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Exclusive Update 4.17am Pt, July 2: We’ve got more details on Jodi Matterson’s new indie, Silent Firework.

The indie has developed partnerships with a pair of execs that Australian exec Matterson worked with at former company Made Up Stories, and another with a key exec behind kids series Bluey. Additionally, we hear Matterson has raised a capital fund on the financing side.

Matterson will work with Wolf Like Me writer, creator and director Abe Forsythe and Glendyn Ivin, who directed all seven episodes of Prime Video drama series The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart. It is also in development on projects with Libbie Doherty, who is an executive producer of Bluey and ex-Head of Children and Family at Australian pubcaster the ABC.

Forsythe is an actor, producer and director whose credits include 2019 horror comedy Little Monsters, which starred Lupita Nyong’o and Josh Gad. More recently, he created and...

The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta) handed out its 2024 awards on Saturday, and Talk to Me won big, including for best film and best director, while Margot Robbie was honored with the Trailblazer Award.

Barbie, Oppenheimer and The Bear were among the Hollywood honorees, with big Australian winners including the likes of The Newsreader, Deadloch and The New Boy.

“Talk to Me is the biggest winner of the night, adding a further three awards to its collection and taking its total wins to eight, following the Aacta Industry Awards earlier in the week,” the Australian Academy noted. The honors include the one for best direction in film for sibling-YouTubers-turned-directors Danny and Michael Philippou.

Among acting talent earning trophies, rising star Sophie Wilde won the best lead actress in film award for her performance in Talk to Me, while Aswan Reid got the best lead actor in film...

“Talk to Me” was the runaway winner at this year’s main awards from the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts.

The native production, which debuted at the Sundance Film Festival last year and was acquired by A24 for North American distribution, scored three of the evening’s top prizes, including wins for best film, best lead actress for Sophie Wilde and best direction for the filmmaking duo of brothers, Danny Philippou and Michael Philoppou.

Other winners from this year’s edition include “The New Boy” stars Aswan Reid and Deborah Mailman in lead actor and supporting actress, respectively, and Hugo Weaving in supporting actor for “The Rooster.”

The Aacta Awards were held Saturday evening at the Home of the Arts, Gold Coast in Queensland. Rebel Wilson served as host, while Australian star Margot Robbie was honored with the group’s trailblazer award.

See the full list of winners below.

Talk to Me was named Best Film at the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards, which were handed out today on the Gold Coast. The teen horror pic also won Best Director for Danny and Michael Philippou and Best Lead Actress for Sophie Wilde.

Talk to Me took eight total statuettes, including five from the Aacta Industry Awards earlier in the week. The Newsreader and Deadloch also won five AACTAs each, including the Industry nods.

The group also revealed its winners in TV, online and other categories. See the full list from both Aacta Awards ceremonies below.

Aswan Reid took Best Lead Actor in a Film for The New Boy, and his co-star Deborah Mailman won the Supporting Actress prize. Hugo Weaving scooped Best Supporting Actor for The Rooster and added a Best Lead Actor in a Drama trophy for Love Me.

On the TV side, The Newsreader took Best Drama Series,...

Fire brings “The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart” full circle, but had it not been for director Glendyn Ivin, the Prime Video series’ final scene may not have been there.

The Prime Video series, adapted from the best-selling book by Holly Ringland, follows younger and older versions of Alice Hart, whose parents Agnes (Tilda Cobham-Hervey) and Clem (Charlie Vickers) died in a fire, as she reconnects with the place her parents met — Thornfield Flower Farm — run by her paternal grandmother June (Sigourney Weaver).

After June dies of cancer, Alice (Alycia Debnam-Carey), June’s lover Twig (Leah Purcell) and Candy (Frankie Adams) set fire to one of Clem’s wood carvings of June that he made in the greenhouse where he violated Candy. Director Glendyn Ivin fought for that final fire scene, which wasn’t in the original script.

Sigourney Weaver as June in “The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart” (Prime...

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart cast consists of a strong mix of aboriginal Australian actors as well as some big names from other parts of the world. The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart tells the story of a young girl raised in a home with an abusive father until a house fire kills him and her mother. Alice then moves in with her grandmother June and her partner in life Twig, two women who run a flower farm with a team of other women. However, June hides dark secrets from the family's past and those threaten to tear her relationship with Alice apart. Once she grows up, she leaves and ends up entering into another abusive relationship where she has to make a stand.

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart is based on the novel by Holly Ringland, with Sarah Lambert (Lamb of God) as the showrunner, and Glendyn Ivin directing every episode.

“The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart” is a seven episodes miniseries produced by Amazon Studios. The series features Sigourney Weaver and Alycia Debnam-Carey in leading roles. It is an adaptation of the novel written by Australian author Holly Ringland and has been skillfully adapted for the screen by series showrunner Sarah Lambert. All seven episodes are directed by Glendyn Ivin.

About the series

The new series starring Sigourney Weaver is now among us, and it is everything that fans of the New York actress expect: a poignant and dramatic story where the actress shines on her own in a brilliantly executed production in terms of acting, set design, and script.

Warning: it is a beautifully filmed drama, but it is also a drama about child abuse and open wounds. About the series

From its opening moments, it is clear that the series is of excellent quality, with meticulous cinematography and outstanding production work.

Sigourney Weaver and Alycia Debnam-Carey are the most recognizable stars in Amazon’s adaptation of Holly Ringland’s The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, but both are upstaged by the series’ two real standouts: an astonishing juvenile turn by Alyla Browne and a seven-hour cortege of gorgeous, emotionally weighty Australian sunsets.

Developed for TV by Sarah Lambert and directed by Glendyn Ivin, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart is well-intentioned, beautifully photographed, consistently well-acted, and it represents the latest example of the difficulties of translating a novel with a thoroughly literary conceit to a new medium.

The story is metaphors on top of metaphors on top of metaphors as it explores the generational legacy of abuse, but its thin overall narrative and especially its supporting characters frequently get lost in the effort to visualize those metaphors. The series is full of — repetitively so, at times — potent and nearly unwatchable moments of trauma and redemption,...

The upcoming Prime Video series The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart is based on the novel by Holly Ringland and follows the story of a young girl who escapes an abusive home and finds solace in her grandmother's flower farm. The series, set in Sydney, Australia, stars Sigourney Weaver and Alycia Debnam-Carey, and the trailer suggests that it will closely follow the novel's plot, unveiling the dark secrets of Alice's family. Erika North, Head of Originals at Amazon Studios, praised the strong female cast and expressed excitement about bringing more "local content" featuring Australian artists, writers, and producers to Prime Video.

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart news has shown subscribers everything they can expect from the upcoming TV show before it hits Prime Video, and it already looks set to be another breakout original drama for the streamer. The Prime Video series is seven episodes based on the novel by Holly Ringland.

"The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart' is a new seven-part TV miniseries produced by Amazon Studios, directed by Glendyn Ivin, starring Sigourney Weaver and Alycia Debnam-Carey, based on the novel by Holly Ringland streaming August 4, 2023 on Prime Video:

"..a young girl from a violent upbringing is orphaned...

"...and moves in with her grandmother on a flower farm..."

Click the images to enlarge...

FX has released the first official trailer for the third and final season of its comedy “Reservation Dogs,” which will premiere on August 2.

The series follows the stories of Elora Danan (Devery Jacobs), Bear Smallhill (D’Pharaoh Woon-a-Tai), Willie Jack (Paulina Alexis) and Cheese (Lane Factor), four Indigenous teenagers in rural Oklahoma. Following the death of their dear friend Daniel, the Reservation Dogs “took to stealing, scheming and saving in order to fulfill his dream of getting to California.” The group embarks on a wild journey of self-discovery, rumors, revenge and healing.

The critically acclaimed series has accumulated honors as an AFI Television Program of the Year while winning two Independent Spirit Awards, a Gotham Award and Peabody Award.

“Reservation Dogs” is a first-of-its-kind series, with every writer, director and series regular on the show being Indigenous. Sterlin Harjo co-created the series with Taika Waititi. Harjo, Waititi and Garrett Basch serve...

How does nature mirror our emotions? Prime Video‘s “The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart” utilizes Australia’s well-known landscape to illustrate one person’s fascinating journey. Its story follows a young girl, Alice, struck by a tragic event — her adult life marred by equally dramatic circumstances. Directed by Glendyn Ivin and from the producers of “Big Little Lies,” “Nine Perfect Strangers,” and “Anatomy Of A Scandal,” the project features renowned actress Sigourney Weaver in the role of June Hart, a grandmother reluctantly tasked with becoming the central figure in Alice’s story. Alycia Debnam-Carey portrays the series’ central figure, Alice; “Fear the Walking Dead” fans will instantly recognize the actress from her long run on the series. Asher Keddie, Leah Purcell, Frankie Adams, Alexander England, Charlie Vickers, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, Sebastián Zurita, Alyla Browne, and Xavier Samuel also star in the project.

Read More: Sigourney Weaver Says Hollywood’s “Incredible...

"The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart' is a new seven-part TV miniseries produced by Amazon Studios, directed by Glendyn Ivin, starring Sigourney Weaver and Alycia Debnam-Carey, based on the novel by Holly Ringland streaming August 4, 2023 on Prime Video:

"..a young girl from a violent upbringing is orphaned...

"...and moves in with her grandmother on a flower farm..."

Click the images to enlarge...

If the official trailer for The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart doesn't make you want to watch Prime Video's upcoming drama series, I don't know what will.

The trailer for the new series, starring and executive-produced by the incomparable Sigourney Weaver, dropped today.

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart launches on the streaming service exclusively in over 240 countries and territories on August 4. 

Three episodes will be released on August 4, with one episode rolling out weekly until the series finale on September 1.

Going into a series knowing when you'll have all the answers is always interesting.

Thankfully, Amazon Prime Video has already announced The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart will be one-and-done, telling a complete story over the first season.

Many limited series on streaming services get a binge release from the jump, but it's good to know the series will benefit from the weekly conversation that comes with weekly series.

Amazon’s Prime Video released the trailer for its television adaptation of Holly Ringland’s “The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart” on Wednesday. Starring Sigourney Weaver and Alycia Debnam-Carey, the limited series hails from the producers behind “Big Little Lies” and “Nine Perfect Strangers.”

The seven-episode show will tell the story of Alice Hart (Debnam-Carey) as she digs deep into the secrets of her family history at Thornfield flower farm, a refuge for traumatized women run by her grandmother June (Weaver). Alice goes to live there after losing her family in a tragic fire.

“When I was little, I used to dream about fire,” Debnam-Carey’s grownup version of Alice whispers at the beginning of the trailer before her younger counterpart (Alyla Browne) takes over. “Fire is an element that requires friction, fuel and oxygen. Then one day, everything went up in flames.”

Set to Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams, Alice...

Prime Video has dropped the official trailer for the Amazon Original series The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart starring Sigourney Weaver.

Based on Holly Ringland’s best-selling debut novel, the seven-part series tells the story of Alice Hart, who at 9, loses her parents in a mysterious fire and is taken to live with her grandmother June (Weaver) at Thornfield flower farm. There, Alice learns that there are secrets within secrets about her and her family’s past.

Alycia Debnam-Carey plays Alice, while Asher Keddie plays Sally Morgan, Leah Purcell is Twig North, and Frankie Adams plays Candy Blue.

The Lost Flowers will launch exclusively on Prime Video in over 240 countries and territories on Aug. 4. It’s directed by Glendyn Ivin.

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart is produced by Amazon Studios, Made Up Stories, and Fifth Season. The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart is executive produced by Jodi Matterson,...

Bonnie Langford will reprise her role as Melanie Bush in the forthcoming season of “Doctor Who,” starring alongside Ncuti Gatwa as the Fifteenth Doctor, the BBC announced Wednesday.

Langford joined the “Doctor Who” universe in 1986 when she played the companion to the Sixth and Seventh Doctors as portrayed by Colin Baker and Sylvester McCoy. She then went on to appear in a cameo role in Jodie Whittaker’s final episode as the Thirteenth Doctor.

“I am absolutely thrilled to be bringing Melanie Bush back. To be part of the exceptional cast, crew and production team led by the force of nature that is Russell T Davies is a career highlight,” said Langford. “I’m so privileged and proud to have been a member of the Doctor Who family since the classic era and to be included in the new generation is phenomenal.”

Langford kicked made her West End debut at...

Prime Video is adding another A-list star to its programming roster this summer.

The streaming service has revealed The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, launching exclusively in over 240 countries and territories on August 4.

Three episodes will be released on August 4, with one episode rolling out weekly until the series finale on September 1.

Yes, you read that right. The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart is a limited series, so you'll have all the answers by the end of the season.

Based on Holly Ringland's best-selling debut novel, the seven-part series tells the emotionally compelling story of Alice Hart.

"When Alice, aged 9, tragically loses her parents in a mysterious fire, she is taken to live with her grandmother June at Thornfield flower farm, where she learns that there are secrets within secrets about her and her family's past," the official logline teases. 

"Set against Australia's breathtaking natural landscape, and with native...

Today, Prime Video released the teaser trailer for Amazon Original series The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart. Three episodes will be released on August 4, with one episode rolling out weekly until the series finale on September 1.

Based on Holly Ringland’s best-selling debut novel, the seven-part series tells the emotionally compelling story of Alice Hart. When Alice, aged 9, tragically loses her parents in a mysterious fire, she is taken to live with her grandmother June at Thornfield flower farm, where she learns that there are secrets within secrets about her and her family’s past.

Set against Australia’s breathtaking natural landscape, and with native wildflowers and plants providing a way to express the inexpressible, this enthralling family drama spans decades. As she grows from her complicated past, Alice’s journey builds to an emotional climax when she finds herself fighting for her life against a man she loves.

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart...

Sigourney Weaver's matriarch protects family secrets in the first trailer for The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart. The three-time Academy Award-nominated actor is best known for her roles in blockbuster film franchises like Alien and Avatar. However, Weaver has had equal success on the small screen over the years, with much of it flying under the radar. She has received three Primetime Emmy Award nominations for her performances in the miniseries Snow White: A Tale of Terror, Prayers for Bobby, and Political Animals.

Now, Weaver is returning to the small screen for another miniseries, The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, which Prime Video just released the first trailer for. Check it out below:

The teaser trailer provides the first look at Prime Video's upcoming miniseries, which follows the eponymous Alice Hart who, after losing her parents in a mysterious fire, is taken to live with her grandmother June (played...

Prime Video launched a teaser trailer of “The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart,” starring and executive produced by Sigourney Weaver, on Monday.

Based on the best-selling debut novel by Holly Ringland, the seven-part television adaptation follows Alice Hart (Alicia Debnam-Carey), who lost her parents at age 9 in an unexpected fire. Alice goes to live with her grandmother June (Weaver) at Thornfield flower farm in Australia, where she unearths several family secrets from her past. The native flora and fauna of the Australian landscape becomes a character in the show. Alice eventually finds her life threatened by a man she loves.

A collage of memories of the fire mixed with mystical garden encounters leads to someone opening a card that reads “You lied!”

“I just promised I’d keep her safe,” Weaver’s June says at the end of the teaser. “Can we do that?”

Also Read:

‘Loveboat, Taipei’ Adaptation ‘Love...

A family’s long-standing mystery puts forth new roots in the trailer for Sigourney Weaver’s new drama The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, which Prime Video released Monday.

The drama is an adaptation of Holly Ringland’s 2018 novel, which tells the story of Alice, who is brought to her grandmother June’s flower farm at age 9 after her parents die in a mysterious fire. Weaver, whose lengthy resumé includes the Alien and Avatar films, plays June.

More from TVLineCruel Intentions TV Series Sets Its Cast, Including a Star of the Original MovieJack Ryan's Final-Season Foe Has 'Unlimited Resources Paired...

Big Little Lies producer Bruna Papandrea’s production company, Made Up Stories, is expanding with a new UK office run by Sarah Harvey, who has joined the company as a producer and creative director. Harvey officially began her new position in August.

“I’ve long admired Bruna’s tenacity and stellar storytelling instincts, and I’m thrilled to have joined the incredibly talented Made Up Stories Team,” said Harvey.

Harvey has worked across film and TV for over 20 years and has held positions at several production companies, including Blueprint Pictures, Intermedia Films, and Working Title Films. As Head of Film at Blueprint, she developed and co-produced The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, directed by John Madden. The film picked up BAFTA and Golden Globe nods. She also co-produced Martin McDonagh’s directorial debut In Bruges, starring Colin Farrell.

Most recent credits from Harvey include Ol Parker’s romantic comedy Ticket To Paradise,...

Exclusive: Sebastián Zurita is set to recur in Prime Video‘s The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, based on the novel of the same name by Holly Ringland.

Zurita joins previously announced star and executive producer Sigourney Weaver, Alycia Debnam-Carey, Alyla Browne, Leah Purcell, Asher Keddie, Frankie Adams, Alexander England, Tilda Cobham-Hervey, and Charlie Vickers.

The 7-part drama series set in Australia tells the story of a young girl, Alice Hart (played by Browne as a youth and Debnam-Carey as an adult), whose violent childhood casts a dark shadow over her adult life. After a family tragedy in which she loses both her abusive father and beloved mother in a mysterious fire, 9-year-old Alice is taken to live with her grandmother June (Weaver) on a flower farm, where she learns that there are secrets within secrets about her and her family’s past.

The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart comes...

“High Ground,” a 1930s-set drama film, picked up eight nominations for the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards. It narrowly led the field of contenders that included controversial drama “Nitram” with seven nominations, “The Dry” with six and “Penguin Bloom” with five.

Nominations were announced over the weekend ahead of a week of voting. The winners will be announced at a ceremony at Sydney Opera House on Dec. 8, 2021.

Six films received nominations for best film: “The Dry,” “The Furnace,” “High Ground,” “Nitram,” “Penguin Bloom” and “Rams.” Five of the six also received nominations for best director.

“High Ground,” received five of its nominations for acting, with two of its performers going head-to-head in the best actor category, and two more in the best supporting actor section.

Similarly, “Nitram,” which chronicles the build-up to a real-life mass shooting in Tasmania, received nominations for its two leads and two supporting cast.

Aacta has revealed those in contention for the major film, television and short-form prizes at this year’s awards, with High Ground leading the charge in the film categories and The Newsreader ahead in television.

The nominations follow those revealed for feature documentary in July, with the technical craft categories still to come.

Aacta also announced today that this year’s awards will move from The Star to the Sydney Opera House, with the ceremony to be held December 8.

There has also been a change in broadcast partners from Seven to 10, where the ceremony will air first followed by an encore on Fox Arena on Foxtel, Binge, and Aacta TV.

High Ground has earned eight nominations, including Best Film. Also nominated for the night’s major prize are Nitram, which earned seven nods, The Dry, which has six, as well as The Furnace, Penguin Bloom and Rams.

The Best Indie Film Award,...

Asher Keddie, Leah Purcell, and Alycia Debnam-Carey will join Sigourney Weaver in leading the cast of Amazon’s seven-part drama The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart.

Produced by Made Up Stories, Amazon Studios and Endeavor Content, and based on the novel by Holly Ringwald, the series is a coming-of-age drama about a young girl whose violent childhood casts a dark shadow over her adult life.

After a family tragedy in which she loses both her abusive father and beloved mother in a mysterious fire, nine-year-old Alice is taken to live with her grandmother June on a flower farm, where she learns that there are secrets within secrets about her and her family’s past.

The family drama spans decades, building to an emotional climax as Alice finds herself fighting for her life against a man she loves.

Debnam Carey will play the adult Alice Hart, while Weaver will play her grandmother,...

With unprecedented, intimate access to the private life of Courtney Barnett, Danny Cohen’s 16mm feature documentary Anonymous Club follows a paradoxically introverted performer and anti-influencer, who, at the height of success, is ready to walk away.

Recording her innermost thoughts on a Dictaphone over a period of three years, Barnett begins her slow acceptance of Cohen’s camera.

Cohen has been collaborating with Barnett for many years on her music videos, and spent three years on tour in Europe, the US and Asia and at home in Melbourne filming with Barnett as a one-man crew.

Anonymous Club is produced by Philippa Campey and Samantha Dinning of Film Camp, with Glendyn Ivin story consultant and editor Ben Hall. Sue Maslin and Nick O’Byrne are executive producers.

It was financed via the Miff Premiere Fund, Film Victoria, Screen Australia, The Post Lounge, Mind The Gap Film Finance and Film Art Media,...

Members of the Australian Directors’ Guild have had the chance to hear from some of the country’s most established filmmakers over the past five months as part of the Adg-40 ‘First-Hand’ sessions.

Consisting of 40 weekly one-hour webinars fronted by industry mentors, the initiative is due to start again this week following a short break, with Claire McCarthy (The Turning) to share insights from her career on Thursday.

It comes after contributions from Gillian Armstrong, Rachel Perkins, Rolf de Heer, Samantha Lang, Corrie Chen, Ben Lawrence, Ana Kokkinos, Megan Riakos, Josephine Mackerras, Robert Connolly, Garth Davis, Sally Aitken, Jub Clerc, Kriv Stenders, Tom Zubrycki, Anna Broinowski, Peter Andrikidis, Jasmin Tarasin, and Glendyn Ivin.

The sessions are moderated by Adg strategy and development executive Ana Tiwary who is responsible for collating questions from those tuning in.

She has tried to focus on topics covering the practical aspects of directing that cannot be learned from a book,...

Amazon Prime Video launched a slate of seven new local originals at a showcase event in Sydney today, including projects from Made Up Stories, Cate Blanchett’s Dirty Films, Matchbox Pictures and Guesswork Television.

Among the commissions are documentaries Burning and Warriors On The Field, four-part docuseries Head Above Water, drama series The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, and comedy series The Moth Effect, Deadloch, and Class of ‘07.

Amazon Studios Asia Pacific head of originals Erika North; Prime Video Australia head of content Tyler Bern, and Prime Video Australia head Hushidar Kharas were on hand to introduce the upcoming projects, as well as offer the first glimpses of previously announced originals Back to the Rafters, Luxe Listings Sydney and Kick Like Tayla, as well as season two of The Wilds, currently shooting in Queensland.

At the same event, the streamer announced the global acquisition of Nine Perfect Strangers, ex. US and China.

Amazon is developing a TV series adaptation of “The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart,” the 2018 novel by Australian author Holly Ringland, with Sigourney Weaver set to star and executive produce. Sarah Lambert (“Lambs of God”) and Glendyn Ivin are serving as co-showrunners, with Lambert writing.

The seven-episode series, a story of female friendship and resilience, will be filmed in Australia. Made Up Stories, Amazon Studios and Endeavor Content are producing. Jodi Matterson, Bruna Papandrea, Steve Hutensky and Allie Goss of Made Up Stories, Sigourney Weaver, Sarah Lambert and Glendyn Ivin are executive producers. Barbara Gibbs will produce and Lucinda Reynolds is on board as co-executive producer.

“This gripping and emotional story is a broad-skewing drama featuring strong female characters, written and produced by an incredible team of talented female film-makers, and set against a stunning local landscape. We are thrilled that the wonderful Sigourney Weaver signed on to this project...

Exclusive: Sigourney Weaver is to lead an adaptation of Holly Ringland’s book The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart for Amazon.

The streamer has ordered a series adaptation of the Ringland’s debut Australian novel with Weaver starring in and exec producing.

It marks the latest Australian original for Amazon Prime Video.

The seven-part series, a tale of female resilience, friendship, and the power to overcome tragedy, is produced by Made Up Stories, Amazon Studios and Endeavor Content and will be filmed in Australia.

The series will be adapted for screen by Australian writer Sarah Lambert (Lambs of Gods), who serves as the series showrunner with Glendyn Ivin (The Cry) set to direct.

It will be executive produced by Jodi Matterson, Bruna Papandrea, Steve Hutensky and Allie Goss of Made Up Stories, Sigourney Weaver, Sarah Lambert and Glendyn Ivin. The series will be produced by Barbara Gibbs and co-executive produced by Lucinda Reynolds.

With continued paucity of product from the US and other international territories, Australian films remain the main event at the box office.

Showing incredible legs, Robert Connolly’s The Dry is still the no. 1 title, earning just under $1.2 million across its sixth weekend, a drop of just 18 per cent.

The mystery drama, based on the novel by Jane Harper, has now made $16.2 million in total for Roadshow Films. That figure makes The Dry the 17th highest grossing Australian film of all time (without adjusting for inflation), and the fourth highest performing local film of the last decade behind Lion, The Dressmaker and Red Dog.

Fellow Roadshow drama Penguin Bloom, directed by Glendyn Ivin and produced by the same production company as The Dry, Made Up Stories, remains in the number two spot. In its third frame, the Naomi Watts-starrer earned $729,269, a fall of 43 per cent, to bring takings to $5.2 million.

In a remarkable result, four Australian films – The Dry, Penguin Bloom, High Ground and Occupation: Rainfall – took home almost 50 per cent of the national box office last weekend.

The four titles together totaled $3.5 million, or 47 per cent of the total B.O of $7.5 million.

Such a strong local showing speaks to a variety of factors: the paucity of product from the US, good word-of-mouth and strong marketing campaigns by distributors.

The four titles’ performance is also a hopeful sign for the other Aussie films due in coming weeks, including documentary Wild Things (Potential Films), released this Thursday; dramas Long Story Short (Studiocanal) and Unsound (Filmink Presents) due on February 11; and Wayne Blair and Nel Minchin’s doco Firestarter: The Story of Bangarra (Icon) on February 18.

“With few Hollywood/international productions entering the market over the coming weeks, I expect this to continue for some time,” Village Cinemas national film programming manager Geoff Chard tells If.

"Penguin Bloom" is the new family drama feature directed by Glendyn Ivin, based on the book of the same name by Cameron Bloom and Bradley Trevor Greive, starring Naomi Watts, Andrew Lincoln and Jacki Weaver, now streaming on Netflix: 

"...in Australia, a photographer and his family find hope and solace by nursing an injured 'Magpie' chick back to health, helping them adjust to his wife's partial paralysis following a fall, while on vacation in Thailand..."

Click the images to enlarge...

Photo: ‘Penguin Bloom’/Netflix ‘Penguin Bloom’ the newest film from streaming service Netflix and director Glendyn Ivin (‘Safe Harbour’) is as beautiful plot-wise as it is visually. It starts with the narration from debut actor Griffin Murray-Johnston and begins a deeply moving and personal tale. The film opens on a montage of the family celebrating and exploring Thailand, a cheerful prelude for the drama to come. Within the first five minutes, we learn that able-bodied Naomi Watts (‘Mulholland Drive’) falls off a building in a freak accident while her husband, Andrew Lincoln (‘The Walking Dead’) watches. The rest of the story plays out in painstaking detail as Watts’s character struggles to recover while Lincoln tries to hold their family together. It’s a grueling, heart-wrenching tale that highlights the skills of Murray-Johnston, Watts, and Lincoln. Related article: Review: Apple TV Hits the Jackpot Again with Creator Sigal Avin’s...

Russia and Korea openings boost Pixar’s ‘Soul’ while ‘Wonder Woman 1984’ extends global lead over ‘The Croods: A New Age’.

‘Soul’ hits $71m total in select territories

Number-one openings in both Russia and South Korea gave Disney’s Soul a boost, helping the Pixar animation achieve an estimated $10.4m at the weekend box office, a 79% rise on the previous session. The total across the 13 markets where it’s playing is an estimated $71.2m.

Soul grossed an estimated $3.5m for the five-day weekend in South Korea – the second-highest non-Korean title opening under Covid, and 25% ahead of the debut number for...

It’s a rare feat for an Australian film to break through to the top of the box office, let alone for two local titles to lead the weekend’s rankings. But Penguin Bloom and The Dry have done just that.

Roadshow Films’ Penguin Bloom, directed by Glendyn Ivin and starring Naomi Watts, Andrew Lincoln and Jacki Weaver, opened on $1.5 million from 398 screens, or $1.7 million with previews, to come out on top.

Stablemate The Dry was close behind, netting $1.4 million over its fourth weekend to cross $12 million overall. Each film was produced by production company Made Up Stories, led by Bruna Papandrea, Steve Hutensky and Jodi Matterson.

For Roadshow Films CEO Joel Pearlman, both titles’ results are testament to audiences’ desire to support home-grown filmmaking. He argues “now is the time for Australia to champion its bold stories and beautiful locations with the world.”

“It’s remarkable that the two...

Penguin Bloom Trailer 2 — Roadshow Films has released the second movie trailer for Penguin Bloom (2020). View here the first Penguin Bloom film trailer. Cast and crew Glendyn Ivin‘s Penguin Bloom stars Naomi Watts, Andrew Lincoln, Jacki Weaver, Leeanna Walsman, Rachel House, Abe Clifford-Barr, Randolph Fields, Felix Cameron, Griffin Murray-Johnston, [...]

Continue reading: Penguin Bloom (2020) Movie Trailer 2: A Magpie Helps Naomi Watts Learn to Cope & Live after a Near-fatal Accident...

We’ll eventually see him return as Rick Grimes in those planned Walking Dead movies, but before that, here’s Andrew Lincoln in something completely different.

Later this month, drama film Penguin Bloom launches on Netflix, and this new trailer for it promises that it’ll be a heartfelt tale that may bring some awards buzz for its leading lady, Naomi Watts. The Academy Award-nominated actress stars as Sam Bloom, “a dedicated wife and mother of two whose idyllic home on the Australian shore becomes a self-made prison as she struggles to cope with paralysis in the wake of a freak accident.” Her unlikely light at the end of the tunnel comes in the form of an injured magpie that Sam’s children take in. She bonds with the bird and it helps her along the road towards her own “soulful recovery.” Lincoln plays Sam’s photographer husband, Cameron, who...

We made it! if.com.au is now on holiday hiatus, resuming January 13, 2021.

For all our e-subscribers, throughout the break we’ll send you newsletters with what we thought were our best, most pertinent and enjoyable reads of 2020 (I promise they’re not all just about Covid). If you’re not signed up, do so here.

On that, how does one even go about summing up 2020?

From the pandemic effectively shutting down the screen industry overnight, to policy shifts that signal quite a different future, it has been a momentous, difficult and important year.

To borrow 2020’s most overused word, much of what we’ve seen has been unprecedented. But at the same time, the pandemic has sped up shifts that were already happening.

For instance, pre-covid, we were wrapped up in discussion about theatrical windows and just how streaming was affecting the cinema business.

That conversation, of course, has only accelerated.

Penguin Bloom Trailer — Glendyn Ivin‘s Penguin Bloom (2020) movie trailer has been released by Roadshow Films and stars Naomi Watts, Andrew Lincoln, Jacki Weaver, Leeanna Walsman, Rachel House, Abe Clifford-Barr, Randolph Fields, Felix Cameron, Griffin Murray-Johnston, Donat Balaj, Lisa Hensley, and Gia Carides. Crew Harry Cripps and Shaun Grant wrote the screenplay for [...]

Continue reading: Penguin Bloom (2020) Movie Trailer: Naomi Watts has to Re-adjust her Life after an Accident Leaves Her Paralyzed...

"You're still you, Sam." Roadshow Films in Australia has unveiled an official trailer for Penguin Bloom, a cheery drama made by Australian filmmaker Glendyn Ivin. This just recently premiered at the Toronto Film Festival this year, and will be debuting on Netflix in January next month. The story follows a woman whose life changes after an accident while on vacation in Thailand. After returning home and struggling with her pain, the family takes in a stray baby magpie, naming it Penguin. Her recovery begins when she starts to care for the little bird and help it grow as well. The film stars Naomi Watts, along with Andrew Lincoln, Rachel House, and Jacki Weaver. I heard plenty of good things about this from TIFF this year, and I'm looking forward to watching this when it's out soon. Don't miss the uplifting true story of the Bloom Family. Here's the first international...

After a difficult year for exhibitors, Palace Cinemas CEO Benjamin Zeccola is pleased to end 2020 on a positive note with the official opening of Coburg’s Pentridge Cinema next week.

Housed within the city’s historic Pentridge prison site, the new venue comprises 15 screens and has the capacity to hold 1,100 patrons.

The opening is the culmination of a seven-year development process for Palace Cinemas, including almost three years of construction.

Australia’s largest independent cinema group faced fresh challenges this year when the Covid-19 pandemic forced the closure of its locations, with about 550 staff affected by the shut down.

Pentridge Cinema

“It is a tremendous privilege to open a new cinema in such a vibrant part of Melbourne, with such a vast and diverse catchment area,” Zeccola said.

“It has been a (lime-)light at the end of the proverbial tunnel, that we’ve watched getting brighter as we pushed on throughout the lockdown.

Penguin Bloom stars Naomi Watts as Sam Bloom, a young mother whose world is turned upside down after a near-fatal accident leaves her unable to walk. Sam’s husband, (Andrew Lincoln), her three young boys and her mother (Jacki Weaver), are struggling to adjust to their new situation when an unlikely ally enters their world in the form of an injured baby magpie they name Penguin.

The film premiered at the 2020 Toronto International Film Festival. Glendyn Ivin directs from a script by Harry Cripps and Shaun Grant, adapted from the book by Bradley Trevor Grieve and Cameron Bloom.

Based on a true story, Roadshow Films will release the film, produced by Made Up Stories’ Bruna Papandrea, Steve Hutensky, Jodi Matterson and Watts, January 21, 2021.

The post ‘Penguin Bloom’ (Trailer) appeared first on If Magazine.

Netflix has acquired the North American rights to “Penguin Bloom,” a drama based on a true story and starring Naomi Watts that premiered at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival.

Netflix also snagged rights in the UK, France and select countries in Asia, though not worldwide, and the film will debut on the platform on Jan. 27.

Glendyn Ivin directs the film that also stars Andrew Lincoln, Jacki Weaver and Rachel House. Watts stars in “Penguin Bloom” as Samantha Bloom, who in real life was an active outdoors-woman of a mom of three who became paralyzed from the chest down after a fall and found solace in a wild magpie that her kids named Penguin. The film looks at her road to recovery and acceptance of her new self.

Shaun Grant and Harry Cripps wrote the screenplay based on the book by Sam Bloom’s husband Cameron Bloom and Bradley Trevor Greive.

“Penguin Bloom,” the Toronto International Film Festival player led by Naomi Watts, has been acquired by Netflix in key territories.

The streamer will roll out the film in North America, the U.K., France and select countries in Asia on Jan. 27.

Oscar nominee Watts stars in the real-life survival story of Samantha Bloom, an active and vibrant Australian mom who is paralyzed from the chest down on holiday with her family. Her struggle to forge ahead is helped along by a wounded baby magpie her kids take in, named Penguin.

Glendyn Ivin directs from a script by Shaun Grant and Harry Cripps, based on the book by Bloom’s husband Cameron Bloom and Bradley Trevor Greive.

Andrew Lincoln, Jacki Weaver, Rachel House, Leeanna Walsman, Lisa Hensley, Griffin Murray-Johnston, Felix Cameron and Abe Clifford-Barr co-star.

Ivin directed the short film “Cracker Bag,” which was awarded the Palme d’Or at Cannes,...

Eric Bana in ‘The Dry.’

Roadshow will launch Robert Connolly’s The Dry on January 1 and Glendyn Ivin’s Penguin Bloom on January 21, raising exhibitors’ hopes of a strong start to the year on the proviso that a raft of Hollywood titles are not postponed.

Seeing gaps in the market, Roadshow moved up Connolly’s crime thriller adapted from the Jane Harper novel, starring Eric Bana, Genevieve O’Reilly, Keir O’Donnell and John Polson, from April.

The distributor shifted Ivin’s drama starring Naomi Watts, Andrew Lincoln and Jacki Weaver, adapted from Bradley Trevor Greive and Cameron Bloom’s novel, which had been scheduled for New Year’s Day, to the Australia Day long weekend.

“The Dry is a great addition for Roadshow,” says Wallis Cinema’s Bob Parr, adding that it would be a disaster for cinemas if more Hollywood tentpoles such as Warner Bros’ Wonder Woman 1984 and Universal’s...

‘The Furnace.’

Most independent Australian distributors are doing it tough, forced to postpone releases while the exhibition business languishes with Victorian cinemas closed and seating capacity restricted in the rest of the country.

They fear the Federal Government’s media reforms, which will lower the Producer Offset for films to 30 per cent and double the minimum qualifying Australian production expenditure (Qape) threshold for features to $1 million, will lead to fewer narrative features and feature documentaries.

Another concern is that removing the obligation to release films in cinemas will further deplete the number of titles available to distributors next year.

However most are confident the cinema business will rebound from Boxing Day onwards with the launches of Warner Bros’ Wonder Woman 1984, Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s The Croods: A New Age and Sony’s Peter Rabbit 2, and that 2021 will be a strong year.

“Business is not what it used to be...

‘The Furnace.’

Most independent Australian distributors are doing it tough, forced to postpone releases while the exhibition business languishes with Victorian cinemas closed and seating capacity restricted in the rest of the country.

They fear the Federal Government’s media reforms, which will lower the Producer Offset for films to 30 per cent and double the minimum qualifying Australian production expenditure (Qape) threshold for features to $1 million, will lead to fewer narrative features and feature documentaries.

Another concern is that removing the obligation to release films in cinemas will further deplete the number of titles available to distributors next year.

However most are confident the cinema business will rebound from Boxing Day onwards with the launches of Warner Bros’ Wonder Woman 1984, Universal/DreamWorks Animation’s The Croods: A New Age and Sony’s Peter Rabbit 2, and that 2021 will be a strong year.

“Business is not what it used to be...