“All the Tired Horses” … An historical flashback to behind-the-scenes drama
“The further a society drifts from the truth, the more it will hate those that speak it.” George Orwell
This is an update from an earlier published article. It has been reproduced here and updated, published to shed light on a film project known generally as “All the Tired Horses”; still in production and at the time of writing it is more than 10 years since the project commenced. The producers wish to advise that the statements are known to be true and made without prejudice. The extraordinary length of the Western Australian Supreme Court case has thrown up inconsistencies and incongruences that highlight concerns of corruption, misuse and abuse of the Australian courts.
The producers and defendants involved in making “All the Tired Horses” have been repeatedly subjected to extreme prejudices for many years and lost faith in legal due process… the process died a slow death, and whilst it is the pejorative to express opinion on matters here, the matters should not have been brought to court and any litigation on such matters should not have lasted more than a few weeks — at the very longest!
Lies never prevail over the truth. And the truth shall always set one free, figuratively writing, that is. Freedom of speech is culpable and the world is spinning wildly, from the covert and overt wars waging, rising political and social unrest, mistreament and abuses taking many forms; take the the arrest of Julian Assange, founder of Wikileaks, for instance, connect the dots and dashes, one sees things from a limited perspective, witness to the world spiralling dangerously, cracking and cackling … what lies beneath? What can we do to bring about a better, calmer world for humanity and our planet?
“All the Tired Horses” is about commitment, morals, ethics and filmmaking; it’s about a professional producer undertaking to produce a film and unwittingly being faced with immature tantrums, ranting, lies and jealous outbursts from egotistical twins backed by a relentless self-admitted mafia-aligned father employing the services of corrupt lawyers; a manipulated legal system and a project that has become bogged down in the Australian courts, mired by ignorance, arrogance and inept court decisions. The journey in making this film depicts reflections of the “China Brothers” and a “tale of two twins” holding on to a weak romantic childhood illusion of togetherness juxtaposed by a stark vicious reality, displaying the dichotomy of two men moving further apart, both creatively and spiritually, driven by their individualistic dialectic forces emerging from within separate minds and bodies. Retrospective speculation points to the notion that perhaps the brothers experiences with the “All the Tired Horses” project might have been the first time these twins had ever really faced any kind of real world challenges in their lives?
The “All The Tired Horses” project was started in the first quarter of 2008. The catalyst was an interview by a freelancing English journalist working in Australia by the name of Paul D. China; Sony Pictures Releasing organised a series of publicity interviews for James With to talk about his acting role in “Rambo” wherein he played a Christian missionary humanitarian working in Northern Thailand and Burma. The interviews were organised to promote the fourth film in the movie franchise starring Sylvester Stallone and at that time was set for a theatrical release in Australia on 25th February 2008. Paul China was one on the list of journalists interviewing James With via telephone from Queensland, Australia.
If you read and review published posts on the “All the Tired Horses” Facebook page (there is also a full link published at the bottom of this article) you will see that Paul China submitted an unsolicited script for review, which was subsequently assessed and shortly thereafter James With decided to proceed with developing a project to produce a film.
Approximately one month later and after a face-to-face meeting with Paul China and his twin brother Benjamin China in Sydney, Australia it was agreed and decided that James With and other producing parties would structure a project that would allow the young journalist (Paul China) to be attached to direct his first feature film (despite the fact Paul had no prior professional film camera and directing experience). A careful consideration was this young man would be supported by a team of carefully selected experienced professional crew and cast. If it had not been for Benjamin China, his conniving and devious twin brother harboring a self-centred hidden personal agenda, then perhaps Paul may have gotten the chance he dreamed of? The rest… as they say… is history.
Alas and unanticipated by the producers, anger, jealousy and egotism from the less creative of the twin siblings took the project in a vastly different direction… Benjamin China became progressively argumentative, aggressive and overly demanding. He perceived things from his own inexperienced unprofessional perspective and deliberately attempted to dictate the project’s direction and production development. Benjamin China displayed emotional mood swings and temper tantrums in front of other crew members and started lying about the production development progress to his father, Shaun China (the mafia “hot head”), himself a minor 3rd party investor in the project via China Brothers Productions Pty Ltd.
Believed to be as a result of Benjamin China’s lies to his father and other investors into China Brothers Productions Pty Ltd, in the 2009 Shaun China began directly threatening James With; the project, other producers and people associated with the project were adversely affected by the aggressive behaviour. Shaun China’s threats, defamation, slander and bullying actions continued for years and on multiple occasions Shaun China has publicly announced his personal vendetta against James With, which includes threats of continuing legal action against the defendants in attempts to force them into bankruptcy. Evidence of the extreme criminal mafia tactics have been provided to various authorities including police forces and Government officials in Thailand and Australia.
Despite a Global Financial Crisis placing pressure on the production in the latter part of 2008, film financing capital was raised to meet the project budget requirements and contract agreements. James With attracted reliable and trusted investors committed to seeing the film made. Scheduling a start to filming involved balancing an extremely long and hot summer that had left the specifically chosen locations in Roleystone, Western Australia nestled in the normally lush valleys of the Darling Scarp escarpment dry and parched. Under strict summer fire restrictions and the local by-laws enacted during the hot months of the year, production on these locations was prevented from commencing until after the winter rains had arrived that could reinvigorate and rejuvenate the land. The conditions in the area during the first half of 2009 were in stark contrast to the creative look and feel as desired by Paul China, who had been attached to direct the film. Many of the locations were close to James With’s family home. James had spent his younger years growing up and attending school. James had roamed the hills as a boy and knew the lay of the land; his life-long connections to the local community, friends and family provided great supports to the “All the Tired Horses” project. He anticipated the opportunity to commence filming in August 2009 as soon as the hills and valleys had returned to their vibrant greenery and the local rivers and streams were flowing to capture the imagery creatively desired on locations appropriately sourced for the film’s subject material. Some filmmakers spend months trekking far and wide to find the myriad of appropriate locations that James With knew where to find in a heartbeat.
By July 2009 the rains had arrived, filming schedules were being readied, filming facilities in the City of Perth had been reserved via lengthy communications with local Government officials and real estate companies, personnel and equipment were on stand-by and at the ready; cameras were ready to roll… the production was awaiting Paul China’s final revised shot list (comprising a list of desired camera set ups and shots for each scene)… then suddenly without any advance notice the “China Brothers” up and left… Paul China left the project declaring in an email the project was against his “wishes as a filmmaker” and “expressed no desire to shoot” with the state-of-the-art selected film cameras (rather bold and brazen statements considering Paul had never directed a film in his life). Almost simultaneously, twin brother Benjamin China stated in an email “We will wait on the East Coast until production begins.” (another rather bold and brazen statement considering their accommodation, travel and living expenses were all being paid by the production). A couple of childish ‘prima dons’ emboldened by egotism and arrogance and furthermore backed by a threatening mafia father figure and his cronies.
Without any further communication to the other producers of “All the Tired Horses” the “China mafia” proceeded to ratchet up their attack on the production employing an unscrupulous law firm; the firm’s lawyers began to attack the producers and the project in underhanded and illegal ways. Corrupt lawyers in the firm solicited bank statements and records from the ANZ Bank through bank employees without first obtaining court orders and then raced to cover their tracks; the illegal acts lead to a rapid succession of further court orders being handed down by judge Kenneth James Martin that affect the bank accounts operated by Tired Horses Films Holdings Pty Ltd and the other Australian production companies involved in the “All the Tired Horses” project. James’ personal accounts were also frozen in the flurry of court orders. Further aggression and slander mounted as false and misleading claims from the China mafia were submitted to the court by their unscrupulous lawyers as they hastily explored confidential financial statements and jumped to illogical conclusions.
What is obvious from the evidence on the record at the Western Australian Supreme Court case files is that in the preceding months before filming was to commence in August 2009 the China Brothers were systematically preparing to attack the production — a premeditated and planned war against the “All the Tired Horses” project and the project’s producers and other investors by the China mafia. The mafia war commenced with threats, then extended to using contumelious false and misleading statements in claims by Benjamin China provided in affirmed affidavits accompanying an Originating Summons submitted ex-parte to the Western Australian Supreme Court on the 31st July 2009 (WASC CIV 2376 of 2009 CIV 2583 of 2009). Perhaps what is retrospectively viewed as knee-jerk considerations from the presiding judge Kenneth James Martin the flurry of court orders enforcing interlocutory injunctions on the bank accounts of the production companies that had been set up specifically for services to the project had wide-reaching ramifications; the fact that these orders extended to the producers personal accounts in Australia left all the producers with few choices to continue filming in Australia. To best possibly ensure completion of a film the producers were forced to explore options of completing “All the Tired Horses” outside of Australia. Simultaneously, the producers were required to defend the contumelious legal actions and false claims brought by the China mafia; the producers rights, the rights of other investors and the rights of production crew members have been of paramount importance to those committed and continuing forward to make a film.
The defendants attended a trial held on the 16th March 2010, however the presiding judge Kenneth James Martin decided to adjourn proceedings to a later date; the decision to adjourn the trial was determined by judge Kenneth James Martin upon a last minute application to the court by the plaintiffs legal counsel… that ‘later date’ trial occurred on 5–6 December 2013. What happened in between these dates are events that are more than aptly fitting in the scenes of a mafia movie!
Despite an Application made by the defendants to Dismiss the Action submitted to the court in November 2011 (it is considered an appalling injustice that this application was never heard by the court) and also multiple requests over the years to the court to dismiss the debilitating interlocutory injunctions on the defendants the presiding judge Kenneth James Martin has not yet decided to do either.
More than six years since commencing the legal action was still being defended; damages and costs to the production have increased over the years, strong relationships have been strained and tested, loss of earnings and great hardship has been felt and extended to many who are involved in producing the “All the Tired Horses” project. The costs involved and time expended in defending such an aggressive contumelious action are extremely expensive. The emotional stress caused by the China mafia, their associates and assigns on so many people associated with “All the Tired Horses” is immeasurable.
Whilst principal photography initially commenced in August 2009 schedules had to be hastily re-worked; by the end of that year further filming had to be halted as the mafia attacks to the production and people associated with the project continued. The legal attacks on the project have a very negative effect on morale, impacting cast and crew members alike, spreading fear and uncertainty into the Western Australian film community; rumours, especially in the entertainment industry travelled fast and furiously across the country and around the world.
Into 2010 and through the ensuing years the producers persevered with production meetings, further planning and re-structuring efforts; the legal action relentlessly continued negatively affecting the project and people’s lives. Efforts to make a film were grossly impeded. Many hours and great expense had to be directed towards defending the contumelious action brought against the project and producing parties to the detriment of the production and those dedicated to seeing the “All the Tired Horses” film made. Despite offers by the defendants to settle the action amicably the plaintiffs stubbornly refused and the threats and mafioso-style tactics and attacks continued. Police reports were filed and authorities alerted and provided with evidence of the mafia threats, attacks and collusion from associates of the China mafia in their efforts to prevent a film from being made; slander towards the producers and others associated with the Project continues up to the present.
After initiating the legal action against the defendants, Paul China and Benjamin China began colluding to produce a separate film with Brian J. Breheny, a cinematographer who had been employed for the “All the Tired Horses” project to assist and educate Paul China in various aspects of filmcameras, lenses and filmmaking processes during the preliminary stages in the project’s development.
According to IMDb (Internet Movie Database) a film titled “Crawl” was officially released in Australia on 20 November 2013; Paul China received a credit as a writer and a credit as a director and his brother Benjamin China received a credit as a producer, the film’s cast contained a number of acting talents who had previously auditioned for roles in “All the Tired Horses”. The result is largely seen as a poorly envisaged plagiarised version of the original screenplay that the “All the Tired Horses” project is based upon. Crawl incorporates similar themes and plot lines to the original screenplay of “All the Tired Horses”. Perth actors, Georgina Haig (known for The Mule (2014), Road Kill (2010) and The Sapphires (2012)) and George Shevtsov (known for Dead Calm (1989), Japanese Story (2003)) had been tentatively short-listed for roles in “All the Tired Horses” during professional auditions conducted by Jenni Cohen Casting in late 2008, whilst talent for other roles were being sourced and considered by Faith Martin (highly respected and known for her work on the Australian television series Water Rats (1996) and iconic Australian films including Strictly Ballroom (1992), Satellite Boy (2012) and Cactus (2008) and many other classic Australian films).
In 2012 the China mafia’s associates and assigns attempted but failed to force Tired Horses Films Holdings Pty Ltd into liquidation using Statutory Demands; the company was established to receive a portion of the film’s investment capital that had been invested by China Brothers Productions Pty Ltd for the purposes of making “All the Tired Horses”. An investor into “All the Tired Horses” and a business associate of Shaun China were found to be behind the orchestrated attacks on the project using a number of people and companies connected to Crawl Productions Pty Ltd, a company set up by the China Brothersand associates to produce “Crawl”. A number of the documents presented to support the Statutory Demands by Property About Pty Ltd (a company controlled by associates of Shaun China) in an attempt to wind up Tired Horses Films Holdings Pty Ltd were found to be fraudulent; various parties associated with the attempt had been offered bribes in exchange for their endorsement of certain documents; the Supreme Court of Western Australia dismissed the demands in separate actions (WASC COR 122 of 2012 , COR 123 of 2012, COR 124 of 2012).
On the 15th October 2012 the plaintiffs retained a new law firm supposedly with the idea of bringing in “bigger louder guns” who sought to re-work the plaintiffs false and misleading claims with new twists of deceit. The China mafia’s newly contracted law firm convinced the judge to hive off a section of the claims; thus creating a ‘sub-trial’ or “Trial of Separate Determination” designed at testing the notion that what were legally invested funds in exchange for company shares made in accordance with ASIC and the Corporations Act 2001 were supposedly monies provided on principles of a Quistclose trust - this was a feeble and ill-conceived notion arising from the very concoction of the plaintiffs initial lies and misleading claims. The legal tactic was probably more likely devised and submitted to the court by the new law firm’s principals in the hopes that the defendants would be forced into bankruptcy long before a trial actually came into being?
For the remainder of 2012 and most of 2013 attention focused on bringing the legal action to trial for a date determined by judge Kenneth James Martin to take place in December 2013. The setting of the trial date could possibly have been proposed and suggested to the court by the plaintiffs lawyers? The presiding judge Kenneth James Martin may have been swayed to set such a date having been provided with information that falsely implied that an end date was approaching? This could then be construed in cross arguments during the trial by the plaintiffs counsel to declare the “All the Tired Horses” project could not continue past 31st December 2013? The plaintiffs lawyers had not read the terms of the “All the Tired Horses” Production Agreement or if they had, they had conveniently chosen to attempt to twist the wording of the agreement to suit their own unscrupulous legal aims. References during the trial to Monty Python’s Dead Parrot Sketch from Monty Python’s Flying Circus were in very poor taste and jocularly bantered around by and between the presiding judge Kenneth James Martin and the China mafia’s legal counsel, liberally thrown around to suggest the “All the Tired Horses” project was dead.
Such courtroom antics simply demonstrated how mired and burdened the Australian courts and presiding judges have become in the nepotistic mentality that pervades in the courtroom; sad and blatantly indignant behaviour demonstrating that the courtrooms in Australia have become squawking forums at the mercy of unscrupulous lawyers and legal counsel parroting phrases in garbled gobbledygook manipulating case actions seemingly on whims and whimpering whispers, whilst rocking back and forth on elevated perches in polished black shoes and silky weathered robes… Birds of a feather flocking together, making a mockery of the silks… do they even know why they wear such costumes? Or have they been influenced by those courtroom drama movies or productions such as the Silk (TV series) and forgotten what the terms due process, morality, ethics and justice actually mean?
Photography on “All the Tired Horses” re-commenced in 2013 only to be halted again by further damage brought by the plaintiffs in their frequently amended claims peppered with lies, false and misleading statements. The obvious manipulation of the Australian court system with their shlock lawyers forcing the continuance of legal action adds to the prejudices experienced by the defendants in the action. Due process has seemingly dissipated; as the years have passed each date set for a court hearing has stretched further and further apart, whilst the presiding judge grapples with his original orders in the face of ever mounting inconsistencies in the revisions of the plaintiffs further and further and further amended Statements of Claims and in contrast to the evidence provided by the defendants. Simply reiterated for clarity here, the plaintiffs claims were deviously trumped up in an attempt to prevent the “All the Tired Horses” film being made after the China Brothers departed from the production in a huff. In December 2013 the producers of “All the Tired Horses” issued Default Notices to Paul China, Benjamin China and China Brothers Productions Pty Ltd. One might reflect here and suggest perhaps that the default notices could have been issued earlier? Suffice is to say that there was a glimmer of hope and going on advice provided to the defendants by their legal advisers it was plausible that the China mafia’s stubbornness and arrogance might waver to the better side of reason and hence that the legal action would be resolved out of court. Unfortunately, dealing with such mafia figures and their aggression has become part of the producing process in respect to “All the Tired Horses” and all who are committed and dedicated to seeing a film made.
Despite certain deliberation and obviously wrong assumptions made by the presiding judge Kenneth James Martin on 7th February 2014 the court published a decision from the “Trial of Separate Determination” held on 5–6th December 2013; ultimately the judgement handed down was made in favour of the defendants. However, in addition to the trial decision was advice provided by judge Kenneth James Martin and a request that James With was to provide an Undertaking to the court not to incur further expenses or debts on behalf of Tired Horses Films Holdings Pty Ltd from 7th February 2014 onwards and until any application that might be submitted by the plaintiffs to wind up the company. Such advice handed down by judge Kenneth James Martin provided the plaintiffs with yet another angle in which to continue their contumelious attacks on the “All the Tired Horses” project and the producers. It is viewed as quite extraordinary in the course of this contumelious legal attack on the producers and the “All the Tired Horses” project that a presiding judge of the Western Australian Supreme Court would see it as due process and without prejudice to suggest such a “legal option” to the plaintiffs when handing down a trial decision of the court. The China mafia took the suggestion and their appointed law firm ran with it… a flurry of materials were submitted to the court as the judge had set a hearing date for such an application on 21st March 2014.
On 19th March 2014, just two days before the hearing to wind up the company, the defendants were asked to attend an urgent meeting with appointed counsel; once in attendance James With was confronted and given an ultimatum by the defendants appointed legal counsel. The legal counsel had been retained by the defendants and employed to assist and defend against the plaintiffs application to wind up the company; contrary to this, the opposite was being forced on the defendants!
Unconscionably James With was forced at the meeting with the defendants counsel to provide instructions to allow the winding up of Tired Horses Films Holdings Pty Ltd. Statements considered as direct threats to the defendants and the “All the Tired Horses” project were made by the defendants counsel to the effect that if instructions were not provided to allow Tired Horses Films Holdings Pty Ltd to be wound up by orders from the court and a liquidator appointed by the court then they would not be in a position to represent the defendants. Additionally, one of the defendants counsel has previously stated that they had known and been colleagues with Kenneth James Martin before he was appointed a judge of the Western Australian Supreme Court. It seems quite apparent that the Australian courts are eternally weighed down by the huge number of cases and the cost of conducting litigation has become in itself a burden on parties; obvious pressures are being placed on judges, lawyers and those in the legal system to ‘toe the line’ and to resolve cases that have become bogged down by contumelious legal wrangling. One might deduce that in this case due process is being crushed by a stampede of squawking legal parrots? Roughshod shoes are missing in the courtroom and the treacherous trail to trial has become ever more slippery and cumbersome.
On the 21st March 2014, judge Kenneth James Martin provided a decision that ordered Tired Horses Films Holdings Pty Ltd to be wound up under the supervision of a court appointed liquidator, Mr. Giovanni Maurizio Carrello working with BRI Ferrier, an independent national firm that helps organisations manage financial challenges through the provision of insolvency, business advisory and forensic services. The Western Australian Supreme Court orders placing Tired Horses Films Holdings Pty Ltd into liquidation made after the winding-up application submitted to the court adding to the complicit actions of the China mafia and their appointed contumelious lawyers has effectively robbed the “All the Tired Horses” project of approximately One Million Australian Dollars; those invested funds had been properly and legally invested into Tired Horses Films Holdings Pty Ltd for the purpose of making “All the Tired Horses”. The court appointed liquidator is tasked with assessing creditors claims and proofs of debts; under ASIC and the Corporations Act 2001 rules and regulations the company’s employees, creditors (crew members who have worked on the project and others) associated with “All the Tired Horses” are entitled to funds ahead of shareholders. Of course, it would be the case that the liquidator and the court gets paid ahead of creditors. Rhetorical question: Does this kinda feel like the court system is serving its own interests ahead of ASIC and the Corporations Act 2001 regulations that govern companies in Australia?
In these troubled times of geopolitics and on the anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor by the Empire of Japan on Sunday, December 7, 1941 which brought the United States into World War II the original version of these events was published. This summary account of the trials and tribulations in making “All the Tired Horses” — a Morality Driven Drama. The producers wish to thank you for your interest in this project.
Postscript written in 2019
The Project and the producers continue to be subjected to further abuse from the plaintiffs, associates and assigns. Morals and ethics a the basis of personal integrity. There are people without these qualities people that attempt to twist and contort history in blithe attempts to mislead and cause further stress and anguish. Such unethical people ultimately fail and fall on their own words and actions.
A final hearing at the Supreme Court of Western Australia took place on 12th February 2015 and as such, on that date the court action was concluded.
Despite the defendants having been successful in defending the rights of the project, the funds that had been invested, but frozen by the court’s orders, funds meant for the making of the film, were contumelliously redirected by the court to pay for the court’s costs, including the costs and expenses of the court-appointed liquidator and a proportion of the monies are considered to have been misappropriated by being allocated to undeserving third parties at the discretion of the court-appointed liquidator. If such actions are not criminal, then at the very least it all reeks of nepotism and collusion. The final result of the court action being a certainly disappointing result for the producers. Thereafter, the producers were left with little choice other than to seek additional funding to complete the project.
During the extended period of thelong-running court case action and litigation and thereafter a considerable amount of creative writing occurred; stemming from the initial development, production, subsequent drama, and real life experiences, a new screenplay has been produced under the title “Dead Parrots Down Under”. The scripting of a second TV series was also accomplished, growing out of a first season TV pilot series produced and based on interviews with original cast and crew members, and showing behind-the-scenes footage.
All the Tired Horses — Inception Aftermath Season 2, Episode 1
All the Tired Horses — Inception Consequence Season 2, Episode 2
All the Tired Horses — Inception Endurance Season 2, Episode 3
The producers are optimistically scheduling a release date for feature length films in production,“All the Tired Horses”, Dead Parrots Down Under, and the television series, which are all dependent on attracting additional funding to complete the projects. There is still work to complete and the scope is exciting. Perhaps Netflix could be interested in a package deal? They apparently have a US$8 billion war chest and are looking for projects with substance.
There’s a page on Facebook that the words “All the Tired Horses” link to and you might like to review this for more details on the project. We trust you enjoy the updates on the project’s Facebook page and eventually we hope you get to experience the entertainment values of the films and TV series that all involved are dedicated to completing.
Facebook link: https://www.facebook.com/AllTheTiredHorses
IMBd link: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4406412/
Slated link: https://www.slated.com/films/185197/
