Boulevard Films was an Australian production company which made a number of movies in the late 1980s and early 1990s, many which were set against a background of the entertainment industry.
[David Stratton, ''The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry'', Pan MacMillan, 1990 p196-197]
History
The company was established in 1981 by
Frank Howson
Frank Michael Howson (born 1952) has had a career in entertainment. He directed ''Flynn'' (1996) on the early life of Errol Flynn and ''Hunting'' (1991). Howson, with Peter Boyle, helped establish Boulevard Films which produced thirteen film ...
and his partner Peter Boyle. Their first feature was ''Backstage'' although they were ultimately bought out of the project by the Burrowes Film Group. They then made ''Boulevard of Broken Dreams'', and in 1988 they put together $24.5 million for a slate of seven films: ''Heaven Tonight'', ''Sinbad'', ''Highway Hero'', ''Beyond My Reach'', ''Hunting'', ''Fallen Angel'' and ''Young Flynn''. This was an impressive achievement at the time since the Australian film industry was then reeling from a reduction in the 10BA tax concessions. Five of these were made (''Sinbad'' became ''
What the Moon Saw'').
[Paul Kalina, 'Father figures', ''The Age'', September 2, 2005](_blank)
accessed 17 Oct 2012
In late 1989 it was announced Boulevard would make three more films, ''Highway Hero'', ''The Envoy'', and ''Friday on My Mind''.
[Paul Kalina, "Boulevard Films", ''Cinema Papers'', November 1989 p42-44] They also wanted to release a soundtrack album for all of their films. Howson:
From day one when we perceive what style of film it will be, we almost decide how we'd like the poster shot. It may sound funny but it's thought out that carefully. We also incorporate the various songs we'd like to use in our scripts, so that we have a visual page of how the whole thing will end up in terms of the music component. We carefully plan the type and style of the songs that fit into various moods of the film if we haven't got anything in our publishing catalogue or access to something.
A number of Boulevard's early films featured common elements, such as being written and produced by Howson, a backdrop of the entertainment industry, and recurring cast members such as
Guy Pearce
Guy Edward Pearce (born 5 October 1967) is an Australian actor. Born in Ely, Cambridgeshire in England, and raised in Geelong, Victoria in Australia, he started his career portraying Mike Young in the Australian television series ''Neighbours ...
and
Kim Gyngell
Kym Gyngell (born 15 April 1952), sometimes also credited as Kim Gyngell, is an Australian comedian and film, television and stage actor. Gyngell won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role in 1988 for his role as ...
.
By 1991 Boulevard had made five films but Howson claimed this had caused much resentment:
There has been a lot of animosity in the industry because we seem to be doing so much when others are doing so little. We have done a great deal to restore investors confidence in the local film industry. Strangely, or rather typically, we seem to be resented in some circles for our efforts. No doubt that's the kind of attitude that has made Australia what it is today. We've built up a strong investor base pproximately 30,000 peopleat a time when a lot of investors were burnt and ran away from film. We have wooed a lot of those people back.
The first Australian film ever purchased by Miramax was a Boulevard Film "What The Moon Saw". The first Australian film ever purchased by the American Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) was a Boulevard Film "Heaven Tonight". Boulevard also sold their movies to such international distributors as Paramount, Disney, Warners, Skouras, J&M Entertainment, and Village Roadshow, amongst others. Although the company achieved much internationally and discovered such film talents as Guy Pearce, Danielle Spencer, Lachy Hulme, David Roberts, the company collapsed in the mid-1990s due to business partners Howson and Peter Boyle falling out, prompting Howson to move to Hollywood. Between 1998 and 2001 Howson served on the board of the Californian branch of the Starlight Children's Foundation.
Howson, the creative brains behind Boulevard's success, was reportedly distressed by the financial handling of the company by his business partner, Peter Boyle. Howson went on to write and direct various projects in Los Angeles before returning to Australia. In 2006 Howson was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Melbourne Underground Film Festival. Boyle on the other hand remained in Australia and produced a David Copperfield Tour that became embroiled in litigation.
Boulevard Films produced "Boulevard of Broken Dreams" (nominated for 7 AFI Awards including Best Film and winner of 2, Best Lead Actor (John Waters) and Best Supporting Actor (Kim Gyngell)), "What The Moon Saw" (winner of an AFI Award for Best Costumes), "Heaven Tonight" (nominated for AFI Award for Best Supporting Actor (Kim Gyngell)), the Frank Howson directed "Hunting" (nominated for 2 AFI Awards, Best Lead Actress (Kerry Armstrong) and Best Costume Design), "Beyond My Reach", the Howson directed "Flynn" a.k.a. in some countries as "My Forgotten Man" (nominated for an AFI Award for Best Soundtrack Music Score), "Crime Time", "A Slow Night At The Kuwaiti Café", "The Intruder", the Howson directed "The Final Stage", "A Thin Life", "Blue Roses", "The Making of Heaven Tonight", and "The Lucky Country".
Filmography
*''
Backstage'' (1987) - Boulevard were bought out by Burrowes Film Group
*''
Boulevard of Broken Dreams'' (1988)
*''
What the Moon Saw'' (1989)
*''
Heaven Tonight
''Heaven Tonight'' is Cheap Trick's third studio album, produced by Tom Werman and released in 1978. The album was remastered and released with bonus tracks on Sony's Epic/ Legacy imprint in 1998. The album cover features lead singer Robin Zand ...
'' (1990)
*''
Hunting
Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, or killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to harvest food (i.e. meat) and useful animal products ( fur/ hide, bone/tusks, horn/antler, ...
'' (1991)
*''
Flynn
Flynn is an Irish surname or first name, an anglicised form of the Irish ''Ó Floinn'', meaning "descendant of Flann" (a byname meaning "reddish (complexion)" or "ruddy"). The name is more commonly used as a surname rather than a first name.
A ...
'' (filmed 1989 and 1991, released 1996) a.k.a. ''My Forgotten Man''
*''
Beyond My Reach'' (1991)
*''
The Intruder'' (filmed 1991, not released until 2005)
*''
Come Rain or Shine
''Come Rain or Shine'' is a 1992 Australian film about a man who becomes obsessed with a mysterious woman.Ed. Scott Murray, ''Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995'', Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p29
References
External links
*
Australian dr ...
'' (1992)
*''
The Final Stage'' (filmed 1991, not released until 2005)
*''
A Slow Night at the Kuwaiti Cafe'' (1992)
*''
Crimetime'' (1993)
*''A Thin Life'' (1996)
Unmade films
*''Something Great'' - story of
Les Darcy
James Leslie Darcy (28 October 189524 May 1917) was an Australian boxer. He was a middleweight, but held the Australian Heavyweight Championship title at the same time.
Les Darcy was the 2003 Inductee for the Australian National Boxing Hall ...
– Howson announced this as a $5.5 million film in 1985 and was still pushing a script on this story in 2005
*''Highway Hero'' – an action film in the vein of ''Mad Max''
[Suzanne Bush, 'TAX RELIEF CUT HAS PRODUCERS REELING IN AISLES', ''Australian Financial Review'', 10 July 1989 p 31]
*''The Envoy'' – a thriller
*''The Lucky Country'' – proposed $7.5 million film
*''Friday on My Mind'' – a teenage comedy intended to star Guy Pearce. Its budget was $5 million, then was reduced to $2.5 million.
In September 1991, the movie was announced as about to start soon but it appears never to have been made.
*''Merlin and Son'' (mid-1990s) – an $11 million 3-D animation feature
[Ben Holgate, "Film Industry Looking To Tap $107 Million", ''Sunday Age'' 19 June 1994 p 21]
References
External links
Boulevard Filmsat
IMDb
IMDb (an abbreviation of Internet Movie Database) is an online database of information related to films, television series, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and personal biographies, ...
{{Authority control
Film production companies of Australia