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Fair warning: Ozpolitation classic Fair Game is returning to North American movie theaters tomorrow. Directed by Mario Andreacchio, the revenge thriller stars Cassandra Delaney as a "wildlife sanctuary boss" who is pitted "against three psycho kangaroo hunters. Bored with killing kangaroos, they decide to kill the animals in the sanctuary, and when they see how attractive the owner is, they decide to have a little 'fun' with her, too. Turns out that they may get a bit more 'fun' than they bargained for." Originally released in 1986, I became aware of the film after Mark Hartley's great doc Not Quite Hollywood (2008), and I'm looking forward to seeing it (finally). If it's not playing at a theater near you, Fair Game will available On Demand...

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

A young woman running an animal sanctuary in the outback takes her revenge on a trio of kangaroo hunters who terrorized her.   Dark Star Pictures will release Mario Andreacchio's Ozploitation flick from 1986, Fair Game, in 'North American' cinemas on July 8th, digital on July 12th, with a physical release in August.   The film's notoriaty includes being shot by Lord of the Rings cinematographer Andrew Lesnie and was an inspiration for Tarantino's Death Proof, as the pictures of our young heroine strapped to the front of a Ute would suggest.   We've included a sketchy quality trailer below the announcement and official stills.     Dark Star Pictures is set to release Ozploitation classic Fair Game on the big screen across North America!   A bonafide...

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

A television adaptation of 2018’s Ladies in Black, a feature film from Bryan Brown, and a television drama from one of the creators of Offspring are among the 21 projects to share in more than $730,000 in development funding from Screen Australia.

Of the projects to receive funding, 10 have been supported through the Generate fund and 11 through the Premium fund.

Screen Australia’s head of content Sally Caplan said the agency was impressed by the “rigorous creativity” of Australian creators as the industry continued to rebound from Covid-19.

“It’s great to see a number of engaging stories set around iconic milestones in Australian history, from the building of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, to the social change that took place in the 60s or the recession in the 80s, and I look forward to seeing these projects develop further,” she said.

Features:

Premium:

1989

Sewing Pictures Pty Ltd

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family

Writer...

Mario Andreacchio, Dick Cook Studios Australia MD Kate McLean and Dick Cook.

Mario Andreacchio had to overcome severe health problems including a heart attack, a stroke and diabetes in his long quest to realise the dream of making The Alchemyst.

The executive director of Adelaide-based Ampco Studios, Andreacchio is now in excellent health — and confident he can make the fantasy feature based on a novel by Irishman Michael Scott as a co-production with Dick Cook’s new Australian-based production company.

“I got my health in order and I feel like a rock star,” he tells If, relating that he experienced a heart attack four years ago and a stroke two years ago. He lost 21 kg, reversed the diabetes and no longer needs insulin or heart tablets.

“Bad health seriously affects thinking and energy. I had no choice. Many things had to change,” he says.

The filmmaker acquired the rights to...

The Hollywood studios and other international producers that were hoping to take advantage of the Federal Government’s $140 million Location Incentive Program over the next few years may well be disappointed.

The fund runs until June 30 2023 – but only $18 million remains to be allocated. The figure was revealed by Dr Stephen Arnott, First Assistant Secretary, Arts, at a Senate Estimates hearing in Canberra earlier this week.

Dr Arnott told Greens Senator Hanson-Young: “As of now, $122 million has been committed, so that leaves $18 million uncommitted.”

The Senator then asked: “Just to be clear, unless we put some more money in, we’ve got $18 million to spend until 2022-23?”

Dr Arnott: “Yes.”

Last week the Government announced it’s allocating $30 million from the program to Dick Cook Studios Australia’s planned fantasy features Ranger’s Apprentice and The Alchemyst.

American Bruce Hendricks will produce Ranger’s Apprentice, based on the series of novels by Australian John Flanagan,...

Artist sketch of Dockland Studios’ new sound stage.

In a dual boost for the Victorian screen industry, Dick Cook Studios (Dcs) will shoot two big budgeted movies at Docklands Studios as the facility unveiled plans to build a sixth sound stage costing $46 million.

The production company founded by the former chairman of Walt Disney Studios will set up its Australian base at the lot, headed by Melbourne-born Kate McLean.

A former vice president, office of the CEO to Bob Iger and senior director of the business development group at the Walt Disney Company, McLean will oversee creative content, production, business strategy and operational plans for Dcs Australia. She will start recruiting full-time staff early next year with the aim to build towards 25 personnel.

In Melbourne for the announcement with Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews and Paul Fletcher, Federal Minister for the Communications, Cyber Safety and Arts, Cook said Dcs Australia is...

China’s Monumental Films will produce with Australia’s Roadman Films and Story Bridge Films.

Screen Australia announced the eighth official China-Australia co-production, At Last, to be written and directed by Yiwei Liu at the on-going Beijing International Film Festival (April 16-23).

The project will be produced by China’s Monumental Films with Australian production outfits Roadman Films and Story Bridge Films.

The story follows a couple from Beijing who find themselves caught in a complex art heist while on holiday in Australia. Jackie Jiao, Todd Fellman, Charles Fan and Vanessa Wu will produce.

Casting is currently underway on the project with production expected to commence in Australia from mid-July. Financiers on the film include Orient Image Entertainment, Gravity Films, Shineland Media, China Lion and Screen Queensland.

Screen Queensland CEO Tracey Vieira said At Last would shoot in Queensland [pictured], providing around 200 jobs and injecting $10.8m into the local economy.

“At Last has come to Queensland as a direct...

Sydney Films is building a slate of 20 China-Australia co-pros.

Screen Australia and private production outfit Sydney Films announced a slew of China-Australian co-production projects at the on-going Beijing International Film Festival (April 16-23).

Described as the eighth official China-Australia co-production, At Last will be directed by Yiwei Liu and produced by China’s Monumental Films with Australian production outfits Roadman Films and Story Bridge Films.

The film tells the story of a couple from Beijing who find themselves caught in a complex art heist while on holiday in Australia. Jackie Jiao, Todd Fellman, Charles Fan and Vanessa Wu will produce.

Casting is currently underway on the project with production expected to commence in Australia from mid-July. Financiers on the film include Orient Image Entertainment, Gravity Films, Shineland Media, China Lion and Screen Queensland.

Screen Queensland CEO Tracey Vieira said At Last would shoot in Queensland, providing around 200 jobs and injecting $10.8m into the local economy.

“At Last has...

Chongqing.

The extraordinary growth of the Chinese film industry has seen it emerge as a global player. The Chinese industry is looking abroad to futher its filmmaking expertise and help bring its films to an international audience. In If's first China Report, Jackie Keast examines what this means for Australia. As Hollywood and film industries across the world enthusiastically court the Chinese market, can we compete?

The film industry in China is booming. Within just a few years, China has become the world.s second largest market, predicted to eclipse the Us in less than five years..

By 2015, annual ticket sales had reached 44 billion yuan, or $USD6.78 billion — a growth of 48.7 per cent from 2014..

While 2016 saw a slowdown, annual receipts nevertheless tallied 45.7 billion yuan by year.s end.

In 2016, 27 new screens opened across China each day, bringing the country.s total close to 40,000..

Chinese real estate and entertainment conglomerate Wanda...

.Hollywood studios rarely release theatrical documentaries so Mark Hartley is chuffed to be invited to Los Angeles next month for the premiere of his profile of the 1980s filmmaking machine run by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus.

Warner Bros. is launching Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-igpjqRDgDI&feature=youtu.be) in 17 Us cities on September 18.

Hartley and his producer, Wildbear Entertainment.s Veronica Fury, found an ally in Brett Ratner and James Packer.s RatPac Entertainment, which co-finances films with WB.

Ratner contacted Hartley when he read a story in Variety about Drafthouse Films acquiring the Us rights to the doc.. Subsequently a big piece of the Australian funding fell through when Screen Australia declined to invest in the project (although the agency later put up completion funds).

Drafthouse agreed to step aside, realising that RatPac's investment was the only...

Australia’s biggest ever delegation to the Beijing Film Festival includes producer Alan Lindsay, who is seeking Chinese partners for the animated family film Piccolo The Dolphin Prince, written and directed by Greg Mclean, whose gory breakout film was Wolf Creek.

“It is Romeo and Juliet set in the world of dolphins,” said Lindsay, who is managing director of Vue Group. Since Mclean brought him the concept two years ago there has been considerable R&D on the dolphin characters and continued development on the underlying theme of the human impact on dolphins.

Lindsay will also be meeting with potential partners on Silver Spoon (working title), which he describes as “Downton Abbey set in Shanghai during the turbulent 1930s”. The live action drama inspired by real life focuses on a Chinese family that owns a lavish department store and once lived in Australia.

Lindsay regards China as his “second home” and has developed many partners there. His latest...

Nadia Tass and David Parker will start shooting romantic comedy Tying the Knot in Melbourne and Shanghai in the first half of 2015, the first of three co-productions with a Chinese partner.

Tass and Parker.s Cascade Films and Mario Andreacchio.s Ampco Studios are joining forces with China.s Hcxm (Beijing) Film & Culture Co Ltd.

Hcxm has replaced the originally announced partner Shanghai Film and Video Technology Company. The Shanghai studio .wanted to shoot later in 2015, but we wanted to get going earlier," Parker tells If.

Inspired by a true incident in the 1970s, scripted by Parker and directed by Tass, Tying the Knot is the tale of an Australian boy and a Chinese girl whose plans to get hitched are thrown into jeopardy three days before the wedding when the groom is jailed after being wrongly accused of robbing a bank.

Andreacchio will produce with Tass, Parker and Qi Lin,...

Pauline Chan.s Darkroom Films and Filmscope Entertainment have signed co-production deals with two Chinese partners for cross-cultural comedy My Extraordinary Wedding.

The alliance means the film budgeted at $5 million, written and directed by Chan, will get a wide release in Chinese cinemas. Due to shoot in Western Australia and China in the first half of next year, the film will follow a wedding that turns into a wild chase from Perth to Busselton and beyond.

The Chinese partners are Zhejiang Hengdian Film Production Company (Hengdian) and China Film Assist (Cfa), whose combined distribution networks encompass 5,600 screens nationwide.

Chan and Filmscope Entertainment.s Deidre Kitcher will produce with Hengdian.s Zhijiang Liu and Cfa.s Geng Ling. This will be the third collaboration between Chan and Liu following 33 Postcards, which she wrote and directed, and Mario Andreacchio.s The Dragon Pearl, which she produced.

.Each of the producers brings their special expertise and resources,...

Mario Andreacchio.s Ampco Studios has clinched financing and production deals with Chinese entities for two films and created a China co-production film fund with an initial capital of $15 million.

The films are Trying the Knot, a romantic comedy from director Nadia Tass and producer-writer David Parker, and Shimalaya, a WW2 action/adventure from China/Taiwan director Roy Chin.

The deals were signed last week during an Australian trade mission to China attended by Trade Minister Andrew Robb.

Due to start shooting in July, Tying the Knot centres on an Australian guy who, three days before he is due to marry a Chinese girl, is thrown into jail after being wrongly accused of robbing a bank.

Parker wrote the script, inspired by a true incident in the 1970s. It.s a co-production between Parker and Tass. Cascade Films, Ampco Studios and Shanghai Film and Video Technology Company.

The producers are...

Big screen adaptations of popular novels by Irishman Michael Scott and Englishman Tom Holt are to be produced in Australia. Mario Andreacchio bought the rights to The Alchemyst, the first in the series of Scott.s six fantasy novels entitled The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel. Andreacchio will serve as one of the producers on the $75 million film along with Los Angeles-based Greg Coote and other partners who are yet to be revealed. Todd Fellman (Bait, Mental, A Few Best Men) will produce a family film adapted from Holt.s novel The Portable Door for the Jim Henson Co. Both projects came to light on Tuesday at the session Working with the USA- The Eagle & The Kangaroo: Co-financing Across the Pacific at the Screen Forever conference. Coote told the session Andreacchio bought the rights and brought the project to him. He said it would be an Australian production, thus qualifying for the 40% producer offset,...

China, South Korea, Malaysia and Singapore offer significant opportunity to Australian screen producers while India, Indonesia, Japan and Thailand hold great potential.

That.s according to a new research report, Common Ground: Opportunities for Australian Screen Partnerships in Asia, commissioned by Screen Australia. The report identifies alternative sources of finance in the region such as Singapore.s Ifs Capital which has cash-flowed the Producer Offset for Australian feature films, and predicts this avenue will expand.

However it identifies South Korea and Thailand as the countries with the highest rate of perceived difficulty in establishing business relationships at 47%, and Malaysia as the lowest with 34%. Among the barriers cited by local producers are limited financial resources, costs of travel, accommodation and services such as translators, and the need to focus on a relatively small slate of production.

Conducted in conjunction with PricewaterhouseCoopers Australia, the research is based on a survey of 51 Australian...

Lachlan Woods, Noah Taylor, Jessica Clarke, Robert Taylor, Malcolm Kennard and Catherine McClements head the cast of quirky comedy The Menkoff Method, which starts shooting in Melbourne on September 10.

The director is David Parker, who makes a return to directing after a long absence: he shot Diana & Me, a 1997 comedy that starred Toni Collette as Aussie Diana Spencer, who wins a trip for two to London where she is determined to meet her idol and namesake Princess Diana.

In the interim Parker has shot plenty of TVCs and written and worked as Dop on his wife Nadia Tass. films and as Dop on films such as Kel Dolen.s upcoming vengeance thriller John Doe and Kath & Kimderella.

Parker sparked to The Menkoff Method screenplay by first-timer Zac Gillam, describing it as .very different and laugh-out loud funny,. and spent nearly a year developing it with the writer.

Woods (Better Man,...

Title: The Dragon Pearl Directed by: Mario Andreacchio Starring: Sam Neill, Louis Corbett, Li Lin Jin, Robert Mammone, Wang Ji, Jordan Chan Running time: 95 minutes, Rated PG Special Features: Trailer Josh (Louis Corbett) and Ling (Li Lin Jin) have traveled to China on holiday to meet up with each of their parents who happen to be working at an archaeological site. On the way to see Josh’s dad Chris (Sam Neill), Ling can hear a flute playing (it’s China, doesn’t it always sound like that?). When they arrive at Chris’s office, they discover he had just thwarted an attempted robbery of an ancient artifact and is nursing a busted [ Read More ]

The post The Dragon Pearl DVD Review appeared first on Shockya.com.

Ketchup Entertainment is preparing to release “The Dragon Pearl” on DVD and Blu-ray exclusively at Walmart June 18. The DVD and Blu-ray will be in all locations beginning August 20. The film, directed by Mario Andreacchio, stars “Jurassic Park” star Sam Neill along with Louis Cobett and Lii Lin Jin. The trailer for the film is below, but if you want more info on “The Dragon Pearl,” here it is: “Josh (Louis Corbett) and Ling (Li Lin Jin) thought they were in for a boring vacation with each of their parents (Sam Neill, Jurassic Park and Wang Ji) at an archaeological dig in China. It turns into an adventure of [ Read More ]

The post Win The Dragon Pearl Via ShockYa’s Twitter Giveaway! appeared first on Shockya.com.

Josh (Louis Corbett) and Ling (Li Lin Jin) thought they were in for a boring vacation with each of their parents at an archaeological dig in China. It turns into an adventure of a lifetime when they discover a mournful dragon trapped deep inside a mystical temple. According to ancient legend, the dragon is missing its life force, a sacred pearl that is hidden away in a secret chamber. Josh and Ling must battle evil forces (and some very skeptical parents) in their heart-stopping journey to return the magical pearl to its rightful owner. The Dragon Pearl comes to DVD and VOD on June 18. Check out our exclusive look at the poster for this exciting family adventure, also starring Sam Neill.

The Dragon Pearl will be released June 18th, 2013 and stars Sam Neill, Li Lin Jin, Louis Corbett, Wang Ji, Robert Mammone, Jordan Chan, Chen Bao Yuan, Wang Junkang. The...

Ampco has acquired the film rights to Michael Scott's "The Alchemyst" reports Screen Daily.

The book is the first in a six-part series entitled "The Secrets Of The Immortal Nicholas Flamel" about a Frenchman born in the 14th century who reputedly became immortal. The story has two contemporary 15 year-old twins discovering the boss on their summer jobs is actually Flamel.

Scott will adapt his own novel ahead of an early 2013 production start in Australia and New Zealand. Mario Andreacchio and Konstantin Thoeren will produce.

An Australian production company has acquired the rights to the first book in a new series of young adult fiction.

The Adelaide based Ampco Films has acquired the rights to the adaptation of novel The Alchemyst, written by Michael Scott, the first in the series, “The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel.”

Production is expected to commence in early 2013 in both Australia and New Zealand.

Mario Andreacchio of Ampco Films will produce alongside Konstantin Thoeren, producer of Peter The Great.

The story is based on French alchemist Nicholas Flamel who in the 14th century discovered the secret of eternal life which he keeps secret in a book he protects. However mankind is jeopardised as Dr John Dee plans to steal the book. But teenage twins Sophie and Josh are the only ones who might be able to save the world.

Andreacchio said: “Michael Scott has an incredible gift to combine...

Good news, everyone: a movie written by Michael Scott is being developed! Bad news for fans of The Office: It’s not “Threat Level Midnight.” Rather, Michael Scott the Irish author will script an adaptation of The Alchemyst, the first novel in his acclaimed young adult series The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel, for Australia’s Ampco Films. In the book, twins Josh and Sophie Newman discover that Josh’s bookstore-owning bosses are actually a famed 14thC alchemist and his wife, who have been cheating death for centuries with a magic elixir. When the codex they need to make the potion is stolen by the villainous John Dee, the foursome team up to get it back and foil Dee’s apocalyptic plans. The series is comprised of six titles in total, with the final entry, The Enchantress, having hit shelves in May. Production on the film is slated to...

The Alchemyst, based on Michael Scott's popular fantasy novel, is set to be filmed in Australia and New Zealand in early-2013.

Adelaide-based Ampco Films has acquired the rights to the book, which was originally published in 2007 and is the first in The Secrets of the Immortal Nicholas Flamel six-part series. The film was previously set up with New Line before it was absorbed by Warner Bros, prompting the rights to revert back to Scott. Producer Lorenzo di Bonaventura then picked up the rights in 2009 before the latest deal.

The Alchemyst centers on the legendary 14th-century French alchemist, Nicholas Flamel, who is said to have discovered the secret of eternal life and is still alive today. The secret of eternal life is hidden within the book of Abraham the Mage which, Dr. John Dee plans to steal to use against the world. If the prophecy is right, teenage twins Sophie and...

Zephyr Films founder Chris Curling is one of many UK producers taking part in this year.s Ausfilm Week London and, as one of the producers on Death Defying Acts, has already experienced the particular needs of UK/Australian co-productions.

The mid-May pre-Cannes event is designed to develop co-productions between Australia and the UK -- both feature film and high-end television series . through a series of networking events and panel discussions aimed at familiarising delegates with the funding and production landscape of their potential partners.

Also on the list of attendees is Carlo Dusi, head of business and commercial affairs at Ridley and Tony Scott.s production company Scott Free. Ridley Scott cast Cate Blanchett and Russell Crowe in his 2010 action adventure Robin Hood.

Others include Carola Ash, one of the two people heading 2B Pictures, the production arm of the finance-focussed Future Films Group, and Alison Meese, who is...

I can't remember a time I went to the Seattle International Film Festival (Siff) press launch and looked over the list of films and saw so many I was interested in seeing. The claim to fame for over the years is to call it the largest and most-highly attended festival in the United States. This is a fact I've often taken issue with as I don't equate quantity with quality. Granted, there has been a large number of quality features to play the fest over the years, including Golden Space Needle (Best Film) winners such as Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985), My Life as a Dog (1987), Trainspotting (1996), Run Lola Run (1999), Whale Rider (2003) and even recent Best Director winner, Michel Hazanavicius's Oss 117: Nest of Spies in 2006. That said, looking over this year's crop of films I see a lot of films I will be doing my absolute best to see.

Ruth Harley

An Australian delegation of top film executives are to head to China for an industry forum.

Led by Screen Australia’s chief executive Ruth Harley, as well as See-Saw Film’s Emile Sherman and Happy Feet producer Doug Mitchell, the delegation will attend the Australia-China Film Industry Forum

The forum will coincide with the Beijing International Film Festival.

Held on Monday 23 April, the forum will include panel sessions and presentations by Australian film industry experts, producers and directors.

Harley said: “The Australian Embassy in Beijing, through the Australia-China Film Industry Forum, is once again providing an ideal opportunity for Australian producers to establish and further build relationships with Chinese producers and production companies.”

In August of 2011, relationships between the two countries were brought closer together with the Australia-China Screen Alliance, a joint cooperation between the Screen Producers Association of Australia and the China Film Producers Association.

The alliance...

South Australian filmmaker Brendon Skinner has won the Beijing Pitching Competition for his film The Pulse, an Australian-Chinese co-production.

Skinner was selected from sixteen emerging filmmakers from China and the Asia Pacific.

The Pulse, an adventure superhero story is set in Sydney and was conceived with co-director and co-producer Simon Williams.

The competition was run by the Motion Picture Association Asia Pacific and China International Copyright Expo with Australian contestants competiting in a national pitch contest that was first run as regional and state heats by Metro Screen in Nsw, Open Channel in Victoria and the Media Resource Centre in South Australia where Skinner first won his round.

Skinner said: “This win has given us the confidence to aim even higher with The Pulse. We have wonderful people behind us that really believe in what we’re trying to do. Now we know we can do it.”

A team already,...

The Australia-China Screen Alliance (Acsa) - an industry initiative to assist both Australian and Chinese film and television producers navigate co-productions between the countries - was officially established at the Australian International Movie Convention this week.   The initiative is being headed by director/producer Mario Andreacchio (whose credits include the family film Napoleon, the Kiefer Sutherland biopic Paradise Found, and most recently the Australian-Chinese co-production starring Sam Neill, The Dragon Pearl, about a young boy who travels to China and discovers a real-life dragon), who has considerable experience in the Chinese arena.   The partnership has also been backed by the Screen Producers Association of Australia (Spaa), and The China Film Producers Association.

The Australia-China Screen Alliance (Acsa) was yesterday launched at the Australian International Movie Convention on the Gold Coast.

The initiative is a joint cooperation between the Screen Producers Association of Australia (Spaa) and the China Film Producers Association to help film and television producers navigate the logistics of co-productions between the two countries.

The alliance, sparked from director Mario Andreacchio’s experience to get film The Dragon Pearl off the ground was first announced in November of last year.

“This initiative has arisen from the Australian industry’s considerable interest in China as a screen co-production partner and the high demand for information and opinion. Acsa can be a starting point for the first time China co-production as much as a resource base for aspects such as legals and even translators,” Mario Andreacchio said.

Executive Director of Spaa, Geoff Brown, said Spaa was glad to have the support of the...

The Australian-Chinese co-production, 33 Postcards, “will be released in every cinema in China,” Minister for the Arts, George Souris has announced.

At approximately 8000 screens, it’s a massive audience for the film, with China one of the largest cinema markets in the world. The film will be released in a Mandarin version on Friday 2 September.

“33 Postcards is only one of a handful of Australian films ever to break into the Chinese cinema circuit as only a small number of foreign films are released there each year,” said Minister Souris.

Shot both in Nsw and Hengdian World Studios in China, it was produced by Portal Pictures and Zhejiang Hengdian Film Productions, in association with Ifs Capital Limited and Screen Nsw who invested $200,000 in the film.

The film had its world premiere at the Sydney Film Festival and awarded the Crc Award, and had its international premiere at the Shanghai International Film Festival...

The film adaptation of Chinese author Qiu Xiaolong’s successful Inspector Chen novel series (not to be confused with the Detective Inspector Chen series by Liz Williams) will see Chief Inspector Chen come to life across seven films.

Producers Wieland Schulz-Keil (Neofilm, Berlin), Cordula Paetzel (Schmidt & Paetzel Fernsehfilme, Berlin) and Marian Macgowan (Macgowan Films, Sydney) acquired the rights to all seven novels, written in English and set in Shanghai, and are in negotiations with Chinese distribution, a production house and with international sales agents.

Wieland Schulz-Keil was producer on Children of the Silk Road (2008) and executive producer on The Cat’s Meow (2001). Marian Macgowan produced South Solitary (2010), Blessed (2009) and Two Hands (1999).

The co-production comes on the back of last year’s Australia China Screen Alliance, aimed to facilitate co-productions between the two countries. Other recent Australian-Chinese co-productions include 33 Postcards starring Guy Pearce and directed by Pauline Chan and The Dragon Pearl...

For the second consecutive year, Encore has chosen a select group of screen professionals who have achieved new heights in 2010/2011, whose decisions influence and shape Australia’s audiovisual industry, and whose work has stood out from the crowd. These are our Power 50.

1. Emile Sherman – Producer

Last February, Sherman became the first Australian producer to receive an Academy Award for Best Picture, alongside his See-Saw Films partner Iain Canning, and Bedlam Productions’ Gareth Unwin. It also won at the BAFTAs and the Producers Guild of America, in addition to the many other honours for its cast and crew.

While technically a UK production, the Australianness of the film is undeniable – and so is its success; with a modest U$15m budget, The King’s Speech has grossed more than $405m worldwide – one of the most successful independent films of all time. Read Emile Sherman interview

2. Baz Luhrmann – Director, writer, producer

There...

By Brendan Swift Chinese-Australian co-production The Dragon Pearl has become the highest grossing film in China over the weekend after attracting an audience of more than half a million people. The film, which was directed by Emmy award-winning Adelaide filmmaker Mario Andreacchio and produced by his company Ampco Films, was shown across more than 18,000.sessions and grossed 16.2 million.Cny ($A2.46 million). The result was also the highest session dollar average for the week and the highest session attendance for the week, Andreacchio said. "It's a remarkable achievement, not only because of the initial dollar value, but that we were able to make a film that crosses culture and resonates," he said. The film follows teenagers Josh (Louis Corbett)...

The first official co-production between China and Australia . The Dragon Pearl . is set to have its world co-premiere at the BigPond Adelaide Film Festival on Sunday. The local screening of the film, directed by Emmy award-winning Adelaide filmmaker Mario Andreacchio, will coincide with the final leg of a massive promotional push in China. On March 7, a 45-minute promotional event will be broadcast to an expected audience of more than 20 million across China ahead of the film.s release on more than 3500 screens. The film follows teenagers Josh (Louis Corbett) and Ling (Li Lin Jin), who join their respective parents, Chris (Sam Neill) and Dr Li (Wang Ji) on an archaeological dig in China. However, they soon find a .monster. deep in a cave, which...

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The Screen Producers Association of Australia (Spaa) has formed the Spaa Australia-China Screen Alliance to facilitate co-productions between the two countries, providing advisory and introductory service to producers.

“In Xi’an alone they have over 300 film production companies, many of which are wanting to do co-production with Australia now. This is typical of the potential in the film-making industry that exists in provinces and regions around China,” said producer Mario Andreacchio, chair of the Alliance.

The Alliance will also assist Australian producers to navigate through the Chinese bureaucratic and cultural processes.

It was inspired by Andreacchio, whose co-production The Last Dragon will be released next year.

Andreacchio will join Spaa executive director Geoff Braown and Ausfilm chair/Deluxe Australia managing director Alaric McAusland in the first Australia-China Film Industry Forum from December 8 to 12.

The forum is an initiative of the Australian Embassy in...

By now you’ve probably noticed that Steve got an ungodly amount of material from this year’s American Film Market (Afm). The place where buyers and sellers do business to bring you the films you’ll hopefully be seeing in the near future, Afm has tons of artwork and synopses which are used to promote films but which we will use to bring you news on these films. We have reached the last piece of our Afm coverage. It’s been a long and fruitful journey and you can follow it by reading parts Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6, and Part 7 by click on their respective links.

Below you’ll find posters for Conan and The Promised Land (The Wettest County in the World), images and synopses for animated film Dorothy of Oz and Jackboots on Whitehall plus images and synopses for the live-action movies Singularity, The Last Dragon,...

PARIS -- French producer Georges Campana, who left Vivendi Universal subsidiary Le Sabre in July, is setting up his own company, Breakout Films, and has put together an initial slate of English-language movies and miniseries. Breakout is one of the three main shareholders in production entity Screensaver International, alongside German producer Peter Paulich and Australian director-producer Mario Andreacchio. The three previously partnered on the movie Paradise Found, in which Kiefer Sutherland starred as painter Paul Gaugin. "The ambition is to make feature films and event miniseries, always with at least one major partner in Germany, Australia, the United Kingdom and so on," Campana said recently. Ignoring the movie adage about never working with animals or children, Campana's first project as producer involves working with baby animals. Five of them. The family movie Two Brothers Running, directed by Andreacchio, is scheduled to start shooting in South Africa at month's end. "It's a sort of road movie centered on two baby elephants who have to make a journey through the African bush," Campana said.

PARIS -- French producer Georges Campana, who left Vivendi Universal subsidiary Le Sabre in July, is setting up his own company, Breakout Films, and has put together an initial slate of English-language movies and miniseries. Breakout is one of the three main shareholders in production entity Screensaver International, alongside German producer Peter Paulich and Australian director-producer Mario Andreacchio. The three previously partnered on the movie Paradise Found, in which Kiefer Sutherland starred as painter Paul Gaugin. "The ambition is to make feature films and event miniseries, always with at least one major partner in Germany, Australia, the United Kingdom and so on," Campana said recently. Ignoring the movie adage about never working with animals or children, Campana's first project as producer involves working with baby animals. Five of them. The family movie Two Brothers Running, directed by Andreacchio, is scheduled to start shooting in South Africa at month's end. "It's a sort of road movie centered on two baby elephants who have to make a journey through the African bush," Campana said.

MELBOURNE, Australia -- A group of Adelaide's leading film companies have joined forces to create an industry association known as the United Film Group in order to enhance the performance of the South Australian film industry in the Australian and international marketplace. The members of the group, whose ranks include Scott Hicks, producer Mark Patterson, and director Craig Lahiff (Black and White, Heaven's Burning), aim to forge a focal point for the industry in South Australia that can identify and respond to issues of interest and concern. "Adelaide (the state capital and largest city) has established itself as a filmmaking city and the UFG represents a bold initiative to take the multimillion-dollar industry to another more successful level," said UFG spokesperson, director Mario Andreacchio, whose credits include Napoleon and Paradise Found.

The latest addition to the talking pooch genre, "Napoleon" is no bone apart.

A "Babe" wannabe, this live action Aussie import offers colorful nature footage, but the clumsy storytelling, ill-fitting dialogue and shrill voice characterizations leave it in the doghouse.

While clearly aimed at the kiddies, the story is fraught with peril and references to death and killing, while much of the humor is surprisingly mean-spirited.

A cuddly golden retriever puppy, Napoleon (called Muffin by his mom) yearns to leave the domestic life behind and heed the call of his wild brethren.

He gets his wish when a makeshift hot-air balloon carries him from his suburban backyard home out to the Australian bush, where he befriends a talkative Galah (a native Australian migratory bird) called Birdo Lucci.

Napoleon picks up a few quick pointers in survival skills during bouts with a feral cat, not to mention stampeding horses, a sugar cane blaze and flash flooding. Ultimately the frisky pup learns, like many screen creatures before him, that there's no place like home.

Writer-director Mario Andreacchio and director of photography Roger Dowling offer up an exotic menagerie of co-stars, including wallabies, wombats, lorikeets, and dingos in addition to the obligatory kangaroo.

But the accompanying story and dialogue have a slapped-together, after-the-fact feel and the inclusion of a handful of banal songs, credited to score composer Bill Conti and lyricist Mark Saltzman, do nothing to infuse the film with some much-needed charm.

NAPOLEON

MGM Distribution

Australian Film Finance Corp.,

Herald Ace Inc., Goldwyn Entertainment Co. present in association with Nippon Herald Films,

Fuji Television & Pony Canyon

a Film Australia, Herald Ace

and Furry Feature Films production

Director Mario Andreacchio

Screenwriters Michael Bourchier,

Mario Andreacchio, Mark Saltzman

Producers Michael Bourchier,

Mario Andreacchio

Executive producers Masato Hara,

Ron Saunders

Director of photography Roger Dowling

Production designer Vicki Niehus

Editor Edward McQueen-Mason

Music Bill Conti

Lyrics Mark Saltzman

Color/stereo

Voices:

Napoleon Jamie Croft

Birdo Philip Quast

Conan Casey Siemaszko

Mother Penguin Joan Rivers

Parenti Lizard/Father Penguin Stuart Pankin

Kangaroo Dame Edna Everage

Running time - 81 minutes

MPAA rating: G...