Matt Norman

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Matt Norman

Actor / Director / Producer Matt Norman.
Born Matthew Travis Norman
October 20, 1971 (1971-10-20) (age 36)
Tallangatta, Victoria, Australia
Spouse(s) Rebecca Downie (Norman)
Official website

Matt Norman (born October 20, 1971, Tallangatta, Australia) is an actor turned filmmaker, best known for his acting work on Australian TV Shows Blue Heelers, Neighbours, Stingers, U.S Telemovies Moby-Dick (opposite Gregory Peck, Patrick Stewart, Ted Levine and Henry Thomas), Silver Strand and more recently Ghost Rider (film) opposite Nicholas Cage.

Contents

[edit] Biography

[edit] Early life and family

Matthew Travis Norman was born in Tallangatta, Victoria Australia, to Laurence (Laurie) Norman and Jillian (Jill) Norman. He is the middle of three, having an older brother Jamie (Jim) Norman and sister Selina Norman.

Norman attended Nandaly then Lindenow public School in his primary school years, and then he attended Nagle College, Bairnsdale completing year 12 in 1989.

He moved to Melbourne, Australia from Bairnsdale, Victoria, Australia in 1989 and worked many jobs including nightclub security, Body Guard to both Australian and International celebrities and became a member of Australia's elite 1 Commando Regiment in the Australian army. In 1994, after a split relationship with his fiance, Norman started pursuing his dream of becoming an actor. While still working in the security industry, Matt started Drama school at The National Theater Drama school in St Kilda, Melbourne where he met his wife Rebecca Norman (Downie). After one year of Drama school he left to pursue an actual acting career as the school trained in old style practices and certainly held back students wanting more for themselves in the modern industry. Matt was also known for his singing and guitar abilities in a Melbourne based rock band called "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" which lasted a bit over a year with various gigs around Melbourne and rural Victoria.

[edit] Career

After many years as an actor on television and film, Matt's ambition to start writing screenplay's started when well known Australian Director Malcolm Robertson read one of Matt's first screenplay's "Imperial Myer". Robertson and Norman worked closely on the screenplay for over a year which honed Norman's skills to look into directing both theater and film as well as branch out to write more stories for the screen.

Norman's career started as a filmmaker when his first film "All the kings horses" won several international awards in Australia and overseas. Since then he has gone on to write, direct and produce several other Award winning films such as "The Writer", starring one of Australia's best known actors Kym Gyngell, "Shank" starring Rob Carlton, and finally "The Umbrella Men" starring Blue Heelers star Damian Walshe-Howling and Neighbours star Benji McNair.

By this time, Matt Norman and his wife Rebecca had four children. Hunter, Riley, Azure and more recently Charlie. Matt also has another daughter Imogen from a previous relationship.

[edit] 2008 Breakthrough

[edit] Salute The Movie

One story that was influential to Matt Norman's career is a film about his famous Uncle Peter Norman. Peter was the 1968 Silver Medalist in the 200m at the Mexico City Olympics which became history in more ways than one. Norman as well as American's Tommie Smith and John Carlos became part of the 20th Centuries most photographed moments being The Black Power Salute.

Matt Norman realized that the full story of his famous uncle had never been told. There had been attempts by American filmmakers but they all lacked one major ingredient, Peter Norman. Matt started filming SALUTE at the end of 2002. With no budget, no funding and no help he went about making a film that he hoped would get picked up by a local film festival. Instead, "Salute" is now considered one of the most ambitious and most expensive Documentary films ever made in Australia. With the help of the FFC (Federal Finance Commission) and his local funding body Film Victoria, Norman raised close to two Million dollars to help with the post production of the film. In October 2006, Peter Norman died tragically of a heart attack. Matt Norman's life was turned up-side-down when his film that was to honor his uncle would now be regarded as a memory of his uncle and the stance he took at the 1968 Mexico City Olympic Games.

In 2008, Andrew Mackie and Richard Payton of Transmission films were signed on as Australian Distributors and later brought on board Paramount Pictures Australia to release the film Nationally in Cinema's throughout his native country.

Starting from Scratch with nothing and loosing his uncle and his own home to make the film "Salute", Matt Norman has held onto his promise to Peter Norman to finally tell the World the true story of events of the 1968 Mexico City Olympics.

Salute The Movie will be released Australia wide around the 24th July 2008. Rest of the World to follow and will have it's World Premiere at the exclusive Sydney Film Festival on the 8th of June 2008.

[edit] Slated for 2009

Matt Norman's next project is now becoming one of the most highly anticipated films of the past decade being "1968". Salute is the documentary film that uncovers the truth of what actually happened in Mexico where as "1968" will be the drama version of the event. Norman, who was in talks with fellow Australian actor Heath Ledger to play Peter Norman, before his tragic death in 2008 is expected to gather some of the best talent in the World to recreate this story on film. Matt has already started speaking with Hollywood's top A-List stars to play the roles of Tommie Smith and John Carlos and will be looking for an unknown to play his uncle Peter Norman during the year (2008). With one of Australia's leading writers attached to write the screenplay (David Williamson), this will be a very ambitious film project to follow up on the success of "SALUTE".

[edit] Selected Filmography

[edit] Actor - Television

[edit] Actor - Film

[edit] Writer / Director / Producer FILM

[edit] Articles

[edit] External links