Matt Carroll (producer)
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Matt Carroll talking about his work on Farscape |
Matt Carroll (born
6 June,
1944 - ) is an Australian
movie and
TV producer. He is best known for producing films since the early 1970s including
Breaker Morant,
Storm Boy and
Sunday Too Far Away. Later, he went into television production producing the television series
G.P. for the
Australian Broadcasting Corporation. He was a principal in the production house "Roadshow, Coote and Carroll" which produced television shows for Australian and international audiences.
Carroll was born "Matthew Carroll" in 1944 in
Sydney. Originally, he studied to be an architect but was shown involved in television working on
Skippy and
Spyforce while studying architecture
He formed Kolossal productions with
Jim Sharman in 1972. The company produced
Private Collection and
Shirley Thompson vs the Aliens neither of which achieved popular or critical success.
Carroll joined the
South Australian Film Corporation in 1973. His first significant role as producer was
Sunday Too Far Away in 1975 produced with
Gil Brealey. There were significant disagreements in postproduction as several minutes were cut from the film causing friction with director
Ken Hannam. However, the finished film was a hit at the
Cannes Film Festival, opened the
Sydney Film Festival and won the Golden Reel at the 1974-75 Australian Film Awards. (1)
Storm Boy, produced the next year, was another critical success. It was a popular children's film both in Australia and Britain and won a medal at the
Moscow Film Festival in 1977 for best children's film. (2) Carroll produced
Breaker Morant in 1980 which was another critical and box-office success. It won ten awards at the 1980
Australian Film Institute Awards including best film. (3) In the same year, Carroll produced
The Club based on the
David Williamson play of the same name. Carroll left the South Australian Film Corporation in 1983.
In 1984, Carroll joined Roadshow Coote Carroll, a television production company as managing director. It produced Australian television miniseries and television series which were sold to Australian broadcasters and to international broadcasters in the UK, the
Public Broadcasting Service or cable broadcasters and to European broadcasters. (4)
He wrote the 1988 miniseries "True Believers" with
Bob Ellis, a dramatisation of Australian political life between 1940 and 1954. It was a particular favourite of
Paul Keating who stated in his
1993 victory speech: "This is a victory for the true believers, for those who kept the faith through difficult times". (5)
Carroll produced the film
Turtle Beach in 1992 based on the 1981
Blanche D'Alpuget book of the same name. It caused controversy in Malaysia where the Government took exception to scenes of Malays executing refugees. (6)
He produced "G.P." for the ABC between 1989 and 1996 set in the inner-Sydney suburb of
Glebe. It was shown on
Thames Television in the UK from 1990. Carroll was proud of its focus on social issues. The show won a Human Rights Award in 1989 for its portrayal of a young child dying of AIDS. (7) During his time at Roadshow Coote Carroll, he was also involved in the development of
Brides of Christ set in a Sydney convent during the 1960s.
Carroll set up as an independent producer in 1995. His first production was a 1996 film
Diana & Me starring
Toni Collette which failed to break through commercially or critically. In 1999, he produced the first series of
Farscape as well as the film
Passion: the Story of Percy Grainger. In 2003, he produced
The Postcard Bandit which was nominated for a
Logie Award for
Most Outstanding Miniseries or Telemovie in the
Logie Awards of 2004.
* "Matt Carroll", Encyclopedia of Australia" 2004 Webster World retrieved on 19 November 2005
*
New York Times Movies article on Matt Carroll*
Internet Movie Database on Matt CarrollFootnotes
(1) "Sunday Too Far Away"
Encyclopedia of Australia 2004 retrieved through WebsterWorld 19 November 2005
(2) "Storm Boy"
Encyclopedia of Australia 2004 retrieved through WebsterWorld 19 November 2005
(3)
Screensound Australia article about Breaker Morant(4) Stuart Cunningham,
Australian Television and International Mediascapes, Cambridge University Press 1996 page 91 ISBN 0521469740
(5)
Wikiquote collection for Paul Keating(6)
"Turtle Beach" entry in Australian film database and "Too Much Hot Water: "Turtle Beach" producer Matt Carroll sets off a diplomatic storm - but he stands by his film"
Who Weekly 11 March 1992 page 26-27
(7)"G.P." Encyclopedia of Australia 2004 retrieved on 19 November 2005
