A friend of mine forwarded this article about a filmmaker who got named in a book as being a fraud and a charlatan.
Would-be Australian filmmaker Danny DeMoreta will seek over $15 million in damages from the taxpayer-funded regulator, the Australian Securities and Investments Commission. Powerful Hollywood players, including Star Wars and Indiana Jones producer Robert Watts could be called to testify. "In terms of the damages that we quantify and we claim, I have no doubt that this is the biggest defamation claim made in Australian history," Mr DeMoreta's solicitor, Barrie Goldsmith, said yesterday. The lawsuit stems from the book Scams & Swindlers, published by ASIC in 1998, which alleges Mr DeMoreta broke the law when raising money to make the movie.
I don't know this DeMoreta guy from a bar of soap. I will say this though, and it is that ASIC and its regulations make it nigh impossible to raise capital for any feature film projects. The problem is, if the Australian Film Industry is ever going to function as an industry, its' going to have to raise money from the markets somehow and ASIC ain't helping. The amount of money it has cost some of the people I know in the industry is mind-boggling; and they still haven't got their films up after 12-15 years. And they wonder why the industry is 'stuffed'. It's not that surprising something like this came up, but I can also predict that the courts will not rule in favour of Mr. DeMoreta because to do so would cost taxpayers too much money even if the people who run ASIC might have f*cked up on this big time. (By the way, I said might, not did!!!).
Life of a Doc
My mother has been ill with polymyocitis for a good 10 months now. The only thing that has worked for her treatment has been regular injections of immunoglobulin. The good doctor who organised that was a neurologist who has recently been appointed an Associate Professor at a major 'sandstone' university in Australia. Recently, the Federal Government decided that immunoglobulin does not work for polymyocitis patients. I don't know how this works, but the good doctor has continued dosing my mother with immunoglobulins because he believes that what works, works and you don't screw around with what is working. To be sure, my mother has regained a lot of strength, even in the last few months. I mention this not to knock the Federal Government, but to point out this doctor's virtue.
The good doctor (and those who know me understand it is no mean feat to get those two words together from me) was recently diagnosed with Liver cancer. He is withering away before my mother's eyes, and said that Friday was the last day he would see her for it was the last day he would be at his office. We are all a little stunned by this turn of events, and so we wish him all the best in his battle with the evil disease. Good luck, good doctor.
Life of a Bum
I've decided to sign on with a company in North Sydney that makes corporate videos. They've got me penciled in for 2 days a week for 10 weeks leading up to the silly season, being their business manager. Laugh if you like, but cashflow has a nice ring to it. :)
Consequently, I may be writing less in this space in the coming weeks.
- Art Neuro
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