Breaking Loose (film)

Breaking Loose
Directed by	Rod Hay
Written by	Denis Whitburn
Produced by	Phillip Avalon
Starring	Peter Phelps Abigail
Release date	1988 (1988)
Country	Australia
Language	English
Budget	A$1.2 million[1] or $1.3 million[2]
Box office	A$28,648[3]

Breaking Loose is a 1988 Australian film. It was a sequel to Summer City (1977).

Plot

A young man, Ross, has troubles at home so heads to a small town.

Cast

• Peter Phelps as Ross Cameron
• Abigail as Helen
• Shane Connor as Sampson
• John Clayton as Neville

Production

Development

Avalon had dropped out of the film industry after an unhappy experience on Little Boy Lost. Having bought a surf shop he continued surfing competitively and continuing his acting career in movies. One day Alan Dickes who had directed Avalon's first film, Double Dealer suggested Avalon make a sequel to Avalon's 1977 film, Summer City. Avalon paid Dickes a fee to write a script.^[4] The movie was originally announced in 1985 as The End of Innocence when it was to be written and directed by Alan Dickes and to star Christopher Pate.^[5]

Avalon was unhappy with Dickes' script, but he was still keen on making a sequel to Summer City. After writing a new outline and draft he hired Rod Hay to direct. Avalon then arranged for Denis Whitburn to do a final draft script.^[4]

Avalon later wrote in his memoirs that he felt Rod Hay and Denis Whitburn "were definitely not on the same page" when it came to the storyline: Rod wanted more action, whereas Denis was more into the character and history of the original.^[6] A large percentage of the $1.3 million budget was invested by hotel owner and developer Eric Jury. Avalon raised the balance through his Newcastle friends.^[7]

Filming

Location filming was done at Catherine Bay. According to Avalon, there were some difficulties on the set involving Hay and the actors so he approached cast member Vince Martin to help smooth the relationship. Avalon later repaid Martin by offering him a chance to direct a feature, the Sher Mountain Killings Mystery.^[8]

Some filming was done at Eric Porter's Studio in North Sydney which had been bought by Jury to convert into a squash court. After the film was completed and released, Jury approached Avalon with a partnership offer to update and convert the studios into a fully fledged movie studio. The deal done, Avalon modernized and rebuilt the film studio which became the Avalon Film Studios, hired out to film and television productions.^[9]

Reception

Avalon says he sold the film for over a million dollars to various territories before it had been even finished. He also had success with a "Breaking Loose" clothing range.^[10]

References

1. "Production Survey", Cinema Papers, September 1987 p66
2. Avalon p 194
3. "Australian Films at the Australian Box Office", Film Victoria Archived 9 February 2014 at the Wayback Machine accessed 24 October 2009
4. Avalon, Phil (2015). From Steel City to Hollywood. New Holland. pp. 191–197.
5. David Stratton, The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry, Pan MacMillan, 1990 p36-361
6. Avalon p 194
7. Avalon p 194
8. Avalon p 197
9. Avalon p 195
10. Avalon p 197

External links

• Breaking Loose at IMDb
• Breaking Loose at Oz Movies