ERROL PARKER | Editor-at-large | Contact
A new miniseries devoted to dramatizing the life of the late cricketer Shane Warne has prompted people around the country to simply ask, “Why?”
Why now? Why Shane? Why does this need to exist?
The program was announced weeks after Shane’s passing last year, in a move that has attracted criticism from his family, friends, and the wider Australian public who feel that Shane’s own story, the story that he lived, was good enough for now.
Perhaps later down the track, there will be space for a Shane biopic. A proper one. One shot on IMAX film stock, directed by an aging Peter Weir, who will go on to win the Oscar that’s proven to be so elusive in his career. Peter will thank Shane in his acceptance speech. Robert De Niro will cry. Shane will be played by Daniel Day-Lewis. Young Shane will be played by all three Hemsworths. Simon will be portrayed by Cate Blanchett and our Nicole. Liz Hurley will play Liz Hurley. Shane’s friends and family will be tastefully consulted and made part of the journey to bring his life to the screen. It will have a proper name. Good Shane Hunting. A Shane Day Afternoon. Training Shane. Gone In Sixty Sessions. Something like that. Still, this movie will pale in comparison to the life that Shane lived.
There is already a vast catalog of Shane’s many screen exploits available to the average punter who has grown weary of watching the dozens of Robelinda2 videos on YouTube that show his on-field achievements. The wrist-spinner’s cameo on Kath & Kim in 2007, where he played a Shane Warne impersonator set to marry Magda Szubanski’s Sharon Strzelecki, is among a fan favorite that will be cherished forever.
So, for this new miniseries made for $9.50 in a matter of months, it seems rushed and undignified. Something Shane was never.
More to come.
