The first feature film of award-winning TV and commercials director Tony Rogers hits Australian cinemas next week.
Rogers, who won an Australian Directors Guild award for his work on the cult SBS TV series, Wilfred, helms Rats and Cats – a hilarious portrait of a fallen Australian celebrity.
“The film was made for less $300,000 but looks better than films that cost ten times that,” says Rats and Cats co-writer, Adam Zwar. “This is a tribute to Tony’s expertise. He’s used his experience as one of this country’s most highly sought after ad directors to create a visually stunning and hilarious film shot on high definition.”
Rogers’ iconic and award winning ads include “Fwee for Fwee” and “A Crocodile Bit Me Head Off” for HBA as well as VB’s David Boon series, Just Jeans, Four ‘n Twenty Pies and Boag’s Draught.
For Leggo’s, he has directed Kate Fisher, Gough Whitlam, Jimmy Barnes and Peter Hellier.
Rats and Cats is a portrait of actor Darren McWarren (Jason Gann), who, after several award-winning performances on Australian film and television, turns his back on the industry and moves to a small coastal town. There, McWarren can behave as he wants without fear of retribution. The local girls are willing and McWarren is soon living the life of a modern day Errol Flynn.
But when city journalist Ben Baxter (Adam Zwar) decides to write a “Where Are They Now” profile on the fallen star – everything changes. Ben’s probing questions unearth a tenderness in McWarren as well as a desire for love, family and to be led down a more righteous path.
“The film was shot all over Victoria
“It was a labour of love, but now Rats and Cats is out there and being received well, all the pain seems to have gone away.”