Forever chasing funds by Jim Schembri Metro Arts section, The Age Monday, February 2, 1998 THE POOR GIRL. You can see it in her eyes, those unmistakable early symptoms of DFS - Debut Feature Syndrome. The affliction is an all-consuming anxiety that besets young creative types who have dared to embark on their first full-length feature by setting up their own film production company. In the case of Mornington actor/writer/producer Sally McLean, the onset of DFS has been brought about by the pre-production for her self-penned film, Forever. Forever is an adventure thriller featuring the exploits of a female archaeology graduate. The film is set in Britain and Australia and will involve time shifts from past to present - provided the funding can be raised, of course. The script has been getting good responses from people, she says, but ask for details about what it's about and McLean gets a sudden attack of DFS. "It's difficult to talk about." she says. "With a script you get very paranoid about letting it get out to people, especially when you're told it's a really good idea by people you've trusted with it. They say 'guard this closely', so you get this paranoia about 'who do I let see this bloody thing?" McLean set up her production company, SALMAC, in September 1996 in Britain, soon after she graduated from the Actors' Institute in London. While working for the BBC as a personal assistant in the music and arts department, she drew together a team of actors and production talent to make a short film called A Little Rain Must Fall. Shot on digital video and funded largely by McLean's BBC paycheque and the good graces of her cast and crew, the 45-minute film about a group of vibrant and confused young people was strong enough to win McLean the patronage of actor Nigel Hawthorne. While in post-production on the film, it was suggested to McLean that seeking the support of a respected actor might make future quests for funds a little easier. She decided on the star of Yes Minister, Yes Prime Minister, The Madness of King George and Demolition Man (yes, that's him opposite Sylvester Stallone). She took a gamble and asked if he would be interested. To her shock, Hawthorne promptly replied with a hand-written note saying he was, but needed some hard evidence that her company was worth putting his name to. One viewing of a tape of A Little Rain later and Hawthorne volunteered his services to her as patron. Hawthorne's name certainly looks impressive on a press release, but what practical difference does it make? Does the mere mention of his patronage result in a cascade of obligation-free funding offers? "Oh I wish!" says McLean. "Unfortunately, it hasn't quite worked out like that, but it has certainly opened doors. It tends to have you listened to, definitely. People are more interested to have a chat with you." To get to the brink of the pre-production stage, McLean worked for five months on the script with the help of another valued patron - her mum. Living at home relieved a lot of living expenses. She did do the occasional stint as a waitress, typist, MC and occasional "PA slave" to her mother (who runs a special events company), but McLean was able to devote most of her time to honing her script and setting up the film's production (with helpful hints from Hawthorne). Having endured the joys of the smell-of-an-oily-rag school of film making with A Little Rain Must Fall, McLean says that while there is a romance to the idea of people devoting themselves free-of-charge to a film, it is something she is not keen to repeat with Forever. "Basically, it comes down to this: it won't go ahead without the funding." she says. "You get (offers of free work) form some people who are involved, which is great, because obviously they're doing it for the love of it. But I refuse to take advantage of that because I think it's really unfair. Other people are not expected to do it in other professions, so why the hell should people in the film industry be expected to?" "You can't really go, 'yeah, great, give me 20 hours a day and, oh gee, sorry, I'll just give you ten bucks for the cab'. I'm just a big believer that people should be paid for what they do." McLean's grand vision, apart from getting her film made, is to one day have a production office to work from. At the moment, however, her mother's house has to do. "I always find it quite amusing that I'm sitting here in the lounge room on the phone to the UK, acting like this grown-up business woman while I'm hearing my brother playing Nintendo in the background!" < back to Press