CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR WINNERS:

D. Robert, Beaconfield, VIC

D. Donato, Wantirna South, VIC

L. Linas, Kardinya, WA

M. Coventry, Green Fields, SA

T. Boulter, Port Denison, WA
Continue reading “WINNERS! VENDETTA FILMS DVD PACKS” »

MR FOOTBALL

SBS TV presenter Les Murray has been the face of soccer in Australia for 30 years.
With the World Cup finally here, Penthouse chats to ‘Mr Football’ about his passion
for the world game, and asks him to rate the Socceroos’ chances in South Africa

After all these years, do you still get excited going into a World Cup?
Absolutely, especially when I support a team, which is rare for me because I’m a journalist and I can’t afford to be a passionate supporter of teams. I don’t have any club teams that I congenitally support; I just love the game. But the one team I do follow passionately is the Socceroos, so if they score a goal, I jump up and hit the ceiling just like any other fan.

Even though the Socceroos have been successful under Dutch coach Pim Verbeek, he has been criticised for not promoting attacking, entertaining football. What do you think of his style?
I think it’ll do for now, but I don’t think ultimately there’s a future in playing so cautiously because everybody’s dream is not to be the underdog, but the favourite. And that’s the long-term dream, whether it takes 10, 20 or 30 years. I believe Australia should strive to be a top international football nation. Another thing is the Australian mentality is very different to most cultures, in that Australians not only love to have a go, but they have the bravery to have a go, and I think if you play too defensively, you are putting the brakes on a natural instinct which can be a very powerful resource. I think [Guus] Hiddink understood that very well, and he did on occasion unleash the Australians. Notably, we attacked Brazil in the 2006 World Cup; we lost, but I think unluckily. I’m not sure whether Verbeek has that kind of bravery, but hopefully he can do something in the World Cup.

How far do you think the Socceroos can go in South Africa?
Out of the three games we have in the group – against Germany, Ghana and Serbia – we’re going to have to win at least one of them, if not two. I see it as a very similar group to the one in Germany, and I don’t think to suggest that this is some super-tough group should be an excuse for us not to get out of it.

Who are our key players?
Harry Kewell, Brett Emerton, Mark Bresciano, Vince Grella, Scott Chipperfield, Craig Moore and Mark Schwarzer are all key players, but this World Cup will be their swan song. As Pim [Verbeek] likes to point out, they’re four years more experienced than they were in Germany, but he neglects to mention they’re also four years older. Obviously, Timmy Cahill is a bit younger, so he might be around for the next World Cup. The one we’ll be missing big time is Mark Viduka. If we play the Dutch way, which is essentially a lone striker with a couple of flankers coming from behind and a deeper midfielder, then that centre-forward role is very specialised. It’s not so much a goalscorer’s role as it is an instrument of bringing other people into play, and Viduka understood that very well. We don’t have a replacement.

What’s the Socceroos’ greatest trait?
It’s the old Australian quality of never giving up. Guus Hiddink said to his assistant Graham Arnold after we came back against Japan in Germany to score three goals in eight minutes that only an Australian team could have done it. It’s that character and self-belief that’s an enormous resource for coaches. That’s our biggest asset.

And their greatest weakness?
The weakness has always been tactical sophistication, and even technique. This is a so-called ‘golden generation’ of players, but let’s not forget that even they grew up in a technical culture where ball technique was not considered important, and it’s a malady that is only now being addressed with the eight, nine and 10-year-olds. And it’s also about tactical sophistication. Our technical knowledge is entirely based on experience at professional level, whereas in Europe kids are taught technical nous from 12 or 13 onwards. So that is what Hiddink found when he first came in, and that’s what he worked to correct. I think the players learned a lot from that, so it’s not as bad as it used to be.

Which team is your pick for the Cup?
There are two that stand out head and shoulders from the others, and they are Spain and Brazil. Spain has a fantastic generation of players and a fantastic development culture, and the most potent way to win is the way Barcelona and other Spanish teams play. If they can carry that into the World Cup, without cracking under any mental pressures, then they’ll win it. But I’ve seen too many roaring favourites fail, going back to the 1954 World Cup when Hungary was beaten by a very ordinary West Germany in the final, so if you forced me to place a bet, I would put money on Brazil before I put it on Spain. Brazil has won five World Cups, so they’ve got the experience and they know how to do it.

Who are the players to watch?
Obviously, the one to look at if you’re not a regular viewer of football is the diminutive Argentinean Lionel Messi. Some people are now saying he’s the greatest player of all time, but the problem is I don’t think Diego Maradona, who’s Argentina’s coach, has been able to harness for Argentina what Barcelona has been able to harness with him at club level.

Should Maradona be the Argentina coach?
No. Maradona is an iconic legend and the best player I’ve ever seen, but as a coach he’s almost in the amateur ranks, in my opinion. He should be a figurehead and have seriously competent assistants calling the shots when it comes to tactics and selection, but he refuses to do that because he’s Diego!

Are you confident South Africa can host a successful World Cup?
From what I’ve seen, yes. I’ve been there twice in the last year and the national enthusiasm for the World Cup is fantastic. At the draw, they closed off the main street in Cape Town for a fan fest and expected maybe 5,000 people to turn up, but 30,000 arrived. The stadiums are ready, so the only question marks are things like security – the police presence has been beefed up enormously already – and some infrastructure issues like transport.

What are you most looking forward to in South Africa?
To me, the World Cup is always flavoured by the host nation. My favourite memory of the first World Cup to be held in Asia in 2002 is of the Korean fans and that sea of red. The world became enamoured by the Koreans and Japanese, and that’s what it will be remembered for, not for Brazil’s victory. So I’m hoping that the rhythm of Africa, in a human sense, will reverberate through this World Cup.

Was the 2006 World Cup in Germany more special to you than any other because of Australia’s involvement?
Absolutely. You know, five World Cups before that without Australian involvement was extremely painful and frustrating, and that equaliser by Harry Kewell against Croatia to take us into the knock-out phase was probably the most satisfying football moment of my life.

Is it too optimistic to believe Australia can host the Cup in 2018 or 2022?
No, I don’t think so, but it’s more likely to be 2022. Particularly if Europe gets 2018, there’s every reason why we should get ’22. There are nine bidders for the World Cup and every one of them will be capable of holding it, but two things will come into play: one will be politics, and the more important one will be the legacy. FIFA wants a legacy out of every World Cup, and I think an Australian World Cup would leave a far bigger legacy than probably any of the other applicants. We are in the biggest growth area for football in the world. If you look at the top 10 television audiences for the 2006 World Cup, four were Asian countries – China, Japan, Vietnam and Indonesia – and they are all in our region and time zone. FIFA is not unaware of that, so if you’re going to propagate the beautiful game, you have to take the World Cup to this region occasionally.

What are your thoughts on other football codes protesting about us hosting the Cup?
I think it’s just a lot of public posturing and sabre rattling. There is this rather archaic, caveman mentality still lingering in Australia, where sports are rivals to each other and if you’re a fan of one game, you’re not supposed to be a fan of another game. That is utter rubbish. In 21st century Australia, you and I can follow four or five different sports at the same time. Like Frank Lowy says, the World Cup is not just for football, it’s for Australia. It supersedes just being a sporting event, it’s a festival of cultural diversity which has a massive impact around the world, so everybody benefits, including the other sports.

Could Australia win the World Cup in 2022?
If we produce players of international quality by 2022, and you mix that with our winning mentality and home support, we should be able to win it. No bullshit about not being disgraced and all this crap, we have to aim to win the World Cup in 2022, and we should be genuine contenders to do that. Look at what happened in 2006; we got robbed against Italy! If we’d won that game, we would’ve played the Ukraine, who were crap, and then we would’ve been in the semi-finals of the World Cup. So why shouldn’t we do it in 2022?

Do you think SBS has been given the credit its due for popularising football in Australia?
Generally, I think so. I’ve never met anybody in the football world who denies it. We live in an age which is very different from when SBS started, where now we have serious competition for television football content. It’s new money in this country and big business wants to cash in. SBS has the World Cup not just for 2010, but for 2014 as well, so we are still big players, and we have other big properties like the Champions League, which is the highest-quality product in the world on an annual basis.

What is the future of football at SBS?
Football is very important to the identity of SBS. The fact that it’s a free-to-air network which is dedicated to football gives it an edge because so long as you want to promote football in this country and build its markets, you need free-to-air television that will give it generous air time and news coverage. To that extent, SBS is still the only game in town. The pay TV networks, as good a job as they do, don’t build brands, they just service the existing customer. I’m prepared to pay whatever it is a month to watch football on Foxtel, but I don’t need to be converted. It’s the guy done the road who’s not a football fan who needs to be converted, and he’s not going to pay until he’s converted. Who’s going to convert him? Free-to-air television.

How about your personal future?
Well, SBS apparently still wants me, and I’m there because I still enjoy it. I don’t like to talk about things like retirement any more than I like to talk about death. It’s something that will happen at some point, probably at a time when it’s out of my control.

Have you been tempted to join Fox Sports?
No. The reason I enjoy SBS is that the top brass believe in football, always have, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. So long as my employers take that position, I’m happy to be there. I’ve never dreamed of a move to another network.

You and the late, great Johnny Warren used to talk about ‘the mission’ of making Australia a genuine football country. Is it mission accomplished, or will it ever be?
It’s more accomplished than it’s ever been. If Johnny were here, he would not believe some of what’s happened, but there is still this mindset that we are not a football nation, and I think we need to chip away at that. The dream is not so much to bring the World Cup to Australia, but to win it. Australians don’t like to lose. We’ve won everything else, but we’ve never won the football World Cup. The Socceroos are at the core of this. They are the one medium in football that galvanises and unifies the country. So long as they perform well, we are on the right track to achieving those aims.

How many World Cup games will SBS be showing?
Every game – 64. All of them live, except where kick-off times coincide. But SBS of course have a second channel, where it will place all the replays, so it will be wall-to-wall World Cup. It’s a great time for football. I’m pretty happy with the way of the world at the moment.

Tune in to SBS on Friday, June 11 at 10:00pm EST for the Opening Ceremony and first game of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, live from South Africa.

WINNERS

D. Robert, Beaconsfield, Vic
B. Brown, Claremont, WA
A. Brown, Shenton Park, WA
R. Berry, Grovedale, Vic
C. Seeley, Cowaramup, WA

A unique take on the classic American detective novel, Thereby Hangs a Tail is the sequel to Quinn’s debut book, Dog On It, in which we were introduced to gumshoe Bernie Little and his canine companion Chet. What makes the books unique is they’re narrated by Chet!

In Thereby Hangs a Tail, Bernie and Chet are hired to investigate threats made against a pampered show pooch named Princess. What seems like a joke turns serious when Princess and her owner are abducted. And to make matters worse, Bernie’s on-again, off-again girlfriend, reporter Susie Sanchez, disappears, too. When Chet gets separated from Bernie, he tries to put the pieces together, find his way home, and save the day.

Bursting with suspense and intrigue, combined with humour and insight into the special bond between man and dog, Thereby Hangs a Tail is top-class entertainment.

[form 139 "WIN! \"Thereby Hangs a Tail\" Detective Novels"]

Director: Christian Carion

Stars: Emir Kusturica, Guillaume Canet, Alexandra Maria Lara, Willem Dafoe

Hopscotch

IN CINEMAS JULY 1

IN 1981, at the height of the Cold War, high-ranking KGB officer Sergei Gregoriev (Kusturica) is disillusioned with Communism and sets out to “change the world” by passing on top-secret information to France.

Pierre Froment (Canet), a mild-mannered French engineer living in Moscow, becomes Gregoriev’s contact, but it soon becomes clear that the KGB Colonel – codename ‘Farewell’ – is not your average spy. Still a proud Russian, Gregoriev has no wish to defect to the West, and he refuses any payment other than champagne, music and poetry – reminders of happier years he spent living in Paris. Gregoriev simply wants his motherland to be a better place for his son, and he doesn’t care what happens to himself.

When French President Mitterrand (Philippe Magnan) brings US President Reagan (Fred Ward) and the Americans into the equation, the situation begins to spiral out of control and Froment and his young family find themselves in grave danger.

Farewell is a well-made and atmospheric espionage film, and the fact it’s based on truth adds to its appeal. Information provided by the real Farewell, Vladimir Vetrov, helped turn the tide of the Cold War and, you could say, changed the world.

WINNERS

K. Leonard, Dayboro, Qld,
M. Garcia, Kingsmeadows, Tas
A. Wilton, Lawson, NSW
D. Ozelis, Wantirna South, Vic
R. Lichacz, St Ives, NSW

Thanks to our friends at Exisle Publishing (www.exislepublishing.com), we have FIVE copies of Who Said That First? The Curious Origins of Common Words and Phrases to give away.

Compiled by Max Cryer, this fascinating glossary details the colourful history of some of the English language’s most popular and enduring expressions, from ‘A-OK’ (attributed to American astronaut Alan Shepard) to ‘Let Sleeping Dogs Lie’ (Geoffrey Chaucer, c.1374) and ‘Wham Bam, Thank You Ma’am’ (WWII term that became a Dean Martin song in 1950). Believe it or not, books like this are few and far between, so get your entry in now!

Simply answer the question below, add your name, email and postal address, and click ‘Enter the competition’.

[form 113 "WIN! \"Who Said That First?\" Books"]

Thanks to our mates at Sony Music (www.bandit.fm), we’re giving one lucky Penthouse fan the chance to win 28 country music CDs! That’s right, 28!

Continue reading “28 Country Music CDs – WINNER ANNOUNCED” »

BENEATH HILL 60

Director: Jeremy Sims
Stars: Brendan Cowell, Steve Le Marquand, Harrison Gilbertson, Bella Heathcote, Jacqueline McKenzie
Paramount

DESPITE almost 92 years having passed since the last shot rang out, nothing can compare with the horror of The First World War (1914-18). But while the military decisions behind the conflict undoubtedly resulted in often senseless waste of life, it also gave rise to unprecedented technological innovation and ingenuity, with many Australians  at the vanguard.

Based on true events, Beneath Hill 60 tells the fascinating and harrowing story of Captain Oliver Woodward and the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company, who were brought in by the British to take over mining operations during the brutal Battle of Hill 60 on the Western Front in November 1916. Much of the fighting occurred underground, with both the Allies and Germans tunnelling below no-man’s land to try and gain an advantage.

The film switches between Woodward’s (Cowell) idyllic pre-war life in Queensland, where he falls in love with the beautiful Marjorie (Heathcote), and the blood-soaked battlefields of Belgium, where he must win over his troop of jaded miners and use his technical brilliance to help the Allies detonate 21 massive mines hidden directly under the enemy trenches.

Brendan Cowell delivers an exceptional performance as Captain Woodward, and he’s ably supported by the rest of the non-star cast. On top of that, the sets are fantastic and the excellent cinematography accurately conveys the claustrophobic and extreme conditions under which the Aussie tunnellers had to work.

Educational, entertaining and engaging, Beneath Hill 60 is easily one of the best Australian films of the past decade. Don’t miss it.

Beneath Hill 60 is in cinemas from April 15.

Following a successful tour of Australia and New Zealand in 2009, electrifying American bluegrass band Old Crow Medicine Show is back! Cameron Murray talks to fiddle player and songwriter Ketch Secor (above, with the apple) about life on the road, Bob Dylan, and snuff…

How’s it going, Ketch?

It’s going pretty well, but it’ll be going even better when I get down under!

What do you most enjoy about touring in Australia?

I don’t even know where to begin. One of the things I love is simply being in a foreign place, where music is your language, where music is the thing that unlocks doors, where music is your passport. And I love the symbolism of bringing fiddles, guitars, banjos, harmonicas, a double bass, and all my best friends halfway around the globe to make music. There’s no further you can go than the land down under; if you go any further, you start coming home again!

How did you come up with the name ‘Old Crow Medicine Show’?

We needed a name that was going to sound good shouted on a street corner; a name that would call the people in. It needed to have a little rhyme and a good cadence, and Old Crow Medicine Show was just something that struck me while I was scrubbing dishes at a job and daydreaming about playing music.

How would you describe OCMS?

We’re like a rock’n’roll band with acoustic instruments. One time, we played the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade in New York City, and we had a million people on our left and a million people on our right – the biggest crowd I ever played to. Well, they called us “the Rolling Stones of bluegrass”; that’s what it said on the side of the float, in marshmallow. So I think we’re sort of the marshmallow Rolling Stones of bluegrass.

What’s your favourite song to perform?

I like ‘Wagon Wheel’ – that’s been a good song for us, but we’re always putting pen to paper and coming up with new ditties. I was thinking I might steal that song about the kookaburra in a gum tree and write myself a mega hit!

‘Wagon Wheel’ was a half-finished Bob Dylan song that you completed. Have you ever met the great man?

I never have met Bob, but I did get a co-writing credit with him, so I guess he signed off on it. I think he’d probably like us because he was into string-band music when he was coming out of that folk scene in New York City, and there were more bands like OCMS in that era than there are today. Like Bob, we always have something to say.

Your frenetic live shows always get rave reviews. What’s your secret?

Though our band is so informed by American folk music traditions, we’re not a relic. You know, if the traditions that shaped us were ever behind glass, we busted on through that, jumped off the pedestal and raced down to the streets, where this kind of music belongs. This music is powerful stuff and it can’t be contained. I think it sounds better live than it ever could on a record.

I understand legendary bluegrass guitarist Doc Watson helped you out in the beginning…

That’s true. We were busking on a street corner, out the front of a drugstore in Boone, North Carolina, and a woman came up and said, “That sounds so good, let me go get my daddy.” And she walked Doc across the street not 20 minutes later. As soon as we saw him get out of the car, we were pretty excited, and we sure got nervous! But we played a couple of tunes for him and he took a shine to us. Not a year later, we were playing at the Grand Ole Opry.

When can we expect a new album?

I’m not sure, but I’m glad we’re gonna get a little bit of that Australian dust into our nostrils before we hit the red button. I feel like there’s still something to learn, and I’m glad we’re gonna do a little travelling in your country before we finalise our new record.

Will it be at all similar to your last record, Tennessee Pusher?

I don’t know. We haven’t even played in 2010 yet. Our first gig since New Year’s Eve will be in Wellington, New Zealand on March 24. I don’t know what’s in store for us, but I’m fired up, man!

You’ve played a lot of festivals all around the world. Do you have a favourite?

CMC Rocks The Snowys in Thredbo, mate! Get a dog up ya! I haven’t seen that many cowboys since Oklahoma…and I live in Nashville.

What’s on your rider?

I think it’s Foster’s and Vegemite, primarily, but it’s also taken up by numerous tobacco products; I like a moist, sweet snuff.

So the rider changes wherever you are in the world?

Yeah, I like it when we go to Holland! You ought to see the riders up there, man!

OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW TOUR DATES

March 2010
Wed 24 | The Opera House, Wellington, NZ
Thu 25 | James Hay Theatre, Christchurch, NZ
Sat 27 | Factory Theatre, Sydney, NSW
Sun 28 | West Coast Blues n’ Roots Festival, Fremantle, WA
Mon 29 | Mojos, Fremantle, WA
Wed 31 | Thornbury Theatre, Melbourne, Vic

April 2010
Thu 1 | Thornbury Theatre, Melbourne, Vic-SOLD OUT
Fri 2 | Mossvale, South Gippsland, Vic
Sat 3 | Byron Bay Blues Festival, Byron Bay, NSW

CONGRATULATIONS to our winners!

I. McKibbin, Beverley, SA

K. Wilson, Seymour, Vic

J. Bennett, Tongala, Vic

C. Chappell, Caboolture, Qld

K. Staines, Crows Nest, Qld

Bursting onto the American country music scene in 2004, Gretchen Wilson’s girl-next-door appeal and ballsy, honest lyrics made her an instant fan favourite. Continue reading “WINNERS: Gretchen Wilson country CDs” »

WINNERS!

H. Leek, Frankston, Vic
P. Wyatt, Worongary, Qld
M. Lena, Kedron, Qld
G. Egan, Culburra Beach NSW
M. Stanton, Highvale, Qld

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For 22 years, Sydney Morning Herald sports journalist Rupert Guinness has covered the legendary Tour de France cycling race. There’s nothing Guinness doesn’t know about the gruelling event, and now he’s released What A Ride, a fantastic new book focusing on the elite group of Australian athletes who have competed in the great race.
Continue reading “WINNERS: Tour de France book ‘What A Ride’” »