NEWCASTLE filmmaker Bethany Jones spent seven years working for Australian music titan Michael Gudinski and "big" is an adjective that springs to mind when describing him.
Therefore Jones understood she also had a big responsibility when producing the upcoming feature-length documentary, Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story, which is released in cinemas on August 31.
"Michael was a such a big character," Jones said. "He had a big personality, big ideas and being able to put it on the big screen for Michael, was something that really works for this documentary."
The Australian and international music community was left in mourning in March 2021 when Gudinski died suddenly at his Melbourne home aged 68.
During his five-decade career in the music industry, Gudinski built Mushroom Records and became one of the most powerful people in the Australian music business, launching the careers of Skyhooks, Split Enz, Hunters & Collectors, Kylie Minogue and many more.
In later years the "father of the Australian music industry" brought some of the biggest international acts to this country such as Ed Sheeran, Bruce Springsteen, Taylor Swift, Paul McCartney, Elton John and The Foo Fighters through Frontier Touring.
"The thing that really struck me when I first met Michael was how creative he actually was," Jones said.
"We often think of entrepreneurs and business people as very business [like], and Michael had an amazing business brain, but he was really creative."
Ego: The Michael Gudinski Story was a dream project for Jones, who is the chief operating officer of Mushroom Studios.
The former St Francis Xavier student studied a Bachelor Arts/Law majoring in Theatre at the University of Newcastle, where she was also involved in producing and acting in local productions.
The degree led to a career in music law, before she transitioned into film producing. Her list of credits include the documentary Molly: The Real Thing, television mini-series Molly and horror film, Boys In The Trees, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival.
Ego features more than 800 archival film clips and more than 50 licensed tracks, so Jones' music law expertise was crucial.
"Not all the tracks are Mushroom owned," she said. "People will think that, and maybe they were originally, but they're owned by Warner and others now. So we had incredible support from other labels and publishers, which is testament to Michael, and they were willing to be part of this for us."
Jones and Ego director Paul Goldman (Australian Rules, Suburban Mayhem) amassed an incredible list of talking heads for the documentary.
Australian stars like Kylie Minogue, Jimmy Barnes, Paul Kelly, Mark Seymour appear alongside international heavyweights Ed Sheeran, Dave Grohl, Billy Joel, Sting, Bruce Springsteen and Garbage.
Many spoke of being welcomed into Gudinski's family home and being blown away by his "force of nature" personality and passion for music.
Jones said finding talent to speak about Gudinski was "surprisingly easy."
"It's really a testament to Michael's ongoing relationships with these people that they said they'd happily take time out of a tour and do it," she said.
"You don't ever expect to be interviewing such high-profile international artists. You've got to pinch yourself at times."
Given that Gudinski is a revered figure at Mushroom, some critics will likely accuse Ego of being a fluff piece for its founding father. While Ego, is mostly a celebration of Gudinski's life and role in shaping Australia music, it doesn't shy away from his sometimes volatile personality and substance abuse.
"Paul Goldman, the director, and I wanted to make a balanced film," Jones said. "It was important to us that the shades of Michael were shown."
