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Six things you never knew about Australia's best movie, The Castle.

 

Ah, The Castle. It’s one of those Aussie films that makes you proud to call this little island home.

The Castle followed father-of-four, Darryl Kerrigan, (Michael Caton), as he fought off the compulsory acquisition of his home.

The film filled us with memorable quotes such as “straight to the pool room,” and “tell him he’s dreamin’.”

The Castle recently celebrated its 20 year anniversary. In order to commemorate that milestone, we thought we’d assemble a few true blue facts about the film.

(Source: Miramax Films/Working Dog Productions.)
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FACT ONE: Made in five weeks.

The Castle was written, shot and edited in only five weeks. According to co-writer Santo Cilauro, the film was written in two weeks, shot in twelve days and edited in five.

FACT TWO: The location was found by door-knocking.

The house featured in The Castle was found by knocking on doors of people who lived beside Essendon Airport.

Cilauro told film reviewer Peter Malone, the crew had simply asked the Victorian home owners for their permission.

"We knocked on someone's door and said, 'Would you like to stay at the local motel while we shoot at your house?'" he said.

Sophie Lee as Tracey Kerrigan and Eric Bana as Con Petropoulous. (Source: Miramax Films.)
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FACT THREE: It was Eric Bana's film debut.

The Castle was actor Eric Bana's first film. Bana played Con Petropoulous, Darryl Kerrigan's kickboxing son-in-law.

FACT FOUR: Its writing was intentionally simple.

Director Rob Stich told Indie Wire the film was purposely written simplistically, as though a child was remembering the events.

The Castle is a very simple film and we deliberately wrote it like that. It’s a kid remembering things: my dad is big; my dad is this; my family was this; my house is the best house," he said.

Click through for some other great Castle memories.

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FACT FIVE: Lawyer Denis Denuto's office was a real legal office.

Bumbling lawyer Denis Denuto's office was the legal office of writer Santo Cilauro's father. Cilauro said the office was located on Sydney Road, in the Melbourne suburb of Brunswick.

FACT SIX: It was bloody successful.

The Castle is currently the 30th most successful Australian film ever, with takings of $10.3 million, according to Screen Australia.

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