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John Safran in Melbourne by David Challenger Around this time last year, John Safran, that inimitable motormouth and antihero from Melbourne, left his job in advertising to start a four week training and selection course at the Australian Film, Television and Radio School in Sydney. Consequently, Safran, along with seven others, was chosen by the ABC to  participate in a Canadian-inspired competition called Race Around
the World - a trip that would require travelling alone and making a four-minute
documentary every 10 days for 100 days. A year on, Safran's life couldn't be more different: he's in almost constant demand for appearances by the media; he's recorded a successful parody of the Baz Luhrmann song Everybody's Free to Wear Sunscreen; and he has even outvoted the likes of Bob Hawke, Gough Whitlam and the entire St Kilda football team in a Triple J poll to become Australia's first head of state. Not bad, considering he came equal last in the contest. Safran started the tour with some fairly uninspiring stories, including his first in Japan that was supposed to have been a documentary on homeless people. But things went awry after he was mistakenly locked inside a Tokyo subway. "I really, really hated my first three stories ... there's nothing you can do about it, but it's highly annoying. On the other hand, maybe that [experience] helped me battle on a little bit harder ... I guess I was scared, but it definitely broke that fear barrier." An understatement to say the least. The "fear barrier" wasn't just broken, it was obliterated, as Safran traversed the globe, fearlessly constructing bizarre and imaginative films. Several have since become part of Race folklore. These include: placing a voodoo spell on his ex-girlfriend in the Ivory Coast (where he almost sacrificed a dog instead of the chicken, but thought "the dog would take too long too die"); running down a street in Jerusalem naked while exploring the connection between religion and football; and sticking an 'I deal crack' tag on the back of a loveable furry character while visiting Disneyland. Indeed, his shenanigans earned him the most popular vote award with the audience, while he endeared himself to most of the judges. Tony Squires, one of the regular adjudicators on Race Around The World, said "He's manipulative, he's dangerous, but he's good." Nevertheless, not all of the judges fell in love with Safran's outrageous antics. David Caesar, director of the film Idiot Box, took a particular disliking to the 'manipulative' one, especially after viewing a story he sent back portraying a Lebanese man and his three wives. "Shithouse camera work by a smart-arse westerner taking the piss out of a soft subject," snarled Caesar, who openly aired his contempt for everything Safran-ish throughout the series. Yet Safran doesn't seem bothered about being berated by Caesar, no doubt believing the strong criticism probably aroused a fair amount of the sympathy vote. Still, he doesn't take a backward step when asked about the pair's relationship either: "[I've never met him], but I've got a feeling it wouldn't be a [friendly] slap on the back thing ... I didn't really care about the criticism - I mean, the jig is going to be up when people realise that [Caesar's] not the only person that doesn't like me ... I found it bizarre when I saw [Idiot Box], because Caesar was basically hanging it on me for not being culturally sensitive enough. So I assumed Idiot Box would be at least politically correct, but it's not. Every single character is Anglo working class, [except] for the big Greek guy who beats someone up for going out with his sister. Like that's not a stereotype!?" And despite not wanting to have to use the "I've been there, so I know" line, Safran argues that Caesar and his ilk simply don't know what it's really like in some of those far-flung places. "[Many people] honestly just don't get that people have senses of humour overseas ... the country of the Ivory Coast is just like one huge candid camera, where people are pulling these elaborate giant stunts on each other constantly. [Yet] somehow it's noble if you present these people as victims, but it's just not always like that". Nonetheless, Safran somewhat surprisingly argues for the retention of Caesar's services for this year's race: "I can't explain it, but I think he's good to have on [the show]". Not only is Safran the least affected by criticism, he probably also came out of the race the most unscathed in terms of mental stress. While admitting there were certainly periods of hardship, he feels they can hardly be compared to some of his colleagues. After experiencing severe headaches, Kim Traill was "kind of hoping it was a brain tumour, so I could say 'I'm really sorry, but I'm quitting [the race]' ". Race winner Olivia Rousset, who appeared supremely confident throughout, broke down in Scotland after losing all sense of purpose, while Scott Herford also suffered a breakdown while in Morocco. On the two occasions he's been interviewed by the ABC since returning, Herford has come across as nervous and disturbed by the whole experience, a trait not lost on Safran: "He has certainly articulated his bitterness about [the experience]. There's a few other racers who are kind of really unhappy with it - for all sorts of reasons, and you can sort of understand [why]. [But I guess] I've been really lucky that, on one level, it's all worked out for me." Most would agree. A year after the adventure began, Safran's world would appear to lie vast and wide before him. Many entertainment pundits are predicting a big future for him, while his cult-like status has been further strengthened by his top 30 single Not the Sunscreen Song. Its success and notoriety should come as no surprise considering the lyrics: "Get to really know your parents/ they're good for money/ milk them/ then put them in an old people's home ... when you're on work experience/ steal a Cabcharge and take a taxi to Perth ... wear sunscreen/ but only if it's that coconut oil that gives you cancer ..." Safran, whose musical taste ranges from hip-hop to the Sex Pistols, wrote the lyrics over a short period of time and initially thought the CD would be far more topical than it is. Yet, despite the song's success, Safran doesn't have any immediate plans to release further material: "I like the idea of just putting out the one novelty single." While fellow racers such as Olivia Rousset, Kim Traill, Bentley Dean and Daniel Marsden seem destined to pursue the art of filmmaking, Safran is more comfortable with a "wait and see" approach. He's currently contracted to write for the ABC, and appears regularly as a guest host on Triple J during the 1am-6am mid-dawn slot. But one thing seems certain, and that's the willingness by media executives to harness Safran's undeniable energetic talent. Just think - Safran hosting A Current Affair in 10 years time. Now that would be cutting edge. |