Australia Day Honours: Director Phillip Noyce appointed an AO for service to film industry

"We don't have any poisonous snakes here in Los Angeles," the 72-year-old Noyce said. "That's the first difference."

The renowned film director calls California home but his family also owns a winery in Wollombi, where he shot his first small feature film Backroads, released in 1977.

From there, Noyce went on to direct huge pictures, including iconic Australian film Rabbit Proof Fence and Hollywood box office hit Salt. This distinguished service to the arts has resulted in Noyce being appointed an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO).

When he first started in the industry, the job of film director didn't exist.

"There weren't any film directors, there was no film," he said. "So when I started out, it was really just the whim of a teenager wanting to experiment with something new. What I didn't know was that between the age of 18 and 72, I'd have no other job."

He thanks the Australian government and the country's people for that success after then-Prime Minister John Gorton kick-started an Australian film industry in 1968.

"And I was 18 at the time," he said. "So I found that my early films were supported by grants from the federal government, and right through my early career, every film I made in Australia, even though they all returned the money to the Australian government and the Australian taxpayers, they were all supported by government intervention."

The support paid off. Noyce's work has won many awards both here and abroad. He says Rabbit Proof Fence is a particular highlight of his career.

"Making that film, sharing that story with Australians and audiences all around the world, and watching the sea change in white Australian attitudes," he said.

"Not because of the film, the film was just one small part of that sea change, but watching that change occur over the years and being a part of that change, that was the most satisfying.

"Because it was a film that was entertaining, but also revolutionary in terms of Australian attitudes towards towards our First Nations people."

In that regard, he says being awarded the AO, while an honour, came on an unfortunate day.

"I wish it was on another day other than January the 26^th, which is not really a day for celebration for a lot of Australians," Noyce said.

"It's the day that our First Nations forefathers woke up and discovered that all that they had, had been seized without negotiation or payment or contract.

"It's good that we have Australia Day, but I wish they'd move it to a day other than January the 26^th. Unfortunately, that day only makes me sad, even though I'm very grateful for being given an award."

The acclaimed filmmaker will return to Australia soon, where he hopes to shoot an upcoming TV series Resurrection Bay.

"We're actually coming in a couple of weeks to Newcastle to look for locations," he said.

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