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Well…we don’t know yet but I’m confident that my good friend – Matt Dabner - has a good shot at nabbing the Australian Film Institute (AFI) Award for Best Original Screenplay. For those of you who don’t know, Matt graduated the Peter Stark producing program at the University of Southern California and he is someone I would confidently dub as ‘the-most-likely-of-all-my-friends-to-get-rich-and-famous-and-allow-me-to-join-his-entourage’. Matt co-wrote his first feature film, The Square, with Joel Edgerton (who also plays a supporting role in the movie). Here’s a rough synopsis (written in Matt’s own words):

THE SQUARE is the story of a middle-aged man (Ray) who meets and falls in love with a younger woman (Carla). Trouble is, they’re both married, Ray to a nag of a woman named Martha and Carla to a controlling tow truck driver named Smithy. When Carla finds a bag full of cash hidden in her house, a plot is spawned to take it and fund their escape. Unfortunately good intentions lead to bad decisions and things quickly begin to spiral out of control. That’s when the first blackmail note arrives…

Set in a canal estate (like Sylvania Waters) THE SQUARE   is a suburban thriller with a dose of FARGO-esque black humour. The film was directed by Nash Edgerton (award winning short film maker/stuntman) and was an original story by my co-writer Joel Edgerton, Nash’s actor brother. Joel has starred in films such as STAR WARS EPISODE III, KING ARTHUR and SMOKIN’ ACES.

Elana and I were fortunate enough to first catch the filming of one of the scenes in Sydney  last year then, a year later, catch the film’s debut U.S. appearance in an intimate setting for 50 people during a sales screening here in New York. I know Matt’s capabilities as a writer so I was already expecting something good but the film far exceeded my expectations!! From beginning to end, this film was a thrill ride with a gripping plot riddled with twists and turns. Aside from the story and the directing, the acting was exceptional and I wouldn’t be surprised to see a lot of the lesser known names become big stars.

I don’t think it’s in the cinemas anymore but when it comes out on DVD, I’ll be sure to let everyone know. Then you can judge for yourself how great a movie this truly is! Well done Matty!!!

By the way, as it turns out, Chris Rock is a fan of Nash Edgerton’s work and was at the screening of the Square in New York with Elana and I. As we were leaving, Chris Rock noticed Elana’s belly (she was pregnant at the time) and wished us good luck. Elana went into labor and we had Chloe the very next day!!