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The third instalment in the animated insect franchise for kids is a buzz-free disappointment

As cinemas reopen in England, normal service resumes in the world of little kids’ films. First up for the under-fives is Maya the Bee 3, the latest instalment of the sappy, sentimental franchise from Australia.

In the new movie plucky little bee Maya (voiced by Coco Jack Gillies) and her best friend Willi (Benson Jack Anthony) get lumbered with transporting a golden egg to the ant colony at Bonsai Peak. Of course, the egg cracks en route, leaving the pair holding the ant baby – an adorable squidge they nickname Schmoosh. Cue some ant nappy-changing and lessons about responsibility. Weirdly, there is next to nothing specific about bees; with a little tweak here and there in the script, you could substitute bees for chipmunks or dinosaurs.

It's that time of year. Spring is in the air, flowers are beginning to bloom and sleepy little bees are beginning to wake up. Maya the Bee may have made her first appearance in 1924 but thanks to the magic of fiction she's still only seven, with a seven-year-old's enthusiasm for making ever day a fresh adventure. This enthusiasm is not shared by everybody else in the hive, however, and when she creates havoc in the process of trying to wake them up and kick off the nectar-gathering season, the Queen decides she's had enough. If Maya can't change, she and her best friend, Willy, will be separated.

What's the answer to this? "No more adventures," pleads Willy (voiced by Benson Jack Anthony), but Maya (Coco Jack Gillies) just can't resist. When she hears an ant in trouble out in the meadow, she rushes to his aid. He's carrying an important.

Michael Horrocks.

The staff exodus at Seven West Media’s Seven Studios continues with Michael Horrocks, the executive producer of comedy, confirming he is departing.

Horrocks, who has held the post for two years, created Fam Time, a narrative comedy about a dysfunctional blended family who are addicted to their screens.

Starring Michala Banas, Duncan Fellows and Benson Jack Anthony, the 6 x 30′ show is the Seven Network’s first original sitcom in more than 20 years, since Bullpitt!, and is yet to premiere.

Hayden Guppy directed the series scripted by Erica Harrison and Jack Yabsley and produced by Muffy Potter.

The downsizing at Seven Studios began with news that CEO Therese Hegarty would depart after eight years with the network.

Her role is being abolished and Seven’s director of production Andrew Backwell has taken charge of Seven Studios.

That was followed by the exits of Niki Hamilton, the executive producer...

Lee Matthews.

Producer Lee Matthews has launched a short film screenwriting competition, open to emerging or established writers from any racial background or gender identity.

Matthews will turn the winning script into a 5-7 minute film which will screen on the YouTube channel run by his company Different Films (the re-branded Matthewswood Productions) in 2020.

The Emo the Musical producer tells If: “The competition is open to everyone, emerging or not, young or not, straight or not, from any racial background or gender identity.

“The screenwriter just needs to be able to see the benefit in having his or her story made into a finished short film. That can happen if the essence of the story is about difference and/or looks at life through a completely different lens, the concept is a stand-out and the production is feasible.”

He estimates it will cost him up to $5,000 to make the short.

Duncan Fellows and Alison Bell.

Fans of ABC TV’s The Letdown who enjoy watching Duncan Fellows as Jeremy, partner and foil of Alison Bell’s oft-stressed Audrey, can look forward to his next series Fam Time.

Fellows is playing John, aka ‘Handy Andy’, second husband of Michala Banas’ Belinda Box, matriarch of a dysfunctional blended family in the Seven Studios’ narrative comedy.

Created by Michael Horrocks and scripted by Erica Harrison and Jack Yabsley, the sitcom features Benson Jack Anthony as Belinda’s son Rylan, Karina Banno as her step-daughter Tahnee, Chloe De Los Santos as her adopted half-Filipino daughter Cherry, Rhonda Burchmore as grandma Viv and Tainui Tukiwaho as handyman Bill.

While everyone else in the family is obsessed with the online world, Handy Andy prefers fixing and inventing things, although he’s not very good at either.

There are some similarities between the two characters. “Neither is...

Michala Banas and Benson Jack Anthony.

A dysfunctional blended family who are addicted to their screens is at the heart of Fam Time, Seven Studios’ narrative comedy which is shooting in Sydney.

Hayden Guppy is directing the 6 X 30′ series created by Michael Horrocks, who joined Seven Studios a year ago as executive producer, comedy, with the remit to drive the production division’s expansion into comedy.

It’s the Seven Network’s first narrative comedy in more than 20 years since Bullpitt!, which starred Ross Higgins as Ted Bullpitt, reprising the character he played in the 1980s sitcom Kingswood Country.

Scripted by Erica Harrison and Jack Yabsley, Fam Time stars Michala Banas as the family matriarch Belinda Box. She runs a blog which chronicles her daily adventures as a modern mum with a busy blended family in the digital age.

Duncan Fellows is her second husband John, aka ‘Handy Andy’, an...

Luke Eve, creator and director of 'High Life', took home three awards at this year's Melbourne WebFest..

Luke Eve.s High Life took home the most awards at this year.s Melbourne Webfest, earning Best Australian Drama, Best Director and Best Supporting Actor (Benson Jack Anthony).

Melbourne WebFest is Australia.s only international web series festival, now in its fifth year. Over the weekend it screened a selection of 50 web series from around the world, in addition to hosting industry panels, workshops and a live pitching competition conducted in partnership with ABC iview..

The festival.s keynote speaker, La-based filmmaker Christopher Leone (The Lost Room, Parallels) said: .Like the rise of independent film 20 years ago, we're now witnessing the rise of independent television delivered via the web. Melbourne WebFest is a fantastic event to discover the new wave of television creators and a damn good time..

The festival gave out some 24 awards,...

Author: Steven Neish

Expelled from his previous school following a failed suicide attempt, Ethan (Benson Jack Anthony) enrols at Seymour High, a struggling state school subsidised by a pharmaceutical company shamelessly showering the student body in serotonin boosters. Eager to fit in, he naturally gravitates towards the school’s resident emo contingent, comprising band-mates Bradley (Rahart Adams), Roz (Lucy Barrett) and Jay (Ben Bennett), and soon finds himself joining the ranks of Worst Day Ever. Simultaneously, however, Ethan finds himself drawn to Trinity, (Jordan Hare), the lead singer of rival Christian outfit Hope Group, which promises to spell the end of his newfound anonymity.

A feature-length expansion of his award-winning 2014 short of the same name, Neil Triffett’s high school musical pitches warring clans — or cliques — against each other to timeworn effect. Worst Day Ever and Hope Group are Australia’s answer to Capulet and Montague, Barden Bellas and The Treblemakers,...

Odessa Young in 'High Life.'

Director Luke Eve.s web series High Life has been sold to Us streaming service Fullscreen.

It marks another Australian acquisition for Fullscreen, which also picked up The Katering Show.

High Life was written by Glen Dolman (Hawke, Mystery of a Hansom Cab), and produced by Eve (Low Life, Australian Summer) with Adam Dolman. British comedian and mental health advocate Stephen Fry was the executive producer with Gina Carter. It was backed by Screen Australia's multiplatform fund..

.The team and I are delighted that High Life has found a home with Fullscreen in the USA,. Eve said.

.Fullscreen is a perfect fit for the project and we are excited to get the word out about the series. They have been extremely supportive of myself, Glen Dolman and Adam Dolman as filmmakers and share our passion for telling engaging stories..

High Life is a...

South Pacific Pictures CEO Kelly Martin.

800 Words, a Seven and South Pacific Pictures co-pro, stars Erik Thomson as a widower who relocates to Nz along with his kids, played by Melina Vidler (Mako: Island of Secrets) and Benson Jack Anthony (Underbelly Razor).

The role saw Thomson win the Silver Logie for Most Popular Male in 2016, and Vidler win the Silver Logie for Most Outstanding Newcomer.

Created by James Griffin and Maxine Fleming and produced by Chris Bailey, the show.s executive producers are Seven.s Julie McGauran and John Holmes and South Pacific Pictures CEO Kelly Martin, whose credits include Shortland Street and The Brokenwood Mysteries.

For South Pacific Pictures, the success of the show, originally made possible by the New Zealand Film Commission.s Screen Production Grant, has been gratifying.

.We knew we had a great show,. says Martin. .Unfortunately these days that doesn.t always mean you get a big audience.

Still fresh from its international premiere in Berlin and edging up on its Australian theatrical release, a series of character teasers have arrived online for Neil Triffett's Emo The Musical. A major crowd pleaser when it played in both the Melbourne and Berlin festivals, Emo stars Benson Jack Anthony as Ethan - a terminally depressed teenager trying to navigate the politics of a new high school as he's drawn to both the emo kids who share his sense of style and general malaise and a pretty girl from the Christian clique. We've shared the full trailer for this before and these new teasers are great fun. Check them all out below!...

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

Ethan gets expelled from his private school after attempting suicide in the yard. He ends up in Seymour High, where he immediately makes it his goal to join the Elmo clan and their band, Worst Day Ever. On his very first day at his new school, a group of Christian kids try to preach the word of God to him, but before he can tell them to go away, he notices a cute and innocent girl named Trinity. They immediately fall head over heels with each other and, as odd as they might seem as a couple, they cannot stop kissing in the school’s library.

Written and directed by Neil Triffett, “Emo the Musical” premiered at the 2017 Berlin International Film Festival. Watch an exclusive clip below.

Read More: An Emo Kid Falls for A Christian Rocker In ‘Emo the Musical’ — Berlinale 2017 Review

After winning a Special Mention at the...

As the success of “La La Land” attests, movie musicals are making a comeback, and not just overstuffed and underacted Broadway hits. This new crop puts catchy original music and genuine love stories front and center, honoring the classic genre’s best qualities while updating them for contemporary audiences. The newest welcome addition is “Emo the Musical,” an adorable teen romance from Australia, which suggests that cynicism hasn’t fully taken over down under.

Director Neil Triffett has adapted his short film of the same name into a fully-fledged tale of teenage angst. It opens, as any good musical should, with a song. Ethan (Benson Jack Anthony, who would have made a fine Neville Longbottom) sings: “I dream of a world/Where everyone I know/Has scars on their wrist/Drawn in eye shadow/I wanted to buy razors/But Mum said ‘no.'” It’s upbeat and melodic, closer...

In 2014, writer-director Neil Triffett and producer Lee Matthews won a Special Mention in the Generation 14plus section of the Berlin International Film Festival for their short film, Emo The Musical..

Now three years on, the filmmakers are set to return to the festival with the feature verison,.Emo the Musical. The high school musical satire has been officially selected for its international premiere at Berlinale 2017, again in the Generation 14plus program. Emo the Musical had its world premiere at Miff last August..

Returning to the festival was rewarding for the team, said Triffett.

.It.s wonderful to come full circle. We received such a terrific response to the short from Berlinale and its audiences in 2014, now to be able to return with the feature film is very exciting,. he said..

Producer Lee Matthews said: .The success of the short film in Berlin opened many doors for us throughout the industry.

Benson Jack Anthony, who played Erik Thomson.s son Arlo in the Seven Network hit drama 800 Words, has won the lead role in Emo (the musical).

In his feature debut Neil Triffett is writing and directing the irreverent high school musical satire inspired by his 2013 short film. Shooting starts in Melbourne on November 30.

Anthony is Ethan, who is desperate to fit in to his new school and quickly finds a place in the Emo band that aims to win the state school rock competition. When the Christian band enters the competition, the two groups are set to go to war. That.s awkward for Ethan as he falls in love with Trinity (newcomer Jordan Hare), the lead vocalist in the Christian band.

Rahart Adams, who plays the lead in David Caesar's feature Nowhere Boys The Book of Shadows after starring in Nickelodeon.s telemovie Liar Liar, Vampire and series Every Witch Way,...

Melina Vidler, Benson Jack Anthony, Rick Donald and Bridie Carter have joined Erik Thomson in 800 Words, a drama commissioned by the Seven Network and Tvnz.

The 8-part series stars Thomson as George Turner, who quits his job as an 800 word columnist for a Sydney newspaper after his wife dies and, on impulse, buys a house in a remote New Zealand seaside town.

Vidler (The Arrangement, Mako: Island of Secrets) and Anthony (Underbelly Razor, Blood Brothers, Legend of the Seeker) play his teenage children Shay and Arlo Turner.

The family.s hopes of making a fresh start don.t go to plan in their new environment as the locals are both secretive and inquisitive.

Donald (Friends with Better Lives, The Doctor Blake Mysteries) is cast as George.s new best mate Woody, a fellow Aussie and keen surfer, with Carter (McLeod.s Daughters) as Jan, editor of the newspaper George wrote for.