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Continuing his passion to produce films based on true Australian events, Sunstar Entertainment.s Andrew Fraser has optioned the remarkable story of athlete John Maclean. Maclean was hit by an 8 tonne truck while training for a triathlon on his bike in 1988. He suffered multiple breaks to his pelvis and back, a fractured sternum, punctured lungs and a broken arm, which left him a paraplegic. Somehow, this near fatal accident was the making of him. Although he feared he would never walk again, rather than give up he swam the English Channel, completed the Hawaiian Ironman and represented Australia in rowing at the Sydney 2000 Olympic and Paralympic Games. In 2014 he astounded the medical world when he completed the triathlon he was training for all those years earlier — with his wife and son by his side.

Fraser, who has known Maclean for 20 years, bumped into him recently at a fundraiser. .When he found out about Sunstar,...

Magazines have a long history of paying for tall tales simply because these stories sell. Paul Merrill debates the whys and wherefores of chequebook journalism

Years ago, when I was editing a women’s weekly mag, we were offered a story about a chicken that thought it was a dog. Sweet enough for a single pager, so we offered the owner around $100 and despatched a snapper to capture the chook in action. But we’d jumped the gun. Another mag had offered her $200, and no contract had been signed. As the photographer was going to cost us some $500, we upped our offer, and so did the other mag. Eventually, we paid this woman $650, and ended up with some photos of a chicken that looked like a chicken, and a few anecdotes about it enjoying running with the border collies.

Chequebook journalism sells magazines. Gone are the days when a case...

Featuring Dan Ilic, comedian/writer/director, plus Mumbrella’s Robin Hicks, Cathie McGinn, and Colin Delaney (55:13).

Is there a formula to viral videos? (1:06) David Hicks shows his ‘crib’ (9:04) What’s so funny about Afghanistan (13:37) Ad agencies can f*ck right Off! (20:45) What Droga5 has brought to Woolies (23:33) Packed to the Rafters vs Hollywood (33:34) Kebabs aren’t just for drunks (39:00) Can train travel in Australia be sexy? (42:15) I’Robot director Alex Proyas returns to Oz after failed Paradise Lost attempt (45:30) Kieran Darcy Smith’s mindblowing Wish You Were Here (47:19) A Rational Fear’s Monorail Song (54:48)

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It’s three and a half weeks until William and Kate tie the knot, and another supplier has scheduled a royal wedding DVD. Mvd Entertainment will release British Royal Weddings of the 20th Century on DVD on May 17.

The 181-minute documentary compiles footage of royal weddings as far back as 1922’s nuptials of Princess Mary to Henry Charles George, Vicount Lascelles, and Lord Louis Mountbatten to Miss Edwina Ashley through to the last royal wedding, the 1986 ceremony of Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. Also included is footage of the wedding of the current Queen Elizabeth marrying Prince Philip in 1947 and Prince William’s mom and dad, Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer in 1981.

Here’s a list of the other weddings in the DVD:

1923 Prince Albert wed Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon 1934 Prince George Duke of Kent weds Princess Marina of Greece 1935 Prince Henry Duke of Gloucester weds Lady Alice Scott 1960 Princess Margaret...