Rough Diamonds (film)
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| Rough Diamonds | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Donald Crombie |
| Written by | Donald Crombie Christopher Lee |
| Produced by | Damien Parer |
| Starring | Jason Donovan Angie Milliken Peter Phelps Max Cullen |
| Cinematography | John Stokes |
Production companies | Australian Film Finance Corporation Beyond Films Film Australia Film Queensland Forest Home Films Nine Network Australia Southern Star Entertainment |
Release date |
|
Running time | 88 minutes |
| Country | Australia |
| Language | English |
Rough Diamonds is a 1994 Australian film directed by Donald Crombie. It was the first lead role in a feature for Jason Donovan.[1]
- Jason Donovan as Mike Tyrell
- Angie Milliken as Christie Bright
- Peter Phelps as Dozer Brennan
- Max Cullen as Magistrate Roy
- Kit Taylor as Les Finnigan
Premise
Mike Tyrell drives a cattle truck and hits a car parked on the side of the road that belongs to ex-singer Chrissie.
Production
Donald Crombie was inspired to make the film while filming The Irishman in north Queensland in 1977. He saw a farmer, who owned 80,000 hectares of beef country and on paper was a millionaire, working on a council road gang to make money. He wrote this up as a social drama for Film Australia to star Michele Fawdon, but it was never made.
A number of years later Crombie was approached by Damien Parer, who wanted to make features in Queensland and was looking for projects; Crombie showed him his treatment and they developed it into a more populist film.[2] The farmer who needed money became a singer who had a romance with a girl singer and saves his farm on the country and western circuit.[3]
Craig McLachlan was originally going to star but he dropped out to do another job and Jason Donavan was cast instead. The film was financed by Beyond Films and Southern Star Entertainment with finance from the Film Finance Corporation and Film Queensland. It was mostly shot on location in Boonah and Toogoolawah Queensland.[2]