Dennis Hopper was so loaded up with booze and pills while he was filming Mad Dog Morgan in Victoria in 1976, he nearly died.
The now-clean American actor reveals just how close in Not Quite Hollywood, Mark Hartley’s entertaining homage to the Australian genre films of the 1970s and 80s.
“Dennis was a wild and crazy guy,” says Hartley, who interviewed Hopper in Los Angeles. “I think he was happy to be reacquainted with all the stories that happened, such as being arrested and being banned for life from driving or being a passenger in Victoria.”
Hopper played a hell-raising bushranger in Mad Dog Morgan, which co-starred Jack Thompson and David Gulpilil and was directed by Philippe Mora.
Not Quite Hollywood features clips of more than 80 films, an eclectic mix of sex, violence. horror and action, as well as archival and contemporary interviews.
There’s a certain irony in the title. As Hartley explains, many films of that era were widely criticized for trying to imitate Hollywood films. In fact most were highly original works which saw the emergence of a generation of talented directors such as George Miller, Bruce Beresford, Fred Schepisi, Simon Wincer and Tim Burstall.
Continued here:
Dennis Hopper’s near death experience in Mad Dog Morgan
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