☕ 5AM CoffeeTalk: May 2026

A monthly rundown about my life as a professional artist, art lover, and human being trying to survive the 21st century - good and bad, glorious and frustrating, hilarious and stupid

So, how did your April go, StoryTalkers? It’s autumn here in Australia, so the world around me is colorful as the foliage lights up. Writing-wise, I’m neck deep into a new spec feature script, but as hard as I try to make time for it, other responsibilities — from this newsletter/podcast to home renovations — keep pulling me away from it. I expect things will improve in May, but there’s no way to know that for sure. There could be another war or two by then and we’ll all have to get masks like this if we ever want to fill up the tank again, right?

For newcomers to 5AM StoryTalk, 5AM CoffeeTalk is a quirky monthly rundown I use to share quick bites of information with you about the arts and what’s happening in my life here in Oz. If you enjoy how I think and talk about culture and the world, then what you find here could help point you toward art, events, and news/ideas that you’ll enjoy, too. Oh, and remember it serves as a sort of sibling series to The Brew that I publish as part of the podcast here.

Jump into the comments and share some of what’s been exciting, challenging, provoking, destroying, etc. your creative mind this past month. I want all the grizzly details. Let’s make this a two-way conversation — or, er, given how many StoryTalkers there are, a totally not awkward group chat.

SOMETHING YOU SHOULD REMEMBER

“You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.” — Ray Bradbury

I think about this quote a lot lately and, if you’re a writer, I expect it will speak to you, too. Bradbury’s point here is one of the reasons I have so much trouble taking time off from work. Words are like painkillers to me — but free.

SOMETHING YOU SHOULD TRY

Nature feeds creativity. The more time you spend it in, the more extraordinary places your imagination will take you. I always remind myself that Charles Darwin cracked so much of his theory of evolution — and the evolutionary ideas that followed — while taking daily strolls through his expansive garden and nearby woods.

Here’s a video of one of my recent morning bush walks here in Victoria, Australia:

SOMETHING COOL ONE OF MY FRIENDS DID

Screenwriter Cinco Paul might be a newer friend, but he’s done something amazing that makes me want to scream on his behalf. He’s turned “Schimagadoon!” — a TV series he created — into a Broadway musical that’s been getting all kinds of raves - and now he’s even been nominated for a Tony for it!

If you’re in New York City in the next few months, be sure to check it out. It’s a limited engagement through September (for now)!

Oh, and if you want to learn more about Cinco and his life and art — including some really intimate accountings of his time working on the “Schmigadoon!” TV series — check out 5AM StoryTalk’s episode with him here:

Screenwriter Cinco Paul Keeps Gambling on Himself

SOMETHING I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO

Good god, this restoration looks beautiful. And it’s coming back to big screens for the 40th anniversary - the perfect way to introduce my eleven-year-old to it!

SOMETHING I ATE

I met my friend fellow screenwriter David Chidlow (creator, “Last Days of the Space Age”) for brunch in Naarm/Melbourne this month. I'd been keen to try Manchester Press for some time — which is hidden down a green alley in the CBD — and it did not disappoint.

I went with the utterly bonkers bacon & maple bagel (blueberry bagel with bacon, mascarpone, banana, maple syrup...and, I shit you not, popcorn).

David insisted on photographing me before I dove in, unable to believe what I'd ordered. Believe it or not, it's delicious, too. I made it through the whole thing save for a few pieces of popcorn, which our server seemed disappointed by. I think they felt I could've tried harder.

I'll be back to write here next time. The vibe is chill, like you've wandered into a secret oasis in the middle of the city.

SOMETHING I LISTENED TO

It had been at least a decade since I listened to “Criminal” from my old friend Scott Thomas, who recorded this as one half of Ringside (actor Balthazar Getty being the other half). It instantly transported me back to my first years in Hollywood when Scott introduced me to Chuck Taylors (I still almost only wear them), played songs for me and my friends around the piano in his house in the Hollywood Hills, and let me tag along on long nights out in LA with his famous friends. In a lot of ways, Scott provided me a roadmap for how to survive the town, good and bad.

SOMETHING THAT MADE ME SCREAM

"Resurrected" — not "recreated" or "manufactured" or "animated" or "has his corpse dragged around by two charming young men who just want to enjoy their vacation."

SOMETHING COOL ONE OF MY OTHER FRIENDS DID

My friend Guy Edmonds — actor, filmmaker, author — had his third kids TV series premiere in Australia this month. It’s called “Caper Crew” and I’m confident your little ones are going to love it. His last two — “Hardball” and “Spooky Files” — were incredibly popular in my house, especially “Spooky Files”!

It’s currently available on the ABC here in Oz, but I expect it will find its ways to streamers around the globe soon — so, keep those eyes peeled.

SOMETHING YOU SHOULD READ

Many Australian filmmakers I know complain the Australian funding bodies as designed to favor the institutionally powerful and influential. I hear endless complaints of producer grift that lines their pockets at the cost of the screenwriters who originate projects. Directors are allegedly similarly disadvantaged. I haven’t engaged in the process yet myself, so I can’t have an opinion, but Australian writer-director Alex Proyas (Dark City) certainly has a lot.

Read “Why I May Never Make Another Movie in Australia” by Proyas here.

SOMETHING ELSE I LISTENED TO

In 1941, Irving Berlin — one of my favorite songwriters of the period — wrote “When That Man Is Dead and Gone” about the better world that would follow Hitler’s inevitable death. I’ve never found footage from the period of artists performing it despite how popular it proved.

Anyway, this is not a comment about Hitler.

SOMETHING THAT GOT ME EXCITED

I was aware there was a Thelma & Louise musical coming our way, but I had no idea the brilliant Neko Case wrote the music and lyrics. She was actually my pick to do the same for a stage musical project of my own a while back, but the producers didn’t want to know the answer to the question, “How amazing would it be if Neko Case wrote this?” as much as I did. Now I’ll finally find out the answer to that question when Thelma & Louise premieres later this year!

SOMETHING THAT BLEW MY MIND

This new short film is beautiful but deeply unsettling for most of its running time…and then something magical happens. Something that’s one of the most remarkable things I’ve seen put on film in quite some time. Watch it on a TV screen, if you can, something bigger than your device. Because you reallly need to see this.

It’s a collaboration between Swedish rapper Yung Lean, the musical project GENER8ION, and choreography by Damien Jalet. It’s directed by Romain Gavras (Costas’s son).

SOMEPLACE I WANT TO GO BACK TO ASAP

Carboni’s Next Door opened in Buninyong (Victoria, Australia) last year…and it is a slice of Italian heaven. Killer sandwiches, delicious gelato, and one hell of a selection of deli meats. As it’s autumn right now in Oz and the leaves in Buningyong are on fire, I strongly encourage you to take the time to have lunch here.

SOMETHING THAT GAVE ME HOPE

Queensland, Australia recently passed a law that says using the term “from the river to the sea” is illegal if it makes any reasonable person feel uncomfortable - which is an easy thing to do since one person’s comfort might be another person’s oppression. Well, some Brisbanites decided to protest this silly, spectacularly ambiguous hate speech law by staging a flash mob to John Farnham’s classic pop song “Two Strong Hearts” - which includes part of the outlawed words in its lyrics.

I love Australia.

SOMETHING YOU SHOULD READ ON SUBSTACK

I hadn’t read much from Linda Caroll before this essay from her, but I’ll be reading a lot more from her now. It’s as much about whom we’ve become as a culture as author Ocean Vuong (even though, as Linda says, it’s not about him).

(Thanks for making sure it crossed my path on Notes, Kit de Waal!)

The backlash against Ocean Vuong

SOMETHING ELSE THAT MADE ME SCREAM

Madonna made a surprise appearance at Coachella to perform with Sabrina Carpenter. This is a real photograph of them on stage together.

All I see is proof we’re trapped in a dystopian hell where our relationship to the real hasn’t just been blurred - but entirely traded entirely for likes.

SOMEONE YOU SHOULD FOLLOW ON SUBSTACK

Robin A Henderson has been a subscriber to 5AM StoryTalk for many moons now, and I am always grateful to see her show up in the comments because she brings so much knowledge about cinema to every conversation — specifically, knowledge about films that have either been overlooked or were intentionally ignored. Her newsletter, Widening the Lens, will introduce you to so many brilliant films from around the world — as well marginalized American artists — that you’ll find yourself constantly screaming, “Why didn’t I know this existed?!” Let her curate some of your upcoming movie nights. Trust me, you won’t be disappointed!

SOMETHING THAT MADE ME SMILE

This is just delightful. A new short film from Spike Jonze, starring Zendaya and Law Roach.

SOMETHING THAT MADE ME LAUGH

Brilliant response to a sexist question. Aisling Bea is a comedy god. And like her, I wonder why women aren’t running the world.

SOMETHING THAT BRINGS ME CALM

Old cemeteries are like libraries to me, filled with stories and mysteries and secrets waiting to be revealed. I wander them whenever I can.

Writer tip: they’re also a wonderful place to find inspiration for character names.

This pic was taken by me at Daylesford Cemetery (Daylesford, Victoria - Australia).

SOMETHING I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO

Horror in ballet is not something I’ve had enough of in my life, which is why I’m looking forward to the new ballet Dracula coming to Melbourne in October. As you know, Dracula holds a special place in my heart and I have a lot of opinions about the character and story, so I can’t wait to see if this is as dark and beautiful as I’ve heard it is.

It’s coming to several other cities, including Sydney, London, and San Francisco, so be sure to read more here if you’re intrigued.

SOMETHING COOL ONE OF MY OTHER OTHER FRIENDS DID

In this case, it’s my brilliant sister-in-law Kara Holden, who spent years writing and working on a passion project called Dinner with Audrey. It just started production in Budapest, Hungary with Thomasin McKenzie and Ansel Elgort as Audrey Hepburn and Hubert de Givenchy!

Photo by Sophie Elgort

SOMETHING THAT MADE ME PROUD

My youngest son won’t pick up after himself at home, but he decided he wanted to make our town’s lake free of trash for the birds and animals — and spent all afternoon doing just that. He doesn’t follow any rules or norms, but he is a pretty fantastic example of being true to himself and his mother and I are incredibly proud of the little guy for that.

Photo courtesy of my wife.

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