Gabriel (2007 film)

Gabriel was made on a minuscule budget, even by Australian standards.[4] Director Shane Abbess described the budget as "the catering budget on a Hollywood film."[5] The film was shot for roughly A$150,000 .[6] However, everyone involved in the production worked on deferred payment, meaning that the actual cost of the film runs "well into the millions" once deferrals have been taken into account.[6] In addition, the filmmakers used money from the international distribution rights to complete the film's post-production.[5] Shane Abbess claims that Gabriel's official budget will eventually be announced on its DVD release in a two-hour behind-the-scenes special feature.[7]

According to Abbess, finding funding for the film was "impossibly hard."[8] The film was significantly funded out of the filmmakers' own pockets: Abbess worked as a building labourer, a removalist, at a call centre, and as a truck driver at the docks in order to raise the money to produce Gabriel.[9] Five weeks into shooting, Abbess intended to return to his job as a removalist to raise more money to pay the caterers, but his old boss gave him a small sum of money to get the production over the line.[4]

Preconceptions about what is an 'Australian film' contributed to the difficulty in finding funding. As an action film, Gabriel "defied the norm and went way outside convention."[1] Producer Kristy Vernon states that "many Australia movies have been either driven by artistic or personal motivations or, have focused on cultural imperatives leading to 'uncommercial' movies being produced. These types of movies are unlikely to give off a reasonable return to investors. The consequence of this is that the Australian finance and investment sectors have been reluctant to support the funding of the movie industry."[1] Abbess is critical of contemporary Australian films, joking that audiences "fall asleep" through them.[2] He also believes there is a mentality in the Australian film industry to wait for government funding, rather than to earn and finance your own films.[9] Everyone he spoke to about getting the film made said that, "even with a big, huge budget, you're not going to get this made out here."[9] However, after he got one or two people on board support increased in a snowball effect.[9]

Finding insurance for the film was also problematic. One day before filming was due to start the insurance company determined that the film was too risky, and tried to shut down production.[7] Abbess struggled to find another company to insure the film, ultimately having to lie about the film's content to satisfy them (he claimed the film's dangerous climactic rooftop action scene was "all green screen").[7] The company agreed, but only after they tripled their original price. This meant that certain scenes had to be dropped from the production, though they were ultimately shot as pick-ups.[7]

Abbess's initial idea for the film was his fondness for the name 'Gabriel.'[4] He and co-writer Matt Hylton Todd researched angels and demons in various religions, drawing figures from Christianity, Judaism, Zoroastrianism, and Islam as well as John Milton's Paradise Lost.[8] The writers chose their favourite seven angels and favourite seven demons to create an "all-star" supernatural battle.[8] Abbess says, "There hadn't really been a movie about angels. Not like this. I hadn't even seen Constantine at the time, nor the one with Christopher Walken (The Prophecy) in it, so as far as I knew—and, anyway, this is very different from those—it hadn't been done before."[4] The writers were interested in the backstory and mythology of purgatory, and aimed to focus more on the characters than the special effects.[8] Gabriel was deliberately designed to be commercial and "franchiseable."[1] It was written as the first part of a trilogy, and, if financially successful, will be followed by two sequels that will explore the world outside purgatory.[8]

Gabriel was written in the style of action and science fiction movies from the 1980s and early '90s.[8] This was partly because Shane Abbess was influenced by that era of cinema during his youth and partly because the minuscule budget demanded that the film couldn't be laden with special effects.[9] Abbess cites the films Alien, Predator and Die Hard as influences.[8] He describes cinema of that era as, "because CG effects weren't huge yet, the whole thing had to be about characters; had to be things you could believe in."[8] Abbess also stated that he "did kinda of want to make one giant cliché."[4] Abbess also intended the film to emulate the intentionally "jumbled quality" of 1980s cinema.[5]

Production designer Victor Lam drew the storyboards for Gabriel and oversaw every design aspect of the film. His job involved keeping the overall 'feel' of the film cohesive, and "making sure that it sits with Shane's direction and making sure that, colour-wise, tonally, it actually fits as well."[10] Because of the small budget, Lam's designs had to be extremely budget conscious. The art department collected props from "the local tip and thrift shops,"[11] and costumes were bought second-hand from St Vincent de Paul.[6] In addition, they saved money on set building and space rental by using abandoned industrial locations and condemned buildings soon to be demolished as sets.[5] An advantage to this approach was that it added a layer of realism to the production. The disadvantage was that it restricted where director Shane Abbess could place the camera. Abbess crammed the camera into corners to shoot scenes.[5]

The set Lam is most proud of is one of the Fallen's underground lairs. To dress this set, Lam and his team hung fences, fake blood and plastic chains painted to look metallic around an abandoned shooting stage in Gore Hill.[10] Lam says, "The lead actor just came up and went, 'Wow, that's really cool!' And we said, 'Yeah! And it cost us nothing!'"[10] Shane Abbess instructed the art department to include much fake blood and gore; Lam describes this as "video game influence."[10] He also acknowledges that his work has a strong comic book influence.[10] Some of the art department work didn't make it into the final film. Lam and his team built a large sculpture made of hessian and chicken wire, and though "it looked really good" and fitted "really well with the whole theme of Gabriel," it wasn't used in the film.[10]

The film was shot on location in Sydney over a period of eight weeks in late 2005, plus a week of pick-ups in March 2006.[11] The production team consisted of many experienced Australian filmmakers who had worked on major Hollywood productions filmed in Australia. The lighting crews had worked on Superman Returns and The Matrix, while the stunt coordinator, Kyle Rowling, had worked on Star Wars Episodes II and III. In order to better target international audiences, Shane Abbess directed the cast to use not necessarily full-blown American accents, but "neutral" accents.[9]

Gabriel was shot on a JVC GY-HD101E digital video camera.[5] Abbess praised the JVC's versatility, small size and its ability to shoot at night. Another crucial advantage to digital video was its cheapness: "Ten years ago, we couldn't have made this movie, because we would have had to shoot on film. It would have been as boring as bat shit, because we would only have had money to shoot a wide shot and two close ups before moving on. I got so much better coverage shooting it this way."[5]

The deferred payment plan caused friction between the filmmakers and some of the extras, who demanded immediate payment after their two nights on set "or basically we're going to kill you."[2] The lack of money forced Abbess to innovate ways to shoot scenes that he wouldn't have normally done.[9] The scene in which Balan is killed is an example of this. Abbess ran out of time to film this scene using conventional techniques, so positioned the camera at the end of the hallway and used "crash zooms… in and out of the action" to highlight the key moments.[9] Abbess studied other low-budget films like Requiem for a Dream and Donnie Darko to identify ways the filmmakers worked around their small budgets.[9]

Physical effects were also created cheaply. Instead of using expensive rain towers, the rain featured in the film's climactic scenes was created simply using hoses and unheated water.[2] This meant that one night of production had to be wrapped three hours early because lead actor Andy Whitfield became hypothermic: his temperature dropped to 32.5 degrees Celsius (90.5 degrees Fahrenheit).[2] Abbess described this as the hardest scene to shoot.[8] Initially intending to make Gabriel without computer-generated effects, Abbess also tried to reproduce bullet time on a low budget by using giant props on strings, though he eventually decided CGI were more successful.[11]

The style of fighting in Gabriel was intended to be a "stylised version of pub brawling."[7] Shane Abbess intended for each of Gabriel's successive fights with the Fallen to be "a whole different experience," and strove to shoot each one differently.[7] The lack of time meant there was little time for the performers to rehearse fight scenes: Andy Whitfield says that some fight scenes were rehearsed for only "three minutes before the cameras rolled."[7] The hallway fight between Gabriel and Asmodeus was an example of this; the actors learned and executed a 98-move fight sequence in only an hour.[7] Abbess states that stunt co-ordinator Kyle Rowling was "instrumental" to the quality of the action scenes.

The first cut of Gabriel was "self indulgent" and three hours long.[7] This version was screened for some executives in Hollywood who recommended that film be cut down to under two hours "because we're an MTV audience these days."[7] In mid-2006 when the edit was "working really well" the filmmakers chose to show it to Sony Pictures Australia.[7] Abbess chose Sony particularly because of their subsidiary Screen Gems; he believes "they knew how to handle films like Hostel and Underworld."[7] Sony picked Gabriel up for international release. The filmmakers used the money from this deal to complete the editing process and the film's effects.[11] The filmmakers chose to assemble a team of freelancers rather than hire an effects company. The team completed 805 effects shots on a budget Sony had estimated would only cover six.[11] Four months were spent completing the sound design.[11]

• Andy Whitfield as Gabriel: A committed and respected Archangel, Gabriel is occasionally reckless and stubborn. He aspires to emulate his stronger and wiser mentor, Michael. Whitfield was drawn to the character because "everything and anything seems possible and yet he is so utterly inexperienced to deal with even the most harmless of humans."[1] Initially confident that he could pull off the role "his" way, throughout filming Abbess pushed Whitfield to "go to places that I would normally choose not to go to."[1] This is Whitfield's first feature role.
• Dwaine Stevenson as "Sammael"/Michael: The most feared and faithful Fallen, Michael seeks control of the city to challenge what he calls a lack of freedom in the followers of the Light. Stevenson was attracted to the character's difficulties, finding the role confronting and challenging. He describes playing the role as "a very intimidating process and a lonely one. Each day I turned up to set, and began getting dressed, I could almost feel the character laughing at me saying, 'Well, let's see what you get today.'"[1] One critic summarised his impression of the character as "Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails wearing ping-pong balls as contact lenses."[13]
• Samantha Noble as Amitiel/Jade: Amitiel is the stealth assassin of the Archangels, valued for her ability to nurture and heal more than her skills in combat. As Jade, a hooker with a heart of gold, she falls in love with Gabriel, tempting him to abandon his quest. Noble was drawn to the character because she "fell in love with her strength and veracity along with her sadness and vulnerability."[1] Different from the roles Noble is usually cast in, the role involved much "reacting and listening rather than driving and manipulating."[1]
• Erika Heynatz as Lilith: One of the Fallen, Lilith has a strong hatred of men. She is "driven by undiluted instinct and spiritual force."[1] Heynatz states she was "inspired to find out where the character draws her power from, what fuels her, threatens her, and how she maintains her control. I also liked the idea of examining the idea of dominance and subservience."[1] Heynatz found the "clear and consistent direction" from Director Shane Abbess and co-writer Matt Hylton Todd "new and empowering."[1]
• Harry Pavlidis as Uriel: Uriel is the diplomat of the Archangels, preferring truce to conflict.[1] After being corrupted by purgatory, Uriel runs away from the city and lives as a hermit. The Sydney Morning Herald review of Gabriel made special mention of Harry Pavlidis's Uriel, labelling him a "scene stealer."[13]
• Jack Campbell as Raphael: Known for his leadership skills, the Archangel Raphael is impeded from fighting the war in purgatory only after he receives a near fatal bullet wound.[1] Campbell has had recurring roles on the Australian television show All Saints and the New Zealand soap opera City Life.[14]
• Michael Piccirilli as Asmodeus: Vain, playful, and perverted, Asmodeus chooses to remain Fallen in order to satisfy his carnal desires.[1] The Sydney Morning Herald offered particular praise for Piccirilli's performance, calling the psychopathic narcissist "genuinely unsettling."[13]
• Matt Hylton Todd as Ithuriel: Ithuriel is a kind hearted and compassionate Archangel, but doesn't believe himself strong enough to fight the Dark. He chooses to open a soup kitchen as a way to reach out to the souls in purgatory. Matt Hylton Todd is also the co-writer of the film.
• Kevin Copeland as Ahriman: The Fallen Ahriman quarrels with Sammael over strategy: where Sammael recommends patience, Ahriman proposes to hunt down and kill Gabriel immediately. Ahriman runs a drug making factory.
• Brendan Clearkin as Balan: The Fallen Balan is sadistic; he beats and tries to rape Amitiel.
• Goran D. Kleut as Molloch: The Fallen Moloch fights Gabriel on orders from Sammael.

Gabriel grossed approximately A$656,000 in its Australian opening week, ranking fifth at the Australian box office.[21] Gabriel's opening-week gross represented the second-highest for an Australian-made film released in 2007, behind Rogue which opened the previous week with approximately A$667,000.[22] In its opening weekend, Gabriel opened on 98 screens and averaged $4,797 per screen, the third-highest per-screen average of the top 20 grossing films for the weekend.[22] The Age journalist Jim Schembri described Gabriel's opening week as "impressive," writing that "The gloom-laden film may not be for all tastes, but it looks like it's hitting the right spots with its intended audience of goths, emos and people who have trouble sleeping at night."[23] In its five weeks playing in theatres, Gabriel grossed $1,462,320.[24] Gabriel's earnings ranked it at 110th among all the 295 films released in Australia in 2007.[25]