Famous for his “succulent Chinese meal” police arrest in 1991, when Australian larrikin Jack Karlson passed away earlier this month the country mourned one of its modern-day heroes.

A father, safe cracker, serial escape artist and natural-born actor, Karlson, 82, had only just re-emerged to celebrate the 30th anniversary of his battle with the cops in Brisbane before death came knocking.

But all is not lost thanks to film director Heath Davis (The Blind Sea), who will immortalise Karlson on the big screen in a feature-length documentary next year.

He’s only in the “early days” of making The Man Who Ate a Succulent Chinese Meal, but when news of Karlson’s death went viral, film festivals and broadcasters “across the planet” filled his inbox with invitations to screen the finished product.

Cannes? Venice? Streaming giants like Netflix?

“We have interest from everywhere,” Davis tells The New Daily, without elaborating.

“Jack’s reach is truly phenomenal. He was a natural actor so would have got a kick out of being recognised by Variety and The Hollywood Reporter.”

Davis said that due to Karlson’s poor health and battle with alcoholism, “there was an element of cart before the horse with this project”.

A petition for a state funeral fell on deaf ears, but a GofundMe page has brought in more than $10,000 to help family, friends and a large media presence farewell Karlson on Monday.

“With Jack anything can happen, so I’m sure it will be fascinating,” Davis said.

‘As compelling as The Shawshank Redemption’

Davis tracked down Karlson 18 months ago, he says, and found his story “every bit as compelling” as the 1994 prison drama film, The Shawshank Redemption, starring Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins.

He knew nothing about him other than watching him on the news as a kid.

“It took some investigation as he was very off grid … [I was doing] research for another project on the infamous criminal playwright Jim McNeil (Jack spent years in a cell with him in Parramatta Gaol and was best mates),” Davis said.

“After an hour of chatting to Jack, I knew he was the story.

“I have just never met a person, especially a criminal with such eloquence, such command for language and zest for life … his life story was unlike anything I ever heard.

“He reminded me of the Albert Finney character in Big Fish. His life could have be a fable.

“I discovered he has a story every bit as compelling as The Shawshank Redemption. And it’s all true. I thought we were telling a comedy about a larrikin con man but instead it’s Shakespearean tragedy.”

A transcript of the arrest speech that made Jack Karlson famous.

Next level

Surrounded by loved ones, Karlson died on August 7 after being diagnosed with prostate cancer.

His family pinned the main cause of death on systemic inflammatory response syndrome.

Reaction to his death was “next level”, unlike anything Davis had seen.

Karlson’s lasting imprint on Australian culture came after footage of his 1991 arrest outside a Chinese restaurant was uploaded to the internet in 2009.

But before that, Karlson was the product of a painful past. He reportedly grew up poor, and had been abused physically and sexually during his childhood.

He was first sent to a boys’ home, and began spending time with adult criminals as a teenager.

As an adult, Karlson accrued a long list of criminal acts to whichever name he happened to be using at the time, mainly around breaking, entering and stealing charges.

He successfully escaped police custody multiple times, including while awaiting trial for stealing a car and carrying safe-breaking tools.

He was finally captured and sentenced to eight years in Parramatta Gaol, and made the best of a bad situation by bonding with McNeil.

Together, they wrote and performed plays in the prison, which became so popular the pair were released on parole early.

He also suffered another tragic loss with the murder of his wife, Eve, who was shot dead after reportedly helping her ex-boyfriend, convicted double killer Barry Quinn, escape custody.

Fast forward to 1991, when several Queensland police officers descended on Brisbane’s China Sea Restaurant to arrest Karlson for allegedly paying for meals with stolen credit cards.

His grandiose protestations as police attempted to force him into a car, including “Gentlemen, this is democracy manifest,” and “What is the charge? Eating a meal? A succulent Chinese meal?”, became instant viral memes.

So was Jack keen to tell his story?

Davis said that while he was “struggling with his health and alcoholism, he thought there might be a quid in it for him”.

“He’s a born storyteller.

“All convicts do in prison is tell stories all day so I think he liked finally having his side of the story told.

“Of course, we were working with a criminal, con man and alcoholic who was 81 and in bad health. So it was slow going.”

He said that while Karlson and his family were disconnected, they were brought back together through the filmmaking process.

“Jack, I think, found some element of redemption in our time together.”