Noticias

Twenty-two years after Gettin’ Square became a cult favourite, the actor is back in the thongs and in court for Spit – ‘one of the happiest creative periods’ of his life

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David Wenham avoided wearing thongs for 22 years. That’s ever since a scene in the 2003 heist caper Gettin’ Square, in which he slapped his way down a suburban street in thongs and leopard-skin briefs, on the run from cops. If you’ve ever tried running in thongs, you’ll appreciate the lasting limping.

“I probably would have done that more than 50 times. Jonathan likes many takes,” Wenham says of the film-maker Jonathan Teplitzky.

"Transmission Films” new live-action, Australian-produced crime comedy feature “Spit”, directed by Jonathan Teplitzky, stars David Wenham Helen Thomson, David Field, David Roberts, Gary Sweet, Arlo Green, Ayik Daniel Chut Deng, Sam & Teagan Rybka and Sami Afuni, with a North American release Tba:

“…in this sequel to the feature ‘Gettin' Square’, former junkie and international fugitive ‘John Spitieri’ returns to Australia…

“…only to find himself locked up in an ‘Immigration Detention Centre’ with a massive target on his back…

“…as old enemies come looking for him, determined to settle old scores…”

Click the images to enlarge...

Veteran actor Brian Cox slams the Oscars while recalling the time he played Winston Churchill around the same time Gary Oldman won Best Actor for it. With a career spanning decades, Cox has earned widespread acclaim for his commanding roles in works such as the TV series Succession, the 2008 drama thriller The Escapist, and the 2000 Canadian-American series Nuremburg. Despite winning a Golden Globe for his portrayal of the global media titan Logan Roy in HBO’s Succession, the Scottish actor has yet to receive recognition from the Academy Awards.

Cox’s career is a testament to his versatility and talent, with roles that have consistently showcased his knack for embodying complex, larger-than-life characters on stage and the big screen. However, the actor has recently spoken out about his frustrations with the Oscars, criticizing the politics and timing behind the journey towards recognition. Cox argued that the Academy disproportionately focuses on high-profile,...

"I'm gonna get outta here, and when I do I'm gonna look after ya..." Transmission Films has revealed the main official trailer for the film Spit – yes that's the actual title for it. David Wenham stars as infamous criminal John Francis "Spit" Spitieri in Jonathan Teplitzky's film Spit - debuting in Australia next March. In the sequel to the award-winning crime comedy, Gettin' Square, ex-junkie John Spitieri returns to Australia, only to find himself locked up in an Immigration Detention Centre with a massive target on his back, as old enemies come looking for him, determined to settle old scores. As Johnny talks up a storm without saying anything at all, he makes new friends amongst the detainees, and teaches them his version of mateship. The full cast also includes Helen Thomson, David Field, David Roberts, Gary Sweet, Arlo Green, Ayik Daniel Chut Deng, Sam & Teagan Rybka, & Sami Afuni.

"International fugitive. Money launderer. Criminal mastermind." Transmission Films has unveiled a first look teaser trailer for a film called Spit – yes that's the actual title for it. David Wenham is John Francis "Spit" Spitieri in the first look at Jonathan Teplitzky's film Spit. Opening first in Australia next March. In the sequel to the award-winning crime comedy, Gettin' Square, ex-junkie John Spitieri returns to Australia, only to find himself locked up in an Immigration Detention Centre with a massive target on his back, as old enemies come looking for him, determined to settle old scores. As Johnny talks up a storm without saying anything at all, he makes new friends amongst the detainees, and teaches them his version of mateship. The full cast also includes Helen Thomson, David Field, David Roberts, Gary Sweet, Arlo Green, Ayik Daniel Chut Deng, Sam & Teagan Rybka, & Sami Afuni. Just a few seconds of footage in here so far,...

“Lord of the Rings,” “Elvis” and “Faraway Downs” star David Wenham is to reprise one of other his best-known roles in upcoming feature “Spit.”

The picture is a sequel to 2003 comedy crime thriller “Gettin’ Square,” in which Wenham played Johnny ‘Spit’ Spitteri, a recently-released ex-convict and Sam Worthington (“Avatar”) played an older brother trying to keep the kid out of trouble.

Production of “Spit” has got underway in Gold Coast and Brisbane, Queensland and will continue through May.

The new film is directed by ‘Gettin’ Square” and “The Railway Man” director Jonathan Teplitzky, from a screenplay by Queensland-based writer and lawyer Christopher Nyst.

It is produced by Trish Lake of Queensland-based Freshwater Pictures alongside Greg Duffy, Felicity McVay and Wenham. It received major production investment from Screen Australia with local distribution by Transmission Films and international rights sales managed by Moviehouse Entertainment.

In “Spit,’ Spitteri finds himself locked up in...

‘Spit’ is one of five features to receive a share of $4.6m (A$6.9m).

Australian filmmaker Jonathan Teplitzky is working on a sequel to his 2003 crime comedy Gettin’ Square – one of five features to receive a share of $4.6m (A$6.9m) in production funding from national body Screen Australia.

The latest round of funding will also support Kriv Stenders’ The Correspondent; Cathy Randall’s Red Rock Run; Kate Woods’ Kangaroo; and Nicholas Clifford’s One More Shot.

Teplitzky’s Spit will mark the return of David Wenham as ex-junkie John Spitieri, who travels back to Australia only to find himself...

‘Spit’ is one of five features to receive a share of $4.6m (A$6.9m).

Australian filmmaker Jonathan Teplitzky is working on a sequel to his 2003 crime comedy Gettin’ Square – one of five features to receive a share of $4.6m (A$6.9m) in production funding from national body Screen Australia.

The latest round of funding will also support Kriv Stenders’ The Correspondent; Cathy Randall’s Red Rock Run; Kate Woods’ Kangaroo; and Nicholas Clifford’s One More Shot.

Teplitzky’s Spit will mark the return of David Wenham as ex-junkie John Spitieri, who travels back to Australia only to find himself...

For Robert Rabiah, Queensland’s Mission Beach is more than just the location where he is filming fish-out-of-water drama Irreverent – it’s also where he began his career.

The actor’s first professional job was appearing alongside Craig McLachlan, Nadine Garner, and Antonio Sabato Jr. in George Miller’s action/adventure mini-series Tribe, which was also based in the coastal town.

Speaking to If, Rabiah said his role in the Matchbox Pictures/NBCUniversal International Studios’ series more than two decades later was a case of his journey coming full circle.

“To come back after all these years feels nostalgic and satisfying,” he said.

In Irreverent, Rabiah plays Farah, a menacing hitman sent by the Chicago Mob to settle the ledger with a criminal mediator (Colin Donnell) who has taken refuge in Far North Queensland and assumed the identity of a church reverend.

Created by Paddy Macrae, the 10-part series also...

Chicago Med and Arrow star Colin Donnell is to lead Peacock’s Australia-set crime drama Irreverent.

The series, which Deadline revealed last month had scored a straight-to-series order, will also feature Pj Byrne, Kylie Bracknell, Briallen Clarke, Tegan Stimson, Ed Oxenbould, Wayne Blair, Russell Dykstra, Calen Tassone and Jason Wilder as series regulars.

Irreverent follows a criminal from Chicago who bungles a heist and is forced to hide out in a small Australian reef town in Far North Queensland posing as the new church Reverend.

Donnell will play Mack/Paulo, a skilled and articulate mediator who keeps the peace between organized crime families in Chicago. After a mediation goes badly wrong, Mack flees to a remote beach town in tropical Australia where he is forced to assume the identity of a Reverend in order to stay ahead of the people who want him dead.

Created by Paddy Macrae (Wanted), the...

Colin Donnell is trading his scrubs for a slightly different cloth. The former Chicago Med star will lead Peacock’s Irreverent, a co-production between the streamer and Netflix Australia, TVLine has learned.

Irreverent‘s official logline describes it as a “fish out of water drama that follows criminal mediator Paulo Keegan (Donnell) as he flees the United States after a mediation gone wrong and assumes the identity of Reverend Mackenzie ‘Mack’ Boyd. ‘Mack’ finds himself trapped in Clump, Australia — a small, eccentric beach town hundreds of miles away from civilization and phone reception. In order to stay alive, ‘Mack’ must...

Australian talent will be front and centre in Matchbox Pictures/NBCUniversal International Studios’ drama Irreverent when it starts production in Queensland tomorrow.

Kylie Bracknell, Calen Tassone, Briallen Clarke, Tegan Stimson, Ed Oxenbould, Wayne Blair, Russell Dykstra, and Jason Wilder will be series regulars on the Netflix and Peacock co-commission, with Susie Porter, Bridie McKim, Martin Sacks, and Ursula Yovich also set to appear.

Created by Paddy Macrae, Irreverent follows criminal mediator Paulo Keegan (Colin Donnell) as he flees the United States after a mediation gone wrong and assumes the identity of Reverend Mackenzie “Mack” Boyd in Clump, a small, Australian beach town hundreds of miles away from civilization and phone reception.

While there, he encounters Piper (Bracknell), a gifted cop who has returned to her hometown after a successful start to her career in the city, and begins to suspect he isn’t who he says he is. Clarke plays...

Netflix and Peacock are co-commissioning partners for Matchbox Pictures and NBCUniversal International Studios’ Irreverent.

The 10-part series was first announced last year as part of a trio Universal Studio Group projects lured for Queensland thanks to the Federal Government’s Location Incentive Program and the state’s production attraction strategy – the others being Young Rock and Joe Exotic. It’s expected to start shooting in Mission Beach next month.

Created by Paddy Macrae, Irreverent follows an American crook who screws up a heist and is forced to hide out in Far North Queensland, where he poses as a church Reverend.

Penning the scripts with Macrae are writers Andrew Knight, Andrew Anastasios, Angela McDonald and Darlene Johnson.

Jonathan Teplitzky will be the set-up director. Macrae produces with Tom Hoffie, with EPs including Knight and Matchbox’s Debbie Lee.

Netflix Anz director of content Que Minh Luu describes Irreverent as “Northern Exposure...

Exclusive: Peacock is heading down under for its latest straight-to-series order.

The streamer has handed a ten-part order to Irreverent, an Australia-set crime drama from Matchbox Pictures, the production company behind Cate Blanchett’s Stateless.

Irreverant was created by Paddy Macrae (Wanted) and follows a criminal from Chicago bungles a heist and is forced to hide out in a small Australian reef town in Far North Queensland posing as the new church Reverend.

Matchbox Pictures is owned by NBCUniversal International Studios, a division of Universal Studio Group and the series is a co-production between Peacock and Netflix in Australia.

It will be filmed in Australia and will be exec produced by Debbie Lee (Hungry Ghosts) and Andrew Knight (Rake). Tom Hoffie (Clickbait) and Macrae will serve as producers.

Jonathan Teplitzky (A Discovery of Witches) is attached to direct three episodes, while Macrae, Knight, Andrew Anastasios (Wentworth), Angela McDonald (Operation Buffalo...

(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...

Justin Kurzel and Shaun Grant, the Australian directing and writing team behind “Snowtown” and the recent “True History of the Kelly Gang,” will reunite for a TV series adaptation of “The Narrow Road to the Deep North.” The series is being set up at Fremantle.

The underlying novel by Richard Flanagan, published in 2013, chronicles a century dominated by war, with the forced labor on the Thai-Burma Railway as its dramatic heart. The story is told by an Australian doctor who was taken prisoner during World War II and became an unlikely and uncomfortable hero after the war’s end. The book won the 2014 edition of the Man Booker Prize.

Fremantle’s director of scripted entertainment, Jo Porter, will produce the adaptation as a limited series. Other Fremantle executives involved include Chris Oliver-Taylor, Amy Noble and Nat Lindwall.

“Richard Flanagan’s novel has been hailed as a masterpiece around the world.

Marta Dusseldorp, Glenn Gainor, Alex Dimitriades and Ben Young will join chair Rachel Ward on the jury which will determine the winner of this year’s $100,000 CinefestOz Film Prize.

Owen Trevor’s Go!, John Sheedy’s H is for Happiness, Ben Lawrence’s Hearts and Bones, Mirrah Foulkes’ Judy & Punch and Paul Ireland’s Measure for Measure will compete for Australia’s biggest film prize.

“The quality of this year’s Film Prize finalists is exceptionally high and we are delighted to have a jury of equal calibre to decide on the winner,” CinefestOZ chair Helen Shervington said.

Dimitriades made his acting debut in Michael Jenkins’ The Heartbreak Kid followed by Ana Kokkinos’ Head On. Other film performances include Three Blind Mice, Ghost Ship, Deuce Bigalow, Kings of Mykonos, Summer Coda, The Infinite Man and Ruben Guthrie.

His TV credits include The Slap, The Principal, Seven Types of Ambiguity, Wanted,...

Richard Carter.

Australian film and television actor Richard Carter died last Saturday after a brief illness. He was 65.

Carter appeared in numerous TV series in the 1980s and 1990s including Wildside, Rafferty’s Rules, A Country Practice, Bangkok Hilton and Police Rescue.

His film credits included Bootmen, Gettin’ Square, The Man Who Sued God, voice roles in both editions of Happy Feet and The Great Gatsby.

Producer Trish Lake recalls Carter’s memorable line in Jonathan Teplitzky’s 2003 crime drama Gettin’ Square – “It’s un-Australian,” delivered in outraged tones to Timothy Spall when talking about the “super cops” and their coercive powers, observing, “He will be greatly missed and always remembered.”

He had regular roles as Mick Corella in Rake, Mick Deakin in East West 101 and Ted Hudson in White Collar Blue. In his final screen appearance he played the Bullet Farmer in Mad Max: Fury Road.

His agency...

Eric Bana and Robert Connolly. (Photo: Rebecca Bana)

Eleven years since they first collaborated on Romulus, My Father, Eric Bana and Robert Connolly are teaming up again for The Dry, the feature film adaptation of Jane Harper’s bestselling novel.

Bana will play Aaron Falk, a federal cop who returns to his drought-ravaged hometown after an absence of 20 years to attend the funeral of his childhood friend Luke, whom the local police believe killed his wife and child before taking his own life.

Falk reluctantly agrees to investigate the crime to determine whether it was more than a murder-suicide, which opens an old wound — the death of teenager Ellie Deacon, who was a friend of Falk and Luke.

He begins to suspect these two crimes are connected but as he struggles to prove Luke’s innocence and his own he faces the community’s prejudice and pent-up rage.

Connolly co-wrote...

From VancouverFilm.Net, here is the Vancouver Film Production Update for March 2018,  including "Arrow", "Purple Harvest, "Supergirl" and a whole lot more:

Purple Harvest

Feature

Local Production Company: Tcf Vancouver Productions

Director: Drew Goddard

Exec. Producer: Mary McLaglen

Jan 29/18 - Apr 06/18

Spontaneous

Feature

Local Production Company: Spontaneous Film Productions

Director: Brian Duffield

Producer: Chris Foss

Jan 29/18 - Mar 02/18

The Perfection

Feature

Local Production Company: Perfection Canada Films

Director: Richard Shepard

Producer: Bill Block, Richard Shepard, Stacy Reiss

Feb 14/18 - Mar 16/18

A Series Of Unfortunate Events ~ Season 2 & 3

TV Series

Local Production Company: Olaf II Productions Inc

Director: Jonathan Teplitzky

Exec. Producer(s): Daniel Handler, Rose Lam, Barry Sonnenfeld

Apr 17/17 - May 08/18

Arrow - Season 6

TV Series

Local Production Company: Benchmark Production Services

Director: various

Producer: Todd Pittson

Jul 07/17 - Apr 26/18

Blue Book - Season 1

TV Series

Local Production Company: Blue Book 1 North Productions

Director: Robert Stromberg, Pete Travis

Producer: Brad Van Arragon...

From VancouverFilm.Net, here is the Vancouver Film Production Update for February 2018,  including "Fast Layne", "Purple Harvest, "Sacred Lies" and a whole lot more:

Purple Harvest

Feature

Local Production Company: Tcf Vancouver Productions

Director: Drew Goddard

Exec. Producer: Mary McLaglen

Jan 29/18 - Apr 06/18

Spontaneous

Feature

Local Production Company: Spontaneous Film Productions

Director: Brian Duffield

Producer: Chris Foss

Jan 29/18 - Mar 02/18

The Perfection

Feature

Local Production Company: Perfection Canada Films

Director: Richard Shepard

Producer: Bill Block, Richard Shepard, Stacy Reiss

Feb 14/18 - Mar 16/18

A Series Of Unfortunate Events ~ Season 2 & 3

TV Series

Local Production Company: Olaf II Productions Inc

Director: Jonathan Teplitzky

Exec. Producer(s): Daniel Handler, Rose Lam, Barry Sonnenfeld

Apr 17/17 - May 08/18

Arrow - Season 6

TV Series

Local Production Company: Benchmark Production Services

Director: various

Producer: Todd Pittson

Jul 07/17 - Apr 26/18

Blue Book - Season 1

TV Series

Local Production Company: Blue Book 1 North Productions

Director: Robert Stromberg, Pete Travis...

From VancouverFilm.Net, here is the Vancouver Film Production Update for January 2018,  including "Purple Harvest", "Colony", "Fast Layne" and a whole lot more:

Noelle

Feature 

Local Production Company: True Meaning Productions

Director: Marc Lawrence

Exec. Producer(s): Justis Greene

Producer: Heather Meehan

Oct 23/17 - Jan 18/18

Purple Harvest

Feature

Local Production Company: Tcf Vancouver Productions

Director: Drew Goddard

Exec. Producer(s): Mary McLaglen

Jan 29/18 - Apr 06/18

Spontaneous

Feature

Local Production Company: Spontaneous Film Productions

Director: Brian Duffield

Jan 29/18 - Mar 02/18

A Series Of Unfortunate Events ~ Season 2

TV Series

Local Production Company: Olaf II Productions Inc

Director: Jonathan Teplitzky

Exec. Producer(s): Daniel Handler, Rose Lam, Barry Sonnenfeld

Apr 17/17 - Apr 20/18

Arrow - Season 6

TV Series

Local Production Company: Benchmark Production Services

Director: various

Producer: Todd Pittson

Jul 07/17 - Apr 26/18

Blue Book - Season 1

TV Series

Local Production Company: Blue Book 1 North Productions

Director: Robert Stromberg, Pete Travis

Producer:...

From VancouverFilm.Net, here is the Vancouver Film Production Update for December 2017 including "Purple Harvest", "Supergirl", "The Magicians" and a whole lot more:

A Dogs Way Home

Feature

Local Production Company: Singularity Productions

Director: Charles Martin Smith

Producer: Gavin Polone

Oct 16/17 - Dec 15/17

Noelle

Feature

Local Production Company: True Meaning Productions

Director: Marc Lawrence

Producer: Heather Meehan

Pm: Heather Meehan

Oct 23/17 - Jan 18/18

Peace

Feature

Local Production Company: Peace Pictures Canada Inc

Director: Robert Port

Producer: Rick Dugdale

Dec 03/17 - Dec 21/17

Purple Harvest

Feature

Local Production Company: Tcf Vancouver Productions

Director: Drew Goddard

Exec. Producer: Mary McLaglen

Jan 29/18 - Apr 06/18

Two/One

Feature

Local Production Company: Khai Productions

Director: Juan Cabral

Producer: Dave Valleau

Nov 15/17 - Dec 03/17

Deadly Class

TV Pilot

Local Production Company: Pica Productions (BC) Limited

Director: Lee Toland Krieger

Producer: John Lenic

Nov 15/17 - Dec 05/17

A Series Of Unfortunate Events ~ Season 2

TV Series

Local Production Company: Olaf...

From VancouverFilm.Net, here is the Vancouver Film Production Update for November 2017 including "Siren", "The Exorcist", "Purple Harvest" and a whole lot more:

Features:

A Dogs Way HOMELocal Production Company: Singularity Productions

Director: Charles Martin Smith

Producer: Gavin Polone

Oct 16/17 - Dec 15/17

Noelle

Local Production Company: True Meaning Productions

Director: Marc Lawrence

Producer: Heather Meehan

Oct 23/17 - Jan 19/18

Purple Harvest

Local Production Company: Tcf Vancouver Productions

Director: Drew Goddard

Jan 29/18 - Apr 06/18

Skyscraper

Local Production Company: Main Mast Production - Can, Inc

Director: Rawson Marshall Thurter, J. J. Perry

Aug 14/17 - Nov 17/17

Two/One

Local Production Company: Khai Productions

Director: Juan Cabral

Producer: Dave Valleau

Nov 15/17 - Dec 03/17

TV Pilots:

Deadly Class

Local Production Company: Pico Productions (BC) Limited

Director: Lee Toland Krieger

Producer: John Lenic

Nov 15/17 - Dec 05/17

TV Series:

A Series Of Unfortunate Events ~ Season 2

Local Production Company: Olaf II Productions Inc

Director: Loni Peristere, Jonathan Teplitzky

Apr...

The scope of this slice of wartime history is so small, it’s almost the movie equivalent of a one-man show. There are perhaps only a dozen speaking roles. Brian Cox is impressive as The Man Who Saved England in its Darkest Hour, but the drama reduces both the man and the historical crisis to trivial status, as little more than a personal emotional crisis: “Winston, the Haunted Imperialist.”

Churchill

Blu-ray

Cohen Media Group

2017 / Color / 2:39 widescreen / 105 min. / Street Date October 3, 2017 / 30.99

Starring: Brian Cox, Miranda Richardson, John Slattery, Ella Purnell, Julian Wadham, Richard Durden, James Purefoy.

Cinematography: David Higgs

Film Editor: Chris Gill

Original Music: Lorne Balfe

Written by Alex von Tunzelmann

Produced by Claudia Bluemhuber, Nick Taussig, Piers Tempest, Paul Van Carter

Directed by Jonathan Teplitzky

No, it isn’t Gary Oldman as Winston Churchill … that’s another movie, Darkest Hour. This is the Brian Cox Churchill movie.

Any...

Brian Cox, best known for his role as Hannibal in Manhunter, delivered one of his most challenging performances this year as Prime Minister Winston Churchill in Churchill. The feature hits Blu-ray and DVD October 3 via Cohen Media Group. Directed by Jonathan Teplitzky (The Railway Man), the project centers [...]...

It's hard to spot the precise reason for Winston Churchill's cinematic bloom, whether in Telluride and Toronto with the scheduled festival showings of Joe Wright's Darkest Hour; at the box office, with the success of Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk; or on the indie circuit the recent debut of Jonathan Teplitzky's Churchill. This doesn't seem to be a significant anniversary year. Churchill was born in 1874, and died in 1965; so there's no centennial at hand. World War II ended…...

Brian Cox gives an excellent performance as Winston Churchill in Churchill. He's the best thing about it...

One of the earliest and most foreboding images in Churchill comes as a put-upon Prime Minister stands by the sea. As the tides gently roll in, his famous Homburg hat blows into the water and when he bends down to retrieve it, the tide appears to him to be reddened with blood. Regrettably, it's the first and last cinematic beat in a film that puts its lead character's inner turmoil upfront.

It's June 1944, and Winston Churchill (Brian Cox) cuts a less impressive figure than he did when he was inspiring the people of Britain as they came under attack from Nazi forces years earlier. In fact, he finds himself listing in the margins of an Allied high command led by Dwight D. Eisenhower (John Slattery) as they plan Operation Overlord and the Dunkirk landings.

Brian Cox is a pantomime Pm in Jonathan Teplitzky’s ponderous film that strives too hard to excuse Churchill’s flaws

“Don’t pull rank; makes you seem small,” Clementine Churchill (a formidable Miranda Richardson) warns her husband. There are moments of both pathos and pity to be found in Jonathan Teplitzky’s transparently nationalistic biopic of Britain’s most famous prime minister, which takes place in the lead-up to D-Day. Teplitzky sets up Winston Churchill (Brian Cox, in a pantomime performance) as an out-of-touch underdog – “a moth-eaten old lion who has had his teeth pulled” – so as to amplify the effect when he inevitably leads the allies to victory. For a 98-minute film, the pace is glacial.

Every line of dialogue is delivered as though it’s The Most Important Speech in History, the words either whispered gravely or Shouted Dramatically, as if to underline Churchill’s profundity. No...

Cox’s wartime leader is haunted by fears about the Normandy landings in Jonathan Teplitzky’s watchable biopic

Winston Churchill has had a couple of movie cameos recently, and John Lithgow put in a spirited impersonation for the Netflix TV series The Crown. But the last substantial big-screen appearance was by Timothy Spall in The King’s Speech (2010), famously earning a counterblast from Christopher Hitchens for implying that Winston was on the side of poor Bertie during the abdication crisis when in fact he was more infatuated with the dashing soon-to-be Duke of Windsor.

Continue reading...

'The Mummy'..

Universal.s The Mummy reboot was No. 1 in 45 markets last weekend, ranking as the best debut ever for Tom Cruise worldwide, beating Steven Spielberg.s 2005 sci-fi thriller War Of The Worlds. However, Aussie moviegoers were rather less impressed.

The first film in the Dark Universe series opened in second spot, trailing the second outing of Warner Bros. Wonder Woman;.mirroring the Us results last weekend.

The top 20 titles rang up $20.9 million.—.up 16 per cent on the previous week.—.boosted by the Queen.s Birthday holiday, according to Numero.

Director Patty Jenkins. Wonder Woman is benefitting from overwhelming positive media attention and word of mouth, bagging $7.1 million over the 4-day weekend (down just 5 per cent) on 282 screens to reach $16 million.

Even though The Mummy has been crucified by the critics, it hasn't stopped the Alex Kurtzman-directed creature feature from pocketing $US172.3 million internationally, led by China.s $52.4 million.

Author: Stefan Pape

The prospect of a biopic of a figure as significant and multi-layered as Winston Churchill seems a somewhat daunting proposition, but any such apprehensions have been eased to learn that Jonathan Teplitzky endeavour is set mostly across just one single day. Taking one brief moment in the leader’s time as Prime Minister to use as a catalyst to explore his entire reign; using this day as a window into this man’s life, learning of his personality, his passion and his stubbornness.

Handpicking any single day during the Second World War would make for fascinating cinematic stomping ground – but few quite as dramatically charged as the 24 hours leading up to D-Day. It’s June 1944, and while plans are in place for the British army to liberate Europe from its Nazi occupation, there is still one man who needs convincing; Winston Churchill (Brian Cox). Unfortunately for the Americans,...

Wonder women Thelma Schoonmaker and Tilda Swinton are executive producers of Sabine Krayenbühl and Zeva Oelbaum's Letters From Baghdad Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

On Friday, June 2, the opening night for Patty Jenkins's Wonder Woman (starring Gal Gadot) and Jonathan Teplitzky's Churchill (with Brian Cox as Winston Churchill, Miranda Richardson as Clementine Churchill, and John Slattery as Dwight Eisenhower), Sabine Krayenbühl and Zeva Oelbaum's Letters From Baghdad with Tilda Swinton as the voice of Gertrude Bell, a real Wonder Woman, had a sold out screening, discussion and audience Q&A at the Angelika Film Center in New York.

Zeva Oelbaum and Sabine Krayenbühl's Letters From Baghdad post-screening discussion with Anne-Katrin Titze at the Angelika Film Center Photo: Carole Levy

From being confronted by Te Lawrence to being an Ottoman Empire concern, Gertrude Bell overcame a remarkable number of barriers put in front of her and she did so on her own terms.

Chicago – Winston Churchill, except to hardcore history buffs, is fast fading from the cultural radar. Often called the Greatest Briton Ever, the lion who led his people for so many years became a bit toothless during the greatest World War II battle ever conceived, D-Day the Sixth of June. That moment in his life, and the lives of those around him, is the subject of the magnificent new film, “Churchill.”

Rating: 5.0/5.0

In the past of film history – closer to when Winston Churchill absolutely mattered to his generation – this movie might have been a major event, because of its grand psychological profile of the Prime Minister. The director Jonathan Teplitzky (of the underrated WWII film “The Railway Man”) takes the highly intelligent and thrilling script by Alex von Tunzelmann and creates a historical masterwork, even though the chains of “period movie” and “World War II” shackles the impression of rendering such subject matter today.

Brian Cox as “Winston Churchill” in Churchill, directed by Jonathan Teplitzky. Photo courtesy of Cohen Media Group (c)

Brian Cox portrays Winston Churchill in a dramatization of the events just prior to the D-Day invasion of France by Allied forces during World War II in Churchill. Directed Jonathan Teplitzky (The Railway Man, BBC’s Indian Summers television series) from a script by historian Alex Von Tunzelmann, Churchill aims to get beneath the usual familiar image of Churchill as a gruff, cigar-chewing British bulldog to create a fuller human portrait of the man who grappled with deep depression and fears of failure while leading his country through its darkest hours.

It is an admirable aim but unfortunately the film falls far short of its goal. Led by an overheated performance by Cox, Churchill stages a last-minute attempt to stop the 1944 Normandy Invasion, gripped with fear that it would fail. Less than a week before D-Day,...

Brian Cox is a marvel of an actor, and to watch him tear into the role of Winston Churchill is not to be missed. This is a version of the venerable British Prime Minister we haven't seen before – no longer the lion of British fortitude ("We will fight them on the beaches!"), but a man on the ropes. He's hobbled not just by his alcoholism and "the black dog" of depression, but by his conviction that the D-Day landing, just days away on June 6, 1944, will be a disaster.

Directed by Jonathan Teplitzky,...

MaryAnn’s quick take… This low-stakes, emotionally limp portrait may be intended to humanize a towering, almost mythic figure, but instead just needles and undercuts him. I’m “biast” (pro): love the cast

I’m “biast” (con): nothing

(what is this about? see my critic’s minifesto)

A ticking-clock thriller following Winston Churchill in the 96 hours before D-Day” is how you may see this film being sold. Don’t believe it. A portrait of the British Prime Minister in the days before the launch of the Allied invasion of Normandy in June 1944, Churchill could, if we’re being generous, be called intimate and leisurely, which even so hardly makes for an exciting time at the movies. But the film is more fairly deemed small scale, low stakes, and emotionally limp. Historian Alex von Tunzelmann, making her screenwriting debut, explores Churchill’s (Brian Cox: Morgan) well-documented opposition to D-Day,...

A robust star vehicle for Brian Cox, but otherwise underwhelming, Churchill dramatizes the agonizing private doubts that Britain’s wartime leader felt during the buildup to the D-Day landings in June 1944. As with his previous World War II-themed feature, The Railway Man, Australian director Jonathan Teplitzky has fashioned a small-scale chamber drama from huge historical events, with a functional script and modest budget that fails to match the grand sweep of its story.

That said, Cox fans will enjoy seeing the veteran Scottish bruiser give a powerhouse, mischief-laced performance that feels too big for the flimsy production around him. Historians and...

I’m far from a history buff. To me Winston Churchill was a pillar of strength that helped take down the Nazis and declare victory for the Allied forces against fascism. I don’t believe that’s an ill-advised description by any means, but it’s definitely a shallow one. Here we are half a century removed from that carnage and our memories are mostly divided into two categories: good and evil. The latter holds the Holocaust, genocide, oppressive regimes, the suspension of freedom, and some of our species’ greatest villains. The former contains pride, valor, hope, and success with names like Churchill, Eisenhower, and Fdr rising to the status of sainthood. But the truth is much more complicated. Heroism and leadership co-exist with aching regret. Even the greats must combat defeat.

It’s this reality that historian Alex von Tunzelmann touches upon in her script Churchill. A depiction of...

David Wenham will appear in conversation with critic and journalist Luke Buckmaster to open The Artist's Room.

Create Nsw, Event Cinemas and Aftrs have teamed up to put on a regular industry event in Sydney. Known as The Artist.s Room, each affair will involve an in-depth chat with an Aussie actor, director or producer about their career ahead of a film screening..

Proceedings will kick off this week with a Q&A with David Wenham and a screening of Jonathan Teplitzky's.Gettin. Square. Wenham.s role as Johnny 'Spit' Spitieri won the actor an AFI Award back in 2003. .

All ticket sales from The Artist's Room will go towards a new development fund for screenwriters, to be administered by Create Nsw..

.We hope that this program will inspire individuals who have a dream to work within the industry to pursue their vision,. said Event Cinemas area general manager Anthony Keirann.

Transmission Films and Guardian Australia celebrate the release of Churchill, with the opportunity to win one of 15 double passes to a preview screening

Churchill, the new drama directed by Jonathan Teplitzky (The Railway Man), looks at the actions of the British wartime prime minister in the days before the 1944 D-day landings, at a time when his uncertainty over invading Normandy clashed with the gung-ho spirit of his political opponents.

Brian Cox (The Bourne Identity, Braveheart, Troy) stars as Sir Winston Churchill and Golden Globe-winner Miranda Richardson plays his headstrong wife Clementine, while Mad Men’s John Slattery makes for a spiky General Eisenhower.

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As one of the most iconic, intimidating figures in world history, Winston Churchill has been depicted in film many times. Played by actors ranging from Richard Burton to Albert Finney; from Christian Slater to Michael Gambon – the former British Prime Minister is as recognizable in fictionalizations as he is in real, historical footage. Though interest in his story has never really waned, there has been a notable surge in Churchill-based projects recently, with two heading for theatres this year. One is the more high profile Darkest Hours, starring Gary Oldman, and the other is Churchill, starring Brian Cox, which has had a new trailer released this week.

By the time of his passing in 1965, Sir Winston Churchill had been a prominent and influential British politician for half a century. The former British Army Officer served his government in trade, home affairs, and defence – as well as having held the...

"Try acting like a hero, Winston, and then maybe people will believe that you are one." Cohen Media Group has debuted a new Us trailer for one of the other Winston Churchill movies in the works. This one is called simply Churchill, from Australian director Jonathan Teplitzky. Brian Cox stars as Churchill in the film, which examines a narrow frame of time in 1944 around D-Day and the decisions he was burdened with. The cast includes John Slattery, Miranda Richardson, Ella Purnell, James Purefoy, Richard Durden, and Julian Wadham. This is a very powerful trailer, with a number of strikingly bold shots of Churchill. There's great cinematography, a moving score, it seems like this might actually be worth watching when it opens. We're not sure when the other Churchill film will arrive, but this one hits theaters this June. Here's the new official Us trailer (+ poster) for Jonathan Teplitzky's Churchill,...

"We must launch now." Lionsgate UK has released a trailer for the new Winston Churchill film titled simply Churchill, from Australian director Jonathan Teplitzky. Brian Cox stars as Churchill in the film, joining a shortlist of talented actors who have played the prominent politician - including Albert Finney, Richard Burton, David Ryall, and Brendan Gleeson. There's also another totally different Churchill film due out this year, starring Gary Oldman. This particular film is described as a "ticking-clock thriller following Winston Churchill in the 24 hours before D-Day." The cast includes John Slattery, Miranda Richardson, Ella Purnell, James Purefoy, Richard Durden, and Julian Wadham. This definitely looks intriguing, with some strong moments, but I'm much more interested in seeing Gary Oldman's film more. Take a look below. Here's the first official trailer for Jonathan Teplitzky's Churchill film, direct from Lionsgate's YouTube: June 1944. Allied Forces stand on the brink: a massive...

Following in the footsteps of Deep Impact and Armageddon, Dante's Peak and Volcano, Red Planet and Mission To Mars, as well as countless others, we're about to witness dueling Winston Churchill movies later this year. Our first helping of the Prime Minster of the United Kingdom will arrive with Churchill, which sees Brian Cox taking on the title role. The Jonathan Teplitzky (Broadchurch)... Read More...

Codenamed Operation Neptune, the Normandy landings of World War II have gone on to inspire storytellers in the vein of Steven Spielberg (Saving Private Ryan) and Darryl F. Zanuck, who was part of the creative team behind wartime epic The Longest Day.

It’s not hard to locate a film built around the infamous D-day landings, then, but it becomes more difficult to find a character-driven drama that sheds light on the politics behind the Allied invasion of Nazi-occupied France. Enter Churchill, Jonathan Teplitzky’s (The Railway Man) star-studded biopic that places the great Brian Cox in the shoes of the tenacious British Bulldog. Shackled with depression and a startling loss of confidence, by June 1944, Winston Churchill is “a shadow of the hero” he once was, and all of this feeds his reservations about shipping over a million soldiers to the European theater of war.

Wrestling Europe from the ironclad...

As is so often the case in cinema, when one drama about a particular subject or figure comes along, another one arrives soon after. Before Joe Wright’s Gary Oldman-led drama Darkest Hour hits theaters later this year, another historical drama about Winston Churchill will arrive this summer. In the aptly-named Churchill, Brian Cox portrays the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and the first trailer has now landed.

Directed by Jonathan Teplitzky (The Railway Man), this drama takes place specifically right before D-Day and follows Churchill’s internal battle in making the decision to send troops to certain death. Scripted by Alex von Tunzelmann, Cox certainly seems fitting for the part, so this should be a worthy warm-up to Wright’s film, and even another WWII film this summer: Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk.

Also starring Miranda Richardson, John Slattery, James Purefoy, Julian Wadham, Richard Durden, and Ella Purnell,...

Lionsgate has released the UK trailer for its upcoming historical drama/thriller “Churchill.” The film about the legendary British Primer Minister hails from Australian director Jonathan Teplitzky (“The Railway Man”), from a screenplay by British author/historian Alex von Tunzelmann. Brian Cox toplines the film.

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Here is the plot summary: In June 1944, allied Forces stand on the brink: a million soldiers are secretly assembled on the south coast of Britain, poised to invade Nazi-occupied Europe. Exhausted by years of war and plagued by depression, Churchill is a shadow of the hero who has resisted Hitler’s Blitzkrieg. Should the D-Day landings fail, he is terrified he’ll be remembered as the architect of carnage.

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Author: Jon Lyus

As with Deep Impact and Armageddon, White House Down and Olympus Has Fallen there are to be two films released in 2017 focusing on Winston Churchill. Joe Wright is following up his gaze into the Black Mirror with Darkest Hour, which looks at the fight against Hitler in the early days of World War II. An almost unrecognisable Gary Oldman is our Churchill in Wright’s film, alongside Lily James, Rogue One’s Ben Mendelsohn and the late John Hurt in his last filmed role.

Lionsgate have Brian Cox as their Prime Minister in the new film from The Railway Man director Jonathan Teplitzky. Unambiguously titled Churchill, the film sees Cox lead a cast which includes Miranda Richardson, John Slattery, Ella Purnell, Richard Durden, Julian Wadham and James Purefoy.

In contrast to Darkest Hour this take on Churchill’s life finds its feet on the days approaching the D-Day landings.

Winston Churchill is having a moment. The iconic British prime minster was portrayed winningly by John Lithgow in the first season of “The Crown,” and later this year, Gary Oldman will play the leader in Joe Wright‘s “Darkest Hour.” Coming right in between the two is the simply named “Churchill.”

Directed by Jonathan Teplitzky (“The Railway Man“), the film sees Brian Cox stepping into the title role, playing the politician in his later years, who must grapple with the life and death decisions behind the D-Day landing at Normandy.

Continue reading The Fate Of A Nation Is On The Line In New Trailer For ‘Churchill’ Starring Brian Cox, Miranda Richardson, John Slattery, More at The Playlist.