Exclusive: Labid Aziz’s People of Culture Studios has entered into a joint venture with Adel Nur’s management and production company Atomik Content to co-manage talent and develop, produce and distribute features, TV series and hybrid projects with a focus on elevated action films.
The first talent signed through the Jv is Professional Fighters League Founder & President Ray Sefo, who will work with other Mma fighters and Hollywood talent to create and develop ensemble and elevated action-thrillers in the sub-15M budget range.
Ray Sefo
Sefo is a semi-retired New Zealand kickboxer, boxer, mixed martial artist, fight promoter and actor who founded the mixed martial arts league Pfl in 2018. The six-time Muay Thai World Champion and eight-time K-1 World Grand Prix Finals tournament participant has been acting since 1995 and made his professional wrestling debut at Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2012 in Japan, where he and his tag team partner Hiromi Amada were...
The first talent signed through the Jv is Professional Fighters League Founder & President Ray Sefo, who will work with other Mma fighters and Hollywood talent to create and develop ensemble and elevated action-thrillers in the sub-15M budget range.
Ray Sefo
Sefo is a semi-retired New Zealand kickboxer, boxer, mixed martial artist, fight promoter and actor who founded the mixed martial arts league Pfl in 2018. The six-time Muay Thai World Champion and eight-time K-1 World Grand Prix Finals tournament participant has been acting since 1995 and made his professional wrestling debut at Inoki Bom-Ba-Ye 2012 in Japan, where he and his tag team partner Hiromi Amada were...
- 11/18/2022
- by Matt Grobar
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Simon Baker, star of CBS’ The Mentalist, has partnered with MGM International Television Productions.
The actor and director, who made his directorial debut in 2017 with Breath, an adaptation of Tim Winton’s novel, has struck a multi-year, first-look deal with the production company behind series including Epix’s From and Peacock’s Last Light.
The deal will see Baker, who also starred in The Devil Wears Prada, develop scripted projects with MGM with an international focus, with an eye for him to director and/or star.
Other on-screen roles include LA Confidential, Margin Call and CBS’ The Guardian. He recently starred in and exec produced High Ground, directed by Stephen Johnson, and starred in Blaze from Del Kathryn Barton.
On the scripted side, MGM is also behind international series such as Amazon’s El Fin del Amor and Shelter, Epix’s Billy the Kid, HBO Max’s Mariachis and France Television’s The Reunion.
The actor and director, who made his directorial debut in 2017 with Breath, an adaptation of Tim Winton’s novel, has struck a multi-year, first-look deal with the production company behind series including Epix’s From and Peacock’s Last Light.
The deal will see Baker, who also starred in The Devil Wears Prada, develop scripted projects with MGM with an international focus, with an eye for him to director and/or star.
Other on-screen roles include LA Confidential, Margin Call and CBS’ The Guardian. He recently starred in and exec produced High Ground, directed by Stephen Johnson, and starred in Blaze from Del Kathryn Barton.
On the scripted side, MGM is also behind international series such as Amazon’s El Fin del Amor and Shelter, Epix’s Billy the Kid, HBO Max’s Mariachis and France Television’s The Reunion.
- 2/17/2022
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Spanish indie production powerhouse Mediapro is at San Sebastian Film Festival this year screening two of the buzziest local features in the program: the Antonio Banderas, Penelope Cruz and Oscar Martinez-starring Official Competition, which arrives from Venice, and the Javier Bardem-fronted The Good Boss, which premieres here.
The pair of films, which are both forms of comedies but could hardly be more different in their approach to the medium, are the talk of the town after being well received at the fest (the official The Good Boss premiere is this eve but it has screened twice already).
Speaking to Deadline in San Sebastian, Laura Fernández Espeso, CEO of Mediapro’s production wing The Mediapro Studio, says the festival feels like a “celebration” for the company after a tumultuous 18 months. At the beginning of the pandemic, the prolific outfit had to pause a total of 52 productions, but everything is now back on track,...
The pair of films, which are both forms of comedies but could hardly be more different in their approach to the medium, are the talk of the town after being well received at the fest (the official The Good Boss premiere is this eve but it has screened twice already).
Speaking to Deadline in San Sebastian, Laura Fernández Espeso, CEO of Mediapro’s production wing The Mediapro Studio, says the festival feels like a “celebration” for the company after a tumultuous 18 months. At the beginning of the pandemic, the prolific outfit had to pause a total of 52 productions, but everything is now back on track,...
- 9/21/2021
- by Tom Grater
- Deadline Film + TV
John Huston’s classic “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” (1948) echoes through Roderick MacKay’s feature debut “The Furnace” which premiered at last year’s Venice section Orizzonti, before heading on a festival tour with the final stop at Karlovy Vary, where we caught it. Both films are the stories of gold and greed, but the key difference between them are their milieus and the differences between the American and the Australian use of western genre tropes.
In America, westerns were created to preserve the myth of the hardy pioneers that fought the savage Natives for the land and have pushed the frontiers of the so-called civilised world from one ocean to another. Only in the New Hollywood era, the revisionist westerns appeared aimed at debunking the myths and used as the metaphorical canvas to expose the American imperial politics of the 20th century. In Australia, however, the western setting...
In America, westerns were created to preserve the myth of the hardy pioneers that fought the savage Natives for the land and have pushed the frontiers of the so-called civilised world from one ocean to another. Only in the New Hollywood era, the revisionist westerns appeared aimed at debunking the myths and used as the metaphorical canvas to expose the American imperial politics of the 20th century. In Australia, however, the western setting...
- 9/1/2021
- by Marko Stojiljković
- AsianMoviePulse
Japan’s highest grossing feature film of all time, Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train, is also proving a hit with Australian audiences.
Released via Madman Entertainment, the anime topped the box office with a $1.9 million opening from 201 screens over the weekend; a whopping average of $9,270.
A follow-up to the 2019 TV series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, based on Koyoharu Gotoge’s comic, the story follows Tanjiro Kamado’s journey as a demon slayer after his family is brutally murdered and his sister is turned into a demon.
Released in Japan in October last year, the film grossed more than ¥37.8 billion, or $USD362 million.
The Australian release includes screenings in IMAX and 4Dx formats. In Japan, the film smashed IMAX records, and its international success has helped boost numbers locally.
“The movie’s many fight sequences look fantastic on the giant screen and we’re very pleased with numbers we’re seeing.
Released via Madman Entertainment, the anime topped the box office with a $1.9 million opening from 201 screens over the weekend; a whopping average of $9,270.
A follow-up to the 2019 TV series Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, based on Koyoharu Gotoge’s comic, the story follows Tanjiro Kamado’s journey as a demon slayer after his family is brutally murdered and his sister is turned into a demon.
Released in Japan in October last year, the film grossed more than ¥37.8 billion, or $USD362 million.
The Australian release includes screenings in IMAX and 4Dx formats. In Japan, the film smashed IMAX records, and its international success has helped boost numbers locally.
“The movie’s many fight sequences look fantastic on the giant screen and we’re very pleased with numbers we’re seeing.
- 3/1/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Crime thriller The Little Things is the first new release in weeks to succeed in knocking Robert Connolly’s The Dry from the no. 1 position at the box office.
The John Lee Hancock-directed neo-noir follows two detectives (Denzel Washington and Rami Malek) as they investigate a string of murders that lead them to a strange loner who may be the culprit.
The film opened on $1.4 million from 276 screens over the weekend, or $1.8 million with previews.
That makes Australia the second best performing market worldwide, second only to the US where has been released in cinemas and on HBO Max simultaneously.
Other new releases included Lee Isaac Chung’s Oscar hopeful Minari, which Madman opened on 59 screens to bring in $172,309, or $276,226 with previews.
Winner of the Sundance US Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and the US Dramatic Audience Award, the semi-autobiographical film starring Steven Yeun follows a South Korean family who...
The John Lee Hancock-directed neo-noir follows two detectives (Denzel Washington and Rami Malek) as they investigate a string of murders that lead them to a strange loner who may be the culprit.
The film opened on $1.4 million from 276 screens over the weekend, or $1.8 million with previews.
That makes Australia the second best performing market worldwide, second only to the US where has been released in cinemas and on HBO Max simultaneously.
Other new releases included Lee Isaac Chung’s Oscar hopeful Minari, which Madman opened on 59 screens to bring in $172,309, or $276,226 with previews.
Winner of the Sundance US Dramatic Grand Jury Prize and the US Dramatic Audience Award, the semi-autobiographical film starring Steven Yeun follows a South Korean family who...
- 2/22/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
With continued paucity of product from the US and other international territories, Australian films remain the main event at the box office.
Showing incredible legs, Robert Connolly’s The Dry is still the no. 1 title, earning just under $1.2 million across its sixth weekend, a drop of just 18 per cent.
The mystery drama, based on the novel by Jane Harper, has now made $16.2 million in total for Roadshow Films. That figure makes The Dry the 17th highest grossing Australian film of all time (without adjusting for inflation), and the fourth highest performing local film of the last decade behind Lion, The Dressmaker and Red Dog.
Fellow Roadshow drama Penguin Bloom, directed by Glendyn Ivin and produced by the same production company as The Dry, Made Up Stories, remains in the number two spot. In its third frame, the Naomi Watts-starrer earned $729,269, a fall of 43 per cent, to bring takings to $5.2 million.
Showing incredible legs, Robert Connolly’s The Dry is still the no. 1 title, earning just under $1.2 million across its sixth weekend, a drop of just 18 per cent.
The mystery drama, based on the novel by Jane Harper, has now made $16.2 million in total for Roadshow Films. That figure makes The Dry the 17th highest grossing Australian film of all time (without adjusting for inflation), and the fourth highest performing local film of the last decade behind Lion, The Dressmaker and Red Dog.
Fellow Roadshow drama Penguin Bloom, directed by Glendyn Ivin and produced by the same production company as The Dry, Made Up Stories, remains in the number two spot. In its third frame, the Naomi Watts-starrer earned $729,269, a fall of 43 per cent, to bring takings to $5.2 million.
- 2/8/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
*Competition Is Now Closed; Winners To Be Notified Shortly*
If has 15 double passes to give away to Stephen Johnson’s High Ground, courtesy of Madman Films.
Set in 1930s Arnhem Land, High Ground follows young Aboriginal man Gutjuk (Jacob Junior Nayinggul), who in a bid to save the last of his family teams up with ex-soldier Travis (Simon Baker) to track down Baywara—the most dangerous warrior in the Territory, who is also his uncle. As Travis and Gutjuk journey through the outback they begin to earn each other’s trust, but when the truths of Travis’ past actions are suddenly revealed, it is he who becomes the hunted.
Starring alongside Nayinggul and Baker are Jack Thompson, Witiyana Marika, Aaron Pedersen, Callan Mulvey, Ryan Corr, Caren Pistorius and Esmerelda Marimow.
High Ground, which premiered at the 2020 Berlin Internatioanl Film Festival, is written by Chris Anastassiades and produced by David Jowsey,...
If has 15 double passes to give away to Stephen Johnson’s High Ground, courtesy of Madman Films.
Set in 1930s Arnhem Land, High Ground follows young Aboriginal man Gutjuk (Jacob Junior Nayinggul), who in a bid to save the last of his family teams up with ex-soldier Travis (Simon Baker) to track down Baywara—the most dangerous warrior in the Territory, who is also his uncle. As Travis and Gutjuk journey through the outback they begin to earn each other’s trust, but when the truths of Travis’ past actions are suddenly revealed, it is he who becomes the hunted.
Starring alongside Nayinggul and Baker are Jack Thompson, Witiyana Marika, Aaron Pedersen, Callan Mulvey, Ryan Corr, Caren Pistorius and Esmerelda Marimow.
High Ground, which premiered at the 2020 Berlin Internatioanl Film Festival, is written by Chris Anastassiades and produced by David Jowsey,...
- 2/2/2021
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
A white sharpshooter and an Indigenous survivor of a massacre reunite after 12 years in a gracefully directed but rather Anglo-centric western
“When you’ve got the high ground you control everything,” Travis (Simon Baker) tells Gutjuk (Jacob Junior Nayinggul) during a key moment in director Stephen Johnson’s meat pie western, shot on location in Kakadu national park and Arnhem Land and set in the early 20th century. This is what we call a “title drop”, an oddly satisfying moment given it simply consists of a person inside the narrative universe pronouncing the title of the film.
It isn’t one of those eye-rolling title drops, like when grizzly old Liam Neeson grumbled “she’s been taken” in Taken, or when a man unhelpfully told Casey Affleck “I pray for her, because she’s gone baby gone” in ... yes ... Gone Baby Gone. Johnson’s film – written by Chris Anastassiades and produced by Witiyana Marika,...
“When you’ve got the high ground you control everything,” Travis (Simon Baker) tells Gutjuk (Jacob Junior Nayinggul) during a key moment in director Stephen Johnson’s meat pie western, shot on location in Kakadu national park and Arnhem Land and set in the early 20th century. This is what we call a “title drop”, an oddly satisfying moment given it simply consists of a person inside the narrative universe pronouncing the title of the film.
It isn’t one of those eye-rolling title drops, like when grizzly old Liam Neeson grumbled “she’s been taken” in Taken, or when a man unhelpfully told Casey Affleck “I pray for her, because she’s gone baby gone” in ... yes ... Gone Baby Gone. Johnson’s film – written by Chris Anastassiades and produced by Witiyana Marika,...
- 1/26/2021
- by Luke Buckmaster
- The Guardian - Film News
It’s a rare feat for an Australian film to break through to the top of the box office, let alone for two local titles to lead the weekend’s rankings. But Penguin Bloom and The Dry have done just that.
Roadshow Films’ Penguin Bloom, directed by Glendyn Ivin and starring Naomi Watts, Andrew Lincoln and Jacki Weaver, opened on $1.5 million from 398 screens, or $1.7 million with previews, to come out on top.
Stablemate The Dry was close behind, netting $1.4 million over its fourth weekend to cross $12 million overall. Each film was produced by production company Made Up Stories, led by Bruna Papandrea, Steve Hutensky and Jodi Matterson.
For Roadshow Films CEO Joel Pearlman, both titles’ results are testament to audiences’ desire to support home-grown filmmaking. He argues “now is the time for Australia to champion its bold stories and beautiful locations with the world.”
“It’s remarkable that the two...
Roadshow Films’ Penguin Bloom, directed by Glendyn Ivin and starring Naomi Watts, Andrew Lincoln and Jacki Weaver, opened on $1.5 million from 398 screens, or $1.7 million with previews, to come out on top.
Stablemate The Dry was close behind, netting $1.4 million over its fourth weekend to cross $12 million overall. Each film was produced by production company Made Up Stories, led by Bruna Papandrea, Steve Hutensky and Jodi Matterson.
For Roadshow Films CEO Joel Pearlman, both titles’ results are testament to audiences’ desire to support home-grown filmmaking. He argues “now is the time for Australia to champion its bold stories and beautiful locations with the world.”
“It’s remarkable that the two...
- 1/25/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
We made it! if.com.au is now on holiday hiatus, resuming January 13, 2021.
For all our e-subscribers, throughout the break we’ll send you newsletters with what we thought were our best, most pertinent and enjoyable reads of 2020 (I promise they’re not all just about Covid). If you’re not signed up, do so here.
On that, how does one even go about summing up 2020?
From the pandemic effectively shutting down the screen industry overnight, to policy shifts that signal quite a different future, it has been a momentous, difficult and important year.
To borrow 2020’s most overused word, much of what we’ve seen has been unprecedented. But at the same time, the pandemic has sped up shifts that were already happening.
For instance, pre-covid, we were wrapped up in discussion about theatrical windows and just how streaming was affecting the cinema business.
That conversation, of course, has only accelerated.
For all our e-subscribers, throughout the break we’ll send you newsletters with what we thought were our best, most pertinent and enjoyable reads of 2020 (I promise they’re not all just about Covid). If you’re not signed up, do so here.
On that, how does one even go about summing up 2020?
From the pandemic effectively shutting down the screen industry overnight, to policy shifts that signal quite a different future, it has been a momentous, difficult and important year.
To borrow 2020’s most overused word, much of what we’ve seen has been unprecedented. But at the same time, the pandemic has sped up shifts that were already happening.
For instance, pre-covid, we were wrapped up in discussion about theatrical windows and just how streaming was affecting the cinema business.
That conversation, of course, has only accelerated.
- 12/14/2020
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Stephen Johnson’s High Ground earned a special mention from The Young Cinema Award jury at this evening’s Asia Pacific Screen Awards, held on the Gold Coast.
Set in 1930s Arnhem Land, High Ground follows young Aboriginal man Gutjuk (Jacob Junior Nayinggul), who in a bid to save the last of his family teams up with ex-soldier Travis (Simon Baker) to track down the most dangerous warrior in the Territory – his uncle.
The Apsa jury praised the assured direction of Johnson, noting his film gave “voice to the issue of brutal colonisation.” Jack Thompson, Apsa president and star of the film, accepted the honour on behalf of the director.
High Ground premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and also stars Callan Mulvey, Witiyana Marika, Caren Pistorius and Ryan Corr. Madman Entertainment will release the drama, written by Chris Anastassiades and produced by David Jowsey, Johnson, Marika, Maggie Miles and Greer Simpkin,...
Set in 1930s Arnhem Land, High Ground follows young Aboriginal man Gutjuk (Jacob Junior Nayinggul), who in a bid to save the last of his family teams up with ex-soldier Travis (Simon Baker) to track down the most dangerous warrior in the Territory – his uncle.
The Apsa jury praised the assured direction of Johnson, noting his film gave “voice to the issue of brutal colonisation.” Jack Thompson, Apsa president and star of the film, accepted the honour on behalf of the director.
High Ground premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and also stars Callan Mulvey, Witiyana Marika, Caren Pistorius and Ryan Corr. Madman Entertainment will release the drama, written by Chris Anastassiades and produced by David Jowsey, Johnson, Marika, Maggie Miles and Greer Simpkin,...
- 11/26/2020
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Mat Kesting.
In planning this year’s Adelaide Film Festival, creative director and CEO Mat Kesting and his team put together not just one event, but five.
Covid-related contingency plans – each with its own financial framework – included an entirely virtual festival, a hybrid event, a festival in mini-theatres to keep numbers down and minimise infection risk, and even a festival at the drive-in.
Yet Kesting is both relieved and thrilled they’re able to go ahead with “plan A” – that is, a physical festival in cinemas.
Of course, this will look still different than previous iterations, with chequerboard seating and social distancing in place. Venue partners have been flexible enough to loop in multiple screens and other cinemas in order to maximise audience attendance for sessions. Gala events will also see people “partying like it’s 2020”.
But despite this, a physical event means that people can come together, which for...
In planning this year’s Adelaide Film Festival, creative director and CEO Mat Kesting and his team put together not just one event, but five.
Covid-related contingency plans – each with its own financial framework – included an entirely virtual festival, a hybrid event, a festival in mini-theatres to keep numbers down and minimise infection risk, and even a festival at the drive-in.
Yet Kesting is both relieved and thrilled they’re able to go ahead with “plan A” – that is, a physical festival in cinemas.
Of course, this will look still different than previous iterations, with chequerboard seating and social distancing in place. Venue partners have been flexible enough to loop in multiple screens and other cinemas in order to maximise audience attendance for sessions. Gala events will also see people “partying like it’s 2020”.
But despite this, a physical event means that people can come together, which for...
- 9/23/2020
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
(L-r) Greer Simpkin, Peter Goldwyn, Warwick Thornton and David Jowsey at the Sundance ‘Sweet Country’ premiere.
No North American distributor has been more aggressive in acquiring Australian films in the past few years than Samuel Goldwyn Films, continuing a relationship with Australian filmmakers that stretches for more than 20 years.
Among its latest acquisitions are Stephen Johnson’s High Ground, Paul Ireland’s Measure for Measure, John Sheedy’s H is for Happiness and Gregor Jordan’s Dirt Music.
President Peter Goldwyn explains the long-term commitment to Australian cinema, the target audiences for upcoming Oz titles and the distributor’s release strategies as most US cinemas are closed.
By my estimate, your company has released more Australian titles in recent years than any other US distributor. What keeps attracting you to Oz films and talent?
Simple answer is the quality of the pictures.
I think Goldwyn’s relationship with Aussie cinema...
No North American distributor has been more aggressive in acquiring Australian films in the past few years than Samuel Goldwyn Films, continuing a relationship with Australian filmmakers that stretches for more than 20 years.
Among its latest acquisitions are Stephen Johnson’s High Ground, Paul Ireland’s Measure for Measure, John Sheedy’s H is for Happiness and Gregor Jordan’s Dirt Music.
President Peter Goldwyn explains the long-term commitment to Australian cinema, the target audiences for upcoming Oz titles and the distributor’s release strategies as most US cinemas are closed.
By my estimate, your company has released more Australian titles in recent years than any other US distributor. What keeps attracting you to Oz films and talent?
Simple answer is the quality of the pictures.
I think Goldwyn’s relationship with Aussie cinema...
- 8/2/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Caren Pistorius in ‘Unhinged.’
Caren Pistorius was working part-time in a fabrics shop in Sydney last year when her Rgm agent suggested she audition for the lead female role opposite Russell Crowe in a US road rage thriller.
The South African-born, New Zealand-raised actress did a self-tape but felt it was too rushed and didn’t expect it to lead anywhere.
The following day her agent told her the producers wanted her to fly to New Orleans the next day to audition with Crowe.
“I turned up in that room after almost no sleep, feeling delirious,” she tells If on the line from New Zealand, where she is spending lockdown with her family. The next morning director Derrick Borte rang to tell her she’d won the role in Unhinged.
Caren plays a single mother named Rachel in the Solstice Studios production which opened in Australia yesterday via Studiocanal and...
Caren Pistorius was working part-time in a fabrics shop in Sydney last year when her Rgm agent suggested she audition for the lead female role opposite Russell Crowe in a US road rage thriller.
The South African-born, New Zealand-raised actress did a self-tape but felt it was too rushed and didn’t expect it to lead anywhere.
The following day her agent told her the producers wanted her to fly to New Orleans the next day to audition with Crowe.
“I turned up in that room after almost no sleep, feeling delirious,” she tells If on the line from New Zealand, where she is spending lockdown with her family. The next morning director Derrick Borte rang to tell her she’d won the role in Unhinged.
Caren plays a single mother named Rachel in the Solstice Studios production which opened in Australia yesterday via Studiocanal and...
- 7/30/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Jacob Junior Nayinggul and Simon Baker at the Berlin premiere.
The Samuel Goldwyn Co. has nabbed Us rights to Stephen Johnson’s Western High Ground which received rave reviews after the world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival.
The deal continues Goldwyn’s relationship with Bunya Productions’ David Jowsey and Greer Simpkin after the distributor released Warwick Thornton’s Sweet Country in 2018.
Last year Goldwyn acquired Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding, which premiered on VOD on February 21, Mirrah Foulkes’ Judy and Punch, which will get a limited theatrical release on April 24, and Koko: A Red Dog Story, the third edition of the franchise written and directed by Aaron McCann and Dominic Pearce,
Bunya produced High Ground with Maggie Miles, Johnson and Yothu Yindi co-founder Witiyana Marika, scripted by Chris Anastassiades.
The Us deal was brokered by Samuel Goldwyn’s CEO Peter Goldwyn and Nicolas Brigaud-Robert, CEO of the international sales agent Playtime.
The Samuel Goldwyn Co. has nabbed Us rights to Stephen Johnson’s Western High Ground which received rave reviews after the world premiere at the Berlin International Film Festival.
The deal continues Goldwyn’s relationship with Bunya Productions’ David Jowsey and Greer Simpkin after the distributor released Warwick Thornton’s Sweet Country in 2018.
Last year Goldwyn acquired Wayne Blair’s Top End Wedding, which premiered on VOD on February 21, Mirrah Foulkes’ Judy and Punch, which will get a limited theatrical release on April 24, and Koko: A Red Dog Story, the third edition of the franchise written and directed by Aaron McCann and Dominic Pearce,
Bunya produced High Ground with Maggie Miles, Johnson and Yothu Yindi co-founder Witiyana Marika, scripted by Chris Anastassiades.
The Us deal was brokered by Samuel Goldwyn’s CEO Peter Goldwyn and Nicolas Brigaud-Robert, CEO of the international sales agent Playtime.
- 2/23/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
In one of the first buys out of the 2020 Berlin Film Festival, Stephen Johnson’s Australian epic “High Ground” has sold to Samuel Goldwyn Films for stateside distribution. IndieWire has the first trailer for the film, below.
Here’s the official synopsis, courtesy of the Berlinale: “After fighting in the First World War as a sniper, Travis, now a policeman in the vast empty spaces of Northern Australia, loses control of an operation that results in the massacre of an Indigenous tribe. When his superiors insist on burying the truth, Travis leaves in disgust, only to be forced back twelve years later to hunt down Baywara, an Aboriginal warrior whose attacks on new settlers are causing havoc. When Travis, now a bounty hunter, recruits as his tracker the young mission-raised Gutjuk, the only known survivor of the carnage, memories threaten to resurface and turn the white man from hunter into the hunted.
Here’s the official synopsis, courtesy of the Berlinale: “After fighting in the First World War as a sniper, Travis, now a policeman in the vast empty spaces of Northern Australia, loses control of an operation that results in the massacre of an Indigenous tribe. When his superiors insist on burying the truth, Travis leaves in disgust, only to be forced back twelve years later to hunt down Baywara, an Aboriginal warrior whose attacks on new settlers are causing havoc. When Travis, now a bounty hunter, recruits as his tracker the young mission-raised Gutjuk, the only known survivor of the carnage, memories threaten to resurface and turn the white man from hunter into the hunted.
- 2/23/2020
- by Ryan Lattanzio
- Indiewire
Ahead of its world premiere at the Berlin Film Festival, Stephen Maxwell Johnson’s “High Ground” has found a U.S. home with Samuel Goldwyn. The film, headlined by Simon Baker, is represented in international markets by pan-European group Playtime and is having a gala screening at the festival.
Set in 1919, “High Ground” tells the story of former WWI sniper Travis, who is now a policeman in the vast and remote landscape of Northern Australia. He loses control of an operation, resulting in the massacre of an indigenous tribe.
While his superiors decide to bury the truth, the experience leaves a scar on Travis’ conscience, but he’s forced to return there 12 years later on a mission to track down an Aboriginal outlaw. Travis soon realizes the young man he’s chasing is the only known survivor of the massacre.
“High Ground” shot on location in the world heritage-listed Kakadu...
Set in 1919, “High Ground” tells the story of former WWI sniper Travis, who is now a policeman in the vast and remote landscape of Northern Australia. He loses control of an operation, resulting in the massacre of an indigenous tribe.
While his superiors decide to bury the truth, the experience leaves a scar on Travis’ conscience, but he’s forced to return there 12 years later on a mission to track down an Aboriginal outlaw. Travis soon realizes the young man he’s chasing is the only known survivor of the massacre.
“High Ground” shot on location in the world heritage-listed Kakadu...
- 2/23/2020
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
‘High Ground.’
For Madman Entertainment 2019 was the distributor’s most consistent year ever, with 14 films each grossing more than $500,000 at Australian cinemas – and the 2020 slate looks even stronger.
Stephen Johnson’s High Ground, Ben Lawrence’s Hearts and Bones, Christopher Nelius’ feature doc The Sideshow, Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7 and the third edition of the 1990s Bill & Ted comedy franchise are among the stand-out titles.
“While it is fair to say that holistically, the independent or mid-range theatrical space is facing unique challenges our job is to seek out remarkable films which will start conversations, cut through the pack and connect with audiences to a level that seemingly defies these trends,” Madman MD Paul Wiegard tells If.
“When evaluating content for theatrical release, we are looking for titles that are specifically relevant for a theatrical audience. It needs to be content which demands a big screen experience,...
For Madman Entertainment 2019 was the distributor’s most consistent year ever, with 14 films each grossing more than $500,000 at Australian cinemas – and the 2020 slate looks even stronger.
Stephen Johnson’s High Ground, Ben Lawrence’s Hearts and Bones, Christopher Nelius’ feature doc The Sideshow, Aaron Sorkin’s The Trial of the Chicago 7 and the third edition of the 1990s Bill & Ted comedy franchise are among the stand-out titles.
“While it is fair to say that holistically, the independent or mid-range theatrical space is facing unique challenges our job is to seek out remarkable films which will start conversations, cut through the pack and connect with audiences to a level that seemingly defies these trends,” Madman MD Paul Wiegard tells If.
“When evaluating content for theatrical release, we are looking for titles that are specifically relevant for a theatrical audience. It needs to be content which demands a big screen experience,...
- 2/11/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
James Cromwell and Jacki Weaver in ‘Never Too Late’. (Photo credit: Bradley Patrick).
Screen Australia’s head of content Sally Caplan rates 2019 as a good year for Australian films at home and abroad – and she is even more optimistic about the 2020 slate.
Having seen a sizable number of the upcoming Aussie releases in completed form, rough cut or in post, arguably she is uniquely placed to provide an overview.
“There is a lot of doom and gloom about films not working but they can work,” the six-year agency veteran tells If. Here are her comments on a selection of the year’s releases, in no particular order.
Robert Connolly’s The Dry, which stars Eric Bana as a cop who returns to his drought-stricken hometown after 20 years to investigate an apparent murder-suicide committed by his childhood friend: “I’ve seen the locked cut and it’s looking great, based on...
Screen Australia’s head of content Sally Caplan rates 2019 as a good year for Australian films at home and abroad – and she is even more optimistic about the 2020 slate.
Having seen a sizable number of the upcoming Aussie releases in completed form, rough cut or in post, arguably she is uniquely placed to provide an overview.
“There is a lot of doom and gloom about films not working but they can work,” the six-year agency veteran tells If. Here are her comments on a selection of the year’s releases, in no particular order.
Robert Connolly’s The Dry, which stars Eric Bana as a cop who returns to his drought-stricken hometown after 20 years to investigate an apparent murder-suicide committed by his childhood friend: “I’ve seen the locked cut and it’s looking great, based on...
- 1/29/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Richard Roxburgh, Emma Booth and Daisy Axon in ‘H is for Happiness.’
The Australian presence at the Berlin International Film Festival has been bolstered with the selection of the shorts Elders, Grevillea and The Flame in the Generation program.
It will be the world premieres for Jordan Giusti’s Grevillea and Nick Waterman’s short doc The Flame. Tony Briggs’ Elders played at the Melbourne and Sydney Film Festivals and had its first international screening at the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival in Toronto.
John Sheedy’s debut feature H is for Happiness, which opens in Australian cinemas on February 6, was announced today as the opening film of the Generation KPlus section, its international premiere.
In addition, Australian director Kitty Green’s #MeToo Us drama The Assistant will screen in the Panorma sidebar, which the programmers say is “emblematic of the urgency for political action and civil disobedience.”
The Generation...
The Australian presence at the Berlin International Film Festival has been bolstered with the selection of the shorts Elders, Grevillea and The Flame in the Generation program.
It will be the world premieres for Jordan Giusti’s Grevillea and Nick Waterman’s short doc The Flame. Tony Briggs’ Elders played at the Melbourne and Sydney Film Festivals and had its first international screening at the imagineNATIVE Film + Media Arts Festival in Toronto.
John Sheedy’s debut feature H is for Happiness, which opens in Australian cinemas on February 6, was announced today as the opening film of the Generation KPlus section, its international premiere.
In addition, Australian director Kitty Green’s #MeToo Us drama The Assistant will screen in the Panorma sidebar, which the programmers say is “emblematic of the urgency for political action and civil disobedience.”
The Generation...
- 1/22/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Jacob Junior Nayinggul and Simon Baker in ‘High Ground.’
Stephen Johnson’s Aussie Western High Ground will have its world premiere in the Berlinale Special screenings section of the Berlin International Film Festival.
Inspired by true events and scripted by Chris Anastassiades, the 1930s-set action thriller stars Simon Baker, Callan Mulvey, Jack Thompson, Aaron Pedersen and newcomer Jacob Junior Nayinggul.
Baker plays Travis, a bounty hunter and former soldier who enlists the help of Gutjuk (Nayinggul) a young Aboriginal orphan, to track down the most dangerous outlaw in the Territory – his uncle. During the manhunt a secret is revealed which ultimately pits them against each other.
Thompson is Moran, the head of the police outpost, with Mulvey as Ambrose, a police officer who fought with Travis in World War One, and Petersen as a lethal black tracker from Queensland.
The cast also includes Caren Pistorious as Claire, the mission manager and teacher,...
Stephen Johnson’s Aussie Western High Ground will have its world premiere in the Berlinale Special screenings section of the Berlin International Film Festival.
Inspired by true events and scripted by Chris Anastassiades, the 1930s-set action thriller stars Simon Baker, Callan Mulvey, Jack Thompson, Aaron Pedersen and newcomer Jacob Junior Nayinggul.
Baker plays Travis, a bounty hunter and former soldier who enlists the help of Gutjuk (Nayinggul) a young Aboriginal orphan, to track down the most dangerous outlaw in the Territory – his uncle. During the manhunt a secret is revealed which ultimately pits them against each other.
Thompson is Moran, the head of the police outpost, with Mulvey as Ambrose, a police officer who fought with Travis in World War One, and Petersen as a lethal black tracker from Queensland.
The cast also includes Caren Pistorious as Claire, the mission manager and teacher,...
- 1/21/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
We all know Halloween is when the monsters come out to play. But writer-director Stephen Johnson’s short horror-comedy Puppy Love poses the question: “Who is the Real monster here… and what’s it going to do to that cute little dog?” Starring Andrew Kirsanov (Dexter) and Azure Parsons, Puppy Love is the […]
The post Exclusive Short Film Premiere: You’ve Never Seen This Type of Puppy Love appeared first on Dread Central.
The post Exclusive Short Film Premiere: You’ve Never Seen This Type of Puppy Love appeared first on Dread Central.
- 10/7/2019
- by Josh Millican
- DreadCentral.com
Courtney Botfield and Chris Kunz.
Bunya Productions has brought on Courtney Botfield to head up its distribution arm and Chris Kunz to help drive the company’s development slate.
The two new positions have been funded via Screen Australia’s Enterprise program. Bunya was the major recipient of Business & Ideas funding in July, which also allowed the company to hire Jenny Cooney to drive the company’s profile internationally as an executive VP, Bunya Productions La.
Bunya intends to also the Enterprise funding to establish talent development incubators in Queensland and South Australia, capitalise on existing and build new IP, and enhance digital marketing to increase online engagement.
As head of distribution and sales, Botfield will develop the IP and distribution arm across a slate of film, TV and online productions as well as other IP extensions including podcasts, theatre and events. Botfield, a former recipient of the Natalie MIller Fellowship,...
Bunya Productions has brought on Courtney Botfield to head up its distribution arm and Chris Kunz to help drive the company’s development slate.
The two new positions have been funded via Screen Australia’s Enterprise program. Bunya was the major recipient of Business & Ideas funding in July, which also allowed the company to hire Jenny Cooney to drive the company’s profile internationally as an executive VP, Bunya Productions La.
Bunya intends to also the Enterprise funding to establish talent development incubators in Queensland and South Australia, capitalise on existing and build new IP, and enhance digital marketing to increase online engagement.
As head of distribution and sales, Botfield will develop the IP and distribution arm across a slate of film, TV and online productions as well as other IP extensions including podcasts, theatre and events. Botfield, a former recipient of the Natalie MIller Fellowship,...
- 9/12/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Meg Mundell.
Fremantle and Triptych Pictures’ Kristian Moliere are teaming up to make a TV drama adapted from New Zealand-born author Meg Mundell’s second novel The Trespassers.
The tome follows a shipload of migrant workers fleeing from a pandemic-stricken UK who seek a fresh start in Australia. For nine-year-old Cleary the journey promises adventure, for former nurse Billie it’s a chance to put a shameful mistake behind her, while struggling schoolteacher Tom hopes for a brighter future.
But when a crew member is murdered and people start falling gravely ill, the Steadfast descends into chaos. Trapped on the ship, the trio must join forces to survive the journey and its aftermath.
The screenplay is being written by Andy Cox, who was a script consultant on Stephen Johnson’s High Ground, script editor on Jeremy Sims’ Last Cab to Darwin and script consultant on Kim Mordaunt’s The Rocket.
Fremantle and Triptych Pictures’ Kristian Moliere are teaming up to make a TV drama adapted from New Zealand-born author Meg Mundell’s second novel The Trespassers.
The tome follows a shipload of migrant workers fleeing from a pandemic-stricken UK who seek a fresh start in Australia. For nine-year-old Cleary the journey promises adventure, for former nurse Billie it’s a chance to put a shameful mistake behind her, while struggling schoolteacher Tom hopes for a brighter future.
But when a crew member is murdered and people start falling gravely ill, the Steadfast descends into chaos. Trapped on the ship, the trio must join forces to survive the journey and its aftermath.
The screenplay is being written by Andy Cox, who was a script consultant on Stephen Johnson’s High Ground, script editor on Jeremy Sims’ Last Cab to Darwin and script consultant on Kim Mordaunt’s The Rocket.
- 9/4/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
John Brumpton in ‘Measure for Measure.’
One of Australia’s hardest working actors, John Brumpton rarely turns down offers – except when he is asked to work for free.
In the past year he has played a rapist in Stephen Johnson’s Western High Ground, a gunslinger in the second season of Mystery Road, Hugo Weaving’s protector in Paul Ireland’s Measure for Measure and a worried dad in Jamie Helmer and Michael Leonard’s short The Diver, which premieres in competition in Venice.
IMDb lists 95 credits for the actor who made his screen debut in The Flying Doctors in 1989 and took up the profession after working as a surveyor and professional boxer.
“It’s a tough industry and surviving this long is an achievement,” he tells If. “My approach is: ‘Just be yourself.’”
He was inspired to become an actor by watching Bryan Brown in Stir, Breaker Morant and...
One of Australia’s hardest working actors, John Brumpton rarely turns down offers – except when he is asked to work for free.
In the past year he has played a rapist in Stephen Johnson’s Western High Ground, a gunslinger in the second season of Mystery Road, Hugo Weaving’s protector in Paul Ireland’s Measure for Measure and a worried dad in Jamie Helmer and Michael Leonard’s short The Diver, which premieres in competition in Venice.
IMDb lists 95 credits for the actor who made his screen debut in The Flying Doctors in 1989 and took up the profession after working as a surveyor and professional boxer.
“It’s a tough industry and surviving this long is an achievement,” he tells If. “My approach is: ‘Just be yourself.’”
He was inspired to become an actor by watching Bryan Brown in Stir, Breaker Morant and...
- 8/29/2019
- 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
‘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
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
Nicole Kidman in ‘Destroyer’
Director Karyn Kusama’s genre-bending film noir Destroyer, which stars Nicole Kidman as a haggard, damaged, undercover Lapd detective, will be released by Madman Entertainment.
The relapsed memory/non-linear tale is among a raft of high-profile titles which the distributor has acquired for 2019.
Annapurna Pictures will launch Destroyer, which co-stars Sebastian Stan, Toby Kebbell, Tatiana Maslany, Bradley Whitford, Jade Pettyjohn and Scoot McNairy, in New York and Los Angeles on Christmas Day, expanding in January.
“It’s a great piece of filmmaking with a remarkable performance by Nicole,” says Madman’s Paul Wiegard, who will launch the thriller on March 21, preceded by screenings at the St George Open Air Cinema in Sydney starting on January 28.
Kidman plays Erin Bell, who as a young cop worked undercover with a gang in the California desert with tragic results. Twenty later, when the leader of the gang re-emerges, she...
Director Karyn Kusama’s genre-bending film noir Destroyer, which stars Nicole Kidman as a haggard, damaged, undercover Lapd detective, will be released by Madman Entertainment.
The relapsed memory/non-linear tale is among a raft of high-profile titles which the distributor has acquired for 2019.
Annapurna Pictures will launch Destroyer, which co-stars Sebastian Stan, Toby Kebbell, Tatiana Maslany, Bradley Whitford, Jade Pettyjohn and Scoot McNairy, in New York and Los Angeles on Christmas Day, expanding in January.
“It’s a great piece of filmmaking with a remarkable performance by Nicole,” says Madman’s Paul Wiegard, who will launch the thriller on March 21, preceded by screenings at the St George Open Air Cinema in Sydney starting on January 28.
Kidman plays Erin Bell, who as a young cop worked undercover with a gang in the California desert with tragic results. Twenty later, when the leader of the gang re-emerges, she...
- 12/18/2018
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Paramount Pictures announced on Tuesday, October 28, 2014 that Academy Award®-nominees Greg Kinnear and Djimon Hounsou and Academy Award®-winners Renee Zellweger and Jon Voight will star in Same Kind of Different As Me, based on the best-selling nonfiction book by Ron Hall and Denver Moore with Lynn Vincent, author of the bestselling book Heaven Is for Real.
Michael Carney will make his feature directorial debut from a screenplay he co-wrote with Alexander Foard and Ron Hall. Mary Parent and Cale Boyter will produce through Disruption Entertainment, alongside Darren Moorman, Stephen Johnson, and Ron Hall. The executive producers are Chris Bancroft, Hans Graffunder, Michael Carney, and Foard.
Principal photography on the film started on October 27th in Jackson, Mississippi.
Same Kind of Different As Me is the story of an international art dealer Ron Hall (Kinnear) who must befriend a dangerous homeless man (Hounsou) in order to save his struggling marriage...
Michael Carney will make his feature directorial debut from a screenplay he co-wrote with Alexander Foard and Ron Hall. Mary Parent and Cale Boyter will produce through Disruption Entertainment, alongside Darren Moorman, Stephen Johnson, and Ron Hall. The executive producers are Chris Bancroft, Hans Graffunder, Michael Carney, and Foard.
Principal photography on the film started on October 27th in Jackson, Mississippi.
Same Kind of Different As Me is the story of an international art dealer Ron Hall (Kinnear) who must befriend a dangerous homeless man (Hounsou) in order to save his struggling marriage...
- 10/29/2014
- by Mike Tyrkus
- CinemaNerdz
• Greg Kinnear, Jon Voight, Renee Zellweger, and Djimon Hounsou are set to star in Paramount Pictures' Same Kind of Different as Me, EW has confirmed. Michael Carney will make his directorial debut. He co-wrote the script with Alexander Foard and Ron Hall. Based on the book by Hall and Denver Moore with Lynn Vincent, the story follows an art dealer (Kinnear) who befriends a homeless man (Honsou) in order to save his marriage to his wife (Zellweger). The unexpected friendship takes the three on an incredible journey, and helps Hall reconnect with his father (Voight). Mary Parent and Cale Boyter...
- 10/29/2014
- by C. Molly Smith
- EW - Inside Movies
Paramount Pictures today announced that Academy Award®-nominees Greg Kinnear and Djimon Hounsou and Academy Award®-winners Renee Zellweger and Jon Voight will star in “Same Kind Of Different As Me,” based on the best-selling nonfiction book by Ron Hall and Denver Moore with Lynn Vincent, author of the bestselling book Heaven Is for Real.Michael Carney will make his directorial debut from a screenplay he co-wrote with Alexander Foard and Ron Hall. Mary Parent and Cale Boyter will produce through Disruption Entertainment, alongside Darren Moorman, Stephen Johnson and Ron Hall. The executive producers are Chris Bancroft, Hans Graffunder Michael Carney and Foard. Principal photography began October 27th in Jackson, Mississippi. “Same Kind Of Different As Me” is the story of an international art dealer Ron Hall (Kinnear) who must befriend a dangerous homeless man (Hounsou) in order to save his struggling marriage to his wife (Zellweger), a woman whose dreams will lead.
- 10/28/2014
- by noreply@blogger.com (Tom White)
- www.themoviebit.com
Paramount Pictures today announced that Academy Award-nominees Greg Kinnear and Djimon Hounsou and Academy Award-winners Renee Zellweger and Jon Voight will star in Same Kind Of Different As Me, based on the best-selling nonfiction book by Ron Hall and Denver Moore with Lynn Vincent, author of the bestselling book Heaven Is for Real.
Michael Carney will make his directorial debut from a screenplay he co-wrote with Alexander Foard and Ron Hall. Mary Parent and Cale Boyter will produce through Disruption Entertainment, alongside Darren Moorman, Stephen Johnson and Ron Hall. The executive producers are Chris Bancroft, Hans Graffunder Michael Carney and Foard.
Principal photography began October 27th in Jackson, Mississippi.
Same Kind Of Different As Me is the story of an international art dealer Ron Hall (Kinnear) who must befriend a dangerous homeless man (Hounsou) in order to save his struggling marriage to his wife (Zellweger), a woman whose dreams will...
Michael Carney will make his directorial debut from a screenplay he co-wrote with Alexander Foard and Ron Hall. Mary Parent and Cale Boyter will produce through Disruption Entertainment, alongside Darren Moorman, Stephen Johnson and Ron Hall. The executive producers are Chris Bancroft, Hans Graffunder Michael Carney and Foard.
Principal photography began October 27th in Jackson, Mississippi.
Same Kind Of Different As Me is the story of an international art dealer Ron Hall (Kinnear) who must befriend a dangerous homeless man (Hounsou) in order to save his struggling marriage to his wife (Zellweger), a woman whose dreams will...
- 10/28/2014
- by Michelle McCue
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Principal photography has started on Same Kind of Different As Me, which will makr the directorial dbut of Michael Carney, and to mark the start of production, Paramount has announced some of the high profile actors cast in the film and what part they'll play.
Check out the full press release:
Paramount Pictures today announced that Academy Award®-nominees Greg Kinnear and Djimon Hounsou and Academy Award®-winners Renee Zellweger and Jon Voight will star in “Same Kind Of Different As Me,” based on the best-selling nonfiction book by Ron Hall and Denver Moore with Lynn Vincent, author of the bestselling book Heaven Is for Real.
Michael Carney will make his directorial debut from a screenplay he co-wrote with Alexander Foard and Ron Hall. Mary Parent and Cale Boyter will produce through Disruption Entertainment, alongside Darren Moorman, Stephen Johnson and Ron Hall. The executive producers are Chris Bancroft, Hans Graffunder Michael Carney and Foard.
Check out the full press release:
Paramount Pictures today announced that Academy Award®-nominees Greg Kinnear and Djimon Hounsou and Academy Award®-winners Renee Zellweger and Jon Voight will star in “Same Kind Of Different As Me,” based on the best-selling nonfiction book by Ron Hall and Denver Moore with Lynn Vincent, author of the bestselling book Heaven Is for Real.
Michael Carney will make his directorial debut from a screenplay he co-wrote with Alexander Foard and Ron Hall. Mary Parent and Cale Boyter will produce through Disruption Entertainment, alongside Darren Moorman, Stephen Johnson and Ron Hall. The executive producers are Chris Bancroft, Hans Graffunder Michael Carney and Foard.
- 10/28/2014
- by feeds@cinelinx.com (Jordan Maison)
- Cinelinx
If you’ve never listened to horror radio, I wouldn’t blame ya. Most old radio shows are hokey, musty relics of forgotten times, only chilling to housewives in 1942. But there are exceptions, recordings from long ago with strange powers that have only grown over the passing decades. If you can look past the sometimes-dated presentation and put yourself in the right mindset, the best horror radio is like listening to the distant cries of ancient ghosts. Collected below are my ten favorite old-timey radio horror broadcasts. Turn off the lights and listen! [You can hear each episode by clicking on the title.] 1) Suspense: "Ghost Hunt" Forget The Blair Witch Project; this episode of Suspense marks the real beginning of found-footage horror. Recorded way back in 1949, the story is told through audiotapes “discovered” after wacky radio disc jockey Smiley Smith goes mad in a haunted house. Smiley starts off treating his visit like a goofy radio stunt, but before long,...
- 4/7/2014
- by Stephen Johnson
- FEARnet
Preacher, based on the DC/Vertigo Comic, has long been in development hell (pun intended), having been tossed around as a film adaptation and TV series between filmmakers, studios, and networks for a long while now. Mark Stephen Johnson (Daredevil), Sam Mendes (Skyfall), and HBO are just a few of the folks who have almost taken the plunge, but eventually pulled out for one reason or another. Now, according to a source for Badass Digest, it appears that AMC, who has become renowned for cutting...
- 11/18/2013
- by Paul Shirey
- JoBlo.com
Argo star Alan Arkin is said to be in talks to join the upcoming Warner Bros. boxing comedy Grudge Match . Variety has the news, reporting that he would star opposite Sylvester Stallone, Robert De Niro, Kevin Hart and the recently cast Kim Basinger. Peter Segal, who last directed Get Smart , will direct the tale of two aging boxers (Stallone and De Niro) who plan one final match against one another. Basinger will star as the female lead, caught in the middle of the rivalry and Arkin would play the former trainer to Stallone's character. Doug Ellin ("Entourage") wrote the latest draft with Bill Gerber, Carrie Gillogly and Mark Stephen Johnson producing. (Photo Credit: FayesVision / WENN.com)...
- 11/8/2012
- Comingsoon.net
Kim Basinger has signed on to appear opposite Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro in the Warner Bros. boxing comedy Grudge Match , Variety reports. Peter Segal, who last directed Get Smart , will direct the tale of two aging boxers who plan one final match against one another. Basinger will star as the female lead, caught in the middle of the rivalry. Basinger, best known for roles in fllms like Batman and L.A. Confidential , recently appeared in Charlie St. Cloud . Doug Ellin ("Entourage") has drafted Grudge Match 's latest draft with Bill Gerber, Carrie Gillogly and Mark Stephen Johnson producing. (Photo Credit: WENN.com)...
- 11/2/2012
- Comingsoon.net
Sylvester Stallone and Robert De Niro could go head-to-head in the Warner Bros. boxing comedy Grudge Match , The Wrap reports. Peter Segal, who last directed Get Smart , will direct the tale of two aging boxers who plan one final match against one another. Stallone and De Niro represent two of the most iconic on-screen boxers. The former wrote and starred in Rocky while the latter played Jake La Motta in Martin Scorsese's Raging Bull . Doug Ellin ("Entourage") has drafted Grudge Match 's latest draft with Bill Gerber, Carrie Gillogly and Mark Stephen Johnson producing.
- 5/31/2012
- Comingsoon.net
It shouldn’t be too surprising that Star Wars: The Old Republic will allow players to pursue homosexual relationships. After all, the game was created by BioWare, the company that also developed the Mass Effect trilogy, which allows you to participate in lesbian, interspecies, and transgender relationships. (At one point in Mass Effect you flirt with a blue-skinned semi-immortal hermaphrodite, which is exactly the sort of thing your parents warned you about when you moved to the big city.) However, Tony Perkins of the Family Research Council has a bone to pick with the new homosexual option. In a...
- 1/31/2012
- by Darren Franich
- EW.com - PopWatch
From Frozen Planet to The Killing – all our 2011 favourites are showing up on this year's Christmas trees
I read the cutest thing the other day. Apparently, in the olden times, people used to let their children decorate the Christmas tree! Isn't that adorable? I mean, imagine doing that now. They say kids grow up fast, but seriously – would you trust a primary-school child to know that pugs and owls are hotter than reindeer and squirrels this year? Can even the most expensively tutored pre-schooler really be expected to understand why a brussel sprout wreath is actually very festive and ivy-plus-ribbons feels a bit old? And if they're not even old enough to drive, should they really be shouldering the responsibility of making a call on exactly how many glitter-sprayed pine cones look right piled under a glass bell jar, when that is a style statement by which your entire family...
I read the cutest thing the other day. Apparently, in the olden times, people used to let their children decorate the Christmas tree! Isn't that adorable? I mean, imagine doing that now. They say kids grow up fast, but seriously – would you trust a primary-school child to know that pugs and owls are hotter than reindeer and squirrels this year? Can even the most expensively tutored pre-schooler really be expected to understand why a brussel sprout wreath is actually very festive and ivy-plus-ribbons feels a bit old? And if they're not even old enough to drive, should they really be shouldering the responsibility of making a call on exactly how many glitter-sprayed pine cones look right piled under a glass bell jar, when that is a style statement by which your entire family...
- 12/7/2011
- by Jess Cartner-Morley
- The Guardian - Film News
The second of the three short films from G4's Epictober celebration (which we first told you about here) has arrived, and it offers a truly insane take on one of the most beloved video game franchises ever! Check it out!
Kart Driver tells the story of Mario as he searches for his on-and-off again girlfriend, Pauline, but we doubt you've ever seen a imagining of the Super Mario Bros series quite like this. Kart Driver was co-written and directed by Drew Daywalt. His co-writer is none other than G4's Stephen Johnson.
Kart Driver pays homage to Mario's first love, Pauline, and first nemesis, Donkey Kong. But don't worry; you'll recognize a few old friends here, too.
On to the goods! Look for the third flick tomorrow!
Video Game - E3 2012
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Kart Driver tells the story of Mario as he searches for his on-and-off again girlfriend, Pauline, but we doubt you've ever seen a imagining of the Super Mario Bros series quite like this. Kart Driver was co-written and directed by Drew Daywalt. His co-writer is none other than G4's Stephen Johnson.
Kart Driver pays homage to Mario's first love, Pauline, and first nemesis, Donkey Kong. But don't worry; you'll recognize a few old friends here, too.
On to the goods! Look for the third flick tomorrow!
Video Game - E3 2012
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- 10/25/2011
- by Uncle Creepy
- DreadCentral.com
Last week we directed your attention to director Joe Lynch's partnership with G4 to produce new horror shorts for G4TV.com's month-long Epictober Film Festival. Each of these three shorts is based on a classic video game: The Hunt (based on Duck Hunt), Birds of Anger (based on Angry Birds), and Kart Driver (based on Mario Kart). Now we just got an exclusive look at the poster art for Kart Driver, directed by filmmaker and FEARnet blogger Drew Daywalt, as well as the film's hilarious trailer (a parody of the new Ryan Gosling thriller Drive). Check 'em out after the jump. Drew Daywalt tells us, 'Joe Lynch, Stephen Johnson and I had the crazy idea of making a sort of gonzo...
- 10/20/2011
- FEARnet
If there's anyone out there who fits the bill of overseeing a mini-film festival of three shorts blending video game premises with familiar tropes from people's favorite horror movies better than Joe Lynch, we can't think of who it might be. Which is why we're super-excited to share the news about his latest project for G4TV.com's Epictober celebration, which begins October 24th. Read on for the details!
As USA Today explains it, this is what Joe is up to:
Before he got his current gig on the upcoming FEARnet horror sitcom "Holliston" and directed Knights of Badassdom (coming to a theater near you in early 2012), Lynch acted as creative director for the G4 TV cable network's website, in charge of developing Web series and live coverage for E3, Comic-Con and other events.
Watching websites such as Funny or Die and Atom.com generate original viral videos that proved...
As USA Today explains it, this is what Joe is up to:
Before he got his current gig on the upcoming FEARnet horror sitcom "Holliston" and directed Knights of Badassdom (coming to a theater near you in early 2012), Lynch acted as creative director for the G4 TV cable network's website, in charge of developing Web series and live coverage for E3, Comic-Con and other events.
Watching websites such as Funny or Die and Atom.com generate original viral videos that proved...
- 10/12/2011
- by The Woman In Black
- DreadCentral.com
Recently the fine people over at G4 released a video for a brand new gaming experience they put together with writer/director Drew Daywalt and creature effects master Jeff Farley to create the scariest possible environment in which to play Dead Space 2 in honor of the game’s recent debut.
Last weekend DC’s Brian Smith headed out to check out what Daywalt, Farley, and Stephen Johnson at G4 had cooked up for fans, and it was delightfully creepy to say the very least!
Check out our exclusive video chat with all three gentlemen below, and see what happens when you give gamers more than just the monsters on their TV’s to fear!
Special thanks to Stephen Johnson, Drew Daywalt, and Jeff Farley for taking the time to chat with us and for inviting Dread Central out to be part of the fun.
Along with visiting the Dead Space...
Last weekend DC’s Brian Smith headed out to check out what Daywalt, Farley, and Stephen Johnson at G4 had cooked up for fans, and it was delightfully creepy to say the very least!
Check out our exclusive video chat with all three gentlemen below, and see what happens when you give gamers more than just the monsters on their TV’s to fear!
Special thanks to Stephen Johnson, Drew Daywalt, and Jeff Farley for taking the time to chat with us and for inviting Dread Central out to be part of the fun.
Along with visiting the Dead Space...
- 2/4/2011
- by thehorrorchick
- DreadCentral.com
President Obama made a case for the future in his State of the Union address. But does his focus on economic leadership and innovation ring true? Our expert contributors offer insight.
• Innovation: Not as Simple as Obama Made It Sound Listening to President Obama last night, I wondered if his speechwriters had been reading Stephen Johnson's new book Where Good Ideas Come From. When the president talked about the unexpected nature of innovation, he was channeling Johnson. By Adam Hanft, author of Dictionary of the Future
• Reinventing America for a Bright Green Future As the Great Recession slowly recedes, it's clear that we're not going back to the world of 2006. But where exactly are we going? In his State of the Union Address, President Obama spoke about investing in innovation to move our country and our economy forward. By Glenn Croston, author of 75 Green Businesses
• Post-sotu Challenge: Convincing a...
• Innovation: Not as Simple as Obama Made It Sound Listening to President Obama last night, I wondered if his speechwriters had been reading Stephen Johnson's new book Where Good Ideas Come From. When the president talked about the unexpected nature of innovation, he was channeling Johnson. By Adam Hanft, author of Dictionary of the Future
• Reinventing America for a Bright Green Future As the Great Recession slowly recedes, it's clear that we're not going back to the world of 2006. But where exactly are we going? In his State of the Union Address, President Obama spoke about investing in innovation to move our country and our economy forward. By Glenn Croston, author of 75 Green Businesses
• Post-sotu Challenge: Convincing a...
- 1/26/2011
- by Kevin Ohannessian
- Fast Company
There is a short film making the blogosphere (and Twittersphere) rounds today called Pixels. It was made by Patrick Jean, and I have to say that in terms of appropriating commercial iconography for an animated work, this kicks the shit out of the Oscar-winning Logorama, which I found to be clever for about a minute before it got really corny. Of course, some people will call this corny, too. But some people are wrong. This is extremely clever. This is downright amazingeniuspectacularadical. If you don't believe me, read the testimonies of the bloggers down below.
Memo to Hollywood: there is no longer any need for Independence Day sequels or any other NYC invasion/disaster movie. There is also no longer any need for movies based on the 8-bit video game classics featured in Jean's film. In fact, I'm going to a little further. And maybe this is just because I'm...
Memo to Hollywood: there is no longer any need for Independence Day sequels or any other NYC invasion/disaster movie. There is also no longer any need for movies based on the 8-bit video game classics featured in Jean's film. In fact, I'm going to a little further. And maybe this is just because I'm...
- 4/8/2010
- by Christopher Campbell
I'll be upfront and honest: I don't really know what the title of today's Trends is supposed to mean, but "Tipping My Hat to the Internet Hoax Recaps" just wasn't an obvious enough reference to that appropriate Who song (what's it called? "Teenage Wasteland," or something). Anyway, since so many blogs did the obligatory fake news thing today, and so many other blogs spotlighted those blogs, I'm going to be the blog that spotlights those other blogs.
And then I'm going to fly to my mom's in Arizona because somebody had to tease us New Yorkers about In N Out coming to town. Thanks for the "animal style" craving, asshole.
Before I link to the linkers, though, I just want to say I could really go for a real Dharma Initiative Alarm Clock (let it be this year's Tauntaun sleeping bag, ThinkGeek), given that I sleep through my buzzer (or...
And then I'm going to fly to my mom's in Arizona because somebody had to tease us New Yorkers about In N Out coming to town. Thanks for the "animal style" craving, asshole.
Before I link to the linkers, though, I just want to say I could really go for a real Dharma Initiative Alarm Clock (let it be this year's Tauntaun sleeping bag, ThinkGeek), given that I sleep through my buzzer (or...
- 4/1/2010
- by Christopher Campbell
Over at G4, they have a live blog going on of all The Twilight Saga: New Moon news from Comic-Con as it happens. Stephen Johnson, a live-blogger for G4 is posting as we speak about various ins and outs of the panel. Just now, Johnson stated: "Uh oh ... Jacob took off his shirt in the clip and the fans went nuts-o-crazy-go-nuts." From the looks of the blog posts thus far, Johnson will be posting information about the questions and answers given by castmembers in attendance (including Taylor Lautner, Ashley Greene, Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson) and director Chris Weitz. The blo...
- 7/23/2009
- by thetwilightexaminer
- Twilight Examiner
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