BOOKS: JULIAN SHAW’S MODERN ODYSSEUS

Just like Odysseus of the Homeric fable, young writer Julian Shaw appears to be in possession of mētis, or, “cunning intelligence” – perhaps more accurately put in today’s climate, “media savvy”. His laurels include director of the acclaimed Darling! The Pieter-Dirk Uys Story, AFI Award-winning film journo, and now writer. All of that – and he’s only 23. We caught up with Julian to find out more about his epic undertaking Modern Odysseus, a ‘movie in book form’ starring Colin Friels as a corporate hack who undergoes a catharsis after reading James Joyce’s Ulysses. Patched together with film stills, eccentric typography and a hybrid of prose and poetry, it certainly doesn’t look like your average book. Is it worth the journey? Yes, if you have a patience for cryptic crosswords with no answers, or a passion for experimental, eye-catching fiction.

Julian, what similarities, if any, can you see between the times of Greek mythology and now?

It is actually the contrasts that drove this story. My take on it all is that the original Odysseus explored the world out there, and this guy Thomas (Friels) is exploring the world inside. It’s a fractured, explosive, viral world we live in nowadays – I think your personality can get cleaved into a million little sections, and he is exploring this big fractured wonderland or haunted house that is his soul. So he is trying to piece all the bits together, figure out what makes him tick and why he has woken up one day not wanting to go on with his corporate life. He is hungry for meaning and to make sense of it all. I think that search for meaning is universal and has been with us since the beginning of time – Thomas is wondering if he’s killed his imagination, and what meaning life has without his imagination. He’s on a mission to find it again.

What inspired you to approach the story in this ‘movie in book form’ way? And do you think that it can really be done?

I think it can be done and I’m proud of the fusion I’ve achieved here. Look, any time I make a big decision about my work it is not one I agonise over. I could spend half an hour deciding whether to order Chicken Pad Thai or Green Curry but with the big things I never sweat it. I knew the moment I saw Pieter-Dirk Uys onstage I would make my first film about him (Darling! The Pieter-Dirk Uys Story.) When the idea came to me to tell Modern Odysseus as a story with both words and images I just went ‘yep, that solves that problem, I’ll do that.’ You have to trust your guts or you go round in circle. It made sense to tell the story in its own unique language – it is a portrait of this man’s soul, and words alone didn’t seem to cut it. That said it is not a traditional graphic novel – the whole experience is mapped out so you create the missing frames in your head. You create the movie in your own mind from beginning to end – I think it’s an engaging approach, because everyone sees a different movie in their head!

Can you explain the link with Colin Friels?

I needed a great actor to pull on the suit, because I thought it would help people go on the journey. Obviously it’s a pretty out-there, crazy format for a story, and I think a few people will snigger when they first see it or hear about it. Having someone as gifted and expressive as Colin lifted the work to another level – he created this character over the course of the week, and I think I’ve captured some real, raw emotion with the imagery. He believed in my vision and I owe him a lot. Colin was the first guy I ever interviewed for the FILMINK magazine, where I’m a writer. We just hit it off and he decided to back me. I’d love to direct him in a film next.

Are there any creative (or otherwise) Australian influences in your work?

Well, definitely – although set in New York the character Thomas is an expatriate Australian, and he is looking for a kind of home, searching for something he left behind in Australia I suspect. There’s an interesting tension in that we are different from the rest of the world down here – internationally minded but still sort of marching to our own beat. I find that tension very interesting. We both embrace and resist American and European trends, it’s a constant culture battle.

What’s next?

I’m finishing off my half-hour drama about John Kirwan, the famous All Black rugby player who suffered from depression. I play John in the film – bringing the story of my childhood hero to life has been one of the biggest and most exciting challenges of my life. I’m also finishing a feature documentary about the All Blacks to release before the next World Cup – I’m hoping people will never look at sport the same way again after they see this one. It’s from a deeply, almost painfully personal place and my family appears in it. And you never know – there might even be a movie of Modern Odysseus around the corner…

Julian Shaw will be appearing at the Byron Bay Writer’s Festival, Aug 7-9, $170 for a 3-day pass, 6685 6262 or byronbaywritersfestival.com.au

Modern Odysseus is available from selected bookshops or julianshaw.com.au