Andrew Dominik, director
I spent seven years thinking about Mark “Chopper” Read. A violent criminal, Mark was notorious in Australia in a minor way – until he published a series of autobiographies, which is how I heard about him. I believe the first one is the most stolen book in Australian publishing history.
I see it this way: if violence is a problem, you need to understand the violent person, not the victim. The thing about Mark was his stance of regretting nothing, but then he would describe dreams where he saw his victims. Clearly, there was a disconnect between what he claimed and who he really was. I’m interested in that personal mythology, the way some people don’t see the wider world, just themselves – because I think that’s my own problem.
