News

The new mystery drama comes from the producers of ‘Big Little Lies’ and ‘Nine Perfect Strangers.’

Liane Moriarty’s page-turning mysteries are never too far away from a screen adaptation. The bestselling novelist is following up her previous adaptations of “Big Little Lies,” “Apples Never Fall,” and “Nine Perfect Strangers” with AMC+’s new “The Last Anniversary.” The Australian mystery drama series, based on Moriarty’s 2005 novel of the same name, takes place on a remote island, where three generations of family secrets are housed. The six-episode adaptation of “The Last Anniversary” premieres this Sunday, March 30, exclusively on AMC+ — watch with a subscription to AMC+!

How to watch ‘The Last Anniversary’ When: Sunday, March 30, 2025 at 3:01 a.m. Et TV: AMC+ Stream: Watch with a 7-day free trial to AMC+ From anywhere: Watch with a subscription to a Vpn. Everything you need to know to watch ‘The Last Anniversary’

How...

The AMC+ Original mystery drama, The Last Anniversary, is set to premiere in the US and Canada on Sunday, March 30, with new episodes dropping weekly on Sundays, exclusively on AMC+. The series is based on the #1 New York Times best-selling novel by Liane Moriarty and from the producers of Big Little Lies and Nine Perfect Strangers.

The captivating six-episode drama stars Teresa Palmer as Sophie Honeywell, a young woman finding herself drawn into a complex web of family secrets after inheriting a house on a remote island.

The Last Anniversary is set on the remote, but beautiful Scribbly Gum Island, a place of many secrets. The one that made it famous — the disappearance of a young couple decades ago — might have made the island a destination for true crime tourists, but when Sophie Honeywell (Palmer) inherits a house on the island, it’s the fresh start she’s craving.

After...

Gold Derby's top news stories for March 6, 2025.

Prime Video sets premiere date for Étoile

Étoile, the latest venture from legendary TV producers Amy Sherman-Palladino and Daniel Palladino, is coming to Prime Video on April 24. The French word for "star," Étoile (pronounced "ey-twal") is an eight-episode dance dramedy that's set in both New York and Paris. The plot follows two ballet companies that swap artists in order to survive. The cast of Étoile includes Luke Kirby, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Lou de Laâge, Gideon Glick, David Alvarez, Ivan du Pontavice, Taïs Vinolo, David Haig, Simon Callow, and Yanic Truesdale. This is the third show from the Palladinos after The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel and Gilmore Girls — and all three will be honored at the upcoming PaleyFest.

The Mid-Century Modern trailer introduces three gay besties

Max Mutchnick and David Kohan, the Emmy-winning creators of Will & Grace, are back with a new TV sitcom centered...

AMC+ dropped the first official trailer for The Last Anniversary, an upcoming drama launching on March 30, 2025. Based on Liane Moriarty’s bestseller, the trailer shows A Discovery of Witches‘ Teresa Palmer arriving on a remote island, stirring up a hornet’s nest of feelings among the populace.

Miranda Richardson (Good Omens), Danielle Macdonald (The Tourist), Claude Scott-Mitchell (Hotel Portofino), Helen Thomson (Colin from Accounts), Uli Latukefu (Laid), Susan Prior (The Rover), Jeremy Lindsay Taylor (Return to Paradise), and Xavier Samuel (Apple Cider Vinegar). The cast also includes Angela Punch McGregor (Troppo), Charlie Garber (Barons), Leon Ford (Elvis), Nikki Shiels (Prosper), Elizabeth Cullen (Elvis), Josephine Blazier (Audry), and Ines English (The Last Days of the Space Age).

Poster for ‘The Last Anniversary’ (Photo Credit: AMC+)

“The Last Anniversary is set on the remote but beautiful Scribbly Gum Island, a place of many secrets. The one that made it famous — the disappearance...

"Maybe it was just all meant to be." Vertigo Releasing has debuted an official trailer for Audrey, an indie dark comedy from Australia about motherhood. Tons of films being made nowadays about being a mother. This first premiered at last year's SXSW Film Festival, and it also played at the London & Melbourne Film Festivals in 2024. Self-appointed Mother of the Year, Ronnie has given her daughter Audrey everything, so when Audrey selfishly falls into a coma, Ronnie has no choice but to keep their dreams alive by assuming her identity and keeping her life gonig. "Live your best life. Again." Ha ha. And she's not the only one in the family who sees Audrey’s comatose state as an opportunity in this awkward comedy about dysfunctional families. This stars Jackie Van Beek as Ronnie, Josephine Blazier as Audrey, with Jeremy Lindsay Taylor as Cormack, and Hannah Diviney. The film will be...

The innate vulgarity and impassioned realities of a toxic mother-daughter relationship are put on blast in the dark comedy film Audrey, a more relatable story than most of us may want to admit. Taking things a wild step further, Audrey plays with the idea that an unfulfilled stage mother can create a spoiled monster daughter, only to wish her headache-inducing creation was no longer around.

Directed by Natalie Bailey and written by Lou Sanz, Audrey follows has-been soap star, Ronnie Lipsick (Jackie van Beek) as she attempts to mold her impudent teenage daughter Audrey (Josephine Blazier) into the famed actress she always aspired to be. When Audrey suddenly falls into a coma, Ronnie does what any self-proclaimed "Mother of the Year" would do: she assumes Audrey's identity, subsequently reviving her previously dead acting dreams while posing as a 17-year-old.

Good Riddance to Audrey

4/5 Audrey ComedyDrama

Self-appointed Mother of the Year...

Ultra pitch black in tone, Audrey from debut feature filmmakers, director Natalie Bailey and writer Lou Sanz hits the sweet spot in sardonic Aussie humour from the opening scene, making no apologies whatsoever for tackling controversial family dynamics with blunt delivery. Like many working-class Antipodean comedy offerings, the setting is chaotic and the characters are sweary as they scramble around for purpose, but there is always a sense of united achievement after a battle is won. It is this heady mix that Audrey delivers in spades but with a deviant twist not for the easily offended.

Drama instructor and has-been TV actor Ronnie Lipsick (a delightful Jackie van Beek in full flow) continues to live her fame dream vicariously through her talented but wayward teenage daughter Audrey (Josephine Blazier) who is both spiteful and dismissive of the limelight her mother is trying to create for her. Ronnie’s full attention...

The BBC and Sundance Now are joining The Last Anniversary party.

The Australian dramedy series from Big Little Lies producers Blossom Films and Made Up Stories (Nine Perfect Strangers) has been snatched up by the BBC for the U.K. and by AMC Networks’ streaming service for the U.S. ahead of its premiere Down Under.

Fifth Season, the production and sales outfit owned by South Korean media giant Cj Entertainment, racked up the major territory presales ahead of the international television market MIPCOM Cannes, which kicks off in France later this month and runs through Oct. 24. The show is among the drama series highlights at this year’s market.

Teresa Palmer (The Clearing, The Fall Guy), Miranda Richardson (Good Omens) and Danielle Macdonald (The Tourist) star in The Last Anniversary, alongside Helen Thomson (Colin From Accounts), Susan Prior (Animal Kingdom), Claude Scott-Mitchell (The Dry), Charlie Garber (Barons), Uli Latukefu...

Filmfare Fame At Last

2022 global hit film, “Rrr” won the award for the best film in the Telugu language at the delayed Filmfare South awards. For their performances in “Rrr,” N.T.R. Jr and Ram Charan were named as winners in the best leading actor category and S.S. Rajamouli won best director.

In the Tamil category, “Ponniyin Selvan Part 1” took the best film award. Its director Mani Ratnam bagged the best director award. Kamal Haasan and Sai Pallavi were honored with the best actor (male) and best actor (female) for their performances in “Vikram” and “Gargi,” respectively.

The winner of the best film award in the Malayalam category was “Nna Thaan Case Kodu,” with its helmer Ratheesh Balakrishnan Poduval collecting the best director prize.

For Kannada cinema, Kiranraj K. was awarded the best director award for “777 Charlie,” while “Kantara” was named the best film.

The awards were instituted for Hindi-language...

It’s an indie grab bag and a fun one this weekend with the widely pummeled TIFF-premiering Poolman, (the people will decide), Jamie Foxx in comedy Not Another Church Movie, and Eric Bana’s Force of Nature: The Dry 2 sequel. Mubi and Strand Releasing are testing the market with limited openings Gasoline Rainbow and A Prince. A24 begins a slow rollout of I Saw The TV Glow.

The widest release on 1,180+ screens is Briarcliff’s Not Another Church Movie directed by Johnny Mack, starring Jamie Foxx, Vivica A. Fox, Kevin Daniels and Mickey Rourke. Daniels is Taylor Pherry (silent p), an ambitious young man on a holy mission from God (Foxx) — to tell his family’s stories and inspire his community. But the Devil (Rourke) has plans of his own.

Vertical’s Poolman at 160+ locations is Pine’s directorial debut andhe also stars as Darren, a native Angeleno who...

After getting through the reopened old wounds and fresh corpses of “The Dry” in his dusty outback hometown, Eric Bana’s Federal Agent Aaron Falk certainly deserved a change of scenery. He gets one in woodsy “Force of Nature: The Dry 2,” though naturally the second feature adapted by director Robert Connolly from Jane Harper’s print mystery series soon finds him equally knee-deep in troublesome sleuthing. This sequel to one of Australia’s biggest homegrown hits reprises much of its page-turning plottiness — as well as a straining for emotional depth that proves elusive. IFC is releasing to U.S. theaters and home formats on May 10.

Once again, and perhaps a little too neatly, a case forces Falk to revisit the tragedies of his own past. In the prior film, a childhood friend’s funeral set him to investigating its cause, an effort which soon exposed disturbing links to his...

"I know what it's like out there. I know what happens when things turn bad." IFC Films has unveiled the official US trailer for the Australian mystery sequel titled Force of Nature: The Dry 2, arriving in the US to watch this May (in theaters & on VOD). This crime thriller is a follow-up to the hit film The Dry (2020) continuing the story with the same character. Both of these star Eric Bana as a Federal Agent named Aaron Falk; in the first film, he gets wrapped up in a murder mystery when he goes to his hometown. In this next one, five women participate in a hiking retreat but only four come out on the other side. Federal agents Falk and Cooper head into the Victorian mountains hoping to find her still alive. Bana co-stars with Anna Torv, Deborra-Lee Furness, Robin McLeavy, Sisi Stringer, Lucy Ansell, Richard Roxburgh, Jeremy Lindsay-Taylor,...

When we first meet Ronnie and Cormack Lipsick (Jackie van Beek and Jeremy Lindsay Taylor), the Australian couple has respectively reached what seems like the most miserable depths of female and male existence. She feels her dreams were stolen from her when an unwanted pregnancy forced her to abandon her acting career and devote her life to traumatizing her eldest daughter. And in an equally tragic turn of events, he can’t get an erection without jerking off into a cornucopia of increasingly elaborate sex toys.

It’s a bleak state of affairs that’s only made worse by the couple’s fraying relationships with their two teenage daughters. Audrey (Josephine Blazier) responds to her mother’s demands to become “an actress or dancer or voiceover artist” with the same enthusiasm that any high schooler puts into a task being forced upon them. Audrey’s apathy for her extracurricular activities...

New Zealand’s funniest export Jackie Van Beek returns to SXSW atop the cast of “Audrey,” an Australian dark comedy that is headed to SXSW.

Van Beek, whose 2018 “The Breaker Upperers,” was a previous SXSW hit, portrays a forgotten former soap star whose career and life have been derailed by motherhood and suburban boredom. But when an accident puts her 18-year-old child in a coma, the woman takes on her daughter’s identity and gets a second chance at the life she actually wanted.

Other cast also include: Jeremy Lindsay Taylor (“Puberty Blues,” “The Diplomat”), Josephine Blazier (“True History of the Kelly Gang”) and disability advocate and actress Hannah Diviney (“Latecomers”).

“What begins as a light, sex-fuelled comedy about family soon takes a twisted journey into horror as, like a classic Greek tragedy, our protagonists decide that the only way to find happiness is to destroy their firstborn,” says director Natalie Bailey.

The SXSW Film & TV Festival said Wednesday that Universal’s The Fall Guy starring Ryan Gosling will serve as the 2024 edition’s Centerpiece film, and Netflix’s 3 Body Problem from David Benioff, D. B. Weiss and Alexander Woo will open the fest’s opening-night TV premiere.

The news comes as the festival, whose 31st edition runs March 8-16 in Austin, unveiled first titles in its Feature and Short Competitions, Midnighters, Global and Xr Experience categories. See the list below, which includes berths for the world premiere of Pamela Adlon’s Babes, the Daisy Ridley-starring Magpie, Prentice Penny’s docuseries Black Twitter, Season 3 of Hacks and the final season of Star Trek: Discovery.

Organizers said today that more titles, including the opening- and closing-night films, will be announced early next month across Headliner, Narrative Feature Competition, Documentary Feature Competition, Narrative Spotlight, Documentary Spotlight, Visions, Midnighter, Global, 24 Beats Per Second,...

The 2024 SXSW Film and TV Festival has announced its lineup, with Netflix’s splashy sci-fi series 3 Body Problem opening the fest and the Ryan Gosling and Emily Bunt action comedy The Fall Guy acting as a centerpiece screening.

David Benioff and Dan Weiss are behind 3 Body Problem, based on the book of the same name. David Leitch directed the Universal feature about a Hollywood stuntman (Gosling) who is tasked with tracking down the star of the latest movie he is working on.

The Pamela Adlon movie Babes will also act as a centerpiece screening. The narrative competition features include Crystal Moselle’s latest, The Black Sea, and Barbie Ferreira starrer Bob Trevino Likes It. Elsewhere in the lineup are a Cheech and Chong doc, Tommy Dorfman’s directorial debut, Lilly Singh comedy Doin’ It, and My Dead Friend Zoe, exec produced by NFL star Travis Kelce.

The film...

The upcoming Nicole Kidman-produced Australian drama series, The Last Anniversary, has set its main cast, including Teresa Palmer, Miranda Richardson, Danielle Macdonald, and more. Based on Liane Moriarty’s bestselling novel of the same name, The Last Anniversary is a light-hearted drama series set on the mysterious Scribbly Gum Island, where a young couple disappeared decades before. According to Deadline, Palmer will play Sophie Honeywell, who moves to the island after inheriting a house left by her ex-boyfriend’s great-aunt, who promises Sophie that she could finally meet the man of her dreams. But upon arriving, Sophie finds what she may actually need is an island full of women. Danielle Macdonald (Credit: Monica Schipper/Getty Images) In addition to Palmer, Richardson, and Macdonald, the cast also includes Helen Thomson, Susan Prior, Claude Scott-Mitchell, Charlie Garber, Uli Latukefu, and Jeremy Lindsay Taylor. The Foxtel drama recently went into production in...

Exclusive: Teresa Palmer, Miranda Richardson and Danielle Macdonald and a host of other names have joined Nicole Kidman’s light-hearted Australian drama series The Last Anniversary.

The Foxtel drama for Aussie streamer Binge has gone into production in Sydney with Helen Thomson, Susan Prior, Claude Scott-Mitchell, Charlie Garber, Uli Latukefu and Jeremy Lindsay Taylor also attached to appear.

Based on Liane Moriarty’s bestselling novel, The Last Anniversary is billed as “a wickedly funny, heartfelt dramedy wrapped in a gripping mystery about family, motherhood and the women who define the generations that come after them.”

Set on the mysterious Scribbly Gum Island, where a young couple disappeared decades before,...

Star: Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Clayton Watson, Nathan Phillips, Jake Ryan, Martin Dingle Wall | Written and Directed by Blair Moore

Chess is ruthless: you’ve got to be prepared to kill people – Nigel Short

That quote opens the new Aussie thriller Kane, the camera focusing on Abe playing a game. In voiceover Abe’s driver, Benny tells us a few things. Abe is an old-school gangster, all about loyalty and honour. He also has dissociative identity disorder more commonly known as multiple personalities, and as he’ll mention shortly, he’s off his meds. He also tells us that Abe’s opponent is Frankie, a former member of his outfit who is now his rival for control of the city’s underworld. A rivalry that has turned bloody

From here writer/director Blair Moore (Canadian Psycho) lets Benny tell the story of the past twenty-four hours in flashback as he’s being interrogated by the police,...

"Something happened, and he came back as a different person." Saban Films has revealed an official trailer for a crime thriller titled Kane from Australia, opening in the US soon this fall. Haven't heard much about this one, yet another mediocre crime thriller getting thrown into the "content" pile this year. Benny works for old school crime boss Abe, though Abe has multiple personalities and is in a gang war with the notorious Frankie. Kane is the deadliest of Abe's personalities, and the next 24 hours will be a killer. Today is a good day to die. "Kane is a gripping dark thriller that explores the blurred lines of loyalty and identity." The split personalities twist in this is so uninteresting, doesn't seem they know what to do with it. Kane stars Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Jake Ryan, Clayton Watson, Nathan Phillips, Tammin Sursok, Holly Brisley, and Peter O'Hanlon as Big Stan.

"None of you have been honest with me about what happened out there..." Roadshow Films in Australia has unveiled an official trailer for their crime thriller sequel Force of Nature: The Dry 2, a follow-up to the hit film The Dry from a few years ago. Both of these star Eric Bana as a Federal Agent named Aaron Falk; in the first film, he unwittingly gets wrapped up in a murder mystery when he goes to visit his hometown. In this next one, five women participate in a hiking retreat but only four come out on the other side. Federal agents Falk and Cooper head into the Victorian mountains hoping to find their informant still alive. Eric Bana returns with Anna Torv, Deborra-Lee Furness, Robin McLeavy, Sisi Stringer, Lucy Ansell, Jacqueline McKenzie, Jeremy Lindsay-Taylor, Richard Roxburgh, Tony Briggs, and Kenneth Radley. Another chilling crime movie / murder mystery to keep audiences hooked.

"We're all just men. We're not invincible, just trying to walk a line between courage and fear." Saban Films has unveiled a new US trailer for the Australian crime thriller called Transfusion, marking the feature directorial debut of Matt Nable. It's now arriving in the US in March this year, after first playing in Australia earlier in January. A former Special Forces is operative thrust into the criminal underworld to keep his only son from being taken from him. In between performing his roles in the Avatar sequels for James Cameron, which were filmed in New Zealand, Sam Worthington took on this role. He plays a father suffering from Ptsd and without identity after retiring from the Special Air Service regiment (Sas) of the Australian Army. The thriller also features Phoebe Tonkin, Edward Friday Carmody, Matt Nable, Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, and Sam Cotton. It looks pretty generic overall, though there might be some good performances.

Transfusion is a 2023 thriller movie written and directed by Matt Nable starring Sam Worthington and Phoebe Tonkin.

This is a movie that wants to “go beyond the script” and, precisely because of the script, never manages to do so. Good acting by Sam Worthington in a slow burning thriller that ends without a definition between a character drama and a thriller.

Storyline

An ex agent of the armed forces has a son with problems he will try to protect at all costs.

Movie Review Transfusion

This is a movie written, directed and starred by Matt Nable, which tries to offer us a different kind of movie in its treatment but, never manages to do so in the script. The hackneyed subject of “my son at all costs”, done so many times (even by actors not called Liam Neeson), stands up as far as a script goes, there is structure and empathy with the viewer,...

Transfusion Trailer — Matt Nable‘s Transfusion (2022) movie trailer has been released by Madman Films. The Transfusion trailer stars Sam Worthington, Phoebe Tonkin, Edward Friday Carmody, Matt Nable, Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, and Sam Cotton. Crew Matt Nable wrote the screenplay for Transfusion. ” It’s produced by John Schwarz and Michael Schwarz” Plot Synopsis Transfusion‘s plot synopsis: “Transfusion tells the [...]

Continue reading: Transfusion (2022) Movie Trailer: Army Veteran Sam Worthington tries to Rescue His Son from the Criminal Underworld...

"Will I be brave like you one day?" Madman Films in Australia has unveiled a trailer for an Australian crime thriller called Transfusion, marking the feature directorial debut of former rugby player Matt Nable. It's set to open in January in theaters Down Under, during the middle of Australia's summer, but has no other international dates set yet. A former Special Forces is operative thrust into the criminal underworld to keep his only son from being taken from him. In between performing his roles in the Avatar sequels for James Cameron, which were also filmed in Australia, Sam Worthington took on this lead role as well. He plays a father suffering from Ptsd and without identity after retiring from the Special Air Service regiment (Sas) of the Australian Army. The cast also includes Phoebe Tonkin, Edward Friday Carmody, Matt Nable, Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, and Sam Cotton. This seems like it could be solid,...

WME Independent licences crime thriller in Australia, UK, Italy.

IFC Films has acquired North American rights to The Dry follow-up and Australian crime thriller Force Of Nature, which WME Independent is continuing to sell at TIFF.

Roadshow Films has acquired the thriller for Australia and New Zealand, Leonine Studios for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, Notorious Pictures for Italy and Spain, Sky for the UK, Three Lines for Benelux, M2 for Eastern Europe and Selmer for Scandinavia.

Bana reprises his role as federal agent Aaron Falk and reunites with The Dry director Robert Connolly on the story of agents who venture...

Click here to read the full article.

IFC Films has picked up the North American rights to the Australian crime thriller Force of Nature from director Robert Connolly.

The follow-up to Connolly’s box office The Dry reteams the director with Eric Bana, who reprises his role as Aaron Falk. Force of Nature is based on the book series by Jane Harper and captures five women taking part in a corporate hiking retreat where only four come out on the other side.

Federal Agents Falk and Carmen Cooper head deep into the Victorian mountain ranges to investigate and hopefully find their whistle-blowing informant, Alice Russell, alive.

“Eric Bana brought the character of Aaron Falk to life last year, intriguing audiences across the globe. Returning to this beautifully written true-crime universe with Eric, Robert, and the amazing team at Made Up Stories ensures all the ingredients that made The Dry a...

The Dry Review — The Dry (2020) Film Review, a movie directed by Robert Connolly, and starring Eric Bana, Genevieve O’Reilly, Keir O’Donnell, John Polson, Matt Nable, Eddie Baroo, Martin Dingle-Wall, Bruce Spence, Julia Blake, William Zappa, James Frecheville, Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Joe Klocek, BeBe Bettencourt, Claude Scott-Mitchell, Sam Corlett, and Miranda Tapsell. [...]

Continue reading: Film Review: The Dry(2020): Eric Bana Succeeds in a Lead Role Though the Plot Sometimes Falters...

We never learn the name of the main character in Samuel Van Grinsven’s fearless queer debut, “Sequin in a Blue Room.” Anonymous is just the way he likes it. Using a gay cruising app, he goes by the handle “Sequin,” seeking casual, no-strings sex from strangers. Once the hookup’s complete, he blocks the other party, so they can’t contact him again. And then he goes searching for his next thrill.

A redheaded twink who meets his trysts in a sparkling silver club top, Sequin is just 16, but he knows what he wants — or at least he thinks he does. Such confidence can be disarming, since most kids haven’t figured themselves out yet at that age, which makes them easy prey for more experienced partners. But Sequin seems to intuit the power that youth and beauty confer upon someone in his position, and this single-minded young man...

"Put 'em under enough pressure, and they just crumble..." IFC Films has released their official US trailer for the Australian crime thriller titled The Dry, from filmmaker Robert Connolly. We've already featured two other full trailers for this film last year leading up to its opening in Australia / Nz at the start of this year. It's now set for a US debut in May - both in theaters and on VOD at the same time. Federal Agent Aaron Falk returns to his drought-stricken hometown to attend a funeral. But his return opens a decades-old wound - the unsolved death of a teenage girl. He begins to suspect this crime along with the death of a young woman, separated by decades, might be connected. But how, what's really happening here? Eric Bana (back home in Australia) stars as Aaron Falk, along with Genevieve O'Reilly, Matt Nable, James Frecheville, Keir O'Donnell, Jeremy Lindsay Taylor,...

"People remember what you did..." Roadshow Pictures has released a a full-length Australian trailer (listed as "Trailer 2" following the first look) for a murder mystery thriller titled The Dry, from filmmaker Robert Connolly. A Federal Agent returns to his hometown to face the demons of his past after his childhood friend dies in a gruesome murder-suicide. He begins to suspect this crime along with the death of a young woman, separated by decades, might be connected. What's really going on...? Eric Bana (back home in Australia) stars as Federal Agent Aaron Falk, along with Genevieve O'Reilly, Matt Nable, James Frecheville, Keir O'Donnell, Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Eddie Baroo, & BeBe Bettencourt. This is set for release starting on January 1st, New Years Day, in Australia (since it's currently summer down there). It's a superb trailer, the eerie music and mystery and emotions mix together in just the right way to get my full attention.

"When you've been lying about something for so long it becomes second nature..." Roadshow Pictures has released an official Australian trailer for a murder mystery thriller titled The Dry, from filmmaker Robert Connolly. This is set for release starting on January 1st in Australia, but has no other international release dates set yet. A Federal Agent returns to his hometown to face the demons of his past after his childhood friend dies in a gruesome murder-suicide. He begins to suspect this crime along with the death of a young woman, separated by decades, might be connected. Eric Bana (back home in Australia) stars as Federal Agent Aaron Falk, along with Genevieve O'Reilly, Matt Nable, James Frecheville, Keir O'Donnell, Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Eddie Baroo, & BeBe Bettencourt. This looks like so many other small town murder mystery films, with all the usual intense emotional scenes and twists digging up dirt from the past.

‘Sequin in a Blue Room’ (Photo credit: Nicholas Gascoine).

Writer-director Samuel Van Grinsven’s Sequin in a Blue Room is set to premiere in major overseas markets, a big achievement for the film he made as his graduate project in the Master of Arts Screen program at the Australian Film Television and Radio School (Aftrs) in 2018.

The US and UK rights to the queer coming-of-age tale produced by Aftrs graduate Sophie Hattch have been acquired by Peccadillo Pictures, a UK-based distributor of art house, gay and lesbian, independent and world cinema.

On-demand firm Salzgeber bought the film for German-speaking markets while Optimale has the rights in French-speaking territories.

Last year it won the best narrative feature in the Sydney Film Festival audience awards and it screened at Miff and the Mardi Gras Film Festival,

Starring Conor Leach in his film debut, Simon Croker, Jeremy Lindsay Taylor and Anthony Brandon Wong,...

The final season of Sbs’s The Family Law, the first series of ABC’s The Heights and the Sbs miniseries The Hunting have won the 10th annual Equity Ensemble Awards.

The actors who starred in these programs were voted the most outstanding Australian small screen ensembles in their respective categories by the Meaa Equity National Performers’ Committee (Npc).

Equity president Chloe Dallimore, who was among the 33 Npc members who selected this year’s finalists and winners, said: “I can’t think of a better way to spend lockdown than re-watching the incredible small screen performances of the last 12 months. What phenomenal talent we have in this country, both in front and behind the camera.

“It emphasised what’s at stake if we don’t continue to vigorously defend our local content quotas, and why we must continue to remind our government how the arts contribute to our Australian cultural identity.

‘Sequin in A Blue Room’.

Sydney Film Festival announced its audience awards today, with best narrative feature awarded to Samuel Van Grinsven’s Sequin in a Blue Room and best documentary to Selina Miles’ Martha: A Picture Story – both Aussie films.

Sequin in a Blue Room, a queer coming-of-age story, is Van Grinsven’s debut feature, completed as part of an Aftrs Masters project and produced by Sophie Hattch. It stars Conor Leach in his film debut, alongside Jeremy Lindsay Taylor and Anthony Brandon Wong.

Martha: A Picture Story, documents the life and work of NYC photo journalist Martha Cooper. It is the first full length documentary film from Miles, and was executive produced by Jennifer Peedom and and produced by Daniel Joyce.

Two other Australian films – Ben Lawrence’s Hearts and Bones and Imogen McCluskey’s microbudget debut Suburban Wildlife – were also voted in the top five narrative films,...

‘Playing for Keeps.’

The overnight ratings on Wednesdays for Network 10’s Playing for Keeps were respectable but the catch-up numbers are so healthy the broadcaster has commissioned a second series.

The first seven episodes of the Screentime-produced drama drew an average audience of 503,000, including time-shifted viewing, in the mainland capitals.

But the catch-up component jumped from 9 per cent for the premiere to 25.9 per cent for episode 5, 17.9 per cent for ep 6 and 21 per cent for ep 7.

The finale had 599,000 capital city viewers, which was up by 49 per cent or 197,000 viewers from the overnight number, including broadcast VOD viewing and the encore screening.

“We’re thrilled that Playing for Keeps has really found its place in the market,” said Network 10 head of drama Rick Maier, who came up with the idea of the show about Afl footballers’ wives and girlfriends and took it to Screentime.

“It’s become a bit of...

Doctor Who (Photo credit: BBC)

After directing two episodes of the new season of Doctor Who, Jennifer Perrott could be excused if she felt a tad nervous before today’s global premiere of the iconic BBC show.

To the contrary: Perrott tells If there was no discussion about the casting of Jodie Whittaker as the first female doctor in the show’s 55-year history during pre-production or the shoot in Cardiff.

“It was never a talking point on set or when I met Jodie that she is female,” says the director, who got the gig after the showrunner Chris Chibnall saw her 2016 short The Ravens, which starred Sarah Snook, Jeremy Lindsay Taylor and Indianna Gregg.

“Not once was there ever a discussion about, ‘Ok so there is this moment and you are a female Doctor Who so we will attack this differently.’ The Doctor is an alien, hundreds of years old,...

Hyde & Seek.

Hyde & Seek will premiere on Nine October 3, the same airdate as Seven's new series The Secret Daughter. Matt Nable (Hacksaw Ridge, Arrow, Gallipoli) plays Gary Hyde, a detective hunting the killer of his best mate and partner. . Together with his new partner Claire McKenzie (Emma Hamilton, The Tudors, Mary: The Making of a Princess), Afp boss Jackie Walters (Mandy McElhinney, House of Hancock, Love Child) and Asio chiefs (Jindabyne's Deborra-lee Furness and Puberty Blues' Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Gary uncovers a criminal underbelly of murder and fraud as he's thrust into the secretive world of homeland security. . The show also stars Zoe Ventoura (Packed to the Rafters), Tai Hara (Home and Away), Claire Lovering (San Andreas), Andrew McFarlane (Devil.s Playground, Love Child), and Aaron Fa.oso (East West 101). In a statement, Nine.s heads of drama Andy Ryan and Jo Rooney said they were thrilled...

Blue Water Empire.

Filming has begun in Far North Queensland and the Torres Straits on Blue Water Empire, the three-part docudrama on the history and culture of the Torres Strait Islands set to air on the ABC next year.

The cast list has filled out with a who's who of the local scene: Jack Thompson, Ryan Corr, Damian Walshe-Howling, Aaron Fa.Aoso, Jimi Bani, Roy Billing, Geoff Morrell, Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Peter Phelps, Merwez Whaleboat, Robert Mammone and Damian de Montemas..

The series is being produced by Aaron Fa.Aoso and Jimi Bani's Lonestar Company in partnership with Bunya Productions, led by producers David Jowsey and Greer Simpkin (Goldstone). It was commissioned by the ABC with assistance from Screen Australia and Screen Queensland.

.It.s an honour to be telling the stories of our amazing people and their contribution, over the last two centuries, to the history of Torres Strait Islanders and wider Australia,...

Newcomers Elias Anton and Ben Kindon are playing the leads in Barracuda, the 4-part Matchbox Pictures drama for ABC directed by Rob Connolly.

The ABC revealed the casts and storylines of its 2016 adult dramas, all previously commissioned and announced, at its upfronts presentation on Tuesday night.

The broadcaster confirmed a third season of Matchbox Pictures. Nowhere Boys and announced two animated series. Planet 55 Studios. sci-fi/adventure Prisoner Zero follows teen heroes Tag and Gem and their mysterious friend Prisoner Zero.

Stark Production.s The Deep is the saga of the Nekton family who encounter leviathans swimming through sunken cities, modern day pirates lurking amidst floating black markets and mysterious guardians who conceal long lost secrets.

The teen-targeted slate also includes Ambience Entertainment.s Tomorrow, When the War Began, based on the novels by John Marsden. In Barracuda, Anton plays Danny Kelly, a Melbourne teenager who yearns for a gold medal...

In a bold move, the Nine Network released all seven episodes of Gallipoli on its half-owned streaming service Stan following the drama.s Monday night premiere on Nine.

And in another twist in the on-demand turf battle, EzyFlix.tv has started selling a season pass to Breaking Bad prequel Better Call Saul, which launched on Stan on Monday night.

Produced by Endemol Australia.s John Edwards, Imogen Banks and Rob Connolly and directed by Glendyn Ivin, Gallipoli follows 17-year-old Thomas .Tolly. Johnson ( Kodi Smit-McPhee) who lies about his age to join his brother Bevan in the Great War.

The cast includes Harry Greenwood, Lachy Hulme, Matt Nable, Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Lincoln Lewis, James Callis, Grant Bowler, Anthony Hayes, Justine Clarke, Damon Gameau, Ashleigh Cummings, Gracie Gilbert, Dan Wyllie, Sam Parsonson, Tom Budge, John Bach, Nicholas Hope and James Stewart.

The premiere of Gallipoli drew 1.1 million viewers in the five capital cities and 1.51 million nationally,...

Kodi Smit-McPhee, Harry Greenwood, Tom Budge, Lincoln Lewis, Matt Nable, Anthony Hayes, Lachy Hulme and Ashleigh Cummings are among the big ensemble cast announced today for the Endemol Australia/Nine Network miniseries Gallipoli.

A three-month shoot starts in and around Melbourne on March 17 with Glendyn Ivin (Beaconsfield, Puberty Blues) directing. The screenplay by Christopher Lee (Howzat! Kerry Packer.s War, Paper Giants, Rush, Police Rescue) is adapted from the best-selling book by Les Carlyon.

The producers are John Edwards (Howzat! Kerry Packer.s War, Beaconsfield, Paper Giants, and Offspring), Imogen Banks (Puberty Blues, Offspring) and Robert Connolly (producer of Balibo and The Boys, director of Underground: The Julian Assange Story, The Slap). Nine.s co-Heads of Drama Jo Rooney and Andy Ryan and Endemol Australia CEO Janeen Faithfull are executive producers. .Smit-McPhee plays 17-year-old Thomas .Tolly. Johnson, who lies about his age to enlist with his brother Bevan in the...

Wicked, the long-running hit West End musical that tells the incredible untold story of the Witches of Oz, welcomes international Wicked star Willemijn Verkaik Elphaba, Savannah Stevenson Glinda, Jeremy Taylor Fiyero Sue Kelvin Madame Morrible and Olivier award-winning actor Paul Clarkson Doctor Dillamond to the new London cast at the Apollo Victoria Theatre, beginning today, Monday 18 November 2013. Sam Kelly returns to play The Wizard, a role he previously played in 20092010. Katie Rowley Jones Nessarose and Sam Lupton Boq continue in their current starring roles. Emma Hatton is the Standby Elphaba and current ensemble cast member Sophie Linder-Lee is now the Standby Glinda.

No, it's not a young Dakota Fanning. The girl who recreated the iconic Les Miserables poster for the Oscar-nominated movie is Isabelle Allen, who plays Cosette, the forlorn daughter of Fantine (Anne Hathaway). As Cosette grows older, Amanda Seyfried takes over in the role.

Les Miserables is Allen's first movie, but it probably won't be her last. "She’s incredible. Totally pure and unspoilt. She is the movie," costar Hugh Jackman told the Daily Mail.

The British actress, 10, was discovered while playing the male lead in a school play last year. Jeremy Taylor of the National Youth Music Theatre spotted Allen in her role as a lame boy in 'The Pied Piper Of Hamelin' and got her an audition with Les Miserables casting agents.

She's also a team player, tweeting congrats to her costars for their Golden Globes wins Sunday night:

Yay, well done to @realhughjackman, #AnneHathaway & @lesmisofficial...

Network Ten has taken a word of mouth building approach to its major new drama series, releasing the first episode of Puberty Blues on Facebook in advance of it airing next Wednesday.

The Cronulla period drama is a remake of the iconic 1979 Australian novel by Gabrielle Carey and Kathy Lette.

Mumbrella understands that Ten is so far the only major Australian network to take this approach which it also adopted for the first episode of the most recent series of Offspring. Facebook fans of Puberty Blues can watch the entire 43 minute 51second first episode online through Network Ten’s Facebook app.

The show has been made by Southern Star. The cast includes Claudia Karvan, Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Susie Porter, Dan Wyllie, Susan Prior and Rodger Corser.

This article originally appeared in If Magazine #147 (June-July 2011). Puberty Blues will premiere on Network Ten later this month.

When a collection of producers and writers read the 1979 book Puberty Blues with a view to turning it into a television series, even those who had read it years before were struck by how the teenagers at the heart of the story acted without self-reflection.

.As the father of a teenage girl I was shocked and most of us were,. says head writer Tony McNamara of the behaviour depicted in the book. .It is funny, entertaining but also shocking because of the casual brutality of the world. Now people are self-obsessed and analytical. Then they accepted the circumstances of life and threw themselves into it..

The strength of the protagonists in this 30-year-old portrait of youth, sex and surf is also very evident, he adds. .Now we think people aren.t resilient,...

Ten has revealed a big name cast for its Cronulla period drama Puberty Blues.

Many of the actors have worked with the Southern Star production team on previous shows. The producers of the series – which will go beyond the book Puberty Blues and potentially leave the door open for ten to do further series – will be Imogen Banks and John Edwards. Filming for the current series of Offspring has just wrapped.

The cast includes Claudia Karvan (The Secret Life of us, Love My Way, Spirited), Jeremy Lindsay Taylor (Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms, Underbelly), Susie Porter (Bikie Wars: Brothers in Arms, East West 101), Dan Wyllie (Love my Way, Animal Kingdom), Susan Prior (All Saints, Animal Kingdom), Rodger Corser (Rush, Underbelly, Spirited), Ashleigh Cummings (Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries, Tomorrow When the War Began), Brenna Harding (Packed to the Rafters, My Place), Sean Keenan, Ed Oxenbould, Charlotte Best, Katie Wall,...

Channel Ten has announced the cast for upcoming miniseries Brothers In Arms about the infamous .Milperra Massacre.. Leading the cast on the six-part series, from the producers of Underbelly, is Callan Mulvey (Rush), Matt Nable (Killer Elite), Maeve Dermody (Griff The Invisible) and Susie Porter (The Jesters). Other cast members on the series . originally titled Bikie Wars: Brothers In Arms . include Anthony Hayes (The Slap), Todd Lasance (cloudstreet), Luke Ford (Red Dog), Damian Walshe-Howling (Terra Nova, The Reef), Nathaniel Dean (Wild Boys), Jeremy Lindsay Taylor (Underbelly: Razor) and Luke Hemsworth (Tangle). Ten will be hoping for a similar reaction to Nine.s Underbelly franchise, also created by Screentime, when it goes to air next year....

Filming for the fourth season of Underbelly has begun. This series of the Australian crime drama, set in 1920s Sydney, tells the story of vice queen Kate Leigh, brothel owner Tilly Devine and gangster rivals Norman Bruhn and Joseph Taylor. According to The Daily Telegraph, Sea Patrol star Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, who has been cast as Bruhn, was seen filming at Sydney's Central Station yesterday. Also spotted was Justin Rosniak, who plays Taylor. New Zealand actress Chelsie Preston has been chosen to play Devine, while Rake (more)...

Yay! "Walang Hanggang Paalam," a film from the Philippines, my home country, won the Best World Showcase at the inaugural Soho International Film Festival! The festival "encourages new and seasoned filmmakers to create innovative and thought-provoking pieces."

Directed by Paulo Villaluna and Ellen Ramos, The gay-themed independent film has layers of love, betrayal, and forgiveness. The film stars Jacky Woo, Jake Roxas, Joem Bascon, and Lovi Poe.

Congratulations to everyone! For more on the Soho International Film Festival, click here to visit their official website.

Here's the rest of the press release announcing other winners:

"A Kiss of Chaos" nabbed the Best Showcase Feature Film Award for U.S. Director Ricardo Sean Thompson, with "The Godmother" taking Best Showcase Short Film Award for Director Lior Chefetz. The Best Documentary Award went to the gripping expose, "Burma: An Indictment" by Jeremy Taylor.

Director Fred Carpenter's "Just Like Joe" won the feature film audience award,...