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EXTRAS
they’re clearly, earnestly trying to create a
special effect and it’s not fooling anybody.
That’s funny.
03/ Was this always a deliberate part
of your filmmaking, or did it begin from
literally having no budget?
I mean look, we’ve got talking lion creatures,
we’ve got people dematerialising, we’ve
got an anaconda strangling two men. We do
not – and never would – have a budget to
create a sense that even vaguely resembles
reality, and at the same time I don’t think we
really want to. Because it’s like a live action
cartoon; the suspension of disbelief is out the
window to start off with, and then it’s more
about a fun representation of everything.
04/ Why do you prefer actual crafted
objects to CGI?
I just think people have a better time when
they’re looking at puppets rather than at
CGI. You know it’s fake either way, so screw
it – why not actually have a tangible object
that the actor can respond to? I think that
speaks to the early ‘90s upbringing and my
generation of kids – we were exposed to a
lot of children’s programs that had puppets
and stop motion animated characters. The
nostalgic heart lies with puppets, and now
we can put it into an adult context. I think a
lot of people respond to that, even if it’s on a
subconscious level.
05/ Tell us about your first recollections of
watching Shaun Micallef, and
how you felt when he asked
to be involved with series two
of Danger 5 .
I remember being young
enough to not really know
what I was watching, and
laughing at Milo Kerrigan. I
think that qualifies as Micallef
always being in my life. Full
Frontal and Fast Forward –
that’s my first recollection
of Shaun Micallef, so having
him actually engage us was
absolutely surreal, such an
unbelievably positive affirmation
to have this dude involved who you
respect so much. I still don’t really believe
it happened. I watch the show now and...
“F*ck, Shaun Micallef’s in this!”
01/ Danger 5 reminds us of other curious,
surreal comedies with intentionally cheap
effects like The Mighty Boosh and Garth
Marenghi’s Dark Place. Are you a fan?
DARIO RUSSO: I loved Boosh when it
came out. That was always such an excitingly
unusual show; it was really inspiring to see
something that bizarre. That was definitely a
massive inspiration, as was Garth Marenghi,
which I guess is more directly comparable
to the style of things that we’re doing.
[Marenghi] was a very conscious and
deliberate retro rip-off, and what we’re doing
is too bastardised to even be an accurate
‘80s retro rip-off.
02/ Your previous series,
Italian Spiderman, utilises
cheap production to great
effect, too. Have you always
found this funny as a style
device?
Especially at high school, I
would always love watching
shitty ‘80s horror movies with
my friends and laughing at
them, sort of, in parts where the
production values had fallen short. And if you
go back to the ‘50s, especially with movies like
Plan 9 from Outer Space, which is heralded
as – arguably – the worst film ever made...
Danger 5: Series 2
is out on Feb 4
FEBRUARY 2015 JB Hi-Fi
The second series of growing cult comedy
DANGER 5 is even more kooky and bugged out
than the first. Zoë Radas spoke to co-creator Dario
Russo about his influences, why puppets rule, and
the participation of the brilliant Shaun Micallef.
DARIO RUSSO