Warragul and Drouin Gazette Property Guide

Sole survivor Charlize Theron is pushed to her limits in Apex

MOVIE GUIDE INSIDE

Comic relief

Melanie Bracewell and Tim McDonald bring levity to the news cycle with The Cheap Seats

Cover Stor y

The headline ac t

With the 24/7 news cycle as mind-boggling as eve r, Tim McDonald is never short of memorable moments to skewer alongside his The Cheap Seats co-host Melanie Bracewell. As he tells Siobhan Duck, it often comes down to a friendly race to see who can reach the punchline rst

AS DONALD Trump was delivering a typically bombastic yet sobering update on the Iran con ict earlier this month, Tim McDonald was honed in on someone else in the footage

“Because next to him was a guy in an Easter Bunny costume,” the host of the news parody series The Cheap Seats recalls of Trump’s address with a laugh.

“That’s when I thought, ‘See, this is why we do what we do. I wish we were on air this week.’

“All those things are fair game.”

After ve seasons of presenting The Cheap Seats alongside Kiwi comic and pal Melanie Bracewell, McDonald has become an expert at nding silver linings in even the bleakest of news cycles.

“Often the formula is, what’s bad for the world is good for our show,” he jokes of Trump s re-election last year

“Personally, I wish things were a little di erent, but professionally you go: ‘This is great fun’.

“It’s not just Donald Trump We had a lot of fun with Joe Biden because towards the end [of his presidency], he didn’t know what was going on, and he’s falling o bikes and talking about ice cream.”

While world leaders have unwittingly become great punchlines for McDonald and Bracewell, closer to home the pair also mine shows such as Seven’s Sunrise, Nine’s Today and regional news programs for laughter

Each week, McDonald and Bracewell watch hours of local and international news footage looking for funny patterns or bloopers for their segments.

Then, on Monday morning, they come together for a ‘show and tell’ session of highlight reels.

“You hope that the nuggets that you found Mel hasn’t seen and vice versa,” he says.

“But often what happens is you’ll go in and go, ‘I found this hilarious moment of a Norwegian politician on breakfast TV’, and Mel will go ‘Yeah, I’ve seen that!’ even though I had thought that was a unique one

“That’s the best part of the job, that Monday meeting where we’re trying to surprise each other and make each other laugh. And I think that’s what the spirit of the show is. It’s just two mates who have found some things, and we can’t wait to share them.”

Sometimes it’s not what people say or do but how they say it, that raises a smile

“There are certain newsreaders who I think are great for comedy, because they have a really serious voice and they deliver it well in the

two big cities,” he explains. “Peter Overton in Sydney is fantastic and Peter Mitchell in Melbourne is fantastic. So often we like to use their readings, because they just add an extra level of seriousness.”

The jokes are not mean-spirited so most local stars Bracewell and McDonald send up take the mockery on the chin.

Plus, the pair practice what they preach.

“Mel and I are some of the least professional people on TV, so we highlight the mistakes of others, but we are very quick to highlight our own aws and mistakes,” McDonald shares

did yesterday on the show? Or did you see what Sunrise did yesterday? Or this moment happened on Today. Some of them even send us time codes for things that happen. We love that they take it in the right spirit.”

Despite the helpful suggestions from on-air personalities, McDonald laments that: “It’s a bit of an unwritten rule that when we’re on air, sometimes the news is bleak and unusable. And the second we go o air you get a great story.”

To illustrate his point, McDonald notes that the Danish royal tour and the Artemis rocket launch both took place before season six went to air

I TH IN K TH AT ’S WHAT TH E SP IR IT OF TH E SH OW IS . IT ’S JUST TWO MATE S WH O HAVE FO UN D SO ME TH INGS , AND WE CAN’T WA IT TO SHAR

“You can’t do the job we do without being prepared to laugh at yourself. And we do a lot of that because we make a lot of mistakes.”

Nonetheless, McDonald admits that there’s always some trepidation on Logies night: “You’re never sure if people are going to be happy to see you, or that they might look at you and then look past you, and you worry, ‘Oh, was that a deliberate snub?’

“More often than not – 99 per cent of the time – the reporters that we feature are so happy to see us, and they love us. They’ll even start suggesting, ‘Oh, did you see what we

Thankfully, McDonald now has a go-to solution to any slow news week

“We tend to just watch Chemist Warehouse infomercials because they’re a never-ending source of gold,” he says.

For as long as he can remember McDonald has wanted to entertain people

As his peers were busy studying for Year 12 exams, McDonald threw most of his energy into the class parody newsletter and end-of-year video

“I remember my parents going, ‘Wait, what are you doing? This is

Year 12. Let’s knuckle down,’” he says. “I said, ‘No, this is what I want to do!’ And I’m still using some of those skills now.

Before landing his The Cheap Seats role, McDonald perfected his zingers on radio and appeared alongside comedy greats such as Mick Molloy, Sam Pang and Kitty Flanagan as a frequent player on Have You Been Paying Attention?

Just like Have You Been Paying Attention? and The Panel (another news parody show made by Working Dog ), The Cheap Seats is proof that good ideas don’t need any bells and whistles to attract an audience

“We can a ord no bells. We can only loan a whistle,” McDonald laughs of the no-frills production.

“We probably have the lowest budget on T V. But that’s why I like it. I like nding solutions that don’t cost a fortune, and often a lot of the props we make ourselves on a Monday night.”

Even when it’s midnight and he’s up to his elbows in sticky tape and glue constructing a giant Allen key out of toilet rolls, McDonald feels like the luckiest guy alive.

“I’m so surprised that this is year six,” he says.

“We were surprised to do six episodes, and just doing the pilot was the biggest thrill. And if nothing came of that, then so be it. So, to do this as a job is still a ‘pinch-me’ moment. We enjoy making the show, so if people enjoy watching it, that’s just an added bonus.

The Cheap Seats Tuesday, 8 40pm, 10

Movie Guide

In vogue: Anne Hathaway, Meryl Streep and Emily Blunt in The Devil Wears Prada

PICK OF THE WEEK

Friday

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA

7mate, 8.30pm, PG (2006)

Fresh-faced college graduate Andy Sachs (Anne Hathaway) ventures to New York City looking for her rst journalism job, landing an assistant role at a prestigious New York fashion magazine. But her ruthless editor, Miranda Priestly (Meryl Streep), is intent on making her life hell. Juggling the demands of her

new job, Andy begins to question what sort of person it’s turning her into when her relationship with her boyfriend (Entourage’s Adrian Grenier) comes under strain. Capturing the sophistication and tone of Lauren Weisberger s novel – and with plenty of underlying tragedy – this is much more than a cheap fashion industry satire. Like any classic piece of tailoring, this stylish saga has come back in vogue, with a well-heeled sequel arriving in cinemas next week.

THE MONUMENTS MEN

Nine, Friday, 8.30pm, M (2014)

George Clooney takes the director’s chair for this World War II lm loosely based on a little-known moment in global history Packaged up as a comedy-drama detective story, it sees Clooney as army lieutenant Frank Stokes, who is tasked by president Roosevelt to assemble a team of art curators to go into war zones to collect and protect European artworks from the Nazis. The team – including Matt Damon, Bill Murray and John Goodman – have no idea what they are in for

10 Drama, Sunday, 7.30pm, M (2022)

In the 40 years since rst taking to the skies in 1986’s Top Gun Tom Cruise (pictured) has proven he s not shy of a deathdefying stunt. It’s no stretch of the imagination to think that his on-screen counterpart, US Navy Captain Pete “Maverick” Mitchell, has led a similarly adrenaline-fuelled life. Now a decorated test pilot, this kinetic blockbuster nds Maverick back at Top Gun, begrudgingly educating a new generation of ghter pilots ahead of an extremely dangerous mission.

OF

9Go!, Saturday, 7.30pm, M (2013)

This re-imagining of the Superman tale, directed by Zack Snyder (Watchmen), produced by Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight) and starring British hunk Henry Cavill (pictured), has blockbuster written all over it, but delivers an unexpectedly grittier tale than its predecessors. Cavill is brooding as the superhero who dons steel (rather than tights), embodying a serious, lonely Clark Kent who, upon discovering his extraterrestrial origins, unloads mass destruction in his ght to save Earth.

HOLMES 2: A GAME OF

9Go!, Monday, 8.30pm, M (2011)

Director Guy Ritchie yanks Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s literary detective out of 221B Baker Street for a second adventure. This time around, sidekick Dr Watson (Jude Law) is preparing to wed ancée Mary (Kelly Reilly), and Holmes (Robert Downey Jr, pictured with Noomi Rapace) is despondent over the impending break-up of their partnership. However, there is no time to dwell, as Holmes suspects Professor James Moriarty (Jared Harris) has masterminded a spate of crimes around Europe.

Seven, Saturday, 8pm, M (2001)

Running nigh on three hours, producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s blockbuster, directed by Michael Bay, boasts a gobsmacking re-creation of the horri c surprise attack by Japanese planes upon the US naval base in World War II. The stunning 40-minute e ects spectacular is bookended by an ill-fated pre-war romance (played out by Ben A eck, pictured, Josh Hartnett and Kate Beckinsale), and an ethnocentric account of the 1942 US bomber raid on Tokyo’s industrial sector.

NITV, Tuesday, 8.30pm, M (2004)

Like a champion boxer, the Best Picture Oscar winner has all the hallmarks of greatness – grace, ease, heart and a knockout punch. Clint Eastwood plays Frankie, a cranky boxing trainer scraping out a living running a run-down gym in a Los Angeles back alley, alongside life-long pal Scrap (Morgan Freeman). Their lives are changed by the arrival of Maggie Fitzgerald (Hilary Swank, pictured with Eastwood), a waitress with trailerpark roots and the raw talent to be a prize ghter

The Guide

INSTANT ITALIAN

SBS Food, Friday, 7.30pm

It’s the end of the week, the fridge is empty and the dinner situation is looking dire, but before you reach for the takeaway menu or delivery apps, take a leaf out of chef Anna Gass’s book and try her low-stress, streamlined style. A former Martha Stewart staffer who trained at New York’s French Culinary Institute, Gass (pictured) is well placed to share shortcuts for stylish, traditional Italian cuisine – without waiting hours for a sauce to simmer. In Friday’s premiere, she focuses on the power of store-bought pizza dough, demonstrating how it can be a canvas for quick and easy comfort food – making a deceptively simple fried pizza montanare and a cheesy pull-apart that will impress even the pickiest of eaters.

Wednesday, April 22

ABC TV (2)

6.00 News Breakfast. 9.00 ABC News

PICK OF THE WEEK

BAD COMPANY

ABC TV, Sunday, 8.15pm

Pitting the unbridled chaos of Anne Edmonds against Kitty Flanagan’s delightfully deadpan wit, this new character-driven sitcom – set in an avant-garde inner-city theatre company – is a match made in comedy heaven. The hilarious headliners are respectively cast as artistic director Margie and corporate cost-cutter Julia, who find themselves at odds when the latter is tasked with saving the failing Argyle Theatre. While Margie believes staging her most experimental show yet is the key to success, Julia sets her sights on downsizing to get the Argyle’s finances back in the black. Created by Edmonds and directed by Fisk’s Tom Peterson, this playful satire puts the “fun” in dysfunctional.

Dynamic duo: Kitty Flanagan and Anne Edmonds star in Bad Company

THE EARTHSHOT REPORT SBS Viceland, Saturday, 6.25pm

Created by Prince William to combat climate change and protect the environment by championing new ideas and eco-friendly solutions, The Earthshot Prize has been

SBS (3)

awarded to innovative and ambitious projects from around the world each year since 2021. This documentary, presented by Ted Lasso favourite Hannah Waddingham, spends time with past winners and finalists to understand how they are scaling

SEVEN (7, 6)

up and changing the world. From a solar farm in Colorado to a London firm working on seaweed-based plastic alternatives and an Ecuadorian community enshrining indigenous knowledge in law, it’s an incredible showcase of inspiration and optimism in action.

NINE (9, 8)

THE HUNDRED WITH ANDY LEE

Nine, Tuesday, 7.30pm

You can never really know what someone else is thinking, but thanks to the wall of Aussies connecting via Zoom to this number-crunching panel show, we can get pretty close to learning what makes the nation tick. Host Andy Lee returns for this ninth season, joined by regulars Sophie Monk and Mike Goldstein. Welsh funnyman Lloyd Langford rounds out the group as they set their sights on romance and dating issues, from open-mouth chewing to big spenders on first dates and whether it’s OK to break up with someone before Christmas. Prime Minister Anthony Albanese (pictured left with Lee) also stops by to see how many of The Hundred recognise him – it might be the most surprising poll of the PM’s career.

TEN (10, 5)

Mornings. 10.00 Four Corners. (R) 10.45 Foreign Correspondent. (R) 11.30 Back Roads. (R) 12.00 ABC News At Noon. 12.30 National Press Club Address. 1.35 Media Watch. (PG, R) 1.50 ANZAC Battlefields. (PG, R) 2.55 Grand Designs Transformations. (PG, R) 3.55 Murdoch Mysteries. (PG, R) 4.40 Long Lost Family: What Happened Next. (PGa, R) 5.30 Antiques Roadshow. (R) 6am Morning Programs. 8.00 DD India News Hour. 9.00 Cook Up Bitesize. (R) 9.05 Matched. (PG, R) 9.55 Spectacular Railways Of The Swiss Alps. (PGa) 10.50 Scottish Vets Down Under. (R) 12.00 BBC News At Ten. 12.30 France 24. 1.00 PBS News. 2.00 Dateline. (R) 2.30 Insight. (R) 3.30 Plat Du Tour. (R) 3.35 The Cook Up. (R) 4.10 Sri Lanka With Alexander Armstrong. (PGalv, R) 5.05 Jeopardy! 5.30 Letters And Numbers. (R) 6.00 Sunrise. 9.00 The Morning Show. (PG) 12.00 Seven’s National News At Noon. 1.00 Seven News With Alex Cullen. 1.10 Blankety Blank. (PGas, R) 2.00 Bridge Of Lies. 3.00 The Chase. 4.00 Seven News At 4. 5.00 The Chase Australia. 6.00 Today. 9.00 Today Extra. (PG) 11.30 9News Morning. 12.00 MOVIE: Love Amongst The Stars. (2022, PGa, R) Sara Canning, Patch May, Bruce Dawson. 2.00 Pointless. (PG) 3.00 Tipping Point. (PG) 4.00 9News Afternoon. 4.30 [VIC] Tipping Point Australia. (PG) 5.00 Tipping Point Australia. (PG) 5.30 [VIC] WIN News. 6.00

6.30 Hard Quiz. (PG, R) 7.00 ABC News.

7.30 7.30.

8.00 Tonight At The Museum. (Final, PGs)

8.30 The Weekly With Charlie Pickering. (Final, PGls) A satirical news program.

9.00 Can You Keep A Secret? (Final, Ml, R) Debbie weighs up confessing.

9.30 QI. (Ml)

10.00 Planet America. (R)

10.30 ABC Late News. 10.45 The Business. (R) 11.35 Murdoch Mysteries. (M, R) 12.25 Long Lost Family: What Happened Next. (PG, R) 1.15 Rage. (MA15+dhlnsv) 4.00 Gardening Australia. (R) 5.00 A Bite To Eat With Alice. (R) 5.30 7.30. (R)

6.00 Mastermind Australia. Presented by Marc Fennell.

6.30 SBS World News.

7.35 Chernobyl: Inside The Meltdown: Inferno. (Premiere) Takes a look at the Chernobyl disaster. 9.25 The Audacity. (M) A would-be tech titan and his therapist try to find a fortune and happiness for themselves. 10.25 SBS World News Late. 10.55 Rise Of The Raven. (MA15+av) 11.55 Darkness: Those Who Kill. (Ma) 1.50 Classified. (MA15+v, R) 3.25 Mastermind Australia. (PG, R) 4.30 Bamay. (R) 5.00 NHK World English News Morning. 5.30 ANC Philippines The World Tonight.

6.00 Seven News. 7.00 Home And Away. (PGa) Mackenzie and Lacey clash.

7.30 My Reno Rules. (PGl) Hosted by Dr Chris Brown.

9.15 The Front Bar. (Ml) Hosts Sam Pang, Mick Molloy and Andy Maher take a lighter look at all things AFL.

10.15 To Be Advised.

11.25 The Agenda Setters. (R) An expert panel tackles the biggest AFL topics.

12.25 No Holds Barred: GWS Giants. (Ml) 1.45 Kochie’s Business Builders. (R) 2.30 Home Shopping. (R) 4.00 NBC Today. 5.00 Sunrise Early News. 5.30 Sunrise.

Sydney Weekender. 2.30 House Calls To The Rescue. 3.30 Harry’s Practice. 4.00 Medical Rookies. 4.30 Better Homes And Gardens. 5.30 Escape To The Country. 6.30 Bargain Hunt. 7.30 Heartbeat. 8.45

6.00 9News.

7.00 A Current Affair.

7.30 Events That Changed Australia: When Terror Came To Town. (Mav)

8.30 Outback Murder Highway: The Sensible Creek Killings. (Premiere, Masv) Looks at Sensible Creek.

9.30 The Killer Interview With Piers Morgan. (MA15+av, R) Piers Morgan interviews Levi King.

10.30 9News Late.

11.00 Miniseries: The Night Caller. (Malv)

11.50 Tipping Point. (PG, R) 12.40 Pointless. (PG, R) 1.30 Home Shopping. 4.00 Skippy The Bush Kangaroo. (R) 4.30 A Current Affair. (R) 5.00 Today Early News. 5.30 Today. 6.00 10 News+. 6.30 Deal Or No Deal. (PG) 7.00 Millionaire Hot Seat. (PG) Hosted by Rebecca Gibney. 7.30 Melbourne International Comedy Festival. A celebration of 40 years of the festival. 9.00 Elsbeth. (Mlv) Elsbeth infiltrates the world of elite puzzle solvers to find out who murdered a puzzles editor. 10.00 10’s Late News. Coverage of news, sport and weather.

Kangaroo Beach. 5.55 Octonauts. 6.05 Spidey And His Amazing Friends. 6.20 Bluey. 6.25 Flower And Flour. 6.35 Big Lizard. 6.40 Hey Duggee. 6.50 Ben And Holly. 7.00 Superbuns. 7.05 Batwheels. 7.20 Bluey. 7.30 Shaun The Sheep. 7.35 Ninjago: Dragons Rising. 8.00 Young Sheldon. 8.20 BTN Newsbreak. 8.25 Young Sheldon. 8.45 Steven Universe. 9.05 Adventure Time. 9.30 Teen Titans Go! 9.50 Pokémon: Diamond And Pearl. 10.15 My Adventures With Superman. 10.35 Late Programs. ABC FAMILY (22) 6am Morning Programs. 8.30 Nanny. 9.30 Addams Family. 10.30 Bewitched. 11.30 Jeopardy! Australia. 12.30pm Australian Ninja Warrior. 2.30 Nanny. 3.30 Seinfeld. 4.30 Addams Family. 5.30 Bewitched. 6.30 Nanny. 7.30 Seinfeld. 8.30 MOVIE:

The Return Of The Soldier. (1982, PGalsv) 10.30 Within Sand. (2022, Mav, Arabic) 12.40pm Speed Kills. (2018, Mlv) 2.35 Spitfire. (2018, PGa) 4.25 Hotel Salvation. (2016, PGad, Hindi) 6.20 The Giants. (2023, PGalv) 8.30 The Boy In The Striped Pajamas. (2008, Mav) 10.20 Sasquatch Sunset. (2024, Mans) 11.55 A Woman In Berlin. (2008, Russian, Georgian, German) 2.25am Rosenthal. (2025, Ma, Yiddish, German, Hebrew) 4.05 Once Upon A Time... In Bethlehem. (2019, Ml, Italian)

Australia. 4.00 Barbie: Dreamhouse Adventures. 4.30 Barney’s World. 4.50 Lego Dreamzzz. 5.10 Hop. 5.30 Beyblade Burst: Quad Drive. 6am Fishing Addiction. 7.00 Merv Hughes Fishing. 7.30 Creek To Coast. 8.00 Duck Dynasty. 9.00 Motor Racing. Supercars Championship. Round 4. ITM Christchurch Super 440. Day 1. Highlights. 10.00 Australia ReDiscovered. 10.30 American Resto. 11.00 Storage Wars. 11.30 American Pickers. 12.30pm Pawn Stars. 1.30 Outback Truckers. 3.30 Mountain Men. 4.30 American Resto. 5.00 Storage Wars. 5.30 American Pickers. 6.30 Pawn Stars. 7.30 The Agenda Setters. 8.30 The

On Demand

SOLE SURVIVOR

APEX

Streaming from Friday, Net ix

Charlize Theron is the prey trying to evade Taron Egerton’s predator in this pulse-pounding survival thriller that’s a visceral cross between action classic Cli anger and Wolf Creek

Known for her physically demanding roles, Theron takes on another gruelling part as Sasha, a grieving adrenaline junkie pushed to the edge.

Seeking solace in the vast and unforgiving Australian wilderness, the American tourist instead nds herself ensnared in a deadly game of cat and mouse with ruthless psychopath Ben (Welsh actor Egerton, with a questionable Aussie accent).

As the sadistic serial killer pursues Sasha through the treacherous terrain with a crossbow in hand, she must rely on her wits and skill to make it out alive.

Shot on location in New South Wales, including the picturesque Blue Mountains, it’s directed by Icelandic lmmaker Baltasar Kormákur (Everest).

THE LIFE OF CHUCK

Streaming from Saturday, HBO Max

Height of danger:

Star Charlize Theron is pushed to her limits in survival thriller Apex

CRIMINAL RECORD

Streaming, Apple TV

Peter Capaldi and Cush Jumbo (pictured) butt heads once again as detectives Daniel Hegarty and June Lenker in season two of this gripping crime thriller. This time, the combative pair enter an uneasy alliance when a young man is stabbed to death at a political rally. Their pursuit of the killer turns into a covert mission to bring down a far-right terrorist group

The Dry star Eric Bana also features in a key supporting role

While the lm has plenty of intense action sequences, Theron says it’s also a psychological thriller. “It’s really a story about survival, not just physically but emotionally,” she told Net ix’s Tudum. “And it’s about nding out what you’re made of.

Egerton, meanwhile, says Ben is simply a hunter looking for his next target: “In my version of the story, Ben is the hero.”

With the stakes this high, you’ll be whiteknuckling it alongside the characters every step of the way – Travis Lewis

Tom Hiddleston (pictured) switches gears from gritty espionage drama The Night Manager to headline this life-a rming tale based on Stephen King’s 2020 novella of the same name. The poignant sci- fantasy follows three pivotal chapters in the life of Charles Krantz (Hiddleston), an ordinary man facing extraordinary circumstances. If you enjoyed 2008’s The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, it’s a similarly sentimental journey. HALF MAN

Streaming from Saturday, Stan

Scottish writer-actor Richard Gadd follows up his twisted hit Baby Reindeer with this equally intense drama that explores modern masculinity. The six-part series follows two estranged “brothers”, Ruben (Gadd) and Niall (Jamie Bell, pictured left with Gadd), whose reunion at a wedding triggers a confronting exploration of their dysfunctional relationship. Similar in tone to Adolescence, it’s sure to get people talking.

IS THIS THING ON?

Streaming, Disney+

Funnyman Will Arnett (pictured) shows o his acting chops in this bittersweet dramedy directed by Bradley Cooper. The Arrested Development favourite plays Alex, a middleaged New Yorker who tries stand-up comedy while navigating an amicable separation from his wife Tess (Laura Dern). This crowd-pleaser perfectly balances humour and heartbreak.

Streaming, Prime Video

A stellar cast brings to life this quirky adult animation that will delight fans of BoJack Horseman. Jason Schwartzman voices Kevin, a neurotic cat who trades in his sheltered life to move into an animal rescue shelter. Series co-creator Aubrey Plaza joins Amy Sedaris, Joe Locke, Whoopi Goldberg and Broadway legend Patti Lupone in the eclectic ensemble.