Buzz
At the ShoWest convention in February 1989, theater owners and exhibitors were treated to a glimpse of future blockbusters. Paramount showcased Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, while Columbia highlighted Ghostbusters II. However, it was Warner Bros. that truly captured everyone's attention.
Alongside Lethal Weapon 2, Warner Bros. presented Tim Burton’s Batman, a serious take on the iconic comic, with Michael Keaton proving critics wrong about his casting. Amidst this star-studded lineup, the studio introduced a 35-year-old Australian actor-writer-director with bright orange hair and a distinctive accent.
Despite having no prior feature film experience, Warner Bros. was betting big on this newcomer. His comedy, featuring a Tasmanian Albert Einstein who invents rock music and crosses paths with Thomas Edison, had already become Australia’s sixth highest-grossing film, outperforming E.T. and Rambo: First Blood Part II.
Greg Pead was his real name, but Warner Bros. rebranded him as Yahoo Serious, positioning him as Hollywood's next major comedy star.
To grasp why Warner Bros. took a chance on an unknown like Yahoo Serious, it’s essential to remember America’s fascination with Australians in the 1980s. Energizer’s ad campaign featured Mark “Jacko” Jackson, a football star who energetically endorsed their batteries. Meanwhile, Paul Hogan turned his quirky comedy, Crocodile Dundee, into 1986’s second highest-grossing film. (Serious later dismissed comparisons to Hogan, calling him a “marketing guy” known for cigarette ads on Australian TV.)
Born on July 27, 1953, in Cardiff, Australia, Serious spent his childhood in the bushlands and worked at a garage, mounting tires to fund his education at the National Art School. After being expelled for decorating the school’s exterior with satirical art that offended the faculty, he directed Coaltown, a documentary on coal mining, and focused on painting.
Serious later explained that his shift from art to filmmaking was driven by a desire to reach a broader audience. “It struck me suddenly,” Serious told The New York Times in 1989. “I was having coffee when it dawned on me: ‘There’s a massive canvas in every town worldwide. On it, 24 frames of images flash every second, creating the most dynamic art form.’” Around 1980, he adopted the name Yahoo Serious.
To master filmmaking, Serious repeatedly watched Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove. He aimed to achieve the same creative control over his films as directors like Woody Allen and Charlie Chaplin.
In 1983, while traveling the Amazon River, Serious noticed a T-shirt featuring Albert Einstein sticking out his tongue. Though now a common image on posters and merchandise, it struck him as unique, inspiring the idea that Einstein was once young and carefree. This sparked the concept for Young Einstein.
Serious's vision, which reimagined Einstein in Tasmania alongside encounters with Sigmund Freud, Thomas Edison, and the atomic bomb, took years to develop. He borrowed camera gear, sold his car to fund the project, and created an eight-minute trailer to secure investors. His mother even cooked meals for the crew during filming.
To retain creative control, Serious forfeited profit shares in Young Einstein, which he starred in, co-produced, co-wrote, and directed. Released in Australia in 1988, the film earned $1.6 million and caught Warner Bros.' attention, who hoped for a Crocodile Dundee-style success. Serious gained fame, gracing TIME’s cover and appearing on MTV.
Critics and audiences, however, were less impressed. The Orlando Sentinel suggested renaming the film’s creator "Tedious Oddball." Roger Ebert gave it one star, writing, "Young Einstein is a one-joke movie, and I didn't laugh much the first time." In the U.S., it grossed just over $11 million, underperforming against Ron Howard’s Parenthood and Sylvester Stallone’s Lock Up during its opening weekend.
While American interest in Serious faded, Australia remained supportive. His 1993 film Reckless Kelly, a fictionalized take on outlaw Ned Kelly, earned $5.4 million in Australia—triple the earnings of Young Einstein. After a seven-year break, Serious returned with 2000’s Mr. Accident, a slapstick comedy about a clumsy man trying to thwart a nicotine-in-eggs scheme. Despite lukewarm reviews and box office results, it marked his third and likely final film.
Around the time Mr. Accident debuted, Serious clashed with the emerging search engine Yahoo!, accusing it of capitalizing on his fame. He filed a lawsuit, but it was dismissed after he couldn’t demonstrate any harm caused by the website.
Paul McConnell, Getty ImagesThe humorous headlines from that episode marked the last time Serious made waves in America. With only three films to his name, no further projects materialized. Serious created a website to share his background and vent his frustrations about Yahoo!.
At 65, Serious now holds the role of founding director at the Kokoda Track Foundation, an Australian charity focused on enhancing the lives of Papua New Guineans. The foundation’s website identifies him as Yahoo Serious, the name he says his family and friends have used since he adopted it in 1980.
“You have the power to shape every part of your life,” Serious once remarked. “Why not your name?”
