A trio of music icons and a legendary racehorse are among the subjects of 10 projects to receive $2.3 million in documentary production funding from Screen Australia.
Of the those earmarked for funding, eight will be supported through the Producer Program, and two through the Commissioned Program.
They include feature documentaries about John Farnham, Ruby Hunter, and Archie Roach, as well as racehorse Winx.
There is also a follow-up to the 2016 documentary Embrace, entitled Embrace Kids.
Screen Australia head of documentary Alex West said an “impressive mix” of projects had rounded out the agency’s documentary funding for 2019/20.
“It’s great to support so many feature documentaries covering a range of exciting topics, including shining a light on a number of Australian icons, and I’m confident they will captivate audiences,” he said.
The Commissioned Program projects are:
Nurses: A 10-part series from ITV Studios Australia for the Seven Network about the nurses in Nsw.
Of the those earmarked for funding, eight will be supported through the Producer Program, and two through the Commissioned Program.
They include feature documentaries about John Farnham, Ruby Hunter, and Archie Roach, as well as racehorse Winx.
There is also a follow-up to the 2016 documentary Embrace, entitled Embrace Kids.
Screen Australia head of documentary Alex West said an “impressive mix” of projects had rounded out the agency’s documentary funding for 2019/20.
“It’s great to support so many feature documentaries covering a range of exciting topics, including shining a light on a number of Australian icons, and I’m confident they will captivate audiences,” he said.
The Commissioned Program projects are:
Nurses: A 10-part series from ITV Studios Australia for the Seven Network about the nurses in Nsw.
- 7/13/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
Imogen McCluskey with longtime Dop Lucca Barone-Peters.
After graduating from Aftrs in 2017 filmmaker Imogen McCluskey’s career is taking off, with one feature and several shorts under her belt and multiple projects in development.
Currently she is writing and will direct one of seven segments of the anthology Masc, which will give female and non-binary perspectives on contemporary masculinity, with development funding from Screen Australia.
Her co-collaborators are Madeleine Gottlieb and Laura Nagy, who both came up with the concept, Renée Marie Petropoulos, Hyun Lee, Shari Sebbens and Cloudy Rhodes.
A comedy, her episode will focus on a 16-year-old boy who attends a single sex school and is being pressured by his friends to have sex with a girl.
In a surreal twist, his post-sex self comes to life as a kind of guardian angel. “It looks at hyper-masculine archetypes that boys are taught to live up to, and takes...
After graduating from Aftrs in 2017 filmmaker Imogen McCluskey’s career is taking off, with one feature and several shorts under her belt and multiple projects in development.
Currently she is writing and will direct one of seven segments of the anthology Masc, which will give female and non-binary perspectives on contemporary masculinity, with development funding from Screen Australia.
Her co-collaborators are Madeleine Gottlieb and Laura Nagy, who both came up with the concept, Renée Marie Petropoulos, Hyun Lee, Shari Sebbens and Cloudy Rhodes.
A comedy, her episode will focus on a 16-year-old boy who attends a single sex school and is being pressured by his friends to have sex with a girl.
In a surreal twist, his post-sex self comes to life as a kind of guardian angel. “It looks at hyper-masculine archetypes that boys are taught to live up to, and takes...
- 3/11/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
'Indigo Lake' is an Aussie neo-noir written and directed by Martin Simpson, produced by Brian Cobb and starring Andrew Cutcliffe, Miranda O.Hare, Marin Mimica and Pamela Shaw. Cutcliffe ('Home and Away', 'Wonderland') plays Jack, a painter who falls in love with his subject (Miranda O.Hare), to the chagrin of her gangster husband (Marin Mimica)..
Simpson wrote the script in 2011 and brought it to Cobb, who put the budget together via private investors and the Offset. Beyond.s Martin Fabinyi, with whom Cobb worked under a Screen Australia Enterprise attachment, is executive producing. The indie feature made its world premiere in Canberra, the producer.s hometown, on April 23, followed by a screening at Sydney.s Dendy Newtown on April 26, where the stars, director and producer participated in a Q&A session..
International rights are being handled by Ksm, and the filmmakers will head...
Simpson wrote the script in 2011 and brought it to Cobb, who put the budget together via private investors and the Offset. Beyond.s Martin Fabinyi, with whom Cobb worked under a Screen Australia Enterprise attachment, is executive producing. The indie feature made its world premiere in Canberra, the producer.s hometown, on April 23, followed by a screening at Sydney.s Dendy Newtown on April 26, where the stars, director and producer participated in a Q&A session..
International rights are being handled by Ksm, and the filmmakers will head...
- 5/10/2017
- by Harry Windsor
- IF.com.au
'Indigo Lake' is an Aussie neo-noir written and directed by Martin Simpson, produced by Brian Cobb and starring Andrew Cutcliffe, Miranda O.Hare, Marin Mimica and Pamela Shaw. .
Cutcliffe ('Home and Away', 'Wonderland') plays Jack, a painter who falls in love with his subject (Miranda O.Hare), to the chagrin of her gangster husband (Marin Mimica)..
Simpson wrote the script in 2011 and brought it to Cobb, who put the budget together via private investors and the Offset. Beyond.s Martin Fabinyi, with whom Cobb worked under a Screen Australia Enterprise attachment, is executive producing.
The indie feature made its world premiere in Canberra, the producer.s hometown, on April 23, followed by a screening at Sydney.s Dendy Newtown on Wednesday night, where the stars, director and producer participated in a Q&A session.
International rights are being handled by Ksm, and the filmmakers will...
Cutcliffe ('Home and Away', 'Wonderland') plays Jack, a painter who falls in love with his subject (Miranda O.Hare), to the chagrin of her gangster husband (Marin Mimica)..
Simpson wrote the script in 2011 and brought it to Cobb, who put the budget together via private investors and the Offset. Beyond.s Martin Fabinyi, with whom Cobb worked under a Screen Australia Enterprise attachment, is executive producing.
The indie feature made its world premiere in Canberra, the producer.s hometown, on April 23, followed by a screening at Sydney.s Dendy Newtown on Wednesday night, where the stars, director and producer participated in a Q&A session.
International rights are being handled by Ksm, and the filmmakers will...
- 4/27/2017
- by Harry Windsor
- IF.com.au
Emma Jensen.
Brisbane native Emma Jensen talks to Harry Windsor about her career as a writer and the path to her first feature, 'A Storm in the Stars', starring Elle Fanning and Douglas Booth and set for release this year.
How did you get into writing?
My background is in script development. I started as a producer.s assistant in London 17 years ago at Film4. I was their second assistant. I went to Queensland College of Art and studied film and television, and then graduated and thought — now what do I do? So I spent a few years in illustrious careers like Sizzler and working in a bank and I got to the point where I thought, maybe I should do that backpacking thing. I signed up with a temp agency and they asked if I wanted to do half a day at Film4, and I was like,...
Brisbane native Emma Jensen talks to Harry Windsor about her career as a writer and the path to her first feature, 'A Storm in the Stars', starring Elle Fanning and Douglas Booth and set for release this year.
How did you get into writing?
My background is in script development. I started as a producer.s assistant in London 17 years ago at Film4. I was their second assistant. I went to Queensland College of Art and studied film and television, and then graduated and thought — now what do I do? So I spent a few years in illustrious careers like Sizzler and working in a bank and I got to the point where I thought, maybe I should do that backpacking thing. I signed up with a temp agency and they asked if I wanted to do half a day at Film4, and I was like,...
- 2/2/2017
- by Harry Windsor
- IF.com.au
Writer-director Martin Simpson is shooting Indigo Lake, a thriller about an artist who is pressured into painting the portrait of a nightclub owner.s beautiful wife, in Sydney.
Andrew Cutliffe (Home and Away, Wonderland) plays Jake, the painter who falls in love with his subject (Miranda O.Hare), which arouses the suspicions of her husband (Marin Mimica).
The lovers develop a plan to kill the husband by drugging him and driving his car into Indigo Lake. But murder is not as easy as it's painted.
Jonas McLallen is producing with Brian Cobb and Beyond.s Martin Fabinyi as EPs. Beyond will handle international sales and will collaborate with Ross Howden.s Screen Launch on the Australian theatrical release.
Cobb is spending two years with Beyond as part of Screen Australia.s Enterprise program. The feature is financed by private investors and the producer offset. The 4-week shoot is on various locations around Sydney.
Andrew Cutliffe (Home and Away, Wonderland) plays Jake, the painter who falls in love with his subject (Miranda O.Hare), which arouses the suspicions of her husband (Marin Mimica).
The lovers develop a plan to kill the husband by drugging him and driving his car into Indigo Lake. But murder is not as easy as it's painted.
Jonas McLallen is producing with Brian Cobb and Beyond.s Martin Fabinyi as EPs. Beyond will handle international sales and will collaborate with Ross Howden.s Screen Launch on the Australian theatrical release.
Cobb is spending two years with Beyond as part of Screen Australia.s Enterprise program. The feature is financed by private investors and the producer offset. The 4-week shoot is on various locations around Sydney.
- 11/25/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Screen Australia.s guidelines for funding documentaries will remain in place for the rest of this year after the agency decided to extend a review of its funding policy.
The reasons for the postponement have been questioned by the Australian Directors Guild and some documentary filmmakers who want the draft guidelines to be implemented.
"It is concerning," Adg executive director Kingston Anderson told If today. "We have been discussing this for the last six months. We think the draft guidelines are a great step forward. We need to know why the process is being delayed." .
Yarra Bank Films' Dr Trevor Graham said, "The draft documentary guidelines composed by Screen Australia were a welcome attempt to address the decline in the one-off documentary in the Oz landscape that resulted from public broadcasters turning their back on them in favour of factual series.
"Screen Australia.s own research acknowledges this decline. And...
The reasons for the postponement have been questioned by the Australian Directors Guild and some documentary filmmakers who want the draft guidelines to be implemented.
"It is concerning," Adg executive director Kingston Anderson told If today. "We have been discussing this for the last six months. We think the draft guidelines are a great step forward. We need to know why the process is being delayed." .
Yarra Bank Films' Dr Trevor Graham said, "The draft documentary guidelines composed by Screen Australia were a welcome attempt to address the decline in the one-off documentary in the Oz landscape that resulted from public broadcasters turning their back on them in favour of factual series.
"Screen Australia.s own research acknowledges this decline. And...
- 7/30/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Film marks debut feature for Australian comedian Carl Barron [pictured].
Shooting has commenced on Manny Lewis.
Anthony Mir’s film marks the debut feature for Australian comedian Carl Barron, who co-wrote with Mir and stars in the film which follows a fictional stand-up comedian who finds it hard to connect to one person.
The film also stars Leanna Walsman, Roy Billing and Damien Garvey, and will feature new stand-up material from Barron whose last tour was seen by over 300,000 people in Australia and New Zealand.
Financed by Seven Productions, A-List Entertainment and Beyond Films, Manny Lewis is produced by Martin Fabinyi for Beyond Screen Production and will be released theatrically in Australia and New Zealand by StudioCanal in 2015.
Barron commented: “People ask me and I say: it’s a movie about my life as a comic on the road for the last 20 years. I got a bit worn out from touring, so I decided...
Shooting has commenced on Manny Lewis.
Anthony Mir’s film marks the debut feature for Australian comedian Carl Barron, who co-wrote with Mir and stars in the film which follows a fictional stand-up comedian who finds it hard to connect to one person.
The film also stars Leanna Walsman, Roy Billing and Damien Garvey, and will feature new stand-up material from Barron whose last tour was seen by over 300,000 people in Australia and New Zealand.
Financed by Seven Productions, A-List Entertainment and Beyond Films, Manny Lewis is produced by Martin Fabinyi for Beyond Screen Production and will be released theatrically in Australia and New Zealand by StudioCanal in 2015.
Barron commented: “People ask me and I say: it’s a movie about my life as a comic on the road for the last 20 years. I got a bit worn out from touring, so I decided...
- 6/30/2014
- by ian.sandwell@screendaily.com (Ian Sandwell)
- ScreenDaily
John Polson, Robert Connolly and Catriona McKenzie are among the filmmakers to receive development funding from Screen Australia, announced today.
The funding, worth $275,000 is for the development of 10 feature film projects.
Polson has received matched funding to develop his Sydney Project, a collection of short films in s similar vein to Paris Je T’aime and New York I Love You, while Robert Connolly will develop his film Paper Planes and Catriona McKenzie will work on new project One White Crow.
Writer John Ratchford will travel to London for a six month internship with Dominic Minghella, writer of Doc Martin and Robin Hood and Island Pictures.
Full List of Single-funded projects
Aussie Gals
Genre Comedy
Writer Josephine Emery
Synopsis Georgie and Kylie are sisters. When Georgie’s boyfriend cons her into pulling a job for him and the heat is on her, Kylie has to risk everything she has to...
The funding, worth $275,000 is for the development of 10 feature film projects.
Polson has received matched funding to develop his Sydney Project, a collection of short films in s similar vein to Paris Je T’aime and New York I Love You, while Robert Connolly will develop his film Paper Planes and Catriona McKenzie will work on new project One White Crow.
Writer John Ratchford will travel to London for a six month internship with Dominic Minghella, writer of Doc Martin and Robin Hood and Island Pictures.
Full List of Single-funded projects
Aussie Gals
Genre Comedy
Writer Josephine Emery
Synopsis Georgie and Kylie are sisters. When Georgie’s boyfriend cons her into pulling a job for him and the heat is on her, Kylie has to risk everything she has to...
- 1/25/2012
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
Screen Australia has invested $275,000 in funding to support the development of 10 feature film projects, it was announced today.
The money will be used toward the development of films including a new feature from Balibo director Robert Connolly and John Polson's mysteriously titled 'Sydney Project.'
Connolly is attached to write, direct and co-produce Paper Planes, the story of a young boy with such a love flight, that he is compelled to compete in the world paper plane championships.
Details surrounding Tropfest creator John Polson's Sydney project are few. When announced last June, it was said to be a collection of 12 short films set in each month of the year that paid tribute to the city.
Other films that have received funding include Kingdom Come, an action thriller to be directed by Marc Furmie and One White Crow, from writer/director Catriona McKenzie.
Kingdom Come features an Australian Federal...
The money will be used toward the development of films including a new feature from Balibo director Robert Connolly and John Polson's mysteriously titled 'Sydney Project.'
Connolly is attached to write, direct and co-produce Paper Planes, the story of a young boy with such a love flight, that he is compelled to compete in the world paper plane championships.
Details surrounding Tropfest creator John Polson's Sydney project are few. When announced last June, it was said to be a collection of 12 short films set in each month of the year that paid tribute to the city.
Other films that have received funding include Kingdom Come, an action thriller to be directed by Marc Furmie and One White Crow, from writer/director Catriona McKenzie.
Kingdom Come features an Australian Federal...
- 1/25/2012
- by Amanda Diaz
- IF.com.au
NEW YORK -- Wagner/Cuban Cos.' Truly Indie and Union Station Media will domestically distribute Geoffrey Wright's updated film adaptation of William Shakespeare's Macbeth.
Set in the contemporary crime world of Melbourne, Australia, Macbeth features Sam Worthington, star of James Cameron's upcoming 3-D sci-fi film Avatar, as the title character. The film closely follows the original text, infusing it with modern-day sex scenes and violence.
The unrated feature will debut June 15 in Seattle, followed by openings throughout August in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Austin.
Macbeth won 2006 Australian Film Institute Awards for costume design and production design.
Aussie director Wright's credits include Romper Stomper, starring Russell Crowe, and Cherry Falls.
Truly Indie is a program for filmmakers seeking self-distribution at theaters nationwide. The distribution deal was negotiated by Union Station, Arclight, the film’s producer Martin Fabinyi and Truly Indie executive director Kelly Sanders.
Set in the contemporary crime world of Melbourne, Australia, Macbeth features Sam Worthington, star of James Cameron's upcoming 3-D sci-fi film Avatar, as the title character. The film closely follows the original text, infusing it with modern-day sex scenes and violence.
The unrated feature will debut June 15 in Seattle, followed by openings throughout August in San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles and Austin.
Macbeth won 2006 Australian Film Institute Awards for costume design and production design.
Aussie director Wright's credits include Romper Stomper, starring Russell Crowe, and Cherry Falls.
Truly Indie is a program for filmmakers seeking self-distribution at theaters nationwide. The distribution deal was negotiated by Union Station, Arclight, the film’s producer Martin Fabinyi and Truly Indie executive director Kelly Sanders.
- 4/27/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
NEW YORK -- Dimension Films acquired all North American, Australian and New Zealand rights to the horror flick Storm Warning.
The film, which combines elements of Deliverance and Straw Dogs, follows a husband and wife on a fishing trip gone very wrong. When they're captured by deranged locals, the wife fights back in a gory battle that director Jamie Blanks (Urban Legend) delivers with vivid prosthetic and digital effects.
Dimension execs bought Warning from Arclight division Darclight based on a screening of post-production footage. The film, shot in Melbourne, Australia, is scheduled for completion in May and tentatively set for theatrical release next year.
"It's pretty full-on in terms of its violence, with a more heightened reality than 'Wolf Creek, '" said producer Gary Hamilton, one of several Creek creators on the film. Peter Ford also produced, and Martin Fabinyi, Michael Gudinski, Greg Sitch and Mark Pennell served as execitive producers.
Nadia Fares, Robert Taylor, John Brumpton, David Lyons and Mathew Wilkinson round out the cast of Warning, which was written by Everett De Roche.
The film, which combines elements of Deliverance and Straw Dogs, follows a husband and wife on a fishing trip gone very wrong. When they're captured by deranged locals, the wife fights back in a gory battle that director Jamie Blanks (Urban Legend) delivers with vivid prosthetic and digital effects.
Dimension execs bought Warning from Arclight division Darclight based on a screening of post-production footage. The film, shot in Melbourne, Australia, is scheduled for completion in May and tentatively set for theatrical release next year.
"It's pretty full-on in terms of its violence, with a more heightened reality than 'Wolf Creek, '" said producer Gary Hamilton, one of several Creek creators on the film. Peter Ford also produced, and Martin Fabinyi, Michael Gudinski, Greg Sitch and Mark Pennell served as execitive producers.
Nadia Fares, Robert Taylor, John Brumpton, David Lyons and Mathew Wilkinson round out the cast of Warning, which was written by Everett De Roche.
- 12/12/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
PARK CITY -- Wolf Creek could be the scariest film at Sundance this year--and the bloodiest. An auspicious debut from first time Aussie writer/director Greg McLean, film combines the style of cheesy horror films and the flair of classic thrillers. Picked up by Dimension before the start of the fest, pic should turn into a major genre hit for the distrib, with even some crossover from the film savvy indie crowd.
Based on two unsolved crimes in the Outback, Wolf Creek turns the image of the heroic Bushman like Crocodile Dundee on its ear and creates a staggeringly evil Australian boogie man. It's a story bound to give even the most seasoned thrill seeker nightmares.
Following the model of Alien, the film takes its time with not much happening for the first forty-five minutes. Mclean is careful to build sympathy for his characters before all hell breaks loose. Liz Hunter (Cassandra Magrath) and Kristy Earl (Kestie Morassi) are typical British girls on holiday in Australia looking for a good time. When they meet up with up with Aussie native Ben Mitchell (Nathan Phillips), they set out by car to explore the remote meteor sites at Wolf Creek. Along the way, we get to see them as flawed, vulnerable kids, so that when they get in trouble we care about them.
Mclean is constantly confounding expectations and violating rules for the well-written screenplay. Initially film seems to be heading in the direction of UFO's since the region is famous for sightings, then Ben gives the girls the chills around the campfire with eyewitness accounts of flying saucers.
But when their car conks out in the middle of nowhere and their watches stop working at the same moment (a major plot point for which there is no explanation), help arrives in the form of backwoods giant Mick Taylor (John Jarratt). Despite some ominous signs, they allow him to tow the car back to his place, an abandoned mining camp, where he starts to work on the repairs. Next thing we know, Liz wakes up bound and gagged in a room that makes a dungeon look appealing. Any doubt about Mick's intentions are gone, and the rest of the film is a sadistic cat and mouse game in which he seeks and destroys his prey in the most vicious and gory fashion. Mclean is purposely pushing things for effect but one wonders what is the line between terror and torture?
Whatever it is, it's stylishly done. Mclean manipulates nature so that it starts out as a positive force and then cloud formations and even flies buzzing gradually take on an ominous tone, heightened by Francois Tetaz's creepy score. Shot with great panache by Jason Ballantine on HD, color grading and blow up make the film look more like Halloween than the overly polished recent remake of Dawn of the Dead.
But the real attraction here is Mick, who is sure to enter the annals of great slasher film villains. With his icy stare, scratchy beard and cackling laugh, this a monster without an ounce of human compassion, and judging by the collection of crucified bodies on his walls, he's made quite a career of duping unsuspecting tourists. Whatever social commentary Mclean throws in about the nature of pure evil and the need to track down these people, the real reason for Wolf Creek to exist is the fun of scaring the hell out of people. Mission accomplished.
WOLF CREEK
Dimension Films
The True Crime Channel
Credits:
Director: Greg Mclean
Writer: Mclean
Producers: Mclean, David Lightfoot
Executive producer: Gary Hamilton, Simon Hewitt, Martin Fabinyi, George Adams, Michael Gudinski
Director of photography: Will Gibson
Production designer: Robert Webb
Music: Francois Tetaz
Co-producer: Matt Hearn
Costume designer: Nicola Dunn
Editor: Jason Ballantine.
Cast:
Mick Taylor: John Jarratt
Ben Mitchell: Nathan Phillips
Liz Hunter: Cassandra Magrath
Kristy Earl: Kestie Morassi
Old Man: Gordon Poole
No
MPAA rating
Running time -- 98 minutes...
Based on two unsolved crimes in the Outback, Wolf Creek turns the image of the heroic Bushman like Crocodile Dundee on its ear and creates a staggeringly evil Australian boogie man. It's a story bound to give even the most seasoned thrill seeker nightmares.
Following the model of Alien, the film takes its time with not much happening for the first forty-five minutes. Mclean is careful to build sympathy for his characters before all hell breaks loose. Liz Hunter (Cassandra Magrath) and Kristy Earl (Kestie Morassi) are typical British girls on holiday in Australia looking for a good time. When they meet up with up with Aussie native Ben Mitchell (Nathan Phillips), they set out by car to explore the remote meteor sites at Wolf Creek. Along the way, we get to see them as flawed, vulnerable kids, so that when they get in trouble we care about them.
Mclean is constantly confounding expectations and violating rules for the well-written screenplay. Initially film seems to be heading in the direction of UFO's since the region is famous for sightings, then Ben gives the girls the chills around the campfire with eyewitness accounts of flying saucers.
But when their car conks out in the middle of nowhere and their watches stop working at the same moment (a major plot point for which there is no explanation), help arrives in the form of backwoods giant Mick Taylor (John Jarratt). Despite some ominous signs, they allow him to tow the car back to his place, an abandoned mining camp, where he starts to work on the repairs. Next thing we know, Liz wakes up bound and gagged in a room that makes a dungeon look appealing. Any doubt about Mick's intentions are gone, and the rest of the film is a sadistic cat and mouse game in which he seeks and destroys his prey in the most vicious and gory fashion. Mclean is purposely pushing things for effect but one wonders what is the line between terror and torture?
Whatever it is, it's stylishly done. Mclean manipulates nature so that it starts out as a positive force and then cloud formations and even flies buzzing gradually take on an ominous tone, heightened by Francois Tetaz's creepy score. Shot with great panache by Jason Ballantine on HD, color grading and blow up make the film look more like Halloween than the overly polished recent remake of Dawn of the Dead.
But the real attraction here is Mick, who is sure to enter the annals of great slasher film villains. With his icy stare, scratchy beard and cackling laugh, this a monster without an ounce of human compassion, and judging by the collection of crucified bodies on his walls, he's made quite a career of duping unsuspecting tourists. Whatever social commentary Mclean throws in about the nature of pure evil and the need to track down these people, the real reason for Wolf Creek to exist is the fun of scaring the hell out of people. Mission accomplished.
WOLF CREEK
Dimension Films
The True Crime Channel
Credits:
Director: Greg Mclean
Writer: Mclean
Producers: Mclean, David Lightfoot
Executive producer: Gary Hamilton, Simon Hewitt, Martin Fabinyi, George Adams, Michael Gudinski
Director of photography: Will Gibson
Production designer: Robert Webb
Music: Francois Tetaz
Co-producer: Matt Hearn
Costume designer: Nicola Dunn
Editor: Jason Ballantine.
Cast:
Mick Taylor: John Jarratt
Ben Mitchell: Nathan Phillips
Liz Hunter: Cassandra Magrath
Kristy Earl: Kestie Morassi
Old Man: Gordon Poole
No
MPAA rating
Running time -- 98 minutes...
- 1/27/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Opened
Thursday, Oct. 9
Australia
SYDNEY -- "Gettin' Square" represents a big jump for filmmaker Jonathan Teplitzky. His first film was the low-key, quietly effective "Better Than Sex", starring Susie Porter and David Wenham, which showcased a director adept at building character and mixing laughs into drama. Both talents are on display in "Gettin' Square", but they're played out on a much bigger canvas.
A tricky, snaking debut screenplay by criminal lawyer/crime fiction author Chris Nyst introduces a big crew of colorful characters just as Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" and Guy Ritchie's "Snatch" did. While Teplitzky doesn't exhibit the same trailblazing flair as those two hipster icons, he does put his own stamp on the film, serving up its dark, noir-inflected themes with gloriously bright, sparkling cinematography. Queensland's glitzy, emotionally hollow Gold Coast almost becomes another character in the film, trapping the other players with its criminal allure.
Barry Wirth (Sam Worthington) is a young crook with a good heart. He's just out of prison and desperately trying to keep his nose clean on the slightly sleazy Gold Coast. But wherever Wirth turns, his old life snaps back to bite him.
A straight job at a "clean" restaurant turns out to be slightly bent: The owner is Barrington (Mike Leigh regular Timothy Spall), an expatriate Englishman who hides a criminal past. Meanwhile, a tough mobster in a sharkskin suit (Gary Sweet) wants to pull Wirth back into the life, while the corrupt cop (David Field) who put him away will never let him forget who he is.
But the biggest thorn in Wirth's side is Johnny "Spit" Spitieri (Wenham), a prison buddy who wants to get clean too but is sidelined by heroin and a distinct lack of brainpower. Even with a supportive social worker (Freya Stafford) on his side, going straight is a very tricky business for Wirth.
Teplitzky loses his footing a bit with the wildly convoluted plot. When the film sticks with the characters, it's a rugged delight. When Wirth gets involved with a dangerous heist (which bookends the film to put a nonlinear spin on things), the director has trouble keeping up with the twisting machinations of his own film. The plot convolutions take on a life of their own, and you'll have to hang on tight to wade through the labyrinthine narrative twists.
The characters and performances are where "Gettin' Square" really thrives. Worthington and Stafford ground the film with winning charm by playing it straight and letting the supporting players indulge in theatrics. Sweet and Field mix malice and dark humor as the bad guys, while Spall gives his character a real sense of warmth and bittersweet regret.
But it's Wenham who owns the film. His comic timing is right on the money (a couple of scenes seem solely devised to show off his physical comedy skills), making the hopeless junkie much more than just a caricature.
Slick and effortlessly stylish, "Gettin' Square" scores with its salty mix of street comedy and criminal high jinks, and showcases a rogue's gallery of colorful performances.
GETTIN' SQUARE
Macquarie Nine Film and Television Investment & Working Title present in association with Film Finance Corporation Australia a Mushroom Pictures and WTA production in association with Freshwater Pictures
Credits:
Director: Jonathan Teplitzky
Screenwriter: Chris Nyst
Producers: Martin Fabinyi, Tim White, Trish Lake
Executive producers: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Michael Gudinski, Kris Noble
Co-producer: Chris Nyst
Director of photography: Garry Phillips
Editor: Ken Sallows
Production designer: Nicholas McCallum
Costume designer: Jackline Sassine
Music: Machine Gun Fellatio
Cast:
Barry Wirth: Sam Worthington
Johnny Spitieri: David Wenham
Darren Barrington: Timothy Spall
Chicka Martin: Gary Sweet
Annie Flynn: Freya Stafford
Arnie De Viers: David Field
Craig "Crusher" Knob: Richard Carter
Running time -- 100 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Thursday, Oct. 9
Australia
SYDNEY -- "Gettin' Square" represents a big jump for filmmaker Jonathan Teplitzky. His first film was the low-key, quietly effective "Better Than Sex", starring Susie Porter and David Wenham, which showcased a director adept at building character and mixing laughs into drama. Both talents are on display in "Gettin' Square", but they're played out on a much bigger canvas.
A tricky, snaking debut screenplay by criminal lawyer/crime fiction author Chris Nyst introduces a big crew of colorful characters just as Quentin Tarantino's "Pulp Fiction" and Guy Ritchie's "Snatch" did. While Teplitzky doesn't exhibit the same trailblazing flair as those two hipster icons, he does put his own stamp on the film, serving up its dark, noir-inflected themes with gloriously bright, sparkling cinematography. Queensland's glitzy, emotionally hollow Gold Coast almost becomes another character in the film, trapping the other players with its criminal allure.
Barry Wirth (Sam Worthington) is a young crook with a good heart. He's just out of prison and desperately trying to keep his nose clean on the slightly sleazy Gold Coast. But wherever Wirth turns, his old life snaps back to bite him.
A straight job at a "clean" restaurant turns out to be slightly bent: The owner is Barrington (Mike Leigh regular Timothy Spall), an expatriate Englishman who hides a criminal past. Meanwhile, a tough mobster in a sharkskin suit (Gary Sweet) wants to pull Wirth back into the life, while the corrupt cop (David Field) who put him away will never let him forget who he is.
But the biggest thorn in Wirth's side is Johnny "Spit" Spitieri (Wenham), a prison buddy who wants to get clean too but is sidelined by heroin and a distinct lack of brainpower. Even with a supportive social worker (Freya Stafford) on his side, going straight is a very tricky business for Wirth.
Teplitzky loses his footing a bit with the wildly convoluted plot. When the film sticks with the characters, it's a rugged delight. When Wirth gets involved with a dangerous heist (which bookends the film to put a nonlinear spin on things), the director has trouble keeping up with the twisting machinations of his own film. The plot convolutions take on a life of their own, and you'll have to hang on tight to wade through the labyrinthine narrative twists.
The characters and performances are where "Gettin' Square" really thrives. Worthington and Stafford ground the film with winning charm by playing it straight and letting the supporting players indulge in theatrics. Sweet and Field mix malice and dark humor as the bad guys, while Spall gives his character a real sense of warmth and bittersweet regret.
But it's Wenham who owns the film. His comic timing is right on the money (a couple of scenes seem solely devised to show off his physical comedy skills), making the hopeless junkie much more than just a caricature.
Slick and effortlessly stylish, "Gettin' Square" scores with its salty mix of street comedy and criminal high jinks, and showcases a rogue's gallery of colorful performances.
GETTIN' SQUARE
Macquarie Nine Film and Television Investment & Working Title present in association with Film Finance Corporation Australia a Mushroom Pictures and WTA production in association with Freshwater Pictures
Credits:
Director: Jonathan Teplitzky
Screenwriter: Chris Nyst
Producers: Martin Fabinyi, Tim White, Trish Lake
Executive producers: Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner, Michael Gudinski, Kris Noble
Co-producer: Chris Nyst
Director of photography: Garry Phillips
Editor: Ken Sallows
Production designer: Nicholas McCallum
Costume designer: Jackline Sassine
Music: Machine Gun Fellatio
Cast:
Barry Wirth: Sam Worthington
Johnny Spitieri: David Wenham
Darren Barrington: Timothy Spall
Chicka Martin: Gary Sweet
Annie Flynn: Freya Stafford
Arnie De Viers: David Field
Craig "Crusher" Knob: Richard Carter
Running time -- 100 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 10/28/2003
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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