An upcoming biopic of former Prime Minister Julia Gillard has hit a bit of a snag, in that none of the major Aussie TV networks, cable channels or streaming services will touch it with a barge pole.
The film is all ready to go, and Rachel Griffiths has already signed on to play the lead role, but it has not been able to find a home with any broadcaster, leaving director Richard Keddie frustrated.
In an interview with News Limited, he said that this is largely down to the perception that people still dislike Gillard, who knifed Kevin Rudd as Labor leader before herself being ousted in 2013.
“They think the public [are] sick of the story and no one will watch this show,” he told Holly Byrnes. “The networks think people still hate Julia.”
He also criticised networks for being “risk averse”, adding that “lifestyle shows” are a safer bet right now, and “when you look at the programming decisions being made at the moment, it’s not really surprising.”
This week, The ABC will air the first of a three-part documentary series, The Killing Season, exploring the unpleasantness between Rudd and Gillard around the time of the leadership rumble.
On this basis, Keddie reckons that there is still sufficient interest in the story, and he’ll spend the next few months looking for investors, with a view to starting production on a Gillard feature film early next year.
TBH, if someone plonked the actual Julia Gillard in a lifestyle show where she renovated apartments with Deanne Jolly or cooked desserts against Reynold Poernomo, we’d watch the shit out of it. Just saying.
Photo: Jessica Hromas via Getty Images
