Me on the set of The Newsreader, seeing the world from Jean’s point of view! 💖
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On my set visit day two years ago, I did a lot of sitting around, but in the best way possible!
In Michelle Lim Davidson and Michael Lucas’ quest to get as many amazing photos of me as possible, they had me pose at various characters’ desks. Whether it was sitting at Jean’s, Noelene’s, Rob’s/Helen’s and Dennis’, or holding Dale’s Gold Logie right in front of his and Geoff’s, I felt like Goldielocks testing the bears’ chairs, trying to find one that was just right 😉
I did not realise until I kept going back to various scenes of The Newsreader what a gift all this sitting around would be. Not many people can say that they have sat in the chairs of their favourite television characters, but I can. I will watch Jean, Noelene and Dennis on screen, in particular, and I can visualise exactly what they would have seen from their chair, and understand how they would operate and move around their space. I have used Jean’s typewriter, picked up Noelene’s phone, and seen Dennis’ procession of petite porcelain elephants prancing pretty close to his paperwork (try saying that ten times fast!).
Even though Rob’s desk technically was not Helen’s (the office space had been refurbished for him), it was still in the spot she sat, and in the same office cubicle. I could see out to the lounge that she had listened to Suzi Quatro on, that Cheryl sat on to tell Helen and Dale a hard truth, and read her bulletin board with scripts and memos from her time at News At Six.
Sitting at Rob’s desk, I could still see through Helen’s eyes and walk in her shoes, and on the topic of Mr Rickards, it was a walk in his football cleats too 😉. I can visualise how he would have had that tricky conversation over the phone with Noelene in S03E04, all the way down to having held his worn-out cricket ball.
What a gift this whole set visit experience was. It was much more multilayered and invaluable than I could have ever expected! ❤️📺🌟
