Exclusive: Australian streamer Stan has today unveiled a 25-strong slate, adding scripted titles from Matchbox Pictures and the producers behind Colin From Accounts, acquisitions from the UK and U.S. and a new version of Drag Race to its ranks.
Content from the likes of All3Media, AMC, Banijay, the BBC, Fremantle, ITV, Lionsgate, Universal Internatational Studios, Paramount, Sony and Warner Bros Discovery is on the slate, which was showcased at the iconic Sydney Opera House as Stan’s latest salvo in Australia’s competitive streaming market.
Among the key scripted originals is Critical Incident, a psychological crime thriller from Matchbox, the Australian production subsidiary of Universal Studio Group-owned Universal International Studios. Written by Sarah Bassiuoni (The Secrets She Keeps), it recently completed production in Western Sydney, with major production investment from Screen Australia.
The six-part show depicts life in the Western suburbs of Sydney and delves into the complex...
Content from the likes of All3Media, AMC, Banijay, the BBC, Fremantle, ITV, Lionsgate, Universal Internatational Studios, Paramount, Sony and Warner Bros Discovery is on the slate, which was showcased at the iconic Sydney Opera House as Stan’s latest salvo in Australia’s competitive streaming market.
Among the key scripted originals is Critical Incident, a psychological crime thriller from Matchbox, the Australian production subsidiary of Universal Studio Group-owned Universal International Studios. Written by Sarah Bassiuoni (The Secrets She Keeps), it recently completed production in Western Sydney, with major production investment from Screen Australia.
The six-part show depicts life in the Western suburbs of Sydney and delves into the complex...
- 3/12/2024
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Anna Torv and Sam Reid lead the cast of the ABC’s upcoming six-part drama series The Newsreader set to premiere August 15 at 8.30pm on ABC TV and ABC iview.
Set in the tumultuous world of a television newsroom, Werner Film Productions’ The Newsreader takes us back to 1986 – when Halley’s Comet was a must see, the AIDS crisis was taking hold and the Challenger explosion shocked the world. Amongst it all, newsreader Helen Norville (Anna Torv) is determined to build her credibility, while her colleague Dale Jennings (Sam Reid) is desperate to become a newsreader.
From messy beginnings, they will form an unlikely bond that will transform the very fabric of the nightly news bulletin.
The Newsreader also stars Robert Taylor, William McInnes, Michelle Lim Davidson, Stephen Peacocke, Chai Hansen, Chum Ehelepola and Marg Downey.
The series is created by Michael Lucas, who penned the script with Jonathan Gavin,...
Set in the tumultuous world of a television newsroom, Werner Film Productions’ The Newsreader takes us back to 1986 – when Halley’s Comet was a must see, the AIDS crisis was taking hold and the Challenger explosion shocked the world. Amongst it all, newsreader Helen Norville (Anna Torv) is determined to build her credibility, while her colleague Dale Jennings (Sam Reid) is desperate to become a newsreader.
From messy beginnings, they will form an unlikely bond that will transform the very fabric of the nightly news bulletin.
The Newsreader also stars Robert Taylor, William McInnes, Michelle Lim Davidson, Stephen Peacocke, Chai Hansen, Chum Ehelepola and Marg Downey.
The series is created by Michael Lucas, who penned the script with Jonathan Gavin,...
- 7/11/2021
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Ben Lawrence and Beatrix Christian’s Hearts and Bones was named best original feature film screenplay at the Australian Writers’ Guild’s annual Awgie Awards yesterday evening, while Shaun Grant and Harry Cripps took home the adaptation prize for Penguin Bloom.
Two of 2019’s top dramas, The Hunting, written by Niki Aken and Matthew Cormack, and Total Control (Episode 3), by Pip Karmel, were recognised in the television categories, while The Heights, lauded for its depiction of contemporary Australia, won Peter Mattessi the Awgie in the television serial category, ending a run of 16-straight years for Neighbours and Home and Away.
Playwright Suzie Miller’s critically acclaimed one-woman play Prima Facie took out the evening’s highest honours, winning the 2020 Major Award, the David Williamson Prize for Excellence in Writing for Australian Theatre, and in the stage category.
The one-woman play holds a mirror up to the Australian legal system, exposing...
Two of 2019’s top dramas, The Hunting, written by Niki Aken and Matthew Cormack, and Total Control (Episode 3), by Pip Karmel, were recognised in the television categories, while The Heights, lauded for its depiction of contemporary Australia, won Peter Mattessi the Awgie in the television serial category, ending a run of 16-straight years for Neighbours and Home and Away.
Playwright Suzie Miller’s critically acclaimed one-woman play Prima Facie took out the evening’s highest honours, winning the 2020 Major Award, the David Williamson Prize for Excellence in Writing for Australian Theatre, and in the stage category.
The one-woman play holds a mirror up to the Australian legal system, exposing...
- 12/8/2020
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
So hefty is the ABC’s slate in 2021, director entertainment and specialist Michael Carrington is confident audiences won’t even realise that many of the broadcaster’s productions faced shutdowns and delays during the pandemic.
As announced at the ABC’s upfronts this afternoon, the line-up for the new year includes new dramas Fires and The Newsreader, new comedies Fisk and Preppers, as well as the return of Total Control, Frayed, Jack Irish, Harrow and Superwog.
2021 will also see the premiere of Jungle Entertainment’s mental health drama Wakefield, with all eps planned to drop on ABC iview.
Also on the line-up is Closer Productions’ chef comedy Aftertaste, starring Erik Thomson, Natalie Abbott and Rachel Griffiths, and feature anthology Here Out West, penned by a group of emerging writers from Western Sydney.
“Seven or eight months ago we were in full production and overnight we stopped production all around Australia,...
As announced at the ABC’s upfronts this afternoon, the line-up for the new year includes new dramas Fires and The Newsreader, new comedies Fisk and Preppers, as well as the return of Total Control, Frayed, Jack Irish, Harrow and Superwog.
2021 will also see the premiere of Jungle Entertainment’s mental health drama Wakefield, with all eps planned to drop on ABC iview.
Also on the line-up is Closer Productions’ chef comedy Aftertaste, starring Erik Thomson, Natalie Abbott and Rachel Griffiths, and feature anthology Here Out West, penned by a group of emerging writers from Western Sydney.
“Seven or eight months ago we were in full production and overnight we stopped production all around Australia,...
- 11/25/2020
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Joanna Werner.
When Joanna Werner did a media course at Rmit she aimed to be journalist but her career took a different path as the head of Werner Film Productions.
So when Michael Lucas, whom she had met in a writers’ room five years ago, pitched her his concept of a drama set in TV newsroom, she jumped at the idea.
After a lengthy development process the ABC commissioned The Newsreader, which follows the unlikely bond between a young TV reporter and a ‘difficult’ female newsreader.
Emma Freeman will direct the six-part series scripted by Lucas (who co-created Five Bedrooms with Christine Bartlett), Jonathan Gavin, Niki Aken and Kim Ho, which is now in pre-production in Melbourne, supported by Screen Australia and Film Victoria.
“Michael’s pitch for The Newsreader was so strong and I knew it would be a fabulously original series. Development and financing can be a tough...
When Joanna Werner did a media course at Rmit she aimed to be journalist but her career took a different path as the head of Werner Film Productions.
So when Michael Lucas, whom she had met in a writers’ room five years ago, pitched her his concept of a drama set in TV newsroom, she jumped at the idea.
After a lengthy development process the ABC commissioned The Newsreader, which follows the unlikely bond between a young TV reporter and a ‘difficult’ female newsreader.
Emma Freeman will direct the six-part series scripted by Lucas (who co-created Five Bedrooms with Christine Bartlett), Jonathan Gavin, Niki Aken and Kim Ho, which is now in pre-production in Melbourne, supported by Screen Australia and Film Victoria.
“Michael’s pitch for The Newsreader was so strong and I knew it would be a fabulously original series. Development and financing can be a tough...
- 10/29/2020
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
‘Reputation Rehab.’
Two years ago writers-producers Sophie Braham and Melina Wicks had the idea of a show which tackled ‘outrage culture,’ the ugly phenomenon of public figures being pilloried in Tweets and media headlines for real or imagined mistakes.
Together with Cjz’s Nick Murray, they pitched the idea to the ABC, which agreed to fund the development of Reputation Rehab.
Presented by Kirsten Drysdale and Zoe Norton Lodge, who are co-writing and co-producing with Braham and Wicks, the eight-part show premieres at 9.05 pm on October 28 and could not be more topical, according to Nick Hayden.
“It’s a show about shaming, the outrage in the media cycle and the audience’s involvement in how that cycle perpetuates itself,” says Hayden, who was promoted earlier this month to ABC head of entertainment from entertainment manager.
The first episode centres on tennis ‘bad boy’ Nick Kyrgios, who agreed to a rare...
Two years ago writers-producers Sophie Braham and Melina Wicks had the idea of a show which tackled ‘outrage culture,’ the ugly phenomenon of public figures being pilloried in Tweets and media headlines for real or imagined mistakes.
Together with Cjz’s Nick Murray, they pitched the idea to the ABC, which agreed to fund the development of Reputation Rehab.
Presented by Kirsten Drysdale and Zoe Norton Lodge, who are co-writing and co-producing with Braham and Wicks, the eight-part show premieres at 9.05 pm on October 28 and could not be more topical, according to Nick Hayden.
“It’s a show about shaming, the outrage in the media cycle and the audience’s involvement in how that cycle perpetuates itself,” says Hayden, who was promoted earlier this month to ABC head of entertainment from entertainment manager.
The first episode centres on tennis ‘bad boy’ Nick Kyrgios, who agreed to a rare...
- 10/22/2020
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Monica Zanetti’s screenplay of Ellie & Abbie (& Ellie’s Dead Aunt), Ben Lawrence and Beatrix Christian’s Hearts and Bones and Ally Burnham’s Unsound have been nominated for best original feature in the 53rd annual Awgie Awards.
The contenders for the feature film adaptation prize are Thomas M. Wright and Erik Jensen’s Acute Misfortune, Lisa Hoppe’s H is for Happiness, Shaun Grant and Harry Cripps’ Penguin Bloom and C.S. McMullen’s The Other Lamb.
The TV series prize promises to be a close race between episodes of Glen Dolman’s Bloom, Michael Petroni’s Messiah for Netflix, Belinda Chayko’s Stateless, Samantha Strauss’ The End and Pip Karmel’s Total Control.
Timothy Hobart, John Ridley, Jeremy Nguyen, Alan Nguyen and Michele Lee’s Hungry Ghosts will square off against Matthew Cormack and Niki Aken’s The Hunting for best miniseries.
In the TV serial category it must...
The contenders for the feature film adaptation prize are Thomas M. Wright and Erik Jensen’s Acute Misfortune, Lisa Hoppe’s H is for Happiness, Shaun Grant and Harry Cripps’ Penguin Bloom and C.S. McMullen’s The Other Lamb.
The TV series prize promises to be a close race between episodes of Glen Dolman’s Bloom, Michael Petroni’s Messiah for Netflix, Belinda Chayko’s Stateless, Samantha Strauss’ The End and Pip Karmel’s Total Control.
Timothy Hobart, John Ridley, Jeremy Nguyen, Alan Nguyen and Michele Lee’s Hungry Ghosts will square off against Matthew Cormack and Niki Aken’s The Hunting for best miniseries.
In the TV serial category it must...
- 9/25/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Michael Dorman and Jessica de Gouw in ‘The Secrets She Keeps.’
When Lingo Pictures’ The Secrets She Keeps premieres on BBC1 at 9pm on July 6, it will mark a milestone as the first Australian-produced TV drama to screen in primetime on the BBC’s flagship channel – at least in recent memory.
The BBC acquired the UK rights to the psychological thriller commissioned by Network 10, starring Laura Carmichael, Jessica de Gouw, Michael Dorman and Ryan Corr, in February but did not disclose the channel or timeslot.
According to Screen Australia’s records, the only other Australian drama to air on primetime on BBC1 was The Cry, a UK co-production.
Five Bedrooms and A Place to Call Home screened during the daytime on the channel. Picnic At Hanging Rock was on BBC2, Romper Stomper on BBC3 and Mystery Road, Safe Harbour and The Slap on BBC4.
Delighted with the prestige slot,...
When Lingo Pictures’ The Secrets She Keeps premieres on BBC1 at 9pm on July 6, it will mark a milestone as the first Australian-produced TV drama to screen in primetime on the BBC’s flagship channel – at least in recent memory.
The BBC acquired the UK rights to the psychological thriller commissioned by Network 10, starring Laura Carmichael, Jessica de Gouw, Michael Dorman and Ryan Corr, in February but did not disclose the channel or timeslot.
According to Screen Australia’s records, the only other Australian drama to air on primetime on BBC1 was The Cry, a UK co-production.
Five Bedrooms and A Place to Call Home screened during the daytime on the channel. Picnic At Hanging Rock was on BBC2, Romper Stomper on BBC3 and Mystery Road, Safe Harbour and The Slap on BBC4.
Delighted with the prestige slot,...
- 6/26/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Kate Mulvany.
Playing a Nazi-hunting nun opposite Al Pacino in the Amazon Prime series Hunters in New York, Kate Mulvany occasionally had to pinch herself.
In the 1970s-set series based on real events she plays Sister Harriet, a kick-ass nun and former MI6 spy, whom she laughingly refers to as “James Bond in a habit.”
Harriet joins Pacino’s Meyer Offerman, a Polish-Jewish philanthropist and Holocaust survivor who recruits and leads the Hunters.
The 10-part series created by David Weil and produced by Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions and Sonar Entertainment ended on what she describes as a jaw-dropping moment after rolling waves of revelations.
But for the pandemic, a decision on a renewal was expected earlier this year and Mulvany and her husband Hamish Michael had planned to move back to New York this month.
That, of course, is on hold, but she is optimistic of a second season,...
Playing a Nazi-hunting nun opposite Al Pacino in the Amazon Prime series Hunters in New York, Kate Mulvany occasionally had to pinch herself.
In the 1970s-set series based on real events she plays Sister Harriet, a kick-ass nun and former MI6 spy, whom she laughingly refers to as “James Bond in a habit.”
Harriet joins Pacino’s Meyer Offerman, a Polish-Jewish philanthropist and Holocaust survivor who recruits and leads the Hunters.
The 10-part series created by David Weil and produced by Jordan Peele’s Monkeypaw Productions and Sonar Entertainment ended on what she describes as a jaw-dropping moment after rolling waves of revelations.
But for the pandemic, a decision on a renewal was expected earlier this year and Mulvany and her husband Hamish Michael had planned to move back to New York this month.
That, of course, is on hold, but she is optimistic of a second season,...
- 6/9/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Niki Aken at Charlie’s in La
Like the rest of the crew and cast, Niki Aken was gutted when the production of the ABC comedy Why Are You Like This was shut down with two weeks filming to go.
Aken is the script producer on the six-part show created and written by Naomi Higgins, Humyara Mahbub and Aunty Donna’s Mark Samual Bonanno, produced by Sarah Freeman for the directors Jessie Oldfield and Adam Murfet’s production company Ckol.
A spin-off of the pilot funded by the Screen Australia/ABC Fresh Blood initiative, the series follows best friends Mia (Olivia Junkeer) and Penny (Higgins) and Penny’s aloof housemate Austin (Wil King).
“Obviously it was the the right call, but gutting for the cast and crew,” Niki says. “It was a normal, human response to an unprecedented situation.
“I am one of the lucky ones as an in-demand writer...
Like the rest of the crew and cast, Niki Aken was gutted when the production of the ABC comedy Why Are You Like This was shut down with two weeks filming to go.
Aken is the script producer on the six-part show created and written by Naomi Higgins, Humyara Mahbub and Aunty Donna’s Mark Samual Bonanno, produced by Sarah Freeman for the directors Jessie Oldfield and Adam Murfet’s production company Ckol.
A spin-off of the pilot funded by the Screen Australia/ABC Fresh Blood initiative, the series follows best friends Mia (Olivia Junkeer) and Penny (Higgins) and Penny’s aloof housemate Austin (Wil King).
“Obviously it was the the right call, but gutting for the cast and crew,” Niki says. “It was a normal, human response to an unprecedented situation.
“I am one of the lucky ones as an in-demand writer...
- 3/27/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Lambs of God’.
Lingo Pictures’ Lambs of God was the big winner at yesterday’s Aacta Industry Luncheon, taking home seven of a potential nine awards, while Rodd Rathjen’s debut feature Buoyancy was named Best Indie Film.
Sweeping the afternoon, Lambs of God’s various accolades included Best Direction in a Television Drama or Comedy for Jeffery Walker; Best Cinematography in Television for Don McAlpine; Best Original Score in Television for Bryony Marks (one of two awards for the composer during the event); Best Production Design in Television for Chris Kennedy; Best Costume Design in Television for Xanthe Heubel; Best Sound Sound in Television for Nick Emond, Stephen Smith, Paul Devescovi and Mia Stewart; and Best Hair and Makeup for Zeljka Stanin, Paul Pattison, Cheryl Williams and Anita Howell-Lowe.
The Foxtel mini-series was beaten only out for Best Screenplay in Television, which went to Niki Aken and Matthew Cormack for The Hunting,...
Lingo Pictures’ Lambs of God was the big winner at yesterday’s Aacta Industry Luncheon, taking home seven of a potential nine awards, while Rodd Rathjen’s debut feature Buoyancy was named Best Indie Film.
Sweeping the afternoon, Lambs of God’s various accolades included Best Direction in a Television Drama or Comedy for Jeffery Walker; Best Cinematography in Television for Don McAlpine; Best Original Score in Television for Bryony Marks (one of two awards for the composer during the event); Best Production Design in Television for Chris Kennedy; Best Costume Design in Television for Xanthe Heubel; Best Sound Sound in Television for Nick Emond, Stephen Smith, Paul Devescovi and Mia Stewart; and Best Hair and Makeup for Zeljka Stanin, Paul Pattison, Cheryl Williams and Anita Howell-Lowe.
The Foxtel mini-series was beaten only out for Best Screenplay in Television, which went to Niki Aken and Matthew Cormack for The Hunting,...
- 12/3/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Tamara Asmar.
Screenwriting is often such a lonely pursuit that Tamara Asmar really relishes her time brainstorming in writers’ rooms, likening the experience to being in a confessional.
“These are places where people divulge the most personal, hilarious, moving and heartbreaking things about their lives,” says the prolific writer whose credits include Doctor Doctor, On the Ropes, Love Child and Beat Bugs.
“That feeds into stories, sparks ideas and takes you down different narrative pathways that you otherwise would not have. I have definitely contributed some stories, cleverly masked.”
Currently Asmar is juggling multiple projects in development including Aleph, an eight-part series created by Miranda Nation for Porchlight Films, a fantasy drama for Jungle Entertainment and a movie for Easy Tiger which she now thinks is better suited to TV.
Screen Australia is funding the story development of Aleph, which follows a woman who is faced with the choice between...
Screenwriting is often such a lonely pursuit that Tamara Asmar really relishes her time brainstorming in writers’ rooms, likening the experience to being in a confessional.
“These are places where people divulge the most personal, hilarious, moving and heartbreaking things about their lives,” says the prolific writer whose credits include Doctor Doctor, On the Ropes, Love Child and Beat Bugs.
“That feeds into stories, sparks ideas and takes you down different narrative pathways that you otherwise would not have. I have definitely contributed some stories, cleverly masked.”
Currently Asmar is juggling multiple projects in development including Aleph, an eight-part series created by Miranda Nation for Porchlight Films, a fantasy drama for Jungle Entertainment and a movie for Easy Tiger which she now thinks is better suited to TV.
Screen Australia is funding the story development of Aleph, which follows a woman who is faced with the choice between...
- 10/20/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘The Hunting.’
France’s M6 Group is the latest international broadcaster to acquire The Hunting, Closer Productions’ four-part drama commissioned by Sbs.
Created by Sophie Hyde and Matthew Cormack and starring Asher Keddie and Richard Roxburgh, the series exploring the effects of online sexting on teenagers and their families will screen on M6’s digital terrestrial channel W9.
That follows deals negotiated by UK-based Dcd Rights with Viacom-owned Channel 5 in the UK, Sky New Zealand, RTÉ in Ireland, CBC in Canada, Ivi in Russia and Npo in the Netherlands.
The ensemble cast includes Sam Reid, Jessica De Gouw, Luca Sardelis, Yazeed Daher, Pamela Rabe, Leah Vandenberg, Rodney Afif, Sachin Joab, Elena Carapetis, Anni Lindner and newcomers Kavitha Anandasivam and Alex Cusack.
Cormack penned the scripts with Niki Aken. Hyde shared directing duties with Ana Kokkinos and produced with Rebecca Summerton and Lisa Scott. Screen Australia and the Safc backed the production.
France’s M6 Group is the latest international broadcaster to acquire The Hunting, Closer Productions’ four-part drama commissioned by Sbs.
Created by Sophie Hyde and Matthew Cormack and starring Asher Keddie and Richard Roxburgh, the series exploring the effects of online sexting on teenagers and their families will screen on M6’s digital terrestrial channel W9.
That follows deals negotiated by UK-based Dcd Rights with Viacom-owned Channel 5 in the UK, Sky New Zealand, RTÉ in Ireland, CBC in Canada, Ivi in Russia and Npo in the Netherlands.
The ensemble cast includes Sam Reid, Jessica De Gouw, Luca Sardelis, Yazeed Daher, Pamela Rabe, Leah Vandenberg, Rodney Afif, Sachin Joab, Elena Carapetis, Anni Lindner and newcomers Kavitha Anandasivam and Alex Cusack.
Cormack penned the scripts with Niki Aken. Hyde shared directing duties with Ana Kokkinos and produced with Rebecca Summerton and Lisa Scott. Screen Australia and the Safc backed the production.
- 10/14/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Niki Aken (far right) on the set of Lingo Pictures’ ‘Upright’.
Two Nsw-based emerging producers from diverse backgrounds will have the chance to undertake a six-month, paid industry internship next year, thanks to the Screen Nsw Emerging Producer Placement program.
Applications are now open for the tenth year of the initiative, which aims to uncover emerging producer talent and match it with Nsw production companies best suited to hone their skillset and creative form.
This year one Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander candidate and one candidate from an under-represented group will be selected to spend three months working with the Screen Nsw investment team, headed by Grainne Brunsdon, followed by three months in industry. Participants will also have the opportunity to attend key industry events as part of their internship.
“We know that the talent is out there, but practitioners from under-represented groups often struggle to access the opportunities they need to break through.
Two Nsw-based emerging producers from diverse backgrounds will have the chance to undertake a six-month, paid industry internship next year, thanks to the Screen Nsw Emerging Producer Placement program.
Applications are now open for the tenth year of the initiative, which aims to uncover emerging producer talent and match it with Nsw production companies best suited to hone their skillset and creative form.
This year one Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander candidate and one candidate from an under-represented group will be selected to spend three months working with the Screen Nsw investment team, headed by Grainne Brunsdon, followed by three months in industry. Participants will also have the opportunity to attend key industry events as part of their internship.
“We know that the talent is out there, but practitioners from under-represented groups often struggle to access the opportunities they need to break through.
- 10/10/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Tim Minchin and Milly Alcock in ‘Upright’
Lingo Pictures’ dramedy Upright starring Tim Minchin and Milly Alcock will premiere on Fox Showcase on Sunday December 1 at 8.30 pm.
The first co-commission between Foxtel and the UK’s Sky TV, the eight-parter will debut in the UK on Sky Atlantic and streaming service Now TV on November 28.
Created by The Chaser’s Chris Taylor and directed by Matt Saville, the series follows two misfits who meet by chance in the middle of the desert and form a bond in their quest to get a piano from one side of the country a to the other.
When Minchin’s family outcast Lucky Flynn learns that his mother is dying, he decides to drive to the other side of Australia to see her, packing nothing but an upright piano for the journey.
His plans are turned upside down when he meets the rogue teenager...
Lingo Pictures’ dramedy Upright starring Tim Minchin and Milly Alcock will premiere on Fox Showcase on Sunday December 1 at 8.30 pm.
The first co-commission between Foxtel and the UK’s Sky TV, the eight-parter will debut in the UK on Sky Atlantic and streaming service Now TV on November 28.
Created by The Chaser’s Chris Taylor and directed by Matt Saville, the series follows two misfits who meet by chance in the middle of the desert and form a bond in their quest to get a piano from one side of the country a to the other.
When Minchin’s family outcast Lucky Flynn learns that his mother is dying, he decides to drive to the other side of Australia to see her, packing nothing but an upright piano for the journey.
His plans are turned upside down when he meets the rogue teenager...
- 10/4/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Why Are You Like This‘.
Comedy Why Are You Like This, one of four pilots supported through Screen Australia and the ABC’s Fresh Blood initiative, has been greenlit for a six-part series.
Created and written by Naomi Higgins, Humyara Mahbub and Aunty Donna’s Mark Samual Bonanno, Why Are You Like This follows best friends Mia and Penny as they navigate their 20s in Melbourne, along with Penny’s dramatic and aloof housemate, Austin. Guided by their own modern day moral code, they confront complex social issues in an outrage driven world, leaving a path of destruction in their wake.
Screen Australia and the ABC’s ongoing Fresh Blood initiative is designed to uncover a new generation of comedic talent. Why Are You Like This was one of four pilots produced thanks to the program in 2018, alongside Michael Cusack’s Aacta-nominated Koala Man, Becky Lucas and Cameron James’ Be...
Comedy Why Are You Like This, one of four pilots supported through Screen Australia and the ABC’s Fresh Blood initiative, has been greenlit for a six-part series.
Created and written by Naomi Higgins, Humyara Mahbub and Aunty Donna’s Mark Samual Bonanno, Why Are You Like This follows best friends Mia and Penny as they navigate their 20s in Melbourne, along with Penny’s dramatic and aloof housemate, Austin. Guided by their own modern day moral code, they confront complex social issues in an outrage driven world, leaving a path of destruction in their wake.
Screen Australia and the ABC’s ongoing Fresh Blood initiative is designed to uncover a new generation of comedic talent. Why Are You Like This was one of four pilots produced thanks to the program in 2018, alongside Michael Cusack’s Aacta-nominated Koala Man, Becky Lucas and Cameron James’ Be...
- 9/24/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
‘Animals’ (Photo credit: Bernard Walsh).
Sophie Hyde’s Animals opened in UK cinemas last weekend, its first territory, winning plaudits from the critics and sizable audiences.
Picturehouse Entertainment launched the female relationships dramedy adapted from the Emma Jane Unsworth novel, which stars Holliday Grainger and Alia Shawkat, on 73 locations: 38 in greater London and 35 in the regions.
The weekend total including Q&a screenings hosted by Unsworth and a National Girlfriends’ Day promotion was £107,000.
Closer Productions’ Rebecca Summerton, who produced the Irish-Australian co-production with Hyde, Sarah Brocklehurst and Vico Films’ Cormac Fox, tells If she is very pleased with the UK opening and Picturehouse’s marketing campaign.
That augurs well for the September 12 release via Jonathan Page’s Bonsai Films. Page has booked nine screens and aims to have 15 on board at launch.
“It is hard to stand out but I think our uber-cool cast of Alia Shawkat and Holliday...
Sophie Hyde’s Animals opened in UK cinemas last weekend, its first territory, winning plaudits from the critics and sizable audiences.
Picturehouse Entertainment launched the female relationships dramedy adapted from the Emma Jane Unsworth novel, which stars Holliday Grainger and Alia Shawkat, on 73 locations: 38 in greater London and 35 in the regions.
The weekend total including Q&a screenings hosted by Unsworth and a National Girlfriends’ Day promotion was £107,000.
Closer Productions’ Rebecca Summerton, who produced the Irish-Australian co-production with Hyde, Sarah Brocklehurst and Vico Films’ Cormac Fox, tells If she is very pleased with the UK opening and Picturehouse’s marketing campaign.
That augurs well for the September 12 release via Jonathan Page’s Bonsai Films. Page has booked nine screens and aims to have 15 on board at launch.
“It is hard to stand out but I think our uber-cool cast of Alia Shawkat and Holliday...
- 8/5/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘My Life is Murder.’
Cjz’s private investigator series My Life is Murder and Closer Productions’ four-part drama The Hunting have been acquired by UK broadcasters.
Multi-channel operator UKTV will screen the 10-part Cjz production, which follows Lucy Lawless as former homicide cop Alexa Crowe as she investigates baffling and bizarre murders, on its crime drama channel Alibi.
Directed by Leah Purcell, Mat King and Jovita O’Shaugnessy and produced by Elisa Argenzio and Cjz head of development Claire Tonkin, the series premiered on Network 10 on Wednesday night.
The first episode drew 482,000 viewers in the mainland capitals, trailing Shaun Micallef’s Mad as Hell’s 495,000, despite the fact the ABC mistakenly put to air the previous week’s episode of Micallef.
However the 7-day and 28-day figures for 10’s murder-mystery are bound to be a lot higher. The consolidated total for Five Bedrooms, for example, was 642,000 in the five metros,...
Cjz’s private investigator series My Life is Murder and Closer Productions’ four-part drama The Hunting have been acquired by UK broadcasters.
Multi-channel operator UKTV will screen the 10-part Cjz production, which follows Lucy Lawless as former homicide cop Alexa Crowe as she investigates baffling and bizarre murders, on its crime drama channel Alibi.
Directed by Leah Purcell, Mat King and Jovita O’Shaugnessy and produced by Elisa Argenzio and Cjz head of development Claire Tonkin, the series premiered on Network 10 on Wednesday night.
The first episode drew 482,000 viewers in the mainland capitals, trailing Shaun Micallef’s Mad as Hell’s 495,000, despite the fact the ABC mistakenly put to air the previous week’s episode of Micallef.
However the 7-day and 28-day figures for 10’s murder-mystery are bound to be a lot higher. The consolidated total for Five Bedrooms, for example, was 642,000 in the five metros,...
- 7/17/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Asher Keddie and Richard Roxburgh in ‘The Hunting.’
Closer Productions’ The Hunting, a four-part drama which examines how teenagers navigate the complexities of relationships, identity and sexuality via technology, will premiere on Sbs at 8.30 pm on Thursday August 1.
Created by Closer’s Sophie Hyde and Matthew Cormack and starring Asher Keddie and Richard Roxburgh, the plot follows two high school teachers who discover students are sharing explicit photos of their underage friends and peers online.
The revelation has devastating consequences for the students and their families, tackling themes of misogyny, privacy, sexuality and sexualisation, online exploitation, masculinity and gender.
The ensemble cast includes Sam Reid, Jessica De Gouw, Luca Sardelis, Yazeed Daher, Pamela Rabe, Leah Vandenberg, Rodney Afif, Sachin Joab, Elena Carapetis, Anni Lindner and newcomers Kavitha Anandasivam and Alex Cusack.
Cormack penned the scripts with Niki Aken, and Hyde shared directing duties with Ana Kokkinos. Hyde produces with Rebecca Summerton and Lisa Scott.
Closer Productions’ The Hunting, a four-part drama which examines how teenagers navigate the complexities of relationships, identity and sexuality via technology, will premiere on Sbs at 8.30 pm on Thursday August 1.
Created by Closer’s Sophie Hyde and Matthew Cormack and starring Asher Keddie and Richard Roxburgh, the plot follows two high school teachers who discover students are sharing explicit photos of their underage friends and peers online.
The revelation has devastating consequences for the students and their families, tackling themes of misogyny, privacy, sexuality and sexualisation, online exploitation, masculinity and gender.
The ensemble cast includes Sam Reid, Jessica De Gouw, Luca Sardelis, Yazeed Daher, Pamela Rabe, Leah Vandenberg, Rodney Afif, Sachin Joab, Elena Carapetis, Anni Lindner and newcomers Kavitha Anandasivam and Alex Cusack.
Cormack penned the scripts with Niki Aken, and Hyde shared directing duties with Ana Kokkinos. Hyde produces with Rebecca Summerton and Lisa Scott.
- 7/3/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Melissa Lee Speyer (Photo credit: Darwin Morales).
Emerging screenwriter Melissa Lee Speyer is gratified by the advances in screen diversity in the past three years but worries that progress has been exaggerated and there is still a significant imbalance.
Born in the UK to Chinese-Malaysian parents, Speyer sometimes finds she is the only non-white writer in writers rooms.
“For every diverse show loudly championed there are a dozen more with representation issues that nobody notices,” she tells If.
“I know it feels like all the money and opportunities are going in a very specific direction. Trust me, that’s not where 100 per cent of it is going. It’s often just talked about the loudest.
“In the last three years there’s been a lot of loud mainstream talk about diversity, coming off the back of 50 years of virtual silence.
“It’s not just about ‘not being the only non-white writer in the room,...
Emerging screenwriter Melissa Lee Speyer is gratified by the advances in screen diversity in the past three years but worries that progress has been exaggerated and there is still a significant imbalance.
Born in the UK to Chinese-Malaysian parents, Speyer sometimes finds she is the only non-white writer in writers rooms.
“For every diverse show loudly championed there are a dozen more with representation issues that nobody notices,” she tells If.
“I know it feels like all the money and opportunities are going in a very specific direction. Trust me, that’s not where 100 per cent of it is going. It’s often just talked about the loudest.
“In the last three years there’s been a lot of loud mainstream talk about diversity, coming off the back of 50 years of virtual silence.
“It’s not just about ‘not being the only non-white writer in the room,...
- 7/3/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Tristram Baumber.
Tristram Baumber studied English and creative writing at the University of Wollongong with the aim of making a living as a screenwriter.
That was 20 years ago. Since then his life and career have taken several twists and turns – but he is now reaping the rewards of persistence and determination.
“It took me a long time to get good at writing,” he tells If. The turning point came in March 2017 when Aquarius Films’ Polly Staniford and Angie Fielder hired him as an in-house writer.
He had been working with the producers on several projects including a rom-com feature and they were able to put him on staff thanks to a grant from Screen Australia’s Enterprise People program.
For the next two years he worked on multiple projects including the second season of Matt Okine’s Stan sitcom The Other Guy and The Unlisted, an action sci-fi thriller created...
Tristram Baumber studied English and creative writing at the University of Wollongong with the aim of making a living as a screenwriter.
That was 20 years ago. Since then his life and career have taken several twists and turns – but he is now reaping the rewards of persistence and determination.
“It took me a long time to get good at writing,” he tells If. The turning point came in March 2017 when Aquarius Films’ Polly Staniford and Angie Fielder hired him as an in-house writer.
He had been working with the producers on several projects including a rom-com feature and they were able to put him on staff thanks to a grant from Screen Australia’s Enterprise People program.
For the next two years he worked on multiple projects including the second season of Matt Okine’s Stan sitcom The Other Guy and The Unlisted, an action sci-fi thriller created...
- 6/24/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Niki Aken.
When screenwriter Niki Aken started writing TV shows seven years ago, she was the only one with an Asian or non-white heritage in the room.
That situation did not change until two years ago when the writer, who has a Malaysian father and an Aussie mother, and Benjamin Law began developing a show for Fremantle.
“For the first five years nearly everyone I worked with was middle class, Anglo and aged 40-plus,” she tells If.
As a founder member of Australian Writers’ Guild’s Diversity and Inclusion Action Committee alongside Law, Kodie Bedford, Jaime Browne, Mithila Gupta and Que Minh Luu, she has been heartened by the much greater diversity on screen and in writers’ rooms in the past couple of years.
One show she is developing with Ian Collie’s Easy Tiger is emblematic of the advances in pluralism across the industry. Based on an idea by Collie,...
When screenwriter Niki Aken started writing TV shows seven years ago, she was the only one with an Asian or non-white heritage in the room.
That situation did not change until two years ago when the writer, who has a Malaysian father and an Aussie mother, and Benjamin Law began developing a show for Fremantle.
“For the first five years nearly everyone I worked with was middle class, Anglo and aged 40-plus,” she tells If.
As a founder member of Australian Writers’ Guild’s Diversity and Inclusion Action Committee alongside Law, Kodie Bedford, Jaime Browne, Mithila Gupta and Que Minh Luu, she has been heartened by the much greater diversity on screen and in writers’ rooms in the past couple of years.
One show she is developing with Ian Collie’s Easy Tiger is emblematic of the advances in pluralism across the industry. Based on an idea by Collie,...
- 6/16/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Hannah and Eliza Reilly.
Sisters Hannah and Eliza Reilly love the crime genre but wondered why Australia has never produced a TV series which tackles the subject from a female perspective, apart from Wentworth and Prisoner.
So when the writers-directors-performers met with experienced crime writer Niki Aken at the Engendered Masterclass hosted by Bunya Productions last December, they came up with the idea of a premium drama series about two sisters who quit their day jobs in their quest to become full-time criminals.
The Reillys then asked Yolanda Ramke (Cargo) and Sarah Lambert (Lambs of God), whom they had met on a Screen Australia/Australian Writers’ Guild’s Talent USA trip last September, to join the project entitled Partners in Crime.
Producer Julia Corcoran signed on and Screen Australia today announced it is receiving story development funding.
Not lacking in ambition, the sisters plan to produce eight episodes budgeted at...
Sisters Hannah and Eliza Reilly love the crime genre but wondered why Australia has never produced a TV series which tackles the subject from a female perspective, apart from Wentworth and Prisoner.
So when the writers-directors-performers met with experienced crime writer Niki Aken at the Engendered Masterclass hosted by Bunya Productions last December, they came up with the idea of a premium drama series about two sisters who quit their day jobs in their quest to become full-time criminals.
The Reillys then asked Yolanda Ramke (Cargo) and Sarah Lambert (Lambs of God), whom they had met on a Screen Australia/Australian Writers’ Guild’s Talent USA trip last September, to join the project entitled Partners in Crime.
Producer Julia Corcoran signed on and Screen Australia today announced it is receiving story development funding.
Not lacking in ambition, the sisters plan to produce eight episodes budgeted at...
- 5/29/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
(L-r) Peta Astbury-Bulsara, Que Minh Luu and Warren Clarke (Photo credit: Bohdan Warchomij).
The ABC had greenlit the development of The Heights when Que Minh Luu, who co-created the drama serial with Warren Clarke, was alerted to a job vacancy at the public broadcaster.
Sally Riley, the ABC’s head of drama, comedy and Indigenous, suggested Luu apply for the role of an executive producer.
That presented a dilemma for the Matchbox Pictures development executive. “On one hand I was keen to see the show through to completion,” she tells If. “On the other hand I wanted to get into producing, jobs like that are rare and I may not have had the opportunity again.”
So she applied, got the position and continued to oversee the 30-episode production from Matchbox and Peta Astbury-Bulsara’s For Pete’s Sake Productions as an Ep.
Clarke and Luu had set up the writers...
The ABC had greenlit the development of The Heights when Que Minh Luu, who co-created the drama serial with Warren Clarke, was alerted to a job vacancy at the public broadcaster.
Sally Riley, the ABC’s head of drama, comedy and Indigenous, suggested Luu apply for the role of an executive producer.
That presented a dilemma for the Matchbox Pictures development executive. “On one hand I was keen to see the show through to completion,” she tells If. “On the other hand I wanted to get into producing, jobs like that are rare and I may not have had the opportunity again.”
So she applied, got the position and continued to oversee the 30-episode production from Matchbox and Peta Astbury-Bulsara’s For Pete’s Sake Productions as an Ep.
Clarke and Luu had set up the writers...
- 4/2/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
The cast of ‘The Heights’.
With the exception of flagship serials Home and Away and Neighbours, for the last few years, long-form adult drama has all but disappeared from our screens, replaced by high budget, short-run shows.
With that has also come a reduced number of training opportunities for emerging writers and directors, something that producers, writers and directors alike have lamented.
Given the landscape, it was somewhat of a surprise to see the ABC announce last June that it had commissioned a 30 x 30” serial drama in The Heights.
Produced by Matchbox Pictures and For Pete’s Sake Productions, The Heights is set in the fictional suburb of Arcadia Heights and explores the relationships, work lives and everyday challenges of six families living in a social housing tower and the rapidly gentrifying inner-city community that surrounds it.
The diverse ensemble cast includes Marcus Graham, Shari Sebbens, Roz Hammond, Fiona Press, Dan Paris,...
With the exception of flagship serials Home and Away and Neighbours, for the last few years, long-form adult drama has all but disappeared from our screens, replaced by high budget, short-run shows.
With that has also come a reduced number of training opportunities for emerging writers and directors, something that producers, writers and directors alike have lamented.
Given the landscape, it was somewhat of a surprise to see the ABC announce last June that it had commissioned a 30 x 30” serial drama in The Heights.
Produced by Matchbox Pictures and For Pete’s Sake Productions, The Heights is set in the fictional suburb of Arcadia Heights and explores the relationships, work lives and everyday challenges of six families living in a social housing tower and the rapidly gentrifying inner-city community that surrounds it.
The diverse ensemble cast includes Marcus Graham, Shari Sebbens, Roz Hammond, Fiona Press, Dan Paris,...
- 2/20/2019
- by jkeast
- 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
Alison Bell, Kodie Bedford and Niki Aken.
Screen Australia has announced it will support a delegation of 13 creatives to travel to New York in March to attend the Australian International Screen Forum and participate in professional development and networking opportunities.
“There is an increasing appetite for Australian stories in the USA, most recently evident at the Sundance Film Festival where our films were making substantial sales,” said Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason.
“Talent USA is an important opportunity to showcase and promote some of our best creative talent to the North American market and help elevate their projects to be in the best position to compete and be seen internationally.
“Attending the Screen Forum will give these delegates an opportunity to hear from key Us players on latest trends, challenges and opportunities in the current global market. This year the Talent USA delegation will also benefit from the Forum’s ambassadors Deborra-Lee Furness,...
Screen Australia has announced it will support a delegation of 13 creatives to travel to New York in March to attend the Australian International Screen Forum and participate in professional development and networking opportunities.
“There is an increasing appetite for Australian stories in the USA, most recently evident at the Sundance Film Festival where our films were making substantial sales,” said Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason.
“Talent USA is an important opportunity to showcase and promote some of our best creative talent to the North American market and help elevate their projects to be in the best position to compete and be seen internationally.
“Attending the Screen Forum will give these delegates an opportunity to hear from key Us players on latest trends, challenges and opportunities in the current global market. This year the Talent USA delegation will also benefit from the Forum’s ambassadors Deborra-Lee Furness,...
- 2/6/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Mithila Gupta.
After screenwriter Mithila Gupta began her career in the Neighbours writers’ room in 2010, she often found she was the “only brown person” in the room.
Nine years on, Gupta is a torch-bearer for diversity in her craft, with an impressive resume that includes Winners & Losers, Playing for Keeps, Network 10’s upcoming Five Bedrooms and the ABC’s The Heights.
“We’re taking the right steps,” Mithila tells If. “The biggest challenge is having more people of colour in the writers’ room. This isn’t just ticking boxes, it is getting authentic voices who can provide a fresh perspective. Diversity is personal to me; it is emotional.”
The Indian-born writer who came to Australian when she was three hails the formation last year of the Australian Writers Guild’s diversity and inclusion advisory committee as a big breakthrough. She is serving on the committee alongside Niki Aken, Kodie Bedford,...
After screenwriter Mithila Gupta began her career in the Neighbours writers’ room in 2010, she often found she was the “only brown person” in the room.
Nine years on, Gupta is a torch-bearer for diversity in her craft, with an impressive resume that includes Winners & Losers, Playing for Keeps, Network 10’s upcoming Five Bedrooms and the ABC’s The Heights.
“We’re taking the right steps,” Mithila tells If. “The biggest challenge is having more people of colour in the writers’ room. This isn’t just ticking boxes, it is getting authentic voices who can provide a fresh perspective. Diversity is personal to me; it is emotional.”
The Indian-born writer who came to Australian when she was three hails the formation last year of the Australian Writers Guild’s diversity and inclusion advisory committee as a big breakthrough. She is serving on the committee alongside Niki Aken, Kodie Bedford,...
- 1/28/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
The Hunting.
Asher Keddie and Richard Roxburgh will head the ensemble cast of Sbs’s four-part drama The Hunting, which goes into production tomorrow in Adelaide.
Joining the two actors in the Closer Productions series are Sam Reid (Bloom, Lambs of God), Jessica De Gouw (Arrow, Deadline Gallipoli), Luca Sardelis, Yazeed Daher (The Heights, Safe Harbour), Pamela Rabe (Wentworth), Leah Vandenberg (The Letdown), Rodney Afif (Ali’s Wedding), Sachin Joab (Lion) Elena Carapetis (Look Both Ways), Anni Lindner (Wolf Creek TV) and newcomers Kavitha Anandasivam and Alex Cusack.
Created by Closer’s Sophie Hyde and Matthew Cormack, The Hunting (previously titled The Hunt) follows four teenagers, their teachers and families throughout the lead up, revelation and aftermath of a nude teen photo scandal. When two high school teachers discover students are sharing explicit photos of their underage friends and peers online, the revelation has unbearable consequences for the students and their families.
Asher Keddie and Richard Roxburgh will head the ensemble cast of Sbs’s four-part drama The Hunting, which goes into production tomorrow in Adelaide.
Joining the two actors in the Closer Productions series are Sam Reid (Bloom, Lambs of God), Jessica De Gouw (Arrow, Deadline Gallipoli), Luca Sardelis, Yazeed Daher (The Heights, Safe Harbour), Pamela Rabe (Wentworth), Leah Vandenberg (The Letdown), Rodney Afif (Ali’s Wedding), Sachin Joab (Lion) Elena Carapetis (Look Both Ways), Anni Lindner (Wolf Creek TV) and newcomers Kavitha Anandasivam and Alex Cusack.
Created by Closer’s Sophie Hyde and Matthew Cormack, The Hunting (previously titled The Hunt) follows four teenagers, their teachers and families throughout the lead up, revelation and aftermath of a nude teen photo scandal. When two high school teachers discover students are sharing explicit photos of their underage friends and peers online, the revelation has unbearable consequences for the students and their families.
- 1/17/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Margaret Morgan, Niki Aken and Taylor Litton-Strain.
Twelve female creators have been selected for a four-day genre masterclass, hosted by Bunya Productions and taught by Us writer/producer Raelle Tucker and Canadian director Jeremy Podeswa (Game of Thrones, The Handmaid’s Tale).
The Engendered Masterclass, supported as part of Screen Australia’s Gender Matters: Brilliant Careers program, will be held next week and see participants workshop their active projects directly with Tucker and Podeswa.
“Genre is what is really cutting through on TV at the moment, so the Engendered Masterclass funded by Screen Australia represents a tremendous opportunity for female creators,” said Bunya Productions’ Greer Simpkin.
“Jeremy and Raelle are masters of delivering premium genre, and furthermore when you think of the likes of The Handmaid’s Tale and Sacred Lies, they have made dramas that have proven the creative and commercial worth of female-led storytelling.”
“The 12 Australian creators selected...
Twelve female creators have been selected for a four-day genre masterclass, hosted by Bunya Productions and taught by Us writer/producer Raelle Tucker and Canadian director Jeremy Podeswa (Game of Thrones, The Handmaid’s Tale).
The Engendered Masterclass, supported as part of Screen Australia’s Gender Matters: Brilliant Careers program, will be held next week and see participants workshop their active projects directly with Tucker and Podeswa.
“Genre is what is really cutting through on TV at the moment, so the Engendered Masterclass funded by Screen Australia represents a tremendous opportunity for female creators,” said Bunya Productions’ Greer Simpkin.
“Jeremy and Raelle are masters of delivering premium genre, and furthermore when you think of the likes of The Handmaid’s Tale and Sacred Lies, they have made dramas that have proven the creative and commercial worth of female-led storytelling.”
“The 12 Australian creators selected...
- 12/11/2018
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
‘The Hunt’
A thriller which centres on three generations of Vietnamese Australian families as they cope with the aftermath of war, a revival of the quiz Mastermind and documentaries which uncover family secrets and medical myths will screen on Sbs next year.
Among other shows unveiled at the broadcaster’s Upfronts are four “Slow Summer” documentaries in the vein of The Ghan, the third and final season of Matchbox Pictures’ The Family Law and a doc which posits that Christianity in Australia is in crisis.
Kurt Fearnley, Scott Cam, Casey Donovan and Rodger Corser are the first names confirmed for the 10th edition of Warner Bros. International Television Production Australia’s (Wbitpa) Who Do You Think You Are?
Sbs director of TV and online content Marshall Heald said: “At Sbs we tell stories and show people on screen that you don’t see anywhere else, giving a voice to communities that would otherwise go unheard.
A thriller which centres on three generations of Vietnamese Australian families as they cope with the aftermath of war, a revival of the quiz Mastermind and documentaries which uncover family secrets and medical myths will screen on Sbs next year.
Among other shows unveiled at the broadcaster’s Upfronts are four “Slow Summer” documentaries in the vein of The Ghan, the third and final season of Matchbox Pictures’ The Family Law and a doc which posits that Christianity in Australia is in crisis.
Kurt Fearnley, Scott Cam, Casey Donovan and Rodger Corser are the first names confirmed for the 10th edition of Warner Bros. International Television Production Australia’s (Wbitpa) Who Do You Think You Are?
Sbs director of TV and online content Marshall Heald said: “At Sbs we tell stories and show people on screen that you don’t see anywhere else, giving a voice to communities that would otherwise go unheard.
- 11/20/2018
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Marta Dusseldorp as Janet King..
The third season of Screentime.s ABC drama Janet King, starring Marta Dusseldorp, goes into production this week.
Joining the established cast of Damian Walshe-Howling, Peter Kowitz, Christopher Morris, Andrea Demetriades, Anita Hegh and Hamish Michael for the third instalment will be Don Hany, Robert Mammone, Susie Porter, Andrew Ryan, Huw Higginson, John Bach, Steve Le Marquand, Arka Das and Adam Demos.
This season, Janet will confront .a hornet.s nest of illegal gambling, organised crime and money laundering, while investigating the tragic death of a young sports star..
Written by Greg Haddrick, Felicity Packard, and Niki Aken with Alexa Wyatt as writer/script producer, the season will be directed by Peter Andrikidis, Grant Brown and Catherine Millar.
Janet King is produced by Karl Zwicky and Lisa Scott with Hilary Bonney and Marta Dusseldrop as associate producers. Screentime.s Haddrick, ABC.s Sally Riley and Kym Goldsworthy are executive producers.
The third season of Screentime.s ABC drama Janet King, starring Marta Dusseldorp, goes into production this week.
Joining the established cast of Damian Walshe-Howling, Peter Kowitz, Christopher Morris, Andrea Demetriades, Anita Hegh and Hamish Michael for the third instalment will be Don Hany, Robert Mammone, Susie Porter, Andrew Ryan, Huw Higginson, John Bach, Steve Le Marquand, Arka Das and Adam Demos.
This season, Janet will confront .a hornet.s nest of illegal gambling, organised crime and money laundering, while investigating the tragic death of a young sports star..
Written by Greg Haddrick, Felicity Packard, and Niki Aken with Alexa Wyatt as writer/script producer, the season will be directed by Peter Andrikidis, Grant Brown and Catherine Millar.
Janet King is produced by Karl Zwicky and Lisa Scott with Hilary Bonney and Marta Dusseldrop as associate producers. Screentime.s Haddrick, ABC.s Sally Riley and Kym Goldsworthy are executive producers.
- 11/7/2016
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
Hyde & Seek.
Hyde & Seek will premiere on Nine October 3, the same airdate as Seven's new series The Secret Daughter. Matt Nable (Hacksaw Ridge, Arrow, Gallipoli) plays Gary Hyde, a detective hunting the killer of his best mate and partner. . Together with his new partner Claire McKenzie (Emma Hamilton, The Tudors, Mary: The Making of a Princess), Afp boss Jackie Walters (Mandy McElhinney, House of Hancock, Love Child) and Asio chiefs (Jindabyne's Deborra-lee Furness and Puberty Blues' Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Gary uncovers a criminal underbelly of murder and fraud as he's thrust into the secretive world of homeland security. . The show also stars Zoe Ventoura (Packed to the Rafters), Tai Hara (Home and Away), Claire Lovering (San Andreas), Andrew McFarlane (Devil.s Playground, Love Child), and Aaron Fa.oso (East West 101). In a statement, Nine.s heads of drama Andy Ryan and Jo Rooney said they were thrilled...
Hyde & Seek will premiere on Nine October 3, the same airdate as Seven's new series The Secret Daughter. Matt Nable (Hacksaw Ridge, Arrow, Gallipoli) plays Gary Hyde, a detective hunting the killer of his best mate and partner. . Together with his new partner Claire McKenzie (Emma Hamilton, The Tudors, Mary: The Making of a Princess), Afp boss Jackie Walters (Mandy McElhinney, House of Hancock, Love Child) and Asio chiefs (Jindabyne's Deborra-lee Furness and Puberty Blues' Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Gary uncovers a criminal underbelly of murder and fraud as he's thrust into the secretive world of homeland security. . The show also stars Zoe Ventoura (Packed to the Rafters), Tai Hara (Home and Away), Claire Lovering (San Andreas), Andrew McFarlane (Devil.s Playground, Love Child), and Aaron Fa.oso (East West 101). In a statement, Nine.s heads of drama Andy Ryan and Jo Rooney said they were thrilled...
- 9/20/2016
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
Newcomers Elias Anton and Ben Kindon are playing the leads in Barracuda, the 4-part Matchbox Pictures drama for ABC directed by Rob Connolly.
The ABC revealed the casts and storylines of its 2016 adult dramas, all previously commissioned and announced, at its upfronts presentation on Tuesday night.
The broadcaster confirmed a third season of Matchbox Pictures. Nowhere Boys and announced two animated series. Planet 55 Studios. sci-fi/adventure Prisoner Zero follows teen heroes Tag and Gem and their mysterious friend Prisoner Zero.
Stark Production.s The Deep is the saga of the Nekton family who encounter leviathans swimming through sunken cities, modern day pirates lurking amidst floating black markets and mysterious guardians who conceal long lost secrets.
The teen-targeted slate also includes Ambience Entertainment.s Tomorrow, When the War Began, based on the novels by John Marsden. In Barracuda, Anton plays Danny Kelly, a Melbourne teenager who yearns for a gold medal...
The ABC revealed the casts and storylines of its 2016 adult dramas, all previously commissioned and announced, at its upfronts presentation on Tuesday night.
The broadcaster confirmed a third season of Matchbox Pictures. Nowhere Boys and announced two animated series. Planet 55 Studios. sci-fi/adventure Prisoner Zero follows teen heroes Tag and Gem and their mysterious friend Prisoner Zero.
Stark Production.s The Deep is the saga of the Nekton family who encounter leviathans swimming through sunken cities, modern day pirates lurking amidst floating black markets and mysterious guardians who conceal long lost secrets.
The teen-targeted slate also includes Ambience Entertainment.s Tomorrow, When the War Began, based on the novels by John Marsden. In Barracuda, Anton plays Danny Kelly, a Melbourne teenager who yearns for a gold medal...
- 11/24/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Janet King season 2 begins production this week with Marta Dusseldorp reprising her lead role.
In the second series, King is seconded from the Dpp to lead a Royal Commission into a deadly upsurge in gun crime..
King is joined by conscripting solicitors Richard Stirling (Hamish Michael) and Lina Badir (Andrea Demetriades), and the ambitious Owen Mitchell (Damian Walshe-Howling) as Counsel Assisting.
With coercive powers Detective Andy Campbell (Christopher Morris) can only dream of, King and her team peel back the complex layers of intrigue underpinning the illicit trade in weapons..
Completing the cast are Peter Kowitz, Leah Purcell, Terry Serio, Philip Quast, Anita Hegh, Aaron Jeffrey, Genevieve Hegney, Nicholas Hope and Ewen Leslie.
The series is produced by Screentime, a Banijay Group company, and series produced by Karl Zwicky, produced by Lisa Scott, with Hilary Bonney and Marta Dusseldorp as associate producers, and Greg Haddrick as executive producer..
It is written by Haddrick,...
In the second series, King is seconded from the Dpp to lead a Royal Commission into a deadly upsurge in gun crime..
King is joined by conscripting solicitors Richard Stirling (Hamish Michael) and Lina Badir (Andrea Demetriades), and the ambitious Owen Mitchell (Damian Walshe-Howling) as Counsel Assisting.
With coercive powers Detective Andy Campbell (Christopher Morris) can only dream of, King and her team peel back the complex layers of intrigue underpinning the illicit trade in weapons..
Completing the cast are Peter Kowitz, Leah Purcell, Terry Serio, Philip Quast, Anita Hegh, Aaron Jeffrey, Genevieve Hegney, Nicholas Hope and Ewen Leslie.
The series is produced by Screentime, a Banijay Group company, and series produced by Karl Zwicky, produced by Lisa Scott, with Hilary Bonney and Marta Dusseldorp as associate producers, and Greg Haddrick as executive producer..
It is written by Haddrick,...
- 10/7/2015
- by Inside Film Correspondent
- IF.com.au
Political thriller The Code took the major Awgie award as well as the trophy for best original miniseries at the Australian Writers. Guild awards on Friday night.
The six-hour series, which premieres on ABC on September 21, is written by Blake Ayshford, Shelley Birse and Justin Monjo and produced by Playmaker Media. The major Awgie recognises the best of the night's winners across stage, screen, new media and radio.
The feature film award went to Adelaide writer Matthew Cormack for his first debut feature 52 Tuesdays, the gender-bending drama hailed as .bold and structurally adventurous..
Winner of the best documentary prize was Sally McKenzie for A Woman.s Journey Into Sex.
Andrew Knight was rewarded for his script for Essential Media and Entertainment.s telemovie The Broken Shore, adapted from the Peter Temple novel. Writer/director Peter Duncan won best TV series script for Essential.s Rake.
Niki Aken and Felicity Packard...
The six-hour series, which premieres on ABC on September 21, is written by Blake Ayshford, Shelley Birse and Justin Monjo and produced by Playmaker Media. The major Awgie recognises the best of the night's winners across stage, screen, new media and radio.
The feature film award went to Adelaide writer Matthew Cormack for his first debut feature 52 Tuesdays, the gender-bending drama hailed as .bold and structurally adventurous..
Winner of the best documentary prize was Sally McKenzie for A Woman.s Journey Into Sex.
Andrew Knight was rewarded for his script for Essential Media and Entertainment.s telemovie The Broken Shore, adapted from the Peter Temple novel. Writer/director Peter Duncan won best TV series script for Essential.s Rake.
Niki Aken and Felicity Packard...
- 9/5/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Georgia Flood as Alice behind the scenes of Anzac Girls. .A Screentime production for ABC TV.
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While writer-producer Felicity Packard was researching an ABC WW1 drama, she made a shocking discovery: More than 3,700 Australian and New Zealand nurses served overseas during the war- but only seven were awarded military medals.
The reason for that anomaly is one of the recurring themes of Anzac Girls, a six-hour series based on real people and events at the Western Front and Gallipoli, which premieres at 8.30 pm on Sunday August 10.
Packard believes the Australian Army refused to honour the nurses because officers were opposed to young women being involved in the war.
.The Army was quite hostile to them,. Packard tells If. This attitude is personified in the show by Colonel Thomas Fiaschi (John Waters), who, she says, .was obstructionist and critical of the nurses.. Those medals were awarded to people of .other ranks,...
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While writer-producer Felicity Packard was researching an ABC WW1 drama, she made a shocking discovery: More than 3,700 Australian and New Zealand nurses served overseas during the war- but only seven were awarded military medals.
The reason for that anomaly is one of the recurring themes of Anzac Girls, a six-hour series based on real people and events at the Western Front and Gallipoli, which premieres at 8.30 pm on Sunday August 10.
Packard believes the Australian Army refused to honour the nurses because officers were opposed to young women being involved in the war.
.The Army was quite hostile to them,. Packard tells If. This attitude is personified in the show by Colonel Thomas Fiaschi (John Waters), who, she says, .was obstructionist and critical of the nurses.. Those medals were awarded to people of .other ranks,...
- 7/27/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Kim Mordaunt won the Australian Writers. Guild best original screenplay award for his debut film The Rocket and Cate Shortland and Robin Mukherjee got the feature film adaptation prize for Lore at the Awgie awards held in Melbourne on Friday night.
David Roach and Warwick Ross.s Red Obsession took the award for public broadcast documentary screenplay.
Underbelly again won best original mini -series and Robert Connolly.s Underground: The Julian Assange Story was named best telemovie adaptation.
The $25,000 Foxtel prize for a significant and impressive body of work in television went to Jacquelin Perske, whose screenwriting credits include The Secret Life of Us, Love My Way, Spirited and Little Fish.
The Good News Week writing team received a ninth Awgie for the final season of the series.
Playwright Alana Valentine picked up three awards including most outstanding script of 2013 and the inaugural David Williamson Prize.
Australian Writers. Guild president Jan Sardi said,...
David Roach and Warwick Ross.s Red Obsession took the award for public broadcast documentary screenplay.
Underbelly again won best original mini -series and Robert Connolly.s Underground: The Julian Assange Story was named best telemovie adaptation.
The $25,000 Foxtel prize for a significant and impressive body of work in television went to Jacquelin Perske, whose screenwriting credits include The Secret Life of Us, Love My Way, Spirited and Little Fish.
The Good News Week writing team received a ninth Awgie for the final season of the series.
Playwright Alana Valentine picked up three awards including most outstanding script of 2013 and the inaugural David Williamson Prize.
Australian Writers. Guild president Jan Sardi said,...
- 10/4/2013
- by Staff writer
- IF.com.au
The Anzac spirit will be celebrated in two miniseries that received funding on Tuesday from Screen Australia. While both projects had been announced, the cast for Anzac Girls has been revealed and it.s been confirmed that Sam Worthington is highly likely to star in The Gallipoli Story.
Also funded was Catching Milat, a two-part telemovie recounting the investigation that led to the arrest of serial killer Ivan Milat.
Produced by Screentime for ABC TV, Anzac Girls will chronicle the true story of five young military nurses from Australia and New Zealand who experienced horror, heartbreak and triumph caring for the soldiers at Gallipoli and the Western Front.
The six-part series will star Georgia Flood (House Husbands, Wentworth, Tangle), Antonia Prebble (Outrageous Fortune, The Blue Rose, Super City), Laura Brent (A Few Best Men, Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader), Anna McGahan (House Husbands, Mystery of a Hansom Cab,...
Also funded was Catching Milat, a two-part telemovie recounting the investigation that led to the arrest of serial killer Ivan Milat.
Produced by Screentime for ABC TV, Anzac Girls will chronicle the true story of five young military nurses from Australia and New Zealand who experienced horror, heartbreak and triumph caring for the soldiers at Gallipoli and the Western Front.
The six-part series will star Georgia Flood (House Husbands, Wentworth, Tangle), Antonia Prebble (Outrageous Fortune, The Blue Rose, Super City), Laura Brent (A Few Best Men, Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader), Anna McGahan (House Husbands, Mystery of a Hansom Cab,...
- 6/26/2013
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Production house Screentime and ABC TV are developing a six-part miniseries based on Anzac nurses' stories to mark the centenary of World War I and Gallipoli.
The series, which is currently in advanced development, is based on Peter Rees. book The Other Anzacs, sourced from original letters, diaries and personal stories of Australian and New Zealand nurses who served in World War I. The screenplay is being written by Felicity Packard (Mda; Underbelly) and Niki Aken (Underbelly: Badness).
In a statement, ABC head of fiction Carole Sklan said: "It is moving and humbling to touch the lives of these real women through their letters, diaries and photographs. We feel privileged to dramatise their journey..
The series is being executive produced by Screentime.s Des Monaghan and Greg Haddrick and ABC TV.s Carole Sklan and David Ogilvy.
Screentime executive chairman Des Monaghan said the women's remarkable stories will present the...
The series, which is currently in advanced development, is based on Peter Rees. book The Other Anzacs, sourced from original letters, diaries and personal stories of Australian and New Zealand nurses who served in World War I. The screenplay is being written by Felicity Packard (Mda; Underbelly) and Niki Aken (Underbelly: Badness).
In a statement, ABC head of fiction Carole Sklan said: "It is moving and humbling to touch the lives of these real women through their letters, diaries and photographs. We feel privileged to dramatise their journey..
The series is being executive produced by Screentime.s Des Monaghan and Greg Haddrick and ABC TV.s Carole Sklan and David Ogilvy.
Screentime executive chairman Des Monaghan said the women's remarkable stories will present the...
- 10/8/2012
- by Staff reporter
- IF.com.au
A new series of Underbelly has started filming for Nine and production company Screentime.
The fifth series- called Underbelly: Badness – returns to Sydney’s modern crime history, set between 2001 and 2011.
The story is based on the murder of Terry Falconer by underworld figures Anthony Perish and Andrew Perish and the team of police dedicated to bringing the Perishs to justice.
Perish, 42, was sentenced to 18 years on Friday 13 April 2012 in the Nsw Supreme Court while his brother Andrew Perish, 41, was sentenced to at least nine years, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Des Monaghan, executive producer of the series and executive chairman of Screentime said: “This, the fifth series of Underbelly, is the most contemporary yet and is in marked contrast to Underbelly: Razor. While on the face of it they couldn’t be more different, they do both share the Underbelly DNA, namely police versus organised crime, the dramatisation of actual events,...
The fifth series- called Underbelly: Badness – returns to Sydney’s modern crime history, set between 2001 and 2011.
The story is based on the murder of Terry Falconer by underworld figures Anthony Perish and Andrew Perish and the team of police dedicated to bringing the Perishs to justice.
Perish, 42, was sentenced to 18 years on Friday 13 April 2012 in the Nsw Supreme Court while his brother Andrew Perish, 41, was sentenced to at least nine years, according to the Sydney Morning Herald.
Des Monaghan, executive producer of the series and executive chairman of Screentime said: “This, the fifth series of Underbelly, is the most contemporary yet and is in marked contrast to Underbelly: Razor. While on the face of it they couldn’t be more different, they do both share the Underbelly DNA, namely police versus organised crime, the dramatisation of actual events,...
- 4/17/2012
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
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