Gracie Otto: Director
The Clearing - a HULU series Gracie has directed on.
Her family is one of Australia's iconic acting dynasties, yet Gracie Otto is known more for her work as an award-winning film director.
Her work ethic spells PROACTIVITY and she has been an ambassador for leading companies such as Audi, Mimco and Lipsy. Keeping true to her Australian spirit, Gracie represented Sportscraft for its 100th Anniversary alongside Australian icons such as celebrity chef Kylie Kwong, media icon, Ita Buttrose, Golden Globe winning actress, Rachel Griffith and swimming Olympian, Michael Klim.
Gracie has directed for Westfield, Bell Direct and in 2013 won the QANTAS SOYA Film Award, which included a Los Angeles mentorship with Hollywood director, Robert Luketic (Legally Blonde, The Ugly Truth and Killers starring Ashton Kutcher).
I was fortunate to get some time to interview Gracie, speaking about her documentary about Michael White, titled THE LAST IMPRESARIO during the time of its release.
JAY
Thanks Gracie for taking time out. Without spoiling the film, who is Michael White?
GRACIE
Michael "Chalky" White is a legendary British theatre producer with over 300 plays and films under his belt. Since the 1960s, productions included The Rocky Horror Show, Oh Calcutta!, Monty Python and the Holy Grail, A Chorus Line and The Comic Strip. His career spans over 40 years.
JAY
He was important in the entertainment industry, can you briefly tell us in which aspect?
GRACIE
Michael launched the careers of many of the world’s biggest names. These included Yoko Ono, John Cleese, Barry Humphries and a vast number of British comedians. His friendships embraced Hollywood stars, British theatre and Royalty but he also had a reputation as a playboy, pairing up with a stunning list of girlfriends.
Now he is 78 years old, and despite bankruptcy and being fragile in health, Michael continues to live the life of an impresario; going out nearly every night, with the assistance of his two walking canes, at parties, opening nights and festivals around the world.
JAY
Where did the inspiration of making a documentary about Michael come from?
GRACIE
I was having meetings for a drama feature that I wanted to film in Paris, and I met Michael at the Cannes Film Festival in 2010. A chance meeting with him changed my life – he was such an enigma, always at the centre of celebrity parties at the Festival. As I discovered more about him, I realised he had an amazing theatrical legacy and many fascinating stories to tell. After the Festival, I visited Michael in London. I thought he would be living in splendour on the profits of his great career but instead, he lived very simply in a flat in Notting Hill. Michael's fortune was long gone and he was selling his memorabilia at Sotherby's. That's when I decided that this was a story to be told.
JAY
What was the most challenging aspect in the documentary process?
GRACIE
The most challenging part was the logistics of travel. It was practically impossible to schedule interviews with any of the celebrities. Yoko Ono was the result of a phone call to her agent and it just happened! I tried to get an interview with John Cleese for some time. He finally said he would be in Monte Carlo on the 15th so I had to hang around Paris for a couple of weeks and hope he was there when I turned up. When I was in Monte Carlo interviewing him, I received a call from Anna Wintour’s assistant to say that she could give me 30 minutes in New York! I had to get a train to Paris, fly over to New York, source camera equipment, lighting and crew and set everything up in the Vogue office within a short period of time – and then, of course, Anna arrived 10 minutes early!
JAY
How did that go?
GRACIE
Well, I was wearing a black polo jumper and coat and sweating but at the time, I thought it was the safest thing to wear in the Vogue office; to look stylish and still appear professional. But I kept thinking Anna is going to get up and walk out –
JAY
Did Anna Wintour walk out?
GRACIE
No, she was really gracious and imparted a great, cultural perspective on Michael’s career, as well as sharing personal stories of this man she has known for years.
Sometimes I was lucky, having 3 or 4 interviews being on the same day. It was crazy! I was criss-crossing London by Tube with cameras and equipment and assistant in tow!
JAY
Your documentary is a biopic and many are often made after the person has lived, leaving a legacy behind. But in The Last Impresario, I want to focus on something unique that you did, and that is it's almost as if you used an invisible thread and connected three viewpoints of Michael: the public perception, people's personal accounts of him and actually revealing the man himself, by interviewing Michael.
People will be getting a true, multi-layered revelation on Michael White. It's as if the audience, will get to uncover his legendary mask and see his human side. We will be uncovering a sensitive aspect, which is rare. Can you tell us how you came to do this?
GRACIE
Michael’s story was not readily available. I was fortunate enough to receive a copy of Empty Seats (his autobiography) from Greta Scacchi, but other than that, there was very little information to be found.
Also, Michael’s ill-health and acute asthma meant that it was very difficult for him to do interviews. So I realised early on that I would probably have to do a narrative voice over, or tell his story through the eyes of other people. But I was always as interested in Michael’s contemporary life as much as his heyday. He got so angry with me always shooting him observationally, but it allowed me to link a lot of stories together.
JAY
Did you plan the documentary or did it evolve?
GRACIE
The story evolved over a couple of years of filming but it really started to come together when I met my producer, Nicole O’Donohue, and her editor, Karen Johnson. They were incredibly perceptive because I had hundreds of hours worth of footage and in addition, there was 50 years of his working life and private life to cover!
JAY
How did you bring it together?
GRACIE
We worked together to establish the major chapters that we could edit from the existing interviews and available archive material. And, just at the end I did set out on one last trip to pull in some final interviews which turned out to be critical to the finished film – as mentioned before, John Cleese and Anna Wintour were two of them - and the very last interview was my purely coincidental meeting with Lou Adler on my way home.
Gracie's series directing work includes Prime's police comedy crime show Deadloch
JAY
Directing. What inspired you to pursue it?
GRACIE
Coming from a family of actors, (Gracie's father is Barry Otto and her sister is Miranda Otto), I definitely witnessed the highs and lows of a profession that is totally dependent on whether a director wants to offer you a job! So, although I love acting, I never wanted to be an actor, exclusively.
My interest in directing began when I was at Burwood Girls High School (in Sydney). A teacher there, who had worked at Metro Screen, offered a unit of study in Screen Production. I took it on and made a short film Kill Blondes for my Higher School Certificate exams (i.e. the credential awarded to students completing their senior high school levels in New South Wales, Australia.) From there, that gave me confidence to go to Sydney Film School (SFS), the same year as you JAY!!!
JAY
Ah yes - Awesome, fun memories!!
GRACIE
Very true, it was an insightful learning experience.
JAY
Do you think more attention should be given to female directors in mainstream film industries such as Hollywood and is that somewhere you wish to go?
GRACIE
I think it is a problem in all facets of life that women are under-represented in positions of power and directing is no different. I have been inspired by the likes of Gillian Armstrong, Jane Campion and Rachel Ward in Australia – all strong, talented women who have carved a career for themselves, but even for them it isn’t easy. Gill is a family friend and a mentor / role model for me and I know she has had many great projects over the years that she hasn’t been able to get made, despite the success she has had. I have always felt that I had to prove myself ten times more than a young man with the same body of work.
JAY
Would you have any helpful tips for young women interested in pursuing directing, as well?
GRACIE
Live and breathe film - obviously watch as many great classic films and all of the films of the great directors as you possibly can. Believe in your own talent and work hard.
JAY
Thank you Gracie, for your time to inform us
GRACIE
No problem!
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