It's rare that I am asked on board a cruise ship and it doesn't go anywhere.
But last month I stepped aboard the 2000-passenger Sun Princess, which was docked at the international cruise terminal at Sydney Harbour, for the very glamorous world premiere of Gillian Armstrong's delightful new documentary, Women He's Undressed. Her film is about the life of three-time Academy Award-winning costume designer Orry-Kelly, who was born in Kiama and sailed out of Sydney Harbour in 1922 bound for New York and a wonderful new career in Hollywood.
Princess Cruises teamed up with the Sydney Film Festival for this, the first film premiere held on board a ship in Australia. It was a brilliant idea, as the connection to a young Orry-Kelly's journey to see the world was poignant.
In 1922 there was no Harbour Bridge or Opera House, but guests at the premiere enjoyed pre-screening champagne and hors d'oeuvres with views of the famous sails, after a "blue carpet" event with celebrities such as Darren Gilshenan, who plays Orry in the film, and the elegant 87-year-old deportment queen June Dally-Watkins, one of the few surviving locals who was a friend of the costume designer.
Cruising and cinema seem good companions to me and not only because my favourite Hollywood movie is Now, Voyager (costumes by Orry-Kelly, by the way).
No matter how modern the ship and how many thousands of passengers it takes, there will always be something cinematic about cruising. Maybe it's the huge vistas of ocean and shore seen from the ship, or maybe it's all the possible storylines that arise from a group of strangers stuck together for a finite number of days.
I'm always writing scenarios in my head when I cruise. How come those mismatched people are travelling together? Why aren't that couple talking? Who is that woman who is always in the beauty parlour? Why doesn't someone toss that loudmouth overboard? Enough plots for a new TV series of Agatha Christie thrillers from every sailing.
Which is why, as a film buff, I think it's a wonderful idea when cruise lines bring film folk on board as enrichment programs for passengers. Not only is it a fun distraction watching special screenings in the theatre as the ship rolls and sways, it's an opportunity, while you're captive, to join in some great conversations with filmmakers. Even if cinema isn't your thing, sometimes you can be surprised how engaging these programs can be.
A few years ago, I was a passenger on the inaugural voyage of Silver Sea's Silver Spirit, from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso, Chile. The cruise line had invited on board some well-known Hollywood identities to talk about film and their careers.
These included actress Karen Allen (Raiders of the Lost Ark), production designer Kristi Zea (The Silence of the Lambs, Goodfellas ) and screenwriter Ron Nyswaner, who wrote the scripts for Philadelphia, The Painted Veil and Mrs Soffel – another Gillian Armstrong film. Kristi screened a sneak preview of her latest picture, The Joneses, which starred Demi Moore.
It was a pretty forgettable film, but an absolute treat to spend a few days with this entertaining group, who made themselves available for questions and conversation throughout the cruise. If there was anything you needed to know about contemporary Hollywood or filmmaking, they'd happily try to answer.
Last year I missed sailing on the Queen Mary 2 when it crossed the Atlantic with film director Wes Anderson and two cast members (the divine Tilda Swinton, the hilarious Jason Schwartzman) for a screening of The Grand Budapest Hotel. How I would have loved to be on board for that!
But there will be lots of other opportunities. The Sydney Film Festival plans to team with Princess again next February to take the Travelling Film Festival, which usually visits Australian regional centres, on a 12-night round trip Sydney to New Zealand on the Diamond Princess. There will be special guests, Q&A sessions as well as screenings.
Celebrity Equinox has David Stratton on board in July for the International Travelling Film Festival at Sea, cruising the Mediterranean and Greece (bring euros). Royal Caribbean is holding the High Seas Steampunk Film Festival next March, which sounds intriguing. Also coming up, a TCM Classic Movies cruise on Disney Magic in November.
But you don't need to sail away to visit classic old Hollywood. Women He's Undressed opens in cinemas on July 15.
