I find myself digging a certain TV show these days on Netflix. Friends reading this will know which one I’m talking about, but it nevertheless goes without saying that I’m keen on how directors would handle biker crime thriller narratives. Debut director Stephen McCallum seems ready to prove himself and will do so in front of an audience this Friday premiering in the Toronto International Film Festival’s Discovery line-up with the new movie, 1%, for which McCallum spoke to Deadline to discuss more on the new Austrailian crime pic.
….“1% is about brotherhood, loyalty, and betrayal set within the primal underworld of outlaw motorcycle gangs This clip gives you an insight into the visceral world of those outlaws who in medieval times would’ve been Kings and Queens.” He adds, ” This forbidden world was a really exciting canvas for a director. Matt Nable’s script was a hard hitting, character driven genre piece with strong Shakespearean themes. It jumped off the page and I knew immediately that I wanted to direct it…”
The headlining cast lists Ryan Corr (Mary Magdalene, Hacksaw Ridge), Abbey Lee (Dark Tower, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Neon Demon), Simone Kessell (San Andreas), Josh McConville (War Machine), Matt Nable (Hacksaw Ridge, Riddick) and Aaron Pederson (Killing Ground). The film is produced by Jamie Hilton and Michael Pontin are the producers with Josh Pomeranz, Viv Scanu, Stephen Boyle, Phil Hunt, and Compton Ross serving as executive producers.
Two men square off over control of a motorcycle gang in this violent drama about fraternity, loyalty, and betrayal from first-time director Stephen McCallum.
With skilled ferocity, first-time feature director Stephen McCallum injects the viewer into this explosive drama of Shakespearean proportions. McCallum, working off a script from Matt Nable, crafts a complex, classic story of power struggles within a motorcycle gang, exploring themes of fraternity, loyalty, and betrayal.
While Knuck (screenwriter Nable, known in North America for his role on the series Arrow) has been in prison, his surrogate son, Mark, nicknamed “Paddo” (the charismatic Ryan Corr, Hacksaw Ridge) has minded the store. Paddo has modernized the activities of the club, expanded their enterprise, and brought in new members — all endeavours that threaten Knuck’s position on his return. Both men are supported and influenced by their equally strong wives, each woman as rabidly ambitious for her husband as for herself. Tensions mount when Paddo’s younger brother, Skink (Josh McConville), creates a problem for the club, and Paddo must choose between familial devotion or loyalty to Knuck and the club he heads.
Well-paced, intense, and often violently confrontational, 1% is a powerful new depiction of an old story. A fading lion, out of step with the times, rages against a new regime unwilling to cede to a new generation — right up until the final, chilling shot.
