News

Beatrix Is Invisible, a new short film led by Little Shop of Horrors alum Ellen Greene, has won the Audience Award for Best Live Action Short following the film's premiere at the Palm Springs International Shortfest. Director Alex Farias shared the news in an Instagram post, thanking the festival "for facilitating this democratically inspired award and for the wonderful desert week... We feel lucky to receive this recognition, and Beatrix would feel very validated if she existed in the real world." For the win, Farias will receive a $1,000 cash prize. Written and directed by Farias, the short features Greene as the title character, also starring Rhys Mitchell, Taylor Shurte, Haiden Pino, Justin Livingston, Melina Paez, and L'metrius Long. The official synopsis reads: "When Beatrix finds herself feeling disconnected...

Little Shop of Horrors alum Ellen Greene is leading a new short film, which will make its world premiere this month at the Palm Springs International Short Film Festival. Beatrix Is Invisible, written and directed by Alex Farias, features Greene as the title character, also starring Rhys Mitchell, Taylor Shurte, Haiden Pino, Justin Livingston, Melina Paez, and L'metrius Long. The official synopsis reads: "When Beatrix finds herself feeling disconnected and insignificant, she reaches out to the world around her for meaning. Unsuccessful, she is called to step far out of her comfort zone to sense her place in the world again." Beatrix Is Invisible will screen as part of the Palm Springs International ShortFest, which runs June 24-30 in Palm Springs, CA. Learn more about...

To celebrate the launch of the second season of 'Strife', Binge held an exclusive launch event last night at Island Radio in Sydney, attended by Asher Keddie, Matt Day, Emma Lung, Mary Coustas, Maria Angelico, Rhys Mitchell, Tina Bursill, and Bryony Skillington.

The post Event wrap up: ‘Strife’ S2 launch event in Sydney appeared first on If Magazine.

Binge’s record-setting drama series Strife has begun shooting its second season.

The Asher Keddie-starring show became Australian streamer Binge’s biggest original series premiere last year, prompting execs to set up a writers’ room for Season 2, as we revealed in January. Production is now underway in Sydney.

The comedic drama follows Evelyn Jones (Keddie), a modern, imperfect woman and publisher, on her journey from lounge room blogger to becoming a force in women’s media. It was inspired by Australian media personality and journalist Mia Freedman’s memoir Work, Strife, Balance, and is written by Australian screenwriter Sarah Scheller (The Letdown).

In Season 2, Evelyn’s empire is threatened by the arrival of a new women’s website and a troll who calls out her hypocrisy and privilege, making her double guess her instincts when she needs to be on her A game. Her company moves to new offices and ventures into podcasting,...

Binge has announced the start of production in Sydney for the second season of its critically acclaimed series Strife, starring Asher Keddie. Alongside Keddie the returning cast includes Matt Day, Tina Bursill, Emma Lung, Maria Angelico, Rhys Mitchell, Olivia Junkeer, BeBe Bettencourt, Bryony Skillington, Darcy Tadich, Willow Speers, Jonathan Lapaglia, Alex Dimitriades, Lucy Ansell, and […]

Strife Season 2: Production Begins in Sydney – Binge’S Biggest Original Series Returns with Asher Keddie...

Exclusive: The team behind Binge’s newly-crowned biggest original, Strife, are headed back to the writers’ room.

The drama series — from Big Little Lies, Nine Perfect Strangers and Anatomy of a Scandal producer Made Up Stories in partnership with Fifth Season — has quickly usurped Colin From Accounts as Binge’s best-performing original for its first day and first week, according to the Foxtel-owned Australian streamer. The writing team, led by Sarah Scheller (The Letdown), are now reteaming to pen scripts for a second season.

The show stars Asher Keddie (Nine Perfect Strangers, Offspring) as imperfect, modern woman and magazine publisher Evelyn Jones, following her journey from lounge room blogger to becoming a force in women’s media. It launched on Binge on December 6.

In an interview with Deadline last year, Alison Hurbert-Burns, Executive Director for Binge and Foxtel Group Content and Commissioning, described the series as “the story of...

Rising star Phoenix Raei joins Hugo Weaving as the lead of “The Rooster,” an Australian mystery drama film in which a small-town cop discovers the dead body of his best friend.

The film, which has just completed principal photography in Victoria state, is directed by actor Mark Leonard Winter (“Escape From Pretoria”), making his debut as a feature director.

As performers, Weaving and Winter have previously appeared together in “Measure for Measure” and “The Dressmaker.”

Raei, who has recent credits in “Clickbait,” “Stateless” and “The Night Agent,” stars in “The Rooster” as the cop who confronts Weaving’s volatile character, a forest-dwelling hermit who was the last person known to have seen his pal.

Other cast include: Helen Thomson, Rhys Mitchell, Bert La Bonte, John Waters, Camilla Ah Kin, Robert Menzies and Deirdre Rubenstein.

“ ‘The Rooster’ is a gripping story about friendship and how hope can come from unlikely places.

Watch the legendary Junji Ito take a tour of the Winchester mansion in Crunchyroll's Junji Ito Tours a Real Haunted House video. Also in today's Horror Highlights: the Salt City Horror Fest 2020 announcement, a look at The Vegan Zombie short film, and release details for Inherit the Viper, starring Josh Hartnett and Chandler Riggs.

Watch Junji Ito Tour the Winchester Mystery House: "Crunchyroll launches “Junji Ito Tours A Real Haunted House”

About the Video: Acclaimed horror mangaka, Junji Ito, steps inside the infamous Winchester Mystery House. We dive into what scares him the most and the stigma around creating such graphic and scary imagery...Also how he's very into the Beach Boys right now."

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Salt City Horror Fest 2020 Announced: "The Salt City Horror Festival is an annual 35mm horror film festival in Syracuse, NY. Featuring an all-day lineup of 35mm horror movies, celebrity guests and more.

Apr 18, 2020 at 9 Am – Apr 19, 2020 at 12:30 Am.

Poldark and Valley Girl star Josh Whitehouse will lead cast in blockchain outfit SingularDTV’s The Happy Worker alongside Thomas Haden Church, Colm Meaney and Meagan Holder.

Production is under way in Utah on the movie, which is executive-produced by David Lynch and is being directed by Lynch’s long-time collaborator Duwayne Dunham (Twin Peaks). Rhys Mitchell, J.R. Starr and Amy Shiels round out the cast.

The film follows Joe (Whitehouse) who lives in a utopian community. A reluctant hero eager to please his wife (Holder) and his boss (Haden Church), he unexpectedly finds himself thrust into a position of power by ‘Clete’ (Meaney) and must battle to save what he and others have spent years building.

Pic is based on S.E. Feinberg’s play, which was first performed in 1982 at the Actors Theatre of Louisville. The play was adapted for the screen by Feinberg, Jerold Pearson and director Dunham.

In today’s film news roundup, Amadeus Serafina gets a major role, Film Independent starts a residency program, Legendary is developing a heist project, Glenn Close is honored and the Haifa Film Festival receives support.

Castings

“Scream” star Amadeus Serafini has scored his first major movie role, joining John Cena and Jackie Chan in the independent action-thriller “Project X,” Variety has learned exclusively.

Scott Waugh is directing from a script by Arash Amel. The project had formerly been titled “Ex-Baghdad” and is set at a Chinese-run oil refinery in the Middle East.

Serfaini will portray an American mercenary and Chan will play a Chinese private security contractor who is tasked with extracting oil workers from a refinery that’s been attacked. Char’s character is teamed up with a former U.S. Marine (Cena), when he learns that the attackers’ real plan is to steal the oil.

Chan will also produce...

Robyn Nevin, Glenn Robbins, Robyn Malcolm and Annie Maynard in Upper Middle Bogan.

Filming has kicked off on season three of Upper Middle Bogan.

Created, written and produced by Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope, the eight-parter will again shoot in Melbourne.

.We're so excited to unleash the wild, loud and sometimes potty-mouthed world of Upper Middle Bogan", Butler said. "But enough about Robyn Nevin - we love all the cast and can't wait to make this season..

Series three will see the return of cast members Annie Maynard, Robyn Nevin, Michala Banas, Patrick Brammall, Glenn Robbins, Robyn Malcolm, Madeleine Jevic, Rhys Mitchell, Dougie Baldwin, Lara Robinson and Harrison Feldman.

.It took some prompting, but we.re beyond thrilled Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope agreed to give the country more of its favourite family comedy Upper Middle Bogan", ABC Head of Comedy Rick Kalowski said. "May the road from the Brights...

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...