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Exclusive: After chronicling the BlackBerry’s rise and fall with Matt Johnson’s lauded IFC film of the same name, Jay Baruchel has come aboard to star in another true story, The Stunt Driver, a film chronicling the exploits of daredevil stuntman Ken Carter.

Reuniting Baruchel with Michael Dowse, the filmmaker behind his R-rated 2011 hockey comedy Goon, The Stunt Driver watches as “The Mad Canadian” Carter attempts to execute the boldest maneuver of his career during the 1970s, launching a rocket car off a 90-foot-high ramp across the St. Lawrence River. Covering a span of more than a mile, the stunt would have him jump from Canada into the United States. The film, which Dowse calls his “white whale project,” follows Carter’s quest to make his seemingly impossible dream a reality, chronicling his preparation for the jump and the absurd challenges he faces along the way.

Based on the...

The 2022 Easterseals Disability Film Challenge Awards announced presenters for this year’s ceremony, including “Special” creator Ryan O’Connell and “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” producers Phil Lord and Chris Miller. The awards will be held on May 5 at Sony Pictures Studios’ Cary Grant Theater in Los Angeles.

Additional presenters include Paul Raci (“Sound of Metal”), Max Borenstein (“Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty”), Blake Stadnik (“This is Us”) and “As We See It” actors Rick Glassman, Sue Ann Pien and Albert Rutecki.

Launched in 2014 and created by Nic Novicki, the film challenge gives filmmakers the chance to write, produce and complete short films that tell unique stories showcasing disability in many forms. Submissions can come from filmmakers with or without disabilities, and this year’s challenge saw a record-breaking submission of 95 films from around the world.

The finalists will be announced on April 29, with four competitors to move forward...

On March 25, 2002, ABC introduced to the world a show that took one man’s search for Ms. Right and, with the help of some alleged post-production trickery and the casting of some beyond wackadoo hopefuls, turned it into a reality-tv phenomenon which has since spawned multiple STDs spin-offs.

We’re of course talking about The Bachelor, which on this day marks its 15th anniversary.

VideosRachel Lindsay Confirmed as First Black Bachelorette

Since inaugural suitor Alex Michel, the ABC franchise has helped 19 other eligible bachelors on their quest for “true love,” most recently bringing together Nick Viall and Vanessa Grimaldi in the Season 21 finale.

The Project Factory recently won a Screen Producers Award for the game ‘Sherlock: The Network’ developed in partnership with Hartswood Films.

Global communications agency Way To Blue has acquired UK and Australian-based digital creative agency The Project Factory (Tpf).

The all-cash deal is aimed at strengthening Way To Blue’s social and digital teams in London and quadruple the size of its Australian footprint. It also expands its TV revenues and introduces healthcare, public sector and publishing to its sector portfolio.

Best known in the UK for being the social and content agency on ITV’s Downton Abbey and The Last Kingdom, The Project Factory’s client list includes NBC Universal, Sony Pictures Television, Gogglebox, Channel 4, Hartswood Films, the BBC and in Australia, Channel 7, Csiro, Hcf, The George Institute, Network Ten, ABC and Australian Radio Network.

Its UK team will move into Way To Blue’s London offices immediately. Way To Blue...

The Project Factory recently won a Screen Producers Award for the game ‘Sherlock: The Network’ developed in partnership with Hartswood Films.

Global communications agency Way To Blue has acquired UK and Australian-based digital creative agency The Project Factory (Tpf).

The all-cash deal is aimed at strengthening Way To Blue’s social and digital teams in London and quadruple the size of its Australian footprint. It also expands its TV revenues and introduces healthcare, public sector and publishing to its sector portfolio.

Best known in the UK for being the social and content agency on ITV’s Downton Abbey and The Last Kingdom, The Project Factory’s client list includes NBC Universal, Sony Pictures Television, Gogglebox, Channel 4, Hartswood Films, the BBC and in Australia, Channel 7, Csiro, Hcf, The George Institute, Network Ten, ABC and Australian Radio Network.

Its UK team will move into Way To Blue’s London offices immediately. Way To Blue...

Tree Australia.s Brian Rosen and Taylor Media.s Sue Taylor have been re-elected for a third term as president and vice-president of the Screen Producers Association of Australia for 2013/2014.

Spaa is changing its constitution to elect future presidents for a two-year term, capped at a maximum of two terms. Rosen has indicated he will step down as president at the end of his third year.

Members of the 2013/14 Spaa Council are: Donna Andrews, Sticky Pictures; Mark Bamford, TressCox Lawyers; Ben Grant, Goalpost Pictures; Chris Hilton, Essential Media and Entertainment; Morgan Jaffit, Defiant Development; Linda Klejus, Circa Media; Nathan Mayfield, Hoodlum Entertainment; Alaric McAusland, Deluxe Australia; David Redman, Instinct Entertainment; Andrew Ogilvie, Electric Pictures; Chris Oliver-Taylor, Matchbox Pictures; and Joanna Werner, Werner Film Productions.

The outgoing councillors are Dan Pearce, Holding Redlich Lawyers; Ros Tatarka, CreatEve; and Jennifer Wilson, The Project Factory.

Of that trio Spaa says, .Together they have...

A second series of ABC sitcom Twentysomething has received funding from Screen Australia as part of the agency’s Multi-Platform Production Program.

Created and written by Jess Harris, Twentysomething episodes will be directed by Harris and Mika Tran and is produced by Lowdown’s Nicole Minchin of High Wire Films.

The first season aired last year on ABC2. This season will pick up with friends Jess, played by Harris, and Josh, played by Josh Schmidt, returning from abroad as thirtysomething looms.

Twentysomething is among four projects to receive the funding. Included also is an interactive animation for tablets called A Cautionary Tail, an interactive documentary called Ringbalin: River Stories and a serious game called The Voyage.

Screen Australia’ CEO Ruth Harley said: “These four titles join a growing list of dynamic, original Screen Australia–supported projects that capitalise on the changing landscape for content creation. We have both established players...

ABC2 multi-platform comedy twentysomething has been commissioned for a second series while short animated film A Cautionary Tail will be made into an interactive app for tablets.

They are two of four projects to receive funding through Screen Australia's latest Multi-platform Production Program funding round. The other two are: The Voyage, a serious game for the Australian National Maritime Museum, which will give players the chance to captain a convict ship to Van Diemen.s Land in the early 1800s; and Ringbalin, an interactive documentary which will take users on a virtual pilgrimage along the Murray, telling the river.s history through Indigenous eyes.

Screen Australia chief executive Ruth Harley said: .These four titles join a growing list of dynamic, original Screen Australia-supported projects that capitalise on the changing landscape for content creation. We have both established players and new talent collaborating and telling stories through interactive documentary,...

The production company behind the Underbelly franchise has added a new product with mobile device game Underbelly: Skirmish.

Created by game and transmedia producers The Project Factory with game developers Epiphany Games for series producers Screentime, the game is available on iPhones, iPads, and soon to be launched on Android.

The game pits a police special task force against crime syndicate The Rough Company with the gamer either playing the role of police commander or crime boss.

Guy Gadney, of the The Project Factory told Mumbrella: “We’ve been friendly with Screentime for a while and they were realising the audience wanted a game of Underbelly. The whole thing came about organically and it built from there.

One of the aims of the game for Screentime is to increase the level of engagement of the franchise between series.

Gadney said: “When the show goes off air between seasons, how do you keep that passion alive?...

Transmedia company The Project Factory has appointed three digital media, technology and marketing experts to its inaugural advisory board.

The new board comprises PricewaterhouseCoopers executive director Megan Brownlow, former vice president, digital economy, at Alcatel-Lucent Australia, Geof Heydon, and branded business development executive John Cookson.

They will help develop The Project Factory's global strategy as the company continues to target international clients, according to The Project Factory director Jennifer Wilson.

.As we move into our next phase of growth internationally, our new board will provide invaluable guidance on strategies to maximize the value of our content, entertainment projects and IP as well as helping align our future agenda and development as the industry."

Brownlow has over 20 years experience in media ranging from producing Enough Rope with Andrew Denton to working with the Nine Network, eCorp and Pbl. She is also the editor of the annual industry forecasting bible, Pwc.s Entertainment & Media Outlook.

Jennifer Wilson Photography

New mom Hilary Duff is splitting the parenting with Mike Comrie, but there’s one aspect of tending to their son Luca Cruz that she has to handle herself.

“He’s really hands-on during the day,” the actress and singer, 24, who is the new spokesperson for Johnson’s Baby Cares initiative, tells People of her husband.

“But at night, I’m the only one that can feed the baby. I wasn’t going to make him suffer just because I was having to get up.”

Though she leaves pumped milk for Comrie and her mother, who watches...

Three’s company! Hilary Duff debuted a new Twitter profile photo this week, sharing a shot of herself and husband Mike Comrie with their bundle of joy, 3-week-old son Luca Cruz. “No better feeling [than] a peaceful baby sleeping on your chest … wonder what he’s dreaming about?” the singer-actress, 24, wrote recently. “#happymommy”

Jennifer Wilson Photography

Related: Hilary Duff Introduces Son Luca Cruz...

Get ready for a whole lotta adorableness.

New mom Hilary Duff tweeted a photo, taken by photographer Jennifer Wilson, of her baby boy, Luca Cruz, Tuesday to mark his 2-week birthday.

Duff shared a photo of his itty-bitty feet Monday, but this is the first photo of Luca since Duff and her husband, Mike Comrie, welcomed him on March 20.

Duff, who has already been hitting the gym to try to get back into pre-baby shape, has been sharing her experience adjusting to new motherhood.

"1st outing complete with no tears!Made it home early...just in time to feed Luca.figuring this motherhood thing out!" she tweeted March 28.

Check out a photo of baby Luca below, as well as photos from Duff's pregnancy:

Baby Luca, 2 weeks old :) twitter.com/HilaryDuff/sta…

— Hilary Duff (@HilaryDuff) April 3, 2012...

Jennifer Wilson Photography

Meet Luca Cruz Comrie!

Hilary Duff introduces her 2-week-old baby boy on Tuesday, Tweeting out the first photo of her son to her million-plus followers.

“Baby Luca, 2 weeks old,” the singer and actress, 24, writes above a picture of her wide-eyed little guy, wrapped in a muslin swaddling blanket.

He’s the first child for Duff and her husband, retired hockey player Mike Comrie, who married in August 2010.

“Thank you for all the messages and well wishes,” adds Duff. “I love you all so much.”

– Sarah Michaud...

The precocious Moretz will play Jennifer Wilson, daughter of the late Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson. The film explores the last six years of Wilson's life, which ended on December 28, 1983, when the 39-year-old drowned in the water off Marina del Rey in Los Angeles. Wilson had struggled with drug and alcohol abuse. Rupert Grint has joined as Stan Shapiro, a former William Morris Agency intern who became a close friend of Wilson. As for Wilson himself, that's Aaron Eckhart. The film's producers will try to capitalize off the Beach Boys 50th anniversary tour where the remaining members will actually be accompanied by Jesse and the Rippers actor-drummer John Stamos.

Surely someone who destroys property as part of a political protest is a criminal, but are they a terrorist? If a Tree Falls is the Oscar-nominated documentary directed by Marshall Curry and Sam Cullman that addresses that question. Members of the radical environmental activist group the Earth Liberation Front (Elf) were charged and convicted by the Us government for a series of arsons they committed against businesses they contended were destroying the environment. Despite the fact that the group never targeted, threatened, or killed a single human being in any of its actions, the Elf members are officially considered domestic terrorists and have been sentenced to do jail time in a special federal facility created to house terrorists. The films follows Daniel McGowen, one of the Elf members, as he awaits his trial and sentencing for his participation in the arsons.

'If A Tree Falls a Story of the Liberation...

Gerardo Naranjo on the set of the Canana and Fox International Productions film 'Miss Bala'. Photo Credit Juan Carlos Polanco

Gerardo Naranjo’s third feature film, Miss Bala, dares to take on a very weighty subject—the pervasive violence perpetrated on ordinary citizens all over Mexico by drug cartels. Set in Tijuana, newcomer Stephanie Sigman stars as Laura, a young woman trying to escape an impoverished existence by participating in a beauty pageant. But Laura’s life takes a very different path when she unwittingly attracts the attention of gang-leader, Lino and becomes an unwilling participant in a war from which there is no escape.

On a sunny afternoon in January I got the chance to sit down at the Canana offices with director Gerardo Naranjo, lead actress Stephanie Sigman, and executive producer Diego Luna.

Jennifer Wilson: Did you know early on that you would cast Stephanie in this role?...

David Cronenberg and Viggo Mortensen on the set of A Dangerous Method

When I learned that I would have 15 minutes to talk with David Cronenberg about his latest film A Dangerous Method, I was elated…and then alarmed. A Dangerous Method is a complex film adaptation of Christopher Hampton’s play, The Talking Cure which was, itself, originally a screenplay based on John Kerr’s book A Most Dangerous Method. See, it’s complicated already and we’re only talking about the source material. A Dangerous Method is the fictional account of a true story: a psychiatrist and his young mentor become great friends and colleagues only to see their great bond turn to bitter rivalry. And oh yes, the psychiatrist and his mentor are Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) and Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender). The two most renowned figures in the history of psychiatry. Their rift begins over Jung’s affair with a young patient,...

Screen Australia has invested $3 million across four screen production companies in an effort to bolster their long-term sustainability. The funding was made through the government agency's Enterprise program and awarded to: Chocolate Liberation Front (Dan Fill, Frank Verheggen) December Media (Tony Wright); Madman Productions (Paul Wiegard, Tim Anderson, Nick Batzias); and The Project Factory (Guy Gadney, Jennifer Wilson). .The companies approved in the third round of Screen Australia.s Enterprise program will be enabled to develop quality slates of programs triggering more local production,. said Screen Australia chief executive Ruth Harley said in a statement. .The successful proposals demonstrate a clear vision for building capacity, attracting...

Ben Grant of Goalpost Pictures and David Redman of Instinct Entertainment join new President Brian Rosen and Vice President Sue Taylor on the Spaa Council for 2011/12.

The full list of elected Spaa councillors are as follows:

Brian Rosen moves from Feature Film councillor to President as Antony I Ginnane (Ifm Film) steps down. Bob Campbell (Screentime) will be replaced by Sue Taylor (Taylor Media) formerly the television councillor.

Ben Grant (Goalpost Pictures) and David Redman (Instinct Entertainment) step into the Feature Film councillors roles with Daniel Scharf (Profile Creative) an outgoing office holder.

Paul Barron (Great Western Entertainment) replaces Sue Taylor as Ros Tatarka (CreatEve) fills the spot of outgoing Jenny Lalor (entertainment lawyer) for the Television department. Chris Hilton (Essential Media & Entertainment) and Andrew Ogilvie (Electric Pictures) remain documentary councillors, so too does Jennifer Wilson (The Project Factory) in the role of Animation and New Media councillor while Services...

Melbourne, June 19: An online survey has revealed that a majority of people resort to online piracy out of frustration and that most were willing to pay a monthly download fee.

Statistically, one in two people illegally download music, movies and TV shows from the Internet, costing the industry 1.4 billion dollars in lost revenue each year.

"So we have ended up with reluctant pirates," the Courier Mail quoted Jennifer Wilson, co-director of The Project Factory, which carried out.

Soles4Souls, the international shoe charity, has announced a complete line-up of A-list celebrities who decided to take off their shoes for a good cause.

What began as a staff shoe drive internally at NBCUniversal 30 Rock studios for the charity’s Japan relief efforts quickly caught on to stars such as Sarah Jessica Parker, Sir Elton John, sisters Kim, Khloe, and Kourtney Kardashian, Jessica Simpson, Justin Timberlake, John Krasinski, Michelle Pfeiffer, Mariska Hargitay, Yoko Ono, the Today show cast, and many more. Jennifer Wilson, an NBCUniversal employee who helped initiate the celebrity shoe auction, said it was the kindness of organizations like Soles4Souls during Hurricane Katrina that drew her to help.

“I’m a Louisiana girl with family in New Orleans, so I saw first-hand the destruction, pain, and uncertainty that comes with a natural disaster,” Wilson said. “I started this to help those that helped us.”

Read more...

Just three out of the 20 relationships that formed because of ‘The Bachelor/Bachelorette’ have lasted. With an 85-percent failure rate are Brad and Emily doomed?

After going on The Bachelor for the second time, Brad Womack finally met the love of his life — Emily Maynard. But since they got engaged back in November, the couple has broken up multiple times. And now that they are finally a public couple, Emily says she’s not ready to get married yet and refuses to move to Austin for Brad. Could this mean that they are right on track to joining the 17 other failed Bachelor/Bachelorette couples?

The most shocking Bachelor breakups to date:

Jake Pavelka and Vienna Girardi. Jake and Vienna got engaged on the show, but broke up in June 2010. They pretended to stay together for a month longer to keep up appearances — but Vienna was soon seen out with Greek star Gregory Michael.

Mipcom took place over a month ago, but its effects can still be felt – particularly by those who had never been to an international market. James Boyce, on behalf of Dog Money World, shares his first experience with Encore.

It was not just any other Sunday afternoon in Sydney. Our hearts beating with excitement at the prospect, ‘this time next week, we could be touching down in France for Mipcom’. Our decision was made, after months of working on our cross-media concept Crime Plays and a great response from a pitching panel, it seemed that this project would be the one that would take us to our first international market.

From the get-go we felt we were onto something good with Crime Plays, an immersive cross-platform experience that puts a crime world in the palm of your hands. Most aptly described it’s The Amazing Race meets Mafia Wars.

In the months preceding Mipcom,...

Late The Beach Boys star Dennis Wilson is returning from beyond the grave - filmmakers Randall Miller and Jody Savin are bringing him back to life on the big screen. The drummer and surf fanatic tragically drowned in Marina Del Rey in California in 1983, shortly after the release of his solo album, "Pacific Ocean Blue".

Now his final years will be the focus of a new movie by Miller and Savin, the duo behind the Sundance Film Festival hit "Bottle Shock". Director Miller says, "Dennis was a pained and tortured soul, yet brilliant and loved dearly by so many who knew him. This film has the makings of a tour-de-force performance in the hands of the right actor."

"As a director, I search for stories that expose the soul of a character in new territories that excite me as a filmmaker." Savin will write the screenplay and the pair will...

The most successful couple to emerge from ABC's "Bachelor/Bachelorette" reality series is Trista and Ryan Sutter, who married on national television in 2003, but what about the rest of the reality daters?

Check out where the all the "Bachelors" and "Bachelorettes" are now! Bring your own roses!

"Bachelors" and "The Bachelorettes," Where Are They Now?Alex Michel

Season 1 (2002)

Bachelor: Alex Michel

Profile: Management Consultant

Winner: Amanda Marsh

Runner-Up: Trista Rehn

Alex did not propose to Amanda,...

Find Interview with Jason Bushman by Jennifer Wilson 

On the eve of Hollywood, je t'aime's upcoming DVD Release, writer/director and 2009 La Film Festival alum, Jason Bushman, stopped by to talk about the film, gay marriage, and upcoming projects.  The DVD is available December 8 through Wolfe Video.

Hollywood, je t'aime is your first feature.  Did you have any idea things would go so well on your first time out?

It's amazing how quickly everything fell into place because we just shot the film in January 2009.  Like so many La people, I've been writing scripts for a long time.  I wrote this in February of 2008 and Charlie (producer Charles Herman-Wurmfeld) read it and really liked it.  Strangely, the recession kind of worked in our favor because we got people who were not working who were eager to work.  And then when we heard we got into Los Angeles Film Festival this June,...

For this week, Telefilm Canada had announced the 27 films that it will support for 2010. Among these films, 17 will be in English. Of course, rest assured: some of the films will have a commercial nature and some will be low-budget independent films. The following is the list of films.

Beat the World (Ontario & Nunavut Region; Btw Productions Inc.; Executive Producers: Alfons Adetuyi, Amos Adetuyi and Robert Adetuyi; Writer/Director: Robert Adetuyi; Distributor: E1 Films Canada Inc.; Telefilm investment: $3.2 million) takes a look at three dance crews - one Latin American, one European and one from Windsor, Ontario – as they prepare to do battle at the international Beat the World competition in Detroit. Along the way, they struggle with personal issues ranging from gambling debt, bad break-ups and their own egos. In the final showdown to become world champions lifelong hopes, dreams and even lives, are at stake.

Fubar II (Western Region; FU2 Productions Ltd.

Toronto -- Director Michael Dowse and lead actors Paul Spence and Dave Lawrence have re-teamed to shoot "Fubar 2," the sequel to their 2002 Sundance hit about two beer-addled headbangers.

The second outing for Spence and Lawrence sees their clueless characters Terry and Dean head to northern Canada to drink and play as they work on the oil pipelines.

Edmonton stands in for both Calgary and Fort McMurray in the five-week shoot led by Alberta-based producers Shirley Vercruysse and George Baptist and Quebec-based Jennifer Wilson.

Andrew Sparacino and Terra Hazelton fill out the cast for the sequel, which Alliance Films will release locally in fall 2010.

"Fubar 2" is financed by Telefilm Canada, the federal government's film financier, industry subsidies and broadcast licenses and provincial and federal tax credits.