Actors

Paul Gordon

Paul Gordon

Paul wrote, directed, and starred in The Happy Poet, which premiered internationally at the Venice Film Festival and in the U.S. at South by Southwest. It screened at festivals around the world, winning jury and audience awards, and streamed on Netflix and Amazon Prime. Paul has since acted in festival favorites such as Mr. Roosevelt (Dir. Noel Wells; Netflix), Dr. Brinks and Dr. Brinks (Dir. Josh Crockett; Amazon Prime), Savasana (Dir. Brandon Daley, Vimeo Staff Pick), Thunder P. (Dir. Steve Collins; Funny or Die), I Need a Hug (Dir. Steve Collins; Vimeo Staff Pick). Reviews for The Happy Poet: "My favorite movie so far at this year's SXSW is a little comedy, at once wistful and wonderfully dry-witted, called The Happy Poet. ... damned if my heart didn't swell during the film's great climax to say nothing of the last shot that left me touched to the point of tears. Austin filmmaker Paul Gordon, who wrote, directed, edited and starred in the movie ought to be mighty pleased with himself." ~Karen Valby, Entertainment Weekly "A sweet, stealthy film about creating meaning in your life (and your work) in a relentlessly mercenary world. Off-handed and yet quite artfully observed, The Happy Poet's winsome deadpan offsets its skewering of class and sustainability issues, right through to a tricky ending that, like Bill himself, may not be what it seems." ~Michelle Orange, The Village Voice "In its laid-back tone, "The Happy Poet" is reminiscent of Richard Linklater's 1991 debut, "Slacker," another Austin-set indie comedy. Gordon's first post-film-school feature, however, is more assured, polished and ready for prime time." ~Michael O'Sullivan, The Washington Post "The poet wants to be happy but doesn't really know how to go about it. It's a pretty good joke, and Mr. Gordon tells it with enough discipline and invention to make a significant portion of the film funny in interesting, subversive ways. A promising debut." ~Mike Hale, The New York Times "This deadpan no-budget comedy, about a glumly idealistic man who decides to start a health-food stand and the complications that result, is a genuine under-the-radar gem-the kind of quietly charming, profound film that creeps up on you. It's also, as luck would have it, perfectly acted." ~New York Magazine "The Happy Poet, a deadpan charmer directed by Austin filmmaker Paul Gordon, moves along at the brisk pace of a light romantic comedy. ...Everything about The Happy Poet is cheerily conventional, save for Gordon's hilariously monotonous delivery, an ironic performance that incessantly contradicts the movie's title." ~Eric Kohn, IndieWIRE "...Even better, the film's dry sense of humor belies sincerity, rather than the kind of ironic detachment that seems to pop up frequently in independent films." ~Todd Gilchrist, Cinematical Reviews for Saturday Morning Mystery (Massacre): "There are also subtle performances that are sure to stand out, particularly by the monotone police officer (played by Paul Gordon) as he takes the team on a tour of the abandoned house, pointing out "We found a leg over here." as if he were reading instructions on how to program his television." -Ain't It Cool News "The entire cast does a great job throughout, but I did have an affinity for Paul Gordon's sheriff, because he's got that aloof, dry cadence to how he speaks that becomes that much better when he's giving you the lowdown on a haunted house's history. It's like, he doesn't really believe it, right? No? Then why does he suggest they stay elsewhere?" -Film Threat "... it is Officer Lance (Paul Gordon) who gets the most laughs, and deservedly so. There were quite a few inspired casting decisions for Saturday Morning Massacre, but Paul Gordon's dry delivery works incredibly well for the character of the helpful police officer. Gordon's Lance is not one of those fumbling or gun crazy law enforcement characters that we are used to seeing in horror films; he is a nice, level-headed guy who just happens to develop a crush on Nancy - and who can blame him?" -Smells Like Screen Spirit "Paul Gordon is pitch-perfect as Officer Lance in this scene. His deadpan delivery as he shares stories of the house and its past residents is wonderful. " -Shock Till You Drop "Non-Scooby gang member, Officer Lance (Paul Gordon), is aces when it comes to stealing most of the funniest bits. His laconic delivery is rather off-putting at first, but soon begins to flow and make more sense. Once it fully kicks in, his character is simply a riot. A throwaway line about something he discovered inside the school is funnier than any line in The Cabin In The Woods (and I loved that film!)." -Bloody Disgusting
Paul Grabowsky

Paul Grabowsky

Paul Grabowsky is a pianist, composer, arranger and conductor, and is one of Australia's most distinguished artists. Born in Papua New Guinea in 1958, Paul was raised in Melbourne where he attended Wesley College. He began classical piano lessons at the age of five, studying with Mack Jost from 1965-1978. He began informal studies in jazz around 1976, and fully devoted his energies to improvised music from 1978. During the 70's he became prominent in the music scene in Melbourne, working in various jazz, theatre and cabaret projects. He lived in Munich, Germany from 1980-1985, where he was active on the local and European jazz scenes, performing and recording with Johnny Griffin, Chet Baker, Art Farmer, Benny Bailey, Guenther Klatt, Marty Cook and many others. He returned to Australia in 1986. In 1983, he formed the Paul Grabowsky Trio, winner of four ARIA awards and one of Australia's longest-living and most influential jazz ensembles. He has also won two Helpmann awards, several Bell awards and a Deadly award. He was the Sydney Myer Performing Artist of the year in 2000, and received the Melbourne Prize for Music in 2007. As a performer, he became known for his work with the 'Wizards of Oz', a group he co-led with saxophonist Dale Barlow from 1987-1989 and Vince Jones, for whom he was musical director in 1988-89. From 1990-1992 he led the 'Groovematics', the band on the nightly national television show 'Tonight Live'. He performs and records regularly with singers Shelley Scown, Robyn Archer, Katie Noonan and Megan Washington. Paul is also the founder and Artistic Director of the Australian Art Orchestra, with which he tours both nationally and internationally. Recent AAO projects have concentrated on collaborations with traditional and contemporary indigenous performers. Among his numerous CD releases are two for the Hush series (for which he is Artistic Director), designed to assist in the healing environment of Melbourne's Children's Hospital. Paul is regarded as one of Australia's foremost screen composers, working with such directors as Gillian Armstrong: The Last Days of Chez Nous, Paul Cox: Innocence and Human Touch, John Irvin: Shiner and The Fine Art Of Love: Mine Ha Ha and Fred Schepsi: Last Orders and It Runs in the Family. His television credits are numerous and include the ABC series Phoenix and Janus. Paul enjoyed great success with Jungle Book 2, for which he wrote the songs in collaboration with lyricist Lorraine Feather. Paul most recently collaborated with director Beth MaLure for feature film 'Daisy Winters'. Prior to this Paul scored for David Parker's feature film 'The Menkoff Method'. He previously scored Fred Schepisi's feature film 'Words and Pictures', starring Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche. His score features an end titles song set to words by the film's writer Gerry DiPiego. Paul also collaborated with Fred Schepisi on feature film 'The Eye of the Storm', which features world-famous saxophonist Branford Marsalis. He also worked with Marsalis on his most recent international album Tales of Time and Space, which was recorded in New York and which received exceptional reviews. His works for the theatre include the operas 'The Mercenary' (1997-99) and 'Love in the Age of Therapy', which was premiered in October 2002 at the Sydney Opera House, with further sell-out performances in January 2003 at the Sydney Arts Festival. His music for the shadow play The Theft of Sita (1999-2000) won a Helpmann award. Paul produced and presented the television series Access all Areas in 1996 and was Commissioning Editor for ABC Television Arts and Entertainment 1996-1998. In 2005, Paul was appointed Artistic Director for the Queensland Music Festival 2007. In 2008, the Adelaide Festival of Arts appointed Paul as the Artistic Director for the 2010 and 2012 Adelaide Bank Festival of Arts. In June 2012, he was appointed Vice-Chancellor's Professorial Fellow in the School of Music. In July 2012, Paul was made Executive Director, Performing Arts, Academy of Performing Arts, Monash University.