‘The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee.’
The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee, one of the local films to have its cinema release impacted by the pandemic, will now premiere exclusively on Amazon Prime Video in Australia and New Zealand on July 17.
The comedy, directed by Dean Murphy, explores a fictional version of Paul Hogan as he is thrust out of quiet retirement and back into the spotlight. When his granddaughter Lucy (Charlotte Stent) finds out he’s been offered a knighthood for services to comedy and tells all her friends, Paul reluctantly accepts the offer and has six weeks to stay out of trouble before the ceremony. But wherever Paul goes, trouble follows.
Starring alongside Hoges and Stent are John Cleese, Chevy Chase, Olivia Newton-John, Shane Jacobson, Julia Morris, Rachael Carpani, Jim Jefferies, Reggie VelJohnson and Wayne Knight. Murphy, who co-wrote the script with Robert Mond, also produced the film alongside Nigel Odell.
Prior to the pandemic, distributor Transmission Films had slated the film for an April 30 theatrical release.
“Transmission Films has a long and esteemed history of unearthing great Aussie storytelling across different genres and supporting the local filmmaking industry and we’re honoured to partner with them so audiences can enjoy Paul Hogan’s latest comedy,” said Amazon Prime Video head of content ANZ Tyler Bern.
Hogan said: “When I first started out people used to watch me on a scratchy, black and white 9 ‘inch tele.
“Now they can sit in their homes and watch their 80 inch screen with fully digital everything. It is exciting that with cinemas having a rest people can now see The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee thanks to Prime Video’s amazing support for original Australian content.
“As audiences will see in The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee, all of the film is fact, except for the bits we totally made up. We know some of it is true and some is utter lies, but we’ve forgotten which is which… People ask what is true and what is not. What I do know is that fact is certainly funnier than fiction.”
Murphy said: “More than ever I feel the world needs a laugh and who better than Hoges to deliver that!
“With the ever changing world around us, we are thrilled to be partnering with Amazon Prime Video in premiering The Very Excellent Mr. Dundee.”