An epic drama series about Iran’s last monarchy is in the works, Variety has learned.
Inspired by “The Crown,” Netflix’s sweeping dramatization of the British royal family, “The Last Shah” is set to span four decades beginning during World War II, when the young monarch, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, ascended to the throne, and ending in 1979 with the Islamic Revolution and U.S. embassy hostage crisis in Tehran.
The series, which is in development at writer Morrie Rosmarin’s production company Random Access Media, will follow the story of Pahlavi and his third wife, Queen Farah Pahlavi. Often compared to Jackie Kennedy, the stylish and progressive queen was a champion of women’s rights and modern art. She married the Shah in 1959 clad in a dazzling Dior gown embroidered with silver thread and pearls, designed by Yves Saint Laurent.
“A heroic and ultimately tragic story of a wife, mother...
Inspired by “The Crown,” Netflix’s sweeping dramatization of the British royal family, “The Last Shah” is set to span four decades beginning during World War II, when the young monarch, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, ascended to the throne, and ending in 1979 with the Islamic Revolution and U.S. embassy hostage crisis in Tehran.
The series, which is in development at writer Morrie Rosmarin’s production company Random Access Media, will follow the story of Pahlavi and his third wife, Queen Farah Pahlavi. Often compared to Jackie Kennedy, the stylish and progressive queen was a champion of women’s rights and modern art. She married the Shah in 1959 clad in a dazzling Dior gown embroidered with silver thread and pearls, designed by Yves Saint Laurent.
“A heroic and ultimately tragic story of a wife, mother...
- 5/20/2024
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
The tagline for the 2024 Cannes Film Festival should probably be “Back to the Future.” Indeed, four Hollywood legends who first established themselves in the 1970s as part of the “New Hollywood,” and haven’t been back to festival in decades, are front and center on the Croisette this year.
At the fest’s opening ceremony on Tuesday night, three-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep was presented with an honorary Palme d’Or, 35 years after her only prior visit to the fest. In 1989, she came with Fred Schepisi’s A Cry in the Dark, which had opened in the U.S. in late 1988, landing her a best actress Oscar nom, but bombing at the box office. Streep’s presence at the fest was strategic: She reportedly only came because she wanted to try to boost the film’s profile ahead of its European release, and the fest reportedly only accepted the film...
At the fest’s opening ceremony on Tuesday night, three-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep was presented with an honorary Palme d’Or, 35 years after her only prior visit to the fest. In 1989, she came with Fred Schepisi’s A Cry in the Dark, which had opened in the U.S. in late 1988, landing her a best actress Oscar nom, but bombing at the box office. Streep’s presence at the fest was strategic: She reportedly only came because she wanted to try to boost the film’s profile ahead of its European release, and the fest reportedly only accepted the film...
- 5/15/2024
- by Scott Feinberg
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The usual Cannes opening night ritual — introduce the jury and its president (auteur Greta Gerwig) who will weigh in on 22 competition titles — was co-opted by the larger-than-life presence of Meryl Streep, resplendent in white. She graciously accepted the Palme d’Or from a sincere Juliette Binoche, resplendent in red, who wrote her heartfelt tribute from one artist to another.
“You changed how women are portrayed,” Binoche said, crying. The two actresses were well-matched. And the black tie audience at the Palais gave Streep a lengthy, sustained ovation, which clearly both delighted and embarrassed her. She pretended to leave.
That ovation repeated Wednesday at the packed Salle Debussy, as Streep, a little worse for wear after debating the merits of Quentin Dupieux’s acting comedy “The Second Act” at the Cannes after-party, answered questions from Didier Allouch. “I didn’t go to bed until 3 talking about the amazing film,” she said.
“You changed how women are portrayed,” Binoche said, crying. The two actresses were well-matched. And the black tie audience at the Palais gave Streep a lengthy, sustained ovation, which clearly both delighted and embarrassed her. She pretended to leave.
That ovation repeated Wednesday at the packed Salle Debussy, as Streep, a little worse for wear after debating the merits of Quentin Dupieux’s acting comedy “The Second Act” at the Cannes after-party, answered questions from Didier Allouch. “I didn’t go to bed until 3 talking about the amazing film,” she said.
- 5/15/2024
- by Anne Thompson
- Indiewire
Three-time Oscar winner Meryl Streep will be awarded an honorary Palme d’Or at the opening ceremony of the 74th edition of the Cannes Film Festival (May 14-25).
Streep will follow in the footsteps of previous recipients, including Jeanne Moreau, Catherine Deneuve, Alain Delon, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Jane Fonda, Agnès Varda, Forest Whittaker and Jodie Foster.
The opening ceremony will mark Streep’s first appearance at the festival in over 35 years. She last attended Cannes in 1989, when she won the best actress prize for her role as a mother accused of infanticide in Fred Schepisi’s Evil Angels.
“I am immeasurably...
Streep will follow in the footsteps of previous recipients, including Jeanne Moreau, Catherine Deneuve, Alain Delon, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Jane Fonda, Agnès Varda, Forest Whittaker and Jodie Foster.
The opening ceremony will mark Streep’s first appearance at the festival in over 35 years. She last attended Cannes in 1989, when she won the best actress prize for her role as a mother accused of infanticide in Fred Schepisi’s Evil Angels.
“I am immeasurably...
- 5/3/2024
- ScreenDaily
Meryl Streep will be receiving a huge honor at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
The 74-year-old Oscar winning star will be receiving an honorary Palme d’Or, a prestigious prize given out every year at the famed French film festival.
In a statement, Meryl shared with THR, “I am immeasurably honored to receive the news of this prestigious award. To win a prize at Cannes, for the international community of artists, has always represented the highest achievement in the art of filmmaking. To stand in the shadow of those who have previously been honored is humbling and thrilling in equal part. I so look forward to coming to France to thank everyone in person this May!”
She’ll receive the prize on the opening night of the event on May 14. The festival will run until May 25.
The last time she appeared at the festival was back in 1989, when she won the...
The 74-year-old Oscar winning star will be receiving an honorary Palme d’Or, a prestigious prize given out every year at the famed French film festival.
In a statement, Meryl shared with THR, “I am immeasurably honored to receive the news of this prestigious award. To win a prize at Cannes, for the international community of artists, has always represented the highest achievement in the art of filmmaking. To stand in the shadow of those who have previously been honored is humbling and thrilling in equal part. I so look forward to coming to France to thank everyone in person this May!”
She’ll receive the prize on the opening night of the event on May 14. The festival will run until May 25.
The last time she appeared at the festival was back in 1989, when she won the...
- 5/2/2024
- by Just Jared
- Just Jared
Meryl Streep will receive the Cannes Film Festival’s honorary Palme d’Or at the opening night ceremony of the 77th edition, the festival has confirmed.
The Academy Award-winning actress’ attendance at the festival will mark her first trip to Cannes since accompanying Fred Schepisi’s Evil Angels a Cry in the Dark in 1989 for which she won best actress.
The actress has appeared in two other Cannes selected films across her career, kicking off Woody Allen’s Manhattan, which played Out of Competition in 1979, and Tommy Lee Jones’ The Homesman which played in Competition in 2014.
The Cannes Film Festival runs May 14 to 25.
The Academy Award-winning actress’ attendance at the festival will mark her first trip to Cannes since accompanying Fred Schepisi’s Evil Angels a Cry in the Dark in 1989 for which she won best actress.
The actress has appeared in two other Cannes selected films across her career, kicking off Woody Allen’s Manhattan, which played Out of Competition in 1979, and Tommy Lee Jones’ The Homesman which played in Competition in 2014.
The Cannes Film Festival runs May 14 to 25.
- 5/2/2024
- by Melanie Goodfellow
- Deadline Film + TV
Meryl Streep is set to receive the highest honor at the Cannes 2024 ceremony.
The Oscar winner has been announced to be feted with the honorary Palme d’Or on the opening night of the 77th annual festival; Variety first reported the news. Streep has not been to Cannes in exactly 35 years, since winning best actress for 1989’s “Evil Angels a Cry in the Dark” directed by Fred Schepisi.
Michael Douglas received the opening ceremony honorary Palme d’Or award in 2023.
Streep’s career has ranged from Academy Award-nominated turns in dramas such as “Sophie’s Choice” to musicals like “Into the Woods.” Streep’s rom-com efforts have marked collaborations with Nancy Meyers and other iconic filmmakers. She most recently starred in Hulu series “Only Murders in the Building,” following her former “Big Little Lies” TV role. Streep was recently honored by the Academy Museum Gala in 2023 for her career achievements.
As previously announced,...
The Oscar winner has been announced to be feted with the honorary Palme d’Or on the opening night of the 77th annual festival; Variety first reported the news. Streep has not been to Cannes in exactly 35 years, since winning best actress for 1989’s “Evil Angels a Cry in the Dark” directed by Fred Schepisi.
Michael Douglas received the opening ceremony honorary Palme d’Or award in 2023.
Streep’s career has ranged from Academy Award-nominated turns in dramas such as “Sophie’s Choice” to musicals like “Into the Woods.” Streep’s rom-com efforts have marked collaborations with Nancy Meyers and other iconic filmmakers. She most recently starred in Hulu series “Only Murders in the Building,” following her former “Big Little Lies” TV role. Streep was recently honored by the Academy Museum Gala in 2023 for her career achievements.
As previously announced,...
- 5/2/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Meryl Streep will receive the honorary Palme d’Or on the opening night of the 77th edition of Cannes Film Festival, Variety has learned.
Luring the Oscar winner is yet another feat for this Cannes edition, which will bring together a flurry Hollywood legends. Notably, George Lucas will receive the honorary Palme d’Or during the closing ceremony; Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis” and Paul Schrader’s “Oh, Canada” are playing in competition; and George Miller‘s “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” and Kevin Costner’s Western epic “Horizon, an American Saga” are playing out of competition. Streep will be also in good company at the festival with “Barbie” director Greta Gerwig serving as jury president. The pair worked together on “Little Women.”
The honorary tribute will mark Streep’s long-awaited return to Cannes after decades. It appears that her last trip to the festival dates back to Fred Schepisi...
Luring the Oscar winner is yet another feat for this Cannes edition, which will bring together a flurry Hollywood legends. Notably, George Lucas will receive the honorary Palme d’Or during the closing ceremony; Francis Ford Coppola’s “Megalopolis” and Paul Schrader’s “Oh, Canada” are playing in competition; and George Miller‘s “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” and Kevin Costner’s Western epic “Horizon, an American Saga” are playing out of competition. Streep will be also in good company at the festival with “Barbie” director Greta Gerwig serving as jury president. The pair worked together on “Little Women.”
The honorary tribute will mark Streep’s long-awaited return to Cannes after decades. It appears that her last trip to the festival dates back to Fred Schepisi...
- 5/2/2024
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Fred Schepisi is set to direct Israel-based thriller “The Dimona Affair,” Variety has learned exclusively.
The project is based on the story of a whistleblower who claimed Israel was building a nuclear weapons program. (The country has always denied it has nuclear weapons).
After giving The Sunday Times of London a detailed interview about the program in the 1980s, causing an international scandal, “low level” Israeli nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu fled the country. He was then reportedly lured to Rome by a female Israeli secret service agent in a honeytrap operation where he was kidnapped and repatriated to Israel. Vanunu eventually stood trial for espionage and treason before being convicted and jailed.
Schepisi, whose last feature project was “Words and Pictures” starring Clive Owen and Juliette Binochein 2013, is set to direct from a script penned by screenwriter and investigative journalist Morrie Rosmarin.
The director is best known for 1993 pic “Six Degrees of Separation...
The project is based on the story of a whistleblower who claimed Israel was building a nuclear weapons program. (The country has always denied it has nuclear weapons).
After giving The Sunday Times of London a detailed interview about the program in the 1980s, causing an international scandal, “low level” Israeli nuclear technician Mordechai Vanunu fled the country. He was then reportedly lured to Rome by a female Israeli secret service agent in a honeytrap operation where he was kidnapped and repatriated to Israel. Vanunu eventually stood trial for espionage and treason before being convicted and jailed.
Schepisi, whose last feature project was “Words and Pictures” starring Clive Owen and Juliette Binochein 2013, is set to direct from a script penned by screenwriter and investigative journalist Morrie Rosmarin.
The director is best known for 1993 pic “Six Degrees of Separation...
- 4/25/2024
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
Will Smith may have fallen in love with Stockard Channing on the set of 1993’s Six Degrees of Separation, but Channing only felt “motherly” to the rising star, who was 23 and a newly married, first-time father at the time.
Channing — who earned an Oscar nomination playing a New York socialite who connects with a young con artist played by Smith in the film — opened up about working with the rising star in a new episode of The Hollywood Reporter‘s It Happened in Hollywood podcast.
“He made a lot [of money] from his music, or even Fresh Prince [of Bel-Air],” Channing said. “Because I remember we talked about it.” Despite his massive success in music and TV at a young age, “there was no big shot stuff at all” about Smith, she said.
“He had a real survival instinct in him,” Channing added, “which was completely perfect for the part. [There was a] genuine charm and a lovely sweetness about him.
Channing — who earned an Oscar nomination playing a New York socialite who connects with a young con artist played by Smith in the film — opened up about working with the rising star in a new episode of The Hollywood Reporter‘s It Happened in Hollywood podcast.
“He made a lot [of money] from his music, or even Fresh Prince [of Bel-Air],” Channing said. “Because I remember we talked about it.” Despite his massive success in music and TV at a young age, “there was no big shot stuff at all” about Smith, she said.
“He had a real survival instinct in him,” Channing added, “which was completely perfect for the part. [There was a] genuine charm and a lovely sweetness about him.
- 3/27/2024
- by Seth Abramovitch
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Oscar-nominated film director and producer Norman Jewison, who steered the 1967 racial drama “In the Heat of the Night” to a best picture Oscar and also helmed such popular films as “Moonstruck,” “The Russians Are Coming, the Russians Are Coming” and “The Thomas Crown Affair,” as well as film musicals “Fiddler on the Roof” and “Jesus Christ Superstar,” died Saturday at his Los Angeles residence. He was 97.
His film career began with fluffy Doris Day comedies like “The Thrill of It All.” But Jewison’s social conscience began to surface with “In the Heat of the Night” and, later, the labor union drama “F.I.S.T.” and other films focusing on racial tensions such as “A Soldier’s Story” and “The Landlord” (the latter of which he only produced), though he never abandoned comedies and romances.
Jewison had his share of box office hits and was usually attuned to the audience pulse, but did...
His film career began with fluffy Doris Day comedies like “The Thrill of It All.” But Jewison’s social conscience began to surface with “In the Heat of the Night” and, later, the labor union drama “F.I.S.T.” and other films focusing on racial tensions such as “A Soldier’s Story” and “The Landlord” (the latter of which he only produced), though he never abandoned comedies and romances.
Jewison had his share of box office hits and was usually attuned to the audience pulse, but did...
- 1/22/2024
- by Carmel Dagan
- Variety Film + TV
Rob Young, a Canadian sound mixer whose 40-year career in the industry included an Oscar nomination for his work on the Clint Eastwood best picture winner Unforgiven, has died. He was 76.
Young died June 11 in Albi, France, of complications from a fall in Morocco while on a food tour, his wife, Yvonne Young, announced.
Young also was nominated for BAFTA awards for Unforgiven (1992) and Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet (1996), for a Cinema Audio Society prize for Joe Johnston’s Jumanji (1995), for a Genie Award for Phillip Borsos’ The Grey Fox (1983) and for a Golden Reel Award for Bryan Singer’s X2 (2003).
The New Brunswick native mixed Roxanne (1987) and The Russia House (1990) for director Fred Schepisi, the first two First Blood films in 1982 and ’85 for Ted Kotcheff and George P. Cosmatos, respectively, and the first two Night at the Museum movies for Shawn Levy in 2006 and ’09 (not to mention The Pink Panther...
Young died June 11 in Albi, France, of complications from a fall in Morocco while on a food tour, his wife, Yvonne Young, announced.
Young also was nominated for BAFTA awards for Unforgiven (1992) and Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo + Juliet (1996), for a Cinema Audio Society prize for Joe Johnston’s Jumanji (1995), for a Genie Award for Phillip Borsos’ The Grey Fox (1983) and for a Golden Reel Award for Bryan Singer’s X2 (2003).
The New Brunswick native mixed Roxanne (1987) and The Russia House (1990) for director Fred Schepisi, the first two First Blood films in 1982 and ’85 for Ted Kotcheff and George P. Cosmatos, respectively, and the first two Night at the Museum movies for Shawn Levy in 2006 and ’09 (not to mention The Pink Panther...
- 6/29/2023
- by Mike Barnes
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
U.S. actor Robin Wright will be awarded the President’s Award at the 57th Karlovy Vary Film Festival’s closing ceremony. In honor of Wright, it will screen “The Princess Bride.”
Wright is best known for her performance in Netflix series “House of Cards.” She earned three Golden Globe nominations and a win in 2014. She earned five Screen Actors Guild award nominations for the show, and received five consecutive Emmy nominations.
In 2017, Wright played Lieutenant Joshi in “Blade Runner 2049,” and Amazon warrior General Antiope in “Justice League” and Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman.” The following year, she reprised her role as Antiope in “Wonder Woman 1984.” She will be seen this Fall starring opposite Millie Bobby Brown in the fantasy film “Damsel,” and co-starring with Tom Hanks in “Here,” directed by Robert Zemeckis.
Her first two nominations, a Golden Globe and a SAG, came as early as 1995 for her...
Wright is best known for her performance in Netflix series “House of Cards.” She earned three Golden Globe nominations and a win in 2014. She earned five Screen Actors Guild award nominations for the show, and received five consecutive Emmy nominations.
In 2017, Wright played Lieutenant Joshi in “Blade Runner 2049,” and Amazon warrior General Antiope in “Justice League” and Patty Jenkins’ “Wonder Woman.” The following year, she reprised her role as Antiope in “Wonder Woman 1984.” She will be seen this Fall starring opposite Millie Bobby Brown in the fantasy film “Damsel,” and co-starring with Tom Hanks in “Here,” directed by Robert Zemeckis.
Her first two nominations, a Golden Globe and a SAG, came as early as 1995 for her...
- 6/20/2023
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Just in time for Succession‘s end, let’s look at method acting. The Criterion Channel are highlighting the controversial practice in a 27-film series centered on Brando, Newman, Nicholson, and many other’s embodiment of “an intensely personal, internalized, and naturalistic approach to performance.” That series makes mention of Marilyn Monroe, who gets her own, 11-title highlight––the iconic commingling with deeper cuts.
Pride Month offers “Masc,” a consideration of “trans men, butch lesbians, and gender-nonconforming heroes” onscreen; the Michael Koresky-curated Queersighted returning with a study of the gay best friend; and the 20-film “LGBTQ+ Favorites.” Louis Garrel’s delightful The Innocent (about which I talked to him here), the director’s cut of Gregg Araki’s The Doom Generation, and Stanley Kwan’s hugely underseen Lan Yu make streaming premieres, while Araki’s Totally F***ed Up and Mysterious Skin also get a run. Criterion Editions include Five Easy Pieces,...
Pride Month offers “Masc,” a consideration of “trans men, butch lesbians, and gender-nonconforming heroes” onscreen; the Michael Koresky-curated Queersighted returning with a study of the gay best friend; and the 20-film “LGBTQ+ Favorites.” Louis Garrel’s delightful The Innocent (about which I talked to him here), the director’s cut of Gregg Araki’s The Doom Generation, and Stanley Kwan’s hugely underseen Lan Yu make streaming premieres, while Araki’s Totally F***ed Up and Mysterious Skin also get a run. Criterion Editions include Five Easy Pieces,...
- 5/22/2023
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
Edward R. Pressman, the prolific Hollywood indie producer behind Wall Street, Badlands, American Psycho, Das Boot and The Crow, among dozens of others, died Tuesday in Los Angeles. He was 79.
His death was confirmed to Deadline his company, Pressman Films.
Related Story Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries Related Story Bruce Gowers Dies: Groundbreaking Music Video Director Of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" Was 82 Related Story Jeff Shuter Dies: Producer Of Motion Comics For "Invincible" & "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" Was 41
With dozens of acclaimed and impactful films and TV movies stretching back to the late 1960s and including now-classics like Conan the Barbarian, Talk Radio, Bad Lieutenant and Brian De Palma’s 1972 Sisters, Pressman was noted for discovering talented directors early in their careers. In addition to Sisters he produced De Palma’s Phantom of the Paradise, and, with the acclaimed 1973 TV-movie Badlands, Terrence Malick. Jason Reitman made his...
His death was confirmed to Deadline his company, Pressman Films.
Related Story Hollywood & Media Deaths In 2023: Photo Gallery & Obituaries Related Story Bruce Gowers Dies: Groundbreaking Music Video Director Of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" Was 82 Related Story Jeff Shuter Dies: Producer Of Motion Comics For "Invincible" & "Buffy The Vampire Slayer" Was 41
With dozens of acclaimed and impactful films and TV movies stretching back to the late 1960s and including now-classics like Conan the Barbarian, Talk Radio, Bad Lieutenant and Brian De Palma’s 1972 Sisters, Pressman was noted for discovering talented directors early in their careers. In addition to Sisters he produced De Palma’s Phantom of the Paradise, and, with the acclaimed 1973 TV-movie Badlands, Terrence Malick. Jason Reitman made his...
- 1/18/2023
- by Greg Evans
- Deadline Film + TV
Click here to read the full article.
Oscar-winner Michael Douglas and son Cameron will share the screen in the upcoming family drama Blood Knot, playing a father and son trying to mend their broken relationship.
The Wall Street and Ant Man and the Wasp star and his oldest son last appeared together in Fred Schepisi’s 2003 dramedy It Runs in The Family, a film that also starred Michael’s father and Cameron’s grandfather, Kirk Douglas.
Cameron Douglas has starred in such films as National Lampoon’s Adam & Eve (2005) and action drama Loaded (2008), but is arguably better known for his much-publicised arrests for drug dealing and possession. In 2010 he was sentenced to five years in prison for heroin possession and dealing methamphetamine and cocaine. At the time, Michael Douglas took the blame for his son’s behaviour, saying he had been “a bad father.” Since his release, Cameron has published a book,...
Oscar-winner Michael Douglas and son Cameron will share the screen in the upcoming family drama Blood Knot, playing a father and son trying to mend their broken relationship.
The Wall Street and Ant Man and the Wasp star and his oldest son last appeared together in Fred Schepisi’s 2003 dramedy It Runs in The Family, a film that also starred Michael’s father and Cameron’s grandfather, Kirk Douglas.
Cameron Douglas has starred in such films as National Lampoon’s Adam & Eve (2005) and action drama Loaded (2008), but is arguably better known for his much-publicised arrests for drug dealing and possession. In 2010 he was sentenced to five years in prison for heroin possession and dealing methamphetamine and cocaine. At the time, Michael Douglas took the blame for his son’s behaviour, saying he had been “a bad father.” Since his release, Cameron has published a book,...
- 11/4/2022
- by Scott Roxborough
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
It is fair to assume Criterion could plunder the world of licensed film to build an ultimate noir playlist; credit, then, for focusing sharp and nabbing deep cuts. The Criterion Channel’s November / Noirvember program will be headlined by “Fox Noir,” an eight-title program with Otto Preminger deep cut Fallen Angel, three by Henry Hathaway, Siodmak, Dassin, Kazan, and Robert Wise, and while retrospectives of Veronica Lake and John Garfield will bring some canon into the fold, I’m mostly thinking about that potential for discovery.
Following “Free Jazz,” Bob Hoskins, and Joyce Chopra programs, the other big series is a 30-year survey of Sony Pictures Classics: Sally Potter, Satoshi Kon, Panahi, Errol Morris, Almodóvar, Haneke, Mike Leigh, just a murderer’s row. Streaming premieres include 499 and A Night of Knowing Nothing, two recent epitomes of I Wish I Had Seen That; Criterion Editions comprise Cure, Brazil, Sullivan’s Travels,...
Following “Free Jazz,” Bob Hoskins, and Joyce Chopra programs, the other big series is a 30-year survey of Sony Pictures Classics: Sally Potter, Satoshi Kon, Panahi, Errol Morris, Almodóvar, Haneke, Mike Leigh, just a murderer’s row. Streaming premieres include 499 and A Night of Knowing Nothing, two recent epitomes of I Wish I Had Seen That; Criterion Editions comprise Cure, Brazil, Sullivan’s Travels,...
- 10/26/2022
- by Nick Newman
- The Film Stage
In 1976, a young director set out to make a rock music take on the Wizard of Oz. John Safran speaks to those behind Oz: A Rock’n’Roll Road Movie about everything that went wrong
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Before the ABC ran commercials for Q&a and Bananas in Pyjamas between shows, they ran meditative interludes – waves crashing against rocks, hot air balloons drifting through the clouds, that sort of thing. This is how the director of Oz: A Rock’n’Roll Road Movie, Chris Löfvén, got his start. At 14 years old, he darted around Melbourne with his 16mm camera, licked a stamp and posted the footage to the television station. They liked it and ran it.
Chris’s first job out of high school was working for director Fred Schepisi (who’d go on to make The Devil’s Playground and The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith...
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Before the ABC ran commercials for Q&a and Bananas in Pyjamas between shows, they ran meditative interludes – waves crashing against rocks, hot air balloons drifting through the clouds, that sort of thing. This is how the director of Oz: A Rock’n’Roll Road Movie, Chris Löfvén, got his start. At 14 years old, he darted around Melbourne with his 16mm camera, licked a stamp and posted the footage to the television station. They liked it and ran it.
Chris’s first job out of high school was working for director Fred Schepisi (who’d go on to make The Devil’s Playground and The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith...
- 8/13/2022
- by John Safran
- The Guardian - Film News
The Wicker Man
Blu ray
Viavision [Imprint]
1973 / 1.85 : 1 / 93 Min.
Starring Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland
Written by Anthony Shaffer
Directed by Robin Hardy
While away on assignment in Scotland, a melancholy company man experiences a life-changing, and possibly supernatural, transformation. This tale of magic and metamorphosis isn’t Bill Forsyth’s utopian Local Hero but Robin Hardy’s apocalyptic The Wicker Man, the story of a god-fearing detective named Neil Howie. The lonesome hot shot of Forsyth’s film is given a new lease on life but for Howie there’s no such reward—just a whiff of fire and brimstone as his dreams go up in smoke.
The title card reads “Anthony Shaffer’s The Wicker Man“, suggesting that the famed playwright was a more than equal partner along alongside Hardy and the film’s producer, Peter Snell. Shaffer based his screenplay on David Pinner’s Rituals, a...
Blu ray
Viavision [Imprint]
1973 / 1.85 : 1 / 93 Min.
Starring Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Britt Ekland
Written by Anthony Shaffer
Directed by Robin Hardy
While away on assignment in Scotland, a melancholy company man experiences a life-changing, and possibly supernatural, transformation. This tale of magic and metamorphosis isn’t Bill Forsyth’s utopian Local Hero but Robin Hardy’s apocalyptic The Wicker Man, the story of a god-fearing detective named Neil Howie. The lonesome hot shot of Forsyth’s film is given a new lease on life but for Howie there’s no such reward—just a whiff of fire and brimstone as his dreams go up in smoke.
The title card reads “Anthony Shaffer’s The Wicker Man“, suggesting that the famed playwright was a more than equal partner along alongside Hardy and the film’s producer, Peter Snell. Shaffer based his screenplay on David Pinner’s Rituals, a...
- 6/7/2022
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
May on the Criterion Channel will be good to the auteurs. In fact they’re giving Richard Linklater better treatment than the distributor of his last film, with a 13-title retrospective mixing usual suspects—the Before trilogy, Boyhood, Slacker—with some truly off the beaten track. There’s a few shorts I haven’t seen but most intriguing is Heads I Win/Tails You Lose, the only available description of which calls it a four-hour (!) piece “edited together by Richard Linklater in 1991 from film countdowns and tail leaders from films submitted to the Austin Film Society in Austin, Texas from 1987 to 1990. It is Linklater’s tribute to the film countdown, used by many projectionists over the years to cue one reel of film after another when switching to another reel on another projector during projection.” Pair that with 2008’s Inning by Inning: A Portrait of a Coach and your completionism will be on-track.
- 4/21/2022
- by Leonard Pearce
- The Film Stage
Joe Wright’s Cyrano twirls onto 797 screens, the highest-profile specialty release in weeks (as the market awaits Focus Features The Outfit with Mark Rylance and Sony Pictures Classics Mothering Sunday). But the well reviewed period musical romance from Uar starring Peter Dinklage is landing in a tough place. Industry estimates anticipate a low single digit opening given the inconsistent reception for movie musicals and the fact that its key older demos, especially women, have been the slowest to return to theaters.
Cyrano is based on Edmond Ronstand’s late 19th century drama Cyrano de Bergerac – itself loosely based on a French nobleman known for bold adventures and a large nose. It premiered at Telluride last year, had a weeklong LA theatrical run in Dec. and garnered an Oscar nomination for Costume Design (and BAFTA nom for Outstanding British Film of the Year). It’s 86% Certified Fresh with critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
Cyrano is based on Edmond Ronstand’s late 19th century drama Cyrano de Bergerac – itself loosely based on a French nobleman known for bold adventures and a large nose. It premiered at Telluride last year, had a weeklong LA theatrical run in Dec. and garnered an Oscar nomination for Costume Design (and BAFTA nom for Outstanding British Film of the Year). It’s 86% Certified Fresh with critics on Rotten Tomatoes.
- 2/25/2022
- by Jill Goldsmith
- Deadline Film + TV
CinefestOZ Film Festival has awarded actress Isla Fisher its Screen Legend prize for 2021.
The award recognises an Australian actor or filmmaker of international repute and their role in supporting excellence in Australian filmmaking.
Fisher, who was born in Oman and grew up in Perth, has been a fixture of Australian screens since she was nine, when she started in TV commercials before being cast as Shannon Reed in Home & Away, a role she played for three years.
Her career internationally took off with The Wedding Crashers, followed by a range of roles in films such as Rango, The Great Gatsby, Nocturnal Animals, Definitely, Maybe , Now You See Me, Hot Rod, The Brothers Grimsby alongside her husband Sacha Baron Cohen, and Blithe Spirit. Her most recent role is in Stan/Peacock’s upcoming series Wolf Like Me, opposite Josh Gad.
Fisher studied commedia dell’arte in Paris at the renowned L’école Jacques Lecoq performance school,...
The award recognises an Australian actor or filmmaker of international repute and their role in supporting excellence in Australian filmmaking.
Fisher, who was born in Oman and grew up in Perth, has been a fixture of Australian screens since she was nine, when she started in TV commercials before being cast as Shannon Reed in Home & Away, a role she played for three years.
Her career internationally took off with The Wedding Crashers, followed by a range of roles in films such as Rango, The Great Gatsby, Nocturnal Animals, Definitely, Maybe , Now You See Me, Hot Rod, The Brothers Grimsby alongside her husband Sacha Baron Cohen, and Blithe Spirit. Her most recent role is in Stan/Peacock’s upcoming series Wolf Like Me, opposite Josh Gad.
Fisher studied commedia dell’arte in Paris at the renowned L’école Jacques Lecoq performance school,...
- 8/26/2021
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
You want to have awards’ success? Get your legal briefs in order. A slew of movies with trials at their center have been Oscar contenders, racking up multiple wins and nominations. And for good reason. The genre is rich with emotions, betrayals, manipulations, love, hate, violence and redemption. This season, there is a lot of Oscar buzz for Aaron Sorkin’s well-received legal drama “The Trial of the Chicago 7.”
The 2002 musical extravaganza “Chicago” won six Oscars including Best Picture and Supporting Actress (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Five years later Tilda Swinton won a supporting actress Oscar for the acclaimed “Michael Clayton.” Tony Gilroy’s smart legal thriller earned a lucky seven bids, including film, screenplay and director for Gilroy and actor for George Clooney.
Let’s take a look back at 10 other films that were able to turn Oscar buzz into Academy Award nominations and wins:
“The Verdict” (1982)
Twenty-five years after...
The 2002 musical extravaganza “Chicago” won six Oscars including Best Picture and Supporting Actress (Catherine Zeta-Jones). Five years later Tilda Swinton won a supporting actress Oscar for the acclaimed “Michael Clayton.” Tony Gilroy’s smart legal thriller earned a lucky seven bids, including film, screenplay and director for Gilroy and actor for George Clooney.
Let’s take a look back at 10 other films that were able to turn Oscar buzz into Academy Award nominations and wins:
“The Verdict” (1982)
Twenty-five years after...
- 11/19/2020
- by Susan King
- Gold Derby
Helen Garner.
Aurora Films’ Ákos Armont and Antony Waddington plan to turn Helen Garner’s novel The Spare Room, a drama about a woman who cares for her cancer-stricken friend, into a feature film.
Eamon Flack, the artistic director of Sydney’s Belvoir, will make his screen directing debut on the project.
Published in 2008, the novel follows the relationship between two women, Nicola, who has advanced bowel cancer, and her friend Helen.
When Sydney-based Nicola goes to Melbourne for the treatment she hopes will cure her, Helen becomes her nurse, protector, guardian angel and judge.
Garner’s literary agent sent the tome to Waddington in 2009 when he was raising the finance for Fred Schepisi’s The Eye of the Storm and he has wanted to turn it into a film ever since.
Last year the producers met the author and optioned the screen rights. “We are both enormously encouraged that...
Aurora Films’ Ákos Armont and Antony Waddington plan to turn Helen Garner’s novel The Spare Room, a drama about a woman who cares for her cancer-stricken friend, into a feature film.
Eamon Flack, the artistic director of Sydney’s Belvoir, will make his screen directing debut on the project.
Published in 2008, the novel follows the relationship between two women, Nicola, who has advanced bowel cancer, and her friend Helen.
When Sydney-based Nicola goes to Melbourne for the treatment she hopes will cure her, Helen becomes her nurse, protector, guardian angel and judge.
Garner’s literary agent sent the tome to Waddington in 2009 when he was raising the finance for Fred Schepisi’s The Eye of the Storm and he has wanted to turn it into a film ever since.
Last year the producers met the author and optioned the screen rights. “We are both enormously encouraged that...
- 10/27/2020
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
‘Own The Sky’.
Director Gregory Read (Like Minds) describes the process of creating his recent project, feature documentary Own The Sky, as “chaos in the best possible form”.
The doc follows an old school friend of Read’s, David Mayman, on his quest to build and fly the world’s first jetpack. Along the way, Mayman faces setback after setback, including crashes and injury, though his obsession rarely abates.
Read first rolled camera back 2007, never quite knowing what to expect or if Mayman’s ambitions would ever come to be realised. At times, the process of completing the doc was uncertain as process of creating the jetpack itself.
Ultimately Own The Sky became a consuming, 12 year journey, one that meant Read would often have to travel at the drop of a hat to wherever Mayman was conducting tests, from Mexico to the Czech Republic.
All the while the filmmaker was...
Director Gregory Read (Like Minds) describes the process of creating his recent project, feature documentary Own The Sky, as “chaos in the best possible form”.
The doc follows an old school friend of Read’s, David Mayman, on his quest to build and fly the world’s first jetpack. Along the way, Mayman faces setback after setback, including crashes and injury, though his obsession rarely abates.
Read first rolled camera back 2007, never quite knowing what to expect or if Mayman’s ambitions would ever come to be realised. At times, the process of completing the doc was uncertain as process of creating the jetpack itself.
Ultimately Own The Sky became a consuming, 12 year journey, one that meant Read would often have to travel at the drop of a hat to wherever Mayman was conducting tests, from Mexico to the Czech Republic.
All the while the filmmaker was...
- 10/11/2020
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
With a seemingly endless amount of streaming options—not only the titles at our disposal, but services themselves–each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit platforms. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.
An American Pickle (Brandon Trost)
Seth Rogen plays dual roles in his latest comedy, American Pickle follows Seth Rogen both as Herschel Greenbaum, an immigrant who falls in a vat of pickled is brined for 100 years, and his great-grandson Ben Greenbaum, who is a computer coder and lives a very different life, to say the least. While there are certainly humorous sequences (a Brooklyn hipster couple’s first impressions of Greenbaum’s pickle stand comes foremost to mind), Rogen is far more interested in the definitions of family and loyalty, themes that are not explored with a great deal of emotional impact, but do add some heart to what...
An American Pickle (Brandon Trost)
Seth Rogen plays dual roles in his latest comedy, American Pickle follows Seth Rogen both as Herschel Greenbaum, an immigrant who falls in a vat of pickled is brined for 100 years, and his great-grandson Ben Greenbaum, who is a computer coder and lives a very different life, to say the least. While there are certainly humorous sequences (a Brooklyn hipster couple’s first impressions of Greenbaum’s pickle stand comes foremost to mind), Rogen is far more interested in the definitions of family and loyalty, themes that are not explored with a great deal of emotional impact, but do add some heart to what...
- 8/7/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
If you’re looking to dive into the best of independent and foreign filmmaking, The Criterion Channel has announced their August 2020 lineup. The impressive slate includes retrospectives dedicated to Mia Hansen-Løve, Bill Gunn, Stephen Cone, Terry Gilliam, Wim Wenders, Alain Delon, Bill Plympton, Les Blank, and more.
In terms of new releases, they also have Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles’ Bacurau, the fascinating documentary John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection, the Kenyan LGBTQ drama Rafiki, and more. There’s also a series on Australian New Wave with films by Gillian Armstrong, Bruce Beresford, David Gulpilil, and Peter Weir, as well as one on bad vacations with Joanna Hogg’s Unrelated, Ben Wheatley’s Sightseers, and more.
See the lineup below and explore more on their platform. One can also see our weekly streaming picks here.
25 Ways to Quit Smoking, Bill Plympton, 1989
The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T, Roy Rowland,...
In terms of new releases, they also have Kleber Mendonça Filho and Juliano Dornelles’ Bacurau, the fascinating documentary John McEnroe: In the Realm of Perfection, the Kenyan LGBTQ drama Rafiki, and more. There’s also a series on Australian New Wave with films by Gillian Armstrong, Bruce Beresford, David Gulpilil, and Peter Weir, as well as one on bad vacations with Joanna Hogg’s Unrelated, Ben Wheatley’s Sightseers, and more.
See the lineup below and explore more on their platform. One can also see our weekly streaming picks here.
25 Ways to Quit Smoking, Bill Plympton, 1989
The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T, Roy Rowland,...
- 7/24/2020
- by Jordan Raup
- The Film Stage
(L-r) Scott Murray, John B. Murray, his second wife Annie and daughter Sue.
John B. Murray, one of the pioneers of the modern Australian cinema, died yesterday in Melbourne after a massive stroke. He was 88.
The writer/producer/director and distributor was one of the guiding lights of the industry from the 1960s.
He was the first director of the Film, Radio and Television Board at the Australian Council for the Arts, which later became the Australia Council and subsequently was transferred to the Australian Film Commission when it was established in 1975.
Former Australian Film Commission CEO Kim Williams tells If: “He made a very substantial contribution and should be remembered especially for his courage in establishing the early video access centres around the country.
“He also got the the Chauvel and Longford cinemas going in Sydney and Melbourne under the then AFI, with their Australian programming and as venues...
John B. Murray, one of the pioneers of the modern Australian cinema, died yesterday in Melbourne after a massive stroke. He was 88.
The writer/producer/director and distributor was one of the guiding lights of the industry from the 1960s.
He was the first director of the Film, Radio and Television Board at the Australian Council for the Arts, which later became the Australia Council and subsequently was transferred to the Australian Film Commission when it was established in 1975.
Former Australian Film Commission CEO Kim Williams tells If: “He made a very substantial contribution and should be remembered especially for his courage in establishing the early video access centres around the country.
“He also got the the Chauvel and Longford cinemas going in Sydney and Melbourne under the then AFI, with their Australian programming and as venues...
- 6/2/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
The evergreen story of Cyrano De Bergerac, which has had both traditional retelling's like Jean-Paul Rappenau's Gerard Depardieu starrer and reworkings like Fred Schepisi's Roxanne down the years, gets another trot around the blocks for the modern generation. This time around, writer/director Alice Chu switches the sex of the protagonist and swaps any physical manifestation of outsider status for more cultural and sexual underpinnings.
Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis) is living in podunk town Squahamish with her widowed dad, whose lack of English has stymied his career, when money woes lead her to start writing letters for nice-but-less-than eloquent football jock Paul Munsky (Daniel Diemer) for Aster Flores (Alexxis Lemire)... the twist being that it's not just Paul who has a crush on her. Chu shows the almost lazy but heavily ingrained racism that often lurks in small towns everywhere. Ellie isn't bullied on a one-to-one basis - after all,...
Ellie Chu (Leah Lewis) is living in podunk town Squahamish with her widowed dad, whose lack of English has stymied his career, when money woes lead her to start writing letters for nice-but-less-than eloquent football jock Paul Munsky (Daniel Diemer) for Aster Flores (Alexxis Lemire)... the twist being that it's not just Paul who has a crush on her. Chu shows the almost lazy but heavily ingrained racism that often lurks in small towns everywhere. Ellie isn't bullied on a one-to-one basis - after all,...
- 5/29/2020
- by Amber Wilkinson
- eyeforfilm.co.uk
Sam Neill. (Photo: Ross Coffey)
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta) will next month bestow actor Sam Neill with its highest honour, the Longford Lyell Award.
First presented in 1968, the award honours Australian film pioneer Raymond Longford and his partner in filmmaking and life, Lottie Lyell. It recognises a person who has made an outstanding contribution to the enrichment of Australia’s screen environment and culture.
Neill joins previous recipients such as Peter Weir, Fred Schepisi, Jan Chapman, David Stratton, Don McAlpine, Al Clark, Jacki Weaver, Andrew Knight, Cate Blanchett, Phillip Noyce and most recently, Bryan Brown.
“I am very thrilled by this honour indeed,” said Neill. “And very surprised! Let me check just in case they’ve made a mistake…”
Neill made his feature debut in Roger Donaldson’s Sleeping Dogs in 1979, which led to a breakthrough role in Gillian Armstrong’s My Brilliant Career opposite Judy Davis.
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta) will next month bestow actor Sam Neill with its highest honour, the Longford Lyell Award.
First presented in 1968, the award honours Australian film pioneer Raymond Longford and his partner in filmmaking and life, Lottie Lyell. It recognises a person who has made an outstanding contribution to the enrichment of Australia’s screen environment and culture.
Neill joins previous recipients such as Peter Weir, Fred Schepisi, Jan Chapman, David Stratton, Don McAlpine, Al Clark, Jacki Weaver, Andrew Knight, Cate Blanchett, Phillip Noyce and most recently, Bryan Brown.
“I am very thrilled by this honour indeed,” said Neill. “And very surprised! Let me check just in case they’ve made a mistake…”
Neill made his feature debut in Roger Donaldson’s Sleeping Dogs in 1979, which led to a breakthrough role in Gillian Armstrong’s My Brilliant Career opposite Judy Davis.
- 11/22/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
British music and film producer Nik Powell, who was among the Virgin Group co-founders with Richard Branson and became an influential force in U.K. cinema, producing more than 60 titles including Neil Jordan’s Oscar-winning “The Crying Game,” died Thursday at age 69.
The cause of death was an unspecified form of cancer, Britain’s National Film and Television School (Nfts) – which Powell headed for more than a decade – said in a statement. He died in Oxford surrounded by his family.
Born on November 4, 1950, in the small village of Great Kingshill, in Buckinghamshire, Powell started out running a record shop and was among the founding partners in 1972 of Virgin Records, which became one of the U.K.’s top recording labels before being sold to Emi 20 years later.
In 1983 Powell co-founded U.K. video label and production outfit Palace Pictures with Stephen Woolley. They produced a string of standout titles such...
The cause of death was an unspecified form of cancer, Britain’s National Film and Television School (Nfts) – which Powell headed for more than a decade – said in a statement. He died in Oxford surrounded by his family.
Born on November 4, 1950, in the small village of Great Kingshill, in Buckinghamshire, Powell started out running a record shop and was among the founding partners in 1972 of Virgin Records, which became one of the U.K.’s top recording labels before being sold to Emi 20 years later.
In 1983 Powell co-founded U.K. video label and production outfit Palace Pictures with Stephen Woolley. They produced a string of standout titles such...
- 11/7/2019
- by Nick Vivarelli
- Variety Film + TV
Fred Schepisi’s 1978 sophomore film The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith holds a significant prominence in the Australian New Wave, which revitalized Australia’s film industry throughout the 1970s and 1980s, in that it was the first Australian film to compete in Cannes. A vibrant, eventually violent saga of an Indigenous man’s turn to bloody vengeance, Blacksmith’s saga is perhaps the most socially provocative figure outside of Ned Kelly (who’s mentioned in the film’s proceedings) to receive such cinematic reverence in Australian cinema. Schepisi, whose filmography runs a gamut of social issue topics, famed play adaptations, Hollywood rom-coms and even espionage thrillers, is perhaps best remembered for the 1988 Meryl Streep starrer A Cry in the Dark (which generated a rather infamous punchline about a dingo), but his recuperation of Jimmie Blacksmith arrives just in time for a resurgence of cinema dealing with Australia’s dark history.…
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- 10/1/2019
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Hollywood director Fred Schepisi’s first feature film is The Devil’s Playground, a 1976 Australian semi-autobiographical drama of a 13-year-old boy’s struggles at a Catholic seminary in the 1950s. The film, long out of print, is being re-released by Artsploitation Films in a new widescreen HD transfer. Included in the DVD is a featurette with Schepisi, …
The post Fred Schepisi’s Classic Drama The Devil’s Playground Available on DVD and VOD appeared first on Hnn | Horrornews.net.
The post Fred Schepisi’s Classic Drama The Devil’s Playground Available on DVD and VOD appeared first on Hnn | Horrornews.net.
- 8/16/2019
- by Mike Joy
- Horror News
“The Devil’s Playground is such a completely and thoroughly realized piece of cinema that almost every scene and sequence in it compels admiration.” – Boston Globe
Hollywood director Fred Schepisi’s first feature film is The Devil’s Playground, a 1976 Australian semi-autobiographical drama of a 13-year-old boy’s struggles at a Catholic seminary in the 1950s. The film, long out of print, is being re-released by Artsploitation Films in a new widescreen HD transfer. Included in the DVD is a featurette with Schepisi, as well as an interview and audio commentary by him. The film was released on DVD and VOD August 8th.
Australian-born filmmaker Fred Schepisi, directed only The Devil’s Playground and The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmithbefore being lured to Hollywood where his works include Barbarosa, Iceman, Plenty, Roxanne, A Cry in the Dark, The Russia House, Six Degrees of Separation, I.Q. andFierce Creatures. The Devil’s...
Hollywood director Fred Schepisi’s first feature film is The Devil’s Playground, a 1976 Australian semi-autobiographical drama of a 13-year-old boy’s struggles at a Catholic seminary in the 1950s. The film, long out of print, is being re-released by Artsploitation Films in a new widescreen HD transfer. Included in the DVD is a featurette with Schepisi, as well as an interview and audio commentary by him. The film was released on DVD and VOD August 8th.
Australian-born filmmaker Fred Schepisi, directed only The Devil’s Playground and The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmithbefore being lured to Hollywood where his works include Barbarosa, Iceman, Plenty, Roxanne, A Cry in the Dark, The Russia House, Six Degrees of Separation, I.Q. andFierce Creatures. The Devil’s...
- 8/14/2019
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Jenny Woods.
Jenny Woods, who died on July 31, aged 75, was one of the behind-the-scenes people who played a role in the establishment of the Australian film industry in the 1970s and 80s, unknown outside the industry but valued and admired within it.
As general manager of the New South Wales Film Corporation from 1977 to 1987, Jenny supported the development and production of iconic films like My Brilliant Career and Newsfront. An extremely capable manager with strong creative skills, she was a key player in identifying scripts and talent and in assisting them into production.
She was a risk taker too, supporting less obvious projects such as The Night The Prowler from a Patrick White story directed by Jim Sharman, and Ray Lawrence’s award winning Bliss, an adaptation of the Peter Carey novel.
The Nswfc was set up under the Wran government to assist in the development of the industry. Its chairman was Paul Riomfalvy,...
Jenny Woods, who died on July 31, aged 75, was one of the behind-the-scenes people who played a role in the establishment of the Australian film industry in the 1970s and 80s, unknown outside the industry but valued and admired within it.
As general manager of the New South Wales Film Corporation from 1977 to 1987, Jenny supported the development and production of iconic films like My Brilliant Career and Newsfront. An extremely capable manager with strong creative skills, she was a key player in identifying scripts and talent and in assisting them into production.
She was a risk taker too, supporting less obvious projects such as The Night The Prowler from a Patrick White story directed by Jim Sharman, and Ray Lawrence’s award winning Bliss, an adaptation of the Peter Carey novel.
The Nswfc was set up under the Wran government to assist in the development of the industry. Its chairman was Paul Riomfalvy,...
- 8/12/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Fred Schepisi’s Classic Drama The Devil’s Playground Coming to DVD and VOD Director’s Debut Film Is Remastered for Re-release Hollywood director Fred Schepisi’s first feature film is The Devil’s Playground, a 1976 Australian semi-autobiographical drama of a 13-year-old boy’s struggles at a Catholic seminary in the 1950s. The film, long out of print, is being re-released by …
The post Australian Classic The Devil’S Playground Is Coming to DVD and VOD appeared first on Hnn | Horrornews.net.
The post Australian Classic The Devil’S Playground Is Coming to DVD and VOD appeared first on Hnn | Horrornews.net.
- 8/8/2019
- by Adrian Halen
- Horror News
Jenny Woods.
Friends and former colleagues are paying tribute to Jenny Woods, a long-time executive at Film Finances Australasia, as a consummate professional and champion of Australian films and documentaries.
Woods, who died on July 31, aged 75, retired last year after more than five decades in the screen industry, the last 25 years as the documentary representative at Film Finances.
A former general manager of the New South Wales Film Corp., she joined the completion bond company in 1993 at the invitation of then head Sue Milliken and supervised the delivery of more than 400 documentaries.
“In all my years as a distributor we had one film, a feature documentary, which went seriously astray and the investors left responsibility to me to bring in the completion guarantor,” Ronin Films MD Andrew Pike tells If.
“The guarantor was represented by Jenny and she was fabulous – she guided me through the whole difficult process with humour...
Friends and former colleagues are paying tribute to Jenny Woods, a long-time executive at Film Finances Australasia, as a consummate professional and champion of Australian films and documentaries.
Woods, who died on July 31, aged 75, retired last year after more than five decades in the screen industry, the last 25 years as the documentary representative at Film Finances.
A former general manager of the New South Wales Film Corp., she joined the completion bond company in 1993 at the invitation of then head Sue Milliken and supervised the delivery of more than 400 documentaries.
“In all my years as a distributor we had one film, a feature documentary, which went seriously astray and the investors left responsibility to me to bring in the completion guarantor,” Ronin Films MD Andrew Pike tells If.
“The guarantor was represented by Jenny and she was fabulous – she guided me through the whole difficult process with humour...
- 8/5/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Kelton Pell.
Actor Kelton Pell is the first Western Australian to receive the Screen Legend accolade from CinefestOZ in the event’s 12-year history.
In a career spanning more than 25 years, his film credits include Blackfellas, Australian Rules, September, Bran Nue Dae, Mad Bastards, Looking For Grace, Red Dog:True Blue and Three Summers.
In his latest screen role he appeared alongside Bill Nighy, Victoria Hill and Milan Burch in director Tim Brown’s Buckley’s Chance, which was partly shot in Wa.
Nighy played Spencer, the estranged grandfather of Burch’s Ridley, who moved to Wa with his mother Gloria (Hill) after his father dies. Spencer tries to reconnect with the boy but he gets lost the outback.
Pell has been a familiar face in such TV shows as Pine Gap, The Gods of Wheat Street, The Circuit, Redfern Now and The Heights.
“It’s a huge honour,” he says of the award.
Actor Kelton Pell is the first Western Australian to receive the Screen Legend accolade from CinefestOZ in the event’s 12-year history.
In a career spanning more than 25 years, his film credits include Blackfellas, Australian Rules, September, Bran Nue Dae, Mad Bastards, Looking For Grace, Red Dog:True Blue and Three Summers.
In his latest screen role he appeared alongside Bill Nighy, Victoria Hill and Milan Burch in director Tim Brown’s Buckley’s Chance, which was partly shot in Wa.
Nighy played Spencer, the estranged grandfather of Burch’s Ridley, who moved to Wa with his mother Gloria (Hill) after his father dies. Spencer tries to reconnect with the boy but he gets lost the outback.
Pell has been a familiar face in such TV shows as Pine Gap, The Gods of Wheat Street, The Circuit, Redfern Now and The Heights.
“It’s a huge honour,” he says of the award.
- 8/1/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Check out which Indian films bagged nominations for the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne Award 2019
One of the biggest Indian Film Festivals outside of India, the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne has just announced its nominations for its annual awards ceremony. The festival is presented by the Victorian Government, is an annual festival that takes place in the cultural melting pot, Melbourne. This year's theme of the festival is Courage with over 58 films selected and to be screened in 21 languages.?
Apart from an exciting line up of some of the best Indian film talent set to visit the city to attend the celebrations at the festival, the annual award night will be held on 8th August the Palais Theatre, which is an iconic landmark of the city. ?
Each year the festival has had the privilege of some of the biggest Australian film talent on the jury panel. After a successful past few years, this year the jury comprises of some of the most renowned and...
Apart from an exciting line up of some of the best Indian film talent set to visit the city to attend the celebrations at the festival, the annual award night will be held on 8th August the Palais Theatre, which is an iconic landmark of the city. ?
Each year the festival has had the privilege of some of the biggest Australian film talent on the jury panel. After a successful past few years, this year the jury comprises of some of the most renowned and...
- 7/17/2019
- GlamSham
Get in touch to send in cinephile news and discoveries. For daily updates follow us @NotebookMUBI.NEWSFirst Case, Second Case (1979)A restoration of Abbas Kiarostami's banned 1979 film First Case, Second Case will premiere at this year's edition of Il Cinema Ritrovato. Ehsan Khoshbakht writes that the unseen film is a "testimony to [Kiarostami's] seldom acknowledged political shrewdness and his objective, complex perspective on the tumultuous events of the late 70s in Iran." Studio Ghibli has announced plans for a "Ghibli Park" to be built by 2023. The park will be divided into several themed "lands" as seen in My Neighbor Totoro, Howl's Moving Castle, Princess Mononoke, and Kiki's Delivery Service. Last week a meme of what appeared to some to be a real video of a man abandoning his family in light of an approaching avalanche took hold of social media—the clip was actually from Ruben Ostlund’s Force Majeure...
- 6/14/2019
- MUBI
‘Maybe Tomorrow’.
A comedy drama that depicts the juggle of filmmaking and parenthood, Maybe Tomorrow, took home the prize for best independent film at the Gold Coast Film Festival yesterday evening.
Judged by members of the Australian Film Critics Association, the Blackmagic Design Best Australian Independent Film Award gifts Melbourne directors Caitlin Farrugia and Michael Jones $10,000 worth of Blackmagic equipment and software.
Other films nominated in the category, which recognises features made without significant screen agency funding, were Heath Davis’ Locusts, Tony D’Aquino’s The Furies and Imogen Thomas’ Emu Runner.
Maybe Tomorrow, which stars Tegan Crowley and Vateresio Tuikaba as new parents making a self-funded feature film, makes its world premiere at Gold Coast Film Festival this evening.
Farrugia and Jones were presented the award at the Gcff’s inaugural Screen Industry Gala Awards, held at Movie World.
The night also saw actress Sigrid Thornton presented the Chauvel Award,...
A comedy drama that depicts the juggle of filmmaking and parenthood, Maybe Tomorrow, took home the prize for best independent film at the Gold Coast Film Festival yesterday evening.
Judged by members of the Australian Film Critics Association, the Blackmagic Design Best Australian Independent Film Award gifts Melbourne directors Caitlin Farrugia and Michael Jones $10,000 worth of Blackmagic equipment and software.
Other films nominated in the category, which recognises features made without significant screen agency funding, were Heath Davis’ Locusts, Tony D’Aquino’s The Furies and Imogen Thomas’ Emu Runner.
Maybe Tomorrow, which stars Tegan Crowley and Vateresio Tuikaba as new parents making a self-funded feature film, makes its world premiere at Gold Coast Film Festival this evening.
Farrugia and Jones were presented the award at the Gcff’s inaugural Screen Industry Gala Awards, held at Movie World.
The night also saw actress Sigrid Thornton presented the Chauvel Award,...
- 4/5/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
L-r: Fred Schepisi, Minister Martin Foley, Andrew Knight, Film Victoria CEO Caroline Pitcher, Film Victoria president Ian Robertson, Claire Dobbin, Jan Sardi, John Howie and Tony Reed.
Film Victoria’s annual screen awards were held yesterday evening, honouring writer/producer Andrew Knight, director Daina Reid, games advocate Tony Reed and Melbourne International Film Festival (Miff) chair Claire Dobbin.
Knight, whose credits include TV shows such as Fast Forward, Full Frontal, SeaChange and Jack Irish and features like The Water Diviner, Ali’s Wedding and Hacksaw Ridge, was recognised with the Jan Sardi Award for his significant achievements as a screenwriter.
Daina Reid was presented Fred Schepisi Award for significant achievement in directing. Reid began her career in television as a comedy writer and actor, before moving into directing. Her creidts include Blue Heelers, The Secret Life of Us, Rush, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Offspring, Nowhere Boys, The Secret River,...
Film Victoria’s annual screen awards were held yesterday evening, honouring writer/producer Andrew Knight, director Daina Reid, games advocate Tony Reed and Melbourne International Film Festival (Miff) chair Claire Dobbin.
Knight, whose credits include TV shows such as Fast Forward, Full Frontal, SeaChange and Jack Irish and features like The Water Diviner, Ali’s Wedding and Hacksaw Ridge, was recognised with the Jan Sardi Award for his significant achievements as a screenwriter.
Daina Reid was presented Fred Schepisi Award for significant achievement in directing. Reid began her career in television as a comedy writer and actor, before moving into directing. Her creidts include Blue Heelers, The Secret Life of Us, Rush, Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Offspring, Nowhere Boys, The Secret River,...
- 4/4/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Sigrid Thornton.
Sigrid Thornton will be presented with the Chauvel Award tonight at a screen industry gala event held as part of the Gold Coast Film Festival.
The award recognises the prolific actress’ significant contribution to the Australian screen industry. Her long career includes films such The Man From Snowy River and The Lighthorsemen, and TV series SeaChange, All The Rivers Run, Prisoner and recently, The Code and Wentworth. Established in 1992, previous winners of the Chauvel Award include Fred Schepisi, Gillian Armstrong, George Miller, Jan Chapman, Heath Ledger and Deborah Mailman.
“This recognition is a wonderful and very humbling acknowledgement of essentially what’s been a lot of hard work,” Thornton tells If.
“It’s a career that’s been full, rich and enormously joyful, but it’s also had a lot of ups and downs as well.”
Thronton will soon return to one of her most notable roles, that of Laura Gibson,...
Sigrid Thornton will be presented with the Chauvel Award tonight at a screen industry gala event held as part of the Gold Coast Film Festival.
The award recognises the prolific actress’ significant contribution to the Australian screen industry. Her long career includes films such The Man From Snowy River and The Lighthorsemen, and TV series SeaChange, All The Rivers Run, Prisoner and recently, The Code and Wentworth. Established in 1992, previous winners of the Chauvel Award include Fred Schepisi, Gillian Armstrong, George Miller, Jan Chapman, Heath Ledger and Deborah Mailman.
“This recognition is a wonderful and very humbling acknowledgement of essentially what’s been a lot of hard work,” Thornton tells If.
“It’s a career that’s been full, rich and enormously joyful, but it’s also had a lot of ups and downs as well.”
Thronton will soon return to one of her most notable roles, that of Laura Gibson,...
- 4/4/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Warwick Young.
Actor and filmmaker Warwick Young is currently working with Aftrs to develop a film training program for veterans.
The news comes as Young, who completed active service in Iraq in 2006, was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (Oam) on Saturday for his service to veterans and their families.
To receive the Oam was humbling and unexpected, Young tells If, because his work with veterans “is something I do to give back to a community of people I think give us a lot.”
In 2013, Young was approached to advise the production of play ‘The Long Way Home’, a joint venture between the Sydney Theatre Company (Stc) and the Australian Defence Force (Adf). Together with wounded, injured, and ill defence personnel, the play was written and developed via a workshop at the Stc and then went on a national tour in 2014 with a cast of predominantly veterans who...
Actor and filmmaker Warwick Young is currently working with Aftrs to develop a film training program for veterans.
The news comes as Young, who completed active service in Iraq in 2006, was awarded a Medal of the Order of Australia (Oam) on Saturday for his service to veterans and their families.
To receive the Oam was humbling and unexpected, Young tells If, because his work with veterans “is something I do to give back to a community of people I think give us a lot.”
In 2013, Young was approached to advise the production of play ‘The Long Way Home’, a joint venture between the Sydney Theatre Company (Stc) and the Australian Defence Force (Adf). Together with wounded, injured, and ill defence personnel, the play was written and developed via a workshop at the Stc and then went on a national tour in 2014 with a cast of predominantly veterans who...
- 1/29/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Sam Neill and Bryan Brown.
Bryan Brown will receive this year’s Longford Lyell Award, the highest honour bestowed by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta).
Director Ian Dunlop was the first recipient of the honour named after film pioneers Raymond Longford and Lottie Lyell at the 1968 AFI Awards.
The roll call of honorees includes Peter Weir, Geoffrey Rush, Fred Schepisi, Jan Chapman, David Stratton, Don McAlpine, Al Clark, Jacki Weaver, Andrew Knight, Cate Blanchett and, last year, Phillip Noyce.
“In the 38 years since Bryan received his first AFI Award we have seen him firmly established as one of Australia’s most respected actors. As one of our earliest performance winners it is fitting that we honour Bryan this year as AFI | Aacta celebrates its 60th anniversary,” said AFI | Aacta CEO Damian Trewhella.
“We are full of admiration for Bryan’s commitment to his craft, his role...
Bryan Brown will receive this year’s Longford Lyell Award, the highest honour bestowed by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta).
Director Ian Dunlop was the first recipient of the honour named after film pioneers Raymond Longford and Lottie Lyell at the 1968 AFI Awards.
The roll call of honorees includes Peter Weir, Geoffrey Rush, Fred Schepisi, Jan Chapman, David Stratton, Don McAlpine, Al Clark, Jacki Weaver, Andrew Knight, Cate Blanchett and, last year, Phillip Noyce.
“In the 38 years since Bryan received his first AFI Award we have seen him firmly established as one of Australia’s most respected actors. As one of our earliest performance winners it is fitting that we honour Bryan this year as AFI | Aacta celebrates its 60th anniversary,” said AFI | Aacta CEO Damian Trewhella.
“We are full of admiration for Bryan’s commitment to his craft, his role...
- 11/27/2018
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Russell Crowe and David Stratton. (Photo: Mark Rogers)
Two Australian productions, Stranger Than Fiction Film’s David Stratton’s Stories of Australian Cinema and Endemol Shine Australia’s MasterChef Australia, are in contention for the 2018 International Emmy Awards.
Three-part series David Stratton’s Stories of Australian Cinema, produced for the ABC, is nominated for the Arts Programming Award. It will compete against Canada’s Dreaming of A Jewish Christmas (Riddle Films), Dutch production Etgar Keret, gebaseerd op een waar verhaal (Baldr Film/Ntr Television) and Brazil’s Palavras Em Série (Words in Series) (Gnt/Hungry Man).
Stories of Australian Cinema, directed by Sally Aitken and produced by Jen Peedom and Jo-anne McGowan, sees the film critic and former co-host of ABC’s At The Movies and Sbs’s The Movie Show reflect on Australian films, including interviews from the likes of Nicole Kidman, Judy Davis, Russell Crowe and Jacki Weaver,...
Two Australian productions, Stranger Than Fiction Film’s David Stratton’s Stories of Australian Cinema and Endemol Shine Australia’s MasterChef Australia, are in contention for the 2018 International Emmy Awards.
Three-part series David Stratton’s Stories of Australian Cinema, produced for the ABC, is nominated for the Arts Programming Award. It will compete against Canada’s Dreaming of A Jewish Christmas (Riddle Films), Dutch production Etgar Keret, gebaseerd op een waar verhaal (Baldr Film/Ntr Television) and Brazil’s Palavras Em Série (Words in Series) (Gnt/Hungry Man).
Stories of Australian Cinema, directed by Sally Aitken and produced by Jen Peedom and Jo-anne McGowan, sees the film critic and former co-host of ABC’s At The Movies and Sbs’s The Movie Show reflect on Australian films, including interviews from the likes of Nicole Kidman, Judy Davis, Russell Crowe and Jacki Weaver,...
- 9/28/2018
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
It would be all too lazy to compare Terry Gilliam and his attempts to make a movie about Don Quixote to its main character – an old man foolishly picking fights with windmills. A better comparison might be Sisyphus, the mythological Greek king whose deceitfulness was punished by forcing him to roll a boulder uphill repeatedly, arduously and monotonously. It's an analogy Gilliam has made himself over the decades since he first got the idea to make the movie.
Now, 29 years after he secured financing for the picture for the first time,...
Now, 29 years after he secured financing for the picture for the first time,...
- 5/18/2018
- Rollingstone.com
Exclusive: Riley Keough and Gina Gammell’s production company Felix Culpa has set Australian filmmaker Simon Stone to adapt and direct Lydia Millet’s New York Times bestseller Sweet Lamb of Heaven: A Novel. Keough is also set to star as Anna in the film and will produce alongside Gammell and Scott Free.
The domestic thriller/psychological horror novel was one of three novels Felix Culpa acquired rights to when they announced their label with Deadline. Sweet Lamb of Heaven follows Anna, a young mother, who is escaping her cold and unfaithful husband, Ned, a businessman who’s just launched his first campaign for political office. Ned chases Anna and their six-year-old daughter from Alaska to Maine, and the two go into hiding in a run-down motel on the coast. The longer they stay, the less the guests in the dingy motel look like typical tourists — and the less Ned resembles a typical candidate.
The domestic thriller/psychological horror novel was one of three novels Felix Culpa acquired rights to when they announced their label with Deadline. Sweet Lamb of Heaven follows Anna, a young mother, who is escaping her cold and unfaithful husband, Ned, a businessman who’s just launched his first campaign for political office. Ned chases Anna and their six-year-old daughter from Alaska to Maine, and the two go into hiding in a run-down motel on the coast. The longer they stay, the less the guests in the dingy motel look like typical tourists — and the less Ned resembles a typical candidate.
- 5/4/2018
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
John and Matthew are watching every single live-action film starring Meryl Streep.
#15 — Lindy Chamberlain, a New Zealand matriarch wrongfully convicted of her child’s murder.
Matthew: One evening in August 1980, Azaria Chamberlain, the two month-old daughter of New Zealand couple Michael and Lindy Chamberlain, was taken while the family was camping near Ayers Rock. She was never found again. Seconds before Azaria disappeared, Lindy claimed to have seen a dingo rummaging through the tent where her daughter lay sleeping, putting forth the soon-to-be-infamous story that a dingo had taken and perhaps eaten her baby. A seedy, sensationalist media frenzy ensued, with the Chamberlains’ faces splashed across the covers of obsessive tabloids and speculative segments of nightly news programs as many, including the New Zealand high court, viciously questioned the veracity of the family’s explanation.
None of Meryl Streep’s vehicles have entered the cultural lexicon with quite the same...
#15 — Lindy Chamberlain, a New Zealand matriarch wrongfully convicted of her child’s murder.
Matthew: One evening in August 1980, Azaria Chamberlain, the two month-old daughter of New Zealand couple Michael and Lindy Chamberlain, was taken while the family was camping near Ayers Rock. She was never found again. Seconds before Azaria disappeared, Lindy claimed to have seen a dingo rummaging through the tent where her daughter lay sleeping, putting forth the soon-to-be-infamous story that a dingo had taken and perhaps eaten her baby. A seedy, sensationalist media frenzy ensued, with the Chamberlains’ faces splashed across the covers of obsessive tabloids and speculative segments of nightly news programs as many, including the New Zealand high court, viciously questioned the veracity of the family’s explanation.
None of Meryl Streep’s vehicles have entered the cultural lexicon with quite the same...
- 4/12/2018
- by John Guerin
- FilmExperience
Juraj Herz, the great Czech filmmaker who died Monday, is best known for 1969's The Cremator, and had a long association with black comedy, horror, and dark fantasy. His work deserves to be better known: certainly The Night Overtakes Me deserves to be seen in something better than the fuzzy off-air recording I was able to see.Like many of his peers, Herz had a shaky relationship with the government censors under communist rule, and had been formally banned from making films in the mid-eighties. Then he heard that a project was in the pipeline dealing with the communist teacher Jožka Jabůrková, who perished in Ravensbrück. Herz had been trying for years to make a film about this notorious Nazi concentration camp, on account of his own imprisonment there as a child of ten. His original desire had been to make a kind of black comedy: whenever he got together with fellow survivors,...
- 4/12/2018
- MUBI
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