For those shameful few who’ve never seen this Ozploitation classic, Patrick is the tale of a comatose patient with telekinetic powers who develops an unhealthy crush on his night nurse; unleashing a series of atrocities upon the men in her life and the staff of the hospital. The remake is directed by Mark Hartley (Not Quite Hollywood and Machete Maidens) and produced by none other than Antony Ginnane, a legendary producer whose back catalogue includes Turkey Shoot, Screamers and Last Dance.
Antony took some time out of his busy schedule to give John Noonan the lowdown on Patrick.
Patrick (2013) – Dir. Mark Hartley
You produced the original in 1978. It’s an Aussie horror classic – In Not Quite Hollywood Tarantino said he pays homage to it in Kill Bill – what made you want to revisit it?
Director Mark Hartley was a fan and asked me if I had considered remaking it. We knew Carrie was being remade and, of course, so were a lot of classic and near classic cult thriller and horror pics from the 70s and 80s. Mark and I are both Hitchcock devotees. I have argued strongly for more Australian remakes – so it made sense.
Has it been easy getting it onto the big screen? Have there been any obstacles or has it all been smooth sailing?
It’s never smooth sailing to finance any film. It took close to five years from conception to completion. Putting together an Australian film finance package is complex and multiple elements have to fall into place.
There were some bumps on the way – but we got there. Screen Australia had become more open to genre – which was helpful.
The rest of this interview can be found here.
John Noonan 