The Official Matthew Reilly Homepage

Well, it's here, at last! Baz Luhrmann's hugely-anticipated new film, MOULIN ROUGE. I'm sure that by now, you've all heard that the film has received "mixed" reviews from critics around the world. Well, I saw it this week (twice!), and for what it's worth, this is my view: GO AND SEE THIS FILM! Do yourself a big, big favour and go see it. Why? Because, despite that all the critics have said, MOULIN ROUGE is that rarest of movies, the paradigm shifter, a movie that changes forever the way we see movies. It may not please everybody (paradigm shifters, by definition, will seriously displease those who cherish the status quo) but, believe me, movies will not be the same after it. You will go and see other films and walk out of the cinema saying, "Well, it was okay...but after Moulin Rouge, it was kinda dull." This is cinema at its electrifying best. Mr Luhrmann is a genius.

As you've probably all seen by now, the Matthew Reilly homepage received a bit of an update over the last week. Lots of new sections. Heaps more information. I'm absolutely thrilled with the site -- in particular, I love being able to put up some of my more obscure works, like THE MINE and REWIND. I hope to add more in the future. But on that note, a special mention is warranted for:

His name is Roy Govier, and as a 17-year-old school student he wrote to me and said, "Love your books. Would you mind if I created a website for you, and if it was good enough, could it be your official site?" Geez, was it good enough? That's how this site happened and all I can say is, if you've got a business out there and you need a kick-ass website from an enormously creative and inventive web designer, give this guy a go. He's young, talented, and you're looking at his work right now.

As part of the MS Read-a-thon (a very worthy charitable event down here in Australia supporting research into multiple sclerosis), I am contributing to a "chain story" by several top Australian authors. Authors include John Marsden, Markus Zusak, Di Morrissey (her chapter is awesome!) and Terry Denton. I'm doing the second-last chapter, while Andy Griffiths finishes the whole thing off (good grief...!). It's my first effort at something for young readers, but rest assured, there will be lots of guns, twists and explosions!

P.S. Indoor cricket update. Now, I don't want to overstate the issue, but let me tell you, the mighty Full Tossers are, quite frankly, becoming a force in world indoor cricket. Last week's momentous victory was a lesson in teamwork and a triumph for cool-headed strategy. S. Walter Johnson, our captain, is like the Steve Waugh of the indoor game, his gutsy batting reminds me of Waugh's single-handed battle against South Africa during the World Cup in England; MG's scorching bowling; Dirty Dave's silly mid-off run-outs (I'm not even going to try to explain the term "silly mid-off" to my readers from non-cricketing countries!); and Tim H-D's heroic fielding, putting his body in front of some cannonball-like shots from some batsman who should be playing for Australia. Go you Tossers!

P.P.S. Oh, and a big thank you to the Singleton Returned Servicemen's Club for inviting me to speak to about 400 school students from the Singleton area in the Hunter Valley this week. It was a really enjoyable day and the students of Singleton should be proud to know that this organisation is looking out for them.