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MOVIE FEATURE

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FUN FACT

Writer Chris Nyst was a criminal lawyer who has represented high profile clients. He based Gettin’ Square off real-life experience dealing with criminal minds.

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David Wenham and Chris Nyst

David Field, Gary Sweet, David Roberts, Helen Thomson, Bob Franklin, and an assortment of new characters. “I'd never thought of going back to that character,” admits Wenham. “Although I was aware that Jonathan and Chris had talked about it for quite a number of years. It was only one day when I was having a conversation with my friend Robert Connolly, who is a director and producer, and we were specifically talking about this character, that I started firing off ideas about all the different things you could do with Johnny, and it started to get me thinking about the possibility of doing something with that character again.” “So, I called Chris and he pulled out a script from a bottom drawer and gave it to me. There had to be a very good reason for me to do Spit again, besides just the performance. There had to be something about that script that hooked me. Chris's script was so darn good and worked on so many different layers and surprising levels. It was a really a clever piece of material that I thought could be a great foundation for us to do something together again.” After being apprehended at the airport upon return to Australia, Johnny is sent to a remote detention centre for holding, and when his own enemies find out about his return, it’s a matter of who will get to him first. In this sequel, Johnny’s character is given more context, with backstory and his personal life explored, giving him more humanity than in Gettin’ Square . “We didn't want it to be a sequel to Gettin’ Square ; it's more of a re-discovering, a re-finding of the character.” says Teplitzky. “The thing about Johnny Spit is that he's an everyman, and that's why audiences, I think, connected to him and identified with him and loved him, because he was a little guy trying to do his best.”

The 2003 Aussie crime comedy Gettin’ Square gets a sequel with Spit , a hilarious follow-up that sees David Wenham’s Johnny ‘Spit’ Spitieri back on the scene - flip-flopping his way through feds, crooked cops, and mobsters. Words Glenn Cochrane

I f you don’t quite remember the original, you’re in luck - Gettin’ Square is getting a snazzy re-release alongside Spit . But just in case, here’s a quick refresher. The story follows Barry “Wattsy” Wirth (Sam Worthington), an ex-con released early from prison to care for his younger brother after their mother’s death. Determined to go straight, Wattsy struggles to find honest work thanks to his criminal record, and eventually finds refuge with Dabba (Timothy Spall), a former criminal turned restaurateur. Things take a turn when Dabba’s accountant is arrested, exposing a web of shady associates. A crooked cop - responsible for framing Wattsy in the past - resurfaces, looking to bury both incriminating evidence and anyone tied to it. Meanwhile, Wattsy’s drug-addled mate Johnny ‘Spit’ Spitieri ends up owing money to

the very mobster pulling the strings behind the scenes. As a result, Wattsy is dragged back into the criminal underworld to help his two mates. What follows is a laugh-out-loud crime caper full of outrageous characters and classic Aussie slang. And for those who do remember the original, it’s David Wenham’s unforgettable turn as Spit - particularly his now-iconic courtroom scene - that left the biggest mark. The return of Spit 22-years later and Johnny Spit is back on the scene with a whole lot of familiar faces in tow. Director Jonathan Teplitzky and writer Chris Nyst have made a hilarious sequel that begins with Spit’s return to Australia, having fled after the events of Gettin’ Square . Also joining Wenham are returning players

• Spit is out Jun 4

28 JUNE 2025

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