This is a transcript of a volley of letters in 'Hit' Magazine from July 2004 between Tony Martin and Stephen Sherrard-Griffith.

 

July 15, 2004 he's just tolkien nonsense Dear Hit, Over the past year Leigh Paatsch has copped some criticism for his film reviews and ratings. I have analysed his reviews for many years and believe Leigh in most cases to be a great judge on film. However, some of his ratings and reviews border on complete disgrace. Crackerjack was given four stars when released: it was so average and the humour was recycled. Yet he gave Fellowship of the Ring 2 1/2 stars and The Two Towers, which was revolutionary filmmaking, 3 1/2 stars. Then Mean Girls gets three stars. How can you compare these films? The absolutely average teen flick New York Minute received 2 1/2 stars: the same as Fellowship of the Ring. Does Leigh find teen films more intriguing than the work of Tolkien? I have written several short films and I'm working on my first feature in script development. I can't wait for Leigh's review of my first feature film in a few years. PS -- Bad Eggs better than The Two Towers? Get real, Leigh! Stephen Sherrard-Griffith, Murrumbeena knocked back

 

 

Dear Hit, Embittered filmmaker Stephen Sherrard-Griffith states (Hit, July 15) that my friend Mick Molloy's film Crackerjack is undeserving of praise because its humour is "recycled", but provides not a single example to support his allegation. In fact, Crackerjack is not only an original work, but the most popular and successful Australian film of the past two years. Sherrard-Griffith then narcissistically envisions a time when his own (as yet unwritten) feature film will be humbly submitted for critical approbation. One can only hope that this proposed masterwork will be less derivative than his short film Fartknocker, whose title Beavis and Butthead fans will recognise as a prime example of "recycled humour". Tony Martin, Stonnington

 

Dear Hit, The rankled Tony Martin (Hit, July 22) missed the point. Crackerjack was fun, but the plot wasn't exactly intriguing, was it? It had recycled Hot Shots humour (Mick Molloy as Saddam Hussein), over-used actors and too many old-people jokes. I grew up a huge fan of Martin/Molloy. Two talented people. Yet Martin attacks me because I know the Lord Of The Rings films deserved greater review stars than Crackerjack and Bad Eggs. This is not to say they are not popular films; they are just not in the same league as LOTR. Fartknocker, my short film (which Martin has not seen), just won the Shortswood Film Festival's Judge's Choice Award and was selected to the Top 80 films for Tropfest 2003. The ironic thing is that Martin has actually heard of Fartknocker. Who has heard/remembers Bad Eggs? My argument was with poor reviews. If Tony wants to play it as an attack, then I ask him: Beavis & Butthead made more than $250 million. Did Bad Eggs even make its catering expenses back from box-office ticket sales? Martin, acting like a spoilt celebrity, has made a career taking the piss out of others and has recycled Bargearse jokes for long enough. He is not exactly making his own masterworks. Stephen Sherrard-Griffith, Murrumbeena

 

Dear Hit, Stephen Sherrard-Griffith had an entire week to back up his allegation of plagiarism in Crackerjack and the best he could come up with is that Mick Molloy, in a fancy-dress ball sequence, dresses as Saddam Hussein, a character who had been portrayed in Hot Shots 2. Anyone who has seen both films will recognise this as possibly the longest bow ever drawn. Sherrard-Griffith also says that I have "not seen" his film Fartknocker. Sadly, I was present at a Popcorn Taxi screening, where it was presented as a film that wasn't good enough to get into Tropfest, if you can imagine such a thing. Having endured this dismal short, I would suggest this won't be the last time Sherrard-Griffith will have to grapple with the concept of someone not having seen one of his films. Tony Martin, Stonnington

 

Dear Hit, Tony Martin makes me laugh confusing his Bad Eggs' failure and my Fartknocker's success. Take a leaf from Rob Sitch's book: make films with heart and soul such as The Dish instead of puerile crap like Bad Eggs. I don't waste a week thinking about Tony as I have films to make. He is the Robin Hood of "pulling the longest bow" and shooting himself. Stephen Sherrard-Griffith, Murrumbeena extraordinary commitment

 

Dear Hit, Stephen Sherrard-Griffith accuses Tony Martin of "acting like a spoilt celebrity" for sticking up for his mate Mick Molloy's Crackerjack. It takes a special brand of delusional pride to seriously compare making one short film with writing, producing, and directing a feature film. It takes years off your life. I'm sure that Sherrard-Griffith's Fartknocker has merit, but I doubt that it stacks up against Tony Martin's extraordinary commitment and contribution to Australian comedy over the past 15 years. Sherrard-Griffith would do well to show some respect and humility, and refrain from publicly blowing his comparatively minuscule trumpet. Fiona Scott-Norman, East St Kilda

 

This debate is now officially closed -- Ed