The Boy Who Had Everything

The Boy Who Had Everything is a 1984 Australian film written and directed by Stephen Wallace.[2] Its video title was Winner Takes All. It won the award for best screenplay at the Australian Film Institute.[3] Jason Connery and Diane Cilento, who play mother and son in the film, are real-life mother and son.[4] The film was also entered into the 14th Moscow International Film Festival.[5]

The Boy Who Had Everything
VHS cover as Winner Takes All
Directed byStephen Wallace
Written byStephen Wallace
Produced byRichard Mason
Julia Overton
StarringJason Connery
Diane Cilento
Nique Needles
Laura Williams
CinematographyGeoff Burton
Edited byHenry Dangar
Music byRalph Schneider
Production
companies
Alfred Road Films
Multi Films Investments Limited
Hoyts-Edgley
Distributed byHoyts Distribution
Release date
  • 22 May 1984 (1984-05-22)
Running time
94 minutes
CountryAustralia
LanguageEnglish
BudgetA$1.1 million[1]

Plot

Johnny Kirkland (Connery) is a university student having problems with his alcoholic and emotionally damaged mother (Cilento), who was recently divorced. At school, his fraternity brothers find out that Johnny excelled in his high school academically and in sports, and try to prevent him from achieving the same level of success. Johnny also has problems with his girlfriend Robin (Williams).

Principal cast
ActorRole
Jason ConneryJohn Kirkland
Diane CilentoMother
Nique NeedlesGraham Cummerford
Laura WilliamsRobin
Lewis Fitz-GeraldVandervelt
Ian GilmourPollack
Monroe ReimersAndrew Afferson

Production

The film was autobiographical for Wallace. The original draft started when the lead character was 28 but this was changed to begin when he was at university because it was felt this would make the movie more commercial.[6] It was also set further back in the past, as the suggestion of script editor Sandra Levy. Producer Richard Mason came up with the idea it should be set in the 1960s.[7]

The movie was meant to be the first of several made by a new company, Multi Films, but they ended up making only this.[1]

Wallace says he was unhappy with the casting:

Diane Cilento tried to play working-class, but it just didn't work. Robyn Nevin wanted to play that part, and I think she should have. Jason Connery was very young then and he was very nervous about the film and thought it would ruin his image, and he was never very friendly to me. He did the film, but he thought I was ruining his career.[7]

References
  1. David Stratton, The Avocado Plantation: Boom and Bust in the Australian Film Industry, Pan MacMillan, 1990 p356-357
  2. Scott Murray, Australia on the Small Screen 1970-1995, Oxford Uni Press, 1996 p19
  3. "Awards for The Boy Who Had Everything". IMDb.
  4. Mannikka, Eleanor. "The Boy Who Had Everything > Overview". AllMovie. Retrieved 4 August 2010.
  5. "14th Moscow International Film Festival (1985)". MIFF. Archived from the original on 16 March 2013. Retrieved 10 February 2013.
  6. "Interview with Stephen Wallace", Signis, 21 November 1998 accessed 21 November 2012
  7. Paul Kalina, "Stephen Wallace", Cinema Papers, Feb-March 1985 p11-15
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