Big film release – Fame in Japan explored

WEIRD AND WONDERFUL: One of David Elliot-Jones' wacky characters created for the exploration of fame in Japan as part of his Big in Japan documentary was Onigiri Man.
RISING STAR: Australian-born wrestler and metal musician Ladybeard has built a healthy following in Japan since relocating many years ago. Ladybeard’s unique fame story is featured in the Big in Japan documentary made by former Mount Gambier resident David Elliot-Jones.

WILD characters, daring deeds and barely-there costumes allowed former Mount Gambier filmmaker David Elliot-Jones to gain an interesting insight to fame in Japan.

In an effort to explore the huge demand for foreign talents in the country, Dave, Lachlan McLeod and Louis Dai shipped their lives to Tokyo to embark on an outrageous mission.

The goal, to make the “exceptionally ordinary” Dave famous.

After over four years working on the unique project, the trio has finally released their full-length documentary titled Big in Japan.

The decidedly anti-Hollywood fame documentary explores Dave’s personal experiences to see if fame is a worthy goal while interacting with an eclectic ensemble of gaijin tarento (foreign talents) at various stages of the celebrity journey.

Along the way the trio explores the lives of a feisty Australian cross-dressing metal musician and wrestler named Ladybeard, a starry-eyed Canadian J-pop wannabe and veteran television sweetheart, Bob “The Beast” Sapp.

The film recently toured the country with screenings in all major capital cities and performances from special guest Ladybeard.

With a number of sold-out screenings, Dave said the film had been well received.

“It has been really good, we had a great turn out in Perth and Brisbane,” he said.

“All of the reviews have been amazingly positive and we have received nothing but five stars from fans so far.

“The film has entertained a broad cross section of young and older audience members which has been super encouraging.”

Over the years, Dave and his team overcome a number of challenges to complete the Big in Japan project.

From teaching English in Tokyo, crowdfunding the project online and attending a YouTube party half naked, there was never a dull moment for the film making trio.

“We were always going to complete the documentary one way or a another and honestly we worried at certain stages because it was often challenging to gain funding,” Dave said.

“We wanted to see how far we could get with me and capture the fame journey while also exploring what it is like to be a seasoned celebrity in Japan through Bob Sapp.

“Our three subjects represent different stages of fame in different elements.”

Dave said his support network was strong throughout the lengthy process of creating the film.

“My close friends and family were really supportive,” he said.

“It has been such a long time coming so now we are hoping to get it at a big film festival and then we’d be looking at distributing worldwide.”

Looking ahead, Dave’s Melbourne-based production company, Walking Fish Productions already has another project in the works.

“We still have so far to go with Big in Japan but we been working on something, another fish-out of water story so stay tuned,” he said.

Big in Japan will screen at the Oatmill Cinema on February 19 at 6.30pm.

However, the screening will only go ahead if enough tickets are sold, visit fan-force.com/screenings/big-in-japan-oatmill-cinema-complex-sa to purchase.

FILM CREW: Creators of the Big in Japan documentary Lachlan McLeod, former Mount Gambier resident Dave Elliot-Jones and Louis Dai spent over four years working on the film.