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AbstractHistoryArchive Description
The Nostradamus Kid is a semi-autobiographical account of the early life of Bob Ellis. Protagonist Ken Elkin is a young, over-sexed, and hyperactive youth with a taste for personal melodrama. While attending an annual Seventh Day Adventist camp in 1956, he is led to believe that the end of the world is imminent and fears that his true love for the pastor's daughter will never be consummated. But the world doesn't end. Some six years later, he arrives in Sydney to attend university. While his religion has receded, Elkin's waywardly obsessive sexuality and belief in the apocalypse come to a head with the advent of the Cuban Missile Crisis. The much-anticipated apocalypse is once again postponed, however.
Publication Details of Only Known VersionEarliest 2 Known Versions of
Works about this Work
-
The Man Forever in a Destructive Vortex
2000
single work
biography
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 2 December 2000; (p. 2) -
A Truly Australian Story
1994
single work
review
— Appears in: The Advertiser Magazine , 22 January 1994; (p. 25)
— Review of The Nostradamus Kid 1993 single work film/TV -
What Made Ellis Direct His Dry Wit on to Himself?
1993
single work
biography
— Appears in: The West Australian , 16 December 1993; (p. 4-5) -
Amusing Nostalgia
1993
single work
review
— Appears in: The Courier-Mail , 18 December 1993; (p. wkd 8)
— Review of The Nostradamus Kid 1993 single work film/TV -
`Improbable' Anti-Hero Recollects 60s Campus Life and Religious Angst
1993
single work
review
— Appears in: The West Australian , 16 December 1993; (p. 4)
— Review of The Nostradamus Kid 1993 single work film/TV
-
Strictly Ellis
1993
single work
review
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 7 October 1993; (p. 23,24)
— Review of The Nostradamus Kid 1993 single work film/TV -
A Long Look at Bob's Navel
1993
single work
review
— Appears in: The Weekend Australian , 9-10 October 1993; (p. rev 17)
— Review of The Nostradamus Kid 1993 single work film/TV -
Self-Examination with Few Visible Restraints
1993
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 9 October 1993; (p. C8)
— Review of The Nostradamus Kid 1993 single work film/TV -
This Kid's on a Mission
1993
single work
review
— Appears in: The Canberra Times , 7 October 1993; (p. 5)
— Review of The Nostradamus Kid 1993 single work film/TV -
How Thin was My Skin
1993
single work
review
— Appears in: The Bulletin , 12 October vol. 115 no. 5891 1993; (p. 110)
— Review of The Nostradamus Kid 1993 single work film/TV -
What Made Ellis Direct His Dry Wit on to Himself?
1993
single work
biography
— Appears in: The West Australian , 16 December 1993; (p. 4-5) -
The Year My Heart Broke
1993
single work
criticism
biography
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 2 October 1993; (p. 6A) -
Ellis Widens His Net
1993
single work
column
— Appears in: The Sydney Morning Herald , 8 October 1993; (p. 20) Bob Ellis talks to journalist Carmel Dwyer about his proposed feature film, The Planter of Malata. Ellis indicates that British actress Tilda Swinton had agreed in principle to appear in a lead role, and that French actor Gerard Depardieu and Australian actor Leo McKern had also expressed interest. No evidence of either the screenplay or film having been produced exists, however. The article also refers to The Nostradamus Kid. -
Apocalypse Postponed
1992
single work
criticism
biography
— Appears in: The Australian Magazine , 21-22 November 1992; (p. 40-46) -
Partners in Brilliant Bohemia
1993
single work
criticism
— Appears in: The Age , 14 October 1993; (p. 15)
Awards
- 1993 Nominated Australian Film Institute Awards — Best Original Screenplay
Last amended 14 Oct 2010 15:03:23
Subjects:
- Lismore, Lismore - Goonellabah, Lismore area, Far Northeast NSW, New South Wales,
- Sydney, New South Wales,
- Blue Mountains, Sydney, New South Wales,
-
cCuba,cCaribbean, Americas,
Settings:
- 1960s
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