Screen Legend Jack Thompson to Direct NYE14
The Man From Snowy River will tell some stories of his own this NYE.
Legendary Sydney actor and the famously gravelly voice behind Banjo Patterson's The Man from Snowy River, Jack Thompson, has been announced as the Creative Ambassador for 2014 New Year's Eve in Sydney.
Born and raised on the Northern Beaches, Thompson's career meandered from classic Australian films like Sunday Too Far Away, The Man From Snowy River and Breaker Morant (for which he nabbed Cannes and AFI awards) to Star Wars and recent Baz Lurhman escapades The Great Gatsby and Australia. A member of the Order of Australia for accomplishments in film, Thompson's made over 100 movies and television shows, as well as plays and poetry recordings over the past 45 years. Now he's looking at an entirely different type of script.
"It is such an honour to be able to represent my home town — one of the world’s truly great cities — as the Creative Ambassador of 2014 Sydney New Year’s Eve," said Thompson, whose love for a good yarn lead him to pick this year's theme. Putting his age ol' fireside storytelling skills to a multi-million dollar budget, Thompson has picked the theme 'Inspire' for the fireworks extravaganza — hoping to implement a series of stories about our fine city in the midst of midnight pashes and Passion Pop-fuelled D&Ms.
"Sydney is filled with stories that inspire, from the ancient engravings of the Gadigal people in the sandstone of the headlands to the unique architecture of the Opera House and Harbour Bridge," says Thompson. "As we prepare to celebrate the year that’s passed and look to the future at what lies ahead, I encourage Sydneysiders and visitors alike to join with us and share their own inspirational stories of Sydney."
Thompson joins a solid lineup of previous high-profile Australian creatives to take on the role of Creative Ambassador for Sydney New Years Eve. Mental As Anything and Mambo legend Reg Mombassa took on last year, pop monarch Kylie Minogue oversaw 2012 and overwhelmingly influential designer Marc Newson had the top job in 2011.
Reaching 1.6 million people on Sydney Harbour alone (as well as a cheeky billion worldwide), NYE generates an estimated $156 million to Sydney's economy. Yikes. All that money doesn't go in fat cat pockets though, Thompson's NYE will team up with official 2014 Sydney New Year’s Eve charity partner, Engineers Without Borders Australia. Total legend.
For more information and to plan where your grab-the-nearest-person-midnight-pash will go down, visit sydneynewyearseve.com.
On another note, Thompson was the first nude male centrefold in Cleo magazine in 1972, but we're unlikely to revisit this raunchy page turner on NYE:
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