Origin
Geoffrey Wright's script was inspired by the highly publicized crimes of leading Melbourne Neo-Nazi skinhead Dane Sweetman. Wright contacted Sweetman via mail in 1991. Sweetman was at that time in the process of serving a life sentence in Pentridge Prison for murder. Wright requested an interview with Sweetman which was unable to be arranged in a timely manner due to prison regulations, subsequently the two men commenced correspondence. Sweetman furnished Wright with a transcript of his murder trial, from which Wright drew influence. This influence is most clearly seen in the line delivered by Hando when scaring off squatters from the warehouse: "I'll chop your legs off". It is a direct reference to Sweetman having cut off the legs of his victim.
There are many aspects of the film that mirrored Sweetman's life, including the characters Gabrielle, Davey, and the punk girls who were all based on associates of Sweetman. Sweetman's name was conspicuously absent in the end credits, however the question was raised in the Australian media during the publicity phase of promoting the film. Russell Crowe acknowledged the origin of his character during an interview on Tonight Live with Steve Vizard in 1992. Wright also spoke of the influence during a radio interview in the same year.
The film was financed from the Australian Film Commission with Film Victoria.
Read more about this topic: Romper Stomper
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