Many thanks to Meg for the following transcript
Nine to Five Magazine
(Sydney)
20 September 1999
Danielle Cormack
Siam What I Am.
Siam Sunset has done for coach travel in Australia what Jaws did for beach tourism in the States. This week, Nine to Five catches up with Damielle Cormack, the film's female lead and New Zealand's rising star. Since winning the 1997 NZ Film & Television best actress award for her performance as Liz, in Harry Sinclair's "Topless Women Talk About Their Lives", Danielle Cormack has been a busy girl.
She starred in "Channelling Baby" directed by Christine Parker, "Via Satellite", directed by Anthony McCarton and most recently opposite Linue Roache in John Polson's debut feature film, "Siam Sunset". Apart from her screen success, Danielle's work in the theatre includes performing with the Auckland Theatre Company, touring with a co-operative company throughout New Zealand and Europe and co-writing two plays in which she performed at Auckland festivals.She has also acted in numerous short films,most notably "A Game With No Rules", directed by Scott Reynolds and "Snap", directed by Stuart McKenzie. Danielle, who auditioned for the role of Grace in "Siam Sunset" a week into pre-production, liked the script immediately.
"It was funny, I laughed out loud," she recalls, "And I really liked Grace's story, the journey she had to go on." On location in Cooper Pedy, Danielle nominates keeping files out of her mouth as her greatest challenge. "We seemed to be living on a staple diet of flies and dust," she laughs. Despite the sometimes difficult conditions, with the temperature soaring to 45 degrees, Danielle enjoyed the shoot. "It's just a whole lot of fun when people who are passionate about a film come together for the same reasons, to reach the same goal. It was a happy shoot.
Every day was hilarious," she says. "Siam Sunset" tells the story of Perry (Linus Roache), a man besieged by disaster.On the hunt for the perfect color -Siam Sunset, Perry joins an outback Australian bus tour. Perry and the other passengers are soon joined by Danielle's character, Grace. Grace is fleeing some troubles of her own - namely a violent (and crooked) ex-lover. "My character, she was fun to play, good to play. She has a really wry sense of humour. She's extremely quick at understanding whatever situation she's in. And she's adept at being able to pick up on what other people are going through. She's also really spontaneous and she doesn't suffer fools lightly," says Danielle. "She's running from a flawed past, after having been mixed up with all the wrong people," Danielle continues in her thick New Zealand accent, "Grace finds that the only way she's going to survive this journey is if she opens up a little bit and that's a challenge for her. She has a hard exterior, to keep people at bay. But what she goes through on this journey opens her up. She realises that no matter what obstacles get thrown across your path, you still have to deal with them. She's a wise woman."
Siam Sunset is screening now in cinemas everywhere.