All is revealed: why Olivia Colman was in Adelaide
It was March 1 when InSider exclusively reported Olivia “The Queen” Colman had been spied shopping in Rundle Mall, stepping into active-wear store Lululemon to try on a pair of tights.
We fished around to find out why the Oscar/Emmy/Golden Globe/BAFTA winning actor was in Adelaide but no answers were forthcoming, and it was Mad March, after all- maybe she was just here for the Fringe!
It wasn’t until our very own Exchange Coffee — InSider’s local café — shut up shop for the day due to filming that the penny began to drop.
We sauntered over Ebenezer Place to see what the heck was happening, and there she was, in a bright blue jumper, lining up for her catered lunch — the, almost, Queen (she played QEII in The Crown).
We then knew she was here in Adelaide to make a movie… but which?
On Wednesday, we learned that Colman and veteran US actor John Lithgow were starring in a South Australian film called Jimpa, directed by our very own Sophie Hyde.
The movie follows the story of a film director, played by Colman, and her non-binary teenager, Frances. The two travel to Amsterdam to visit Frances’ grandfather. Frances wants to stay in Amsterdam to finish their final year of schooling, while Colman’s character questions what she knows about parenting and her relationship with her father.
Alongside Hyde, several South Australians are on the Jimpa production team including producer and editor Bryan Mason, costume designer Renate Henschke and hair and makeup designer Jen Rossiter.
“It is a great privilege to make films, especially when you can do it with the people you love,” Hyde said.
“I’ve had the good fortune to do post production on all my films in South Australia with a brilliant team who will return for this, but I haven’t shot a feature film on home ground since 52 Tuesdays in 2011, so it was such a pleasure to start production there before heading here to Amsterdam.”
Jimpa will be presented as part of the Adelaide Film Festival in 2025.
What’s in a name?
Labor powerbroker Reggie Martin is not a fan of naming things after Edward Charles Frome.
As reported by InDaily on Wednesday, Martin has asked the electoral boundaries commission to rename the mid-north seat which bears Frome’s name because the colonial figure was “present at, and complicit in, the murder of two innocent Indigenous men”.
But it’s not the only name change request the state’s electoral boundary supremos will be dealing with this year.
Another Labor backbencher, John Fulbrook, has asked for a rebrand of his own electorate – Playford – for reasons that don’t require a dive into the history books.
In a written submission to the boundaries commission, Fulbrook said people are confusing the state seat of Playford with the council area of Playford.
The two areas, while both in the northern suburbs and named after Sir Thomas Playford, don’t overlap, with the state seat only going as north as Paralowie while the council area covers a much wider swath of suburbs further north.
Fulbrook, a first-term MP, said the situation is causing “widespread confusion”.
“On a typical day, my office is contacted by at least one person living within the City of Playford mistakenly thinking I am their local member of Parliament,” he wrote.
“This problem creates delays in providing help to those seeking assistance and while my team and I work diligently to assist anyone approaching us, in many cases matters must be referred onto their respective local MPs.
“This is a time-consuming process and consequently takes resources away from the constituents I was elected to represent.
“This problem is exacerbated with groups such as schools and sporting groups also seeking my assistance for matters like sponsorship or tours of Parliament, which ultimately need to be referred on.”
The time-constrained MP added that he has encountered “many” constituents who “struggle to comprehend that the Member for Playford is their elected representative”.
And while it might be convenient for a Labor stalwart to rail against naming a seat after South Australia’s longest-serving Liberal and Country League premier, Fulbrook insists he does not want to abolish the Playford name altogether.
“I would only advocate for change if an appropriate electorate can be found to take the Playford name,” he said.
With Playford’s legacy seemingly more tolerable in Labor circles than Frome’s, InSider suggests renaming Frome’s seat “Playford” might make both MPs happy while returning the Playford name to a comfortable Liberal seat.
InSider keenly awaits a game of musical chairs at the Commission’s next hearing on June 12.
Mali’s maggie omen
Premier Peter Malinauskas fronted the state’s leading arts and festival organisers this week to spruik his government’s commitment to the sector, but his fiery speech was preceded by a terrifying omen.
Though held indoors at Adelaide Oval, a confused or very determined magpie managed to get inside Festival City ADL’s breakfast event in the Ian McLachlan Room.
The proud Port Adelaide supporting Premier was mid-way through explaining that our festivals aren’t just about the economy – they make us feel good, too! – when it happened.
Like a bolt from the blue, the black and white maggie shot across the stage, just past Magpies-liking Malinauskas, who was understandably caught off guard.
“That’s a magpie, that’s a sign,” he said, receiving a sincere bout of laughter from the crowd.
“I think a bird flew across the stage… excellent.”
He then launched into an impassioned speech in an attempt to convince arts leaders that he truly does care about music, dance and painting as much as inflated balls.
It got InSider thinking. Was the magpie planted by a jaded arts lover to cower and confuse the Premier? Was it a cry for help from a desperate mascot in a flap after Port Adelaide’s Showdown shellacking at that very venue? Or just a randomly funny incident that we have exploited to gain an item for this week’s column? You decide.
