Netflix is continuing to roll out its celebration of iconic films, this time turning the page to 1984.
As part of the streaming platform’s “Milestone Movies: The Anniversary Collection,” Netflix has unveiled the 1984 films celebrating their 40-year anniversary in 2024 with classics like “Footloose” and “Sixteen Candles” alongside Oscar contenders “Amadeus” and “Iceman.”
The Milestone Movies hail from Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, and Sony — the distributors that license content to Netflix.
Starting today, April 1, 2024, Netflix subscribers can revisit Brian de Palma’s erotic noir “Body Double” and Kevin Bacon’s breakout performance in “Footloose.” How about a double feature? There’s also “Repo Man” and “Beverly Hills Cop,” streaming just in time for franchise reboot “Beverly Hills Cop: Axle F” out this summer.
In addition to the cinematic celebrations in your Netflix queue, in-person special screenings of select films will continue at the Paris Theater in New York and Los Angeles...
As part of the streaming platform’s “Milestone Movies: The Anniversary Collection,” Netflix has unveiled the 1984 films celebrating their 40-year anniversary in 2024 with classics like “Footloose” and “Sixteen Candles” alongside Oscar contenders “Amadeus” and “Iceman.”
The Milestone Movies hail from Warner Bros., Paramount Pictures, and Sony — the distributors that license content to Netflix.
Starting today, April 1, 2024, Netflix subscribers can revisit Brian de Palma’s erotic noir “Body Double” and Kevin Bacon’s breakout performance in “Footloose.” How about a double feature? There’s also “Repo Man” and “Beverly Hills Cop,” streaming just in time for franchise reboot “Beverly Hills Cop: Axle F” out this summer.
In addition to the cinematic celebrations in your Netflix queue, in-person special screenings of select films will continue at the Paris Theater in New York and Los Angeles...
- 4/1/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Bye-bye Bunya
Australian TV producer Bunya Entertainment says that Sophia Zachariou will step down as co-managing director, after a five-year stint. Bunya Entertainment is one part the Bunya Group of companies and was established by Zachariou, David Jowsey and Greer Simpkin in 2019.
Zachariou is currently in post-production on “The Office” (Amazon) and “Ladies in Black” (ABC) and will deliver these series before she departs the company. Other productions from Bunya Entertainment include the six x half-hour sketch comedy series “The Moth Effect” (Amazon) and the comedy series “Nice Shorts.”
In 2020 Zachariou also created the Bunya Talent Indigenous Hub, in partnership with Netflix and Screen Australia, which funded and developed 10 First Nations writers and directors to further develop their TV projects. The Hub was later extended to include a partnership with Safc, Screen Nt and Screen Nsw.
Jowsey and Simpkin will continue as co-MDs of Bunya Entertainment. The separate Bunya Group entities,...
Australian TV producer Bunya Entertainment says that Sophia Zachariou will step down as co-managing director, after a five-year stint. Bunya Entertainment is one part the Bunya Group of companies and was established by Zachariou, David Jowsey and Greer Simpkin in 2019.
Zachariou is currently in post-production on “The Office” (Amazon) and “Ladies in Black” (ABC) and will deliver these series before she departs the company. Other productions from Bunya Entertainment include the six x half-hour sketch comedy series “The Moth Effect” (Amazon) and the comedy series “Nice Shorts.”
In 2020 Zachariou also created the Bunya Talent Indigenous Hub, in partnership with Netflix and Screen Australia, which funded and developed 10 First Nations writers and directors to further develop their TV projects. The Hub was later extended to include a partnership with Safc, Screen Nt and Screen Nsw.
Jowsey and Simpkin will continue as co-MDs of Bunya Entertainment. The separate Bunya Group entities,...
- 3/19/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
He became a worldwide heartthrob 63 years ago as the star of Dr. Kildare, one of television’s first medical dramas. But it was during the heyday of the miniseries in the 1980s that Richard Chamberlain became TV royalty, earning Emmy nominations and Golden Globe Awards for two epic historical sagas as well as the title “King of the Miniseries.” In 1980’s Shogun, Chamberlain played English navigator John Blackthorne, shipwrecked in 17th-century Japan, and three years later in The Thorn Birds, he starred as hot Catholic priest Ralph de Bricassart, torn between Rachel Ward’s Meggie Cleary and his ecclesiastical vows. Three of that miniseries’ four installments remain among the Top 10 most watched TV episodes of all time. On the cusp of turning 90 on March 31, the now-retired Chamberlain spoke with TV Guide Magazine about his celebrated career. When you look back, what are you most proud of? Richard Chamberlain: Maybe The Thorn Birds.
- 2/17/2024
- TV Insider
E.L. James' original "Fifty Shades of Grey" trilogy is undoubtedly the most successful piece of fanfiction ever published. James turned the teen-friendly romance between Bella Swan and Edward Cullen in Stephenie Meyer's wildly popular "Twilight" franchise into an erotic reverie explored by the mysterious (and quite wealthy) entrepreneur Christian Grey and college journalist Kate Kavanaugh. It was a Bdsm gateway drug that opened up a healthy portal for kink-curious young adults. You didn't have to feel like a freak for wanting to do what conservative society deemed freaky.
Was it good literature? Does it matter? James' novels have sold hundreds of millions of copies and been translated into 52 different languages. They are adored by people who never knew they wanted to see Bella and Edward engage in consensual sadomasochism. I am happy they have these stories in their lives. What matters, at least when it comes to my bailiwick,...
Was it good literature? Does it matter? James' novels have sold hundreds of millions of copies and been translated into 52 different languages. They are adored by people who never knew they wanted to see Bella and Edward engage in consensual sadomasochism. I am happy they have these stories in their lives. What matters, at least when it comes to my bailiwick,...
- 2/1/2024
- by Jeremy Smith
- Slash Film
“The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart” is a seven episodes miniseries produced by Amazon Studios. The series features Sigourney Weaver and Alycia Debnam-Carey in leading roles. It is an adaptation of the novel written by Australian author Holly Ringland and has been skillfully adapted for the screen by series showrunner Sarah Lambert. All seven episodes are directed by Glendyn Ivin.
About the series
The new series starring Sigourney Weaver is now among us, and it is everything that fans of the New York actress expect: a poignant and dramatic story where the actress shines on her own in a brilliantly executed production in terms of acting, set design, and script.
Warning: it is a beautifully filmed drama, but it is also a drama about child abuse and open wounds. About the series
From its opening moments, it is clear that the series is of excellent quality, with meticulous cinematography and outstanding production work.
About the series
The new series starring Sigourney Weaver is now among us, and it is everything that fans of the New York actress expect: a poignant and dramatic story where the actress shines on her own in a brilliantly executed production in terms of acting, set design, and script.
Warning: it is a beautifully filmed drama, but it is also a drama about child abuse and open wounds. About the series
From its opening moments, it is clear that the series is of excellent quality, with meticulous cinematography and outstanding production work.
- 8/4/2023
- by Alice Lange
- Martin Cid - TV
Alycia Debnam-Carey Depositphotos
Alycia Jasmin Debnam-Carey, an Australian actress, gained recognition for her roles as Lexa in the dystopian science fiction series The 100 (2014–2016; 2020) and Alicia Clark in the horror drama series Fear the Walking Dead (2015–2022). She started her career in 2003 with a short drama film called Martha’s New Coat, directed by Rachel Ward. Her first feature film appearance was in the American disaster film Into the Storm (2014). In 2022, she made her directorial debut with the episode “Ofelia” in the seventh season of Fear the Walking Dead.
Career:
From 2003 to 2013, Debnam-Carey began her career by appearing in various short films and television series in Australia. She made her film debut in Martha’s New Coat and later appeared in the drama series McLeod’s Daughters and voiced a character in the animated short film The Safe House. She also played supporting roles in several short films. In 2010, she was cast...
Alycia Jasmin Debnam-Carey, an Australian actress, gained recognition for her roles as Lexa in the dystopian science fiction series The 100 (2014–2016; 2020) and Alicia Clark in the horror drama series Fear the Walking Dead (2015–2022). She started her career in 2003 with a short drama film called Martha’s New Coat, directed by Rachel Ward. Her first feature film appearance was in the American disaster film Into the Storm (2014). In 2022, she made her directorial debut with the episode “Ofelia” in the seventh season of Fear the Walking Dead.
Career:
From 2003 to 2013, Debnam-Carey began her career by appearing in various short films and television series in Australia. She made her film debut in Martha’s New Coat and later appeared in the drama series McLeod’s Daughters and voiced a character in the animated short film The Safe House. She also played supporting roles in several short films. In 2010, she was cast...
- 8/1/2023
- by Movies Martin Cid Magazine
- Martin Cid Magazine - Movies
The documentary premiered in Un Certain Regard at Cannes.
The Mother Of All Lies from Moroccan filmmaker Asmae El Moudir has scooped the top prize at the 70th Sydney Film Festival (Sff).
The documentary drama won the Sydney Film Prize, which includes a cash award of A$60,000 and was praised by jury head Anurag Kashyap for “the courage of choosing a theme perhaps wilfully obliterated from public memory”.
The film explores a 1981 massacre in Casablanca through interviews and interactions with the director’s family and former neighbours, using tiny models of them and a miniature set of their former street made by her father.
The Mother Of All Lies from Moroccan filmmaker Asmae El Moudir has scooped the top prize at the 70th Sydney Film Festival (Sff).
The documentary drama won the Sydney Film Prize, which includes a cash award of A$60,000 and was praised by jury head Anurag Kashyap for “the courage of choosing a theme perhaps wilfully obliterated from public memory”.
The film explores a 1981 massacre in Casablanca through interviews and interactions with the director’s family and former neighbours, using tiny models of them and a miniature set of their former street made by her father.
- 6/19/2023
- by Sandy George
- ScreenDaily
The Sydney Film Festival, which this year will celebrate its 70th edition, has unveiled its first dozen selections. Seven are feature films, five are documentaries.
“The 2023 program will expand on this legacy, promising to ignite stimulating dialogues and present powerful ideas that will broaden audience perspectives,” said festival director Nashen Moodley. He noted that over the previous 69 editions the Sydney festival has showcased more than 10,000 films.
Highlights among the documentaries are two Australian titles. “Rachel’s Farm” follows actor-director Rachel Ward as she revitalizes her beef farm using sustainable farming practices. In “The Last Daughter” Wiradjuri woman Brenda Matthews documents her search to uncover the truth about her government-ordered abduction as a child and to find her white foster family. Both Matthews and Ward will attend the festival in person.
“Red, White and Brass” – presented as a feature, rather than a documentary – is a fact-based tale of a group of...
“The 2023 program will expand on this legacy, promising to ignite stimulating dialogues and present powerful ideas that will broaden audience perspectives,” said festival director Nashen Moodley. He noted that over the previous 69 editions the Sydney festival has showcased more than 10,000 films.
Highlights among the documentaries are two Australian titles. “Rachel’s Farm” follows actor-director Rachel Ward as she revitalizes her beef farm using sustainable farming practices. In “The Last Daughter” Wiradjuri woman Brenda Matthews documents her search to uncover the truth about her government-ordered abduction as a child and to find her white foster family. Both Matthews and Ward will attend the festival in person.
“Red, White and Brass” – presented as a feature, rather than a documentary – is a fact-based tale of a group of...
- 4/5/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Sony has added Michelle Hurd (Star Trek: Picard), Bryan Brown (Australia), Darren Barnet (Gran Turismo) and Hadley Robinson (Moxie) to the cast of their as-yet-untitled rom-com from director Will Gluck (Easy A). Sydney Sweeney and Glenn Powell will lead the ensemble, as previously announced, with Alexandra Shipp also featuring.
Details as to the plot of the R-rated comedy are under wraps. But it’s based on a script by Ilana Wolpert that Gluck is re-writing. Joe Roth, Jeff Kirschenbaum, and Gluck are producing, with Sweeney exec producing for Fifty-Fifty Films, alongside Natalie Sellers and Alyssa Altman for Rk Films, and Jacqueline Monetta for Olive Bridge.
Perhaps best known for starring opposite Patrick Stewart on Paramount+’s Star Trek: Picard, Hurd has also been seen on series including Blindspot, Lethal Weapon, Ash vs. Evil Dead, Daredevil, Jessica Jones and The Glades, to name a few. Notable film credits include Bad Hair,...
Details as to the plot of the R-rated comedy are under wraps. But it’s based on a script by Ilana Wolpert that Gluck is re-writing. Joe Roth, Jeff Kirschenbaum, and Gluck are producing, with Sweeney exec producing for Fifty-Fifty Films, alongside Natalie Sellers and Alyssa Altman for Rk Films, and Jacqueline Monetta for Olive Bridge.
Perhaps best known for starring opposite Patrick Stewart on Paramount+’s Star Trek: Picard, Hurd has also been seen on series including Blindspot, Lethal Weapon, Ash vs. Evil Dead, Daredevil, Jessica Jones and The Glades, to name a few. Notable film credits include Bad Hair,...
- 2/16/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
The Santa Barbara International Film Festival announced plans Wednesday for 52 world premieres and 78 U.S. premieres spanning a total of 43 countries throughout the 11-day event.
“At a time where there’s a dwindling of movie theater attendance, the role of film festivals has never been more important,” said Sbiff executive director Roger Durling. “At Sbiff, with the 38th edition, our marching orders are clear, to celebrate movies and to nurture and exalt the film community, the artists as well as the cinephiles. It’s a great slate with 43 countries represented.”
The festival starts Feb. 8 with the world premiere of “Miranda’s Victim” from director-producer Michelle Danner. The period piece is set in the year 1963 and documents the true story of Patricia “Trish” Weir (Abigal Breslin), who attempts to put her abuser behind bars after being kidnapped and sexually assaulted at 18 years old.
Director Chandler Levack’s “I Like Movies” will...
“At a time where there’s a dwindling of movie theater attendance, the role of film festivals has never been more important,” said Sbiff executive director Roger Durling. “At Sbiff, with the 38th edition, our marching orders are clear, to celebrate movies and to nurture and exalt the film community, the artists as well as the cinephiles. It’s a great slate with 43 countries represented.”
The festival starts Feb. 8 with the world premiere of “Miranda’s Victim” from director-producer Michelle Danner. The period piece is set in the year 1963 and documents the true story of Patricia “Trish” Weir (Abigal Breslin), who attempts to put her abuser behind bars after being kidnapped and sexually assaulted at 18 years old.
Director Chandler Levack’s “I Like Movies” will...
- 1/18/2023
- by Katie Reul
- Variety Film + TV
The 38th edition of the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, which will run Feb. 8-18, will open with Miranda’s Victim, one of 52 world premieres in this year’s lineup, and will close with the U.S. premiere of I Like Movies, one of 78 U.S. premieres, the fest announced Wednesday.
These are, of course, in addition to a slew of the career-retrospective tributes for which the fest is famous, which this year will celebrate the likes of Cate Blanchett, Brendan Fraser, Angela Bassett, Jamie Lee Curtis, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, as well as panels with breakthrough artists, artisans, directors, writers, producers, female creatives and international filmmakers.
The fest will also offer a variety of free educational programs, including Mike’s Field Trip to the Movies (for 4,000-plus fourth through sixth grade students from low-income schools throughout Santa Barbara County), which this year will feature a screening of Guillermo del Toro...
These are, of course, in addition to a slew of the career-retrospective tributes for which the fest is famous, which this year will celebrate the likes of Cate Blanchett, Brendan Fraser, Angela Bassett, Jamie Lee Curtis, Colin Farrell and Brendan Gleeson, as well as panels with breakthrough artists, artisans, directors, writers, producers, female creatives and international filmmakers.
The fest will also offer a variety of free educational programs, including Mike’s Field Trip to the Movies (for 4,000-plus fourth through sixth grade students from low-income schools throughout Santa Barbara County), which this year will feature a screening of Guillermo del Toro...
- 1/18/2023
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Santa Barbara Film Festival To Open With Abigail Breslin Drama ‘Miranda’s Victim’ As Full Lineup Set
The Santa Barbara Film Festival has today unveiled the lineup for its 38th edition, taking place in-person from February 8-18.
The festival will open with the world premiere of the courtroom drama Miranda’s Victim, from director Michelle Danner. Pic tells the true story of Trish Weir (Abigail Breslin), who in 1963 was kidnapped and brutally raped by Ernesto Miranda. Committed to putting her assailant in prison, Trish’s life is destroyed by America’s legal system as she triggers a law that transforms the nation. Ryan Phillippe, Luke Wilson, Donald Sutherland, Mireille Enos, Andy Garcia and more also star.
Closing out Sbiff 2023 is the Chandler Levack-directed I Like Movies, which makes its U.S. premiere. The film starring Isaiah Lehtinen, Romina D’Ugo, Krista Bridges and Percy Hynes White follows the socially inept, 17-year-old cinephile Lawrence (Lehtinen) as he gets a job at a video store, there forming a complicated...
The festival will open with the world premiere of the courtroom drama Miranda’s Victim, from director Michelle Danner. Pic tells the true story of Trish Weir (Abigail Breslin), who in 1963 was kidnapped and brutally raped by Ernesto Miranda. Committed to putting her assailant in prison, Trish’s life is destroyed by America’s legal system as she triggers a law that transforms the nation. Ryan Phillippe, Luke Wilson, Donald Sutherland, Mireille Enos, Andy Garcia and more also star.
Closing out Sbiff 2023 is the Chandler Levack-directed I Like Movies, which makes its U.S. premiere. The film starring Isaiah Lehtinen, Romina D’Ugo, Krista Bridges and Percy Hynes White follows the socially inept, 17-year-old cinephile Lawrence (Lehtinen) as he gets a job at a video store, there forming a complicated...
- 1/18/2023
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Steve Martin is one of Hollywood's most beloved and iconic comedy stars. With over fifty years in the business, Martin has grown from a stand-up comic and "Saturday Night Live" regular to a respected comedy writer and actor. After breaking out to wider mainstream audiences with 1979's "The Jerk," Martin became a bonafide movie star. But the comedian has never stuck to one art form, publishing several books and plays -- not to mention Martin's music career too! Yes, he's known for taking on slapstick comedic roles that cast him as nonsensical or a highly intelligent neurotic. But Martin is also a critically acclaimed creative who received six Golden Globes nominations and eight Emmy nominations for his acting and writing chops.
Martin recently delighted fans with season 2 of "Only Murders in the Building." Allegedly, Martin plans to retire after his Hulu series wraps. Martin is also one Tony award away...
Martin recently delighted fans with season 2 of "Only Murders in the Building." Allegedly, Martin plans to retire after his Hulu series wraps. Martin is also one Tony award away...
- 11/5/2022
- by Molly Turner
- Slash Film
It’s been quite a few years since the heyday of TV miniseries in the ’70s and ’80s, but their legacies continue even now. Whether it’s the harrowing dramatization of Alex Haley’s family line in Roots, starting with Kunta Kinte’s (LeVar Burton) enslavement and reaching into the future with his descendants’ liberation, or the gripping and forbidden love story unfolding between Richard Chamberlain‘s Father Ralph and Rachel Ward’s Meggie Cleary in The Thorn Birds, there’s something for everyone. But with all the years gone by, how well do you really remember these titles and the details about them? Well, we’re giving you the chance to test your knowledge! Below, scroll through the ultimate trivia quiz that will determine your level of expertise when it comes to knowing classic TV miniseries of the ’70s and ’80s. Plus, sound off in the comment section to...
- 10/15/2022
- TV Insider
After completing my Associate of Arts degree at the local community college back in the early 2010s, I enrolled in a new writing program at Metropolitan State University. Many classes were offered in a hybrid format, meaning that I could do a lot of work online, but still had to show up for classes once or twice a week in the evenings at the university’s Minneapolis and St. Paul campuses, a format that fit great with my daytime work schedule, but would require more vending machine coffee than I usually consumed on a weekly basis.
Although a more unconventional path than attending a big college campus with dorms, social gatherings, and weekly mysteries that I had seen on TV so many times growing up, this night class format was a fascinating and enriching experience (and much less expensive than the dorm route would have been). My classmates came from...
Although a more unconventional path than attending a big college campus with dorms, social gatherings, and weekly mysteries that I had seen on TV so many times growing up, this night class format was a fascinating and enriching experience (and much less expensive than the dorm route would have been). My classmates came from...
- 8/29/2021
- by Derek Anderson
- DailyDead
Larry McMurtry, who won an Oscar for penning Brokeback Mountain, earned a nomination for The Last Picture Show and authored books that spawned Emmy winner Lonesome Dove and Best Picture Oscar winner Terms of Endearment, died Thursday of heart failure. He was 84. The news was confirmed to media outlets by family spokeswoman and 42West CEO Amanda Lundberg.
McMurtry — whose son is the singer-songwriter James McMurtry — won the Pulitzer Prize for writing Lonesome Done, which became a popular 1989 CBS miniseries and spawned a sequel and a syndicated series, and was awarded the 2014 National Humanities Medal by President Obama.
McMurtry’s 1975 book Terms of Endearment became the 1983 film from writer-director-producer James L. Brooks. Starring MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Jeff Daniels and John Lithgow, the pic was a commercial smash and led all films with 11 Oscar noms. Along with Best Pictrure, it earned Academy Awards for Shirley MacLaine, Nicholson and...
McMurtry — whose son is the singer-songwriter James McMurtry — won the Pulitzer Prize for writing Lonesome Done, which became a popular 1989 CBS miniseries and spawned a sequel and a syndicated series, and was awarded the 2014 National Humanities Medal by President Obama.
McMurtry’s 1975 book Terms of Endearment became the 1983 film from writer-director-producer James L. Brooks. Starring MacLaine, Debra Winger, Jack Nicholson, Danny DeVito, Jeff Daniels and John Lithgow, the pic was a commercial smash and led all films with 11 Oscar noms. Along with Best Pictrure, it earned Academy Awards for Shirley MacLaine, Nicholson and...
- 3/26/2021
- by Erik Pedersen
- Deadline Film + TV
Some pundits worry that the Oscar ceremony won’t feel like the real thing, because the late date (April 25) is disorienting and because the show will be divided between two venues, L.A.’s Union Station and the traditional Dolby Theatre. In truth, a fluid date and multiple locations go back to Oscar’s earliest days.
The first televised ceremony in 1953 had cameras in both Hollywood and New York, a tactic that continued through 1957. Even before that, Oscar included live segments. So this is a return to the original format.
Early ceremonies were broadcast on radio; in 1940, the show stopped for its first live remote, which was Franklin D. Roosevelt’s six-minute address to showbiz.
In 1951, ABC Radio aired the Oscars. Lead actor contender José Ferrer was starring in the comedy “20th Century” on Broadway with fellow nominee Gloria Swanson, so he scheduled a modest Oscar-night birthday party for her...
The first televised ceremony in 1953 had cameras in both Hollywood and New York, a tactic that continued through 1957. Even before that, Oscar included live segments. So this is a return to the original format.
Early ceremonies were broadcast on radio; in 1940, the show stopped for its first live remote, which was Franklin D. Roosevelt’s six-minute address to showbiz.
In 1951, ABC Radio aired the Oscars. Lead actor contender José Ferrer was starring in the comedy “20th Century” on Broadway with fellow nominee Gloria Swanson, so he scheduled a modest Oscar-night birthday party for her...
- 3/19/2021
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Screen Australia has announced nearly $2 million of production funding for two documentaries through the Commissioned program and eight through the Producer Program.
The projects include series Could You Survive on the Breadline? exploring financial disadvantage for Sbs; The Secret World of Fungi, a documentary for IMAX; and a series investigating racism in Australia called Unheard.
There’s also Medalia Productions and Sweetshop & Green’s feature documentary Prisoner X, coincidentally about the same man – and with the same title – as the narrative series Fremantle Australia announced it is developing with Stephen Corvini and Israeli production company Abot Hameiri.
Screen Australia’s head of content Sally Caplan said: “We’re very pleased to support these documentaries that will shine a light on issues including mental health and wellbeing, racism and the natural environment, and are sure to spark conversations. We’re excited to back the first ever Israeli documentary co-production with compelling feature Prisoner X,...
The projects include series Could You Survive on the Breadline? exploring financial disadvantage for Sbs; The Secret World of Fungi, a documentary for IMAX; and a series investigating racism in Australia called Unheard.
There’s also Medalia Productions and Sweetshop & Green’s feature documentary Prisoner X, coincidentally about the same man – and with the same title – as the narrative series Fremantle Australia announced it is developing with Stephen Corvini and Israeli production company Abot Hameiri.
Screen Australia’s head of content Sally Caplan said: “We’re very pleased to support these documentaries that will shine a light on issues including mental health and wellbeing, racism and the natural environment, and are sure to spark conversations. We’re excited to back the first ever Israeli documentary co-production with compelling feature Prisoner X,...
- 3/16/2021
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
The 78th annual Golden Globes take place virtually Sunday night on NBC with Amy Poehler and Tina Fey returning as hosts. “Mank,” “The Trial of the Chicago 7,” “The Crown,” “The Flight Attendant” and “Ted Lasso” are among the top nominees in the feature film and TV categories.
Also in contention is a movie called “Music” that was shot in 2017 and marks the directorial debut of the singer Sia. While it merits a mere 11% at Rotten Tomatoes, it reaped nominations for Best Musical/Comedy and star Kate Hudson. These bids harken back to 1982 when Pia Zadora won New Star of the Year for the well-stuffed turkey “Butterfly.” She also won the Razzie Award for the film which also starred Orson Welles.
And just who was Zadora’s competition for New Star of the Year? Elizabeth McGovern and Howard Rollins Jr. for “Ragtime”; Kathleen Turner for “Body Heat” Rachel Ward for...
Also in contention is a movie called “Music” that was shot in 2017 and marks the directorial debut of the singer Sia. While it merits a mere 11% at Rotten Tomatoes, it reaped nominations for Best Musical/Comedy and star Kate Hudson. These bids harken back to 1982 when Pia Zadora won New Star of the Year for the well-stuffed turkey “Butterfly.” She also won the Razzie Award for the film which also starred Orson Welles.
And just who was Zadora’s competition for New Star of the Year? Elizabeth McGovern and Howard Rollins Jr. for “Ragtime”; Kathleen Turner for “Body Heat” Rachel Ward for...
- 2/27/2021
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
For Sam Neill, working creates mental health. “I have had a few periods of my life where I’m not working and I feel that darkness close in,” he told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. in late 2019. “What are you between jobs? And if you think of yourself as an actor, and you’re not actually acting, you’re kind of no one.”
With the pandemic, that struggle took on a global scale when Universal shut down “Jurassic World: Dominion” a few weeks into production. Neill returned to his New Zealand vineyard, Two Paddocks, which sounds like a bucolic retreat — but sent the actor into a panic. “Right now, I’m in a terrible limbo,” he told a journalist. “My life in acting was always a counterbalance to my life on the farm. One was the palliative to the other.”
Around that time, he started playing the ukulele for Instagram.
View...
With the pandemic, that struggle took on a global scale when Universal shut down “Jurassic World: Dominion” a few weeks into production. Neill returned to his New Zealand vineyard, Two Paddocks, which sounds like a bucolic retreat — but sent the actor into a panic. “Right now, I’m in a terrible limbo,” he told a journalist. “My life in acting was always a counterbalance to my life on the farm. One was the palliative to the other.”
Around that time, he started playing the ukulele for Instagram.
View...
- 2/19/2021
- by Eric Kohn
- Indiewire
1984 at the movies was a year of iconic franchises, sci-fi groundbreakers and comedy classics. “Ghostbusters” and “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom” dominated at the box office while “Amadeus” took home the most Oscars including Best Picture. But in a year with such timeless movies as “The Terminator”, “Purple Rain” and “The Karate Kid”, some films were inevitably bound to be overlooked and underappreciated. Here are five forgotten gems from 1984 at the movies. Against All Odds Starring Jeff Bridges and Rachel Ward, “Against All Odds” tells the tale of a burned out football player who is paid
1984 at the Movies: Five Forgotten Gems...
1984 at the Movies: Five Forgotten Gems...
- 2/13/2021
- by Robert Barger
- TVovermind.com
Anya Beyersdorf.
Prolific screenwriter Anya Beyersdorf says her excitement level has gone through the roof as she collaborates with director Rachel Ward on one of the segments of the ABC’s female-driven Shakespeare Now anthology.
Enjoying a career high, Beyersdorf is also working on an Every Cloud Productions’ drama and developing multiple projects with writer-director Miranda Nation, Aquarius Films, Truant Pictures and US director Alexis Ostrander.
“I have had a privileged, lucky lockdown,” she tells If. “I think I would have gone mad if I didn’t have all these scripts and virtual writers’ rooms. It’s kept me connected and doing meaningful things.”
Hoodlum Entertainment and Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment are developing Shakespeare Now, consisting of fresh re-interpretations of Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, Macbeth, Love’s Labour’s Lost, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Richard III, The Merchant of Venice and Twelfth Night.
“Rachel is such a generous, clever, cool woman,...
Prolific screenwriter Anya Beyersdorf says her excitement level has gone through the roof as she collaborates with director Rachel Ward on one of the segments of the ABC’s female-driven Shakespeare Now anthology.
Enjoying a career high, Beyersdorf is also working on an Every Cloud Productions’ drama and developing multiple projects with writer-director Miranda Nation, Aquarius Films, Truant Pictures and US director Alexis Ostrander.
“I have had a privileged, lucky lockdown,” she tells If. “I think I would have gone mad if I didn’t have all these scripts and virtual writers’ rooms. It’s kept me connected and doing meaningful things.”
Hoodlum Entertainment and Margot Robbie’s LuckyChap Entertainment are developing Shakespeare Now, consisting of fresh re-interpretations of Romeo and Juliet, The Tempest, Macbeth, Love’s Labour’s Lost, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Richard III, The Merchant of Venice and Twelfth Night.
“Rachel is such a generous, clever, cool woman,...
- 8/12/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Butch’.
Screen Australia has announced almost $750,000 of story development funding for nine feature films, 11 television series and two online projects.
The slate includes an Imogen Banks-produced musical dramedy, composed by Kate Miller-Heidke; a television adaptation of Melanie Cheng book Australia Day; and a feature film from Helpmann Award-winning playwright S. Shakthidharan.
Screen Australia’s head of development Nerida Moore said, “We are looking for projects that are distinctive in the market, have a very specific audience in mind and reflect a range of Australian experiences. As such, it’s fantastic to be able to support the development of these 22 productions, which give an exciting glimpse into the diversity of stories, formats and genres we will hopefully see on our screens in the coming years.”
“I’m particularly pleased Screen Australia is able to support creators to expand their skill sets and take creative risks, including actors Lucy Durack and...
Screen Australia has announced almost $750,000 of story development funding for nine feature films, 11 television series and two online projects.
The slate includes an Imogen Banks-produced musical dramedy, composed by Kate Miller-Heidke; a television adaptation of Melanie Cheng book Australia Day; and a feature film from Helpmann Award-winning playwright S. Shakthidharan.
Screen Australia’s head of development Nerida Moore said, “We are looking for projects that are distinctive in the market, have a very specific audience in mind and reflect a range of Australian experiences. As such, it’s fantastic to be able to support the development of these 22 productions, which give an exciting glimpse into the diversity of stories, formats and genres we will hopefully see on our screens in the coming years.”
“I’m particularly pleased Screen Australia is able to support creators to expand their skill sets and take creative risks, including actors Lucy Durack and...
- 2/25/2020
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
‘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
Rachel Griffiths addresses the Screen Forever conference.
Is it a coincidence that three of the highest-grossing Australian films of 2019 – Rachel Griffiths’ Ride Like A Girl, Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding and Rachel Ward’s Palm Beach – have all been helmed by directors who have backgrounds as actors? Not according to Griffiths.
“It’s not surprising to me that, in a moment where audiences for cinema releases are getting increasingly challenging, actor-directed content is punching above its weight at the box office, because performers have unique sensitivities that we develop by being at the coalface of the final content delivery,” Griffiths told Screen Producers Australia’s Screen Forever delegates last week.
Delivering the conference’s annual Hector Crawford Memorial Lecture, the Golden Globe-winning and Emmy and Oscar-nominated actor, who in recent years has also successfully turned to producing and directing, issued a rallying call to producers to break down silos...
Is it a coincidence that three of the highest-grossing Australian films of 2019 – Rachel Griffiths’ Ride Like A Girl, Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding and Rachel Ward’s Palm Beach – have all been helmed by directors who have backgrounds as actors? Not according to Griffiths.
“It’s not surprising to me that, in a moment where audiences for cinema releases are getting increasingly challenging, actor-directed content is punching above its weight at the box office, because performers have unique sensitivities that we develop by being at the coalface of the final content delivery,” Griffiths told Screen Producers Australia’s Screen Forever delegates last week.
Delivering the conference’s annual Hector Crawford Memorial Lecture, the Golden Globe-winning and Emmy and Oscar-nominated actor, who in recent years has also successfully turned to producing and directing, issued a rallying call to producers to break down silos...
- 11/19/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
‘Ride Like a Girl’.
Rachel Griffiths’ Ride Like a Girl will take the crown of highest grossing Australian film on home soil this year.
Meanwhile the low visibility and modest returns from limited releases including Kim Farrant’s Angel of Mine, Sophie Hyde’s Animals and Rodd Rathjen’s Buoyancy have prompted renewed calls from exhibitors to address the challenges facing most Aussie films in the crowded theatrical market.
Griffiths’ biopic starring Teresa Palmer as ground-breaking jockey Michelle Payne pocketed nearly $4 million in its first eight days, including $317,000 on Thursday.
So the Transmission Films release co-starring Sam Neill as Payne’s father Paddy and her brother Stevie Payne as himself will overtake Palm Beach’s $4.4 million this weekend and will zoom past Top End Wedding’s $5.2 million and Storm Boy’s $5 million.
Exhibitors are confident the film is heading for upwards of $10 million and could reach Ladies in Black’s $12 million.
Rachel Griffiths’ Ride Like a Girl will take the crown of highest grossing Australian film on home soil this year.
Meanwhile the low visibility and modest returns from limited releases including Kim Farrant’s Angel of Mine, Sophie Hyde’s Animals and Rodd Rathjen’s Buoyancy have prompted renewed calls from exhibitors to address the challenges facing most Aussie films in the crowded theatrical market.
Griffiths’ biopic starring Teresa Palmer as ground-breaking jockey Michelle Payne pocketed nearly $4 million in its first eight days, including $317,000 on Thursday.
So the Transmission Films release co-starring Sam Neill as Payne’s father Paddy and her brother Stevie Payne as himself will overtake Palm Beach’s $4.4 million this weekend and will zoom past Top End Wedding’s $5.2 million and Storm Boy’s $5 million.
Exhibitors are confident the film is heading for upwards of $10 million and could reach Ladies in Black’s $12 million.
- 10/4/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Downton Abbey’ (Photo: Universal Pictures).
It is a rare feat to translate a six season network TV hit into box office bankability but Downton Abbey loyalists have swarmed to the occasion, with the Universal Pictures film adaptation steam-training to the top of the box office, attracting $3.2 million in its opening last weekend across 502 screens.
Sony’s The Angry Birds Movie 2 also bowed over the weekend, clinching third spot and $1.5 million in revenue, with the Andy Muschietti directed It Chapter Two nestled in at number two.
Warner Bros’ It sequel has helped to resuscitate Australian Bo fortunes, having already amassed $11 million in just two weeks. The horror brought in $3.2 million over the weekend, boasting the highest screen average for any film at $8,684.
Overall, the top 20 titles rung up $10.7 million over the weekend, down 2 per cent on last week, according to the Motion Pictures Association of Australia (Mpdaa).
Sophie Hyde’s...
It is a rare feat to translate a six season network TV hit into box office bankability but Downton Abbey loyalists have swarmed to the occasion, with the Universal Pictures film adaptation steam-training to the top of the box office, attracting $3.2 million in its opening last weekend across 502 screens.
Sony’s The Angry Birds Movie 2 also bowed over the weekend, clinching third spot and $1.5 million in revenue, with the Andy Muschietti directed It Chapter Two nestled in at number two.
Warner Bros’ It sequel has helped to resuscitate Australian Bo fortunes, having already amassed $11 million in just two weeks. The horror brought in $3.2 million over the weekend, boasting the highest screen average for any film at $8,684.
Overall, the top 20 titles rung up $10.7 million over the weekend, down 2 per cent on last week, according to the Motion Pictures Association of Australia (Mpdaa).
Sophie Hyde’s...
- 9/16/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
1966: Days of our Lives' Tony prepared to leave town.
1985: General Hospital's Josh Clayton was killed.
1994: One Life to Live's paralyzed Luna took her first steps.
1994: All My Children's Hayley and Alec plotted revenge."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into different and unexpected images."
― Anselm Kiefer
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1966: On Days of our Lives, Tony Merritt (Richard Colla) told Marie Horton (Maree Cheatham) he was leaving Salem.
1966: On Dark Shadows, news of Bill Malloy's death spread around Collinsport.
1966: On the Season 3 premiere of Peyton Place, Chris Webber (Gary Haynes) was...
1985: General Hospital's Josh Clayton was killed.
1994: One Life to Live's paralyzed Luna took her first steps.
1994: All My Children's Hayley and Alec plotted revenge."History speaks to artists. It changes the artist's thinking and is constantly reshaping it into different and unexpected images."
― Anselm Kiefer
"Today in Soap Opera History" is a collection of the most memorable, interesting and influential events in the history of scripted, serialized programs. From birthdays and anniversaries to scandals and controversies, every day this column celebrates the soap opera in American culture.
On this date in...
1966: On Days of our Lives, Tony Merritt (Richard Colla) told Marie Horton (Maree Cheatham) he was leaving Salem.
1966: On Dark Shadows, news of Bill Malloy's death spread around Collinsport.
1966: On the Season 3 premiere of Peyton Place, Chris Webber (Gary Haynes) was...
- 9/12/2019
- by Unknown
- We Love Soaps
“H is for Happiness” was a popular winner on the first Saturday of September at the CinefestOZ festival in Western Australia. Not only is the picture uplifting — a 12-year-old girl who is inspired by an unusual new boy at her school and challenges herself to mend her broken family – “Happiness” was made locally, just a few miles from where the prizes were handed out at the Orana Cinema in Bussleton.
There was always a good chance that a local film was always going to come out on top. Among the five films in competition others had West Australian connection or included festival returnees.
The West Australian focus is no accident, though it is not where the 12-year-old festival started.
In its early days, CinefestOZ had sought a niche as festival focusing on Australian and French films and cultural connections between the two countries. That was a calculated attempt to capitalize...
There was always a good chance that a local film was always going to come out on top. Among the five films in competition others had West Australian connection or included festival returnees.
The West Australian focus is no accident, though it is not where the 12-year-old festival started.
In its early days, CinefestOZ had sought a niche as festival focusing on Australian and French films and cultural connections between the two countries. That was a calculated attempt to capitalize...
- 9/11/2019
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
‘It Chapter Two.’ (Photo credit: Warner Bros.)
Warner Bros/New Line’s It Chapter Two and Roadshow’s Chinese-American dramedy The Farewell gave the flagging Australian box office a much needed jolt last weekend while two new Oz releases struggled.
Kim Farrant’s psychological thriller Angel of Mine and Alan Lindsay’s romantic comedy The Naked Wanderer faced the same challenge which has bedeviled most Australian films this year: Opening on limited screens with minimal P&a, which means low visibility in the marketplace. So relying primarily on reviews, publicity and word of mouth is no guarantee to draw audiences.
Starring Noomi Rapace, Yvonne Strahovski, Annika Whiteley, Finn Little, Luke Evans, Richard Roxburgh and Rob Collins, Farrant’s follow-up to Strangerland grossed $26,000 on 42 screens and $43,000 including festival screenings for R&r Films.
As If reported, the movie co-funded by Screen Australia and Film Victoria has been sold by Fortitude International to...
Warner Bros/New Line’s It Chapter Two and Roadshow’s Chinese-American dramedy The Farewell gave the flagging Australian box office a much needed jolt last weekend while two new Oz releases struggled.
Kim Farrant’s psychological thriller Angel of Mine and Alan Lindsay’s romantic comedy The Naked Wanderer faced the same challenge which has bedeviled most Australian films this year: Opening on limited screens with minimal P&a, which means low visibility in the marketplace. So relying primarily on reviews, publicity and word of mouth is no guarantee to draw audiences.
Starring Noomi Rapace, Yvonne Strahovski, Annika Whiteley, Finn Little, Luke Evans, Richard Roxburgh and Rob Collins, Farrant’s follow-up to Strangerland grossed $26,000 on 42 screens and $43,000 including festival screenings for R&r Films.
As If reported, the movie co-funded by Screen Australia and Film Victoria has been sold by Fortitude International to...
- 9/9/2019
- 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
‘The Nightingale.’
While Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale has achieved an 86 per cent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes since the world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, many critics have described the tale of rape, murder and revenge as harrowing and bleak.
So in that context the film’s opening in Australia last weekend via Transmission Films was quite respectable – and some exhibitors expect it will have a leggy run.
Meanwhile Madman Entertainment’s The Australian Dream had a buoyant second weekend, helped by word-of-mouth and the two-for-one ticket offer to Afl members.
Rachel Ward’s Palm Beach advanced to $3.8 million after nabbing $305,000 in its fourth weekend, easing by 31 per cent for Universal Pictures. Kriv Stenders’ Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan dipped by just 16 per cent to $250,000 in its fourth, delivering $2.5 million for Transmission Films.
The Nightingale grossed $98,000 on 32 screens, bringing the total including festival screenings to...
While Jennifer Kent’s The Nightingale has achieved an 86 per cent fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes since the world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival, many critics have described the tale of rape, murder and revenge as harrowing and bleak.
So in that context the film’s opening in Australia last weekend via Transmission Films was quite respectable – and some exhibitors expect it will have a leggy run.
Meanwhile Madman Entertainment’s The Australian Dream had a buoyant second weekend, helped by word-of-mouth and the two-for-one ticket offer to Afl members.
Rachel Ward’s Palm Beach advanced to $3.8 million after nabbing $305,000 in its fourth weekend, easing by 31 per cent for Universal Pictures. Kriv Stenders’ Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan dipped by just 16 per cent to $250,000 in its fourth, delivering $2.5 million for Transmission Films.
The Nightingale grossed $98,000 on 32 screens, bringing the total including festival screenings to...
- 9/2/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
(L-r) John Sheedy, Daisy Axon, Julie Ryan, Lisa Hoppe and Tenille Kennedy (Photo credit: Court McAllister).
John Sheedy’s feature debut H is for Happiness, an adaptation of Barry Jonsberg’s young adult novel My Life as an Alphabet, has won this year’s $100,000 CinefestOZ Film Prize.
Announcing the award at the Saturday night gala, jury chair Rachel Ward said: “If we have the power as jurors to change the world to be a better place, then voting for H is for Happiness to win the CinefestOZ 2019 is our contribution. As juror Alex Dimitriades added, H is also for Hope.”
The other finalists were Owen Trevor’s Go!, Ben Lawrence’s Hearts and Bones, Mirrah Foulkes’ Judy & Punch and Paul Ireland’s Measure for Measure.
Sheedy said: “The competition was so tough. There were five amazing films, I saw all of them. To be chosen in such good company...
John Sheedy’s feature debut H is for Happiness, an adaptation of Barry Jonsberg’s young adult novel My Life as an Alphabet, has won this year’s $100,000 CinefestOZ Film Prize.
Announcing the award at the Saturday night gala, jury chair Rachel Ward said: “If we have the power as jurors to change the world to be a better place, then voting for H is for Happiness to win the CinefestOZ 2019 is our contribution. As juror Alex Dimitriades added, H is also for Hope.”
The other finalists were Owen Trevor’s Go!, Ben Lawrence’s Hearts and Bones, Mirrah Foulkes’ Judy & Punch and Paul Ireland’s Measure for Measure.
Sheedy said: “The competition was so tough. There were five amazing films, I saw all of them. To be chosen in such good company...
- 9/1/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Locally-made family drama, “H is for Happiness” won the top prize at the CinefestOZ festival in Busselton, West Australia, on Saturday. The film is an uplifting tale about a 12-year-old girl who is inspired by an unusual new boy at her school and sets out to mend her broken family.
Directed by John Sheedy, and filmed in the South Western part of the state where the festival is held, the film claimed the A$100,000 first prize, which has made CinefestOZ one of the most generous festivals in the world.
The competition jury, headed by actress turned director Rachel Ward, collectively voted in favor of the film, calling it “surprising” and a “tribute to the power of young people.”
Other titles in competition included Mirrah Foulkes’ “Judy & Punch,” Paul Ireland’s “Measure for Measure,” Ben Lawrence’s “Hearts & Bones” and Owen Trevor’s Busselton-set teen film “Go!”.
The only other...
Directed by John Sheedy, and filmed in the South Western part of the state where the festival is held, the film claimed the A$100,000 first prize, which has made CinefestOZ one of the most generous festivals in the world.
The competition jury, headed by actress turned director Rachel Ward, collectively voted in favor of the film, calling it “surprising” and a “tribute to the power of young people.”
Other titles in competition included Mirrah Foulkes’ “Judy & Punch,” Paul Ireland’s “Measure for Measure,” Ben Lawrence’s “Hearts & Bones” and Owen Trevor’s Busselton-set teen film “Go!”.
The only other...
- 9/1/2019
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
‘The Australian Dream.’
The racist slurs which ended the football career of Sydney Swans star Adam Goodes dominated the national conversation for weeks in the lead-up to the premieres of Ian Darling’s The Final Quarter and Daniel Gordon’s The Australian Dream.
So how to explain the fact that Gordon’s acclaimed film ranked at No. 12 in Australian cinemas last weekend after winning the Miff Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature and earning a nomination for an Aacta Award?
Some 640,000 people watched The Final Quarter on Network 10 after its Sydney Film Festival premiere in June. That plus the copious publicity for both docs and the issues of race, identity and belonging may well have prompted some people to think: “I know the story, so I don’t need to see The Australian Dream.”
To be fair, the film written by Stan Grant and produced by Good Thing Productions’ Nick Batzias,...
The racist slurs which ended the football career of Sydney Swans star Adam Goodes dominated the national conversation for weeks in the lead-up to the premieres of Ian Darling’s The Final Quarter and Daniel Gordon’s The Australian Dream.
So how to explain the fact that Gordon’s acclaimed film ranked at No. 12 in Australian cinemas last weekend after winning the Miff Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature and earning a nomination for an Aacta Award?
Some 640,000 people watched The Final Quarter on Network 10 after its Sydney Film Festival premiere in June. That plus the copious publicity for both docs and the issues of race, identity and belonging may well have prompted some people to think: “I know the story, so I don’t need to see The Australian Dream.”
To be fair, the film written by Stan Grant and produced by Good Thing Productions’ Nick Batzias,...
- 8/26/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan.’
Most Australian films are caught in a catch-22: Independent distributors are constrained in how much they can spend on P&a. The upshot: Films suffer from lack of visibility and find it tough, if not impossible, to achieve their box office potential.
That’s according to Red Dune Productions’ Martin Walsh, who produced Kriv Stenders’ Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan with Deeper Water Films’ Michael and John Schwarz.
The Vietnam War movie starring Travis Fimmel, Luke Bracey, Richard Roxburgh, Daniel Webber, Nicholas Hamilton, Aaron Glenane and Anthony Hayes has grossed $1.75 million in 13 days on 235 screens.
Walsh has no quarrel with the distributor Transmission Films, telling If: “They have done a sterling job with the resources they have, we love working with them and they were the only distributor willing to support our film.
“There would be no Danger Close without...
Most Australian films are caught in a catch-22: Independent distributors are constrained in how much they can spend on P&a. The upshot: Films suffer from lack of visibility and find it tough, if not impossible, to achieve their box office potential.
That’s according to Red Dune Productions’ Martin Walsh, who produced Kriv Stenders’ Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan with Deeper Water Films’ Michael and John Schwarz.
The Vietnam War movie starring Travis Fimmel, Luke Bracey, Richard Roxburgh, Daniel Webber, Nicholas Hamilton, Aaron Glenane and Anthony Hayes has grossed $1.75 million in 13 days on 235 screens.
Walsh has no quarrel with the distributor Transmission Films, telling If: “They have done a sterling job with the resources they have, we love working with them and they were the only distributor willing to support our film.
“There would be no Danger Close without...
- 8/21/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood.’
Quentin Tarantino’s ninth movie Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood posted the biggest debut of his career in Australia last weekend, emulating its Us success.
The 1969-set drama/thriller starring Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie and Damon Herriman opened 68 per cent bigger than his previous best effort Django Unchained in 2012.
The downside: The Sony Pictures release sucked a lot of air from the second weekends of Universal’s Palm Beach and Transmission Films’ Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan.
The top 20 titles raked in $14.4 million, 3 per cent up on the previous frame, according to Numero. Mind Blowing Films’ Bollywood film Mission Mangal and Magnum Films’ Hong Kong thriller Line Walker 2 had buoyant launches while Universal’s A Dog’s Journey opened with neither bark nor bite, mirroring its Us fate.
The lurid tale of a TV actor (DiCaprio) who wants...
Quentin Tarantino’s ninth movie Once Upon a Time…in Hollywood posted the biggest debut of his career in Australia last weekend, emulating its Us success.
The 1969-set drama/thriller starring Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio, Margot Robbie and Damon Herriman opened 68 per cent bigger than his previous best effort Django Unchained in 2012.
The downside: The Sony Pictures release sucked a lot of air from the second weekends of Universal’s Palm Beach and Transmission Films’ Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan.
The top 20 titles raked in $14.4 million, 3 per cent up on the previous frame, according to Numero. Mind Blowing Films’ Bollywood film Mission Mangal and Magnum Films’ Hong Kong thriller Line Walker 2 had buoyant launches while Universal’s A Dog’s Journey opened with neither bark nor bite, mirroring its Us fate.
The lurid tale of a TV actor (DiCaprio) who wants...
- 8/19/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Palm Beach.’
The head-to-head clash between Universal’s Palm Beach and Transmission Films’ Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan last weekend was far from ideal, but both films are positioned to have leggy runs thanks to word of mouth.
Rachel Ward’s Palm Beach opened in third spot behind the fourth weekend of Disney’s blockbuster The Lion King and the second lap of Universal’s Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw.
Scripted by Ward and Joanna Murray-Smith, the comedy-drama about a group of lifelong friends reuniting to celebrate a special birthday rang up $1.14 million on 250 locations and $1.23 million with previews.
Starring Bryan Brown, Sam Neill, Greta Scacchi, Richard E Grant, Jacqueline McKenzie, Claire van der Boom, Aaron Jeffrey, Heather Mitchell and Matilda Brown, the film opened 3 per cent ahead of Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding, which finished with $5.2 million, and at the same level as Jeremy Sims’ Last Cab to Darwin,...
The head-to-head clash between Universal’s Palm Beach and Transmission Films’ Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan last weekend was far from ideal, but both films are positioned to have leggy runs thanks to word of mouth.
Rachel Ward’s Palm Beach opened in third spot behind the fourth weekend of Disney’s blockbuster The Lion King and the second lap of Universal’s Fast & Furious Presents: Hobbs & Shaw.
Scripted by Ward and Joanna Murray-Smith, the comedy-drama about a group of lifelong friends reuniting to celebrate a special birthday rang up $1.14 million on 250 locations and $1.23 million with previews.
Starring Bryan Brown, Sam Neill, Greta Scacchi, Richard E Grant, Jacqueline McKenzie, Claire van der Boom, Aaron Jeffrey, Heather Mitchell and Matilda Brown, the film opened 3 per cent ahead of Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding, which finished with $5.2 million, and at the same level as Jeremy Sims’ Last Cab to Darwin,...
- 8/11/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Marta Dusseldorp, Glenn Gainor, Alex Dimitriades and Ben Young will join chair Rachel Ward on the jury which will determine the winner of this year’s $100,000 CinefestOz Film Prize.
Owen Trevor’s Go!, John Sheedy’s H is for Happiness, Ben Lawrence’s Hearts and Bones, Mirrah Foulkes’ Judy & Punch and Paul Ireland’s Measure for Measure will compete for Australia’s biggest film prize.
“The quality of this year’s Film Prize finalists is exceptionally high and we are delighted to have a jury of equal calibre to decide on the winner,” CinefestOZ chair Helen Shervington said.
Dimitriades made his acting debut in Michael Jenkins’ The Heartbreak Kid followed by Ana Kokkinos’ Head On. Other film performances include Three Blind Mice, Ghost Ship, Deuce Bigalow, Kings of Mykonos, Summer Coda, The Infinite Man and Ruben Guthrie.
His TV credits include The Slap, The Principal, Seven Types of Ambiguity, Wanted,...
Owen Trevor’s Go!, John Sheedy’s H is for Happiness, Ben Lawrence’s Hearts and Bones, Mirrah Foulkes’ Judy & Punch and Paul Ireland’s Measure for Measure will compete for Australia’s biggest film prize.
“The quality of this year’s Film Prize finalists is exceptionally high and we are delighted to have a jury of equal calibre to decide on the winner,” CinefestOZ chair Helen Shervington said.
Dimitriades made his acting debut in Michael Jenkins’ The Heartbreak Kid followed by Ana Kokkinos’ Head On. Other film performances include Three Blind Mice, Ghost Ship, Deuce Bigalow, Kings of Mykonos, Summer Coda, The Infinite Man and Ruben Guthrie.
His TV credits include The Slap, The Principal, Seven Types of Ambiguity, Wanted,...
- 8/7/2019
- 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
Glenn Gainor.
Glenn Gainor, the president of Sony Innovation Studios and head of physical production at Sony Pictures’ Screen Gems, will be the keynote speaker at this year’s CinefestOZ.
Screen Gems has been responsible for numerous high-grossing movies includings The Intruder, The Perfect Guy, No Good Deed, Think Like a Man, Friends with Benefits and Obsessed.
Housed on the Sony lot, Sony Innovation Studios provides the latest virtual production technology for film, television, gaming and other platforms across Sony companies and the broader industry.
Gainor’s keynote address, Embracing Technology as an Empowerment Tool, will explore how filmmakers can have their stories heard by millions through the use of emerging technologies.
He will present the world premiere of Taste, the film fronting the global launch of Sony’s new Xperia smartphone technology, Cinema Pro powered by CineAlta, which offers cinema-quality images from a pocket-sized camera.
The story of a...
Glenn Gainor, the president of Sony Innovation Studios and head of physical production at Sony Pictures’ Screen Gems, will be the keynote speaker at this year’s CinefestOZ.
Screen Gems has been responsible for numerous high-grossing movies includings The Intruder, The Perfect Guy, No Good Deed, Think Like a Man, Friends with Benefits and Obsessed.
Housed on the Sony lot, Sony Innovation Studios provides the latest virtual production technology for film, television, gaming and other platforms across Sony companies and the broader industry.
Gainor’s keynote address, Embracing Technology as an Empowerment Tool, will explore how filmmakers can have their stories heard by millions through the use of emerging technologies.
He will present the world premiere of Taste, the film fronting the global launch of Sony’s new Xperia smartphone technology, Cinema Pro powered by CineAlta, which offers cinema-quality images from a pocket-sized camera.
The story of a...
- 7/23/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Glenn Gainor, president of Sony Innovation Studios and head of physical production at Screen Gems, will deliver the keynote speech at the industry program of next month’s CinefestOZ Film Festival.
The small but densely packed festival takes place in multiple venues near Busselton and Margaret River in West Australia. It runs Aug. 28-Sept. 1 and offers A$100,000 to the winning film in its competition section.
Gainor, who has credits including “Think Like a Man,” and “Friends with Benefits,” is expected to speak about embracing technology as a tool of empowerment and how filmmakers can have their stories heard by millions through the use of emerging technologies.
As part of his address, Gainor will present the “World Premiere of Taste,” a film fronting the global launch of Sony’s new Xperia 1 smartphone technology, Cinema Pro “powered by CineAlta” which offers cinema-quality images from a pocket-sized camera. He will argue that a...
The small but densely packed festival takes place in multiple venues near Busselton and Margaret River in West Australia. It runs Aug. 28-Sept. 1 and offers A$100,000 to the winning film in its competition section.
Gainor, who has credits including “Think Like a Man,” and “Friends with Benefits,” is expected to speak about embracing technology as a tool of empowerment and how filmmakers can have their stories heard by millions through the use of emerging technologies.
As part of his address, Gainor will present the “World Premiere of Taste,” a film fronting the global launch of Sony’s new Xperia 1 smartphone technology, Cinema Pro “powered by CineAlta” which offers cinema-quality images from a pocket-sized camera. He will argue that a...
- 7/22/2019
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Owen Trevor’s Go!, John Sheedy’s H is for Happiness, Ben Lawrence’s Hearts and Bones, Mirrah Foulkes’ Judy & Punch and Paul Ireland’s Measure for Measure will compete for Australia’s biggest film prize.
Those are the finalists for the $100,000 prize at CinefestOZ, which will run from August 28 to September 1 in Bunbury, Busselton, Margaret River and surrounds.
CinefestOZ festival chair Helen Shervington said it had been another stellar year for the film prize entries and this year’s finalists are the cream of the crop.
The prize was established in 2014 to recognise excellence in Australian filmmaking and is awarded on the gala night by a five-member industry jury, this year chaired by director/writer Rachel Ward.
Scripted by Paper Planes‘ Steve Worland and produced by See Pictures’ Jamie Hilton and Sonia Borella, Go! stars William Lodder, Anastasia Bampos, Darius Amarfio-Jefferson, Dan Wyllie, Cooper Van Grootel, Damian De Montemas,...
Those are the finalists for the $100,000 prize at CinefestOZ, which will run from August 28 to September 1 in Bunbury, Busselton, Margaret River and surrounds.
CinefestOZ festival chair Helen Shervington said it had been another stellar year for the film prize entries and this year’s finalists are the cream of the crop.
The prize was established in 2014 to recognise excellence in Australian filmmaking and is awarded on the gala night by a five-member industry jury, this year chaired by director/writer Rachel Ward.
Scripted by Paper Planes‘ Steve Worland and produced by See Pictures’ Jamie Hilton and Sonia Borella, Go! stars William Lodder, Anastasia Bampos, Darius Amarfio-Jefferson, Dan Wyllie, Cooper Van Grootel, Damian De Montemas,...
- 7/4/2019
- 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
In “Palm Beach,” a Murderer’s Row of vintage yet durably sparkling Australian acting talent, combined with recent Oscar nominee Richard E. Grant, makes for a bright and eventful weekend in the sun at the eponymous northern Sydney enclave. The second feature-length directorial credit from actress-turned-director Rachel Ward following the resonant and well-received 2009 drama “Beautiful Kate,” this breezy yet sturdy dramatic comedy is aimed squarely at a mature demographic that will join the party both Down Under — where the film kicked off the Sydney Film Festival ahead of its Aug. 8 domestic rollout — and abroad, where older audiences are also sure to stargaze.
On the occasion of his 73rd birthday, long-marrieds Frank (Bryan Brown) and Charlotte (Greta Scacchi) are entertaining family and friends at their spectacularly airy, low-slung home perched above the stunning natural beauty of the ritzy Sydney peninsula Palm Beach. Joining them are longtime couples Leo (Sam Neill) and...
On the occasion of his 73rd birthday, long-marrieds Frank (Bryan Brown) and Charlotte (Greta Scacchi) are entertaining family and friends at their spectacularly airy, low-slung home perched above the stunning natural beauty of the ritzy Sydney peninsula Palm Beach. Joining them are longtime couples Leo (Sam Neill) and...
- 6/5/2019
- by Eddie Cockrell
- Variety Film + TV
‘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
Favorite films from Sundance, Berlin and Cannes feature prominently to give a rich competition section at next month’s Sydney Film Festival. The festival run June 5-16, and will open with Rachel Ward’s comedy “Palm Beach.”
The competition lineup, announced Wednesday, includes “Synonyms,” winner of the Golden Bear at Berlin for Israel’s Nadav Lapid. From Cannes, the competition includes “Pedro Almodovar’s “Pain and Glory,” Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” and Kleber Mendonca Filho’s “Bacurau.” Sundance prize-winners include Joanna Hogg’s “The Souvenir” and Alejandro Landes’ “Monos.”
Other titles in competition include Mirrah Foulkes’ “Judy & Punch,” Sacha Polak’s “Dirty God,” Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s “Never Look Away,” another Berlin competition title “God Exists, Her Name is Petrunya,” the world premiere of Australian director Ben Lawrence’s “Heart and Bones,” and New Zealand drama “Bellbird,” by first time feature director Hamish Bennett.
Other festival of festival selections...
The competition lineup, announced Wednesday, includes “Synonyms,” winner of the Golden Bear at Berlin for Israel’s Nadav Lapid. From Cannes, the competition includes “Pedro Almodovar’s “Pain and Glory,” Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” and Kleber Mendonca Filho’s “Bacurau.” Sundance prize-winners include Joanna Hogg’s “The Souvenir” and Alejandro Landes’ “Monos.”
Other titles in competition include Mirrah Foulkes’ “Judy & Punch,” Sacha Polak’s “Dirty God,” Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s “Never Look Away,” another Berlin competition title “God Exists, Her Name is Petrunya,” the world premiere of Australian director Ben Lawrence’s “Heart and Bones,” and New Zealand drama “Bellbird,” by first time feature director Hamish Bennett.
Other festival of festival selections...
- 5/8/2019
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
‘Judy & Punch’. (Photo: Ben King)
Two Aussie films, Mirrah Foulkes’ Judy & Punch and Ben Lawrence’s Hearts and Bones, will be among the 12 features in official competition at this year’s Sydney Film Festival (Sff).
Also up for the festival’s $60,000 Sydney Film Prize are Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s Never Look Away, which was nominated for two Oscars; recent Cannes selections such as Pedro Almodóvar’s Pain and Glory, Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite, and Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles’ Bacurau; Sundance World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award winner Monos, from directors Alejandro Landes and Alexis Dos; Joanna Hogg’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner The Souvenir; Nadav Lapid’s Golden Bear winner Synonymes, as well as Sacha Polak’s Dirty God, Teona Strugar Mitevska’s God Exists, Her Name is Petrunya, and Kiwi director Hamish Bennett’s Bellbird.
Sydney Film Festival launched the full program for its 66th...
Two Aussie films, Mirrah Foulkes’ Judy & Punch and Ben Lawrence’s Hearts and Bones, will be among the 12 features in official competition at this year’s Sydney Film Festival (Sff).
Also up for the festival’s $60,000 Sydney Film Prize are Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck’s Never Look Away, which was nominated for two Oscars; recent Cannes selections such as Pedro Almodóvar’s Pain and Glory, Bong Joon-Ho’s Parasite, and Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles’ Bacurau; Sundance World Cinema Dramatic Special Jury Award winner Monos, from directors Alejandro Landes and Alexis Dos; Joanna Hogg’s Sundance Grand Jury Prize winner The Souvenir; Nadav Lapid’s Golden Bear winner Synonymes, as well as Sacha Polak’s Dirty God, Teona Strugar Mitevska’s God Exists, Her Name is Petrunya, and Kiwi director Hamish Bennett’s Bellbird.
Sydney Film Festival launched the full program for its 66th...
- 5/8/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Warwick Thornton and Sam Neill on the set of ‘Sweet Country’.
Warwick Thornton took home the top gong at last night’s Australian Directors’ Guild (Adg) Awards for outback Western Sweet Country.
It joins a slew of other prizes for the film, which follows an Aboriginal stockman who a kills white station owner in self-defence, including the Venice Film Festival Special Jury Prize, the Toronto International Film Festival Platform Prize, and six Aacta Awards, including Best Film and Best Direction.
Competing against Thornton for Best Direction in a Feature Film (budget $1 million or over) were Joel Edgerton for Boy Erased, Anthony Maras for Hotel Mumbai, and Garth Davis for Mary Magdelene.
The Adg Awards were held at Sydney’s City Recital Hall, with presenters including Rachel Griffiths, Claudia Karvan, Bryan Brown and Rachel Ward.
This year also saw the guild divide the feature film category for the first time, introducing...
Warwick Thornton took home the top gong at last night’s Australian Directors’ Guild (Adg) Awards for outback Western Sweet Country.
It joins a slew of other prizes for the film, which follows an Aboriginal stockman who a kills white station owner in self-defence, including the Venice Film Festival Special Jury Prize, the Toronto International Film Festival Platform Prize, and six Aacta Awards, including Best Film and Best Direction.
Competing against Thornton for Best Direction in a Feature Film (budget $1 million or over) were Joel Edgerton for Boy Erased, Anthony Maras for Hotel Mumbai, and Garth Davis for Mary Magdelene.
The Adg Awards were held at Sydney’s City Recital Hall, with presenters including Rachel Griffiths, Claudia Karvan, Bryan Brown and Rachel Ward.
This year also saw the guild divide the feature film category for the first time, introducing...
- 5/7/2019
- by jkeast
- 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
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