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Prime Target is a mystery thriller drama miniseries created by Steve Thompson. The Apple TV+ series follows Edward Brooks, a brilliant post-graduate mathematics student who discovers that his work could potentially become the key to access every computer in the world. He soon begins to notice that people want to destroy his work. Prime Target stars Leo Woodall, Quintessa Swindell, Sidse Babett Knudsen, David Morrissey, Stephen Rea, and Fra Fee. So, if you loved the thrilling conspiracy, mysterious story, and compelling characters in Prime Target, here are some shows you should check out next.

London Spy (Buy on Amazon) Credit – BBC Two

London Spy is a British conspiracy and mystery thriller drama series created by Tom Rob Smith. The BBC Two series follows Danny, a young man who meets and falls in love with Alex, a brilliant MI6 code genius.

Sundance Now and AMC+ have released the first photos of Travis Fimmel (Vikings) and Jana McKinnon (Bad Behaviour) in the upcoming season of the Sundance Now Original Series Black Snow, currently filming in Queensland, Australia.

The new season of the six-part mystery-drama produced by Goalpost Pictures and set in the Glasshouse Mountains sees Travis Fimmel reprise his role as Detective Cormack.

Fimmel is joined by new cast members, including McKinnon, Megan Smart (Class of ’07), Alana Mansour (Erotic Stories), Dan Spielman, Victoria Haralabidou (Tourist), and Kat Stewart (Offspring).

In this second season, Detective Cormack tackles two separate cases of missing persons. One is professional, as he investigates the disappearance of Zoe Jacobs (McKinnon) from her 21st birthday party in 2003. The other is personal, as Cormack searches desperately for his own younger brother, who went missing when they were children.

“I think Australian film and television has never been stronger. Now, with...

Travis Fimmel in ‘Black Snow’ season 2 (Photo Courtesy of Sundance Now)

AMC+ and Sundance Now released the first two photos from the upcoming second season of Black Snow as shooting is underway in Queensland. The photos feature returning series star Travis Fimmel (Vikings) as Detective Cormack and series newcomer Jana McKinnon (Bad Behaviour) as Zoe Jacobs.

Season one premiered in December 2022. Sundance Now hasn’t announced a launch date for the six-episode second season.

“I think Australian film and television has never been stronger. Now, with the addition of streaming networks and their reach, I’m so proud that our local productions and their hard work can be recognised not only here, but around the world,” said Fimmel. “I’m excited to be a part of another season of Black Snow and showing off what Australians have to offer. That, and I’m happy to have free food and a job.

“Vikings” star Travis Fimmel reprises his role as Detective Cormack in a second season of Australian mystery drama series “Black Snow.” The six-part series is now shooting in Queensland, Australia, and has unveiled first-look images.

“Australian film and television have never been stronger. Now, with the addition of streaming networks and their reach, I’m so proud that our local productions and their hard work can be recognized not only here, but around the world,” said Fimmel in a prepared statement.

The first season of “Black Snow” was nominated as ‘most outstanding drama series’ at the 2023 Logie Awards and received two nominations at the 2024 Aacta Awards – for best drama series and best lead actor in a drama, for Fimmel. It sold to all major international territories including the U.S., where it screened on AMC Networks’ streamer Sundance Now. “Black Snow” also won the Screen Business Export Award at the recent Australian Screen Producer Awards.

Travis Fimmel's Detective Cormack will work to crack two new mysteries in the second season of 'Black Snow', which will feature new cast members Jana McKinnon, Megan Smart, Alana Mansour, Dan Spielman, Victoria Haralabidou and Kat Stewart.

The post Jana McKinnon, Megan Smart, Alana Mansour on the scent in Queensland for ‘Black Snow’ S2 appeared first on If Magazine.

Exclusive: Jana McKinnon (Bad Behaviour) is among new cast joining Travis Fimmel on the second season of Australian mystery-drama series Black Snow.

Production is underway in Queensland, Australia, on the Stan and Sundance Now original series, with first-look images of Fimmel (Vikings) and McKinnon above. Joining them are Megan Smart (Class of ’07), Alana Mansour (Erotic Stories), Dan Spielman (Bad Behaviour, The Newsreader), Victoria Haralabidou (The Tourist) and Kat Stewart (Offspring).

In season two, Detective Cormack (Fimmel) tackles two separate missing persons cases. One is professional, as he investigates the disappearance of Zoe Jacobs (McKinnon), who disappeared from her own 21st birthday party in 2003. The other is personal, as Cormack searches desperately for his own younger brother, who went missing when they were children.

Director Sian Davies (The Gloaming), executive producer Rosemary Blight (The Invisible Man), and series creator Lucas Taylor (Harrow) return for season two, with Helena Brooks (Population 11) joining as a director.

Australian series “Bad Behaviour,” which is set to premiere at Berlinale Series next month, has its first trailer and release date.

The series – based on the book by Rebecca Starford – will bow on Australian streamer Stan on Feb. 17 as a boxset.

“Bad Behaviour” is a four-part series that tells the story of an exclusive girls boarding school, where the options are to be bullied or to become a bully as the girls vie for power and acceptance.

The show stars Jana McKinnon (“We Children from Bahnhof Zoo”), Markella Kavenagh (“The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power”) and Yerin Ha (“Halo”).

McKinnon plays 25-year-old Jo Mackenzie, who has flashbacks to her brutal year at boarding school when she bumps into an old friend, Alice (Ha).

Erana James (“The Wilds”), Tuuli Narkle (“Mystery Road: Origin”), Dan Spielman (“Stateless”), Diana Glenn (“Harrow”), Mantshologane Maile (“The Pm’s Daughter”) round out the cast alongside newcomers Melissa Kahraman,...

Jana McKinnon, Markella Kavenagh and Yerin Ha have joined the cast of Australian TV series “Bad Behaviour.”

Filming of the four-part show, which is adapted from the acclaimed book of the same name by writer Rebecca Starford, has now completed in Victoria, Australia. It is expected to play on Australian streaming platform Stan later this year.

McKinnon (“We Children of Bahnhof Zoo”) stars as scholarship student, who arrives at Silver Creek for a year of character building at the wilderness campus of an exclusive girl’s boarding school. Instead, she finds herself in a dormitory of the most volatile and the most vulnerable.

Kavenagh has recent roles in “Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,” while Ha has credits including “Halo.” Other newly-announced additions to the cast are: Tuuli Narkle (“Mystery Road”), Dan Spielman (“Stateless”), Diana Glenn (“Harrow”), Mantshologane Maile (“The PMs Daughter”), Erana James (“The Wilds”) and newcomers Melissa Kahraman,...

"Why was she out in the bush that night?" Madman Films in Australia has released another trailer for the DVD debut of this mini-series titled New Gold Mountain, which originally aired on Sbs TV last year in Australia. The series is set in the middle of the 1850s in Australia about immigrants arriving to work in the gold mines at the Bendigo Goldfields. The charismatic "headman" of the White Hills Chinese mining camp suddenly finds himself struggling to maintain the very fragile harmony between the Chinese and European diggers, and authorities, when a murdered European woman is discovered to have links with the Chinese community. The Australian TV series stars Yosan An, Alyssa Sutherland, Christopher Baker, Dan Spielman, Mabel Li, and Sam Wang. This looks like an intense series about a real incident from history involving racism and brutality. "We all try to survive... it's just a question of the...

Director Corrie Chen has hit a stride in her career where she is able to make projects she really believes in.

Tonight is the premiere of one such example in Sbs/Goalpost Television’s New Gold Mountain, with Chen having directed all four episodes.

Set in 1857 Ballarat, the mini-series looks at the gold rush from the perspective of Chinese miners, with the story unravelling around a murder mystery. The stellar ensemble cast includes Yoson An, Alyssa Sutherland, Christopher James Baker, Dan Spielman, Mabel Li, Leonie Whyman, Sam Wang, Rhys Muldoon, Alison Bell, Chris Masters Mah and Travis Cotton.

Sbs director of content Marshall Heald has called New Gold Mountain the broadcaster’s “most ambitious drama yet”, with producer Kylie du Fresne noting it draws inspiration from Deadwood. The series is dense in detail in terms of costuming and production design, and boasts a diverse cast of around 65 speaking roles, all in multiple languages,...

In Goalpost Pictures’ gold rush drama New Gold Mountain, Alyssa Sutherland plays a widow who overcomes the trauma of an abusive marriage and embarks on a quest for greater independence in 1850s Australia.

While it may be easy to classify her turn as Belle Roberts as a strong female character, the actress told If it was a description she was hoping to avoid.

“I like the attention we put on having much more well-rounded female characters but I get a little bee in my bonnet sometimes when all this focus gets put on these ‘strong female characters’,” she said.

“Women are just strong – that’s how it is.

“All the women in my life are very interesting and compelling people – it’s just taken a while to see the same thing on screen.”

Filmed at Sovereign Hill and around Melbourne and regional Victoria last year, New Gold Mountain follows the...

New Gold Mountain brings to the screen the untold story of the Chinese miners who arrived in the Victorian Goldfields in their thousands in the 1850s to try to make their fortune. Using inspired-by-real-life characters and shining a light on forgotten events, this revisionist Western is based in the harsh wild west era of the Australian gold rush and unearths a murder mystery.

Filmed in Sovereign Hill and around Melbourne and regional Victoria, the epic four-part series from Goalpost Television will air over two weeks, starting October 13 at 9.30pm on Sbs and Sbs On Demand.

Directed by Corrie Chen, New Gold Mountain stars Yoson An, Alyssa Sutherland, Christopher James Baker, Dan Spielman, Mabel Li, Leonie Whyman, Sam Wang, Rhys Muldoon, Alison Bell, Chris Masters Mah and Travis Cotton.

The mini-series is created and written by Peter Cox and produced by Kylie du Fresne and Elisa Argenzio. Writers include Yolanda Ramke,...

Six-part anthology series Fires, about the experiences of everyday people at the frontline of the 2019-2020 bushfires, will premiere on Sunday, 26 September, 8.40pm on ABC TV and ABC iview.

Filmed in Melbourne and regional Victoria earlier this year, the Tony Ayres Productions drama goes behind the images and the headlines to touch on the stories of people directly affected by the fires.

The series begins in Queensland in September 2019, at the start of the fire season, and continues as the fires make their deadly march south, burning out of control through Nsw and Victoria until February 2020. Each episode is set in a different location as the fires spread and build to a terrifying onslaught across the country through Christmas and New Year.

As the fires grow in intensity and ferocity and threaten different communities, new characters appear, whose stories reflect the breadth of experience during Australia’s black summer.

Bringing...

BAFTA Execs To Speak At British Urban Film Festival

Exclusive: The British Urban Film Festival (Buff) has set BAFTA Chair Krishnendu Majumdar and BAFTA Film Committee Chair Marc Samuelson for a 90-minute ‘in conversation’ session at this year’s festival, which is taking place later than usual and online as a result of the coronavirus lockdown. The pre-recorded Q&a, titled The Changing Faces of BAFTA, will be moderated by Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe and streamed via the festival’s website next month. Viewers will be able to submit questions in advance of the Zoom session via the Buff Facebook page. Actor and producer Femi Oyeniran will once again helm the annual Buff awards ceremony. Winners last year included Noel Clarke, Terry Pheto and Aki Omoshaybi. The festival’s full program is due to be announced in coming weeks.

Sbs Begins “Most Ambitious Drama Yet”

Oz broadcaster Sbs has begun its “most...

Sbs unveiled its largest ever local drama slate at its upfronts today, including a new four-part crime series from Bunya Productions and Caama, Copping it Black, to be directed by Erica Glynn and Steven McGregor.

Next year will also see the broadcaster air a hefty roster of local unscripted projects, including the seven one-off docs produced via the Australia Uncovered initiative, and landmark factual series covering off on topics such as domestic violence, adult literacy, disability, ageism and obesity.

Goalpost’s gold rush drama New Gold Mountain, delayed due to Covid-19, is now underway in Victoria, with Yoson An, Alyssa Sutherland, Christopher James Baker, Dan Spielman, and Mabel Li toplining the cast.

Set in the Bendigo Goldfields in 1855, it follows the charismatic headman of the Chinese mining camp who suddenly finds himself struggling to maintain the fragile harmony between Chinese and European diggers and authorities when a murdered European woman...

(L-r) Katie McGrath, Abbie Cornish and Georgina Haig. (Photo: Ben King)

Abbie Cornish, Katie McGrath and Georgina Haig are playing the leads in Seven Studios’ female-driven romantic thriller Secret Bridesmaids’ Business.

A re-imagining of Elizabeth Coleman’s stage play, the series is now shooting in Melbourne and on locations in Victoria, directed by Tori Garrett and Jennifer Perrott, backed by Film Victoria.

Announced at the Seven Network’s upfronts, the plot revolves around three friends at a wedding which turns deadly after one of the bridesmaids unknowingly invites a malevolent stranger into their lives, triggering a deadly chain reaction that blows open a world of secrets.

According to the synopsis, as the narrative unfolds the power of female friendship could be the difference between life and death.

Cornish plays Melanie, a mother and wife who appears to have an an idyllic life. However when harsh home truths are revealed, her...

Variety has exclusively learned that Australia’s Seven Studios has begun principal photography on the series “Secret Bridesmaids’ Business.”

The show stars Abbie Cornish, Katie McGrath (“Supergirl”), and Georgina Haig (“Once Upon A Time”).

In the series, a bride’s perfect wedding turns deadly after one of her bridesmaids unknowingly invites a malevolent stranger into their lives, triggering a destructive chain reaction that blows open a hidden world of secrets. As the show unfolds, the power of female friendship could be the difference between life and death.

Cornish plays Melanie, who appears to have an idyllic life: she’s a mother and wife, with a successful career and a beautiful home. However, when her life choices are put to the test by some harsh home truths, her ideal world starts to spiral out of control. McGrath is Saskia, a fast-rising lawyer and an arresting, high-octane British truth-bomb. She is relentlessly intelligent and fiercely loyal.

Network 10’s ‘Sisters’.

First announced last October, the Fox network’s remake of Imogen Banks’ and Jonathan Gavin’s drama Sisters is finally getting traction.

Leslye Headland, the co-creator/director of the Netflix comedy Russian Doll, has signed on to direct the pilot scripted by executive producer Annie Weisman, whose credits include the series The Path, About a Boy and Desperate Housewives.

Casting is underway on the untitled one-hour series which centres on Julia Bechly, an only child whose life is turned upside down when her father is forced to reveal that during his career as a fertility doctor, he used his own sperm to conceive dozens of children.

As Julia begins to track down her siblings, among a sea of brothers she discovers only two sisters – both of whom quickly become a part of her now redefined family.

The project was rated as one of the hottest drama...

Even though Netflix has started to cancel its underperforming series in earnest, that doesn’t mean it lacks for programming. In fact, its slate of offerings is fuller than ever, which makes it difficult for viewers to choose when faced with an embarrassment of bingeable riches.

Netflix’s foreign series, however, rarely get promotion amidst all of the other American shows that have been produced. Although IndieWire has previously provided handy lists of foreign-language series a couple of times, including other imports, that is only a hint of all offerings available.

Read More:tv Imports: The Best Foreign Netflix Shows to Binge, Part 1

By now, you’ve already seen Brazil’s excellent dystopian series “3%” or the unforgettable “Chewing Gum” starring Michaela Coel, but what’s next? In an effort to continue helping viewers discover new or lesser-known foreign TV shows, we’ve compiled another list of those series worth bingeing below:...

Oh, the evil Internet, full of evil hackers looking at the best way to steal your money or sell you to the highest bidder. It seems to be the popular tool for modern television series to create something that stands out. Does The Code: Series 2 stand out as something special though, or just another crime thriller with a technological edge?

When two Australians are killed by militia in West Papua, Internet journalist Ned (Dan Spielman) and his cyber hacking brother Jesse (Ashley Zuckerman) are called into action. Threatened with deportation by the Australian government they are forced to help in the hunt for Jan Roth (Anthony Lapaglia) whose underground website is being used to traffic a young boy.

For the first half of series two the focus is on finding the young boy that has been kidnapped, but there are other motives underneath this. Jan Roth is current fighting...

Sisters..

Network Ten has unveiled its 2017 line-up, with two new local dramas leading the slate; Sisters,.starring Barry Otto and Catherine McClements, and the previously announced.Wake in Fright.

Other new local content includes Common Sense, a news-focused show from the creators of Gogglebox; The Biggest Loser: Transformed; and a new series of.Russell Coight.s All Aussie Adventures,.after 15 years away from screens..

Offspring and The Wrong Girl will return, alongside lifestyle and reality programming such as MasterChef Australia, I.m A Celebrity. Get Me Out Of Here!, Gogglebox, Have You Been Paying Attention?, Family Feud, The Living Room, Shark Tank, Australian Survivor, The Bachelor Australia and The Bachelorette Australia..

Network Ten chief content officer Beverley McGarvey said the 2017 slate was .diverse and deeply engaging..

.Wake In Fright and Sisters are extraordinary Australian stories. The Biggest Loser: Transformed will take a beloved brand to a whole new level,...

Noah Taylor and Yael Stone (and soundie) on set. (Photo: Sean O'Reilly)

An old shed on Glebe Island wharf, littered with boat-building machinery and tools, sets the tone for one of the dramatic final scenes of Sbs.s new four-part series, Deep Water, starring Noah Taylor and Yael Stone..

Stone and Taylor play detectives investigating a brutal murder case which appears to be connected to the real-life gay hate crimes that swept through Sydney in the .80s and .90s.

But it was a more recent murder which spurred Blackfella Films. producers Darren Dale and Miranda Dear to get the series moving.

Dear and Dale, coincidentally were both in Potts Point, Sydney, when a particularly violent murder took place.

.He [Darren] was leaving and I was heading in and we both saw fire engines, ambulances, police cars and Darren stopped at the Atm near the building and heard from residents what had happened,...

Noah Taylor in the Spierig Bros' Predestination.

Noah Taylor and Orange is the New Black's Yael Stone will star in Sbs.s new four-part crime drama series, Deep Water, produced by Blackfella Films.

Joining them in the crime thriller are Stone's husband Dan Spielman (The Code, Accidental Soldier, Offspring), William McInnes (The Time of Our Lives, The Slap), Danielle Cormack (Wentworth, Rake, Miss Fisher.s Murder Mysteries), Craig McLachlan (The Doctor Blake Mysteries), Ben Oxenbould (The Kettering Incident, Old School, Rake), Simon Burke (Devil.s Playground), John Brumpton (Catching Milat, Miss Fisher.s Murder Mysteries) and others..

Sbs are billing Deep Water as its first "cross-genre, cross-platform event which will include a four-part drama series, a feature documentary and unique online web series and content".

The series is executive produced by Sbs.s Sue Masters, produced by Blackfella Films. Miranda Dear and Darren Dale and written by Kris Wyld...

Fox has given a script commitment with significant penalty for a proposed remake of the Australian political thriller series "The Code" for FX.

"Justified" creator/executive producer Graham Yost, executive producer/director Michael Dinner and executive producer Fred Golan are teaming to serve in the same capacities on this project with Sony Pictures TV producing. Yost and Golan will adapt the story for the U.S. market while Dinner will direct the pilot.

The original followed multiple characters and their ties to a mysterious accident in which a stolen vehicle collides with a transport truck in the middle of the desert. The truth surrounding it is dangerous enough that people at the highest levels of political power will kill to keep it secret, but two brothers - a journalist and a hacker - are the key to learn the truth.

Lucy Lawless, David Wenham, Aden Young, Dan Spielman, Ashley Zukerman,...

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...

Anthony Lapaglia and Sigrid Thornton have joined the cast of the Code - Season Two - a Playmaker production for the ABC.

They join Ashley Zukerman, Dan Spielman and Adele Perovic in the second series which explores the value of freedom of speech and the delicate balance between personal liberty and national security in the digital age.

Created and written by Shelley Birse, produced by David Maher, David Taylor, Diane Haddon and Shelley Birse, directed by Shawn Seet, and executive produced by the ABC.s Carole Sklan and David Ogilvy, the six-hour political thriller will be filmed in Sydney, Canberra and Far North Queensland.

Playmaker.s David Taylor and David Maher said: .We are delighted that The Code has been universally embraced by audiences and critics alike, and season two takes it to a new level - with a stellar cast, political intrigue and thrilling action..

ABC TV.s Carole Sklan...

ABC TV has confirmed new series of. Janet King, Rake, Jack Irish, The Code and The Doctor Blake Mysteries.

Marta Dusseldorp will star in the second series of Janet King, Richard Roxburgh returns as Cleaver Greene in the fourth series of Rake and Guy Pearce stars in a six-part series based on the crime novels by Peter Temple in Jack Irish: The Series, a spin-off of the three telepics. Craig McLachlan returns as. Dr Lucien Blake in the fourth outing of The Doctor Blake Mysteries, together with Nadine Garner as his housekeeper Jean Beazley. Dan Spielman and Ashley Zuckerman are back for the second season of The Code. ABC Head of Fiction Carole Sklan said: .ABC TV is very happy to be able to bring back this collection of hugely entertaining, favourite dramas. They feature such a wonderful, eclectic mix of indelible characters.. Head of Programming Brendan Dahill said: .This...

The Water Diviner and The Babadook share top film honours and ABC’s The Code is the biggest TV winner. All the red carpet glitz, gossip and gongs from Sydney

Water Diviner and Babadook tie, but at least they’re AussieAactas red carpet: the stars arrive – in pictures

8.58pm Aest

The big winners? The Water Diviner and The Babadook for film, and The Code for its multiple awards in the telly categories.

Plenty more to celebrate and debate in the coming days. We’ll be back on Friday with the best quotes and pictures. Not to mention our weekly film column that sees Luke Buckmaster re-watching the cult classics of Australian cinema, week in week out, for your reading/viewing pleasure.

8.39pm Aest

And, breathe, we’re almost there. Cate and Debs are back on stage to lead into the final and biggest gong of the night: the award for...

Director Russell Crowe Movie up for Best Film: Australian Academy Awards 2015 nominations (photo: Actor-director Russell Crowe in 'The Water Diviner') Aacta Awards: Feature Film Categories Best Film The Babadook Kristina Ceyton and Kristian Moliere Charlie's Country Nils Erik Nielsen, Peter Djigirr and Rolf de Heer Predestination Paddy McDonald, Tim McGahan, Peter Spierig and Michael Spierig The Railway Man Chris Brown, Andy Paterson and Bill Curbishley Tracks Emile Sherman and Iain Canning The Water Diviner Andrew Mason, Keith Rodger and Troy Lum Best Director The Babadook Jennifer Kent Charlie's Country Rolf de Heer Predestination Peter Spierig and Michael Spierig The Rover David Michôd Best Actress Kate Box The Little Death Essie Davis The Babadook Sarah Snook Predestination Mia Wasikowska Tracks Best Actor Russell Crowe The Water Diviner David Gulpilil Charlie's Country Damon Herriman The Little Death Guy Pearce The Rover Best Supporting Actor Patrick Brammall The Little Death Yilmaz Erdogan...

The Spierig brothers. Predestination and Russell Crowe.s The Water Diviner lead the film nominees while The Code and Please Like Me head the contenders in the TV categories in the 4th Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta) Awards.

Predestination received nine nominations, followed by The Water Diviner with eight, seven for David Michôd.s The Rover and six apiece for Jennifer Kent.s The Babadook, Josh Lawson.s The Little Death and Jonathan Teplitzky.s The Railway Man.

Culled from 25 eligible titles, Predestination, The Water Diviner,. The Babadook, Rolf de Heer.s Charlie.s Country, The Railway Man and John Curran.s Tracks are vying for best feature.

Perhaps surprisingly, Crowe was overlooked for best director, which will be a battle between the Spierigs, Kent, de Heer and Michôd.

The contenders for best TV drama are Endemol.s Puberty Blues season 2, Playmaker Media.s The Code, Screentime...

Screen Australia announced today it will invest nearly $10.7 million in 11 television and film projects which will trigger production worth almost $59 million.

In one of the most hotly contested funding rounds, six features succeeded. They include Wayne Blair.s romantic comedy Ali.s Wedding; Joe Cinque.s Consolation, a thriller about a troubled law student who tries to kill her boyfriend, from director Sotiris Dounoukos, whose A Single Body won best short at the Toronto International Film Festival, and Cameron and Colin Cairnes. horror movie Scare Campaign.

The other three are Taboo, the narrative feature debut of documentary filmmakers Bentley Dean and Martin Butler; Rachel Perkins. murder mystery Jasper Jones, based on the novel and play by Craig Silvey, adapted by Shaun Grant;. and Greg Mclean.s true-life thriller Jungle.

The TV projects are Shine Australia.s Peter Allen: Not the Boy Next Door for the Seven Network; a Jack...

DirecTV has bought Us rights to Playmaker Media.s The Code, a six-part series about two brothers who stumble across information about a new technology - information that people in the highest political echelons will kill to keep secret.

ABC-tv commissioned the thriller, which stars Dan Spielman (An Accidental Soldier, Offspring), Ashley Zukerman (The Slap, Rush), Adam Garcia (Coyote Ugly, Bootmen), David Wenham (Top of the Lake, Killing Time), Lucy Lawless (Spartacus), Aden Young (I Frankenstein, Rectify), Chelsie Preston Crayford (Mystery of a Hansom Cab, Underbelly: Razor), Adele Perovic (SLiDE), Dan Wyllie (Rake, Puberty Blues), Aaron Pedersen (Jack Irish, City Homicide), and Paul Tassone (Underbelly).

The show was created by Shelley Birse and written by Birse, Blake Ayshford and Justin Monjo, directed by Shawn Seet (Love Child, Underbelly, Mystery of a Hansom Cab) and produced by Playmaker.s David Maher and David Taylor and Birse.

Developed through the Scribe Initiative...

Comedies from Matchbox Pictures, Princess Pictures, Working Dog and The Bondi Hipsters are among the highlights of ABC-tv.s 2014 schedule.

The drama slate includes the previously announced Anzac Girls (Screentime), which stars Georgia Flood, Antonia Prebble, Laura Brent, Anna McGahan and Caroline Craig in the saga of five young military nurses from Australia and New Zealand during the Gallipoli and Western Front campaigns; The Code (Playmaker Media), a political thriller about two brothers who stumble across information that people in power will kill to keep secret, starring Ashley Zukerman and Dan Spielman; and Old School (Matchbox), which features Bryan Brown and Sam Neill as a retired crim and ex-cop who solve crimes and unravel scams while avoiding the wrath of the police and the underworld.

Among the other dramas are Janet King (Screentime), a legal drama starring Marta Dusseldorp; crime thriller The Broken Shore (Essential Media); second series of The...

ABC telemovie An Accidental Soldier looks set to be sold to multiple territories after London-based Dcd Rights acquired the international distribution rights.

Dcd Rights will introduce the film to international buyers at the Mipcom market in Cannes which runs October 7-10. The firm has an impressive track record in selling Australian dramas and comedies including Rake, The Slap, Mr & Mrs Murder, The Straits, The Strange Calls and A Moody Christmas.

Directed by Rachel Ward and produced by Goalpost Pictures and Taylor Media, An Accidental Soldier starred Dan Spielman, Marie Brunel, Bryan Brown and Julia Zemiro.

Set during WW1 and scripted by Blake Ayshford and based on the book Silent Parts by John Charalambous, it.s the tale of a romance between a young Australian baker who deserted the front line and a grieving French woman who risks her life by sheltering him from the authorities.

Meanwhile, the third season of...

Scouting locations for The Moon and the Sun, a fantasy/adventure film starring Pierce Brosnan, Bill Nighy and Fan Bing Bing, the producers weighed offers from a number of countries.

Victoria won out thanks to a combination of the location offset, state rebate, quality of the crews and the expertise of VFX houses, according to Paul Currie, who is one of the principal producers alongside Pandemonium Films. Bill Mechanic.

Budgeted at $US40 million, the film will shoot for two weeks in Versailles, France in March, then move to Australia in April using the stages of Docklands Studios and locations throughout Victoria.

An Aussie who.s based in Los Angeles, Currie tells If, .$40 million goes a long way in Australia. Cost effectively we do great work for realistic budgets..

Film Victoria, Screen Nsw and Screen Queensland all pitched for the project and Ausfilm was co-operative. Currie was grateful for the agencies...

The day after Australian actress Yael Stone got married in the Us last year, she turned up for an audition with a slight hangover and in her words, "still glowing."

The Nida graduate who was a regular in Spirited and All Saints must have impressed the producers of Orange is The New Black, a TV dramedy set in a women's prison: She landed the role of inmate Lorna Morello in the 13-episde series which premiered in the Us on Netflix last week to rave reviews.

From Weeds creator Jenji Kohan, the show features Taylor Schilling as an engaged yuppie who is serving a 15-month stint in the slammer for her unwitting role in an international drug smuggling ring.

"The most appealing elements come from the wealth of supporting players, including a breakout turn by Yael Stone as a wonderfully distinctive character who seems to have parachuted in from a 1930s gangster film,...

Don Groves is a Deadline contributor based in Sydney. Bryan Brown will play an Australian soldier in France during World War I in An Accidental Soldier, a telemovie directed by the actor’s wife Rachel Ward, their first collaboration since the 2009 movie Beautiful Kate. Australia’s ABC commissioned the telepic based on John Charalambous’ novel Silent Parts, and shooting starts in Western Australia in September, backed by agency Screen West. Dan Spielman plays the title character who enlisted in 1918 when he was in his early 40s, served as a baker and feared battle. French actress Marie Bunel plays a French woman who harbored him. The producers are Goalpost Pictures’ Kylie du Fresne (The Sapphires) and Taylor Media’s Sue Taylor (The Tree) and the script is by Blake Ayshford. The producers say they will decide how to exploit the international rights when the film is completed.

Bryan Brown is set to join the cast of telepic An Accidental Soldier, playing an Australian soldier in France during World War I, reports Deadline. Rachel Ward, the helmer's wife is helming the project which marks their first collaboration since Beautiful Kate back in 2009. Pic is based on "Silent Parts," a novel by John Charalambous, and stars Dan Spielman as the title character who enlisted at the age of 40 in 1918. He served as a baker, in fear of battle. Also in the cast of the film produced by Kylie du Fresne of Goalpost Pictures and Sue Taylor of Taylor Media-produced film is Marie Bunel playing a French woman who harbored him.

Bryan Brown is set to join the cast of telepic An Accidental Soldier, playing an Australian soldier in France during World War I, reports Deadline. Rachel Ward, the helmer's wife is helming the project which marks their first collaboration since Beautiful Kate back in 2009. Pic is based on "Silent Parts," a novel by John Charalambous, and stars Dan Spielman as the title character who enlisted at the age of 40 in 1918. He served as a baker, in fear of battle. Also in the cast of the film produced by Kylie du Fresne of Goalpost Pictures and Sue Taylor of Taylor Media-produced film is Marie Bunel playing a French woman who harbored him.

Rachel Ward is set to direct a new tele-movie for ABC TV. An Accidental Soldier, produced by Kylie du Fresne, producer of The Sapphires, and The Tree’s Sue Taylor, tells the story of a baker in the Anzac services corps who makes an extraordinary decision and finds an unexpected love. The film will star Ward’s husband and actor Bryan Brown as well as French actress Marie Bunel and Dan Spielman.

The announcement:

Straight off the back of a triumphant opening week, The Sapphires producer Kylie du Fresne (The Sapphires, Lockie Leonard) is creating another surprising, untold story of Australians at war for ABC TV. The telemovie An Accidental Soldier, which Kylie will produce with Sue Taylor (The Tree, 3 Acts of Murder) begins filming in Perth on Monday 3 September.

Director, Rachel Ward (The Straits, Rake, My Place, Beautiful Kate) has assembled a stellar international cast. French actress Marie Bunel stars alongside Dan Spielman (Offspring,...

The producer of recent Australian hit The Sapphires, Kylie du Fresne, is teaming up with Sue Taylor to tackle World War I dramatic telemovie An Accidental Soldier for ABC TV.

The story follows a baker in the ANZACs.and is described as .a moving and ultimately uplifting story of love that crosses language and cultures in a time of catastrophe,. according to ABC TV head of fiction Carole Sklan.

Production begins on September 3 in Perth, with director Rachel Ward and a screenplay adapted by Blake Ayshford (The Straits, Crownies) from the book Silent Parts by John Charalambous. The telemovie was developed and financed under the Primeime Television Production Fund between ScreenWest and ABC Television.

An Accidental Soldier should provide a boost to the Western Australian industry, according to ScreenWest boss Ian Booth.

.It will be filmed entirely in Western Australia providing Wa practitioners with an opportunity to work with an...

Bosses of a new production of MacBeth in Sydney, Australia have axed its premiere after three actors and the assistant director were struck down with food poisoning.

The curtain was due to go up on the Bell Shakespeare Company show at the famous Sydney Opera House on Wednesday, but opening night has now been called off.

Dan Spielman, who plays the title role in the Shakespearean tragedy, is among those affected by the severe food poisoning outbreak, along with two other actors and assistant director John Kachoyan.

Two of the group were admitted to hospital for treatment and the others were bedridden for several days.

Three preview performances were also called off and opening night has been tentatively rescheduled for Thursday.

Bell Shakespeare General Manager, Christopher Tooher, says in a statement, "The condition of the four affected Company members is being constantly monitored. All are now showing significant signs of improvement... We are currently working with the New South Wales Food Authority regarding the source of the food poisoning."

Macbeth has long been shrouded in superstition, with stories of jinxes and curses befalling castmembers, and many in the theatre world believe the name is cursed so refer to it instead as "the Scottish play".

Third poster for Daniel Nettheim's The Hunter, starring Willem Dafoe, Frances O'Connor and Sam Neill The winner of two Australian Film Institute Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Original Score, made its debut at last year's Toronto International Film Festival. Also in the cast are Frances O'Connor, Sam Neill, Morgana Davies, Finn Woodlock, Jacek Koman, Callan Mulvey, John Brumpton, Dan Wyllie, Sullivan Stapleton, Jamie Timony, Dan Spielman, Maia Thomas, Marc Watson and Mark Hennesy. The Hunter is the story of Martin, a skilled and ruthless mercenary sent into the Tasmanian wilderness on a hunt for a tiger believed to be extinct. Hired by an anonymous company that wants the tiger’s genetic material, Martin arrives in Tasmania posing as a scientist. He proceeds to set up base camp at a broken-down farmhouse, where he stays with a family whose father has gone missing...

Third poster for Daniel Nettheim's The Hunter, starring Willem Dafoe, Frances O'Connor and Sam Neill The winner of two Australian Film Institute Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Original Score, made its debut at last year's Toronto International Film Festival. Also in the cast are Frances O'Connor, Sam Neill, Morgana Davies, Finn Woodlock, Jacek Koman, Callan Mulvey, John Brumpton, Dan Wyllie, Sullivan Stapleton, Jamie Timony, Dan Spielman, Maia Thomas, Marc Watson and Mark Hennesy. The Hunter is the story of Martin, a skilled and ruthless mercenary sent into the Tasmanian wilderness on a hunt for a tiger believed to be extinct. Hired by an anonymous company that wants the tiger’s genetic material, Martin arrives in Tasmania posing as a scientist. He proceeds to set up base camp at a broken-down farmhouse, where he stays with a family whose father has gone missing...

Third poster for Daniel Nettheim's The Hunter, starring Willem Dafoe, Frances O'Connor and Sam Neill The winner of two Australian Film Institute Awards for Best Cinematography and Best Original Score, made its debut at last year's Toronto International Film Festival. Also in the cast are Frances O'Connor, Sam Neill, Morgana Davies, Finn Woodlock, Jacek Koman, Callan Mulvey, John Brumpton, Dan Wyllie, Sullivan Stapleton, Jamie Timony, Dan Spielman, Maia Thomas, Marc Watson and Mark Hennesy. The Hunter is the story of Martin, a skilled and ruthless mercenary sent into the Tasmanian wilderness on a hunt for a tiger believed to be extinct. Hired by an anonymous company that wants the tiger’s genetic material, Martin arrives in Tasmania posing as a scientist. He proceeds to set up base camp at a broken-down farmhouse, where he stays with a family whose father has gone missing...