Five Blind Dates is a romantic comedy—well, not so firm on the comedy part, but it’s still quite romantic. The director Shawn Seet shares his view about the balance between traditionalism and modernity. It’s something that I have been thinking about quite often lately. Where do we stand in the modern age? I suppose people of cultures like ourselves represent our own interpretations of the cultures we come from. Our previous generations often complained about modernism being the antithesis of traditionalism, and I think their worries have been both right and wrong at the same time. I suppose Lia, the drama’s main character, is battling a similar chain of thought while running an old Chinese tea shop representative of her traditions. As a tea connoisseur who loves Darjeeling and Oolong, I can certainly understand this young woman’s frustration towards customers asking for ‘boba tea.’ I...
- 2/14/2024
- by Shrey Ashley Philip
- Film Fugitives
Episode two of CBS’s latest addition to the popular NCIS franchise, NCIS: Sydney, finds the team attempting to track down a poisonous snake. Directed by Shawn Seet from a script by Michael Miller and Morgan O’Neill, season one episode two – “Snakes in the Grass” – will air on Tuesday, November 21, 2023 at 8pm Et/Pt.
Season one stars Olivia Swann (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow) as NCIS Special Agent Michelle Mackey, Sean Sagar (The Covenant) as NCIS Special Agent DeShawn Jackson, and Todd Lasance (Spartacus: War of the Damned) as her 2Ic Afp counterpart, Sergeant Jim “Jd” Dempsey. The cast also includes Tuuli Narkle (Mystery Road: Origin) as Afp liaison officer Constable Evie Cooper, Mavournee Hazel (Shantaram) as Afp forensic scientist Bluebird “Blue” Gleeson, and William McInnes (The Newsreader) as Afp forensic pathologist Dr Roy Penrose.
“Snakes in the Grass” Plot: When a Navy compliance officer is found dead in a waterhole from a snakebite,...
Season one stars Olivia Swann (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow) as NCIS Special Agent Michelle Mackey, Sean Sagar (The Covenant) as NCIS Special Agent DeShawn Jackson, and Todd Lasance (Spartacus: War of the Damned) as her 2Ic Afp counterpart, Sergeant Jim “Jd” Dempsey. The cast also includes Tuuli Narkle (Mystery Road: Origin) as Afp liaison officer Constable Evie Cooper, Mavournee Hazel (Shantaram) as Afp forensic scientist Bluebird “Blue” Gleeson, and William McInnes (The Newsreader) as Afp forensic pathologist Dr Roy Penrose.
“Snakes in the Grass” Plot: When a Navy compliance officer is found dead in a waterhole from a snakebite,...
- 11/15/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
CBS heads down under for the first-ever international edition of the popular NCIS franchise with NCIS: Sydney. The latest addition to the NCIS world premieres on November 14, 2023, with new episodes of the eight-episode season airing on Tuesdays at 8pm Et/Pt.
Season one stars Olivia Swann (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow) as NCIS Special Agent Michelle Mackey, Sean Sagar (The Covenant) as NCIS Special Agent DeShawn Jackson, and Todd Lasance (Spartacus: War of the Damned) as her 2Ic Afp counterpart, Sergeant Jim “Jd” Dempsey. The cast also includes Tuuli Narkle (Mystery Road: Origin) as Afp liaison officer Constable Evie Cooper, Mavournee Hazel (Shantaram) as Afp forensic scientist Bluebird “Blue” Gleeson, and William McInnes (The Newsreader) as Afp forensic pathologist Dr Roy Penrose.
“Gone Fission” Plot: The death of an American seaman on a U.S. nuclear submarine during an Aukus ceremony on Sydney Harbour is investigated in a joint effort...
Season one stars Olivia Swann (DC’s Legends of Tomorrow) as NCIS Special Agent Michelle Mackey, Sean Sagar (The Covenant) as NCIS Special Agent DeShawn Jackson, and Todd Lasance (Spartacus: War of the Damned) as her 2Ic Afp counterpart, Sergeant Jim “Jd” Dempsey. The cast also includes Tuuli Narkle (Mystery Road: Origin) as Afp liaison officer Constable Evie Cooper, Mavournee Hazel (Shantaram) as Afp forensic scientist Bluebird “Blue” Gleeson, and William McInnes (The Newsreader) as Afp forensic pathologist Dr Roy Penrose.
“Gone Fission” Plot: The death of an American seaman on a U.S. nuclear submarine during an Aukus ceremony on Sydney Harbour is investigated in a joint effort...
- 11/2/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
The CW announced on Monday its acquisition of two more international series — The Rising, and Barons — that will make their Stateside bows… pretty soon!
The Rising, a supernatural crime thriller via the UK, will premiere Monday, May 29 at 8/7c, where it will be followed at 9 pm by Barons, an Australian surfer drama set in the 1970s. (Both series debuted in their homelands back in spring of 2022.)
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The Rising, a supernatural crime thriller via the UK, will premiere Monday, May 29 at 8/7c, where it will be followed at 9 pm by Barons, an Australian surfer drama set in the 1970s. (Both series debuted in their homelands back in spring of 2022.)
More from TVLineRiverdale Video: Veronica Flirts With Jughead -- Are You 'Shipping Them?The CW Sets Season Finale Dates for Superman & Lois and All AmericanRiverdale Recap: A Make-Out Party Leaves Everyone Hot and Bothered...
- 4/24/2023
- by Matt Webb Mitovich
- TVLine.com
The CW has always had a thing or two for an international acquisition, and it seems that this strategy is continuing under new ownership.
The network has acquired British supernatural drama series The Rising and Australian surfer drama Barons for its summer lineup. Both series will debut on Monday, May 29, with The Rising airing at 8 p.m. and Barons at 9.
It comes after Nexstar acquired the network and brought in Brad Schwartz to oversee programming. Deadline has revealed that the network will lean further into unscripted programming, with the hire of Heather Olander and the recent pickup of FBoy Island, and it seems global drama is also on the cards as it trims its original scripted budget.
The Rising comes from Sky in the UK, as Deadline revealed back in 2019, and is a remake of Belgian supernatural crime thriller Hotel Beau Séjour.
It tells the story of Neve Kelly (Clara Rugaard...
The network has acquired British supernatural drama series The Rising and Australian surfer drama Barons for its summer lineup. Both series will debut on Monday, May 29, with The Rising airing at 8 p.m. and Barons at 9.
It comes after Nexstar acquired the network and brought in Brad Schwartz to oversee programming. Deadline has revealed that the network will lean further into unscripted programming, with the hire of Heather Olander and the recent pickup of FBoy Island, and it seems global drama is also on the cards as it trims its original scripted budget.
The Rising comes from Sky in the UK, as Deadline revealed back in 2019, and is a remake of Belgian supernatural crime thriller Hotel Beau Séjour.
It tells the story of Neve Kelly (Clara Rugaard...
- 4/24/2023
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Former Sky Exec Kylie Munnich Named Goalpost Pictures CEO
The Invisible Man, Five Blind Dates and Black Snow producer Goalpost Pictures has named film and TV industry veteran Kylie Munnich as its CEO. The Sydney-based producer will welcome her on November 1. The former Sky Studios and Sonar Entertainment exec is leaving a role as head of Screen Queensland, a post she held for three years, overseeing the state’s biggest ever spike in production against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic. Previously, she was a Scripted Sales and Co-Production Executive for Seven Studios and Senior Vice President for Distribution, Asia Pacific for Sonar Entertainment. Before that, she’d worked in the UK as Director of Drama and Comedy for Sky Vision (now Sky Studios) and worked on in-house scripted commissions for Sky. She also held senior roles for Sony Pictures Television. Goalpost is currently in in post-production on Stan and...
The Invisible Man, Five Blind Dates and Black Snow producer Goalpost Pictures has named film and TV industry veteran Kylie Munnich as its CEO. The Sydney-based producer will welcome her on November 1. The former Sky Studios and Sonar Entertainment exec is leaving a role as head of Screen Queensland, a post she held for three years, overseeing the state’s biggest ever spike in production against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic. Previously, she was a Scripted Sales and Co-Production Executive for Seven Studios and Senior Vice President for Distribution, Asia Pacific for Sonar Entertainment. Before that, she’d worked in the UK as Director of Drama and Comedy for Sky Vision (now Sky Studios) and worked on in-house scripted commissions for Sky. She also held senior roles for Sony Pictures Television. Goalpost is currently in in post-production on Stan and...
- 9/26/2022
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Veteran film executive Kylie Munnich has joined leading Australian independent producer Goalpost Pictures as its CEO.
She takes up the newly-created position from Nov. 1, 2022, after recently departing from Screen Queensland, which she headed for the past three years.
Prior to Screen Queensland, Kylie worked as a scripted sales and co-production executive for Seven Studios, Australia. Before that, she was senior VP for distribution Asia-Pacific for Sonar Entertainment overseeing sales for premium drama series such as Tom Hardy’s “Taboo” and Pierce Brosnan’s “The Son.”
Munnich returned to Australia in late 2016, after five years in London to take the Sonar role. Her most recent role in the U.K. was as director of drama & comedy for Sky Vision (now Sky Studios), a role she held for two years. At Sky Vision she was responsible for acquiring scripted content such as “Britannia,” “Riviera” and “Fortitude.”
Previously, Munnich was senior VP U.
She takes up the newly-created position from Nov. 1, 2022, after recently departing from Screen Queensland, which she headed for the past three years.
Prior to Screen Queensland, Kylie worked as a scripted sales and co-production executive for Seven Studios, Australia. Before that, she was senior VP for distribution Asia-Pacific for Sonar Entertainment overseeing sales for premium drama series such as Tom Hardy’s “Taboo” and Pierce Brosnan’s “The Son.”
Munnich returned to Australia in late 2016, after five years in London to take the Sonar role. Her most recent role in the U.K. was as director of drama & comedy for Sky Vision (now Sky Studios), a role she held for two years. At Sky Vision she was responsible for acquiring scripted content such as “Britannia,” “Riviera” and “Fortitude.”
Previously, Munnich was senior VP U.
- 9/26/2022
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Shawn Seet to direct romantic comedy, created and led by actress Shuang Hu.
Prime Video has ordered romantic comedy Five Blind Dates as its first Australian Amazon original feature, which will begin shooting next month.
The story was created by US comedian Nathan Ramos-Park and China-born Australian actor Shuang Hu, who plays a woman that is told by a fortune teller that she will meet her soulmate on one of the next five dates she goes on.
It will be directed by Australia’s Shawn Seet, who is known primarily for TV series such as The Code but has made...
Prime Video has ordered romantic comedy Five Blind Dates as its first Australian Amazon original feature, which will begin shooting next month.
The story was created by US comedian Nathan Ramos-Park and China-born Australian actor Shuang Hu, who plays a woman that is told by a fortune teller that she will meet her soulmate on one of the next five dates she goes on.
It will be directed by Australia’s Shawn Seet, who is known primarily for TV series such as The Code but has made...
- 3/29/2022
- by Sandy George
- ScreenDaily
Prime Video will begin filming of its first Australian Amazon original movie, “Five Blind Dates” from next month. The romantic comedy film was created and written by actor and influencer Shuang Hu and actor and comedian Nathan Ramos-Park.
“Five Blind Dates” is an exploration of Chinese culture and family dynamics with a story that follows a tenacious tea shop owner who is told by a fortune-teller that she will find her soulmate on one of the next five dates she goes on.
Directed by Shawn Seet the film will feature an ensemble cast fronted by Hu. Additional cast announcements will follow. Production will take place in Townsville and Sydney.
The film will be produced by Goalpost Pictures Australia, with Goalpost’s Kylie du Fresne as producer and Ben Grant and Rosemary Blight as executive producers.
While visiting her family in Townsville for her sister’s engagement festivities, Hu’s character...
“Five Blind Dates” is an exploration of Chinese culture and family dynamics with a story that follows a tenacious tea shop owner who is told by a fortune-teller that she will find her soulmate on one of the next five dates she goes on.
Directed by Shawn Seet the film will feature an ensemble cast fronted by Hu. Additional cast announcements will follow. Production will take place in Townsville and Sydney.
The film will be produced by Goalpost Pictures Australia, with Goalpost’s Kylie du Fresne as producer and Ben Grant and Rosemary Blight as executive producers.
While visiting her family in Townsville for her sister’s engagement festivities, Hu’s character...
- 3/29/2022
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Shuang Hu will star as a Chinese-Australian tea shop owner searching for love, family, and cultural connection in Amazon’s first original Australian feature, Five Blind Dates. The Goalpost Pictures and Amazon Studios film is created and written by Hu and Nathan Ramos-Park, and will be directed by Shawn Seet. Whilst visiting her family in Townsville for her sister Alice’s engagement […]
The post Amazon orders first Australian feature, ‘Five Blind Dates’ appeared first on If Magazine.
The post Amazon orders first Australian feature, ‘Five Blind Dates’ appeared first on If Magazine.
- 3/29/2022
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Sean Keenan and Ben O’Toole will play best friends turned bitter rivals in ABC surfing drama Barons, which has wrapped filming in Nsw.
Produced by Fremantle, Micanical Media, and 2Jons, the eight-part ’70s-set series follows a surf-crazed group of hippy friends whose desire for ultimate freedom and the perfect wave takes them from the beach to the boardroom as they build billion-dollar surf empires.
Keenan, fresh from roles in festival darlings Nitram and The Power of the Dog, plays Trotter opposite O’Toole, known for Halifax: Retribution and Amazing Grace, as Snapper. Jillian Nguyen takes on the role of Trotter’s wife and business partner, Tracy.
The supporting cast includes Hunter Page-Lochard, George Pullar, Lincoln Younes, Sophia Forrest, Vivienne Awosoga, Nicholas Burton, Karina Banno, newcomer Megan MacKenzie, Kick Gurry, Catherine Van-Davies, Alexander England, and British-American actress Ione Skye.
Directing the drama are Shawn Seet, Fadia Abboud, and Emmy award-winning surf director Taylor Steele,...
Produced by Fremantle, Micanical Media, and 2Jons, the eight-part ’70s-set series follows a surf-crazed group of hippy friends whose desire for ultimate freedom and the perfect wave takes them from the beach to the boardroom as they build billion-dollar surf empires.
Keenan, fresh from roles in festival darlings Nitram and The Power of the Dog, plays Trotter opposite O’Toole, known for Halifax: Retribution and Amazing Grace, as Snapper. Jillian Nguyen takes on the role of Trotter’s wife and business partner, Tracy.
The supporting cast includes Hunter Page-Lochard, George Pullar, Lincoln Younes, Sophia Forrest, Vivienne Awosoga, Nicholas Burton, Karina Banno, newcomer Megan MacKenzie, Kick Gurry, Catherine Van-Davies, Alexander England, and British-American actress Ione Skye.
Directing the drama are Shawn Seet, Fadia Abboud, and Emmy award-winning surf director Taylor Steele,...
- 9/29/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
The Australian screen industry is experiencing a boom, with Australia being seen as an affordable and safe place to film. This presents a distinct opportunity, not just for the Australian economy, but for modernising an industry ripe for change that can better meet the needs of contemporary audiences moving forward.
Although it is great to have all these international productions coming to Australia, we must also strive to protect Australian content and the unique value proposition that our productions bring to the global stage.
“The government is providing a whole lot of money for film and television at the moment but it’s principally for the Hollywood productions, and I welcome the jobs that come with that, but if they can pay for Hollywood stories to be told here, they can sure as hell make sure your stories are funded too,” Shadow Minister for the Arts Tony Burke told the...
Although it is great to have all these international productions coming to Australia, we must also strive to protect Australian content and the unique value proposition that our productions bring to the global stage.
“The government is providing a whole lot of money for film and television at the moment but it’s principally for the Hollywood productions, and I welcome the jobs that come with that, but if they can pay for Hollywood stories to be told here, they can sure as hell make sure your stories are funded too,” Shadow Minister for the Arts Tony Burke told the...
- 6/11/2021
- by Oakley Kwon
- IF.com.au
Business and the beach are set to collide in the ABC’s Barons, an eight-part ’70s-set surfing drama from Fremantle, Micanical Media and 2Jons, due to kick off later this year in Nsw.
The ABC has been developing the series, created by Micanical’s Michael Lawrence, 2Jon’s John Molloy and scribe Liz Doran, since 2019, confirming that it has taken it to commission today.
Shawn Seet and Emmy-Award winning surf director Taylor Steele will helm the drama, which has parallels to the Billabong and Quiksilver sagas.
Barons follows a group of surf-crazy hippy friends who turn their backs on the world in search of their ideal patch of surfing paradise.
Little do they know that their desire for ultimate freedom and the perfect wave, will take them from the beach to the boardroom, creating billion-dollar empires. But in selling their surfing dream to the world, these best friends will become...
The ABC has been developing the series, created by Micanical’s Michael Lawrence, 2Jon’s John Molloy and scribe Liz Doran, since 2019, confirming that it has taken it to commission today.
Shawn Seet and Emmy-Award winning surf director Taylor Steele will helm the drama, which has parallels to the Billabong and Quiksilver sagas.
Barons follows a group of surf-crazy hippy friends who turn their backs on the world in search of their ideal patch of surfing paradise.
Little do they know that their desire for ultimate freedom and the perfect wave, will take them from the beach to the boardroom, creating billion-dollar empires. But in selling their surfing dream to the world, these best friends will become...
- 4/22/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Sigrid Thornton and Kate Jenkinson will star in ‘Amazing Grace.’
The pandemic-induced advertising downturn and temporary suspension of the local content quotas have not impacted the Nine Network’s prime-time commissioning and acquisitions for 2021.
That’s according to Nine’s program director Hamish Turner, who spoke to If today after the network’s virtual Upfront.
The network revealed Kate Jenkinson and Sigrid Thornton will star in Amazing Grace (previously The Midwife), Playmaker Media’s drama set in the unconventional birth centre attached to a major city hospital.
Apart from that and the previously announced fifth season of Easy Tiger’s Doctor Doctor, there are no local dramas on the schedule.
However Turner is delighted with Beyond Lonehand’s Halifax: Retribution, which has been winning its Tuesday night slot since launching a month ago and will assess the data at series’ end before deciding on a renewal.
He flagged there will...
The pandemic-induced advertising downturn and temporary suspension of the local content quotas have not impacted the Nine Network’s prime-time commissioning and acquisitions for 2021.
That’s according to Nine’s program director Hamish Turner, who spoke to If today after the network’s virtual Upfront.
The network revealed Kate Jenkinson and Sigrid Thornton will star in Amazing Grace (previously The Midwife), Playmaker Media’s drama set in the unconventional birth centre attached to a major city hospital.
Apart from that and the previously announced fifth season of Easy Tiger’s Doctor Doctor, there are no local dramas on the schedule.
However Turner is delighted with Beyond Lonehand’s Halifax: Retribution, which has been winning its Tuesday night slot since launching a month ago and will assess the data at series’ end before deciding on a renewal.
He flagged there will...
- 9/16/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Rachel Perkins.
Rachel Perkins has been spending lockdown working on the scripts for First Wars and wrestling with the questions she will address in the three-part Sbs docudrama about Australia’s frontier wars.
“Some of it will be just so confronting,” the writer-director told Penny Smallacombe, Screen Australia’s head of Indigenous, in a webinar today.
Smallacombe asked the filmmaker what she hopes to achieve with the series in view of the Black Lives Matter protests and the issues of slavery and black deaths in custody in Australia.
“This show will go to right into the centre of this,” she said. “So much hideous shit happened on both sides and it’s so vast.
“How do you condense that into three hours of television? How do you not use it as a weapon against non-Indigenous people?
“How do you use it as a force that will bring people together? How...
Rachel Perkins has been spending lockdown working on the scripts for First Wars and wrestling with the questions she will address in the three-part Sbs docudrama about Australia’s frontier wars.
“Some of it will be just so confronting,” the writer-director told Penny Smallacombe, Screen Australia’s head of Indigenous, in a webinar today.
Smallacombe asked the filmmaker what she hopes to achieve with the series in view of the Black Lives Matter protests and the issues of slavery and black deaths in custody in Australia.
“This show will go to right into the centre of this,” she said. “So much hideous shit happened on both sides and it’s so vast.
“How do you condense that into three hours of television? How do you not use it as a weapon against non-Indigenous people?
“How do you use it as a force that will bring people together? How...
- 6/17/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
If you’re writing something spooky, scary or chilling, Stephen King’s approval means a lot. The King of Horror has been publishing stories since the sixties and is responsible for some of the most terrifying tales of the modern era. Now, he’s chimed in on Netflix’s Reckoning, a show about the hunt for a serial killer who’s emerged from hibernation.
Writing on his Twitter account, King said the series was:
“A pretty good 10-episode limited series. Fine mystery plot generates bursts of maximum suspense. As a bonus, it’s a master class in how not to parent.”
Directed by Shawn Seet, Jennifer Leacey and Peter Andrikidis, Reckoning was first released in New Zealand in 2019 and premiered on domestic Netflix on May 1st. Since then, it hasn’t exactly set the world on fire, receiving little attention from critics or the public. There are a measly two reviews on Rotten Tomatoes,...
Writing on his Twitter account, King said the series was:
“A pretty good 10-episode limited series. Fine mystery plot generates bursts of maximum suspense. As a bonus, it’s a master class in how not to parent.”
Directed by Shawn Seet, Jennifer Leacey and Peter Andrikidis, Reckoning was first released in New Zealand in 2019 and premiered on domestic Netflix on May 1st. Since then, it hasn’t exactly set the world on fire, receiving little attention from critics or the public. There are a measly two reviews on Rotten Tomatoes,...
- 6/9/2020
- by David James
- We Got This Covered
‘Ride Like a Girl.’
The Australian films and feature docs released in cinemas last year, including minor contributions from holdovers, generated more than $40.2 million.
While that trailed the 2018 total of $57.4 million, there are several positives for the screen production industry.
The not-so-good news for the broader screen sector is that the 2019 calendar year B.O. seems certain to fall below $1.2 billion for the first time since 2014.
Ten titles including three feature docs – Damon Gameau’s 2040, Richard Lowenstein’s Mystify: Michael Hutchence and Daniel Gordon’s The Australian Dream – each grossed more than $1 million.
Rachel Griffiths’ Ride Like a Girl was the stand-out, raking in $11.5 million. Arguably, Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding ($5.2 million), Shawn Seet’s Storm Boy ($5 million) and Rachel Ward’s Palm Beach ($4.4 million) fulfilled their potential and reaped the benefits of wide releases and hefty marketing campaigns – a level of support denied to numerous local films.
The Australian films and feature docs released in cinemas last year, including minor contributions from holdovers, generated more than $40.2 million.
While that trailed the 2018 total of $57.4 million, there are several positives for the screen production industry.
The not-so-good news for the broader screen sector is that the 2019 calendar year B.O. seems certain to fall below $1.2 billion for the first time since 2014.
Ten titles including three feature docs – Damon Gameau’s 2040, Richard Lowenstein’s Mystify: Michael Hutchence and Daniel Gordon’s The Australian Dream – each grossed more than $1 million.
Rachel Griffiths’ Ride Like a Girl was the stand-out, raking in $11.5 million. Arguably, Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding ($5.2 million), Shawn Seet’s Storm Boy ($5 million) and Rachel Ward’s Palm Beach ($4.4 million) fulfilled their potential and reaped the benefits of wide releases and hefty marketing campaigns – a level of support denied to numerous local films.
- 1/5/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Mitzi Ruhlmann.
Mitzi Ruhlmann was five years old when she saw Phillip Noyce’s Stolen Generation drama Rabbit-Proof Fence, perhaps not an ideal experience for someone so young, but it had a profound impact.
From that moment on she was determined to become an actor, not a far-fetched ambition for a girl who spent a lot of time on film and TV sets watching her dad, cinematographer Danny Ruhlmann, at work.
(Ruhlmann Senior’s credits include the features The Nugget, The Night We Called It a Day and Little Fish and, most recently, the Netflix series Messiah, created by Aussie Michael Petroni and co-directed by Kate Woods, and Jupiter’s Legacy.)
Last month the 21-year-old came home after seven months in La auditioning for numerous roles. She’ll go back in February for pilot season.
Since she was 12 she has had a manager in the Us, Jennifer Gabler Rawlings, whom she...
Mitzi Ruhlmann was five years old when she saw Phillip Noyce’s Stolen Generation drama Rabbit-Proof Fence, perhaps not an ideal experience for someone so young, but it had a profound impact.
From that moment on she was determined to become an actor, not a far-fetched ambition for a girl who spent a lot of time on film and TV sets watching her dad, cinematographer Danny Ruhlmann, at work.
(Ruhlmann Senior’s credits include the features The Nugget, The Night We Called It a Day and Little Fish and, most recently, the Netflix series Messiah, created by Aussie Michael Petroni and co-directed by Kate Woods, and Jupiter’s Legacy.)
Last month the 21-year-old came home after seven months in La auditioning for numerous roles. She’ll go back in February for pilot season.
Since she was 12 she has had a manager in the Us, Jennifer Gabler Rawlings, whom she...
- 12/16/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Murray Forrest.
Murray Forrest has received the Society of Australian Cinema Pioneers’ inaugural Humanitarian Award, recognising his long commitment to the Motion Picture Industry Benevolent Society (Mpibs).
The former head of film processing labs Atlab and Colorfilm, Forrest has served as chairman of the Mpibs, which financially supports industry people who have fallen on hard times, for 24 years.
Announcing the accolade at the society’s annual dinner on Thursday night, Pioneers national president Russell Anderson said the award recognizes outstanding and exceptional service to the cinema industry, in particular charity work, mentoring and community service.
Accepting the award, Forrest recalled meeting Sir Norman Rydge, chairman of Colorfilm’s parent the Greater Union Organisation, 55 years ago, a few months after he had joined the company.
Sir Norman informed the 22-year-old Forrest about the Cinema Pioneers and the Mpibs, where he became a councilor several years before being appointed chairman.
Sir Norman’s son Alan Rydge,...
Murray Forrest has received the Society of Australian Cinema Pioneers’ inaugural Humanitarian Award, recognising his long commitment to the Motion Picture Industry Benevolent Society (Mpibs).
The former head of film processing labs Atlab and Colorfilm, Forrest has served as chairman of the Mpibs, which financially supports industry people who have fallen on hard times, for 24 years.
Announcing the accolade at the society’s annual dinner on Thursday night, Pioneers national president Russell Anderson said the award recognizes outstanding and exceptional service to the cinema industry, in particular charity work, mentoring and community service.
Accepting the award, Forrest recalled meeting Sir Norman Rydge, chairman of Colorfilm’s parent the Greater Union Organisation, 55 years ago, a few months after he had joined the company.
Sir Norman informed the 22-year-old Forrest about the Cinema Pioneers and the Mpibs, where he became a councilor several years before being appointed chairman.
Sir Norman’s son Alan Rydge,...
- 11/28/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘New Gold Mountain’ writers Peter Cox, Benjamin Law and Yolanda Ramke.
Sbs has commissioned a 4-part drama set during the 1850s gold rush from the perspective of desperate Chinese miners from Goalpost Television, to be directed by The Hunting’s Ana Kokkinos.
The broadcaster’s 2020 slate unveiled today includes documentaries spotlighting immigration, identity, homelessness, addiction and domestic violence.
Among the returning shows, Bert Newton, Lisa Wilkinson and country music star Troy Cassar-Daley will be among the eight identities who search for their family history in Warner Bros. Australia’s Who Do You Think You Are?
In the third season of Blackfella Films’ Filthy, Rich & Homeless five high-profile Aussies including Dr Andrew Rochford will swap their privileged lives to discover what life is like for the nation’s homeless.
Scripted by creator/lead writer Peter Cox (the Kiwi’s first Australian screen credit), Benjamin Law and Yolanda Ramke, Goalpost’s New...
Sbs has commissioned a 4-part drama set during the 1850s gold rush from the perspective of desperate Chinese miners from Goalpost Television, to be directed by The Hunting’s Ana Kokkinos.
The broadcaster’s 2020 slate unveiled today includes documentaries spotlighting immigration, identity, homelessness, addiction and domestic violence.
Among the returning shows, Bert Newton, Lisa Wilkinson and country music star Troy Cassar-Daley will be among the eight identities who search for their family history in Warner Bros. Australia’s Who Do You Think You Are?
In the third season of Blackfella Films’ Filthy, Rich & Homeless five high-profile Aussies including Dr Andrew Rochford will swap their privileged lives to discover what life is like for the nation’s homeless.
Scripted by creator/lead writer Peter Cox (the Kiwi’s first Australian screen credit), Benjamin Law and Yolanda Ramke, Goalpost’s New...
- 11/19/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Ride Like a Girl’.
Graeme Mason recognises the structural challenges facing independent films but does not subscribe to the view that this is a down year for Australian cinema.
While the Screen Australia CEO acknowledges 2019 has yet to produce a breakout hit like Peter Rabbit, Lion or Ladies in Black, he rates the year to date as very successful on a number of fronts, including:
Seven films have each grossed each more than $1 million. Exhibitors have high hopes for Rachel Griffiths’ Ride Like a Girl, the Michelle Payne biopic staring Teresa Palmer, which Transmission Films launches on September 26; some pundits think it can make upwards of $10 million. The consistent popularity of feature doc such as Damon Gameau’s 2040 and Richard Lowenstein’s Mystify: Michael Hutchence. Australian films are making their marks at the Sundance, Venice and Toronto International Film Festivals. Shannon Murphy won the gig of directing two episodes of...
Graeme Mason recognises the structural challenges facing independent films but does not subscribe to the view that this is a down year for Australian cinema.
While the Screen Australia CEO acknowledges 2019 has yet to produce a breakout hit like Peter Rabbit, Lion or Ladies in Black, he rates the year to date as very successful on a number of fronts, including:
Seven films have each grossed each more than $1 million. Exhibitors have high hopes for Rachel Griffiths’ Ride Like a Girl, the Michelle Payne biopic staring Teresa Palmer, which Transmission Films launches on September 26; some pundits think it can make upwards of $10 million. The consistent popularity of feature doc such as Damon Gameau’s 2040 and Richard Lowenstein’s Mystify: Michael Hutchence. Australian films are making their marks at the Sundance, Venice and Toronto International Film Festivals. Shannon Murphy won the gig of directing two episodes of...
- 9/2/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan.’
The box office results for the Australian films and feature docs released in cinemas this year underline yet again the deep polarisation in the indie film market between the higher earners and the also-rans.
The top five titles – Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding, Shawn Seet’s Storm Boy, Anthony Marais’ Hotel Mumbai, Damon Gameau’s 2040 and Richard Lowenstein’s Mystify: Michael Hutchence – accounted for $15.8 million or 93 per cent of the Oz releases’ takings.
The Aussie films plus holdovers racked up nearly $17 million through the end of July, according to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia.
That’s a long way below the $40.6 million generated in the same period last year, led by Peter Rabbit’s $26.6 million, Breath’s $4.4 million (finishing with $4.6 million) and Sweet Country’s $2 million.
Surveying the challenges facing the indie film business, Transmission Films’ Andrew Mackie tells If:...
The box office results for the Australian films and feature docs released in cinemas this year underline yet again the deep polarisation in the indie film market between the higher earners and the also-rans.
The top five titles – Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding, Shawn Seet’s Storm Boy, Anthony Marais’ Hotel Mumbai, Damon Gameau’s 2040 and Richard Lowenstein’s Mystify: Michael Hutchence – accounted for $15.8 million or 93 per cent of the Oz releases’ takings.
The Aussie films plus holdovers racked up nearly $17 million through the end of July, according to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia.
That’s a long way below the $40.6 million generated in the same period last year, led by Peter Rabbit’s $26.6 million, Breath’s $4.4 million (finishing with $4.6 million) and Sweet Country’s $2 million.
Surveying the challenges facing the indie film business, Transmission Films’ Andrew Mackie tells If:...
- 8/2/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Hugo Weaving and Jillian Nguyen in ‘Loveland’.
Jillian Nguyen landed her first screen role – as Molly Kane in Justin Kurzel’s True History of the Kelly Gang – just two weeks after graduating from 16th Street Actors Studio in Melbourne last year.
Since then her career has rocketed as she played the lead in Ivan Sen’s romantic sci-fi drama Loveland followed by a key supporting role in Hungry Ghosts, Matchbox Pictures’ genre-bending 4-parter for Sbs directed by Shawn Seet.
There was one speed bump after Kurzel’s film wrapped: She was so depressed she got fired from her retail job. It’s unlikely she will have to go back to such work, as Seet says: “I was blown away by Jillian. She is a real, natural talent.”
Stephen Corvini, who produced Hungry Ghosts with Timothy Hobart, tells If: “She is a superstar in the making. On the screen her energy crackles and pops.
Jillian Nguyen landed her first screen role – as Molly Kane in Justin Kurzel’s True History of the Kelly Gang – just two weeks after graduating from 16th Street Actors Studio in Melbourne last year.
Since then her career has rocketed as she played the lead in Ivan Sen’s romantic sci-fi drama Loveland followed by a key supporting role in Hungry Ghosts, Matchbox Pictures’ genre-bending 4-parter for Sbs directed by Shawn Seet.
There was one speed bump after Kurzel’s film wrapped: She was so depressed she got fired from her retail job. It’s unlikely she will have to go back to such work, as Seet says: “I was blown away by Jillian. She is a real, natural talent.”
Stephen Corvini, who produced Hungry Ghosts with Timothy Hobart, tells If: “She is a superstar in the making. On the screen her energy crackles and pops.
- 7/21/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Suzy Wrong as Roxy in ‘Hungry Ghosts.’
Suzy Wrong worked as a performer in her native Singapore but apart from a guest role in an episode of Crownies in 2011 she had abandoned hopes of acting.
As a transgender woman she saw little or no hope of playing trans characters, particularly because those few she had seen were almost always portrayed as tormented and struggling.
Happily that all changed when she won a key supporting role in Hungry Ghosts, Matchbox Pictures’ four-part, character-driven supernatural drama based on an original idea by Timothy Hobart, which explores three generations of Vietnamese Australian families, all haunted by the traumatic events of war.
Commissioned by Sbs and produced by Stephen Corvini and Hobart, the Shawn Seet-directed series opens on the eve of the Hungry Ghost Festival in Melbourne when a vengeful spirit is unleashed, wreaking havoc across the Vietnamese Australian community.
Bryan Brown stars as Neil Stockton,...
Suzy Wrong worked as a performer in her native Singapore but apart from a guest role in an episode of Crownies in 2011 she had abandoned hopes of acting.
As a transgender woman she saw little or no hope of playing trans characters, particularly because those few she had seen were almost always portrayed as tormented and struggling.
Happily that all changed when she won a key supporting role in Hungry Ghosts, Matchbox Pictures’ four-part, character-driven supernatural drama based on an original idea by Timothy Hobart, which explores three generations of Vietnamese Australian families, all haunted by the traumatic events of war.
Commissioned by Sbs and produced by Stephen Corvini and Hobart, the Shawn Seet-directed series opens on the eve of the Hungry Ghost Festival in Melbourne when a vengeful spirit is unleashed, wreaking havoc across the Vietnamese Australian community.
Bryan Brown stars as Neil Stockton,...
- 7/3/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Wayne Blair and Miranda Tapsell on the set of ‘Top End Wedding’.
Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding has edged past Shawn Seet’s Storm Boy to rank as the highest grossing Australian film this year.
At the half way mark of the year, the Australian films and feature docs released in cinemas, plus holdovers, have racked up a modest $15.6 million, according to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia.
That’s a long way below the $40 million generated in the same period last year, led by Peter Rabbit’s $26.6 million, Breath’s $4.4 million (finishing with $4.6 million) and Sweet Country’s $2 million.
So can the industry surpass or match the 2018 calendar year total of $57.4 million? That was the third biggest year ever behind 2001’s $63.1 million and the all-time record of 2015’s $88.1 million, the year of Mad Max: Fury Road, The Dressmaker and Oddball.
Exhibitors are optimistic about the outlook for the rest of the year,...
Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding has edged past Shawn Seet’s Storm Boy to rank as the highest grossing Australian film this year.
At the half way mark of the year, the Australian films and feature docs released in cinemas, plus holdovers, have racked up a modest $15.6 million, according to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia.
That’s a long way below the $40 million generated in the same period last year, led by Peter Rabbit’s $26.6 million, Breath’s $4.4 million (finishing with $4.6 million) and Sweet Country’s $2 million.
So can the industry surpass or match the 2018 calendar year total of $57.4 million? That was the third biggest year ever behind 2001’s $63.1 million and the all-time record of 2015’s $88.1 million, the year of Mad Max: Fury Road, The Dressmaker and Oddball.
Exhibitors are optimistic about the outlook for the rest of the year,...
- 7/2/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘2040’.
Five months into the year, 18 Australian films and feature docs released in cinemas since the start of the year, plus holdovers, have racked up a modest $14.3 million.
That compares with $37.6 million generated in the same period last year, led by Peter Rabbit’s $26.4 million, Breath’s $3.6 million in four weeks (finishing with $4.6 million) and Sweet Country’s $2 million.
Shawn Seet’s Storm Boy is the top title with nearly $5 million, a creditable result. But almost certainly that would have been rather higher if Sony Pictures had been able to use Geoffrey Rush in the publicity campaign.
Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding has grossed $4.7 million through Sunday, its sixth weekend, and could finish with $5.5 million.
Anthony Maras’ Hotel Mumbai collected $3.3 million, knee-capped by the dreadful co-incidence of opening on the same weekend as the Christchurch massacre.
Damon Gameau’s 2040 has earned $568,000 after its second weekend and, buoyed by word-of-mouth, distributor...
Five months into the year, 18 Australian films and feature docs released in cinemas since the start of the year, plus holdovers, have racked up a modest $14.3 million.
That compares with $37.6 million generated in the same period last year, led by Peter Rabbit’s $26.4 million, Breath’s $3.6 million in four weeks (finishing with $4.6 million) and Sweet Country’s $2 million.
Shawn Seet’s Storm Boy is the top title with nearly $5 million, a creditable result. But almost certainly that would have been rather higher if Sony Pictures had been able to use Geoffrey Rush in the publicity campaign.
Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding has grossed $4.7 million through Sunday, its sixth weekend, and could finish with $5.5 million.
Anthony Maras’ Hotel Mumbai collected $3.3 million, knee-capped by the dreadful co-incidence of opening on the same weekend as the Christchurch massacre.
Damon Gameau’s 2040 has earned $568,000 after its second weekend and, buoyed by word-of-mouth, distributor...
- 6/3/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Bryan Brown and Clare Bowen.
After appearing in all six seasons of Us musical drama Nashville, Clare Bowen has returned to Australia to star alongside Bryan Brown in Sbs’s Hungry Ghosts.
Matchbox Pictures’ four-part character-driven ghost story based on an original idea by Timothy Hobart explores three generations of Vietnamese Australian families, all haunted by the traumatic events of war.
Four weeks into a seven week shoot, the Shawn Seet-directed series opens on the eve of the Hungry Ghost Festival in Melbourne when a vengeful spirit is unleashed, wreaking havoc across the Vietnamese Australian community.
The large ensemble cast also features Catherine Davies, Justine Clarke, Ryan Corr, Ferdinand Hoang, Gareth Yuen, Jillian Nguyen, Hoa Xuande, Suzy Wrong, Gary Sweet and Susie Porter.
Brown plays Neil Stockton, a photographer famous for his collection of Vietnam War photographs which are featured in an exhibition that has ripple effects.
Bowen, who...
After appearing in all six seasons of Us musical drama Nashville, Clare Bowen has returned to Australia to star alongside Bryan Brown in Sbs’s Hungry Ghosts.
Matchbox Pictures’ four-part character-driven ghost story based on an original idea by Timothy Hobart explores three generations of Vietnamese Australian families, all haunted by the traumatic events of war.
Four weeks into a seven week shoot, the Shawn Seet-directed series opens on the eve of the Hungry Ghost Festival in Melbourne when a vengeful spirit is unleashed, wreaking havoc across the Vietnamese Australian community.
The large ensemble cast also features Catherine Davies, Justine Clarke, Ryan Corr, Ferdinand Hoang, Gareth Yuen, Jillian Nguyen, Hoa Xuande, Suzy Wrong, Gary Sweet and Susie Porter.
Brown plays Neil Stockton, a photographer famous for his collection of Vietnam War photographs which are featured in an exhibition that has ripple effects.
Bowen, who...
- 5/29/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Top End Wedding’.
It’s been a quiet start for the year for Australian films at the national box office, particularly compared to last year when Peter Rabbit and Sweet Country were drawing crowds.
However exhibitors are very optimistic about the outlook for the rest of the year, including Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding which opened yesterday, Rachel Ward’s Palm Beach and Kriv Stenders’ Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan (both August 8) and Rachel Griffiths’ Ride Like a Girl (September 26).
Ten new releases plus holdovers collectively racked up $9.06 million through April 30, according to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia.
That’s way below the first four months of 2018, which generated $32 million, with Will Gluck’s Peter Rabbit making $25.4 million en route to a final total of $26.7 million and Warwick Thornton’s Sweet Country $2 million.
Shawn Seet’s Storm Boy pocketed nearly $5 million, not a bad result,...
It’s been a quiet start for the year for Australian films at the national box office, particularly compared to last year when Peter Rabbit and Sweet Country were drawing crowds.
However exhibitors are very optimistic about the outlook for the rest of the year, including Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding which opened yesterday, Rachel Ward’s Palm Beach and Kriv Stenders’ Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan (both August 8) and Rachel Griffiths’ Ride Like a Girl (September 26).
Ten new releases plus holdovers collectively racked up $9.06 million through April 30, according to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia.
That’s way below the first four months of 2018, which generated $32 million, with Will Gluck’s Peter Rabbit making $25.4 million en route to a final total of $26.7 million and Warwick Thornton’s Sweet Country $2 million.
Shawn Seet’s Storm Boy pocketed nearly $5 million, not a bad result,...
- 5/3/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Storm Boy’
Us critics lauded Shawn Seet’s Storm Boy as a beautiful and contemporary retelling of Colin Thiele’s classic tale but the drama faced stiff competition in the specialty market last weekend.
Meanwhile Anthony Maras’ Hotel Mumbai climbed to $US6.4 million after ringing up $1.8 million on 940 screens in its second weekend wide in the Us.
The Bleecker Street/ShivHans Pictures release produced by Basil Iwanyk, Gary Hamilton, Mike Gabrawy, Julie Ryan, Andrew Ogilvie and Jomon Thomas had a decent per-screen average of $1,914, despite falling by 44 per cent.
The thriller starring Dev Patel, Armie Hammer, Nazanin Boniadi, Anupam Kher, Jason Isaacs and Tilda Cobham-Hervey collected $151,000 in its fourth weekend in Oz, to reach $2.9 million.
The Us distributor Good Deed Entertainment launched Storm Boy on 56 screens, grossing $46,676 for an average of $834.
The international sales agent Kathy Morgan told If last week the distributor had booked the film at premium locations...
Us critics lauded Shawn Seet’s Storm Boy as a beautiful and contemporary retelling of Colin Thiele’s classic tale but the drama faced stiff competition in the specialty market last weekend.
Meanwhile Anthony Maras’ Hotel Mumbai climbed to $US6.4 million after ringing up $1.8 million on 940 screens in its second weekend wide in the Us.
The Bleecker Street/ShivHans Pictures release produced by Basil Iwanyk, Gary Hamilton, Mike Gabrawy, Julie Ryan, Andrew Ogilvie and Jomon Thomas had a decent per-screen average of $1,914, despite falling by 44 per cent.
The thriller starring Dev Patel, Armie Hammer, Nazanin Boniadi, Anupam Kher, Jason Isaacs and Tilda Cobham-Hervey collected $151,000 in its fourth weekend in Oz, to reach $2.9 million.
The Us distributor Good Deed Entertainment launched Storm Boy on 56 screens, grossing $46,676 for an average of $834.
The international sales agent Kathy Morgan told If last week the distributor had booked the film at premium locations...
- 4/7/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Playing for Keeps’ (Season 1).
Film Victoria has announced $2 million in production funding across 11 film, television and online projects, including Matchbox Pictures’ upcoming Sbs series Hungry Ghosts.
The agency has also backed second seasons of Screentime’s Playing For Keeps for 10, Wtfn children’s series Larry the Wonderpup, and Ruby Entertainment/Robot Army comedy Rostered On, both for Seven.
Matchbox’s Hungry Ghosts is a four-part series which centres on three generations of Vietnamese Australian families touched by the effects of war. When a powerful amulet is broken on the eve of the Hungry Ghost Festival in Melbourne, a vengeful spirit is unleashed, bringing the dead with him. Shawn Seet will direct, Stephen Corvini is producing and the writers are Timothy Hobart, Michelle Lee, Alan Nguyen, Jeremy Nguyen and John Ridley.
Film Victoria has also invested in two fiction features, including Good Things Productions’ Below, which recently wrapped production in Western Australia.
Film Victoria has announced $2 million in production funding across 11 film, television and online projects, including Matchbox Pictures’ upcoming Sbs series Hungry Ghosts.
The agency has also backed second seasons of Screentime’s Playing For Keeps for 10, Wtfn children’s series Larry the Wonderpup, and Ruby Entertainment/Robot Army comedy Rostered On, both for Seven.
Matchbox’s Hungry Ghosts is a four-part series which centres on three generations of Vietnamese Australian families touched by the effects of war. When a powerful amulet is broken on the eve of the Hungry Ghost Festival in Melbourne, a vengeful spirit is unleashed, bringing the dead with him. Shawn Seet will direct, Stephen Corvini is producing and the writers are Timothy Hobart, Michelle Lee, Alan Nguyen, Jeremy Nguyen and John Ridley.
Film Victoria has also invested in two fiction features, including Good Things Productions’ Below, which recently wrapped production in Western Australia.
- 3/15/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
"Sometimes you gotta do what you know is right." Good Deed Entertainment has released a new Us trailer for Storm Boy, a follow-up to the original Australian trailer from last year. Based on a classic Oz tale, the story is about a boy who grew up on uninhabited coastline of Southern Australia, where he rescues and then raises an orphaned pelican, named Mr. Percival. Geoffrey Rush plays the boy as an old man, looking back at his youth. "Their remarkable adventures and very special bond has a profound effect on all their lives." Starring Jai Courtney, Trevor Jamieson, Morgana Davies, and introducing Finn Little as the "Storm Boy". This tale was adapted once before into a film in 1976, but I don't think it reached many audiences outside of Australia. This new film looks quite charming and emotional in all the usual ways. Give it a look. Here's the official Us...
- 2/28/2019
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Poppy Montgomery (Photo credit: Omar Cruz).
The producers of the Disney crime drama Reef Break, now shooting on the Gold Coast, have hired six Australian directors.
American Alex Zakrzewski, whose credits include Blue Bloods, Bosch, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and CSI: NY, was the set-up director on the series commissioned by Disney’s ABC network, which stars Sydney-born Poppy Montgomery.
Shawn Seet, Kieran Darcy-Smith and Sian Davies are each directing one episode while Peter Andrikidis, Grant Brown and Fiona Banks will each do two.
All are benefiting from a ground-breaking deal which the Australian Directors Guild signed with the producers, ABC Studios and ABC Studios International.
The first agreement between the Adg and an offshore production company, it gives directors much improved basic pay and conditions while still enabling them to negotiate individual agreements.
Adg CEO Kingston Anderson hopes it will serve as a template for all foreign TV shows shooting in Australia,...
The producers of the Disney crime drama Reef Break, now shooting on the Gold Coast, have hired six Australian directors.
American Alex Zakrzewski, whose credits include Blue Bloods, Bosch, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and CSI: NY, was the set-up director on the series commissioned by Disney’s ABC network, which stars Sydney-born Poppy Montgomery.
Shawn Seet, Kieran Darcy-Smith and Sian Davies are each directing one episode while Peter Andrikidis, Grant Brown and Fiona Banks will each do two.
All are benefiting from a ground-breaking deal which the Australian Directors Guild signed with the producers, ABC Studios and ABC Studios International.
The first agreement between the Adg and an offshore production company, it gives directors much improved basic pay and conditions while still enabling them to negotiate individual agreements.
Adg CEO Kingston Anderson hopes it will serve as a template for all foreign TV shows shooting in Australia,...
- 2/21/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Alita: Battle Angel’ (Photo: 20th Century Fox)
Fox’s Alita: Battle Angel reigned in the Us, Australia and 40 other markets last weekend – but the studio’s prospects of turning the lavish James Cameron production into a franchise don’t look great.
The futuristic sci-fi adventure directed by Robert Rodriguez posted respectable figures which suggest the studio will be hard pressed to recoup the astronomical production budget of $170 million – reduced from the original $200 million thanks to New Zealand and Texas tax credits – and P&A spend.
The good news for Aussie exhibitors is that business rallied last weekend after several lousy weeks, boosted by Alita, Paramount’s comedy What Men Want and Forum Films’ Indian import Gully Boy.
The Universal/Blumhouse slasher-comedy Happy Death Day 2U had an anaemic bow while the Oscar nominations for eOne’s If Beale Street Could Talk and Transmission Films’ At Eternity’s Gate did not count for much.
Fox’s Alita: Battle Angel reigned in the Us, Australia and 40 other markets last weekend – but the studio’s prospects of turning the lavish James Cameron production into a franchise don’t look great.
The futuristic sci-fi adventure directed by Robert Rodriguez posted respectable figures which suggest the studio will be hard pressed to recoup the astronomical production budget of $170 million – reduced from the original $200 million thanks to New Zealand and Texas tax credits – and P&A spend.
The good news for Aussie exhibitors is that business rallied last weekend after several lousy weeks, boosted by Alita, Paramount’s comedy What Men Want and Forum Films’ Indian import Gully Boy.
The Universal/Blumhouse slasher-comedy Happy Death Day 2U had an anaemic bow while the Oscar nominations for eOne’s If Beale Street Could Talk and Transmission Films’ At Eternity’s Gate did not count for much.
- 2/18/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘The Combination Redemption’.
Sony’s psychological thriller Escape Room was the top title last weekend, yet with a mediocre result which would have normally seen the film opening at No. 5 or 6, as ticket sales continued to free fall.
Meanwhile the sequel to 2009 cult hit The Combination struggled to make an impact despite positive coverage by David Stratton and Fairfax Media’s Garry Maddox, underlining yet again the challenges facing most Aussie films which go out on limited screens with minimal P&A support.
Audiences are sick and tired of watching a vengeful Liam Neeson brandishing a gun, judging by the debuts of Cold Pursuit here and in the Us.
The Ruth Bader Ginsburg biopic On the Basis of Sex, eOne’s third last release before the distributor shuts at the end of March, fared Ok at upmarket locations but poorly at multiplexes.
A contender for the best foreign language Oscar,...
Sony’s psychological thriller Escape Room was the top title last weekend, yet with a mediocre result which would have normally seen the film opening at No. 5 or 6, as ticket sales continued to free fall.
Meanwhile the sequel to 2009 cult hit The Combination struggled to make an impact despite positive coverage by David Stratton and Fairfax Media’s Garry Maddox, underlining yet again the challenges facing most Aussie films which go out on limited screens with minimal P&A support.
Audiences are sick and tired of watching a vengeful Liam Neeson brandishing a gun, judging by the debuts of Cold Pursuit here and in the Us.
The Ruth Bader Ginsburg biopic On the Basis of Sex, eOne’s third last release before the distributor shuts at the end of March, fared Ok at upmarket locations but poorly at multiplexes.
A contender for the best foreign language Oscar,...
- 2/11/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Hugh Jackman in ‘The Front Runner’ (Photo: Sony Pictures)
Us critics generally applauded Hugh Jackman’s portrayal of Gary Hart in The Front Runner but moviegoers were indifferent to the drama about the disgraced 1988 Us presidential candidate.
So it was no surprise to find the Jason Reitman-directed film sink without trace last weekend in Australia, where folks may already be tiring of politicians and campaigning.
Similarly Julia Roberts’ star power counted for little as Ben is Back had a mediocre debut, in line with its Us fate.
Meanwhile Fox’s The Hate U Give, a solid performer in the Us, struggled to cut through, as often happens with African-American themed films with little-known casts.
The end of school vacation combined with weak new releases resulted in the top 20’s takings plummeting by 36 per cent to $11.9 million, according to Numero.
Warner Bros./Bron Studio/Imperative Entertainment’s The Mule retained top spot,...
Us critics generally applauded Hugh Jackman’s portrayal of Gary Hart in The Front Runner but moviegoers were indifferent to the drama about the disgraced 1988 Us presidential candidate.
So it was no surprise to find the Jason Reitman-directed film sink without trace last weekend in Australia, where folks may already be tiring of politicians and campaigning.
Similarly Julia Roberts’ star power counted for little as Ben is Back had a mediocre debut, in line with its Us fate.
Meanwhile Fox’s The Hate U Give, a solid performer in the Us, struggled to cut through, as often happens with African-American themed films with little-known casts.
The end of school vacation combined with weak new releases resulted in the top 20’s takings plummeting by 36 per cent to $11.9 million, according to Numero.
Warner Bros./Bron Studio/Imperative Entertainment’s The Mule retained top spot,...
- 2/4/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Green Book’
Peter Farrelly’s Green Book scored five Oscar nominations including for best picture, lead actor Viggo Mortensen and supporting actor Mahershala Ali following multiple prizes for Ali – so it was a surprise to see the true-life drama open in third place in Australia last weekend.
One factor was strong competition for adult audiences from Clint Eastwood’s The Mule, unlike the Us where Green Book began a staggered roll-out in November. However exhibitors expect the eOne release to gather steam in the lead-up to the February 24 Oscars.
Shawn Seet’s Storm Boy benefited from the Australia Day long weekend while the 10 Academy Award nominations for Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Favourite boosted takings in its fifth weekend.
Oscar-nominated feature documentary Free Solo opened well, particularly in upmarket locations, and anime fans turned out for Dragon Ball Super: Broly.
Thanks to the new releases, the school holidays and the long weekend,...
Peter Farrelly’s Green Book scored five Oscar nominations including for best picture, lead actor Viggo Mortensen and supporting actor Mahershala Ali following multiple prizes for Ali – so it was a surprise to see the true-life drama open in third place in Australia last weekend.
One factor was strong competition for adult audiences from Clint Eastwood’s The Mule, unlike the Us where Green Book began a staggered roll-out in November. However exhibitors expect the eOne release to gather steam in the lead-up to the February 24 Oscars.
Shawn Seet’s Storm Boy benefited from the Australia Day long weekend while the 10 Academy Award nominations for Yorgos Lanthimos’ The Favourite boosted takings in its fifth weekend.
Oscar-nominated feature documentary Free Solo opened well, particularly in upmarket locations, and anime fans turned out for Dragon Ball Super: Broly.
Thanks to the new releases, the school holidays and the long weekend,...
- 1/29/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Storm Boy’ (Photo: Matt Nettheim).
Shawn Seet’s Coorong-set re-imagining of Henri Safran’s 1976 classic Storm Boy drew families and older folks last weekend, resonating particularly strongly in South Australia, as takings overall were flattened by the heatwave.
M. Night Shyamalan’s horror movie Glass was the top title, albeit opening below its Us trajectory. Josie O’Rourke’s period drama Mary, Queen of Scots had a respectable debut while Joe Cornish’s action-fantasy The Kid Who Would be King tanked.
Paolo Sorrentino’s Loro, a biopic on Italy’s scandal-plagued former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, fared Ok on limited release after earning tidy sums at festivals.
The top 20 titles collectively harvested $19 million, down 7 per cent on the previous weekend according to Numero.
The sequel to Split and follow-up to 2000’s Unbreakable, Glass yielded $3.3 million on 421 screens for Disney. Pro-rata, that trailed the estimated $40.5 million Us debut for the film...
Shawn Seet’s Coorong-set re-imagining of Henri Safran’s 1976 classic Storm Boy drew families and older folks last weekend, resonating particularly strongly in South Australia, as takings overall were flattened by the heatwave.
M. Night Shyamalan’s horror movie Glass was the top title, albeit opening below its Us trajectory. Josie O’Rourke’s period drama Mary, Queen of Scots had a respectable debut while Joe Cornish’s action-fantasy The Kid Who Would be King tanked.
Paolo Sorrentino’s Loro, a biopic on Italy’s scandal-plagued former Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, fared Ok on limited release after earning tidy sums at festivals.
The top 20 titles collectively harvested $19 million, down 7 per cent on the previous weekend according to Numero.
The sequel to Split and follow-up to 2000’s Unbreakable, Glass yielded $3.3 million on 421 screens for Disney. Pro-rata, that trailed the estimated $40.5 million Us debut for the film...
- 1/21/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Colin Thiele’s 1963 children’s novel about a boy and his beloved pelican receives tender and touching treatment in its second film adaptation. Adding a contemporary wrap-around story to the 1950s-set tale, and wringing well-judged changes to Henri Safran’s much-loved 1976 film, this version of “Storm Boy,” directed by excellent Aussie small-screen helmer Shawn Seet, has the emotional heft and visual splendor to win the hearts of domestic and international family audiences. Sony will release the film Down Under on Jan. 17, during the summer school holiday season. U.S. theatrical release via Good Deed Entertainment is scheduled for April.
In purely cinematic terms “Storm Boy” has all the ingredients for commercial success. How well it performs will depend at least partly on public response to controversy surrounding top-billed star Geoffrey Rush, also one of the film’s executive producers. Australia’s Federal Court will soon deliver a decision on the...
In purely cinematic terms “Storm Boy” has all the ingredients for commercial success. How well it performs will depend at least partly on public response to controversy surrounding top-billed star Geoffrey Rush, also one of the film’s executive producers. Australia’s Federal Court will soon deliver a decision on the...
- 1/15/2019
- by Richard Kuipers
- Variety Film + TV
(L-r) Jai Courtney, Finn Little and Shawn Seet.
Shawn Seet was 12 when he saw Henri Safran’s Storm Boy, the 1976 family drama based on Colin Thiele’s acclaimed novel.
The director was born in Australia but lived in Malaysia until he was 12. His uncle took him to the movie which made such an impression he kept the film’s poster, which still adorns his bedroom.
So when producers, Ambience Entertainment’s Michael Boughen and Matthew Street asked him to direct a contemporary re-imagining of the movie, he did not hesitate.
“It was amazing,” Seet tells If. “I asked them, ‘Do you know my history?’ Safran’s film was wonderful, a classic, and as I left the meeting I wondered if I had what it takes to pull it off.”
Enthusiastic responses to previews staged by Sony Pictures and screenings at the St George OpenAir Cinema suggest he’s nailed it.
Shawn Seet was 12 when he saw Henri Safran’s Storm Boy, the 1976 family drama based on Colin Thiele’s acclaimed novel.
The director was born in Australia but lived in Malaysia until he was 12. His uncle took him to the movie which made such an impression he kept the film’s poster, which still adorns his bedroom.
So when producers, Ambience Entertainment’s Michael Boughen and Matthew Street asked him to direct a contemporary re-imagining of the movie, he did not hesitate.
“It was amazing,” Seet tells If. “I asked them, ‘Do you know my history?’ Safran’s film was wonderful, a classic, and as I left the meeting I wondered if I had what it takes to pull it off.”
Enthusiastic responses to previews staged by Sony Pictures and screenings at the St George OpenAir Cinema suggest he’s nailed it.
- 1/15/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Shawn Seet’s remake of the Australian film, which stars Geoffrey Rush, makes jarring missteps in its final act
There are elements of the author Colin Thiele’s classic children’s book Storm Boy that, if not adapted for the screen with the right sensibility, risk creating an experience about as uplifting as a story involving drug addicts collapsing in the gutter with needles in their arms.
The director Henri Safran got the balance right in his excellent 1976 version, infusing an elegantly constructed film with light and dark elements that resonate across all age groups, evoking the child in the adult and the adult in the child.
There are elements of the author Colin Thiele’s classic children’s book Storm Boy that, if not adapted for the screen with the right sensibility, risk creating an experience about as uplifting as a story involving drug addicts collapsing in the gutter with needles in their arms.
The director Henri Safran got the balance right in his excellent 1976 version, infusing an elegantly constructed film with light and dark elements that resonate across all age groups, evoking the child in the adult and the adult in the child.
- 1/14/2019
- by Luke Buckmaster
- The Guardian - Film News
Ryan Corr and Rachael Taylor in ‘Ladies in Black.’
The good news for Australian cinema: Last year ranks as the third biggest ever for Oz films and feature docs released theatrically in the home market.
Another encouraging trend: Eight of the top 30 grossing titles were feature docs, led by Paul Damien Williams’ Gurrumul, Mark Joffe’s Jimmy Barnes: Working Class Boy, Ray Argall’s Midnight Oil 1984, Naina Sen’s The Song Keepers and Catherine Scott’s Backtrack Boys.
The not-so-good news: The top two films, Will Gluck’s Peter Rabbit and Bruce Beresford’s Ladies in Black accounted for nearly 70 per cent of total revenues, while 39 of the 61 new releases each made less than $100,000.
Collectively, local titles including holdovers racked up $57.4 million in 2018, trailing the 2001 total of $63.1 million, according to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia (Mpdaa)
The all-time record is 2015’s $88.1 million, the year of Mad Max: Fury Road,...
The good news for Australian cinema: Last year ranks as the third biggest ever for Oz films and feature docs released theatrically in the home market.
Another encouraging trend: Eight of the top 30 grossing titles were feature docs, led by Paul Damien Williams’ Gurrumul, Mark Joffe’s Jimmy Barnes: Working Class Boy, Ray Argall’s Midnight Oil 1984, Naina Sen’s The Song Keepers and Catherine Scott’s Backtrack Boys.
The not-so-good news: The top two films, Will Gluck’s Peter Rabbit and Bruce Beresford’s Ladies in Black accounted for nearly 70 per cent of total revenues, while 39 of the 61 new releases each made less than $100,000.
Collectively, local titles including holdovers racked up $57.4 million in 2018, trailing the 2001 total of $63.1 million, according to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia (Mpdaa)
The all-time record is 2015’s $88.1 million, the year of Mad Max: Fury Road,...
- 1/6/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Storm Boy’
Good Deed Entertainment has acquired the North American rights to Ambience Entertainment’s Storm Boy.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, who broke the news, the distributor plans to release it during the American springtime, with the deal brokered by Kathy Morgan International.
In Australia, Sony Pictures Releasing will launch the film during the summer school holidays on January 17.
Studiocanal previously held the rights to the film locally, but Sony swooped on it after the deal did not pan out.
Shot in South Australia, Storm Boy is based on the classic novel by Colin Thiele, and is directed by Shawn Seet, produced by Matthew Street and Michael Boughen, and written by Justin Monjo. Leading the cast are Jai Courtney, newcomer Finn Little and Geoffrey Rush.
Rush plays Mike ‘Storm Boy’ Kingsley, a retired businessman who starts to see things which at first he can’t explain. When his grand-daughter...
Good Deed Entertainment has acquired the North American rights to Ambience Entertainment’s Storm Boy.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, who broke the news, the distributor plans to release it during the American springtime, with the deal brokered by Kathy Morgan International.
In Australia, Sony Pictures Releasing will launch the film during the summer school holidays on January 17.
Studiocanal previously held the rights to the film locally, but Sony swooped on it after the deal did not pan out.
Shot in South Australia, Storm Boy is based on the classic novel by Colin Thiele, and is directed by Shawn Seet, produced by Matthew Street and Michael Boughen, and written by Justin Monjo. Leading the cast are Jai Courtney, newcomer Finn Little and Geoffrey Rush.
Rush plays Mike ‘Storm Boy’ Kingsley, a retired businessman who starts to see things which at first he can’t explain. When his grand-daughter...
- 12/14/2018
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Sue Milliken and Bruce Beresford (centre) with the cast of ‘Ladies in Black.’
Bruce Beresford’s Ladies in Black has grossed $11.4 million in seven weeks, encouraging Sony Pictures, which acquired the worldwide rights, to start devising plans to release the comedy-drama in offshore markets.
“The film was always required to establish itself here first before leveraging that success internationally,” Sony Pictures Releasing executive VP Stephen Basil-Jones tells If.
Produced by Sue Milliken and Allanah Zitserman, the 1959-set film is heading for $13 million here and in New Zealand is about to surpass $NZ1 million, which Basil-Jones rates as a superb result, particularly considering Oz films often struggle when they cross the ditch.
In Los Angeles last week he discussed with his colleagues rolling out the film, which stars Julia Ormond, Angourie Rice, Rachael Taylor, Ryan Corr, Alison McGirr, Noni Hazlehurst and Vincent Perez, in the UK and North America. Also he...
Bruce Beresford’s Ladies in Black has grossed $11.4 million in seven weeks, encouraging Sony Pictures, which acquired the worldwide rights, to start devising plans to release the comedy-drama in offshore markets.
“The film was always required to establish itself here first before leveraging that success internationally,” Sony Pictures Releasing executive VP Stephen Basil-Jones tells If.
Produced by Sue Milliken and Allanah Zitserman, the 1959-set film is heading for $13 million here and in New Zealand is about to surpass $NZ1 million, which Basil-Jones rates as a superb result, particularly considering Oz films often struggle when they cross the ditch.
In Los Angeles last week he discussed with his colleagues rolling out the film, which stars Julia Ormond, Angourie Rice, Rachael Taylor, Ryan Corr, Alison McGirr, Noni Hazlehurst and Vincent Perez, in the UK and North America. Also he...
- 11/7/2018
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Writer-director Paul Dano and Ed Oxenbould on the set of ‘Wildlife’.
Ed Oxenbould rates his role in Paul Dano’s Wildlife, in which he stars alongside Carey Mulligan and Jake Gyllenhaal, as among his favourites.
In the film, Oxenbould plays 14-year-old Joe, who has just moved to Montana with his parents Jeannette (Mulligan) and Jerry (Gyllenhaal). The ‘60s set coming-of-age tale centres on him as their marriage slowly disintegrates.
Oxenbould tells If that Joe is a complex, interesting character, who was bolstered through the writing of Dano and partner Zoe Kazan, who adapted Richard Ford’s novel of the same name.
“It was really different to anything I’d done before. It required a lot of emotion and a lot of watching, a lot of observing. That’s what made it seem really interesting; I thought it would be a great challenge.”
Wildlife, currently in limited release via Roadshow, had...
Ed Oxenbould rates his role in Paul Dano’s Wildlife, in which he stars alongside Carey Mulligan and Jake Gyllenhaal, as among his favourites.
In the film, Oxenbould plays 14-year-old Joe, who has just moved to Montana with his parents Jeannette (Mulligan) and Jerry (Gyllenhaal). The ‘60s set coming-of-age tale centres on him as their marriage slowly disintegrates.
Oxenbould tells If that Joe is a complex, interesting character, who was bolstered through the writing of Dano and partner Zoe Kazan, who adapted Richard Ford’s novel of the same name.
“It was really different to anything I’d done before. It required a lot of emotion and a lot of watching, a lot of observing. That’s what made it seem really interesting; I thought it would be a great challenge.”
Wildlife, currently in limited release via Roadshow, had...
- 11/5/2018
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
‘Ladies in Black.’
As the Australian feature films and feature docs released in cinemas this year have surpassed the calendar 2017 total exhibitors generally are happy with the diversity of product and the number of titles that have resonated with mainstream audiences.
While some say there have been too many niche and small-scale films, the consensus is that local films overall have held their own in a fragmented theatrical market and in the face of competition for eyeballs from the burgeoning Netflix and Stan.
Their outlook for 2019 is even more optimistic – if distributors and exhibitors are smart with their dating.
Through Wednesday, Oz films and feature docs including holdovers have racked up $54.2 million, according to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia (Mpdaa), beating last year’s $49.4 million, which was a market share of 4.1 per cent.
So the industry will finish the year ahead of the 2009 total of $54.8 million. The stand-out...
As the Australian feature films and feature docs released in cinemas this year have surpassed the calendar 2017 total exhibitors generally are happy with the diversity of product and the number of titles that have resonated with mainstream audiences.
While some say there have been too many niche and small-scale films, the consensus is that local films overall have held their own in a fragmented theatrical market and in the face of competition for eyeballs from the burgeoning Netflix and Stan.
Their outlook for 2019 is even more optimistic – if distributors and exhibitors are smart with their dating.
Through Wednesday, Oz films and feature docs including holdovers have racked up $54.2 million, according to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia (Mpdaa), beating last year’s $49.4 million, which was a market share of 4.1 per cent.
So the industry will finish the year ahead of the 2009 total of $54.8 million. The stand-out...
- 11/2/2018
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Ladies in Black.’
The Australian titles released in cinemas this year including holdovers will overtake the calendar 2017 total in the next week or so, boosted by Bruce Beresford’s Ladies in Black.
Through the end of September the Oz films and feature docs had grossed $47.8 million, according to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia (Mpdaa), within spitting distance of last year’s $49.4 million.
After a second weekend drop of just 10 per cent Ladies in Black’s takings have increased by nearly $800,000 to $5.97 million, including $361,000 on Tuesday, so the 1950s-set comedy-drama distributed by Sony is on course to surpass $12 million.
Distributed by Universal Pictures as an alternate content release, Mark Joffe’s biopic Jimmy Barnes: Working Class Boy rang up $823,000, ranking as the year’s second biggest feature doc behind Paul Damian Williams’ Gurrumul, which made $984,000.
Among the other September debutantes, Mark Grentell’s The Merger collected $405,000 and Benjamin Gilmour...
The Australian titles released in cinemas this year including holdovers will overtake the calendar 2017 total in the next week or so, boosted by Bruce Beresford’s Ladies in Black.
Through the end of September the Oz films and feature docs had grossed $47.8 million, according to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia (Mpdaa), within spitting distance of last year’s $49.4 million.
After a second weekend drop of just 10 per cent Ladies in Black’s takings have increased by nearly $800,000 to $5.97 million, including $361,000 on Tuesday, so the 1950s-set comedy-drama distributed by Sony is on course to surpass $12 million.
Distributed by Universal Pictures as an alternate content release, Mark Joffe’s biopic Jimmy Barnes: Working Class Boy rang up $823,000, ranking as the year’s second biggest feature doc behind Paul Damian Williams’ Gurrumul, which made $984,000.
Among the other September debutantes, Mark Grentell’s The Merger collected $405,000 and Benjamin Gilmour...
- 10/3/2018
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
South Australia is small, but it packs a punch.
According to data from Screen Australia’s most recent Drama Report, in the five financial years from 2012-13 to 2016-17, South Australia captured on average 5 per cent of drama production expenditure in Australia. However, the state’s output often ranks among the most country’s most notable.
In recent years, the South Australian Film Corporation (often alongside the Adelaide Film Festival) has supported feature films like Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale and The Babadook, Anthony Maras’ Hotel Mumbai, Yolanda Ramke and Ben Howling’s Cargo, Warwick Thornton’s Sweet Country and Samson and Delilah, Sophie Hyde’s 52 Tuesdays, Rosemary Myers’ Girl Asleep, Rolf de Heer’s Charlie’s Country, John Curran’s Tracks and Jeremy Sims’ Last Cab to Darwin. Upcoming Sa projects also include Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding and Shawn Seet’s reimagining of Storm Boy.
The...
According to data from Screen Australia’s most recent Drama Report, in the five financial years from 2012-13 to 2016-17, South Australia captured on average 5 per cent of drama production expenditure in Australia. However, the state’s output often ranks among the most country’s most notable.
In recent years, the South Australian Film Corporation (often alongside the Adelaide Film Festival) has supported feature films like Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale and The Babadook, Anthony Maras’ Hotel Mumbai, Yolanda Ramke and Ben Howling’s Cargo, Warwick Thornton’s Sweet Country and Samson and Delilah, Sophie Hyde’s 52 Tuesdays, Rosemary Myers’ Girl Asleep, Rolf de Heer’s Charlie’s Country, John Curran’s Tracks and Jeremy Sims’ Last Cab to Darwin. Upcoming Sa projects also include Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding and Shawn Seet’s reimagining of Storm Boy.
The...
- 9/25/2018
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
The first trailer for children’s adaptation Storm Boy has been released by Sony Pictures Releasing Australia.
Adapted from Colin Thiele’s acclaimed 1966 children’s novel, the film is a timeless story of an unusual and unconditional friendship. The story follows a young boy growing up on the beautiful but uninhabited coastline of Southern Australia who unexpectedly rescues and then raises three orphaned pelicans. When he forms a close bond with them, he finds himself at odds with his fisherman father and his life takes a new and unexpected turn.
Directed by Shawn Seet, it stars Geoffrey Rush, Jai Courtney, Trevor Jamieson, Morgana Davies and introducing Finn Little as ‘Storm Boy’.
Also in trailers – Danny McBride turns kidnapper in trailer for Arizona
The film currently has an Australian release of January 10 2019.
Storm Boy Official Synopsis
‘Storm Boy’ has grown up to be Michael Kingley, a successful retired businessman and grandfather.
Adapted from Colin Thiele’s acclaimed 1966 children’s novel, the film is a timeless story of an unusual and unconditional friendship. The story follows a young boy growing up on the beautiful but uninhabited coastline of Southern Australia who unexpectedly rescues and then raises three orphaned pelicans. When he forms a close bond with them, he finds himself at odds with his fisherman father and his life takes a new and unexpected turn.
Directed by Shawn Seet, it stars Geoffrey Rush, Jai Courtney, Trevor Jamieson, Morgana Davies and introducing Finn Little as ‘Storm Boy’.
Also in trailers – Danny McBride turns kidnapper in trailer for Arizona
The film currently has an Australian release of January 10 2019.
Storm Boy Official Synopsis
‘Storm Boy’ has grown up to be Michael Kingley, a successful retired businessman and grandfather.
- 8/16/2018
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Former Rectify star Aden Young and True Blood alum Sam Trammell are set to headline Reckoning, a 10-episode straight-to-series psychological thriller drama, from writer David Hubbard (Noel), veteran showrunner David Eick (Falling Skies) and Sony Pictures Television Networks.
Rounding out the ensemble cast are Simone Kessell, Laura Gordon, Gloria Garayua Mitzi Ruhlmann, Milly Alcock, Ed Oxenbould, Finn Little, Anthony Phelan and Diana Glenn.
Produced by Sony Pictures TV-owned Australian company Playmaker (The Code), Reckoning began production this week in Sydney for premiere next year on Sptn’s international channels, including Axn, in select territories in Europe and Latin America. Set in California, the 10-episode series is being filmed and wholly produced and post-produced in Australia.
Rounding out the ensemble cast are Simone Kessell, Laura Gordon, Gloria Garayua Mitzi Ruhlmann, Milly Alcock, Ed Oxenbould, Finn Little, Anthony Phelan and Diana Glenn.
Produced by Sony Pictures TV-owned Australian company Playmaker (The Code), Reckoning began production this week in Sydney for premiere next year on Sptn’s international channels, including Axn, in select territories in Europe and Latin America. Set in California, the 10-episode series is being filmed and wholly produced and post-produced in Australia.
- 7/10/2018
- by Nellie Andreeva and Denise Petski
- Deadline Film + TV
Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group has come on board “Storm Boy,” a multi-generational Australian drama starring Geoffrey Rush and Jai Courtney (“Suicide Squad”). The company replaces previously attached Studiocanal as the distributor in the film’s home territory.
The company has acquired Australia and New Zealand rights only, Sony told Variety. Local media report a theatrical release set for Jan. 10, 2019.
The film is a contemporary re-telling of a 1976 Australian family classic described as a “heartwarming tale about unusual friendship and unconditional love.” It is based on a 1964 novel by Australian author Colin Thiele.
Rush, who won an Academy Award as best actor for his role in 1996’s “Shine” and has been nominated three more times, plays the adult version of the protagonist, who recounts his childhood adventures to his troubled teenage granddaughter in an effort to stop her making the same mistakes he made. Courtney plays the younger version of the protagonist’s protective father,...
The company has acquired Australia and New Zealand rights only, Sony told Variety. Local media report a theatrical release set for Jan. 10, 2019.
The film is a contemporary re-telling of a 1976 Australian family classic described as a “heartwarming tale about unusual friendship and unconditional love.” It is based on a 1964 novel by Australian author Colin Thiele.
Rush, who won an Academy Award as best actor for his role in 1996’s “Shine” and has been nominated three more times, plays the adult version of the protagonist, who recounts his childhood adventures to his troubled teenage granddaughter in an effort to stop her making the same mistakes he made. Courtney plays the younger version of the protagonist’s protective father,...
- 6/5/2018
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
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