My favourite "arguably Australian" filmmakers...

Number one, Colin Higgins (1941-88) a writer director whose credits include Harold and Maude, Silver Streak, Foul Play, Nine to Five, Best Little Whorehouse in Texas - an amazing string of hits, ended early when he died of an AIDS-related illness...From around 1942 to 1957 he lived mostly in Sydney, attending Riverview. That's totally enough for us to claim him IMHO yet he's not widely known as an Aussie.

Number two - Fred Stafford who is best known for playing the lead in the Hitchcock film Topaz (1969) - a Hitchcock film that even his die hard fans struggle to excited about (and I don’t think including that duel sequence would’ve helped ) Stafford was from Czechoslovakia... he emigrated to Australia as a young man and lived here for a decade becoming a businessman- he then moved to Asia and someone suggested he be an actor and he became one (mostly in France). He’s not very good in Topaz which is probably why Australia never claims him but he is our greatest Czech-French-Aussie star.

Part 3... Flea, the bass player in the Red Hot Chili Peppers who has also been in a fair few films notably Baby Driver and My Own Private Idaho. He was born in Melbourne and lived the first seven or so years of his life here. Like a lot of people I only cared about the Peppers for five minutes in the early 90s when they toured here and seemed to be everywhere but they’re still playing so good on them. Someone should do a Sliding Doors type tale about Flea if he’d stayed in Melbourne . He probably would’ve turned out a bass player in a band just less rich

Part 4... James Clavell. If your grandmother/parents was a reader chances are you would've encountered one of his weighty tomes around their house (seriously, they're like bricks)... King Rat, Shogun, Tai Pan, Noble House, etc... books which influenced mainstream Western thought about Hong Kong/China for a generation... he came to writing from a film career that included the excellent scripts for The Fly (1958) and The Great Escape (1963 and writing and directing To Sir With Love (1967) - he also directed I think pretty much the only English language film about the 30 Year War, The Last Valley (1971). How Aussie is he? Well he was born here when his dad was on secondment with the Navy and left when he was about nine months old... That'll do! We'll claim that! Besides there were Aussie references in his Hong Kong books, notably King Rat, and Bryan Brown played Dirk Struan in the film of Tai Pan - how more Aussie can you get!

Part 5... Matthew "wig" McConaughey, who spent a year here on a rotary exchange program when he was 18 during which time I get the feeling he wouldn't have found it hard to get laid.

Number 6 - the legendary Tony Hancock who spent the last few months of his life here making a tv show before committing suicide in Sydney in 1968 Does this give us a right to claim him? Is it as legitimate as being born here? Or less?

Part 7 - Felix the Cat, the animated star of the 1920s (before Mickey Mouse)... created by Australian writer Pat O'Sullivan... or was it by an American? Stuff it, we'll claim Felix.

Part 8 - Alan Marshall (1909-1961) the actor not the author. Born in Australia while his parents were touring here as actors he soon moved to the US but was often claimed as Aussie at the time by local media. He was a good looking guy who looked like he should be a star but was kind of forgettable on screen - so he was discovered a few times - film buffs may know him from The Garden of Allah (1936), The White Cliffs of Dover (1944) or House on Haunted hill (1959) . Two items of interest (1) he had a nervous breakdown in the late 40s and quit acting for a bit (2) he died of a heart attack he suffered on stage - he was doing Sextette with Mae West, had a heart attack during the show, finished his performance , went home and died in his sleep. What a pro!

Part 9 May Robson (1858-1942). Born in Moama (I had to google it - near Echuca) she moved to the UK when she was 12. Had a long career as a character actor, eventually specialising in little old ladies. Then got the role of a life time in Capra's Lady for a Day (1933) which earned her an Oscar nomination at the ripe old age of 75 (she was the first Australian nominated for an Oscar and the oldest Oscar nominee at the time) and suddenly she was a star. She was top billed in a series of movies - One Man's Journey, Lady by Choice - before drifting back to support roles but basically was never out of work until her death. It's never too late!

Part 10  - Charles B Griffith, the legendary screenwriter and occasional director of Bucket of Blood, Little Shop of Horrors, Eat My Dust, Death Race 2000, among others. The Aussie connection is a little tenuous - his daughter moved here (near Castlemaine I think) and he lived here for a few years with her towards the end of his life (he wasn’t great with money) ... and since he’s one of my favorite screenwriters that’ll do! I’ll claim him!