Col’s Chat – Locals through my Lens

Steve Saragossi

Steve Saragossi may never have received top billing on a movie poster, but that’s not true of the myriad famous names he has met.

“My mum worked in publicity at the Rank Studios in London, so from a very early age her appreciation for film rubbed off on me. I was taken to the movies frequently to see new and re-released titles like Zulu, West Side Story and 2001: A Space Odyssey.”

Steve’s western Brisbane house is a shrine to all things movie-related, from a library of books with movie tie-ins, posters and memorabilia, to hundreds of soundtracks on vinyl.

“With only three TV channels growing up, you also had to watch what was put in front of you, so I learned to appreciate all manner of films that I perhaps wouldn’t have shown an interest in otherwise.”

Cinema and TV offered a rich tapestry of choice. So surely the film industry beckoned?

“At 16 years old there wasn’t really a clear career path for me in film, so I went into civil engineering and then into marketing. Film remained both a visual and musical backdrop until 2006, when I began a Masters in Film, funnelling everything I had acquired into academic rigour.

For my thesis, I flew to Switzerland to interview Norman Jewison, the director of In the Heat of the Night and Moonstruck.”

“After that, I began writing extensively for magazines such as Cinema Retro, The Spectator and Empire.” This included a celebratory piece for Cinema Retro’s website on James Caan, the star of The Godfather, Rollerball and Misery.

“Long story short, James Caan saw the piece and got in touch with the editor. Caan said, ‘If this had been written six years ago, I’d still be a leading man today.’”

When the editor asked if Caan would be interested in a long-form piece for the print magazine, he replied, “Only if I’m interviewed by, and it’s written by, Steve!”

“Within three weeks I was on a plane to Los Angeles and knocking on James Caan’s door. We chatted for three hours, which turned out to be his longest-ever interview, and Cinema Retro printed it in full over five issues.”

Working for Film Inc. in London and Australia, Steve met the likes of Kevin Bacon, Michael Sheen and even Stewart Copeland from The Police.

“I also started writing a biography of actor James Coburn, and that led to interviews with the likes of Sidney Lumet, Walter Hill, Susannah York, Barbara Hershey, and David McCallum.”

So, what about the future?

“I’m sad that you can now silo yourself into only seeing the content that is pushed to you and miss out on a huge amount of material. For many years you couldn’t get anything made unless it was a Marvel-style big-budget event, but I think the pendulum is starting to swing back toward more thoughtful stories. It’s called show business for a reason.

Ultimately, studios are risk-averse and focused on the bottom line, but I’m hopeful that alternatives will begin to emerge.”

Now working with fellow Brisbane resident and creative writer Fiona Westwell, Steve is writing scripts for TV series and movies as one half of the creative pairing, Ink and Thunder.

With pen in hand, maybe Steve will yet be at the helm.

To follow Steve’s creative journey, visit: www.inkandthunder.com

Author and photographer: Colin Bushell / Colin Bushell Photography