The team behind the AFI Award-winning cult hit TV series Wilfred are back with a new dark comedy feature film, RATS AND CATS! GEMMA MUMFORD attended the films premier and sat in on one of Dendy’s regular Q&A’s with director TONY RODGERS and stars of the film, ADAM ZWAR and PAUL DENNY. (Unfortunately Jason Gann didn’t join us. Might have something to do with his nude scene in the film?).

Rats and Cats focuses on the character of Darren McWarren (Gann) a former soapie star whose sudden fall from grace is being reported by magazine journalist, Ben Baxter (Zwar) over one week in regional Victoria where McWarren has run away to.  He now lives a seedy sort of life playing in a dodgy pub rock band called Black Diamond and always has a bit of an entourage by his side. 

Zwar talks about he and Gann’s inspiration for the film:

“Jason (Gann) and I have different tastes in film, but we appreciate each others ideas and our inspirations and ideas come from the product of conversation, we just talk and talk till like 3am. We kind of thought of Russell Crowe a little bit while writing the script - a reporter went out to his (Crowe’s) property and did a story on him and spent two weeks with him ... (Crowe) would get annoyed at the reporter if he didn’t do things right and the film has the fighting element - all those lonely icons end up boxing or something, get the aggression out”. 

The Queensland boys all graduated university together and started the Rats and Cats process way back in 2002.  “In 2005 after much discussion, we decided to make the film ourselves independently, so Tony mortgaged his house and we all made a film that we wanted to make”.  Zwar states. 

The film is released in eight cinemas similar to that of popular Aussie film Lantana and when asked about the tedious state of the Australian film industry question, Zwar replies,

“A lot of Australians think Aussies make crap films. Maybe we do, but we are original and we make the films we want to make-and when you release independently you get what you want and don’t feel like your soul has been chipped away.  It seems to be working well for us, not necessarily financially though”.    

Rats and Cats is a downbeat comedy with some quirky characters and true to Australian filmmaking.  Director Tony Rodgers ends with, “It’s just about a bunch of people not really doing much but the dialogue is fantastic, I think (Gann) and (Zwar) are the best writers in Australia”. 

RATS AND CATS opens May 22 on short release at Dendy Cinemas, George Street, rated M.

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