The Making of The Final Winter - Interesting Facts
  • The Final Winter is Paramount's first local acquisition for distribution. In the early 1980's, when the film was set, the Newtown Jets were sponsored by a company called Paramount Shirts.

 

  • Matt Nable originally wrote The Final Winter as a novel back in 1995 and re-wrote the screenplay in 2005

 

  • The Production Company "The Three Scallywags" comprises old friends Matt Nable, Anthony Coffey and Brian Andrews. It was formed for The Final Winter and none of the three had any film experience between them (Nable and Coffey were ex-footballers and Andrews an ex-professional basketballer and musician)

 

  • While working out at a local gym, Matt Nable spotted popular TV personality and former league great Matthew Johns, and decided to seize the moment and ask him to play the central role of coach Jack Cooper. Johns has no prior acting experience and this was his first role

 

  • The Final Winter trailer was shot on a digital camera in the change rooms at Narrabeen so that there was something to show potential investors. Because of budget limitations, the film was shot on high definition digital video rather than film

 

  • The Three Scallywags managed to raise the $1.6 million they needed to make The Final Winter from completely independent sources

 

  • Nable comes from a proud rugby league family. He was a semi-professioanl player, his brother Adam was a champion professional player and their dad Dave was a trainer for the Australian team.

 

  • In the novel version of The Final Winter, it was the bright-eyed, youthful figure of "Billy Webster" (played in the movie by Conrad Coleby) that was the story's main protagonist. Nable shifted the focus to the darker and more complex character of "Grub Henderson" in the screenplay

 

  • Matt Nable did not write the character "Grub Henderson" for himself, but during pre-production, decided he wanted to have a go at playing the role, despite never having acted before. Before filming started, both Nable and Johns received acting lessons from an acting coach and fellow cast members

 

  • Established actors Conrad Coleby and Nathaniel Dean had never played Rugby League before they filmed the scenes on the field in The Final Winter

 

  • The Final Winter was Director Jane Forrest's Feature directorial debut (previously she had directed many shorts)

 

  • Filming for The Final Winter took place on location in and around the inner western Sydney suburb of Marrickville. Filming took 25 days in total and a call was put out on the Newtown Jets website for fans to come out and act as extras

 

  • The movie's boardroom scenes are filled with living legends of Rugby League including Tommy Raudonikis, Noel Kelly, Max Krillich, Phil Sigsworth and Terry Randall. Nable based the character of "Grub Henderson" on the spirit that these legendary hard men of the game embodied

 
 
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