sweating on set, Idris learned a valuable lesson. 'Brad Pitt is annoyingly good at everything,' he laughs. 'And I mean everything: acting, racing, even walking. The way he walks on screen is second to none.' I mention that one of my favourite YouTube clips is a super cut of Brad Pitt eating in all his different films (it's called 15 Minutes of Brad Pitt Eating, and well worth a watch). 'Oh, don't worry, I've seen it,' says Idris. 'I attempted eating in one scene during F1, and they scrapped it, and you know what? Good on them. I'm with the greatest on-screen eater of all time. Come on, man, what were you thinking?' 'What were you thinking?' is a question I've been meaning to ask director Joseph Kosinski. In 2022, he helped 'save cinema' (Spielberg's words, not mine) with Top Gun: Maverick, a sweeping sequel to the 1986 original that was critically and commercially celebrated, grossing $1.496 billion worldwide at the box office. Such a feat warrants time off. A mini-break. Honestly, Joe, what were you thinking? 'Well, as with so many people, during the pandemic, I became obsessed with Drive to Survive on Netflix,' says Kosinski. 'I went to school for mechanical engineering and aerospace, so the way these cars work is fascinating to me, and then factor in the personalities and team dynamics, it's rich with story.' Pitt and Bruckheimer shared Kosinski's obsession, and they all agreed that if they were going to make a racing film, it had to look real. The first step was getting Formula 1 on board as an official partner on the film, with a view to embedding production in real Grand Prix races worldwide. Having seen F1's popularity surge following Netflix's Drive to Survive, CEO Stefano Domenicali was open to the idea but harboured concerns about how the sport would come across. Thankfully, super producer Jerry Bruckheimer is no stranger to sweet-talking nervy organisations. 'When I did the first Top Gun, the navy was worried about how they'd be portrayed, so Tom Cruise and I went to the US Naval Air Station North Island in San Diego to convince them it would be a good thing, and instead the admiral threw us off the base,' laughs Bruckheimer. 'So Tom went to Washington and met with the Secretary of the Navy at the time, and he understood what a movie could do for recruitment. We got to shoot Top Gun, and after it came out, naval recruitment went up 500%. Oh, and the other admiral was fired.' Bruckheimer's Top Gun -inspired pitch was enough to convince Domenicali, and the group secured Formula 1 as an official partner, allowing them to film at 14 Grand Prix events. Current F1 drivers, including our very own Oscar Piastri, agreed to appear. The next hurdle was figuring out how to bring the audience inside the chaos of a machine that can reach a top speed of 374.97 km/h. 'Cameras,' says Kosinski, perking up. 'And lots of them.' He's not lying. To ensure authenticity, the film's team, in collaboration with Mercedes-AMG and Formula 1 team engineers, built six F2 cars, which were then customised to resemble modern F1 cars. Each car came affixed with four IMAX-certified cameras in 15 possible positions, plus up to six additional cameras inside the car's cockpit. 'We worked closely with Sony, who created the cameras for Top Gun, to create a smaller version that would allow us to swivel between the driver and the track.' Kosinski is a self-described 'attention to detail fanatic,' meaning F1 would always look the part. However, few people know how it feels to race—the sounds, smells, noise, fury, joy, and heartbreak. Enter Lewis Hamilton. With seven World Drivers' Championship titles, Hamilton is the most successful F1 driver of all time (tied with Michael Schumacher), a driving prodigy who holds the records for most wins (105), pole positions (104), and podium finishes (202). He also happened to be the only driver Kosinski knew. 'We talked about casting him in Top Gun: Maverick; he's friends with Tom [Cruise]. We couldn't make it happen, but through that conversation, I had Lewis' email, so I asked for help, and straight away, he was on board,' says Kosinski. According to Bruckheimer, Hamilton wasn't shy of critiquing the film's inaccuracies during production. 'We were filming in Silverstone, where they host the British Grand Prix, and in turn three, Lewis could hear that we were in the wrong gear,' he says. 'Brad was in third gear, and you take that turn in second gear; not many people in the world would know that.' Aside from gear changes, Hamilton's insight as the first black driver to compete in the F1 proved invaluable to Idris. 'The beauty of this movie is that Lewis exists, and the barriers that he's broken down means Joshua Pearce can exist on screen too,' says Idris. 'We spoke about what it means to be an advocate without seeking out that label, so I modelled Joshua on Lewis.' On paper, F1 is the kind of film destined for success. A high-octane blockbuster based on a hugely popular sport featuring an all-star cast on screen and Hollywood heavyweights behind the scenes. However, in an increasingly competitive marketplace, films still need to be sold to audiences, which might be the one thing Brad Pitt isn't good at. Earlier this year, Bruckheimer attended Liberty Media's (the company that owns Formula One) investor day in New York. He discussed Pitt's reluctance to self-promote there, telling the crowd, 'He doesn't like to do press.' This approach is at odds with Bruckheimer's other most recent A-list collaborator, Tom Cruise, a famously shrewd marketing machine who boosts the profile of his films with attention-grabbing stunts and endless global press tours. However, with a reported budget of $463 million, Bruckheimer requires Pitt in full salesman mode ahead of the film's release. 'Brad has told me he loves the movie and wants to go out and support it, so he'll join us on the world tour.' As for Idris, he seems to be channelling the rookie energy of F1 's Joshua Pearce, all wide-eyed enthusiasm accompanied by mild disbelief that any of this is happening. 'To be talking about working with Brad Pitt on a Formula One movie still blows my mind,' he laughs. On the day we speak, it's announced that he will play jazz legend Miles Davis in the upcoming film Miles & Juliette. The movie will explore Davis's romance with French singer Juliette Gréco during his 1949 trip to Paris. Anamaria Vartolomei will portray Gréco, and the film is produced by Mick Jagger's company, Jagged Films. 'There are so many interesting icons out there that I want to pay homage to, and Miles was at the top of my list,' says Idris. 'This is my dream job, and I can't wait to stretch myself, show my range and learn the trumpet!'
Perth Now
10 hours ago
- Perth Now
Horror story behind girl's smiling photo
Half of young homeless Australians asking for a place to sleep are being turned away, figures from a leading NSW not-for-profit show, with one woman who got lucky in a 'million-to-one' chance now pushing for change. NSW organisation Yfoundations has taken to filming young homeless people as they search for a safe place to sleep, putting a face to the overwhelming demand for help. 'The popularity of shows like Survivor and Alone has turned survival into entertainment,' Yfoundations chief executive John Macmillan told NewsWire. 'This series confronts the raw reality too many young Australians face every day. 'Youth homelessness is not just a statistic; it's a human tragedy.' The content series is called Young and Alone. Organisation films young homeless people searching for safety 'We're fascinated by watching adults battle brutal conditions for fun, but survival isn't a social experiment for young people experiencing homelessness – it's a hard-hitting reality and the content series shines the light on this.' Sydneysider Natasha Ransford was saved by a 'million-to-one' chance, a youth refuge centre saving a bed while she was on school camp. Now nine years later, Ms Ransford, 25, is a youth worker at the very same refuge. 'No young person chooses to be homeless,' she told NewsWire. 'There are a lot of misconceptions that young people are just bad and that they get on drugs, or they don't want to listen to their parents, or they move out and that's why they become homeless. I want to challenge all those misconceptions.' Sydney woman Natasha Ransford works for the youth refuge organisation that took her in as a teenager. Supplied Credit: Supplied From ages 14 to 16, Ms Ransford was bouncing between her sister and her dad's house, as her mother's 'severe' alcoholism up-ended the teenager's home life. She found a home with Project Youth in Sydney's southwest. A scholarship from Toyota helped her finish year 12 while working part time, cooking and cleaning for herself after school. 'I had to grow up very quickly and it's been beneficial for me now,' Ms Ransford said. 'I've been paying rent since I was 16, I'm good with money and budgeting. I have a really strong work ethic. 'But to put that onto a 16 year old, it wasn't fair.' In year 10, dropping out of school to go and work seemed like the best option. Ms Ransford's mental health was in poor condition, and she had learnt to use alcohol as a coping mechanism. With the help of Project Youth, support from school and health care, she now holds a Diploma of Community Services and a Certificate IV in Leadership and Management. She was never forced to sleep rough, was able to go from the refuge to transitional housing, and now rents a place with friends. Across the country, there are estimated to be more than 43,000 young people experiencing or at risk of becoming homeless. NewsWire / Ian Currie Credit: News Corp Australia Ms Ransford identifies a turning point in her life – when Project Youth held a bed so she could go on school camp. 'I was 16 … I went in one afternoon and told them basically what was going on at home. 'Surprisingly, they had a bedroom available that night, which normally is very, very rare. 'I had year 11 camp the next day. 'I asked them if they could hold the bed for me until after I got back from camp. They did, which they wouldn't be able to do now just because the need has grown so much.' The youth refuge became her home, on a Saturday after school camp. 'The chances of that happening now would be like a million-to-one,' Ms Ransford said. 'I don't think any service can afford to hold a bed for three nights for someone. 'It's unfortunately the case of if you can get it that time, then you can. First in, first serve, but I quite often think that was a turning point in my life.' Yfoundations has launched a petition calling on the federal and state governments to make ending youth homelessness a national priority, with the development of a targeted plan and funding. 'For too long, the specific and complex needs of children and young people at risk of or experiencing homelessness have been assumed to be the same as those of adults and have not been explicitly addressed in government plans to address homelessness,' the petition reads.
