Overview
For almost 30 years, December 21 Down Under has been known as Gravy Day. The reason: Paul Kelly's 'How to Make Gravy', which released in 1996. The best way to mark the occasion, of course, has always included making gravy and listening to the song. But in 2024, there'll be another way to celebrate: watching the movie adapted from Kelly's tune.
News that the flick was coming initially dropped in 2022, with musician Meg Washington and writer/director Nick Waterman announcing that they'd locked in the rights to make the song into a film. Then, Australian streaming platform Binge revealed that it's behind the movie, marking its first-ever original feature — and that it'd hit this year. Now, the movie version of How to Make Gravy has a release date, arriving on streaming on Sunday, December 1.
How to Make Gravy, the film, also now boasts a trailer. So, if you've been wondering how a tune becomes a movie, here's a glimpse. The Royal Hotel co-stars Daniel Henshall (RFDS) and Hugo Weaving (Slow Horses) feature as Joe and Noel. The first hails from the song — he's the prisoner who writes to his brother Dan to kick things off — while Noel is a new addition.
Also starring: Brenton Thwaites (Titans) as Dan, Kate Mulvany (The Clearing) as Joe's sister Stella and Damon Herriman (now that he's no longer playing Charles Manson in both Mindhunter and Once Upon a Time in Hollywood) as her husband Roger. French actor Agathe Rousselle from Titane, who is making her first English-language film, also features as Joe's wife Rita.
And yes, there's a Frank and a Dolly, aka Joe's twin daughters (newcomer Rose Statham and Christmas on the Farm's Izzy Westlake) — and an Angus, Joe's son (Jonah Wren Phillips, Sweet Tooth). Still on names from the music, Eloise Rothfield (Boy Swallows Universe) is Dan's daughter Mary, while Eugene Gilfedder (Babyteeth) and Kym Gyngell (The Artful Dodger) are brothers Gary and Murray.
Kieran Darcy-Smith (Mr Inbetween) is also among the cast as new character Red — and with Washington one of the picture's driving forces, Adam Briggs, Brendan Maclean, Dallas Woods, Patience Hodgson and Zaachariaha Fielding are among the musicians with cameo roles. There's no word yet if Kelly pops up as the film tells of Joe's family's preparations to spend their first Christmas without him.
Check out the trailer for How to Make Gravy below — and, because you've likely now got it stuck in your head, the music video for the song as well:
How to Make Gravy will stream via Binge from Sunday, December 1, 2024.
Images: Jasin Boland.