"During this introduction their are a number of good chuckles and the rest of the film's humour is spread liberally through the running time. Craig McLachlan hams it up as a bumbling PE teacher and Jean Kittson is appropriately bitchy as a snotty bull terrier teacher intent on exercising discipline." Luke Buckmaster INFILM AUSTRALIA "Saskia Burmeister fares better as the angst-ridden lead, while Tracey Mann and Richard Carter achieve the most laughs as Yuk's mother and her truck-driving boyfriend respectively." Mark Beirne OURBRISBANE ".... it's a real showcase for Saskia Burmeister, and a wonderful step back in the right direction for the Australian film industry. It's refreshing to find a local film that, for once, doesn't include stereotypical suburban gangsters or a fatigued plot, and instead unveils a tale still uniquely Australian without failing to alienate anyone that mightn't have been bought up or schooled in the same way as its central characters." Clint Morris MOVIEHOLE

"Well, I identified with it. Just call me Yuk for short! I'm giving it 3.5 stars." Margaret Pomeranz AT THE MOVIES "There are some comic moments, but the laughs are inconsistent as the film combines so many different styles of comedy. This doesn't stop Saskia Burmeister from holding her own - she's very good. Delta Goodrem however, barely makes an impression." Fenella Kernebone SBS MOVIE SHOW "...the show belongs to Burmeister (from the TV series Wicked Science). As the neurotic, assertive yet appealing Erica, constantly at odds with those around her, perpetually visiting the sick bay, feuding with her family and exchanging barbs with the bad-boy school arsonist, she steals the show." Philippa Hawker THE AGE

The Inside Story

"Goodrem is delightful as sweet loner Alison and Damien Bodie is also good as class bad boy and part-time pyromaniac Barry Hollis." Kirsten Heysen ADELAIDE ADVERTISER

Producer Elizabeth Howatt-Jackman says she "was immediately taken by Robin Klein’s book when she first read it many years ago. I can still remember my delight at finding the book. My reaction is so typical. So many people say to me it was their favourite book at school, even men. It’s totally universal in that it’s got so much going for it." So taken was she that Howatt-Jackman bought the film rights to the book nine years ago, but adapting Klein's 1984 novel would prove a challenge. Screenwriter Christine Madaferri recalls "I read the book, and I loved it. I loved Robin Klein’s characters." To streamline the scripts developement Madaferri called in good friend Chris Anastassiades. "After 7 or 8 years you just get wedded to certain things and other things you’re sure won’t work, and it really is helpful to have a good script editor come in and say, you know, look at everything a fresh, and that’s what we did the past year where the script went through incredible changes. We ended up, thanks to my script editor, director and producers, with a great script, a really fabulous script." Howatt-Jackman's next move was to team up with John Brousek who has played a part of the Australian film industry since 1986. Howatt-Jackman had first worked with Brousek in the mid-nineties. Brousek, who recalls leaping at the opportunity says, "After reading the project I had no hesitations. I think as co-producers on a project you need that good relationship to start with so that you stay in sync, you can ride the rough patches of disagreement, which naturally always come and a mutual respect that is really necessary to see a feature film through." Next item on the agenda was to find a suitable cast. It seems both agreed early on that the lead role of Alison Ashley was ideal for Delta Goodrem. "We’d both seen Delta in Neighbours and heard her early singing work and we thought that she had a really great look to play Alison. That was the end of 2002, beginning of 2003." It's history now that right at the peak of her career, Delta was struck down by the life threatening illness Leukemia. It mean looking for someone else for the role and that caused an eighteen month delay in filming. So how did Delta end up in the role? Simply because "it came full circle in that we hadn’t really found anyone that we felt really fitted the bill," Brousek explained. "I was having a conversation with Delta’s agent at the time and he said, 'well look, she’s actually recovered well enough to consider doing something as long as you can spread out her schedule and not over-tax her'. So that was only in late January of 2004 and it just fell into place from there." Those who have read Klein's novel will note, when seeing the film, that there are some major departures from his original story. The first is the age of those in the novel compared to the film version. In the novel they are aged twelve, but in the film they're in' their early teens. The glaring difference though is the modern setting. The film is set in 'the here and now' whereas the novel is seriously early eighties. "That meant a lot of changes from the book," says Madafferi. "There are no computers in the book and no mobile phones, so it’s a completely different ball game making it contemporary. What works on the page and what you love on the page, doesn’t always work on the screen." Did Madaferri strike any major hurdles when creating the script? "Alison’s character has been one of the most contentious, because in the book she’s an angel and she’s one dimensional. It works really well on the page but there’s been a lot of discussion as to whether she should show a bit more activity and spark and another side and get impatient with Yuk, or whether she should be perfection all the time," she notes adding, "that was a constant discussion during the whole of the scripting process. So she was probably the character that was most difficult to put on film." While Alison Ashley is obviously important to both the book and film, most cinemagoers will soon realize that it is Yuk [Erika] who holds the key and actress Saskia Burmiester certainly makes a huge impression in this her first leading role. "The casting of the Yuk character is of pivotal importance to the film", says Brousek, "she’s in almost every scene and people who’ve read the book have a strong impression of what that character would be like. To find an actress to fill these shoes was going to be quite a challenge. We’d been searching around for quite a while. Elizabeth had searched the Showcast Directory and thought Saskia looked absolutely right so I went to Sydney to meet her. I realised immediately she was just perfect for the role. Her personal qualities shone through and her acting ability was unquestionable." Which begs the question, will those who loved the book enjoy this film adaptation? "I think if you enjoyed the book, you’re going to find the film even funnier. It’s character humour more than anything else and it all comes out of those characters she (Robin Klein) developed, we’ve just taken them a little bit further, played with them a little bit, changed the structure a bit, but they are her people running around on film, and they’re just an endless source of comedy." Casting About "HATING ALISON ASHLEY" stars .......
Saskia Burmiester ["The Pact", "Ned Kelly" and "Thunderstruck"]; Jean Kitson ["The Nugget"]; ARIA Award, GOLD Logie and THREE time Silver Logie Award winner Craig McLachan ["Absent Without Leave", "Susan’s Institute Of Television", "Backlands" and "The Great Raid"]; AFI Award and SILVER Logie award winner Tracey Mann ["Scarescrow, "On Guard", "Reckless Kelly", "The Cup" and "Hard Knocks"]; Richard Carter ["Reckless Kelly", "Muriel’s Wedding", "Babe 2", "Rabbit Proof Fence" and "Getting Square"]; Rachael Carpani [TV'S "Home and Away", "All Saints" and "Mcleod’s Daughters"]; Alexander Cappelli [TV'S "Stingers", "Short Cuts", "Neighbours" and "Blue Heelers"]; Babs Mcillan ["Babe II", "Oscar & Lucinda" and "Deadly"] and ARIA Award winner Delta Goodrem ["A Country Practice", "Hey Dad", "Police Rescue" and "Neighbours"] as Alison Ashley. Crew Bytes "HATING ALISON ASHLEY" was .......
directed by ATOM and MOBY award winner, United Nations Peace Citation recipient Geoff Bennett ["The Eye of the Needle", "Boys in the Island" and "Turning April"]; written by Christine Madaferri [TV'S "Neighbours ", "The Power", "The Passion" and "Acropolis Now"]; co-written by Chris Anastassiades ["Yolngu Boy" and "The Wog Boy"]; costume design by Paul Warren ["Me Myself I", "Sensitive New Age Killer" and "The Wog Boy"]; production design by Ralph Moser ["Sensitive New Age Killer", "Till Human Voices Wake Us", "Let’s Get Skase" and "Strange Bedfellows"]; edited by FOUR time AFI Award winner Suresh Ayyar ["Danny Deckchair", "Crocodile Hunter – Collision Course", "Hildegarde", "The Wog Boy", "Bad Boy Bubby" and "The Interview"]; director of photography Steve Newman A.C.S ["Charlotte Gray", "Inspector Gadget 2", "Ghost Ship", "Anacondas" and "House of Wax"]; produced by Elizabeth Howatt-Jackman ["The Incurable Romantic"] and executive produced by John Brousek ["Against Wind and Tide", "The Wogboy" and "Sensitive New Age Killer"]. What It's All About

"There's not much to hate about Alison but Delata Goodrem might not be too happy." "...the standout performer is costar Saskia Burmeister" Stan James ADELAIDE ADVERTISER

Meet 14 year old Erica Yurken, commonly know as 'Yuk' or 'Erk'. Life insn't all its cracked up to be for the melodramatic teenager with a love of 'Romeo and Juliet' who finds safe refuge in the high schools sick bay. Yuk is entirely convinced that she’s a cut above the other students at Barringa East, must have been secretly adopted and is destined for greater things. Yuk feels like a misfit and a loner both at home and at her school. That's not hard to understand when you have a little sister Jedda, who thinks she is, and acts like, a horse. Until a new teacher arrives at Barringa High to take her class 9C. It's a godsend. At last someone is noticing her. Then miss perfect arrives and ruins all her plans. Alison Ashley is beautiful, rich and very smart. The Verdict "Guess what? This isn't half bad! Surprise, surprise! An Australian film that may just make money at the box office. Terrific little cast includes a wicked performance by Jean Kitson, a very funny Craig MacLachlan, an off-beat Delta Goodrem and a winning first lead role for Saskia Burmeister. Lots of laughs for adults but the biggest appeal will be to the 12-16 year old girls who will just love seeing Delta in her big screen debut. Fortunately she's not the only reason to see "Hating Alison Ashley". Recommended viewing." The Cast

Delta Goodrem Saskia Burmeister Jean Kittson Richard Carter Tracey Mann Craig McLachlan Rachael Carpani Anthony Cleave Abigail Gudgeon Alexander Cappelli Leah De Niese Noosha D’Cruze Brooke Tomlinson Katie Fitchett Jonathon Burton Rachel Tan Melena Bennett Maria Angelico Mark Benedicto Fabio Matto Holly Myer Babs Mcillan Bill Ten Eyke Lambert Sappleton James Sorenson Andre Devanny

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...

Alison Ashley Erika Yurken Miss Belmont Lennie Mum Jeff Kennard Valjoy Yurken Harley Yurken Jedda Yurken Barry Hollis Chrystal Nicole Vicky Margeart Chook Sarah Viva Sophie Muzza Oscar Miss Lattimore Mrs Orlando Mr Cheale Buzzy Boy James Tom

The Crew Directed by Geoff Bennett Adapted from the novel "Hating Alison Ashley" by Robin Klein Screen adaptation by Christine Madafferi Produced by John Brousek & Elizabeth Howatt-Jackman Executive Pproducer Gary Hamilton Original Music by Cezary Skubiszewski Director of Photography Steve Newman Production Design by Ralph Moser Costume Design Paul Warren Edited by Suresh Ayyar Run Time 102 minutes Rated PG [AUST] Copyright ©2005 - Hoyts Film Distribution - All Rights Reserved Copyright Protected © 2005 - Impact Internet Services - All Rights Reserved