All language subtitles for Love Of An Icon The Legend Of Crocodile Dundee (2025)

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[birds twittering]

[kookaburra laughing]

[birdsong]

[gentle music]

[kookaburras laughing]

[engine starts up]

[Delvene Delaney] Love is made
of many magical memories.

[kookaburra laughing]

For 46 years, I made
magical memories with John,

the love of my life,

on this beautiful land.

When we lose a loved one,

we're left with
a heart full of memories.

We pack those memories
into boxes...

..but sometimes
we choose to reopen them

because you never know
what you might find.

[film reel whirring]

[upbeat rock music]

-[indistinct chatter on set]
-[crew member] And action!

[Delvene] It was just
an infectiously good time.

We cared for each other
and we had each other's backs.

The chemistry was palpable.

There was so much love on set.

For nearly 60 years,

John and Paul
were business partners,

creative collaborators

and the very best of mates.

Two great Aussie blokes.

And at their peak,
they made an iconic movie.

Michael J 'Crocodile' Dundee.

Two beers, Ide.

One for me
and one for me mate.

[Delvene] Crocodile Dundee
helped define

Australia's friendly identity
on a global scale,

and it's still loved
by millions.

[Walter] I'm sorry if that
frightened you, Miss.

Uh, you see, it's stuffed.

Him and me both, Wal.

[rhythmic film score plays]

[Delvene] But, recently,
we nearly lost it forever.

The original negative
was badly damaged.

[tense music]

To save the film,
we had to restore it.

Victoria and I
had to find all the elements

for the restoration process.

And in doing that,

opening John's boxes
took on a much bigger purpose.

More than 200,000
individual frames

and millions of tiny flickers
were delicately restored.

The result is stunning.

[soft, wondrous music]

In John's boxes
was a treasure trove.

Not only were there memories
of our two successful hotels

and some very funny
television shows,

but there was
the business side of the film

that someone had to attend to.

And that someone became me.

Okay. Do you want to see
what's in this with me?

[Victoria] Yeah, I do.

[Delvene]
Together with Victoria,

we found all sorts
of incredible things.

Rusty, old reels...

..storyboards,

scribbled-on scripts...

..transparencies

and so many photographs.

Oh!

Aw, mates.

[Delvene] This legacy
was worth preserving,

not only for my husband, John,

but it's my legacy too,

to show our grandchildren what
their grandmum got up to...

..and their granddad.

Ahh!

[Delvene]
John's precious archive

reminded me of all
the magical moments

making Crocodile Dundee.

The fun on set...

[tap-dances]

[imitates animal call]

-[indistinct chatter on set]
-[laughs]

[Delvene] ..working with
an excellent crew,

the best in the business.

I wondered why Croc
was so successful,

why it became
such an iconic film.

And why do so many people
still love it so much?

I wanted to go back

to see to where it all began
with John and Paul,

to see where those first sparks
of magic happened.

I couldn't wait to see
my old mate Paul.

[Delvene] So I just... I'm
using the old mother's spits.

Oh, it's just spit and lick,
is it?

And I've just had
a vanilla slice.

[both laugh]

-[ironically] Oh, good.
-It's really sticky!

I'll have ants crawling
round my head. Jesus, Delly.

You won't have any bits
sticking up, though.

[both chuckle]

Doesn't matter.

[funky music]

[Paul Hogan] I was a rigger
on the Harbour Bridge

and fortunately John Cornell
came along at the right moment.

He was, like, the London editor
of WA Newspapers

at, like, 22 or something,

and so he was far more worldly
than I could imagine.

But we just hit it off.

He was a bit of a larrikin too.
Changed my life.

[John Cornell] I was producing
A Current Affair's program,

the top current affairs
program down there,

and I, in fact, had an idea
that we needed

sort of a verbal cartoonist

in this current affairs
program,

the equivalent of
a newspaper cartoonist,

just to lighten it up a bit,

because news
is usually bad news.

And... one of our reporters
saw him on this talent quest.

[voiceover]
It's Australia's New Faces.

[Paul] I went on New Faces.

[voiceover]
..in Sydney, Terry Dear!

I went on on a dare
as a tap-dancing knife thrower

to take the mickey out of it,

and the switchboard lit up.

You know, and they said
it burst into flames.

And so we tried him out
as this verbal cartoonist

and he just... that was it,
you know?

He just became
an instant overnight success.

Hey, love. What do you think
of daylight saving?

[mimics woman] Daylight saving?
Oh, I think it's marvellous.

I have three kiddies and
my family use it all the time.

So I still worked
on the bridge,

then swing by Channel Nine,

walk into the backyard
in front of a camera,

do two minutes,
give me some money, off I'd go.

Here's a caper for getting
into the races. Now watch this.

Here's the gateman guarding
the gate where you get out.

See? Now always
walk backwards.

And they're never too sure
which way you're going then.

Sidling along like this, mate.

Oh, excuse me, mate.
Just coming out.

Yeah, done all me dough
in the first race.

You know?
Might as well go home.

Hello? Another quid here.

I might as well go back inside
and see if I can invest that.

That's the way age
beats inflation.

John was smart enough
to realise

there seemed to be a lot more
people watching on a Friday

when Paul did his piece
on a weekly basis

than were watching
at the start of the show.

So it was clear to him

that Australians were
liking and loving him.

And that was
a very big show.

The back of the Nine News
and A Current Affair -

would've been getting
a couple of million viewers.

-Hello, Mrs Universe.
-Hello, Paul. Miss Universe.

[Paul] I was doing one of
me two-minute spots

on A Current Affair

and I said, "I know what
I want to talk about.

"I need a mate that's a bit
dopier than me, though."

And John used to do
a bad impression

of Marlon Brando
in The Godfather,

and it really sort of
made me laugh.

Thus, Strop was born.
He became my dopey offsider.

[whimsical music plays]
♪ My love is ♪

♪ Mmm, mmm
Taller than the tallest tree ♪

♪ Mmm, mmm
Deeper than the deep blue sea ♪

[Paul] It's funny,
'cause he played it.

That's what's
so unusual about him.

He was a good-looking guy
and very smart,

but he was quite happy
to play this dopey,

distorted-faced virgin
on television, you know.

So there was no vanity
involved whatsoever,

In here, cobber.
It's me old mate Strop.

G'day, mate. Singers, eh?

Hello, viewers, me and Hoges
abroad overseas.

Good stuff, eh?

This is the happiest moment
of my life.

He was the brains
of the outfit.

Right from the start,
John said, you know,

"We're going into
show business.

"You do the show,
I'll do the business.

"All those crazy thoughts you
have, put 'em down on paper."

And, well... he was right.

They didn't know
what else to do with me.

They were mumbling about,
"Oh, maybe have a quiz show

"and have him as the compere
or something?"

But then John said, "No, you've
got to have your own show."

[crew member] R30-25,
The Paul Hogan Special,

replay to be advised.

[soaring orchestral
theme music plays]

[audience cheering
and whistling]

[cheering, whistling continue]

[cheering, whistling cease]

-[music ends]
-G'day.

If you're wondering
why I'm dolled up

like a sore toe tonight

instead of wearing
me usual gear,

it's because the control board

has banned me usual gear
from the show.

You see, they come to rehearsal
and they found out

that when I sit
on a stool like this,

the people in the first three
rows of the studio audience

and anyone at home laying on
the floor could see straight up

-the leg of me shorts.
-[laughter]

I'd been working in television
for about 20 years

before I met them -

you know, right from
moving scenery around

to doing a lot of
very major specials

in Tonight Shows, et cetera.

Well, one day
when I was at work

at Channel Nine in Melbourne,

I got a telephone call
from Kerry Packer,

and he said,
"Do you know John Cornell?"

I said, "No, I don't."

He said, "Well, they want
to work with you."

And as a result of that,

that was when they moved from
Channel Seven to Channel Nine,

so, you know,
it was on for anything, really.

Good evening, viewers.

-Good evening, viewers.
-Good evening, viewers.

[drum roll]

[intro theme music plays]

[audience cheer and applaud]

[soaring orchestral
theme music plays]

[voiceover] Stuntman
extraordinaire Leo Wanker

risks his life as he takes on
the wall of death.

The Wanker family have been
involved in stunt work now

for five generations,

and it is my hope that
one day people will say,

"There goes Leo,
the greatest Wanker of all."

[audience laughter]

[audience cheer and applaud]

No one drove it mainstream and
blew it up like Paul blew it up

and The Paul Hogan Show
blew it up.

-You want a bit of toast, son?
-[man] Thanks, mate.

[audience tittering]

[audience roaring
with laughter]

[David Gyngell]
The Paul Hogan Show was

such must-watch
television.

And the data tells you
it's must-watched.

There's probably never
been anything

so large across the spectrum

that ticked every box
of humour, fun, larrikinism.

Australia.

Welcome to the show
that tells it like it isn't.

[audience chuckling]

But it ought to be.

[Peter Faiman] I loved
Paul's stand-ups.

He always did
an intro to the show -

about three or four minutes -

and he really wrapped up
complex ideas

that were topical
at the time

into very simple language.

Evening, viewers.
[clears throat]

We are on the threshold
of a new era in television.

Violence, sex and dirty stuff

is under censorship attack
in America.

He had an ability to
really distil current issues

into something that
was very, very funny.

Television will be so sterile

you'll be able to heal wounds,
just stand in front of it.

[Peter] He and I
used to have a lot of fun

with him staying in character.

So once he was dressed
and came dressed,

I couldn't refer to him
as anything else.

And that was part of the fun
that he and I had.

[audience tittering]

[audience laughing]

I absolutely loved Strop.

I thought he was, and is,
absolutely fabulous.

Breaker, breaker, breaker,

this is the old...
honeysuckle kisser.

[audience laughing]

Hoges was doing
90% of the funny stuff.

John would roll in with
10% of the funny stuff,

but John was driving it
all the way.

Erm, a dash of tomato sauce.

[audience groaning
and tittering]

Raw egg.

[audience groaning, retching]

And, erm... an oyster, mate.

[audience groaning]

Then-- Hold it.

-Me secret ingredient.
-I get it. Go on.

Stir with a spoon
dipped in Vegemite.

[Paul] I know this, mate.
The old gag, right?

We stir it up,
you tip it down the sink

and you won't have
a blocked drain for six months.

-Right?
-[audience laughing]

No, mate, no.

You drink it.

[audience groaning]

[moans]

We'd get to the end
of a roll through a sketch

and Hoges would go,
"Yeah, that'll do."

And John would say,
"Nah, that won't do.

"We're doing more.
We've got to keep going.

"We've got to build it.
We've got to improve it.

"We've really got to
take it somewhere else."

Oh, excuse me,

I've just been out there,
um, shelling the peas

and fabulolling the frilly
things, what we sheilas wear.

[audience laughing]

[man clears throat]

This is your wife?

-Yeah.
-[audience laughing]

I discovered Delvene. [laughs]

I met Delvene
at a television function.

She was just... you know,
well, she's beautiful,

but she was also funny

and sort of
not up herself or anything.

And I said to John,
"I found you a girl, mate.

"Perfect for you."

I wasn't thinking of it as

a long-term
permanent relationship.

I was thinking,
"She'd be good in the shows."

And, you know, she had
a great sense of humour.

He came over and said,

"You don't know me,
I'm John Cornell.

"I produce
The Paul Hogan Shows.

"Would you like to be on it?"

To be asked to be on
The Paul Hogan Show was huge.

So, yes, please. Yeah.

And then
at the first rehearsal,

you know,
"Can you play a nun?"

"Yep. Can play a nun."

Don't come any closer, mother.
I'm desperate.

"Can you play a prostitute?"

"Yeah, I can play
a prostitute."

Anyone ever tell you
you've got a very cruel mouth?

Like, the way it curls up
at the corner like that.

[chuckles]

"Can you play a schoolgirl?"
"Yep. Do a good schoolgirl."

[gasps] See, Sissy,
I told you it was this house

with the aerial
stickin' out the window.

I just said yes,
yes to everything

even though I'd never
done any of them before.

I was like, I don't want
to miss my chance.

[moans]

Great party, Hoges. [chuckles]

[Delvene] I didn't
know him at all.

I... I thought he was Strop.

[laughs] And then...

and then after
the first two shows,

we started to see each other.

And I remember
saying to my mum,

"I'm coming up to Brisbane
next weekend, Mum.

"I'm going to bring
my boyfriend to meet you."

"Oh, who's that?"
And I said, "Strop."

[imitates engine revving]

[audience laughing]

[laughing] So...
she thought I...

she thought I was dating Strop.

[laughs]

Rosie?

[guffaws] She's under.

Delvene was usually
the desirable target

that Strop could never get,
you know?

You'll just want to smother me
with hugs and kisses

and stuff like that.

[audience chuckling]

And when I say,
"Stop, that's enough,"

you'll say,
"I haven't started yet,

"loverboy."

[stifles laughter]

[dejected] Oh, Rosie.

[Rosie laughing]
I can't take this!

See ya, Hoges, and, uh...

see ya, loverboy. [chuckles]

Delvene's characters
on all of those shows

were absolutely outrageous.

[smooth rock music plays]

[audience tittering]

Ohh!

[audience laughing]

[Peter] I think, every time
that we went out on location

and shot something,
or in the studio,

between John, Paul
and Delvene,

we had the most
hysterical times.

Da-dah!

[theme music plays]

[squeals]

[cackles]

[theme music continues]

Spread your butter on -
nice and lumpy.

Here's an important bit.

Leave a big dob of butter
on the knife.

See? Like that?

Why?

To wipe off in the Vegemite.

[audience laughing]

[Peter] Paul was
the ultimate Aussie.

I mean, he was...
he spoke Australian.

He was the Aussie
that everybody wanted to be.

Hogan's a 1975 Australian.

He doesn't talk
in rhyming slang.

He doesn't say, you know,

"El Glia down
the horse and float."

And he doesn't talk... Which
sort of died 20 years ago.

And he's not the bushman.

He hasn't got kangaroos
and cork hats

and all that sort of thing
around him.

He's a 1975 builder's labourer
Australian.

And a bit of a character.

Not saying that every
Australian's like that

or even that every Australian's
got a bit of Hogan in 'em,

but there's plenty of Hogans
out there in the pubs,

and I'll tell you what,
they're alright.

[audience cheering, applauding]

Alright, mate,
explain yourself.

What's this about you
resigning from the show?

Yes, mate, well...

this can explain better
than I could, mate.

It's me scrapbook.

Open it at any page.

[Paul]
"This boring, talentless..."

-Mmm.
-"..moronic throwback..."

[audience laughing]

That's a bit tough on you,
mate.

Uh, that's not about me, mate.
That's you.

[audience roaring
with laughter]

[Delvene] Playing Strop
allowed John

to hide behind a character
as a writer.

And he was always observant.

He wasn't recognised
in the street

when he wasn't Strop.

He never wanted
to be in the spotlight

because it robbed him
of that opportunity to observe.

And so, you know, for people
to find out that it was

actually a very astute
businessman

behind that character,

it was a shock
for some people.

[Peter] John was an
extraordinary businessman

and he had great ideas
and he was very ambitious.

And once he got, you know,

Paul settled with the shows,
et cetera,

he was continually moving on to
what the next thing could be.

He was able to crack the nuts
of these things

and he was such an optimist

and we all assumed
that one day it would happen.

From the day I met him,
he was talking about

the potential
of World Series Cricket.

He was very astute in his
negotiations with Kerry Packer

on The Paul Hogan Show.

[Bill] Packer, he was
number one in Australia

by a significant margin

insofar as wealth,
influence and profile

in the entertainment
and media industries.

John knew that Kerry would
be up for supporting his idea

of a renegade breakaway
cricket revolution

that would pay
the players properly.

[Mojo Singers]
♪ Lillee's pounding down ♪

♪ Like a machine ♪

♪ Pascoe's making divots
in the green ♪

♪ Marshy's taking wickets ♪

♪ Hookesy's clearing pickets ♪

♪ And the Chappells' eyes
have got that killer gleam... ♪

And so, between them,
they pull that off brilliantly.

World Series Cricket
had a massive global impact.

Australia was getting noticed.

[Mojo Singers]
♪ Come on, Aussie, come on ♪

♪ Come on ♪

♪ Come on, Aussie, come on
Come on ♪

♪ Come on, Aussie, come on. ♪

So, once again, it was that
resourcefulness of John

that led him to go,
"What do we need?

"I know what we need.
We need patriotism back."

[Peter] The Australian way
was what was reflected

in the tourist campaign.

To the rest of the world,
that was Australia,

and he personified Australia.

America, you look like
you need a holiday.

A fair dinkum holiday.

In the land of wonder,
the land down under!

"America, you look like
you need a holiday."

What a great opening line.

Now, there's a few things
I've got to warn ya about.

Firstly, you're gonna get wet,

because the place
is surrounded by water.

Oh, and you're gonna
have to learn to say g'day.

'Cause every day's a good day
in Australia.

-G'day, Paul.
-G'day, love.

Where did this idea come from?

'Cause this whole idea
for the campaign

was yours originally,
wasn't it?

Well, not mine, but it was
myself, John Cornell,

and Alan Morris and
Allan Johnston, which is Mojo.

It was a thing we talked about
for about the last two years

after travelling a lot
and finding out

how nobody knew anything
about Australia really.

And we were all in marketing

and thought this would be
the ideal product to market.

And then when John Brown
got into office

with the Labor Government,

we'd heard about him,
he was a goer.

So I went and talked to him

and he jumped in, threw a hand
in too, and went from there.

He was such a proud Australian.

He was annoyed that people knew
nothing about us, you know.

We were the bloody mystery
of the world.

No one was coming here.

G'day, America.

Now, pay attention
'cause this is important stuff.

Before you come down under
for your Aussie holiday,

you've got to get in shape.

Tone up those relaxin' muscles
'cause they'll get a work out.

Practise smiling.

He dispelled all the bullshit
about Australia

and he opened the eyes
of the world

to what we've got here.

Freedom, clean air,
the environment.

Hello.

Looks like a boatload of your
countrymen coming in there now.

Crikey.

We went from 57th in America

preference for
an overseas holiday

to fifth, and Paul
is so proud of that, you know.

He refused to take any money,
he and Cornell.

He was such a proud Australian.
He did it for nothing.

All that work, all those ads.

And it's believed that that
was a deliberate act by John

to get exposure
in the United States for Paul

with an intention
of making a movie.

They hadn't thought
of making a movie then.

They certainly
hadn't written it.

Come and say g'day.

I'll slip an extra shrimp
on the barbie for you.

[jingle music plays]
♪ Come and say g'day. ♪

[man] You recognise this guy?

He's talking about
the shrimp on the barbecue.

Haven't you ever seen that ad?

Ain't that the dude
on that commercial ad?

They'll be saying, "Hey, mate."

Yes, that's the
Australian guy - Hogan.

Aussie holiday. Check it out!

[both laugh]

I became a proud badge wearer

for Australians
around the world.

Paul Hogan is here
this evening, Bob.

-G'day, mate.
-How are ya, brother?

[Bob Hawke] Good, good.

Can I say to you, er, Hoges,
seriously,

thanks for what you're doing
for Australia with those ads.

Means more jobs for Australians

and it means more people
going back to America

and talking about us.

You've done a great job,
Hoges, really.

[audience applauding]

And when someone says,

"Where are you going
for your holidays?"

Say, "Australia."

Oh, and if they say,
"Where's that?"

Tell 'em... [blows air]

Tell 'em, "It's where
the America's Cup is."

[jingle music plays]

♪ Come and say g'day. ♪

[announcer]
Australia has done it!

Australia has won
the America's Cup!

[mellow music]

[crowd applauding]

I tell you what, any boss
who sacks anyone

for not turning up today
is a bum.

[laughter and cheering]

[Delvene] That whole transition
had started to occur

in Australia,

and it might've been on the
back of relishing being Aussies

after the win
of the America's Cup.

We had just started
to receive recognition,

but we didn't really
understand who we were.

And why not have someone
as approachable and likeable

as Paul Hogan
represent our country?

And so that kind of bred
Mick Dundee.

[traffic blaring]

[Paul] I was doing the tourism
promotion in New York

and I had to walk back
from where we were,

back to my hotel,

and it was five o'clock
or something in New York

and it was just
so horrendously crowded

and busy and bustling

and, sort of, it made me
feel like a hillbilly.

I virtually wrote it
walking down the street

and then back at the hotel,

handwritten in block capitals.
[chuckles]

[Delvene]
Hoges brought it to John

and then I kind of read it
over John's shoulder, really.

[Paul] I wrote it out
like it was almost like a book.

And then John principally,
and Ken,

helped me turn it
into a screenplay.

John was always
extracting, extracting

the absolute best from Hoges,
writing and performing.

[Paul] He's there, saying,

"Now, mate, you can do
better than that - that line.

"And cut the end off that,
make it a bit shorter."

He was a brilliant sub-editor,
you know.

Oh, I loved the idea.

I loved the idea of,
first of all, using a bushman

from Australia
as the central character.

Because we didn't have
many homegrown heroes.

We always talked about it,
even in the script stages,

being a double-barrel shotgun

in that we thought...
we wanted to make a movie

that appealed to people
from seven to 70.

[Peter] John wanted
to make a movie.

I think he had in mind
right at the start

when he first met Paul -

"One day we'll make
a movie with him."

That was John's mind.

I was running
Hoyts Edgley Productions

as the general manager
of the business.

John said, you know,

"In terms of
the raising of the budget

"and the executive
production role,

"is this something that
Hoyts Edgley could do?"

And I said,
"Absolutely. Yeah, this is."

I loved the script and others
around us loved the script.

A couple threw some doubts in
about it.

There was one
significant naysayer,

and it was his view - as
a person of the film industry

and a director
who had done a few things -

that the script was a load
of bollocks, it was hopeless.

Put in a six-page memo
to Hoyts

and he was advising
at the time, saying,

"Don't touch Crocodile Dundee
with a 40-foot barge pole."

"It won't succeed.

"Hogan is a television star.
He won't ever be a movie star."

We lost the film.
We didn't get it.

It marched on.

If I had money back then,
which I didn't,

it would've been a no-brainer,
knowing John Cornell,

to invest in that.

Like, a no-brainer.

Strangely enough, some people
missed that no-brainer.

Some people got into it -

well-regarded,
successful people -

and then decided
it wasn't that good.

I get a phone call from Packer.

He said,
"Oh, your mate rang me.

He wants eight million
to make a film.

He had put in some money,

like a million dollars
or 10% or 15% of it,

and then pulled it out.

'Cause he was advised
to pull it out,

that it wasn't gonna work
and those sorts of things,

and he did it, which is
quite unusual for Kerry

'cause he's another one
with amazing instincts.

So he scrubbed it.

He laughed
in the long run, Kerry.

At least he laughed later.

Left us with a shortfall.

So, you know,
mortgaged the house,

scrambled around
to get investors.

We hung in there.

John hung in there and
got into all sorts of people.

And then an old mate of mine
from Granville, a stockbroker,

rang up and said,

"I hear you're trying
to make a movie, Hoges."

We'd never made a movie.

Cornell and Hogan
had never made a movie.

Peter Faiman had never
directed a movie.

But we grew up in Granville

and in Grandville
you learned to have a go.

So we were having a go.

Sat down, read the script,
laughed my frock off,

called my partners
at Morgan Stockbroking

and said, "Have you ever
heard of anybody

"being able to invest
in Cornell and Hogan?"

And I said, "Well, now
there's an opportunity

"and I think
we should grab it."

We probably had about
2,000 investors overall, right?

There were a lot
of mum and dads.

Delvene's mum and dad,
they came in,

you know, and they were just

regular working-class people.

John was actually thrilled
about the fact

that we were able to go
to mum and dad investors

and his friends and family.

We're going out
to the public's good fund

because you know that there's
pensioners and battlers

who've got a share
of Crocodile Dundee,

and that makes
you feel good.

I took a punt. I took a gamble.

But one reason was

that I thought Paul Hogan
was a born comic.

He has this wonderful
way of looking,

and one look
can give you the message.

Then we had the budget,
and off we went.

[rock music]

[Delvene] John realised that
Hoges had never made a film,

he'd never made a film,

Peter Faiman, the director,
had never made a film.

There was a vital component

that had never
done a film before.

And so John's attitude was,
"I want the best.

"I want Russell Boyd
and Ray Brown,"

and all of these people
who were hugely experienced

and excellent in their fields

to help carry this project.

Because, first of all,
we're going to learn from them,

but secondly, they're going to
pick up any shortfalls

that might be there
because we're first timers.

[indistinct chatter on set]

[Peter] Well, the central cast
was obviously Paul

and we were all very, very keen
on working with John Meillon.

So there was an Australian cast
that we gathered,

but then the American girl
was something else.

An associate producer and I
were left in LA for a while

to find somebody
to play this part of Sue.

We interviewed a lot of
well-known actresses,

but nobody really in LA
was interested

in taking the risk
of coming to Australia,

going through some plight
in the outback,

staying in motels instead of
hotels and not having a limo.

Linda Kozlowski came in to meet

and she said,
"Yeah, I'm up for it,

"I'll give it a go.
Sounds terrific." You know?

"What's he like?"
[chuckles] Meaning Paul.

[Linda] One of the things
that struck me about the script

was that it had
all the elements

of what I would want to see
when I go see a movie.

It was funny, it was romantic,
it had adventure,

you know, it had sort of a
little bit of everything in it

and I loved his character.

I mean, I thought
if I ever met that man in life,

I would want his children.

He's such a great character.

The only problem is
Actors' Equity have said,

"No, you can't do that.

"If you want to bring someone
in for an Australian film,

"they'll need to be
a known celebrity.

"You'll want a superstar."

[Linda] I had just done
Death of a Salesman on Broadway

with Dustin Hoffman

and John Malkovich
and Stephen Lang.

And I wasn't a well-known
actress, I wasn't famous,

and they felt like
if you're not going to get

a famous actress,

then it should be
an Australian actress.

[Delvene] John believed
in authenticity.

An American actress
had to play the American role.

To solve the visa issue,
John wrote to John Brown.

He says, "I'm stuck."

Well, I had
a multiple of portfolios.

I was the Minister for the
Arts, so that was affecting me.

I was also
the Minister for Immigration -

acting at that stage,
someone was away.

So as the Minister for Arts,

I wrote to myself
as the Minister for Immigration

and wrote back, giving
permission to bring her in.

[laughs]

Actors' Equity haven't
forgiven me yet!

[laughs]

[Delvene] You'd never know
that John was stressed.

He loved to solve problems.

He was good at it,
didn't mind a challenge at all.

You know, I had confidence
that you guys would get me in.

[laughs] I really... I did.

I don't know why.
I just really believed that.

[Ray Brown] I'll never forget
we met those guys,

Paul and Corny on set.

We got off to a great start.

Hoges and Corny
come towards us

and he used
the old g'day thing.

And he just said, "Hey, guys,

"we think you're
the most experienced crew

"we could get in Australia,

"and we don't know a lot
about feature filming."

And then he said,
"But, by the way,

"we know a hell of a lot
about television

"and, more importantly, we know
a hell of a lot about comedy."

At the end of that
little chitchat,

Hoges said, "Let's go
make a movie together."

Shooting. Start over.

-[shouts indistinctly]
-[man] Action!

[exciting instrumental music]

Hi. Walter Reilly,
Never Never Safaris.

I'm Mr Dundee's
business partner.

[Linda as Sue]
Nice to meet you, Mr Reilly.

Oh, please, call me Walter.

We're pretty informal
up here in the bush.

Linda had yet to have
the adventure

of actually shooting
in the outback.

[Linda] I really didn't know
that much about it.

I felt like, you know,
it'll be some foresty place

just outside Sydney somewhere.

And I wasn't prepared
for what it really was.

[silence]

[crow cawing]

So the first stop was in
the middle of nowhere, right?

It was dead silent,

there was nothing around,
she's a New York girl

and freaked,
absolutely freaked out,

and said, "I can't do this,
I can't do this."

[clapper loader] Mark it.

Action!

Welcome to Walkabout Creek.

[Peter] So all her security
had gone, right?

So that's a New York girl
stepping into the outback.

[Linda] It was actually
a little town called McKinlay

that we changed it to
Walkabout Creek for the film.

And the actual town
had a population of 17.

We knew them all.

We knew the whole town
by the time we left.

This is the pub and this is
where I first meet Mr Dundee.

-Nah, nah...
-Alright.

[Peter] Linda was
a Juilliard-trained actress.

Hoges is not
in the slightest bit interested

in actresses for a start,

meaning, you know,
the profession of it,

and certainly didn't
want to rehearse.

[Linda] Pete was great.

We would just go page by page
through the script

and he was my sounding board.

I could really talk to him
about the character

and my feelings
and what I felt good about,

what I didn't feel
so good about.

[Peter] When Linda met Hoges
and he didn't want to rehearse,

she suddenly recognised,
"Well, hang on,

"I'm working with
an amateur here.

"Who is this person?
I don't get it."

Nothing like a double bourbon
to start the day off right.

[crew member laughs]

Hey?

[Peter] I spent hours at night
talking her down

because she wanted
to go back to America

because she was working
with this unprofessional.

And I had to say
"He's a very big star.

"People in Australia love him.
He's terribly smart.

"It will work.
I promise you it will work."

Get the camera off me
so I can spit this shit out.

[crew members laugh]

[Peter] At that point in time
I realised that

what we really had to do

was film as much as we could
in sequence

so that they could really
get together

and work together properly.

And the story was, of course,

her as a journalist meeting
Paul as this outback guy.

So I thought,
"Well, if we start there,

"then perhaps the chemistry
will build," right?

'Cause it was the only way
I could get her around

to accepting
Paul's style of work

and, frankly, Paul around
to understanding

what she required from him.

Hang on to Cyril for me, Wal,

while I dance with
this charming young lady.

[Paul as Mick]
Stand aside, boys.

[wolf-whistling,
lively chatter]

[Linda] Honestly, being on
the set of Crocodile Dundee,

you felt that innocence
in a way.

It was like, "I've got a barn,
let's put on a show!

"Come on, everybody!"

[upbeat music]

It had that, like,
"Yeah!" kind of feeling

and you don't get that
very often.

[crew member]
And cut. Thank you.

[John chuckles]

[both laugh]

-We're not saying a word.
-Hello.

[Delvene]
From what I witnessed,

it was just a great shoot.

Just a happy time
for everybody.

"You'll find just
a nice friendly bunch

"up here in this town."

-[laughs]
-And I smile and walk in.

Perfect. Yeah, we don't need
to do that then, do we?

That's easy.

In fact, you should've
brought your own crew.

And I know how
to do the con scene,

-so I can go home now, can I?
-[laughs]

[John Meillon] They're
marvellous people to work with

and it's their first film, and
it doesn't make any difference

because the way
they're going about it,

it could've been
their 25th film.

Rehearsal and action!

[John Meillon] I think I can
speak on behalf of everybody -

nobody has ever been
treated on a picture

the way that Mr Cornell
has treated us as a producer.

And everybody's...
it's a very big happy unit,

and that's a tremendous thing
for a film.

Tremendous thing.

Hello, Charlie. Scratch?

John Cornell is a doll.
He's wonderful.

He's just been so kind
to everyone,

really taken great care of us.

He's great at, you know,
keeping the spirit together

between everyone and just
really looking after us all.

He's been terrific.

Just behind you, near where
that... just over your head.

[crew member]
Towards me, Brownie. Big one.

[Linda] I think
Australian crews are wonderful.

I've had a great time.
They're really a real family.

And I think... sometimes
when I'm off the set,

I'll just sit back and watch
them and really admire them.

I mean,
they work really, really hard.

I was going to say "bloody".

I'm really turning
Australian now! [laughs]

Well, one can only assume
that somewhere up there,

you know, sort of
10 feet in the air,

we'll get a good
opening composition.

[Russell] As the director
of photography,

or DOP, as we call it
out here... [chuckles]

-16 on the line.
-16 on the line?

-[Peter speaks indistinctly]
-No, I don't, actually.

My prime role
is lighting the set

with the help of the gaffer
and his assistant

and the rest of the crew.

But the script
determines everything.

And the production team,
particularly from the director,

they determine how it's going
to go together obviously

and what their thoughts are
about how to make it work

and keep bubbling along.

We get the sense
that we're too close.

Well, it will be--

I know when we're down here,
you want them to be...

-Righto. Yep.
-Understand what I'm saying?

Sure, sure.

It's your job to keep
everybody happy, really.

It's part of the job
to keep everybody happy.

[Peter] Can we... can somebody
grab us a cushion, PJ?

[crew member] Yep.

[Ray] Film crews have got to
get on like a house on fire,

and we all did on that film

because we're all
like-minded, I guess.

So it was
a very enjoyable shoot.

Grace Walker was
our production designer

and he found
a rubber crocodile somewhere.

[machinery whirring]

We used that
for a lot of scenes -

in the attack scene, obviously.

Didn't have sharp teeth
or anything. [chuckles]

-How big, roughly?
-About three foot.

Keep going?

Sure will - we can
sort of lift it over I think.

-Wouldn't you say?
-Yeah.

[Peter] And he comes in here
and grabs it now.

We'll probably have to
be drifting it back

as it goes or something.

-Yeah.
-We've still got her face...

[Russell] Film crews are the
same the world over I've found.

Aspirations are the same

and we get on with
the job at hand.

It's just a whole
conglomeration of people

working together,
which is what I loved.

[crew member]
Standby... and action.

[gasping]

[Peter] Russell had
at that time, you know,

such a history in movies,

and to have this sort of
television director

working with him, you know,

it was not what he was
accustomed to, really.

So if we're shooting
that way in sort of--

Well, there's no reason,
by the way,

that she shouldn't appear
behind the rocks and we...

like, that she doesn't appear
behind the rocks there.

Oh, no, we have the rocks
in the foreground.

We first met up obviously
as the storyboard

was being created

and we talked about
how simple I wanted it to be.

And then he brought magic
to the screen

with this simplicity of shots
that I wanted

that were absolutely magical
on the screen

because he's the best.

[laidback instrumental
music plays]

[geese honking]

[birds screeching]

[buffalo grunts]

[Delvene] Russell Boyd -
such an artist

when it comes to cinematography

that even though it was
only a comedy film,

it had this huge
cinematic magnificence.

The first time I saw the rushes

was when Mick's talking about
being attacked by the crocodile

when he finds his dinghy.

Now you can see where
he sunk his teeth in.

And it was a side of Paul
I hadn't seen before, really,

when he was low key
and understated

and slightly menacing.

Yeah, see,
a croc will grab you,

take you down
to the bottom of the water

and roll you over and over
and over

until you stop kicking.

Then he'll take you away
to his meat safe somewhere.

A rock ledge, log,

down under the water,
and jam you under it...

And John said,
"What do you think, Delly?"

And I said,
"I think it's incredible."

This is the side of Paul
that we haven't seen.

So he now becomes Mick Dundee.

Yeah, anyway, he wasn't happy
with the grip he had on me,

so he let go
to get a better one,

and I talked him out of it.

[Delvene] Mick was wise,

he was solitary, self-reliant,

smart, not egotistical...

..honourable...

..and appealing
to men and women.

And so I think
we found our hero.

More tucker here
than you could poke a stick at.

Tucker?

Food. You hungry?

[Delvene] And hugely funny.

Did I forget to say funny?

[laughs]

How do you like your goanna?
Medium? Well-done?

You don't really
expect me to eat that?

Yeah, it's great.
Here, try some of those yams.

[Sue] What about you?
Aren't you having any?

You can live on it...

but it tastes like shit.

[chuckling] Oh...

Paul Hogan is, uh...
just great to work with.

Knocking around with
the flying nun, mate.

[laughter]

Good hat.

[Linda] He's really
a generous actor.

He's a really good actor.

And I didn't know
anything about him

when I came over here.

I knew him from the commercial,
vaguely. You know?

That's all I knew. So I was
just pleasantly surprised.

Or, you know,
I just thought he was terrific.

Breaker, breaker, breaker.

The runaway shagger here.
[chuckles]

[Peter] She saw now
that he was funny

and fell in love. [chuckles]

Eventually.

So, really, the story
of the movie

is really the story
of their lives.

[Delvene] It was
a romantic story, I think,

that when we shot
chronologically,

when they kissed
at the billabong,

that was their first kiss.

I thought that was beautiful
the way he hesitated

before he went in
and kissed her.

I think there was
great truth in that.

And Linda was concerned
because Paul was married.

But what can you do?

And I just tried to be
her confidante obviously,

but also make her feel like
you have to follow your heart.

And you do.

You have to follow your heart.
And they did.

It was quite beautiful to see
him find that kind of love.

[Linda] We went out at sunset
and we had the day off, so...

It was so incredible -
it was like a dream,

where you just didn't know
this place could exist.

So beautiful.

We were able to film
on Aboriginal land.

[Indigenous music plays]

It was such a special,
amazing place.

It was such a privilege
to be able to be there

and to film there.

[music continues]

[men singing
in Indigenous language]

We're shooting
corroboree tonight

and these boys here,
you know, like local people

and especially old man there,
he on the Kakadu National Park

and this is his songs.

So I join in
and dance with them.

[Indigenous music continues]

[music ends]

Well, yes, this is part of
where Paul and I and the girl,

you know, Mick and Sue,

where I meet them
and talk to them and I say,

"I'm on my way to corroboree
over at the Jabba." You know?

-That what you were doing?
-That's what I was doing.

[both chuckle]

Well, Neville, he's a tribal
and father was a tribal

and... but he's a city boy.

He there, you know...
[laughs] Yeah.

-[interviewer] Not like you.
-Well, something like me, yeah.

[both laugh]

[David]
Well, I like dancing corroboree

and, you know, when I come
back home, go to bush,

make corroboree and dance,
have a big campfire,

I enjoy it.

It's different from the city
in disco, eh?

-What do you reckon?
-John Travolta.

Yeah, right.

-[David laughs]
-Seen him in the white suit.

Yeah, right.

Well, that's my uniform there,
look.

[Paul] Oh, yeah.
Studio 54 in New York.

Paul Hogan is really character.

He's really sort of into it,
blackfellas.

He came to see
and meet blackfellas there,

my mob,

and he talked to them,
"Can we make this film?"

And we done it
and everyone agreed...

"..David Gulpilil
got to be here."

And said, "Yes, come up,"
they reckon. "Yes. Good."

And fitted to me
and to other Aboriginal people

where we was dancing
and singing.

Yeah, that was real stuff.

[Indigenous singing
and music playing]

[in English] With my full,
initiated painting,

dancing.

[Indigenous music continues]

Crocodile Dundee is a good film
but it's too short for me.

Mark it. 161, take two
cameras A and B.

Very good, thank you.
Terrific.

It's the candid camera creepos.

Wanna see what's inside
my mouth, Jonno?

[Linda chuckles]

Just 32 perfect teeth.

[Peter] It was
a tight schedule.

We went from the outback
to New York

and we were filming basically
the next day

after we got off the flight
in New York.

[traffic blaring]

[siren wailing]

[Linda] New York
was much more challenging

to shoot than the outback.

The outback was perfect.
It was quiet and isolated.

And suddenly there were,
you know,

people everywhere and extras,

and after work everybody would
go off and do their own thing,

and it was New York City -
what the heck?

And so it was great to be back,

but it was also
a little more challenging.

[man] Action, Paul.

[Linda] You had to really,
like, double down

to focus more because
there were so many distractions

going on around us.

[Peter] The sound guys
who were working

in the silence of the outback

were suddenly on Fifth Avenue

with this extraordinary
cacophony of noise.

All the directions
were shouted,

so everybody
had to talk louder.

471, take three!

Got to be walking
as I set you up in the back.

If you're not with the film,

please do not stop
and hang out.

We're throwing the beans,
and action!

[Paul] Well, a lot of
what I did with him

when I invented him
was I made him

what I'd found that Americans
thought about Australians.

This is the image they have,

and it's colourful,
about Australia, so that was...

They sort of were responsible

for making him
like he was, yeah.

Mick Dundee's room, please.

[Linda] I really, really
want to give Norma -

the late, beautiful,
wonderful Norma Moriceau -

a big shoutout

because, first of all, I think
that she gave that movie

a touch of cool.

I mean, I can't imagine
Mick Dundee without that hat.

That's iconic.

And the lizard-skin jacket,

I mean, that was
a superhero costume.

The red dress also is iconic.

I was freaked out about the
red dress because I was like,

"Oh, no, my character
would not wear this dress.

"I'm so sorry.

"She's supposed to be wealthy
and raised in New York City."

And Norma and I went shopping
and we picked out a black...

I can remember - it was
a black Norma Kamali dress.

It was form fitting
but it was very elegant.

And we came and showed it
to John and Paul

and they were like...

[laughs]

We were like,
"You don't like it?"

And Norma said, "They told me
it has to be much sexier."

And she's like,
"Okay, I'll give you sexy."

She used to say, "Over the top
is the only place to be."

[chuckles]

Incidentally, miss, if you're
looking for Crocodile Mick,

he's gone walkabout.

I don't suppose you know where?

Yeah, he's headed for the
subway, two blocks down.

You better hurry.

Mind this for me.

The composer tends to
be somebody who sees a film

more often than
just about anybody else.

I start off by,
I suppose, thinking,

"What does this film need?"

[edgy rhythmic
film score plays]

And I came up with that...

[mimics edgy rhythm]

There's no music,
there's just rhythm.

And it all developed
from there.

[film score continues]

The subway, and you
kind of get swept through

as she's running,
taking her shoes off.

And just that contrast
between the urgency

that she's showing...

[film score continues]

..and Mick's laconic kind of,
"I'm going off to see America."

It's that kind of juxtaposition
that makes that work.

Tell him I love him.

I love you!

She loves me.

I thought
if I could crack that,

then I could confidently launch
into the rest of the film.

[wondrous film score plays]

It felt to me
in Crocodile Dundee

as if I had to tell the story
as well as they had told it.

And I didn't stuff it up.

You got a light, buddy?

Yeah, sure, kid.

There you go.

And your wallet.

[edgy film score]

Mick, give him your wallet.

What for?

He's got a knife.

[laughs]

That's not a knife.

[edgy score continues]

That's a knife.

-[knife clatters]
-[fabric rips]

[Delvene] "That's not a knife."

That's a great story, actually.

We edited Crocodile Dundee

and John was watching
the rushes with the editor

trying to piece that together

and they had
three or four takes.

It was like,
"No, no, there's another take.

"There's another take.
There's a better take."

And we couldn't find it.

And he knew that it was
the take that Paul had done

after Peter Faiman
had said, "Cut."

And Paul kept playing around

with this young kid
who was the mugger

and he had this glint
in his eye,

and John had recognised that.

And it was like that
because it was after...

the pressure was off
of filming.

Like, "Cut." You know?

"Okay, I want
to have a bit of a play."

And it was in
the editing room bin

and John fished it out
and put that scene in the film,

and that is the scene
of the film.

So I love that story -

it was that John knew
what Hoges had delivered

as Mick Dundee
in that moment

and knew that it was
there somewhere

and was intent on putting it in
because that was the take.

[reporter] Hogan
and John Cornell set out

to make a popular
entertaining movie,

and at the crowded premiere
in Sydney this week,

there was
an irresistible feeling

of confidence in the air.

Cornell believes
he's backed a winner.

Were you so confident
that Crocodile Dundee

was going to work?

Um... well, they say films
are a gamble,

but in this case
I knew the horse

and the horse talks to me.

And, uh... I've got
great faith in Hogan,

always have had and probably
always will have.

The guy's not a hero.
He's a human.

Well, he's just a larrikin.

But, you know,
it's a good fun film.

Where did he come from?

Out of there and out of
the Northern Territory.

As soon as it got
released in Australia,

it was just through the roof.

Hoyts were exhibiting,
so we were getting the numbers

and the numbers
were unprecedented.

Once we got through
the first three weeks,

I didn't worry anymore.

We knew the mums and dads
were safe.

The people who invested
in Crocodile Dundee

will get four or five
or six times their money back.

They really did care
about those people

who put their
$5,000 and $10,000 in.

That was serious
investment for them.

Here's to Crocodile Dundee!

We released the film,
and it was just blockbuster.

Biggest Australian movie,
but by a long stretch.

We had a dynamite movie.
Now what do we do with it?

The ultimate test
is to sell it in America.

US was the biggest market.

In our case,
I said they can't take...

no one takes the movie anywhere
until Australia releases,

because I know
it's going to be a big hit

and then the Americans
will come chase us.

[Delvene] So John didn't want
to do any presales

because he had
so much faith in that film

and self-belief

that he took it to America
under his arm.

First studio, 20th Century Fox,
knocked it back.

The guy barely watched it.

And finally
he got to Paramount,

and he went there because
he loved their gates. [laughs]

In through the big fancy gates

and into Barry London's office.

The first meeting I had
with John

was at the studio right after
I'd seen Crocodile Dundee

and the first words that
I remember speaking to him

was, "I love your movie."

Which is the line
that you want to hear

from a distributor,

but they weren't quite sure
how it was going to go.

And so John said, "Well,
I've had it audience tested."

If you test a film and
the audience says it's good,

the film's a failure.

The audience,
when you test a film,

have to say,
"It is absolutely fantastic,

"the best thing
I've ever seen."

Then you've got success.

We had it researched
in America.

Most producers don't do this,

but I thought it might be
a plus for the selling of it.

So instead of having
them research it,

I paid for the research myself
this week.

And I won't bore you with
the details about what happens,

but we got a 59
on this complicated input

of showing it to a couple of
thousand people in audience.

The average is a 43.

That 59 has meant people like,
well, Frank Mancuso,

the president
of Paramount Pictures,

got on the phone to the guy
who'd done the research

and said, "Is this correct that
this movie cracked the 59?"

He knew that, you know, we eat
the same food as Americans,

we watch the same movies,
we drive the same cars,

listen to the same music,
watch the same TV shows.

They're our brothers,
so they're going to get it.

All of a sudden, Paramount are
all bright eyed and bushy tail.

"We've done this testing..."
"This looks pretty good!"

And it was right up there
with like Top Gun,

and they were
surprised by that.

And, "Where did you
get it tested?"

"Well, I went to the same
company that you use."

[giggles]

And we all kind of looked
at each other and said,

"Wow! This is really good
stuff, really good stuff."

And from that moment on,

our enthusiasm, that kind of
enthusiasm was apparent

and we never lost it.

Paul picked up on it,
John picked up on it,

and off we went.

-[upbeat synthesiser music]
-[traffic blaring]

[Delvene]
The US press went mad.

Paramount had Linda and Paul
on talk shows

all over the country.

We opened in 500 theatres and
this word of mouth got around.

[American man]
Crocodile Dundee - sold out.

Like a comic book superhero.
I loved it. I loved it.

He's cute and he's charming
and you... I don't know!

When he's about to get mugged,
right, and he says,

"Now that's a knife,"
that was scary.

And he pulls out his big
machete and he starts

waving it around.

Of course I think he's sexy!
That's why I came tonight.

Well, the money just came in
in a wave.

8.8 million the first week...

..19 the second week...

..28 the third week,

and then look out!

It was a runaway train.

And I went, "Yes!"

We had a movie
that was sensational.

Didn't matter that
we never heard of

Paul Hogan at that point,

and it didn't matter that
it was an Australian film.

What it was
was a terrific Australian film

with some guy
called Paul Hogan.

[Denis] Crocodile Dundee in
the States ran for six months.

It's only in USA, Canada
and Australia.

We've got the rest of the world
to go yet.

[audience laughing]

[Paul] But I'd have been happy
if was a hit

in Australia and in the UK.

I didn't know it was
going to be a hit in Israel

and Switzerland and Mexico.

[chuckles] And it was.

[Delvene] Crocodile Dundee
released all around the world.

It was a global sensation.

For $8.8 million Australian,
we made $328 million.

You take it over 40 years,

well, it's gone up
about 10 times.

Let's say seven times.

So, what'd I say? Seven threes,
so that's $2.8 billion.

Crocodile Dundee is
the biggest foreign movie

in the history of movies.

It's the biggest movie
in the world

ever made outside
of a major studio.

It was just report
after report after report

saying highest revenue ever,

biggest box opening
ever, ever, ever.

So there's a lot of
biggest "evers" in there.

In fact, Paul Hogan
used to say to me,

"Don't tell me about how much
money it took last weekend -

"tell me about the evers."

You just don't know
until you do it.

And Dundee sort of did that,
opened the floodgates.

I think we all knew
it was going to be successful,

but how successful
was sort of the question area.

And it's very successful,
which is great.

And it just sort of crept up.

And then we went
a couple times.

Groups of us would go
and sit in the back row,

I think in New York
and some other places,

just to watch
the audience reaction

and seeing how into it
they were

and cheering,
you know, at the end

and just really calling out

and just feeling
very so engaged with it.

We were going,
"Oh, this is much bigger

"than we thought
it was going to be, wow."

[Delvene] The film was
nominated for an Oscar

for Best Original Screenplay.

[Paul] I enjoyed
the Oscar nomination

because that's made
by other writers

[Delvene] To be
nominated for an Oscar,

if you're talking about
pinnacles of acting, directing,

writing, making films,

that's what you want.

That's a recognition.

Both Linda and Paul received
Golden Globe nominations.

And it is a dream when you're
an actor to be recognised.

You can't imagine that that
would ever happen to you.

It was so funny.

I got a Golden Globe
as the best actor

and I think the Foreign Press
were embarrassed

when they got to meet me.

And they said,
"It's just him with a hat on,"

was the only difference
between me and Dundee.

And I thought,
"I'm not a very good actor."

Me, I just put on
different hats.

I mean, if you look at
sort of Mick Dundee and me,

I'm convincing
as that character,

but that's it, you know.

You're not going to find
another Paul Hogan

around the world.

I mean, Paul Hogan now,

according to all the executives
in Hollywood,

is in the top two or three
box office stars in the world.

So, luckily, he doesn't have
any ego problems

'cause the last thing we want
is for him to be

walking around thinking
that he's Paul Hogan.

[interviewer chuckles]

[Terry] Well, Hogan made
Crocodile Dundee.

If Paul Hogan hadn't been born,

would we have had
somebody else play the role

and do just as well?

I don't think so.

[Delvene] Hoges will
tell you himself that

Mick Dundee is just
Hoges in the bush.

[chuckles]

-You'd be looking at Linda...
-Back to the spot.

Yeah, you'd be
walking back the spot.

I'll be looking cool.
I do it every day.

-Yeah.
-Gotcha.

There was a quality
about Mick Dundee

that every man and woman
related to.

[Linda] And there was
something amazing

about this superhero
that he was relatable.

You could see yourself in him.

Like, "Yeah, that's what
I would've done if I could."

You know?

He wasn't like
half man and half bug or...

[chuckles]
You know what I mean?

Or some, like, metal super guy
flying through the sky.

He was a guy,
like a normal guy,

but he was like a superhero
at the same time.

And he came from
a completely different place.

[whistles melodiously]

[Delvene] Mick Dundee
was so believable

that people thought he was
a real person. [chuckles]

[whistles melodiously]

[Paul] The movie wouldn't have
worked as well if they'd had

a big movie star in it.

Because in most of the world,
I was unknown

and therefore the character
became real.

When I did international
press junkets for promotion,

it was all, "Mr Dundee,"

or, "Can you throw
over there, Mick?"

He was real.

The last survey
the tourism people were doing

about what people knew
about Australia

and new famous Australians,

they had, you know,
Chris Hemsworth

and probably Nicole and Margot
names on it.

And on the list, I was
fifth most famous Australian.

I think it was 11th
on one of the others,

and I didn't even make
the top 10 or something.

But who was number one?

Mick Dundee.

Was the most famous Australian
in every survey they did.

I thought, "But he's not real.
I made him up."

So I didn't make the list,
but he did. [chuckles]

Paul, it's great to see you
in New York. I love your show.

-You got good taste.
-Ah. Thank you.

-You have a good show.
-Very professional.

[laughs]

I think it's acknowledged that
Paul put Australia on the map.

It started, of course, with the
"shrimp on the barbecue" stuff

and then it was compounded
by Crocodile Dundee.

In America,
the Australian accent,

suddenly -
I really believe this -

suddenly became acceptable.

Um...

[imitates Australian accent]
No worries, mate.

[Peter] He made it
very, very clear

that we're
a nice lot of people.

We're fun, we're ordinary,
we're not strangers.

[Peter on set]
I'll get somebody on the case.

You want that? I'll fix it.

The relationship that exists
between John and Paul

and it comes out as
something special and unique

as we talked about earlier.

And I think
from that standpoint,

they offer a freshness

and - something that is really
special in this business -

a loyalty.

I have one more thing
to add to that.

Both of those guys
are really nice guys.

In addition to being
terrific filmmakers,

they're really nice people.

[Bill] I think
for all of us in Australia,

this idea of what you can
and can't do

was well and truly
kicked down the street

because what they took on
and what they achieved

was so impossible.

Crocodile Dundee
has been described

as lightning in a bottle.

So, how does that come about?

That's the magical
collaboration

of all of those
incredible people on the crew,

as well as John and Paul,

is that something happens.

There's a...

It's like a cauldron brewing.

All the ingredients go in,
and then magic happens.

And then you
have to contain it.

And I think there was just so
much potential with that film

that it was like
lightning in a bottle -

it's just needing to get out!

You know, and then it got out.

[Linda] For sure,
the energy of the film,

the newness of the film...

It was a comedy,
it was a romantic comedy,

but it was also, like, one of
the big adventure movies.

You had incredible scenery.

[David Gyngell]
It's like one of those films

that they keep showing to say,

why is this
an outstanding success?

And kind of everyone gets it.

The warmth and
the normal traditional beats

of a hero, fish out of water.

For me, I felt very much
a fish in water.

The crew was incredible.

Everybody's attitude
was just so great

and we had this common goal
of just getting it right

and making it right
and making it work.

And, you know, saying,
"What about this?

"What about that?
Oh, that's kind of stra--"

And so...
I was in my element in a way.

And everybody's enthusiasm
as well was very inspiring.

I think it was a combination
of all those things

that John, again,

making the working place
such a great place -

it made people
want to do better.

They felt those good vibes,
you know,

and it permeated the set

and I think in the end
it permeated the screen.

It came right out
into the audience.

John always thought,
right from the scene one,

"This is going to work,
this is going to be a hit."

I don't think
anyone else did -

not to the extent
he believed it.

Belief in himself and
belief in me more than I had.

[chuckles] Sort of.

He's got the magic ingredient
that stars have in them,

and he doesn't only have it
for this country

but for overseas as well.

It's very hard to define, mate.

I think he's got
a few ingredients

that we're not even
sure about ourselves.

[man] Rehearsal it is!

[chatter on set]

[Delvene] They were so attuned,
John and Paul.

They never finished each
other's sentences or stuff,

but their thoughts were, like,
in the ether at the same time.

Not quite telepathic,

but so on
the same wavelength.

Is it the line
that's worrying you?

-The dialogue?
-It's the dialogue.

The... [garbled scream]

-That's the one, yeah.
-[John chuckles]

I guess I could say
they were blood brothers.

They were so comfortable
with each other.

They were so in sync.

What should I be thinking?

It's time?

Fall off the building,
I'm hanging on the ledge...

It just won't come to me.

Think about the coathanger,
mate.

-[Paul] Oh, the old coathanger?
-The old coathanger.

[Linda] They just could look
at each other and know,

and they really had
the same ideas

and the same feelings
about so many things.

We've got sort of a bit of
a mental umbilical cord

between us creatively anyway,

so that's the easiest part
with Paul.

You don't have to
direct him anyway.

You just say, "You got a fly
on ya face, mate."

That's about all
you need to say to him.

[Delvene] They were so both
coupled with their values

and principles
and philosophies

and attitude to life,

that whatever
they did together,

they did symbiotically
to the point where

they were like
soul brothers for eternity.

Just this incredible connection

from two opposing
backgrounds, really.

But so like-minded,
despite that.

That, to me, that was rare.

-[laughs]
-Sometimes you're embarrassed

when we try and do
this candid stuff.

Just relax.

At least we can cut out
whatever we don't like.

Yeah, that's right.
We edit this.

[both chuckle]

He'd take a bullet
for me, John.

Your financial advisor
and business manager

and entrepreneur
is also your best friend?

It's... it's fabulous.

I have come to send you to the
boilermakers mixed prawn night.

Me?

A little wave of
the magic four-by-two,

and you'll look like
a million dollars.

Get on to this.
[whistles softly]

[tinkling music plays]

[audience laughter]

[David Gyngell]
It's that leap of going

from being small screen
to large screen,

to local to international.

I can't off the top of my head,
unless you want to remind me,

think of anyone else
who's done that.

Gravitas, aura, swagger.

Those guys had it in spades.

These guys
didn't have laneways -

they just took
whole landscapes.

Then went across it
in their way.

They want to do good.
They want to make people laugh.

It kind of comes from
a really simple, nice space

that all of us can attach to
and go along the ride with.

But, you know,
if you've got the ability

to make people laugh and
forget their woes for a bit,

you know, oh, what a job.

[audience applauding]

I miss me, mate. [chuckles]
The old Strop.

[birds twittering]

[bee buzzing]

[gentle music]

[Delvene] He was diagnosed
the day before he turned 60

with Parkinson's disease.

We would talk all through
our 46 years of marriage

till the cows came home.

You know,
great conversationalists,

great conversations.

And to see him lose his voice
was a real loss.

But through it all, I've never
seen anyone be more brave.

He had a great
depth of courage.

He never whinged.

He was stoic
and he was accepting

and was never
sorry for himself.

A couple of times
I'd see him go - [sighs] -

and you could see he was
just really tired of it.

And for me,
as his long life love,

that was a really
difficult thing to watch.

He always wanted
to get to 80, and he did.

[reporter 1]
His wife of 46 years

was by his side last night...

[reporter 2] You'll know him
as Paul Hogan's

dopey sidekick Strop,
but John Cornell...

[reporter 3] In a statement,
his family remembered him

as a true egalitarian

who sought equity
and equality

and fought for a fair go...

[Delvene] I had said to John
before he passed,

what bird do you want
to be remembered as?

Because we've got
a tradition in our family.

And he said,
"I want a kookaburra."

I said, "Why?"

And he said, "'Cause they
make people laugh."

[kookaburras laughing
distantly]

They land in the tree where
we've tied all the ribbons

that we had people send in

who couldn't come to the
funeral because it was COVID.

And that's John's tree

and all these ribbons
are ephemerally ageing

and it's kind of like
life itself.

A few years before
he passed away

and he wasn't in a good way,

we went round to his house
to pick him up.

Went to get his shoes,

and he put his foot into his
shoe and he went, "Hang on."

And he pulled his foot
out of his shoe

and he put his hand
into his shoe

and there was
a rigor mortis mouse,

tiny little mouse, in his shoe.

And he just looked up
and said...

"I got to get out more."

Because he clearly hadn't put
his shoes on enough lately.

Or he hadn't chosen
those shoes.

But that's just
a classic beautiful line.

That he just - straight off
the top of his head -

"I've got to get out more."

You know? And that's just...
that's Corny.

As a friend,

as a mentor to me,
as someone I love dearly,

it'd never been better for me.

[Denis] Everything I've had to
do with Hogan and Cornell

in the making of the movie

and all the other things that
we've done through our lives

has been a privilege.

[emotionally]
I'm getting teary.

Um...

One of the saddest things

was I could never
get to John's funeral.

Anyway... Thanks, John.

Sorry.

-Oh, sorry.
-[Delvene sobs softly]

[romantic instrumental
music playing]

[Delvene] My wish initially
when I fell in love with John

was that we would grow old
together, and we did.

How lucky am I?

I search for my lover.

He's missing one thong

and wearing
a lifesaver's cap.

-Pray tell, is it yours?
-Yeah.

How do you know?

By the chewing gum
under the strap.

-Ah.
-[audience laughter]

[Delvene] This documentary,
this is an act of love.

For John, primarily,

because he's not here
to be honoured.

But also for the film
and for Paul

and all my old friends,

everyone who added their spark
to Crocodile Dundee.

[laughs]

[Delvene] When anything is made
with courage, conviction,

chemistry and humour...

[both laugh]

Do you want me to hide it?

[Delvene]
..you can feel this magic

and everything
becomes possible.

[Paul] I love you, Delly.
It's all been a pleasure.

-Yeah. Travel well.
-Okay.

[Delvene] I may never know
what makes magic happen...

..but I do know that, to me,

the most magical ingredient
of all is love.

[kookaburras laughing
distantly]

[interviewer] I want it from
the horse's mouth, John.

-Are we starting?
-[interviewer] Yep.

Yeah, okay.
Hold on, I'll put this out.

[uplifting music]

I'll tickle you.
That'll make you wake up.

[both chuckle]

So, what did we used to say?

-Elbows out.
-Elbows out.

[laughing]
Minister for Good Times.

[blows kiss]