Photo: Judy Green
Peter Craven last week asked whether Australians objected to Meryl Streep playing Lindy Chamberlain in Evil Angels or would object to Charlotte Rampling appearing in the film version of Patrick White's novel The Eye of the Storm. As a member of the National Performers' Committee I can speak for myself and many Australian performers when I say that we did not, and would not, object to performers such as the wonderful Meryl Streep and Charlotte Rampling working on the Australian films they did. That is because these actors bring significant levels of foreign finance into Australian productions; thereby meeting the Migration Regulations foreign actor rules.
The rules, in place for more than 20 years now, have worked well: they are flexible enough for producers to cast overseas performers on Australian productions that have significant levels of foreign finance (or where there are special requirements), while at the same time ensuring that Aussie performers have a chance at lead roles.
The rules now require a minimum 30 per cent foreign investment to allow the import of a foreign lead or major supporting actor. The government is considering lowering that to 20 per cent. Also, the government is considering changes allowing taxpayer-funded productions to feature overseas performers in lead roles with almost no restrictions.
The point of the foreign finance level is to ensure that when a claim is made that a particular actor will lead to increased levels of foreign investment or box office takings, that this claim is genuine and bona fide, rather than simply asserting that actors with little to no international profile or cachet will lead to greater financial success. The government is also proposing that if the production can be shown to be of ''overall benefit'' to the Australian industry, it would have open slather on casting.
The government's proposals would mean that TV series such as Home and Away and Underbelly could import whomever they like. It would mean that productions such as Paradise Lost, which is funded by Australian taxpayers to the tune of 40¢ in every dollar, could fill all their roles with overseas performers.
Craven has it the wrong way around if he believes that it is performers' fear of foreigners on Australian screens that presages a return of the cultural cringe. It is not. It is the thinking that an Australian actor isn't good enough for Australian and international audiences that is cringeworthy. So when Craven asks: ''Why are we so scared that we won't measure up?'' this question needs to be asked of the producers not the actors - Australian performers do measure up.
This is not the first time that performers have had to fight off the cultural cringe. The rules in place now were originally an industrial document between performers and producers developed in the 1980s to ensure that Australians had a chance to appear in Australian taxpayer-funded productions.
Before that, the cultural cringe led us to productions such as those described by Craven - Summer of the Seventeenth Doll - the film version of the classic Ray Lawler play - where all the main roles were filled with US actors. Since the introduction of the rules, there have been various attempts to remove them - and over the past 30 years, time and again performers have stood firm.
During the past 20 years, when the rules have been administered by the Department of the Arts, they have worked well and supported the growth of the industry. The rules have directly supported the industry by creating a star system - a burgeoning pool of home-grown actors who have made it big here first before achieving international status. And it's not just the Tonis, Russells, Hughs, Geoffreys and Nicoles that have benefited - it's Sam Worthington, Ryan Kwanten, Rachael Taylor, Guy Pearce, Eric Bana, Rachel Griffiths, Teresa Palmer, Jesse Spencer, Julian McMahon, Chris Hemsworth, Margot Robbie, Emily Browning . . . the list goes on and continues to grow.
These actors receive international exposure (in countries with similarly strict migration rules) and are able to come back and support the local industry. Sam Worthington, for example, is back in Australia after travelling all the way to Pandora and back to work on the new film Drift being shot out of Western Australia. Geoffrey Rush comes back regularly for theatre productions and films such as Bran Nue Dae and The Eye of the Storm.
It should also be noted that unlike the Australian industry, which is largely supported by taxpayers, the work in Hollywood is privately funded, made without government funding and has no cultural remit. Studios make choices based purely on the basis of who they think will deliver the production the greatest financial return.
Abandon the rules and you take away the star system and opportunities for up-and-coming actors to help build the Australian industry. Lower the foreign finance levels under the rules and you actively discourage increased foreign investment in our industry. Allow the replacement of Australian actors with overseas actors and you risk losing what makes our productions unique and attractive - at home and abroad.
Minister for the Arts Simon Crean and his office have been holding meetings with Actors' Equity and the producer associations over the past couple of months. But now we are at the pointy end and the Office for the Arts is drafting a final proposal to put before the minister. It is now up to the minister to make a choice either for or against Australian culture.
What makes our films and television so unique and special is our distinctive take on the world, our diversity of faces and our authentic Australian voice. This is what audiences here and around the world want to see.
Roy Billing is an actor and member of the national performers committee of the equity section (Actors Equity) of the Media, Entertainment & Arts Alliance.
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