On Location
From Cinema Papers, no. 53, September 1985. Author not stated.
In Sydney, the $8-million production of Return to Eden commenced shooting in mid-May, at the hurriedly converted premises of the Five Dock industrial estate. The 22 episodes are expected to be in production until Christmas. The complex currently houses more than nine large sets, production offices and construction areas in a space reminiscent of a Hollywood backlot from bygone days. Hal and Jim McElroy have leased the premises for five years, anticipating further exploits at Eden - or, if that fails, facilities for other McElroy
productions or space for hire to other producers.
Though executive producer Hal McElroy dislikes the comparison, stressing that Eden will be "uniquely Australian" thoughts of the supersoaps spring quickly to mind. The plot lines, featuring the familiar ingredients of wealth, power, revenge rivalry, family conflict and surprise revelations from a dark past, coupled with Larry Eastwood's opulent production design, costumes by
George Gross, Harry Who and Susan Hannaford, and a fleet of classy cars, consolidate the comparison
And, while Kevin Dobson, who is directing a number of episodes, jokingly describes the style and content as "Dynasty down under", McElroy sensibly points out that, from a production point-of-view, "we could never emulate them, because they spend $1 million an hour - four or five times more than we have to spend". He adds, however, that "we didn't set out to make Dynasty or Dallas per se But it's prime time, adult-oriented melodrama, so, necessarily, it will have the same sort of qualities".
McElroy speaks with great pace and enthusiasm about the project, which is due to premiere in the US in September. "No one else in Australia has done melodrama," he asserts. "They have done soap opera which is the next step past melodrama; but with Eden we did, and are doing, melodrama." He emphasizes that the rules for melodrama in television series are different from those
in other media and formats. Packed with plot twists, enormous doses of conflict, and emotions and plot pitched at the level of "heightened reality", the plot lines do not require detailed exposition of motivation. Emotional rationales, based on the most outlandish premises, can work effectively in this context and there is "no need to show characters 'paying the cab', as the Americans call it," explains McElroy.
He adds that, to span 22 episodes - and, ideally 44 or 66 - the series demands "strong glue" to bind the characters into a dramatic circumstance that can endure years of manipulation and contortion To strengthen the adhesive, two new episodes have recently been written to head the series, kicking it off with the revelation that Jilly (formerly Wendy Hughes, now Peta Toppano) is the half-sister of the remarkably resilient Stephanie Harper (Rebecca Gilling) "Now, we've got glue," McElroy enthuses. "two beautiful sisters fighting each other - it's much better than two beautiful
women!"
On this day of shooting episode 2, which is being shot after episodes 1, 3, 4, 5 and 6, Kevin Dobson is orchestrating a nasty mother-and-son confrontation over $25,000 in the offices of Harper Mining. Gilling and her 'son', Peter Cousens, go through their paces amid the plush grey leather lounges, coffee table books on gemstones, high-tech black fittings and fake view of tile Sydney skyline, ostensibly from a skyscraper-level office.
Despite the impressive scale of the complex, there are apparent problems, no doubt the legacy of converting a warehouse to a studio on a tight budget in minimal time. Sound-proofing hitches are the most obvious: a visiting dumpster on its daily rounds halts shooting while cast and crew stand around in frustration. A bird chirping merrily outside the office window ostensibly way too high to encourage such feathered visitors, sends first assistant Barry Hall into agitated action "Go for the throat,'' he bellows to a bird h
unter over the walkie talkie
To date, four directors have been contracted to shoot Eden - Tim Burstall, John Power, Rod Hardy and Dobson - with two more currently under negotiation. McElroy explains that "when we've got to shoot an episode in seven days, we must have very experienced people. We need a classy product, and you can't throw a beginner into that, no matter how talented they may be. We need six minutes of finished screen time a day, which is nearly three times as fast as a feature."
Producer Tim Sanders adds that "we can't do things in feature-film style, though we strive, as far as we can, for a level of excellence in look and style. But, we find that if we drop a scene, change, rewrite or add one, it's part of the daily process. No one has a heart attack and runs screaming from the room. They say 'Oh well, that's what happens with series-making'. You're never going to hit the mark 100%, every single minute of the day, for 32 weeks. On a feature,
if you drop a shot, it can be catastrophic for the call sheets and schedules. Everyone runs around looking to kill someone. "
In spite of some flexibility at this level, however Dobson finds certain constraints necessary in the creative sphere, outlining his most pressing choices for the day as "will I shoot a two-shot or a close-up?"
Clearly, the McElroys see Eden as the first likely Australian contender for a supersoap title in the international marketplace. Hal McElroy is, however, refreshingly blunt about its aims, limitations and target audience. "People watch television not to be educated, not to be informed, but to be entertained (at best) and as a soporific," he argues "We have to accept that as an industry. What we set out to do was make unabashed, prime time entertainment. We are not talking prestige television. With a mini-series, like The Dismissal or Threads, you can say, 'Just for this week, stop everything and have your life changed'. Over 22
weeks, you can't change people's lives.'
Back to index
