Love of an Icon: The Legend of Crocodile Dundee (2025)

[bunniefuu]

[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 w*nk*r

risks his life as he takes on

the wall of death.

The w*nk*r 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 w*nk*r 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 prost*tute?"

"Yeah, I can play

a prost*tute."

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 k*ller 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."

sh**ting. 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 sh**ting

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 sh*t 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 sh**t.

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 sh**t.

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 sh**ting

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 sh*t.

[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 sh**ting

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 sh**t 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 g*n,

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 b*llet 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]