FILMOGRAPHY

2007] Mostly Martha
2004] I'm Only Looking: The Best of INXS (V)
2001] Hearts in Atlantis
1999] Snow Falling on Cedars [screenplay]
1996] Shine [story]
1994] The Space Shuttle (TV) [writer]
1989] Sebastian and the Sparrow [also credited with writing & producing]
1986] Call Me Mr. Brown [writer]
1985] INXS: The Swing and Other Stories (V)
1982] Freedom
1975] Down the Wind [producer]

LINKS

IMDB

Scott Hicks

Born in Uganda and lived in Kenya, just outside Nairobi, until the age of ten. His family then moved, first to England and, when he was 14, on to Adelaide, Australia.

His father and grandfather (both British citizens) were born respectively in Burma and the West Indies, and spent their lives in exotic, far-flung locales as civil engineers building railways, bridges and harbors. His mother is Scottish.

Scott is the youngest of four.

At 16 he had completed high school and was about to enter Adelaide University for a law/arts degree when a chance encounter spun him in a different direction. "After a performance of the anti-war musical, Vietrock, there was a discussion, led by a long-haired, denim-clad, philosophy professor from Flinders University. He instantly exploded my stereotypical notions about philosophers - and awoke me to the existence of another university nearby." Newer and more liberal, Flinders attracted drama students from all over Australia. Intrigued, Hicks entered Flinders to major in English and Drama without realizing that cinema studies were part of the curriculum. Instantly attracted to the medium, he threw himself headlong into the study of great directors, film movements like German Expressionism (a favorite) and filmmaking techniques. The demands and pleasures of hands-on filmmaking were to dominate his entire Honors degree.

Scott on first reading Snow Falling On Cedars:
"I was captivated by a combination of the story's intricacy and the dense atmosphere of its setting. What an amazing, closed world David Guterson created...the cold of the blizzard, the over-heated atmosphere of the courtroom. It was the kind of thing cinema is well equipped to express."

Scott talking about Snow Falling On Cedars opening scene:
"What I wanted that scene to be was in a way emblematic of the whole film, which is, nothing is quite what it first appears to be. You don't know what it is you're seeing at first, but you come closer and closer and literally shed light on it. It's a blur in the fog, then oh, that's a mast, oh, there's his face! The whole movie I wanted to be such a mystery, and gradually it all -- hopefully -- coalesces, comes together and falls into focus."

Producer Kathleen Kennedy talking about Scott directing Snow Falling On Cedars:
"Scott's vision was so clear. Each person set about helping him achieve his vision of the story. There was no way of being taken off-course."

Scott on casting Ethan Hawke:
" Casting for me is a huge part of the job. It's a really fundamental thing. I love putting that together, really people-ing the movie. Ethan was really hungry for this role. He made a big play for it. There were some young actors who seemed to be interesting that I wanted to meet and talk to, and maybe even have the read. (But) you get these answers back from their agents like, "Is this an offer?" And I would say, "Well, no. I want to meet them." "Oh, well, they don't do a meeting without an offer!" Then Ethan -- who half his life he's been in the movies, he's a movie star -- he came out as an actor of serious intent, who really was dedicated to the idea of playing this part, and I thought, that's what I need. I don't need this vanity thing. He was willing to give himself over to the process of making this film."

Scott on casting Sam Shephard:
"Sam Shepard was kind of a dream. When I read the script, his image was in my mind. I thought, we need someone like Sam Shepard. We needed someone who speaks with integrity, someone who carries a certain dignity and trust. So I said to the casting director, "We need someone like Sam Shepard." And he said, "Well, what about Sam Shepard?" So I offered it to him and he said yes!"

Scott on casting Youki Kudoh (a big pop star in Japan) as the female lead:
"The Japanese-Americans were difficult to find. Youki comes from Tokyo, and she had been in a little movie ("Heaven's Burning") shot in Adelaide, in south Australia where I live, and my wife Carrie reminded me about her. She has this amazing access to her emotions and a delicacy which was powerful, too."

Scott on choosing a very narrow colour palete in shooting Snow Faling On Cedars:
"It was dictated by my reading of the book and the landscape I began to become familiar with (while location scouting). The cedar forest, the sea, and the rocks there. The story is very damp and dank and overcast. The weather is such a character and a snow storm makes everything monochromatic. When I first started talking with Bob Richardson, the cinematographer, we'd go though all these stills together -- mostly black and white stills -- just trying to find a common language, you know? And I remember saying to him, "I wish we could shoot this in black and white." And he said, "Well, we can."

Scott on portraying all the emotion and intensity in Snow Falling On Cedars without dialogue:
"Sometimes things play better without dialogue. There's a much more powerful language in looks and glances and body language and attitude. I think it can be far more expressive and far more cinematic, you know? To me the power of the image is every bit as important as the dialogue, and often more so."

Scott on making the non-fiction film 'The Great Wall of Iron' which explored the incredible secret world of the Chinese Army:
"I traveled everywhere with the Army. I had two camera crews, cranes and all the accoutrements of a feature filmmaker. It forced me to draw on all my skills and was, in fact, the making of me." The 4-part series, shot in 1988, just a few months before Tiananmen Square exploded, became the Discovery Channel's highest-rated program, a record Hicks would later break with his series, Submarines: Sharks of Steel.

Scott on pianist David Helfgott:
"I'd seen him play in Adelaide on May 30, 1986. I became friends with him and his wife Gillian, and was expending enormous amounts of energy researching and writing a screenplay, getting little bits of funding from different bodies to keep it going - but no encouragement. When we finally did secure financing, I felt totally in command of the elements because I'd lived and breathed it for so long."

Scott on the differences between Australian & American cinema:
"Australian and American cinema are very different creatures. Broadly speaking, American studio pictures tend to be high concept, star-driven vehicles -- and Australian cinema tends to have more in common with the independent scene in the US where character-driven localized stories assume greater importance. These days, quite a number of American films are shot and post-produced in Australia, which is a cultural issue of some contention at both ends! From the Aussie perspective -- there are great benefits in terms of employment and increased skills and turnover, which are offset by fears that the local industry might be dwarfed by its more muscular cousin."

Scott on Australian filmmakers:
"I think Australian filmmakers have a freshness of perspective and a sense of humor which is evident in their work. We have the good fortune to come from an English-speaking culture which obviously facilitates our entry into the US. The American industry is very welcoming of talent from all backgrounds which has been reflected in the influx of artists from many different cultures over time. These days there’s a lot of speculation about the reasons for the current success of our actors. Certainly Aussie leading men convey an intelligent brand of robust masculinity which is in great vogue, while women reflect confidence and self-assertion which audiences also seem to appreciate."

Scott on his goal with filmmaking:
"I think cinema is a medium of emotion over intellect. I want audiences to feel drawn into another world, where they forget they’re in the cinema as they share the emotional lives of the characters on screen. I’m drawn to strong, character-driven stories of human emotion and struggle, which hopefully live on in the audience’s mind long after they’ve left the cinema."

Scott on trying to break into Hollywood:
"I could not figure out how to break into the filmmaking environment. You can drive around the streets of LA and never see a sign of the film industry. There’s a whole world going on, a parallel universe, to which you’re not admitted."

Scott on launching his career:
'Shine' was my calling card. It broke down all the invisible barriers and gave me access to a whole new world of filmmaking. I think it’s important that filmmakers pursue their passions rather than try to tailor themselves to what they hope will succeed. Success is a product of passion rather than a goal in itself -- at least that’s how it’s been for me."