Life Begins At.....
Issue link: http://ebook.aprs.com.au/i/47118
CHRISTMAS FEATURE from the outset was that Christmas is the one thing that all of us no matter how old or young, is the one constant you look forward to every year from the fi rst day you can remember. "So it's the one story where you kind of fi gure, 'Josh…is this just gonna be the same story?' So I started reading it and I thought it was fascinating… As far as a Christmas story, this is such a different story and one that I've never heard. So at that point when I read it I thought this is a great story, it's so original, and it's Australian because it turns out the apprentice for Santa is going to need a young boy called Nicholas from Australia." That Santa's Apprentice is a 2D animation fi lm was of particular delight to Jacobson, who as a child loved to watch the animated Disney versions of Christmas classics with a particular love for Scrooge the Duck as Ebenezer Scrooge in the famous short Mickey's Christmas Carol. "Whether to be told through animation or not, it's a great story," Jacobson said. "But I just love the fact that this is gonna be right back to when the true world of make believe came to life for many of us through hand drawn animation by people like Disney, and this ticks all of those boxes. It's a great story for kids to watch, for grandparents and parents to take grandchildren and children to. It's about kids being pure of heart, it's a Christmas story hand drawn where it all began, and drawn by animators right here in our very great country." Jacobson's nose for a good story is evident in his fi lmography. Kenny, the 2006 'mockmentary' which starred Jacobson as an under-appreciated 'port-a-loo technician' who loves his job, was a success with the critics and at the box-offi ce and would go on to collect several nominations at the 2006 AFI awards with Jacobson winning for best actor. Kenny was the brain child of Jacobson and his brother Clayton, who co-starred, co-wrote and directed the fi lm. Ironically, it was a moment shared between the two brothers outside of the 2005 AFI Awards ceremony which Jacobson fondly recites when asked about the Kenny experience. "I remember when me and my brother fi nished Kenny and we were putting up fl yers and posters outside the AFI awards, in the splash down toilets and around the building while watching Russell Crowe rehearse," Jacobson said. "The fi lm was going pretty well at that point, as in it had been received well yet hadn't been released yet, and he said, 'You know, I reckon we'll be up there one day.' Fast forward a year or two later, I was up there getting an award, then fast forwarded two years beyond that I hosted the AFI's that year! "It's funny but my dreams became my daily job, you know?" Jacobson said. THE RETIREE SUMMER 29