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It is one thing to come up with a fairly decent idea. But it is another thing to make a good film out of that. This is where Netflix’s latest Turkish import, Do Not Disturb, stumbles. It does come up with a topic that is quite relevant. Many of us these days spend a large chunk of our digital lives watching Instagram reels about anything and everything. I myself have been guilty of this charge at times. Do Not Disturb particularly focuses on Instagram influencers, specifically one Peri, one of those motivational mumbo jumbos that you come across every now and then on the internet.

The film’s middle-aged lead, however, completely swears by what Peri says and lives his life following her “words” to the T. The film portrays this side of social media as a menace and essentially tells a story about how it affects human beings and their lives.

Netflix has unveiled four new Turkish original series and a feature film commissioned and presented at a local event by Pelin Diştaş, the streaming giant’s director of original content for Turkey.

Diştaş during the presentation said that Netflix has now produced “more than thirty original series and films in Turkey, making room for new and diverse stories.”

The new Turkish shows, and the movie, that will start production shortly and plan to premiere in 2024 are:

–”Asaf,” a series created and directed by Özgür Önurme (“Fatma”) about an ordinary Uber driver with strong moral values trying to find a way to get his life back on track after his separation with his wife and son.

– “The Town,” directed by Seren Yüce (“The Club”) and written by Deniz Karaoğlu and Doğu Yaşar Akal. This show centers on two brothers who fell out over the years and reunite after the death of...

Click here to read the full article.

Netflix continues to expand its slate of Turkish originals, unveiling four new series and a new film project.

“To date, we have produced more than 30 original series and films in Turkey, making room for new and diverse stories,” said Pelin Diştaş, director of original content (Turkey) at the streamer. “We would like to thank our writers, producers, directors, actors, technical and set teams for their devoted efforts and contributions to our continued success in Turkey. Together, we tell the world the spirit, the depth, the poetry, the music and the humor of Turkish culture.”

Sharing the results of a survey conducted in seven countries, from the U.S. and Spain to Brazil and Saudi Arabia, Diştaş shared that the desire of subscribers watching Netflix productions in different countries to visit Turkey increased by 2.6 times and their desire to learn Turkish increased by 4.6 times.

Since mid-January, Pelin Distas, Netflix’s director of original content for Turkey, has happily started going back to work in a physical office in Istanbul. It’s still just a temporary base for the streaming giant, which has plans to launch a proper Turkish outpost in the second half of 2021.

The new Netflix office “will be our commitment to the local creative industry,” Distas says, noting that it’s been “really hard” for her team to manage the 10 Turkish originals that Netflix currently has in different stages of production remotely. Opening the Netflix hub “will be really healthy [for both Netflix and Turkish producers]” as the streamer ramps up plans to “more than double down” on its Turkish output that so far has averaged four or five local shows per year, Distas notes.

But the key aspect of Netflix’s boots-on-the-ground presence in Turkey won’t just be an uptick in content.

“It’s about how...

Streaming giant Netflix has revealed a strong Turkish original series and film slate, and unveiled details of works in progress, during a content presentation on Tuesday.

New original projects that will start production shortly include an untitled action adventure series set on a submarine, starring Kivanc Tatlitug, directed by Tolga Karacelik, and produced by Ogm Pictures with Jason George as lead writer; series “The Uysals,” where an architect leads a double life as a punk, produced by Ay Yapım, written by Hakan Gunday, and directed by Onur Saylak.

Upcoming series also include “Midnight at the Pera Palace,” created and produced by Karga Seven Pictures, a Red Arrow Studios company, written by Elif Usman and directed by Karga’s Emre Sahin, adapted from the non-fiction book of the same name written by Charles King. The series depicts a young journalist’s encounter with the Pera Palace Hotel in Istanbul, where she...

Other winners included Derek Doneen’s The Price Of Free and Samal Yeslyamova for her performance in Ayka.

Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi’s drama 3 Faces scooped the top prize at the 55th edition of International Antalya Film Festival (Sept 29-Oct 5) last weekend.

The feature, which premiered in competition at Cannes where it won the prize for best screenplay, was feted with Antalya’s Golden Orange award and $53,000 cash prize for best film.

The director, who is currently under house arrest in Iran, participated in the awards ceremony via a video-link.

Japanese director Hirokazu Kore-eda won the $25,000 Golden Orange prize for...

It was back in 2004 that Turkish writer and star Cem Yilmaz caught our attention with his very silly - and very fun - scifi comedy G.O.R.A. The story of a Turkish carpet salesman kidnapped by extraterrestrials and plunged into an alien conflict the easiest pitch on G.O.R.A. is to describe it as a sort of Turkish Spaceballs with ringmaster Yilmaz sharing the same sort of broad, slapstick sense of humor as Mel Brooks. Yilmaz was already a pretty significant star in Turkey on release and G.O.R.A. proved a major hit, pushing him to further heights. A more ambitious film by far than the vast majority of local productions, it wasn't just funny but had fantastic production values and great VFX work that won fans...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Turkey Dressing: Crowe’s Well-Intentioned Debut Ultimately Mundane

In the comparable tradition of Mel Gibson and Kevin Costner, actor Russell Crowe makes a big budget, historically relevant directorial debut with The Water Diviner, a World War I Australian drama. As penned by Andrew Knight and Andrew Anastasios, both writers accustomed to writing almost exclusively for television, the film’s significance is straightjacketed into a garden variety of manipulative clichés, replete with an unnecessary and oddly provoked romance that ends an otherwise workmanlike tale of woe on a sour note.

Beginning in 1919 Australia, well-digger Joshua Connor (Crowe) lives alone with his wife (Jacqueline McKenzie), using his powers of water divining (basically a concept where a stick or similar apparatus is used to steer a user toward a water source—often called water witching) to continue their idyllic farm. All is not well with the Connor’s, as he comes home to...

The Water Diviner Warner Bros. Reviewed by: Harvey Karten for CompuServe ShowBiz. Databased on Rotten Tomatoes. Grade: B+ Director: Russell Crowe Screenwriter: Andrew Knight, Andrew Anastasios Cast: Russell Crowe, Yilmaz Erdogan, Cem Yilmaz, Jai Courtney, Ryan Corr Screened at: Warner, NYC, 4/20/15 Opens: April 24, 2015 For his directing debut, Russell Crowe chose a tale first attempted by Peter Weir in that helmsman’s 1981 film “Gallipoli”—about two sprinters who go from Australia to Turkey to fight in the disastrous battle of Gallipoli. But Crowe adds a patina of romance and sentimentality while showing the movie audience that war is hell. “The Water Diviner” is an old-fashioned Hollywood treatment in which [ Read More ]

The post The Water Diviner Movie Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

The Water Diviner

Written by Andrew Knight & Andrew Anastasios

Directed by Russell Crowe

Australia/Turkey/USA, 2014

Russell Crowe comes out swinging with his directorial debut, the ambitious wartime melodrama, The Water Diviner. While there’s no denying the clarity of his artistic vision, the unwieldy story eventually overwhelms him. The stunning visuals and strong performances can’t overcome the film’s mismatched halves, which ping between brooding character study and simplistic actioner. Ultimately, there’s much to like about this promising debut, but it lacks the emotional wallop that Crowe intended.

Struggling to survive the Australian dustbowl of 1919, Connor (Crowe) is a humble farmer who wanders the vast desert searching for unseen pockets of water buried beneath the surface. He’s remarkably adept at this ancient, some would say mystical art. What he truly seeks, however, continues to elude him; the final resting place of his three sons. The three boys,...

The immediate draw to The Water Diviner is to settle in for Russell Crowe's directorial debut. From the outside the story doesn't exactly inspire a "must see" attitude and, to be entirely honest, the film itself is passably mediocre. Not a great time at the movies, not a bad time, but simply a time. Crowe seems to be experimenting at times with his camerawork and a couple of curious zoom in close-ups caught me a little off-guard, but it's a good start with some of the editorial decisions seeming more defensive than anything else, attempting to ensure he had all his ducks in a row rather than getting too experimental with the overall final cut. On top of directing, Crowe also stars as the film's main character, Joshua Connor, an Australian farmer whose world is torn apart following the end of the Battle of Gallipoli. Four years after his three sons died in battle,...

Chicago – In the latest HollywoodChicago.com Hookup: Film, we have 50 pairs of advance-screening movie passes up for grabs to the new war drama “The Water Diviner” starring Russell Crowe (his directorial debut!) and Olga Kurylenko!

“The Water Diviner,” which opens on April 24, 2015 and is rated “R,” also stars Jai Courtney, Isabel Lucas, Megan Gale, Damon Herriman, Ryan Corr, Jacqueline McKenzie, Cem Yilmaz and Yilmaz Erdogan from director Russell Crowe and writers Andrew Knight and Andrew Anastasios! Note: You must be 17+ to win and attend this “R”-rated screening.

To win your free “The Water Diviner” passes courtesy of HollywoodChicago.com, just get interactive with our social media widget below. That’s it! This screening is on Tuesday, April 21, 2015 at 7 p.m. in downtown Chicago. The more social actions you complete, the more points you score and the higher yours odds of winning! Completing these social actions only increases your odds...

Wamg has your free passes to the advance screening of Warner Bros. Pictures’ The Water Diviner.

Academy Award winner Russell Crowe (Gladiator) makes his directorial debut on The Water Diviner, an epic and inspiring tale of one man’s life-changing journey of discovery.

Crowe also stars in the film as Australian farmer Joshua Connor, who, in 1919, goes in search of his three missing sons, last known to have fought against the Turks in the bloody Battle of Gallipoli. Arriving in Istanbul, he is thrust into a vastly different world, where he encounters others who have suffered their own losses in the conflict: Ayshe (Olga Kurylenko), a strikingly beautiful but guarded hotelier raising a child alone; her young, spirited son, Orhan (Dylan Georgiades), who finds a friend in Connor; and Major Hasan (Yilmaz Erdoğan), a Turkish officer who fought against Connor’s boys and who may be this father’s only hope.

A long-held ambition, Russell Crowe finally got his directorial debut The Water Diviner before cameras last year. We've already seen a sombre introductory featurette, but now he's a full trailer for the Australian historical drama, heralding its imminent release.Written by Andrew Knight and Andrew Anastasios, the film follows an Australian man (Crowe) who travels to Turkey after World War II in an attempt to discover what happened to his three sons, who disappeared at Gallipoli.A brutal, months-long campaign by the Allies against the Ottoman Empire, the battle saw the ANZACs (the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps) suffer more than 26,000 casualties. But it wasn’t just those countries involved, and the story explores the relationships the soldiers struck up with, among other people, Turkish nationals.With Olga Kurylenko, Jai Courtney, Yimaz Erdogan and Cem Yilmaz in the cast, The Water Diviner will be out in the UK on...

Warner Bros. recently acquired Russell Crowe's directorial debut The Water Diviner, the story of an Australian man (Crowe) who travels to Turkey after the Battle of Gallipoli to try and locate his three missing sons. Today the studio has released the first trailer for the movie, which will be getting a limited release on April 24. Joining Crowe are Olga Kurylenko, Yilmaz Erdogan, Cem Yilmaz, Jai Courtney, Ryan Corr, James Fraser, Ben O'Toole, Jacqueline McKenzie and Isabel Lucas. You can check out the trailer as well as a much more detailed synopsis below. sb id="1456535" height="360" width="640" Academy Award winner Russell Crowe (Gladiator) makes his directorial debut on The Water Diviner, an epic and inspiring tale of one man's life-changing journey of discovery. Crowe also stars in the film as Australian farmer Joshua Connor, who, in 1919, goes in search of his three missing sons, last known to have fought against...

Warner Bros. has unveiled an all-new trailer for Russell Crowe’s passion project and directorial debut, The Water Diviner.

Set during the fallout of World War I, the Australian drama stars Crowe himself as Joshua Connor, a grieving father who sets forth to Turkey in order to locate the whereabouts of his three missing sons, who were last known to have fought within the infamous Gallipoli campaign of 1915. Taking place on the Gallipoli peninsula, the battle is widely considered to be one of the most defining moment in Turkish history.

But for Crowe’s protagonist, the conflict will underpin a much more personal, emotionally harrowing journey, as the footage above attests. Joining the Oscar-winner for the genre epic are Olga Kurylenko, Yilmaz Erdogan, Cem Yilmaz, Jai Courtney, Steve Bastoni, Isabel Lucas, Ryan Corr, Dan Wyllie, Damon Herriman, Jacqueline McKenzie, Michael Dorman, Megan Gale, and Dylan Georgiades.

Crowe’s directorial debut...

Warner Bros. has released the first domestic trailer and poster for The Water Diviner, following the international trailer that debuted back in October. Russell Crowe stars in and makes his directorial debut with this ambitious drama, with the filmmaker set to host a Twitter Q&A session at 11 Am Pt through the @iTunesTrailers Twitter account. Fans can use the hashtags #AskRussellCrowe and #TheWaterDiviner to submit their questions to the actor and first-time director.

Russell Crowe's directorial debut, The Water Diviner, is an epic and inspiring tale of one man's life- changing journey of discovery. Crowe plays Australian farmer Joshua Connor, who, in 1919, goes in search of his three missing sons, last known to have fought against the Turks in the bloody Battle of Gallipoli. Arriving in Istanbul, he is thrust into a vastly different world, where he encounters others who have suffered their own losses in the conflict: Ayshe...

Launched on Boxing Day, Russell Crowe.s The Water Diviner raked in $6.32 million in its first week at Australian cinemas, including previews, ranking as the highest-grossing Oz title of 2014. In its second weekend the drama starring Crowe as a farmer who goes to Turkey four years after the battle of Gallipoli in search of his sons rang up $2.7 million on 299 screens, occuppying fifth spot behind The Hobbit's final chapter, The Imitation Game, Penguins of Madagascar and Big Hero 6. That boosts the total to $8.4 million. Co-distributed by Universal and Entertainment One, the film co-starring Olga Kurylenko, Jai Courtney, Yilmaz Erdogan, Robert Mammone, Hugo Johnstone-Burt and Cem Yilmaz, looks capable of earning at least $15 million. By comparison, Mao.s Last Dancer grossed $15.4 million and The Sapphires brought in $14.4 million. In its first six days Crowe.s directorial debut fetched $5.68 million, surpassing Wolf Creek 2.s $4.7 million and the The Railway Man.s 2014. takings of $5.5 million.

For the second consecutive year, Warner Bros. Pictures International has exceeded the coveted $3 billion mark at the international box office. This benchmark comes on the heels of the release of The Hobbit: The Battle Of The Five Armies, a production of New Line Cinema and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures, which surpassed $400 million at the international box office this weekend and is still going strong.

Nine Warner Bros. Pictures films have exceeded $100 million internationally, topped by Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar (with Paramount Pictures), which has taken in an astounding $467 million outside of the U.S. to date, and Godzilla (with Legendary Pictures), which has earned $327 million overseas.

Four titles – Doug Liman’s Edge Of Tomorrow (with Village Roadshow Pictures), Phil Lord & Christopher Miller’s The Lego Movie (also with Village Roadshow Pictures), and Noam Murro and Zack Snyder’s 300: Rise Of An Empire (with Legendary), along with the 2014 spillover grosses from The Hobbit: The Desolation Of Smaug...

The first clips from The Water Diviner are now online.  Russell Crowe's feature directorial debut is set four years after the World War I Battle of Gallipoli in Turkey.  Crowe also stars as an Australian farmer who travels to Istanbul to discover the fate of his sons, reported missing in action, where he enters into a relationship with a beautiful Tukish hotel owner (Olga Kurylenko).  The first clip highlights a sense of adventures, while the second clip connects to the emotional throughline of a determined father. Hit the jump to watch the Water Diviner clips.  Ryan Corr, Jai Courtney, Yilmaz Erdogan, Cem Yilmaz, and Steve Bastoni also star.  The Water Diviner opens in Australian and New Zealand December 26. Official synopsis: Starring Russell Crowe (Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind) and Olga Kurylenko (Oblivion, Quantum Of Solace), The Water Diviner is an epic adventure set four years after the devastating battle of...

Warner Bros. Pictures has announced that it has acquired the U.S. distribution rights to Academy Award winner Russell Crowe’s (“Gladiator”) directorial debut, from RatPac Entertainment, The Water Diviner, which the Studio will release in select U.S. theaters on April 24, 2015.

Starring Russell Crowe (Gladiator, A Beautiful Mind) and Olga Kurylenko (Oblivion, Quantum Of Solace), The Water Diviner is an epic adventure set four years after the devastating battle of Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I.

Australian farmer Connor (Crowe) travels to Istanbul to discover the fate of his sons, reported missing in the action, where he forges a relationship with the beautiful Turkish woman (Kurylenko) who owns the hotel in which he stays. Holding on to hope, and with the help of a Turkish Officer, Connor embarks on a journey across the country to find the truth about the fate of his sons. The Water Diviner is an extraordinary tale of love,...

Annabelle edged out Gone Girl this weekend internationally, pulling in $28.1M compared to $26.89M that the Ben Affleck thriller scooped up. Annabelle is now tracking 6% ahead of The Conjuring at the same point in its run. The Conjuring went onto to gross $180.6M overseas for a worldwide total of $318M when it bowed last year. For market by market breakouts, see below. Also added are finals for The Judge, Rurouni Kenshin: The Legend Ends, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Hercules and Relatos Salvajes.

Final Update, Monday, 12:18 Pt: Final numbers are in for many films, but we’re still awaiting Warner Bros. to weigh in before we know who won the weekend wrestling match between its horror film Annabelle and Fox’s Gone Girl (which has held the No. 1 one for two weekends in a row stateside). Fox has reported a little under $27M...

The first The Water Diviner trailer and poster have been released for Russell Crowe’s feature directorial debut. The story centers on an Australian man (Crowe) who travels to Turkey in an attempt to discover the fate of his three sons, who were fighting in World War I. While I was afraid the film might feel a bit like a vanity project, this trailer is actually pretty good. There are surprisingly few films that revolve around the horrors of The Great War, and this Australia-focused story provides an interesting point of view for what was truly a World war. Crowe appears to be pretty confident behind the camera, and he’s filled his cast out with plenty of Australian actors. Color me intrigued. Hit the jump to check out the Water Diviner trailer and poster. The film also stars Olga Kurylenko, Jai Courtney, Yilmaz Erdogan, Cem Yilmaz, Steve Bastoni, Isabel Lucas,...

Acclaimed actor Russell Crowe makes his directorial debut with the upcoming drama The Water Diviner, which has just debuted its first international trailer and poster.

&#8232Russell Crowe stars alongside former Bond girl Olga Kurylenko in an epic adventure set four years after the devastating battle of Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I. Australian farmer Connor travels to Istanbul to discover the fate of his sons, reported missing in the action, where he forges a relationship with the beautiful Turkish woman who owns the hotel in which he stays.

Holding on to hope, and with the help of a Turkish Officer, Connor embarks on a journey across the country to find the truth about the fate of his sons. The Water Diviner is an extraordinary tale of love, hope and heroism.

&#8232&#8232The Water Diviner will be co-distributed by Entertainment One Australia and Universal Pictures Australia in Australia and New Zealand.

Russell Crowe has worked with some of the best filmmakers in the world, and now he's taken all of that vast knowledge unto his directorial debut, The Water Diviner. The first trailer for the film has hit the web. Watch it below. 

Set in the aftermath of WWII, The Water Diviner follows an Australian farmer, played by Crowe, on his journey to Turkey four years after the war. His mission is to track down the bodies of his three sons who were killed there during the Battle of Gallipoli.

The film also features Olga Kurylenko, Yilmaz Erdogan, Cem Yilmaz, Jai Courtney, Steve Bastoni, Isabel Lucas, Ryan Corr, Dan Wyllie, Damon Herriman, Jacqueline McKenzie, Michael Dorman, Megan Gale, and Dylan Georgiades.

Though the pic hasn't garnered a lot of buzz yet, the feedback (thus far) has been positive. The first trailer has too many spoilers, so you might want to be careful while watching it.

The first trailer for Russell Crowe’s directorial debut, The Water Diviner, has landed online. Set in the aftermath of WWII, the film has already garnered positive early reviews and looks quite promising.

Starring Crowe in the lead role as an Australian farmer, the story follows his journey to Turkey four years after the war. His mission is to track down the bodies of his three sons who were killed there during the Battle of Gallipoli.

The actor has enlisted a slew of rising talent to supporting his character’s journey into the emotional abyss. Olga Kurylenko, Yilmaz Erdogan, Cem Yilmaz, Jai Courtney, Steve Bastoni, Isabel Lucas, Ryan Corr, Dan Wyllie, Damon Herriman, Jacqueline McKenzie, Michael Dorman, Megan Gale, and Dylan Georgiades all appear in what’s so far been a relatively low-key flick.

The first trailer sets up the backstory, with Crowe’s voiceover narrating a tale as he...

The Weinstein Company has entered into exclusive negotiations to acquire The Water Diviner, the directorial debut of actor Russell Crowe. The actor/filmmaker presented 12 minutes worth of footage to potential distributors at the Cannes Film Festival earlier today, with Deadline reporting that most distributors were impressed with what he has done.

TWC has reportedly offered $4 million to acquire the distribution rights, which includes a commitment to a wide release. Russell Crowe previously worked with The Weinstein Company on the 2003 nautical adventure Master and Commander: The Far Side Of The World.

The actor/director stars as Connor, an Australian farmer who journeys to Turkey in 1919, to find the bodies of his three sons who died in battle during World War I. The supporting cast includes Jai Courtney, Olga Kurylenko, Isabel Lucas, Ryan Corr, Cem Yilmaz and Damon Herriman.

You can also clickHere to watch the six-minute featurette for The Water Diviner that was released last month.

When Universal acquired most European rights and a half-stake in Australia and New Zealand to Russell Crowe.s historical drama The Water Diviner, the Us was conspicuously not part of the deal.

The producers held back the Us rights, confident they could get better terms after they show extensive footage to the Hollywood majors and the bigger independents.

Reps from the Us companies will get their first chance to see a compilation of scenes during the Cannes film festival/market later this month.

Crowe stars as an Australian farmer who . four years after the battle of Gallipoli . travels to Istanbul to discover the fate of his sons, reported missing in the action. Olga Kurylenko plays the Turkish woman who owns the hotel in which he stays. The cast includes Jai Courtney, Yilmaz Erdogan, Robert Mammone and Cem Yilmaz.

The producers are Hopscotch Features. Andrew Mason and Troy Lum and Keith Rodger...

Sneak Peek extended footage from first-time director Russell Crowe, on the set of his new film "The Water Diviner", also starring Olga Kurylenko, Yilmaz Erdogan, Cem Yilmaz, Jai Courtney, Steve Bastoni, Isabel Lucas, Ryan Corr, Dan Wyllie, Damon Herriman, Jacqueline McKenzie, Michael Dorman, Megan Gale and Dylan Georgiades :

"...the film is set four years after the devastating battle of 'Gallipoli' in Turkey during World War I, as Australian farmer 'Connor' (Crowe) travels to Istanbul to discover the fate of his sons, reported missing in action, where he forges a relationship with the beautiful Turkish woman (Kurylenko) who owns the hotel in which he stays.

"Holding on to hope, and with the help of a Turkish officer, Connor embarks on a journey across the country to find the truth about the fate of his sons..."

Click the images to enlarger and Sneak Peek "The Water Diviner"...

Although a release date has not been set at this time, a first-look featurette has surfaced for The Water Diviner, which marks the feature directorial debut of star Russell Crowe. The actor-filmmaker narrates this six-minute video, where he explores how this adaptation of a true story came to be. The drama follows Connor (Russell Crowe), an Australian father who journeys to Turkey in 1919 to find the bodies of his three sons, who died during the battle of Gallipoli in World War I. Follow Russell Crowe's journey as he brings this powerful true story to the big screen in this video, that also features interviews with cast members Olga Kurylenko, Cem Yilmaz, Jai Courtney and James Fraser. It isn't known when the first trailer will debut, so stay tuned for that.

The Water Diviner is in development and stars Jai Courtney, Russell Crowe, Olga Kurylenko, Isabel Lucas, Ryan Corr, Cem Yilmaz,...

Russell Crowe is making his feature directorial debut on a new film called The Water Diviner with a screenplay from Andrew Knight and Andrew Anastasios based on the story of an Australian man who travels to Turkey after the Battle of Gallipoli to try and locate his three missing sons. Crowe is playing the lead role and in the following featurette, narrated by Crowe, he introduces us to the rest of the case, which includes Olga Kurylenko, Yilmaz Erdogan, Cem Yilmaz, Jai Courtney, Ryan Corr and Jacqueline McKenzie. The film doesn't yet have a release date, and I have to assume it will have a film festival premiere and to be honest, I'm surprised Crowe didn't try and get it in the Sydney Film Festival in June, but perhaps he's still not done with post production or eOne Entertainment, who is handling UK and Australia distribution, has other plans. Either way,...

An extended, behind-the-scenes featurette for The Water Diviner has provided a first look at Russell Crowe's upcoming directorial debut. The story centers on an Australian man (Crowe) who travels to Turkey to attempt to locate the bodies of his three sons, who were killed there during Wwi. The featurette is narrated by Crowe, and his passion for the material really comes through. Even though this is only his first feature, it looks like he's come up with something that has a grand scope but retains its focus on the intimate character drama. This is definitely one I'm going to be keeping on my radar, and although it doesn't currently have a release date, I hope we'll get to see it soon. Hit the jump to check out The Water Diviner featurette. The film also stars Olga Kurylenko, Yilmaz Erdogan, Cem Yilmaz, Jai Courtney, Steve Bastoni, Isabel Lucas, Ryan Corr,...

Seven West Media and Seven Group Holdings have joined Brett Ratner and James Packer.s RatPac Entertainment as investors in Russell Crowe.s The Water Diviner.

Filming wrapped recently in Turkey on the drama which stars Crowe as an Australian farmer who . four years after the WW1 battle of Gallipoli . travels to Istanbul to discover the fate of his sons, reported missing in the action.

Olga Kurylenko plays the Turkish woman who owns the hotel in which he stays. The cast includes Jai Courtney, Yilmaz Erdogan and Cem Yilmaz.

The producers are Hopscotch Features. Andrew Mason and Troy Lum and Keith Rodger of Crowe.s Fear of God Films. The original screenplay is by Andrew Knight and Andrew Anastasios. Packer and Ratner, who are co-funding a slate of films with Warner Bros., serve as executive producers.

.The original script came to us through Hopscotch some time ago and it was...

Exclusive: Universal, eOne secure major territories on Crowe’s directorial debut.

“I thought I had the best job in the world, but I think I’ve found a better one,” Russell Crowe recently told the producers of his feature directorial debut The Water Diviner, currently half way through shoot in Australia.

Despite having to contend with searing local temperatures, Crowe has developed the directing bug, according to producer Keith Rodger of Crowe’s production outfit Fear of God Films.

Crowe’s approach, allied to Andrew Knight and Andrew Anastasios’ well-received script, have been paying off in the market as well as on set, with a number of deals locking in recent months.

Upi cut a number of deals with David Garrett’s Mister Smith, including for France, Germany, Scandinavia, Switzerland, Austria and Benelux, as well as securing a joint deal for Universal with eOne for Australian and New Zealand rights.

eOne themselves...

Did you know that Russell Crowe (star of Noah) is currently directing his first film? Shooting is already underway, and Crowe is starring and directing the film about an Australian man who travels to Turkey after the Battle of Gallipoli to try and locate his three missing sons. It's titled The Water Diviner and the first official still arrived recently. They're currently shooting in Australia before going to Turkey, and this looks like an early moment with one of his sons. The supporting cast includes Turkish actors Yilmaz Erdogan (Once Upon a Time in Anatolia) and Cem Yilmaz (Hokkabaz), Oz actors Jai Courtney, Steve Bastoni, Isabel Lucas, Ryan Corr, Michael Dorman, plus Dylan Georgiades. It's a very nice first look, caught my attention. Here's the first official still from Russell Crowe's new film The Water Diviner, originally via Variety: The Water Diviner, being directed by Russell Crowe from a...

Arguably the most popular comedian in his native Turkey, writer-actor-director Cem Yilmaz has also achieved a certain amount of international recognition thanks to his blockbuster science fiction comedies Gora and Arog. On the surface Yilmaz plays like a sort of Turkish response to Mel Brooks, his humor big and broad and juvenile, but clearly he's got other goals in mind as well.

Yilmaz next appears in Av Mevsimi, a dark crime thriller due to hit Turkish screens in December. And when I say dark, I mean it. There's little humor here and Yilmaz is playing things entirely straight as a cop investigating a string of crimes. And, honestly, he's looking good doing it.

Seeing Yilmaz with a gun in hand and letting his physicality rather than his mouth carry the performance it's hard not to be reminded of Jean Reno - who, it should be remembered, also does a lot...

Regular readers of this space should be well familiar with the name of Cem Yilmaz by now.  The hugely popular comic was already a highly sought after performer when he also hit international success as a director with his scifi comedy Gora.  A film that drew immediate comparisons to Mel Brooks with its blend of high concepts, lowbrow slapstick, and Yilmaz's portrayal of multiple roles Gora traveled widely on the international festival circuit and still stands in my mind as the most technically accomplished genre film to ever come out of Turkey. 

Well, if Gora is Yilmaz's Spaceballs then Yahsi Bati is his Blazing Saddles.  Yes, kids, we've got a Turkish comedy-western on our hands and, as you'd expect from Yilmaz, the technical work is stellar while the comedy - think lots of Turks in red-face - teeters right on the edge of bad taste.  Check the first trailer below!

Well, it’s about time. After releasing a three minute promo a year ago followed by a string of five teasers over the past month or so the first full trailer for Cem Yilmaz’s Turkish time traveling comedy Arog has just arrived. A sequel / inversion to Yilmaz’s previous scifi hit Gora - a sort of Turkish Mel Brooks film with simply stellar production values - this one sends Yilmaz back in time to deal with cave men and dinosaurs and the early teasers - each of them self contained little scenes - were absolutely hysterical. So it’s a little sad that this first proper trailer is the weakest by far of the promo materials released thus far, though blame for that should be placed squarely on whoever cut it together rather than the footage itself since the problems here seem to be all about presentation and not actual content.

You know, sometimes putting out a stack of teasers for your film is the worst possible thing you could do. It gives up too much of the story, it spoils the jokes, and just generally saps all the energy and enthusiasm out of the project. But sometimes - and this is very definitely the case with Cem Yilmaz’s Arog - it’s just brilliant. The key, I think, is to give just tiny snippets. Not enough to spoil, just enough to entice, and that’s exactly what Yilmaz is doing with his latest film - an inversion of hit outer space comedy Gora - by parceling out tiny little tastes of what is to come. And the latest one? His time travelling carpet salesman trying to teach cave men to play soccer. Sweet.

Check all of the teasers and videos for Arog below the break in the Twitch Player.

The film scene in Turkey is expanding so quickly it’s just scary. Turkish arthouse film has been carving out a solid reputation for a few years now thanks to the likes of Akin and Ceylan but Turkey - notoriously - produces more than its share of pulp as well. And the undisputed champion of populist film? Without a doubt it’s hugely popular comedian Cem Yilmaz who had a massive international hit with his Mel Brooks style scifi comedy G.O.R.A. a few years back. And now Yilmaz is back with A.R.O.G., a sequel to his earlier film that inverts the entire premise. No future space battles for his hero this time out, no - this time they’re going back in time and the results look hilarious.

We posted a three minute sequence from the film a while back and now a quarter of teasers from the picture have arrived.

Why, yes, I AM posting this purely as an excuse to bring back the earlier three minute reel from A.R.O.G., the sequel to hugely successful Turkish scifi comedy G.O.R.A. And why not? It’s the best fun I’ve had in three minutes for ... well, I’ll leave that sentence unfinished, I think. Anyway, there’s a behind the scenes reel available now detailing how exactly they made those fantastic three minutes and both the clip itself and the behind the scenes are available below the break.

Assuming they’re on schedule, the film is now deep into production, so expect new material soon ...