Crocodile Dundee doco an act of love

DELVENE Delaney will share her insights and memories at a special Q&A screening of Love of an Icon: The Legend of Crocodile Dundee at Palace Byron Bay Cinema on Friday March 28.

The retired actress decided to make the documentary after discovering old storyboards, scripts and photos in her shed after her late husband John ‘Strop’ Cornell, who created the blockbuster 1980s film with his best mate Paul Hogan, died in 2021 after a long battle with Parkinson’s disease.

The couple moved to the Byron Shire in 1980 and soon after bought Hotel Brunswick, which Delaney sold in 2021. They also built the iconic Beach Hotel in Byron Bay after buying the site in 1990.

The film covers the trio’s joyful early days on the Paul Hogan Show and behind-the-scenes footage and stories of how Crocodile Dundee was made.

Delaney, 73, wrote and directed the documentary alongside her friend Victoria Baldock, whom she met through Coorabell Public School’s P&C, who works in the TV industry.

“It was really hard to make because John’s only been gone for three years,” Delaney said. “Every day when I would look at footage of him strong and sexy and in his prime all the memories would come flooding back and I’d be in tears. It was quite an interesting way to process grief.”

The film includes poignant footage of Indigenous actor David Gulpilil talking in traditional language about how much he appreciated the respectful way the filmmakers approached the corroboree scene.

“We had to send it to his mob in Arnhem Land to get it translated,” Delaney said. “We knew it was something really heartfelt by the expression on his face.”

The film got a warm reception at a family and friends preview at Byron Theatre – which Cornell and Delaney helped fund in its early days – on Monday night.

“It was incredible,” said Delaney, who implored people to see it on the big screen. “We got a standing ovation. I was gobsmacked.”

The screening comes ahead of the release of the restored film, Crocodile Dundee: The Encore Cut, which opens in cinemas on ‘mates day’, May 8.