Starstruck (1982)

Interesting facts

• Box office: A$1.5M
• Filmed in: Sydney
• Awards: 0 · Nominations: 2

Starstruck is a 1982 Australian comedy-drama musical film directed by Gillian Armstrong and starring Jo Kennedy, Ross O'Donovan and Margo Lee. The plot concerns two teenagers trying to break into the music industry. The film was shot on location in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. It was marketed with the tagline "A Comedy Musical." The hotel shots were filmed at the Harbour View Hotel in The Rocks, near the south pylon of the Sydney Harbour Bridge.

Production

Although the film is set in Sydney, journalist Stephen MacLean originally wrote Starstruck inspired by his childhood in the Melbourne suburbs of Williamstown and Newport during the 1960s. His mother Isabel owned the then-thriving Newport Hotel (now known as the Newport Social Club) at which he would often spend time, getting to know customers and dancing on the roof, until an overpass was built nextdoor and business quickly dwindled.

Director Gillian Armstrong's first successful films were a series of short 1970s documentaries about Australian teenage girls, Smokes and Lollies and Fourteen's Good, Eighteen's Better. She then had a breakout international success with her first feature, 1979's My Brilliant Career, the story of a young female aspiring writer in 19th century Australia.

Jo Kennedy caught Armstrong's eye at audition as she wore a bright blue overcoat. Armstrong then asked her to come up with an outrageous skit. Kennedy assembled an outfit out of napkins and, together with Ross O'Donovan, improvised a scene in which the building was on fire.

Both originated from Melbourne, not Sydney. At the time, Kennedy was unemployed and living in a Warburton warehouse with musicians. Her only acting experience was as Pinocchio in a children's theatre. O'Donovan was still attending high school in Preston. He had not acted before and had little interest in it, but was talked into auditioning by a neighbour. To prepare for the role, Kennedy moved to Sydney and worked as a bartender in Kings Cross.

In a 2015 interview, O'Donovan stated that in his opinion "the Starstruck you saw on screen was not the Starstruck that Stephen MacLean wrote". He revealed that the screenplay changed content significantly in Armstrong's hands from revolving mostly around Angus to revolving around Jackie instead. O'Donovan told the NFSA: "Gillian got him to twist aspects of the plot which was great because she created a new story.

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