Exclusive: Australian actor Sam Delich, who is currently appearing in Netflix’s Joseph Kosinski feature Spiderhead, has landed a major recurring role on Disney+’s comedy-drama series Last Days of the Space Age.
Details of his role are being kept under wraps, but we understand he will essentially play the villain of the piece, which is a tentpole of Disney+’s Australia and New Zealand 2022/23 slate and was unveiled in Sydney last month.
Last Days of the Space Age is an eight-part dramedy series set in 1979 Perth in Western Australia, as a power strike threatens to plunge the region into darkness, while the city hosts the iconic Miss Universe pageant and the US space station Skylab crashes just beyond the city’s suburbs. Against this backdrop, three families in a tight-knit coastal community find their marriages, friendships and futures put to the test.
Delich will appear in the supporting role...
Details of his role are being kept under wraps, but we understand he will essentially play the villain of the piece, which is a tentpole of Disney+’s Australia and New Zealand 2022/23 slate and was unveiled in Sydney last month.
Last Days of the Space Age is an eight-part dramedy series set in 1979 Perth in Western Australia, as a power strike threatens to plunge the region into darkness, while the city hosts the iconic Miss Universe pageant and the US space station Skylab crashes just beyond the city’s suburbs. Against this backdrop, three families in a tight-knit coastal community find their marriages, friendships and futures put to the test.
Delich will appear in the supporting role...
- 6/23/2022
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Miranda Otto, Jesse Spence and Guy Pearce are among the high-profile stars featuring on Disney+’s debut slate in Australia and New Zealand.
Announced at an event at Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art, the 2022/23 slate comprises three dramas, four documentaries and two lifestyle/general factual entertainment series. Several are for Disney+’s adult vertical Star.
On the scripted drama front, The Clearing is adapted from Jp Pomare’s novel ‘In the Clearing’ and is inspired by Australian cult The Family and its founder Anne Hamilton-Byrne, one of the few female cult leaders in history.
Teresa Palmer (A Discovery of Witches), Miranda Otto (The Usual Suspects) and Guy Pearce (Jack Irish) lead the cast, alongside the lies of Hazem Shammas (Safe Harbour), Mark Coles-Smith (Mystery Road), Tom Budge (Bloom).
Written and created by Matt Cameron (Jack Irish) and Elise McCredie (Stateless) alongside co-writer Osamah Sami (Ali’s Wedding), it comes from...
Announced at an event at Sydney’s Museum of Contemporary Art, the 2022/23 slate comprises three dramas, four documentaries and two lifestyle/general factual entertainment series. Several are for Disney+’s adult vertical Star.
On the scripted drama front, The Clearing is adapted from Jp Pomare’s novel ‘In the Clearing’ and is inspired by Australian cult The Family and its founder Anne Hamilton-Byrne, one of the few female cult leaders in history.
Teresa Palmer (A Discovery of Witches), Miranda Otto (The Usual Suspects) and Guy Pearce (Jack Irish) lead the cast, alongside the lies of Hazem Shammas (Safe Harbour), Mark Coles-Smith (Mystery Road), Tom Budge (Bloom).
Written and created by Matt Cameron (Jack Irish) and Elise McCredie (Stateless) alongside co-writer Osamah Sami (Ali’s Wedding), it comes from...
- 5/17/2022
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Rachael Turk.
After more than 10 years as a development producer – the last seven and a half years at Easy Tiger/Essential Media and Entertainment – Rachael Turk is pursuing her passion for screenwriting, creating her own projects and script producing with other creatives.
“This was a long-planned strategic move in order to do what I love best: not only creating and developing shows but writing on them too,” Turk tells If.
As an indie, she hopes her first project to go into production will be female-led, international mystery thriller The Red Cord, which has been in development for several years with Easy Tiger and Fremantle’s global drama division and recently received script funding from Screen Nsw.
The plot follows two women, one in Australia, the other on the other side of the world, who set out to solve a mystery surrounding a child whom they inadvertently share. Easy Tiger’s...
After more than 10 years as a development producer – the last seven and a half years at Easy Tiger/Essential Media and Entertainment – Rachael Turk is pursuing her passion for screenwriting, creating her own projects and script producing with other creatives.
“This was a long-planned strategic move in order to do what I love best: not only creating and developing shows but writing on them too,” Turk tells If.
As an indie, she hopes her first project to go into production will be female-led, international mystery thriller The Red Cord, which has been in development for several years with Easy Tiger and Fremantle’s global drama division and recently received script funding from Screen Nsw.
The plot follows two women, one in Australia, the other on the other side of the world, who set out to solve a mystery surrounding a child whom they inadvertently share. Easy Tiger’s...
- 10/12/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
(L-r) Tanya Phegan, Ian Collie, Rachael Turk and Rob Gibson.
Bolstered by the arrival of Rob Gibson as CEO and producer, Ian Collie’s Easy Tiger Productions is ramping up the development of Australian and internationally-targeted projects, drawing on emerging talent as well as seasoned creatives.
“The difficulty we all recognise is that people like Tony McNamara, Andrew Knight and Kris Mrksa are getting pulled into Us or UK projects,” says Collie, who launched the company in 2017 with the backing of Fremantle.
“Our big focus is working with tomorrow’s talent, the wonderful emerging writers and creators who hopefully will be the next generation.”
Gibson adds: “It’s very much a two-pronged strategy of finding prestige projects and international opportunities with our increasingly sought after partners like Andrew Knight and Tony McNamara, and also working with rising stars and the next generation.
Collie and Gibson are working with development executives...
Bolstered by the arrival of Rob Gibson as CEO and producer, Ian Collie’s Easy Tiger Productions is ramping up the development of Australian and internationally-targeted projects, drawing on emerging talent as well as seasoned creatives.
“The difficulty we all recognise is that people like Tony McNamara, Andrew Knight and Kris Mrksa are getting pulled into Us or UK projects,” says Collie, who launched the company in 2017 with the backing of Fremantle.
“Our big focus is working with tomorrow’s talent, the wonderful emerging writers and creators who hopefully will be the next generation.”
Gibson adds: “It’s very much a two-pronged strategy of finding prestige projects and international opportunities with our increasingly sought after partners like Andrew Knight and Tony McNamara, and also working with rising stars and the next generation.
Collie and Gibson are working with development executives...
- 2/13/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Exclusive: In a coup for growing management and production outfit 42, agent Sophie Dolan has joined the firm from Casarotto.
Dolan joined London and Los Angeles-based 42 this week as Literary Manager, responsible for managing film and TV talent in the company’s Literary Department. She was previously at UK outfit Casarotto Ramsay & Associates for more than ten years.
Dolan brings with her a prominent list of international filmmakers including recent Oscar-winner Sebastián Lelio (A Fantastic Woman), The Lunchbox and Our Souls At Night director Ritesh Batra, and Joanna Hogg (The Souvenir).
Also among her client list are Sundance Jury Prize-winning director Anne Sewitsky, director Juan Carlos Medina (The Limehouse Golem) as well as writers Alice Addison (Picnic At Hanging Rock), Claire Wilson (The Little Drummer Girl) and Francesca Gardiner (The Night Manager 2).
Dolan’s list further bolsters the strong filmmaker stable at 42, whose ranks already include the likes of Lynne Ramsay,...
Dolan joined London and Los Angeles-based 42 this week as Literary Manager, responsible for managing film and TV talent in the company’s Literary Department. She was previously at UK outfit Casarotto Ramsay & Associates for more than ten years.
Dolan brings with her a prominent list of international filmmakers including recent Oscar-winner Sebastián Lelio (A Fantastic Woman), The Lunchbox and Our Souls At Night director Ritesh Batra, and Joanna Hogg (The Souvenir).
Also among her client list are Sundance Jury Prize-winning director Anne Sewitsky, director Juan Carlos Medina (The Limehouse Golem) as well as writers Alice Addison (Picnic At Hanging Rock), Claire Wilson (The Little Drummer Girl) and Francesca Gardiner (The Night Manager 2).
Dolan’s list further bolsters the strong filmmaker stable at 42, whose ranks already include the likes of Lynne Ramsay,...
- 7/11/2018
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
Joan Lindsay’s novel “Picnic at Hanging Rock” was a mere 212 pages when first printed in 1967. Peter Weir’s 1975 movie of the same name clocked in under two hours (115 minutes). Both have been praised for their mysterious takes on the story of four women who disappear in the Australian bush — the novel for framing the events as a true story (it wasn’t) and the film for its challenging, open-ended conclusion, among other attributes for both.
The new TV adaptation builds on many of these same traits, but a funny thing happens when you try to elongate a surreal horror story by providing explicit details: It gets boring. In extending the length to a six-hour limited series, Amazon’s 2018 version loses much of the original works’ imaginative appeal even while providing added agency to its characters. Each of the key students at Mrs. Hester Appleyard’s (Natalie Dormer) school (as...
The new TV adaptation builds on many of these same traits, but a funny thing happens when you try to elongate a surreal horror story by providing explicit details: It gets boring. In extending the length to a six-hour limited series, Amazon’s 2018 version loses much of the original works’ imaginative appeal even while providing added agency to its characters. Each of the key students at Mrs. Hester Appleyard’s (Natalie Dormer) school (as...
- 5/25/2018
- by Ben Travers
- Indiewire
Peter Weir’s 1975 film “Picnic at Hanging Rock,” much like the geologic formation named in its title, casts a very long shadow. Based on the 1967 novel of the same name by Joan Lindsay, the movie adaptation tells the story of three young women and a teacher from Appleyard College, who go missing during a Valentine’s Day outing in 1900.
Considered a masterpiece of Australian filmmaking and an achievement in Weir’s early career, the movie created a haunting Victorian aesthetic that is still referenced in films, fashion, and other art forms to this day. Because of this impact, the movie looked as if it would be one of the few classics that would remain untouched by the latest wave of remakes and reboots. Then a group of women came along to change that.
Showrunner and director Larysa Kondracki and star Natalie Dormer spoke to IndieWire about why they dared to...
Considered a masterpiece of Australian filmmaking and an achievement in Weir’s early career, the movie created a haunting Victorian aesthetic that is still referenced in films, fashion, and other art forms to this day. Because of this impact, the movie looked as if it would be one of the few classics that would remain untouched by the latest wave of remakes and reboots. Then a group of women came along to change that.
Showrunner and director Larysa Kondracki and star Natalie Dormer spoke to IndieWire about why they dared to...
- 5/25/2018
- by Hanh Nguyen
- Indiewire
Joan Lindsay’s much-acclaimed 1967 Australian novel “Picnic At Hanging Rock” has already resulted in one stunning adaptation — Peter Weir’s 1975 film of the same name — so a second attempt, this time a television series, may already feel unnecessary. But it doesn’t take long for writers Beatrix Christian and Alice Addison to make the case for their own 2018 “Picnic,” a darker, more mysterious, and extended version that manages to feel updated for our time while still keeping the original 1900 setting.
In “Picnic At Hanging Rock,” the central mystery is laid out immediately: Four young women — three students and their teacher — suddenly vanish on Valentine’s Day, 1900, while on a school picnic at, well, Hanging Rock. The base premise is familiar to fans of crime series, but this is no ordinary drama; it’s eerie and haunting. It’s less dreamy (a quality frequently ascribed to the film) and more of...
In “Picnic At Hanging Rock,” the central mystery is laid out immediately: Four young women — three students and their teacher — suddenly vanish on Valentine’s Day, 1900, while on a school picnic at, well, Hanging Rock. The base premise is familiar to fans of crime series, but this is no ordinary drama; it’s eerie and haunting. It’s less dreamy (a quality frequently ascribed to the film) and more of...
- 4/29/2018
- by Pilot Viruet
- Variety Film + TV
Seven series selected for TV strand.
The Berlin Film Festival (Feb 15-25) has unveiled the seven titles set to be screened in this year’s Berlinale Series programme.
Source: Hulu
The Looming Tower
Opening the festival’s TV strand is Australian series Picnic At Hanging Rock, FremantleMedia’s Natalie Dormer-starring TV adaptation of Joan Lindsay’s 1967 novel, which previously spawned Peter Weir’s Bafta-winning 1975 feature.
The series tells the story of a strict headmistress at a boarding school whose dark past catches up with her after three pupils mysteriously disappear during a school outing.
Also in the selection is Legendary Television and broadcaster Hulu’s The Looming Tower, which is based on Lawrence Wright’s Pulitzer prize-winning book of the same name. Chronicling the lead-up to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the series stars Jeff Daniels as counter terrorism expert John O’Neill and is being exec produced by Alex Gibney.
Further series in the...
The Berlin Film Festival (Feb 15-25) has unveiled the seven titles set to be screened in this year’s Berlinale Series programme.
Source: Hulu
The Looming Tower
Opening the festival’s TV strand is Australian series Picnic At Hanging Rock, FremantleMedia’s Natalie Dormer-starring TV adaptation of Joan Lindsay’s 1967 novel, which previously spawned Peter Weir’s Bafta-winning 1975 feature.
The series tells the story of a strict headmistress at a boarding school whose dark past catches up with her after three pupils mysteriously disappear during a school outing.
Also in the selection is Legendary Television and broadcaster Hulu’s The Looming Tower, which is based on Lawrence Wright’s Pulitzer prize-winning book of the same name. Chronicling the lead-up to the 9/11 terrorist attacks, the series stars Jeff Daniels as counter terrorism expert John O’Neill and is being exec produced by Alex Gibney.
Further series in the...
- 1/18/2018
- by Tom Grater
- ScreenDaily
Cate Shortland on the set of 'Berlin Syndrome'.
Berlin Syndrome filmmaker Cate Shortland is prepping an eight-part series for Matchbox Pictures.
Titled The Monaro, the series will focus on six women in the 1830s and is based on a true crime case, the director told If.
Shortland will shoot in the titular region, east of the Snowy Mountains, where she also shot her debut feature, Somersault.
.It.s one of my favourite places in the world to shoot so I wanted to do something again there,. the helmer said..
Shortland is an experienced writer for TV, having written episodes of The Slap, Devil.s Playground, Deadline Gallipoli and The Kettering Incident, but this will mark the first series she has directed since The Secret Life of Us in 2003.
She also helmed TV movie The Silence, starring Richard Roxburgh and co-written by Picnic at Hanging Rock.s Alice Addison,...
Berlin Syndrome filmmaker Cate Shortland is prepping an eight-part series for Matchbox Pictures.
Titled The Monaro, the series will focus on six women in the 1830s and is based on a true crime case, the director told If.
Shortland will shoot in the titular region, east of the Snowy Mountains, where she also shot her debut feature, Somersault.
.It.s one of my favourite places in the world to shoot so I wanted to do something again there,. the helmer said..
Shortland is an experienced writer for TV, having written episodes of The Slap, Devil.s Playground, Deadline Gallipoli and The Kettering Incident, but this will mark the first series she has directed since The Secret Life of Us in 2003.
She also helmed TV movie The Silence, starring Richard Roxburgh and co-written by Picnic at Hanging Rock.s Alice Addison,...
- 3/13/2017
- by Harry Windsor
- IF.com.au
Natalie Dormer..
Game of Thrones star Natalie Dormer will play English headmistress Mrs. Hester Appleyard in Foxtel.s upcoming.Picnic at Hanging Rock miniseries..
FremantleMedia.s six-parter begins shooting later this month. Amanda Brotchie (Agony, This is Littleton, Lowdown).will direct alongside the previously announced Michael Rymer and Larysa Kondracki.
Brotchie joins after the Australian Directors' Guild criticised FremantleMedia over the import of Kondracki, a Canadian, to shoot the series.
In late December, following a protest staged by the Adg and Wift Nsw outside FremantleMedia.s Sydney office, the production company announced it would bring on an Aussie female director to shoot one episode.
Joining Dormer as the teachers of Appleyard College are.Yael Stone (Orange is the New Black), French actress Lola Bessis (Cassandra, Swim Little Fish Swim),.Anna McGahan (The Doctor Blake Mysteries, Anzac Girls) and Sibylla Budd (Tomorrow When The War Began, Winners & Losers).
Schoolgirls will be played by Lily Sullivan (Camp,...
Game of Thrones star Natalie Dormer will play English headmistress Mrs. Hester Appleyard in Foxtel.s upcoming.Picnic at Hanging Rock miniseries..
FremantleMedia.s six-parter begins shooting later this month. Amanda Brotchie (Agony, This is Littleton, Lowdown).will direct alongside the previously announced Michael Rymer and Larysa Kondracki.
Brotchie joins after the Australian Directors' Guild criticised FremantleMedia over the import of Kondracki, a Canadian, to shoot the series.
In late December, following a protest staged by the Adg and Wift Nsw outside FremantleMedia.s Sydney office, the production company announced it would bring on an Aussie female director to shoot one episode.
Joining Dormer as the teachers of Appleyard College are.Yael Stone (Orange is the New Black), French actress Lola Bessis (Cassandra, Swim Little Fish Swim),.Anna McGahan (The Doctor Blake Mysteries, Anzac Girls) and Sibylla Budd (Tomorrow When The War Began, Winners & Losers).
Schoolgirls will be played by Lily Sullivan (Camp,...
- 2/17/2017
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Michael Rymer.
Australian director Michael Rymer started his career with 1995's Angel Baby, going on to direct features such as Queen of the Damned in 2002 and Face to Face in 2011.
Rymer has also become a prolific director of American television, with credits including Battlestar Galactica, American Horror Story, Longmire, The Killing, Hannibal, The Man in the High Castle and Jessica Jones, for which he recently received a Hugo Award.
The director has been in Los Angeles for most of 2016, pitching a TV show that he hopes to shoot in Melbourne next year: Tremula, based on a feature script written by Queensland writers Shayne Armstrong and Shane Krause.
"Their agent Jean sent me the screenplay of the movie and I liked it a lot," says Rymer. "I just thought it was a good elevated sci-fi piece; very conceptual, very character-driven.".
Rymer describes Tremula, in which a group of international astronauts go...
Australian director Michael Rymer started his career with 1995's Angel Baby, going on to direct features such as Queen of the Damned in 2002 and Face to Face in 2011.
Rymer has also become a prolific director of American television, with credits including Battlestar Galactica, American Horror Story, Longmire, The Killing, Hannibal, The Man in the High Castle and Jessica Jones, for which he recently received a Hugo Award.
The director has been in Los Angeles for most of 2016, pitching a TV show that he hopes to shoot in Melbourne next year: Tremula, based on a feature script written by Queensland writers Shayne Armstrong and Shane Krause.
"Their agent Jean sent me the screenplay of the movie and I liked it a lot," says Rymer. "I just thought it was a good elevated sci-fi piece; very conceptual, very character-driven.".
Rymer describes Tremula, in which a group of international astronauts go...
- 11/4/2016
- by Harry Windsor
- IF.com.au
Louisa Mellor Sep 7, 2016
Peter Weir's ethereally strange Australian classic Picnic At Hanging Rock is being adapted into a TV series...
Atmospheric 1975 Australian film Picnic At Hanging Rock is the latest feature to inspire a television adaptation. Fremantle Australia and Foxtel are planning to produce a six-episode miniseries of the story.
The new series will be adapted from Joan Lindsay's 1967 book of the same name by screenwriters Beatrix Christian and Alice Addison. Casting is still underway on the adaptation, the film version of which notably featured a young Jacki Weaver and Vivean Gray.
The story tells of the unsolved mysterious disappearance of a group of schoolgirls and their teacher on a school outing on Valentine's Day, 1900. Ambiguous, eerie and captivating, Peter Weir's film adaptation is a modern Australian classic.
Australian viewers can expect to see the new series on pay-tv in 2017. We'll keep you posted of any international broadcast options picked up.
Peter Weir's ethereally strange Australian classic Picnic At Hanging Rock is being adapted into a TV series...
Atmospheric 1975 Australian film Picnic At Hanging Rock is the latest feature to inspire a television adaptation. Fremantle Australia and Foxtel are planning to produce a six-episode miniseries of the story.
The new series will be adapted from Joan Lindsay's 1967 book of the same name by screenwriters Beatrix Christian and Alice Addison. Casting is still underway on the adaptation, the film version of which notably featured a young Jacki Weaver and Vivean Gray.
The story tells of the unsolved mysterious disappearance of a group of schoolgirls and their teacher on a school outing on Valentine's Day, 1900. Ambiguous, eerie and captivating, Peter Weir's film adaptation is a modern Australian classic.
Australian viewers can expect to see the new series on pay-tv in 2017. We'll keep you posted of any international broadcast options picked up.
- 9/7/2016
- Den of Geek
Peter Weir's Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)
Foxtel has commissioned what it has called a .trailblazing re-imagining. of Picnic at Hanging Rock as a TV series.
Like Peter Weir's classic film, the six-part drama will be based on the 1967 novel by Joan Lindsay, following the mysterious disappearances of three schoolgirls and their governess on Valentine.s Day 1900 and the far-reaching aftermath.
FremantleMedia Australia is set to produce, with funding secured through Screen Australia.
Foxtel head of drama Penny Win said Foxtel was .very proud. to bring the series to viewers.
.Like many others, I am a fan of the 1975 Australian film which was pivotal in establishing the modern Australian film industry. This series, based on the classic novel, will take viewers on a new and in depth journey into this incredibly iconic Australian story.
.Our aim is to provide a rich and diverse slate of Australian drama for our...
Foxtel has commissioned what it has called a .trailblazing re-imagining. of Picnic at Hanging Rock as a TV series.
Like Peter Weir's classic film, the six-part drama will be based on the 1967 novel by Joan Lindsay, following the mysterious disappearances of three schoolgirls and their governess on Valentine.s Day 1900 and the far-reaching aftermath.
FremantleMedia Australia is set to produce, with funding secured through Screen Australia.
Foxtel head of drama Penny Win said Foxtel was .very proud. to bring the series to viewers.
.Like many others, I am a fan of the 1975 Australian film which was pivotal in establishing the modern Australian film industry. This series, based on the classic novel, will take viewers on a new and in depth journey into this incredibly iconic Australian story.
.Our aim is to provide a rich and diverse slate of Australian drama for our...
- 9/7/2016
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
Rahel Romahn is 22 but he.s carving out quite a career playing high school students of various ethnic origins, mostly rebellious or with a dark side.
Since quitting his full-time bank job a year ago, the Kurdish-born, Australian-raised actor.s career has accelerated.
Currently on screen in Sbs.s The Principal and ABC3.s Ready for This, Romahn appears in Peter Andrikidis. comedy Alex + Eve, which opens in cinemas on October 22.
Next year he will be seen in writer-director Abe Forsythe.s black comedy Down Under and in the ABC series Cleverman.
This week he started filming a recurring role in the second series of Screentime.s ABC legal drama Janet King.
And he belongs to Blunt Gorilla, a filmmaker collective which makes TVCs and music videos and aims to produce its first feature next year.
That.s quite a resume for an actor who had been considering moving to...
Since quitting his full-time bank job a year ago, the Kurdish-born, Australian-raised actor.s career has accelerated.
Currently on screen in Sbs.s The Principal and ABC3.s Ready for This, Romahn appears in Peter Andrikidis. comedy Alex + Eve, which opens in cinemas on October 22.
Next year he will be seen in writer-director Abe Forsythe.s black comedy Down Under and in the ABC series Cleverman.
This week he started filming a recurring role in the second series of Screentime.s ABC legal drama Janet King.
And he belongs to Blunt Gorilla, a filmmaker collective which makes TVCs and music videos and aims to produce its first feature next year.
That.s quite a resume for an actor who had been considering moving to...
- 10/13/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
TV pundits who were quick to categorize the overnight ratings for the premiere of Essential Media and Entertainment.s 4-part drama The Principal on Sbs as disappointing were too hasty - and misleading.
The broadcaster and producers were more than happy with the combined nationwide figures for the first screening and the repeat the same night.
The first episode last Wednesday drew 361,100 viewers in the five metro cities and a further 115,100 in the regions, for a total of 476,200.
The encore screening on the same night was watched by 98,900 in the metros and 37,800 in the regions for 136,700 combined, so the total was 612,900, with the time-shifting/consolidated figures to come.
.The program has received rave reviews, a lot of commentary on social media and Sbs is very happy with the ratings,. producer Ian Collie tells If. .It.s a great boost to Sbs drama's credentials with its appetite for edgier and compelling stories about our diverse,...
The broadcaster and producers were more than happy with the combined nationwide figures for the first screening and the repeat the same night.
The first episode last Wednesday drew 361,100 viewers in the five metro cities and a further 115,100 in the regions, for a total of 476,200.
The encore screening on the same night was watched by 98,900 in the metros and 37,800 in the regions for 136,700 combined, so the total was 612,900, with the time-shifting/consolidated figures to come.
.The program has received rave reviews, a lot of commentary on social media and Sbs is very happy with the ratings,. producer Ian Collie tells If. .It.s a great boost to Sbs drama's credentials with its appetite for edgier and compelling stories about our diverse,...
- 10/11/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Nine features have been nominated for this year's Awgie Awards for performance writing.
Eight telemovies and miniseries are in contention. The Australian Writers. Guild says nominations in the 25 categories for the 48th Annual Awgie Awards reflect the abundance of outstanding work currently being produced in Australia. Nominees for best original telemovie are Steven McGregor for Redfern Now: Promise Me and Katherine Thomson for House of Hancock, while Christopher Lee.s Gallipoli and Jan Sardi and Mac Gudgeon.s The Secret River contend for best adaptation in a television miniseries. There are four nominees for original television mini-series: The Principal by Alice Addison and Kristen Dunphy; The Kettering Incident by Vicki Madden, Andrew Knight, Cate Shortland and Louise Fox; Deadline Gallipoli by Jacquelin Perske, Stuart Beattie, Shaun Grant and Cate Shortland; and Love Child: Series 2 from Tim Pye, Cathryn Strickland, Chris McCourt, Jane Allen and Tamara Asmar. In the categories...
Eight telemovies and miniseries are in contention. The Australian Writers. Guild says nominations in the 25 categories for the 48th Annual Awgie Awards reflect the abundance of outstanding work currently being produced in Australia. Nominees for best original telemovie are Steven McGregor for Redfern Now: Promise Me and Katherine Thomson for House of Hancock, while Christopher Lee.s Gallipoli and Jan Sardi and Mac Gudgeon.s The Secret River contend for best adaptation in a television miniseries. There are four nominees for original television mini-series: The Principal by Alice Addison and Kristen Dunphy; The Kettering Incident by Vicki Madden, Andrew Knight, Cate Shortland and Louise Fox; Deadline Gallipoli by Jacquelin Perske, Stuart Beattie, Shaun Grant and Cate Shortland; and Love Child: Series 2 from Tim Pye, Cathryn Strickland, Chris McCourt, Jane Allen and Tamara Asmar. In the categories...
- 7/23/2015
- by Staff writer
- IF.com.au
Simon Baker will make his feature directing debut, Matchbox Pictures will adapt another Christos Tsiolkas. novel for the ABC and Endemol Australia will produce a female-driven drama for the Nine Network in projects funded by Screen Australia.
Among other funding recipients are a TV spin-off of Tomorrow, When the War Began, a Nowhere Boys telemovie for the ABC and a relationships comedy directed by Tim Ferguson and Marc Gracie.
In total Screen Australia is investing $13.4 million in 12 film and television projects which will trigger production worth $64.3 million.
Baker (The Mentalist) will direct and star in the screen adaptation of Tim Winton.s novel Breath, scripted by Top of the Lake.s Gerard Lee.
The producers are Mark Johnson (Breaking Bad, The Notebook), Baker and See Pictures. Jamie Hilton (Backtrack, The Little Death).
Arclight is pitching the 1970s-set project to prospective buyers at the Cannes Film Market. The novel focusses on two teenagers,...
Among other funding recipients are a TV spin-off of Tomorrow, When the War Began, a Nowhere Boys telemovie for the ABC and a relationships comedy directed by Tim Ferguson and Marc Gracie.
In total Screen Australia is investing $13.4 million in 12 film and television projects which will trigger production worth $64.3 million.
Baker (The Mentalist) will direct and star in the screen adaptation of Tim Winton.s novel Breath, scripted by Top of the Lake.s Gerard Lee.
The producers are Mark Johnson (Breaking Bad, The Notebook), Baker and See Pictures. Jamie Hilton (Backtrack, The Little Death).
Arclight is pitching the 1970s-set project to prospective buyers at the Cannes Film Market. The novel focusses on two teenagers,...
- 5/13/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
The Sessions writer-director Ben Lewin is attached to helm Blue Rose, a biopic about the self-described .sex crazed. Australian composer and pianist Percy Grainger.
La-based Jeffrey Walker will return to Oz a to direct Dance Academy: The Comeback., a spin-off of Werner Film Productions. popular TV series, which will follow a young ballerina who dreams of being a star.
Following Ruin and Hail, Amiel Courtin-Wilson is to write, produce and direct Hawkwood, a thriller set in the backwaters of Africa which tells of ageing mercenary.s journey from chaos to grace.
These are among 16 feature projects which are receiving more than $620,000 in development funding from Screen Australia.
Lewin will write Blue Rose with Wain Fimeri for producers Chryssy Tintner, Jan Eymann, Judi Levine and Arclight.s Mark Lazarus and Gary Hamilton. His next film is Us indie romantic drama Purple Hearts, which will star Jane the Virgin's Gina Rodriguez...
La-based Jeffrey Walker will return to Oz a to direct Dance Academy: The Comeback., a spin-off of Werner Film Productions. popular TV series, which will follow a young ballerina who dreams of being a star.
Following Ruin and Hail, Amiel Courtin-Wilson is to write, produce and direct Hawkwood, a thriller set in the backwaters of Africa which tells of ageing mercenary.s journey from chaos to grace.
These are among 16 feature projects which are receiving more than $620,000 in development funding from Screen Australia.
Lewin will write Blue Rose with Wain Fimeri for producers Chryssy Tintner, Jan Eymann, Judi Levine and Arclight.s Mark Lazarus and Gary Hamilton. His next film is Us indie romantic drama Purple Hearts, which will star Jane the Virgin's Gina Rodriguez...
- 4/21/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Just 48,000 people watched the two-hour premiere of Devil.s Playground on Tuesday September 9 on Foxtel.s showcase, but with repeat screenings over the next six days the audience totaled 150,000.
.We consider that.s a very solid number,. Foxtel director of programming Ross Crowley told If today.
Comparisons with other Australian series and miniseries screened on Foxtel in recent years are difficult because Devil.s Playground airs on the movie tier, which reaches about 56% of the platform.s subscribers. Crowley said the most recent like-for-like comparison is with the drama Tangle, which it has tripled.
A sequel to Fred Schepisi.s seminal 1976 semi-autobiographical movie The Devil.s Playground, the six-hour series stars Simon Burke as a newly-widowed Sydney psychiatrist as he.s hired by the Catholic Church to counsel troubled clergy.
The cast includes Jack Thompson, Don Hany, Toni Collette, Andrew McFarlane, Nida graduate Uli Latukefu, Leon Ford and Max Cullen.
.We consider that.s a very solid number,. Foxtel director of programming Ross Crowley told If today.
Comparisons with other Australian series and miniseries screened on Foxtel in recent years are difficult because Devil.s Playground airs on the movie tier, which reaches about 56% of the platform.s subscribers. Crowley said the most recent like-for-like comparison is with the drama Tangle, which it has tripled.
A sequel to Fred Schepisi.s seminal 1976 semi-autobiographical movie The Devil.s Playground, the six-hour series stars Simon Burke as a newly-widowed Sydney psychiatrist as he.s hired by the Catholic Church to counsel troubled clergy.
The cast includes Jack Thompson, Don Hany, Toni Collette, Andrew McFarlane, Nida graduate Uli Latukefu, Leon Ford and Max Cullen.
- 9/19/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
The ailing screen production sector is set to get a major boost with more than $80 million worth of films, TV dramas and a documentary receiving funding from Screen Australia.
The agency is investing more than $12 million in four features, four adult dramas, two children.s dramas and a theatrical doc. In addition Scroz is providing completion funding to sex comedy The Little Deaths, writer-director Josh Lawson.s feature debut.
The projects include a Blinky Bill animated movie, a comedy set during the Cronulla race riots, the long-mooted Molly Meldrum TV drama and The Principal, the first drama commissioned by Sbs since Better Man.
.We have backed some of our great contemporary writers, directors and producers, alongside some exciting new voices, . said Screen Australia head of production Sally Caplan.
.The projects target audiences as diverse as Australia is today, with projects which are ambitious, risk-taking and culturally important, revealing we have...
The agency is investing more than $12 million in four features, four adult dramas, two children.s dramas and a theatrical doc. In addition Scroz is providing completion funding to sex comedy The Little Deaths, writer-director Josh Lawson.s feature debut.
The projects include a Blinky Bill animated movie, a comedy set during the Cronulla race riots, the long-mooted Molly Meldrum TV drama and The Principal, the first drama commissioned by Sbs since Better Man.
.We have backed some of our great contemporary writers, directors and producers, alongside some exciting new voices, . said Screen Australia head of production Sally Caplan.
.The projects target audiences as diverse as Australia is today, with projects which are ambitious, risk-taking and culturally important, revealing we have...
- 8/6/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Devil.s Playground, the Foxtel miniseries that deals with the cover-up of sexual abuse in the Catholic Church in the 1980s, .won.t pull any punches,. according to producer Helen Bowden.
Now shooting in Sydney, the six-part series stars Simon Burke as Tom Allen, a psychiatrist who is hired as a confessor to the clergy and gets embroiled in political and theological intrigue.
Burke played Allen as a 13-year-old schoolboy in Fred Schepisi.s 1976 drama The Devil.s Playground. The stellar cast includes Don Hany and John Noble as Bishops, Jack Thompson as the Archbishop, Toni Collette as a State Labor MP who campaigns for social justice, Andrew McFarlane as a priest and Max Cullen as a retired priest.
The screenplay by Blake Ayshford, Cate Shortland, Alice Addison and Tommy Murphy is .complete fiction but drawn from events that happened,. Bowden told If.
Funded by Screen Australia and Screen Nsw and produced by Matchbox Pictures,...
Now shooting in Sydney, the six-part series stars Simon Burke as Tom Allen, a psychiatrist who is hired as a confessor to the clergy and gets embroiled in political and theological intrigue.
Burke played Allen as a 13-year-old schoolboy in Fred Schepisi.s 1976 drama The Devil.s Playground. The stellar cast includes Don Hany and John Noble as Bishops, Jack Thompson as the Archbishop, Toni Collette as a State Labor MP who campaigns for social justice, Andrew McFarlane as a priest and Max Cullen as a retired priest.
The screenplay by Blake Ayshford, Cate Shortland, Alice Addison and Tommy Murphy is .complete fiction but drawn from events that happened,. Bowden told If.
Funded by Screen Australia and Screen Nsw and produced by Matchbox Pictures,...
- 4/5/2013
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Screen Australia says it has not mismanaged its finances by spending its annual production funding in just six months - a state of affairs which it says reflects the strength of the local film industry.
The government screen agency revealed in mid-December 2012 that it had spent its entire annual $42 million drama production allocation due to the unprecedented number of quality feature film and television projects seeking support. The shock announcement was reminiscent of the agency's abrupt decision to cut its investment cap in 2009 while several films were mid-financed. That decision.threw several major Australian productions into dissaray including The Tree and the biggest box office hit of.2010, Tomorrow When the War Began (Omnilab Media had to increase its investment at the last minute to ensure production).
Overspending on such a scale has never occurred before, even going back to the era of Screen Australia.s predecessor funding arm, the Film Finance Corporation.
The government screen agency revealed in mid-December 2012 that it had spent its entire annual $42 million drama production allocation due to the unprecedented number of quality feature film and television projects seeking support. The shock announcement was reminiscent of the agency's abrupt decision to cut its investment cap in 2009 while several films were mid-financed. That decision.threw several major Australian productions into dissaray including The Tree and the biggest box office hit of.2010, Tomorrow When the War Began (Omnilab Media had to increase its investment at the last minute to ensure production).
Overspending on such a scale has never occurred before, even going back to the era of Screen Australia.s predecessor funding arm, the Film Finance Corporation.
- 2/6/2013
- by Brendan Swift
- IF.com.au
The Devil’s Playground
A series which picks up the story of classic feature film The Devil’s Playground 35 years on, is among 11 productions to receive Screen Australia funding.
Return to the Devil’s Playground is a six-part series produced by Matchbox Pictures’ Helen Bowden and Blake Ayshford and directed by The Strait’s Rachel Ward and Dead Europe’s Tony Krawitz.
Writers on the production are Ayshford, Cate Shortland, Alice Addison and Tommy Murphy.
The series picks up the story in 1988, 35 years after Fred Schepisi’s The Devil’s Playground, where main character Tom Allen, a psychiatrist and a secular confessor to the Catholic clergy, becomes entangled in political and theological intrigue.
The series is executive produced by Penny Chapman, Simon Burke, who played the original character of Tom Allen and is the current Actor’s Equity president, and Penny Win.
Screen Australia’s overall investment across the 11 productions...
A series which picks up the story of classic feature film The Devil’s Playground 35 years on, is among 11 productions to receive Screen Australia funding.
Return to the Devil’s Playground is a six-part series produced by Matchbox Pictures’ Helen Bowden and Blake Ayshford and directed by The Strait’s Rachel Ward and Dead Europe’s Tony Krawitz.
Writers on the production are Ayshford, Cate Shortland, Alice Addison and Tommy Murphy.
The series picks up the story in 1988, 35 years after Fred Schepisi’s The Devil’s Playground, where main character Tom Allen, a psychiatrist and a secular confessor to the Catholic clergy, becomes entangled in political and theological intrigue.
The series is executive produced by Penny Chapman, Simon Burke, who played the original character of Tom Allen and is the current Actor’s Equity president, and Penny Win.
Screen Australia’s overall investment across the 11 productions...
- 12/17/2012
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
Screen Australia has today announced it will invest over $11.4 million in five feature films and six television series, one of which is for children.
The feature projects include Kill Me Three Times from Red Dog director Kriv Stenders, The Darkside from writer/director Warwick Thornton, debut feature Fell from Kasimir Burgess, crime-thriller Cut Snake from director Tony Ayres (Home Song Stories) and comedy Now Add Honey from successful comedy team Wayne Hope and Robyn Butler (The Librarians).
Screen Australia.s Chief Executive Ruth Harley said, .It.s great to end the year investing in such a dynamic range of feature films from a good mix of experienced practitioners and emerging talent.
.I.m thrilled to announce Warwick Thornton.s highly creative and resonant Indigenous story, The Darkside. The smart and stylish thriller Cut Snake comes from a talented and experienced team and Kill Me Three Times is a well-told tale...
The feature projects include Kill Me Three Times from Red Dog director Kriv Stenders, The Darkside from writer/director Warwick Thornton, debut feature Fell from Kasimir Burgess, crime-thriller Cut Snake from director Tony Ayres (Home Song Stories) and comedy Now Add Honey from successful comedy team Wayne Hope and Robyn Butler (The Librarians).
Screen Australia.s Chief Executive Ruth Harley said, .It.s great to end the year investing in such a dynamic range of feature films from a good mix of experienced practitioners and emerging talent.
.I.m thrilled to announce Warwick Thornton.s highly creative and resonant Indigenous story, The Darkside. The smart and stylish thriller Cut Snake comes from a talented and experienced team and Kill Me Three Times is a well-told tale...
- 12/17/2012
- by Emily Blatchford
- IF.com.au
Daniel Nettheim’s The Hunter is a dark, brooding film that depends just as much on scenes of silence as it does on scenes of dialogue. Half of the film is simply a man hunting in the woods, setting traps and trying to find signs of his prey, while the other half incorporates a more human element into the story. Both of these are interesting parts of the story, which makes it unfortunate when they don’t end up getting put together particularly well.
Martin David (Willem Dafoe) has been hired by a company to travel to the outback of Tasmania, Australia in order to hunt the last known Tasmanian Tiger from which he’s supposed to collect samples and then destroy the rest. While there, he stays with Lucy (Frances O’Connor) and her two kids. Lucy’s husband mysteriously disappeared in the wilderness not long before Martin’s arrival,...
Martin David (Willem Dafoe) has been hired by a company to travel to the outback of Tasmania, Australia in order to hunt the last known Tasmanian Tiger from which he’s supposed to collect samples and then destroy the rest. While there, he stays with Lucy (Frances O’Connor) and her two kids. Lucy’s husband mysteriously disappeared in the wilderness not long before Martin’s arrival,...
- 7/3/2012
- by Jeff Beck
- We Got This Covered
Director: Daniel Nettheim. Writers: Julia Leigh, Alice Addison, and Wain Fimeri. Cast: Willem Dafoe, Sam Neill, Frances O'Connor, Callan Mulvey, and Sullivan Stapleton. The Hunter is a film that will likely create some strong emotions in viewers. There is a haunting soundtrack that fills some of the painful scenes. Much of that pain is seen by Martin played by Willem Dafoe. He is a man in search of the last remaining Tasmanian Tiger. His dealings with bipedal creatures are perhaps more dangerous than hunting this elusive beast. The film begins with Martin contracted to find the tiger in the deep Tasmanian brush. A pharmaceutical company wants the creature's DNA for research and study. The clash between capitalism and preservation begins early. Martin then heads out on his hunting trip after meeting with the Armstrong family. The father of the clan is missing and the mother is too depressed from grief to wake.
- 6/15/2012
- by noreply@blogger.com (Michael Allen)
- 28 Days Later Analysis
The Hunter
Directed by Daniel Nettheim
Written by Alice Addison
Australia, 2012
There’s so much talk about expectations in movies today. Going into a film titled The Hunter, with its poster featuring Willem Dafoe aiming an impressively large rifle, might lead one to expect a violent action thriller. The film delivers action and thrills to a moderate degree, in the same way that Drive had a moderate amount of driving in it. But it is not that sort of picture, and viewers who can set that expectation aside will be all the better for it.
Dafoe plays some sort of gun-for-hire tasked with traveling to Tasmania and returning with biological samples of the Tasmanian tiger, a species long thought extinct. He approaches this job with a businesslike calm that makes everything look effortless, from navigating the gorgeous Tasmanian countryside to lying to the local environmentalists about his use of illegal traps and snares.
Directed by Daniel Nettheim
Written by Alice Addison
Australia, 2012
There’s so much talk about expectations in movies today. Going into a film titled The Hunter, with its poster featuring Willem Dafoe aiming an impressively large rifle, might lead one to expect a violent action thriller. The film delivers action and thrills to a moderate degree, in the same way that Drive had a moderate amount of driving in it. But it is not that sort of picture, and viewers who can set that expectation aside will be all the better for it.
Dafoe plays some sort of gun-for-hire tasked with traveling to Tasmania and returning with biological samples of the Tasmanian tiger, a species long thought extinct. He approaches this job with a businesslike calm that makes everything look effortless, from navigating the gorgeous Tasmanian countryside to lying to the local environmentalists about his use of illegal traps and snares.
- 4/9/2012
- by Mark Young
- SoundOnSight
The Australian takeover in cineplexes worldwide continues. With more and more work finding distribution to travel off the island, one woman is writing her chapter in the movement. A novelist of two acclaimed works, Julia Leigh has already found her way into Cannes with an original film of sexual desire—Sleeping Beauty. And while the buzz is high, another film sporting her name in the credits deserves just as much notice. Directed by Daniel Nettheim from a screenplay by Alice Addison, Leigh’s source material for The Hunter comes to life through the quietly terrifying Tazmanian expanse. A story full of intrigue, its seemingly minimal plot finds a way to expand its scope tenfold as unsolved mysteries come into focus for antihero Martin David (Willem Dafoe)—the forest sucking him into a dark world controlled by dangerous people.
David is a loner. It’s an ideal trait for his line of work,...
David is a loner. It’s an ideal trait for his line of work,...
- 4/5/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
The Australian outback has served as forbidding territory in cinema where almost anything can happen, and in films as wide-ranging as "Wolf Creek," "The Proposition" and "Walkabout" the backdrops have been integral to the mood of the film. However, in the thriller "The Hunter" it's the jungle where the unknown is lurking.
Directed by Daniel Nettheim, written by Alice Addison and based on the novel by author/filmmaker Julia Leigh ("Sleeping Beauty") the film stars Willem Dafoe who plays Martin, a mercenary sent from Europe by an anonymous biotech company to the wilderness on a dramatic hunt for the last Tasmanian tiger. The film played a handful of festivals last year, and in case it didn't quite make your radar, this exclusive three minute clip is a good preview of the mood and tone of the picture that was nominated for 14 Australian Film Institute Awards (it won for Best Cinematography...
Directed by Daniel Nettheim, written by Alice Addison and based on the novel by author/filmmaker Julia Leigh ("Sleeping Beauty") the film stars Willem Dafoe who plays Martin, a mercenary sent from Europe by an anonymous biotech company to the wilderness on a dramatic hunt for the last Tasmanian tiger. The film played a handful of festivals last year, and in case it didn't quite make your radar, this exclusive three minute clip is a good preview of the mood and tone of the picture that was nominated for 14 Australian Film Institute Awards (it won for Best Cinematography...
- 3/2/2012
- by Kevin Jagernauth
- The Playlist
Directed by: Daniel Nettheim
Written by: Alice Addison and Wain Fimeri, from the book by Julia Leigh
Cast: Willem Dafoe, Frances O'Connor, Sam Neill
The Hunter gets lost in a wilderness of its own self-importance.
It’s a scenic wilderness. I’ll give it that much. The Hunter director, Daniel Nettheim, uses his camera lens as a love-letter to Tasmania’s wilds.
If he, or the script by Alice Addison and Wain Fimeri, paid half as much affection to human behavior, The Hunter would have been a swell film.
Instead, majestic actors shamble through threadbare character studies, serving only to nudge forward a plot that frays under the weight of its own message. That, not the demise of the Tasmanian tiger, is the real tragedy of The Hunter: Willem Dafoe, Frances O'Connor and Sam Neill pitting their ferocious talent to the task of filling their empty archetypes with some human character,...
Written by: Alice Addison and Wain Fimeri, from the book by Julia Leigh
Cast: Willem Dafoe, Frances O'Connor, Sam Neill
The Hunter gets lost in a wilderness of its own self-importance.
It’s a scenic wilderness. I’ll give it that much. The Hunter director, Daniel Nettheim, uses his camera lens as a love-letter to Tasmania’s wilds.
If he, or the script by Alice Addison and Wain Fimeri, paid half as much affection to human behavior, The Hunter would have been a swell film.
Instead, majestic actors shamble through threadbare character studies, serving only to nudge forward a plot that frays under the weight of its own message. That, not the demise of the Tasmanian tiger, is the real tragedy of The Hunter: Willem Dafoe, Frances O'Connor and Sam Neill pitting their ferocious talent to the task of filling their empty archetypes with some human character,...
- 2/28/2012
- by M C Funk
- Planet Fury
Sound On Sight will once again be covering the SXSW Film Festival this year, making it our second time attending. 130 feature films will screen at the Austin, Texas fest taking place March 9-17, including 65 World Premieres, 17 North American Premieres and 10 U.S. Premieres. As previously announced, Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon’s The Cabin in the Woods will have the honours of opening the festival, and now they have released the full list of films – and it’s looking pretty amazing. Enjoy!
Narrative Feature Competition
This year’s 8 films were selected from 1,112 submissions. Each film is a World Premiere. Films screening in Narrative Feature Competition are:
Booster
Director/Screenwriter: Matt Ruskin
When Simon’s brother is arrested for armed robbery, he is asked to commit a string of similar crimes in an attempt to get his brother acquitted.
Cast: Nico Stone, Adam DuPaul, Seymour Cassel, Kristin Dougherty, Brian McGrail (World Premiere)
Eden
Director: Megan Griffiths,...
Narrative Feature Competition
This year’s 8 films were selected from 1,112 submissions. Each film is a World Premiere. Films screening in Narrative Feature Competition are:
Booster
Director/Screenwriter: Matt Ruskin
When Simon’s brother is arrested for armed robbery, he is asked to commit a string of similar crimes in an attempt to get his brother acquitted.
Cast: Nico Stone, Adam DuPaul, Seymour Cassel, Kristin Dougherty, Brian McGrail (World Premiere)
Eden
Director: Megan Griffiths,...
- 2/3/2012
- by Ricky
- SoundOnSight
Iggy Pop and Debbie Harry, shot by Bob Gruen in 1977
Rock 'N' Roll Exposed: The Photography of Bob Gruen
screens as part of 24 Beats per Second
SXSW Film has just announced its features lineup for the 2012 edition, running March 9 through 17. We already knew that the Opening Night Film would be Drew Goddard's The Cabin in the Woods. For its Closing Night Film, the festival will host the world premiere of of Emmett Malloy’s documentary Big Easy Express (more below). The lineup, with descriptions from the festival:
Narrative Feature Competition
Booster
Director/Screenwriter: Matt Ruskin. When Simon’s brother is arrested for armed robbery, he is asked to commit a string of similar crimes in an attempt to get his brother acquitted. Cast: Nico Stone, Adam DuPaul, Seymour Cassel, Kristin Dougherty, Brian McGrail. (World Premiere)
Eden
Director: Megan Griffiths, Screenwriters: Richard B. Phillips, Megan Griffiths, Story by: Richard B. Phillips & Chong Kim.
Rock 'N' Roll Exposed: The Photography of Bob Gruen
screens as part of 24 Beats per Second
SXSW Film has just announced its features lineup for the 2012 edition, running March 9 through 17. We already knew that the Opening Night Film would be Drew Goddard's The Cabin in the Woods. For its Closing Night Film, the festival will host the world premiere of of Emmett Malloy’s documentary Big Easy Express (more below). The lineup, with descriptions from the festival:
Narrative Feature Competition
Booster
Director/Screenwriter: Matt Ruskin. When Simon’s brother is arrested for armed robbery, he is asked to commit a string of similar crimes in an attempt to get his brother acquitted. Cast: Nico Stone, Adam DuPaul, Seymour Cassel, Kristin Dougherty, Brian McGrail. (World Premiere)
Eden
Director: Megan Griffiths, Screenwriters: Richard B. Phillips, Megan Griffiths, Story by: Richard B. Phillips & Chong Kim.
- 2/1/2012
- MUBI
With Sundance 2012 Film Festival over, the next big one on the horizon is South by Southwest, which we’ll be heavily covering. The biggest chunk of the line-up has been announced today, which has some great premieres including 21 Jump Street, Tiff and Sundance hit The Raid, Will Ferrell‘s Casa de mi Padre, the documentary Girl Model (which we liked at Tiff), as well as the next from Broken Lizard, The Babymakers. There are many other promising titles included and you can see them all below. Check back for our coverage for the fest, kicking off March 9th.
Narrative Feature Competition
This year’s 8 films were selected from 1,112 submissions. Each film is a World Premiere. Films screening in Narrative Feature Competition are:
Booster
Director/Screenwriter: Matt Ruskin
When Simon’s brother is arrested for armed robbery, he is asked to commit a string of similar crimes in an attempt to get his brother acquitted.
Narrative Feature Competition
This year’s 8 films were selected from 1,112 submissions. Each film is a World Premiere. Films screening in Narrative Feature Competition are:
Booster
Director/Screenwriter: Matt Ruskin
When Simon’s brother is arrested for armed robbery, he is asked to commit a string of similar crimes in an attempt to get his brother acquitted.
- 2/1/2012
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
South by Southwest, the annual festival held in Austin, TX, has just released its 2012 film lineup. Headliners include Joss Whedon's anticipated horror flick, "The Cabin in the Woods," (previously announced), '80s reboot "21 Jump Street" and black comedy "Killer Joe." Also on the list are "The Babymakers" starring Paul Schneider and Olivia Munn, and "Small Apartments" with the surprising trio of Billy Crystal, James Caan and Johnny Knoxville. You can check out the rest of the bigger headliners and feature films below. For the full list, head to SXSW.com. Headliners 21 Jump Street Directed by: Phil Lord & Christopher Miller, Screenplay by: Michael Bacall, Story by: Michael Bacall & Jonah Hill Police officers Schmidt (Jonah Hill) and Jenko (Channing Tatum) get sent back to high school as undercover cops in the action-comedy 21 Jump Street. Cast: Jonah Hill, Channing Tatum, Brie Larson, Dave Franco, Rob Riggle, with Ice Cube (World Premiere) Big Easy...
- 2/1/2012
- by Alex Suskind
- Moviefone
Attendees of South by Southwest 2012 are in for a treat. 130 feature films will screen at the Austin, Texas festival taking place March 9-17. Among them are 65 World Premieres, 17 North American Premieres and 10 U.S. Premieres. The organization already announced [1] Drew Goddard and Joss Whedon's The Cabin in the Woods would open the festival (the movie is phenomenal [2]) and today the majority of the remaining line up has been revealed. One of the highlights is the unbelievably smart and hilarious 21 Jump Street, directed by Phil Lord & Christopher Miller. Both of those are World Premieres. Other highlights include The Hunter, Killer Joe, The Babymakers, frankie goes boom, God Bless America, The Imposter, The Raid, Bernie and Casa de mi Padre just to name a few. After the jump, read descriptions of all the films that have been announced so far. Before I copy and paste the rest of the list, a few minor notes.
- 2/1/2012
- by Germain Lussier
- Slash Film
Three Australian feature films and one short have been selected to screen at the 41st International Film Festival Rotterdam, 25 january – 5 February.
Two films, writer/director John Winter’s Black & White & Sex and writer/director Amiel Courtin-Wilson’s Hail will feature in the Bright Future section of the festival which presents debut or second feature films.
Black & White & Sex stars Katherine Hicks, Anya Beyersdorf, Dina Panozzo, Saskia Burmeister and Matthew Holmes to explore sex and sexuality.
Blurring the lines between fact and fiction, Hail is the story of love and loss based on real life partners, and actors in the film, Daniel P Jones and Leanne Letch. Hail had its world premiere at Venice International Film Festival.
Selected to screen the festival’s closing night is The Hunter, produced by Vincent Sheehan and directed by Daniel Nettheim and written by Alice Addison, its the story of a mercenary (Willem Dafoe) hunting the last remaining Tasmanian Tiger.
Two films, writer/director John Winter’s Black & White & Sex and writer/director Amiel Courtin-Wilson’s Hail will feature in the Bright Future section of the festival which presents debut or second feature films.
Black & White & Sex stars Katherine Hicks, Anya Beyersdorf, Dina Panozzo, Saskia Burmeister and Matthew Holmes to explore sex and sexuality.
Blurring the lines between fact and fiction, Hail is the story of love and loss based on real life partners, and actors in the film, Daniel P Jones and Leanne Letch. Hail had its world premiere at Venice International Film Festival.
Selected to screen the festival’s closing night is The Hunter, produced by Vincent Sheehan and directed by Daniel Nettheim and written by Alice Addison, its the story of a mercenary (Willem Dafoe) hunting the last remaining Tasmanian Tiger.
- 1/17/2012
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
The Hunter has lead the Aacta Awards with 14 nominations including best film.
The film, by Daniel Nettheim, is also up for best direction, adapted screenplay, cinematography, sound, production design, costume, original music score, and visual effects. Meanwhile, Willem Dafoe, Frances O’Connor, Sam Neill and Morgana Davies are all up for acting awards.
The film has currently made just over $1m at the local box office.
It’s the first year for the re-launched AACTAs, formerly the AFI awards.
The technical awards will be given out at a luncheon on 15 January at the Sydney Opera House, with an evening ceremony for the more ‘public-friendly’ awards held at the Opera House on 31 January.
Running against The Hunter for best film is Red Dog, Mad Bastards, The Eye of the Storm, Snowtown and Oranges and Sunshine.
The Eye of the Storm, was second in the nominations race with 12, of which six are...
The film, by Daniel Nettheim, is also up for best direction, adapted screenplay, cinematography, sound, production design, costume, original music score, and visual effects. Meanwhile, Willem Dafoe, Frances O’Connor, Sam Neill and Morgana Davies are all up for acting awards.
The film has currently made just over $1m at the local box office.
It’s the first year for the re-launched AACTAs, formerly the AFI awards.
The technical awards will be given out at a luncheon on 15 January at the Sydney Opera House, with an evening ceremony for the more ‘public-friendly’ awards held at the Opera House on 31 January.
Running against The Hunter for best film is Red Dog, Mad Bastards, The Eye of the Storm, Snowtown and Oranges and Sunshine.
The Eye of the Storm, was second in the nominations race with 12, of which six are...
- 11/30/2011
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
Hunting the mythical existence of an animal declared extinct, the filmic adaptation of Julia Leigh’s novel, The Hunter sees Willem Dafoe turn in a tense performance while showing off Tasmania’s striking landscape. Colin Delaney spoke with director Daniel Nettheim and producer Vincent Sheehan.
Set in the wilds of Tasmania, The Hunter follows the covert operation of an international mercenary on the trail of the extinct-turned-mythical Tasmanian tiger. Played tempered yet tense by Willem Dafoe, Martin David is the mysterious hunter, under the guise as a university researcher, seeking the animal for its paralysing poison to use in bio-weaponry.
Based on a novel by Julia Leigh published in 1999, the reclusive tiger represents a catalyst for hope and change. The aging David seeks redemption out of his kill. Lucy, the hillbilly single mother (Frances O’Connor) of two who David stays with, sees a new father-figure for her children, while...
Set in the wilds of Tasmania, The Hunter follows the covert operation of an international mercenary on the trail of the extinct-turned-mythical Tasmanian tiger. Played tempered yet tense by Willem Dafoe, Martin David is the mysterious hunter, under the guise as a university researcher, seeking the animal for its paralysing poison to use in bio-weaponry.
Based on a novel by Julia Leigh published in 1999, the reclusive tiger represents a catalyst for hope and change. The aging David seeks redemption out of his kill. Lucy, the hillbilly single mother (Frances O’Connor) of two who David stays with, sees a new father-figure for her children, while...
- 10/7/2011
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
Willem Dafoe’s career isn’t showing any signs of slowing down one bit. He’s a good actor, but I haven’t seen a new film of his in years. In fact, I looked at his filmography, and I’m pretty sure the last one I saw that featured him in any way was “Spider-Man 3″. Yeah, it’s been a while. Hopefully, this new film will turn it around. Magnolia Pictures announced today they have acquired Us rights to “The Hunter” after its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. Directed by Daniel Nettheim and written by Alice Addison, the pic is based on the novel by author/filmmaker Julia Leigh (“Sleeping Beauty”). The film stars Willem Dafoe, Sam Neill, and Frances O’Connor. Vincent Sheehan (“Animal Kingdom”) of Porchlight Films produced. Here’s the synopsis: In this gorgeously shot psychological drama, Dafoe plays a mercenary hired by...
- 9/16/2011
- by Jessica
- Beyond Hollywood
Magnolia has taken U.S. rights to the Willem Dafoe starrer "The Hunter" out of Toronto. Directed by Daniel Nettheim and written by Alice Addison, "The Hunter" is based on the novel by author/filmmaker Julia Leigh ("Sleeping Beauty") and also stars Sam Neill and Frances O’Connor. Dafoe plays Martin, a mercenary sent from Europe by an anonymous biotech company to the Tasmanian wilderness on a hunt for the last Tasmanian tiger. ...
- 9/16/2011
- Indiewire
Toronto, On – September 16, 2011 – The Wagner/Cuban Company’s Magnolia Pictures announced today they have acquired Us rights to The Hunter after its world premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. Directed by Daniel Nettheim and written by Alice Addison, based on the novel by author/filmmaker Julia Leigh (Sleeping Beauty), the film stars Willem Dafoe, Sam Neill, and Frances O’Connor. Vincent Sheehan (Animal Kingdom) of Porchlight Films produced. In this gorgeously shot psychological drama, Dafoe plays a mercenary hired by a bio-tech firm to track down a rare, possibly extinct animal called the Tasmanian Tiger in the remote and untouched wilderness of Tasmania. Magnolia is planning a 2012 theatrical release for The Hunter through its Ultra VOD program. The film is the company’s third acquisition out of Toronto this year, following the acquisitions of Michael Dowse’s Goon and Bobcat Goldthwait’s God Bless America for its genre arm, Magnet.
- 9/16/2011
- by MIKE FLEMING
- Deadline
Madman have released the trailer for director Daniel Nettheim’s The Hunter, due for release October 6.
Starring Willem Dafoe, Frances O’Connor and Sam Neill, the film is about a mercenary (Dafoe) who is sent to Tasmania on behalf of a secret international company to hunt the Tasmanian Tiger for it’s paralysing bite to be used in bio-weaponry.
Based on Julia Leigh’s debut novel with a screenplay by Alice Addison, the film is far more humanistic than the above, sci-fi premise.
In in the upcoming October issue of Encore, we spoke with Nettheim and producer Vincent Sheehan of Porchlight Films (Animal Kingdom) about among other things, capturing Willem.
“We managed to get Willem a copy of the script via his manager,” Explains Nettheim. “You never know what you have to do to attract people of that calibre.” Nettheim’s experience, beyond his first and only other feature film Angst eleven years ago,...
Starring Willem Dafoe, Frances O’Connor and Sam Neill, the film is about a mercenary (Dafoe) who is sent to Tasmania on behalf of a secret international company to hunt the Tasmanian Tiger for it’s paralysing bite to be used in bio-weaponry.
Based on Julia Leigh’s debut novel with a screenplay by Alice Addison, the film is far more humanistic than the above, sci-fi premise.
In in the upcoming October issue of Encore, we spoke with Nettheim and producer Vincent Sheehan of Porchlight Films (Animal Kingdom) about among other things, capturing Willem.
“We managed to get Willem a copy of the script via his manager,” Explains Nettheim. “You never know what you have to do to attract people of that calibre.” Nettheim’s experience, beyond his first and only other feature film Angst eleven years ago,...
- 9/14/2011
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
The opening shots of Daniel Nettheim‘s The Hunter show Martin David (Willem Dafoe) in a hotel room, seemingly unable to look more out of place if he tried. Coupled with glimpses of high-tech equipment strewn throughout the room, we start to get a grip on who this guy is. And it’s good that he’s being put front and center this early on, for The Hunter is, above all else, a character piece about a man living in a dangerous environment that he was meant for.
Written by Alice Addison and based on the Julia Leigh novel of the same name, the story follows David as he’s sent to Australia by a biotech company, with the task of finding a Tasmanian Tiger. No small goal – they are thought to be extinct, and the area that they may live in is quite hostile. After being sent down to...
Written by Alice Addison and based on the Julia Leigh novel of the same name, the story follows David as he’s sent to Australia by a biotech company, with the task of finding a Tasmanian Tiger. No small goal – they are thought to be extinct, and the area that they may live in is quite hostile. After being sent down to...
- 9/9/2011
- by jpraup@gmail.com (thefilmstage.com)
- The Film Stage
The Australian Writers’ Guild has announce the nominations for its 44th Awgie Awards.
The writers of Australia’s best stage, screen and radio scripts have been nominated across 23 awards, including Shaun Grant (Snowtown), Alice Addison (The Hunter), Jonathan Teplitzky (Burning Man) and Tony Krawitz
(The Tall Man) all screening at Tiff.
Awg President, Academy Award nominee Jan Sardi said in a statement, ‘The foundation of all great productions is the script. Each year the Awgie Awards recognise and celebrate the creators of those foundations, the writers. The nominations for this year’s Awgie awards clearly demonstrate the high standard of Australian performance writing. Some of the writers honoured today are familiar names, underscoring the consistent excellence of their work and ongoing contribution to our industry. Equally exciting are the new names and titles reflecting the breadth and vibrancy of Australian scriptwriting talent.”
As well as announcing the winners of the below categories,...
The writers of Australia’s best stage, screen and radio scripts have been nominated across 23 awards, including Shaun Grant (Snowtown), Alice Addison (The Hunter), Jonathan Teplitzky (Burning Man) and Tony Krawitz
(The Tall Man) all screening at Tiff.
Awg President, Academy Award nominee Jan Sardi said in a statement, ‘The foundation of all great productions is the script. Each year the Awgie Awards recognise and celebrate the creators of those foundations, the writers. The nominations for this year’s Awgie awards clearly demonstrate the high standard of Australian performance writing. Some of the writers honoured today are familiar names, underscoring the consistent excellence of their work and ongoing contribution to our industry. Equally exciting are the new names and titles reflecting the breadth and vibrancy of Australian scriptwriting talent.”
As well as announcing the winners of the below categories,...
- 8/18/2011
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
Stuart Beattie, Beck Cole and Alice Addison are among the local screenwriters nominated for this year.s Awgie Awards. Hosted next month by the Australian Writers. Guild, the annual awards recognise and celebrate excellence in performance writing . for film, TV, documentary, radio and theatre. Academy Award-nominated screenwriter and newly-elected president of the Australian Writers. Guild, Jan Sardi, said the foundation of all great productions was the script . and this is the chance to reward those who created those foundations. .The nominations for this year's Awgie awards clearly demonstrate the high standard of Australian performance writing,. Sardi said in a statement. .Some of the writers honoured today are familiar...
- 8/18/2011
- by Sam Dallas
- IF.com.au
This week, a teaser trailer for Daniel Nettheim‘s The Hunter, starring Willem Dafoe, hit the web. The Tiff-bound film is based on a novel from Julia Leigh, who made her own film debut this year with the Emily Browning-starring Sleeping Beauty. A pair of scribes — Alice Addison and Wain Fimeri — are credited with adapting Leigh‘s literary work. Though it’s flown mostly under-the-rader until now, The Hunter looks like it could spark some intrigue when it debuts at Toronto. Sam Neill and Frances O’Connor will share the screen with Dafoe. A look at the film’s poster can be found below. [Imp Awards]
We also have the poster for Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life, a biographical look at the life French pop star Serge Gainsbourg that has received some healthy early reviews. The film has Joann Sfar‘s name written all over it — not only is he the writer-director,...
We also have the poster for Gainsbourg: A Heroic Life, a biographical look at the life French pop star Serge Gainsbourg that has received some healthy early reviews. The film has Joann Sfar‘s name written all over it — not only is he the writer-director,...
- 8/1/2011
- by Danny King
- The Film Stage
Screen Australia have announced three Australian films have been selected for the 36th Toronto International Film Festival. The festival takes place from 8 to 18 September.
Fred Schepisi’s The Eye of the Storm, Jonathan Teplitzky’s Burning Man and Daniel Nettheim’s The Hunter have all been selected into the Special Presentations program, designed to showcase world-class films by established talent.
Toronto will be Burning Man and The Hunter‘s world premieres while The Eye of the Storm will have its international debut.
Screen Australia’s Head of Marketing, Kathleen Drumm said “We’re thrilled that original and vibrant stories from talented Australian filmmakers continue to gain recognition on the international stage. 2011 has been a stellar year for Australia at international A-list festivals. Toronto provides a high-profile opportunity to launch these films in the North American market.”
Footage of Burning Man was first screened at last year’s Tiff while still in post.
Fred Schepisi’s The Eye of the Storm, Jonathan Teplitzky’s Burning Man and Daniel Nettheim’s The Hunter have all been selected into the Special Presentations program, designed to showcase world-class films by established talent.
Toronto will be Burning Man and The Hunter‘s world premieres while The Eye of the Storm will have its international debut.
Screen Australia’s Head of Marketing, Kathleen Drumm said “We’re thrilled that original and vibrant stories from talented Australian filmmakers continue to gain recognition on the international stage. 2011 has been a stellar year for Australia at international A-list festivals. Toronto provides a high-profile opportunity to launch these films in the North American market.”
Footage of Burning Man was first screened at last year’s Tiff while still in post.
- 7/27/2011
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
Screen Australia today announced a round of development funding for eight feature films.
Included in the funding is Bruce Beresford’s Banjo & Matilda, as well as films by directors Adam Elliot, Nadia Tess, Eddie Martin and Richard Lowenstein, and investment in writers Alice Addison, Mark Herman and Glenda Hambly.
Banjo & Matilda is the dramatisation of Banjo Paterson’s Waltzing Matilda. Set in 1895, a young city poet and journalist travels to a remote sheep station to track down a political agitator. When the clashes between union shearers and landowners turn to violence, a man is found dead in a billabong. Was it suicide or murder? The film will be produced by Bill Leimbach (Beneath Hill 60, Bait 3D) and written by David Roach.
Adam Elliot (Mary & Max) will write and direct Ernee, an animated adventure romance, produced by Peter Kaufmann and executive produced by Brian Rosen and Bryce Menzies.
Two musical biopics were also funded.
Included in the funding is Bruce Beresford’s Banjo & Matilda, as well as films by directors Adam Elliot, Nadia Tess, Eddie Martin and Richard Lowenstein, and investment in writers Alice Addison, Mark Herman and Glenda Hambly.
Banjo & Matilda is the dramatisation of Banjo Paterson’s Waltzing Matilda. Set in 1895, a young city poet and journalist travels to a remote sheep station to track down a political agitator. When the clashes between union shearers and landowners turn to violence, a man is found dead in a billabong. Was it suicide or murder? The film will be produced by Bill Leimbach (Beneath Hill 60, Bait 3D) and written by David Roach.
Adam Elliot (Mary & Max) will write and direct Ernee, an animated adventure romance, produced by Peter Kaufmann and executive produced by Brian Rosen and Bryce Menzies.
Two musical biopics were also funded.
- 7/26/2011
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
The Hangover: Part Two
Opens: May 26th 2011
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifinakis, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong
Director: Todd Phillips
Summary: Phil, Stu, Alan and Doug travel to exotic Thailand for Stu’s wedding. After the unforgettable bachelor party in Las Vegas, Stu is taking no chances and has opted for a safe, subdued pre-wedding brunch. However, things don’t always go as planned.
Analysis: It really wasn't until about three months before its release that Warner Brothers realised "The Hangover" was going to be a hit. Test screening response was through the roof, while the trailer had great reaction after premiering at ShoWest and online. About that time they commissioned director Todd Phillips, along with his "Old School" and "Road Trip" scribe Scot Armstrong, to pen a sequel. Yet they still waited to see how the first one went before fully committing to the follow-up.
The wait didn't last long.
Opens: May 26th 2011
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifinakis, Justin Bartha, Ken Jeong
Director: Todd Phillips
Summary: Phil, Stu, Alan and Doug travel to exotic Thailand for Stu’s wedding. After the unforgettable bachelor party in Las Vegas, Stu is taking no chances and has opted for a safe, subdued pre-wedding brunch. However, things don’t always go as planned.
Analysis: It really wasn't until about three months before its release that Warner Brothers realised "The Hangover" was going to be a hit. Test screening response was through the roof, while the trailer had great reaction after premiering at ShoWest and online. About that time they commissioned director Todd Phillips, along with his "Old School" and "Road Trip" scribe Scot Armstrong, to pen a sequel. Yet they still waited to see how the first one went before fully committing to the follow-up.
The wait didn't last long.
- 1/4/2011
- by Garth Franklin
- Dark Horizons
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