News

‘After the Party’ in the U.K.

Channel 4 has acquired U.K. rights to the acclaimed New Zealand drama “After the Party” from Lingo Pictures.

The six-part series, co-created by and starring Robyn Malcolm (“Black Bird”), follows Penny Wilding, a mother, teacher and environmental activist, whose life imploded five years earlier after she accused her husband Phil, played by Peter Mullan, of a sex crime and nobody believed her.

When Penny’s now ex-husband returns to town, her daughter pressures her to let go of her accusations and move on. As her old furies rise to the surface, Penny must decide what’s more important – the truth or rebuilding her relationships with the people around her.

Co-created by Dianne Taylor, “After the Party” was produced by Australia’s Lingo Pictures and Luminous Beast in New Zealand as an original commission for New Zealand’s Tvnz in association with and distributed by ITV Studios.

Exclusive: Here’s your first look at Stan’s upcoming mega-church drama Prosper.

The Lionsgate family drama stars Richard Roxburgh (Rake, Elvis, Stan Original Series Bali 2002) as Cal Quinn, the founder and global pastor of one of the fastest growing megachurches in the world, and Rebecca Gibney, as his wife Abi Quinn.

Stan says the show, which we first revealed in March, takes a “provocative peek behind the curtain of power and privilege.”

The ensemble cast includes Ewen Leslie (Stan Original Series Bali 2002, The Stranger), Ming-Zhu Hii (La Brea, Peter Rabbit), Jacob Collins-Levy (Stan Original Film True History of the Kelly Gang, The Witcher: Blood Origin), Hayley McCarthy, Jordi Webber (Nomad, Deadlands, Power Ranger) Jacek Koman (Moulin Rouge!, Children of Men, Rake), Andrea Solonge (Class of ’07, Privileged), Brigid Zengeni (Stan Original Series Totally Completely Fine, The Secret She Keeps), Alex Fitzalan (The Wilds, Slender Man) and Alexander D’Souza.

Coming off another year marked by uncertainty and conflict, ordinary, unlikely heroes take center stage in a slew of new shows. While crime especially the Nordic-inspired kind is not going anywhere, and there are quite a few spectacles waiting around the corner, including Mipcom world premiere “Concordia,” intimate stories about families and friends butting heads but ultimately trying to come together continue to dominate the market stage. There are also more portrayals of strong, complicated women who dare to dream big today or in the past. The following is a list of some of the buzziest titles at Mipcom.

“After the Party”

(ITV Studios)

Penny Wilding (played by Robyn Malcolm) likes to keep herself very busy: she is a science teacher, basketball coach, environmental activist, mother and grandmother. Famously outspoken and suffering no fools, she alienates many in her close-knit community. But Penny is perfectly fine with that.

She is harboring a painful memory,...

The BBC is bringing AMC Networks’ Interview with the Vampire TV series to the UK.

The public network has acquired the seven-part show from Amcn and will launch it on BBC Two and the BBC iPlayer.

The show stars Jacob Anderson (Game of Thrones, Doctor Who, Broadchurch), Sam Reid (The Newsreader, Prime Suspect 1973, Lambs of God), Bailey Bass (Avatar: Way of Water), Eric Bogosian (Succession, Billions, Uncut Gems) and Assad Zaman (Hotel Portofino).

It follows Louis de Pointe du Lac (Anderson), Lestat de Lioncourt (Reid) and Claudia (Bass) and their epic story of love, blood and the perils of immortality, as told to journalist Daniel Molloy (Bogosian). Chafing at the limitations of life as a Black man in 1900s New Orleans, Louis finds it impossible to resist the rakish Lestat’s offer of the ultimate escape: joining him as his vampire companion. But Louis’ intoxicating new powers come with a violent price,...

BBC Scoops ‘The Newsreader’ Season 2

Australian breakout drama The Newsreader is returning to the BBC in the UK after striking a deal with distributor eOne. The series, starring Anna Torv and Sam Reid follows a lives of pair of news presenters in the late 1980s, who are established as the ‘Golden Couple of News’ following season one, and crew of their News at Six program. However, with a new CEO taking charge of the show, Australia preparing to celebrate its bicentennial year and both anchors figuring out what they want from life, the truth about their success is more complex than it appears. The Michael Lucas-created show is for the ABC in Australia, and its second run will launch on BBC2 and BBC iPlayer in the UK in fall. Werner Film Productions makes the show in association with eOne.

Germany’s Amusement Park, producers of the four-time Oscar winner All Quiet on the Western Front and Emmy-award winners The Ink Factory (The Night Manager, The Little Drummer Girl) are joining forces to adapt Nino Haratischvili’s international best-seller The Eighth Life as a television series.

The Eighth Life follows the epic and mythic saga of a Georgian family from 1900 to the beginning of the 21st century, following the rise and fall of the Soviet Union and the journey of generations from ancient, mountainous cave cities through the turbulent streets of Tbilisi and revolutionary Prague to 1960s Soho and modern-day Berlin.

Sarah Lambert, who adapted Marele Day’s Lambs of God as an Australian limited series in 2019 for Lingo Pictures and Foxtel, and whose adaptation The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart, based on the book by Holly Ringland and starring Sigourney Weaver and Asher Keddie, is set to hit screens courtesy of Amazon Studios,...

This article contains spoilers for The Testaments novelLike its predecessor, The Handmaid's Tale, The Testaments sees many talented stars join the cast to help bring Margaret Atwood's complex characters to life. Based on the 2019 novel of the same name, The Testaments is set 15 years after The Handmaid's Tale and follows the lives of three women: Aunt Lydia, Agnes Jemima, and Daisy, who all band together to help the resistance bring Gilead down from the inside. Although Aunt Lydia is considered to be one of the biggest villains in The Handmaid's Tale series, her true allegiances are shown as The Testaments novel revealed that she had secretly been a spy for Mayday all along.

Helmed by The Handmaid's Tale showrunner, Bruce Miller, and set to be released on Hulu, the writers involved in The Testaments will likely add their own artistic liberties to the show given that The Handmaid's Tale...

Exclusive: Daniel Zolghadri (Y2K), Shane Paul McGhie (Poker Face), Jessica Barden (The End of the F***ing World) and Michael Imperioli (The White Lotus) are attached to star in Last Days of Basic Cable, a new film from renowned, rising director Max Winkler (Flower).

Written by Adam Wilson and Justin Taylor, the indie set toward the end of the 1990s watches as four twenty-somethings navigate romance and life in a small New England college town. Zolghadri will play aspiring writer Aaron, with McGhie as his roommate Jason, Barden as Jason’s girlfriend Jessica, and Imperioli as Bob, a drugged out taxi driver who befriends Aaron.

Ron Yerxa and Albert Berger will produce the film via their Bona Fide Productions banner. No word yet on when production might kick off.

Best known for his starring role in the A24 coming-of-age film Funny Pages, produced by Josh and Benny Safdie,...

The BBC has debuted the trailer for the Catherine Tate-led comedy series ‘Queen of Oz.’

Princess Georgiana (Georgie) is the spare to the British throne but her party-girl lifestyle and constant public scandals threaten the monarchy’s future.

To get her as far away from London as possible, and at the same time, hoping to prevent Australia from leaving the Commonwealth, Georgie’s parents send her off to Australia to become their Queen, along with her new staff – Director of Communications Zoe, Private Secretary Bernard, Head of Security Officer Marc, Personal Assistant Matthew, Lady In Waiting Anabel, Master of the Household Weiwei.

A welcome reception is Georgie’s first public appearance in Australia – where an offensive faux pas from the jetlagged new Queen makes the night go from bad to worse.

Tate stars in the leading role as well as executive produce the series, alongside producer Michele Bennett (Mr...

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...

The upcoming Hulu Original Series “The Clearing,” based on the best-selling crime thriller In The Clearing by author J.P. Pomare, unveiled a first look teaser today that introduces its cast and nightmarish psychological thrills.

“The Clearing” is created and written by Elise McCredie and Matt Cameron, with co-writer Osamah Sami, and draws inspiration from real-life cults in Australia and around the world. Look for this series to arrive next month, on May 24, 2023.

The eight-episode series is “an emotional and psychological thriller that follows the nightmares of a cult and a woman who’s forced to face the demons from her past in order to stop the kidnapping and coercion of innocent children in the future.”

Teresa Palmer (“Discovery of Witches,” Lights Out), Miranda Otto (Talk to Me, Annabelle: Creation), and Guy Pearce (Prometheus, Ravenous) lead the Australian cast that also includes Hazem Shammas (“Safe Harbour”), Mark Coles-Smith (“Mystery Road”), Kate Mulvany...

Richard Roxburgh and Rebecca Gibney star in Prosper, a Lionsgate-Stan series about a family with huge wealth that builds a powerful mega-church. Production has now started in Sydney, Australia.

First announced in September last year, “Prosper” follows the founding family of an Australian church as it is poised to break into the U.S. and harvest yet more wealth and power. But, while preaching a message of faith, love and acceptance to their followers, behind closed doors the Quinn the family is protecting shameful secrets.

Roxburgh portrays Cal Quinn, founder and global pastor at U Star. Gibney plays as Abi Quinn, his wife and worship leader. In his breakthrough role, Alexander D’Souza plays Moses, the adopted son of Cal and Abi.

Prosper is produced by Lingo Pictures, part of ITV Studios, with major production investment from Screen Australia with the assistance of the New South Wales government via Screen Nsw...

Exclusive: Richard Roxburgh and Rebecca Gibney will front Stan and Lionsgate’s Australian drama series Prosper.

The pair will lead the cast of the Lingo Pictures show, which is billed as an epic family drama that takes a “provocative peek behind the curtain of power and privilege.”

Production is underway in New South Wales, Australia, with a pic of the first episode’s scripted revealing it will be called ‘Man of God’ (see below).

Roxburgh will play Cal Quinn, the founder and global pastor of fictional Sydney megachurch U Star, and Gibney is Abi Quinn, his wife and worship leader. Their powerful megachurch is one of Australia’s fastest growing and on the precipice of a lucrative American expansion. While the family preaches messages of faith, love and acceptance to thousands of followers, behind closed doors, the they protect shameful secrets.

What is your boss really capable of? Every employee has asked that question (be it jokingly or with serious intent) at some point, but two interns are about to experience the worst in “The Portable Door.” The adaptation of Tom Holt’s seven-book fantasy series focuses on Paul and Sophie — interns who soon come to realize prominent figures at their firm are disrupting magic. The project hails from “Lambs of God” and “Ali’s Wedding” director Jeffrey Walker with a script by Leon Ford, and there’s definitely a “Harry Potter”-esque vibe to it.

Continue reading ‘The Portable Door’ Trailer: Christoph Waltz & Sam Neill Are Evil CEOs Disrupting The World Of Magic Through Corporate Strategies at The Playlist.

ITV Studios has acquired a majority stake in Australian producer Lingo Pictures — marking its first acquisition in the country.

ITV’s production and sales arm paid an undisclosed amount for the Sydney-based company, which is best known for Upright, the Sky and Foxtel Australia drama starring Tim Minchin and House of the Dragons‘ Milly Alcock. Deadline understands the deal value is in the eight-figure US dollars region.

The deal highlights the growing value international production groups are seeing in Australia, whose favorable tax breaks system is increasingly attractive, and Australian dramas, with Paramount+’s Last King of the Cross one of the most sought-after titles available at Mipcom last month.

Lingo owners Helen Bowden and Jason Stephens will continue to head up Lingo, which will now sit in ITV Studios’ international production arm, which Lisa Perrin leads as Managing Director.

Other international drama labels in the group include Ben Stephenson...

The final episode of Guillermo del Toro’s Cabinet of Curiosities, “The Murmuring,” includes a small group of actors brilliantly working together to deliver the ghost story – here’s the cast, who they play, and where you’ve seen them before. Based on a short story by creator Guillermo del Toro, Cabinet of Curiosities episode 8 follows dunlin researchers Nancy and Edgar Bradley. Cabinet of Curiosities episode 8 was the last to be released on October 28 and is directed by The Nightingale’s Jennifer Kent.

“The Murmuring” follows dunlin researchers and couple Nancy and Edgar Bradley on their field trip to capture on video and audio the dunlin murmuration visible on a remote island. Their trip there is made more comfortable by the old house they’re given to sleep in - however, noises and eerie happenings make their stay frightening. Here’s Netflix’s Cabinet of Curiosities episode 8 cast, the characters they play,...

AMC is infusing new blood into old wounds. Its Interview with the Vampire series stays loyal to Anne Rice’s novels in spirit, but the flesh is weak. Some characters have aged, others are shifted in time. The origin story begins in 1910 New Orleans, and the demographic of the city, a century later than the book, is more accurately portrayed, even if some of the more delicate points are rounded up.

The 1973 San Francisco interview, which was the basis for the 1976 book, was conducted 50 years prior to the events of the series. Everyone has moved on, but the titular vampire calls Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian), the formerly young journalist who conducted the half-century-old interviews, to Dubai for some refinements he’s sure will present a much more nuanced story.

Debuting after the final season premiere of The Walking Dead, Interview with the Vampire ushered in an Anne Rice multiverse for AMC,...

Australian streaming service Stan and production and content studio Lionsgate have commissioned a new original drama series “Prosper.”

“Prosper” will be produced by Lingo Pictures and benefits from major production investment from Screen Australia, with additional assistance from the New South Wales government via Screen Nsw and the Made in Nsw Fund.

The series is part of the ongoing television development partnership for Stan Originals to deliver worldwide content for Lionsgate.

It will be set in the inner sanctum of a family bound together by unfathomable wealth and unchecked power as they build an evangelical megachurch hell-bent on global domination, Stan said.

Matt Cameron (“Jack Irish”), Liz Doran (“Please Like Me”), Louise Fox (“Broadchurch”) and Belinda Chayko (“Stateless”) are writers on the project. Jason Stephens (“Lambs of God”) and Helen Bowden (“The Secret She Keeps”) are producers for Lingo Pictures, alongside Andrew Walker (“Rosehaven”). Cailah Scobie and Amanda Duthie will executive produce for Stan.

Aussie actor Sam Reid has been tapped to follow in Tom Cruise’s footsteps, playing the vampire Lestat de Lioncourt in AMC‘s series adaptation of Anne Rice’s Interview With the Vampire.

Reid’s previous TV roles include the Aussie dramas The Hunting and Lambs of God, plus the ITV detective series Prime Suspect 1973. Our sister site Variety first reported on his Vampire casting.

More from TVLineWalking Dead's Jeffrey Dean Morgan Sums Up Negan and Maggie's Face-Off in Final Season: He'll 'Have to Kill Her'Walking Dead's Melissa McBride and Norman Reedus Tease a Seismic Shift in Final Season: 'We're Like,...

Sam Reid will play the vampire Lestat in AMC’s “Interview With the Vampire,” which is based on Ann Rice’s popular novels.

Last year, AMC acquired the rights to Rice’s bestselling “Vampire Chronicles” and “Lives of the Mayfair Witches” book series, giving the network access to develop film and television projects from any of the 18 titles under both best-selling series.

The series will be available on both AMC and AMC+.

The author and her son Christopher Rice will serve as executive producers on all series and films under their deal with AMC, which gives the network and its external partners comprehensive rights to develop projects using Rice’s intellectual property.

The Rices have been trying to develop a series based on “The Vampire Chronicles” for years. In July 2018 there was a project set up at Hulu that did not move forward.

Rolin Jones will serve as creator, showrunner and executive producer of “Interview.

Sam Reid has been cast in the lead role of Lestat in AMC’s “Interview With the Vampire” series, Variety has learned.

The show, which was officially greenlit in June, is based on the Anne Rice novel of the same name. The book centers on the vampire Louis de Pointe du Lac as he relates the story of his life to a reporter, in particular how he was turned into a vampire and then mentored by Lestat de Lioncourt.

The casting could represent a long-term investment in Reid on AMC’s part. As the company has the rights to all of Rice’s “The Vampire Chronicles” books and Lestat appears in multiple entries, Reid could find himself portraying the character across multiple series. At this time, however, “Interview With the Vampire” is only “Vampire Chronicles” series that has been greenlit by AMC.

He will be the third actor to portray Lestat onscreen,...

Australian actor Sam Reid has been tapped to star as Lestat in Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire series for AMC and AMC+. The series, based on Rice’s book, is slated to begin production on its eight-episode first season later this year for premiere on AMC and its sister streamer AMC+ in 2022.

The book famously was turned into a 1994 movie starring Tom Cruise, who played Lestat, and Brad Pitt as Louis.

Rolin Jones, who co-created and served as showrunner for the first season of HBO’s Perry Mason, is the creator, writer and showrunner of Interview with the Vampire. Jones, who has an overall deal with AMC Studios, will executive produce alongside Mark Johnson, Anne Rice and Christopher Rice.

2020-21 AMC Pilots & Series Orders

AMC ordered the series in June after acquiring the rights to 18 of Rice’s books in 2020 to turn them into a TV franchise overseen by Johnson.

Sam Neill, Christoph Waltz and Patrick Gibson will head the cast of “The Portable Door,” a fantasy adventure film adapted from the series of novels by Patrick Holt.

The film is now shooting in Queensland, Australia, with Jeffrey Walker directing from a script by Leon Ford (“Griff the Invisible”).

The story sees two lowly, put-upon interns at a mysterious London firm, J.W. Wells & Co., become steadily aware that their employers are anything but conventional. The charismatic villains who run the company are disrupting the world of magic by bringing modern corporate strategy to ancient magical practices.

The film is a Jim Henson Company and Story Bridge Films production and is produced by Blanca Lista from Henson and Todd Fellman from Story Bridge.

Sales agent Arclight Films is handling worldwide rights for all territories outside of North America, Australia and New Zealand. Sky will release the film as a Sky Original in the U.

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...

Leading producers Tony Ayres and Belinda Chayko have assembled an extraordinary Australian cast for Fires, a drama series that presents personal tales from the front lines of the country’s recent catastrophic fire season.

The series, which is now shooting in Victoria state is produced by NBCUniversal -backed Tony Ayres Productions and Matchbox Pictures. Australian Broadcasting Corporation is on board as local broadcaster. International rights are handled by NBCUniversal Global Distribution.

The project is helmed by three leading film directors: Michael Rymer, Ana Kokkinos and Kim Mordaunt.

The ensemble cast includes: Eliza Scanlen, Sam Worthington, Richard Roxburgh, Sullivan Stapleton, Miranda Otto (“Homeland”), Hunter Page-Lochard, Anna Torv, Kate Box, Helana Sawires, Daniel Henshall and Noni Hazlehurst.

They are joined by newcomers Ameshol Ajang, Stacy Clausen and Nyawuda Chuol.

Fires” is structured as an anthology that weaves character studies inspired by true stories into a narrative about the Australian bushfires of 2019-...

In today’s Global Bulletin, Entertainment One picks up the rights to Australian drama “The Newsreader,” Banijay reorganizes in Iberia, “Downton Abbey” lands on BritBox, Sony Pictures Television hires Jo Porter and Warner Bros. International will distribute Hungry Bear Media’s new game show.

Series

Entertainment One (eOne) has acquired international distribution rights to “The Newsreader,” a new drama series coming to ABC TV in Australia, produced by Werner Film Productions.

Set in the 1980s, the series unspools in a high energy newsroom, turning on the relationship between a young TV reporter and the show’s star female anchor. The cast features several high-profile actors including Anna Torv (“Mindhunter”), Sam Reid (“Lambs of God”), Robert Taylor (“Longmire”), Stephen Peacocke (“Whiskey Tango Foxtrot”), Chai Hansen (“The New Legends of Monkey”) and Marg Downey (“Fast Forward”).

“The Newsreader” is backed by major investments from Screen Australia and the ABC and financed with support from Film Victoria.

BAFTA Execs To Speak At British Urban Film Festival

Exclusive: The British Urban Film Festival (Buff) has set BAFTA Chair Krishnendu Majumdar and BAFTA Film Committee Chair Marc Samuelson for a 90-minute ‘in conversation’ session at this year’s festival, which is taking place later than usual and online as a result of the coronavirus lockdown. The pre-recorded Q&a, titled The Changing Faces of BAFTA, will be moderated by Emmanuel Anyiam-Osigwe and streamed via the festival’s website next month. Viewers will be able to submit questions in advance of the Zoom session via the Buff Facebook page. Actor and producer Femi Oyeniran will once again helm the annual Buff awards ceremony. Winners last year included Noel Clarke, Terry Pheto and Aki Omoshaybi. The festival’s full program is due to be announced in coming weeks.

Sbs Begins “Most Ambitious Drama Yet”

Oz broadcaster Sbs has begun its “most...

Uli Latukefu.

Jeffrey Walker is the set-up director for Young Rock, the NBC-commissioned comedy which will star Uli Latukefu as the young adult Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson.

Filming of the 11-part series created and co-written by Fierce Baby Productions’ Nahnatchka Khan starts in Queensland later this month, the first of three NBCUniversal productions to shoot back-to-back in the state over the next 18 months.

The series chronicles the Jumanji: The Next Level star and former professional wrestler’s high school years in Honolulu before he and his family moved to Nashville, where he was arrested multiple times for fighting, theft and cheque fraud before the age of 17.

Adrian Groulx plays Johnson when he was an honest, headstrong and impressionable 10-year-old. Bradley Constant is the 15-year-old, when his size and full moustache convinced his classmates he was an undercover cop.

Aussie Latukefu will play him aged 18-20 when he was recruited...

Georgia Flood and Ezekiel Simat.

Georgia Flood and Ezekiel Simat are starring in The Dog Days of Christmas, a romantic comedy directed by Don’t Tell’s Tori Garrett, which is now shooting on the Gold Coast.

Produced by the Steve Jaggi Company and scripted by American Holly Hester, the US-set movie revolves around Flood’s Annie Blake, an aid worker who has just finished an international mission and heads home to North Haven, Vermont, to spend the holidays with her family.

When the local animal shelter closes, Annie steps in to save it with the help of Dylan (Simat), the local vet and old school nemesis.

Adhering to strict Covid Safe filming practices and guidelines set by the Queensland government, the production is shooting at Warner Bros. Movie World and the hinterland.

All crew members are wearing personal protective equipment and the nurse on set is taking daily temperature checks,...

The final season of Sbs’s The Family Law, the first series of ABC’s The Heights and the Sbs miniseries The Hunting have won the 10th annual Equity Ensemble Awards.

The actors who starred in these programs were voted the most outstanding Australian small screen ensembles in their respective categories by the Meaa Equity National Performers’ Committee (Npc).

Equity president Chloe Dallimore, who was among the 33 Npc members who selected this year’s finalists and winners, said: “I can’t think of a better way to spend lockdown than re-watching the incredible small screen performances of the last 12 months. What phenomenal talent we have in this country, both in front and behind the camera.

“It emphasised what’s at stake if we don’t continue to vigorously defend our local content quotas, and why we must continue to remind our government how the arts contribute to our Australian cultural identity.

Imogen Banks (Photo credit: Daniel Asher Smith).

When Endemol Shine Australia’s Mark Fennessy and Imogen Banks started developing a drama inspired by the Royal Flying Doctors Service two years ago, neither could have imagined how much more topical and relevant the subject would become.

Based on the true-life heroics of the service’s doctors, nurses, pilots and support staff, the eight-part Seven Network drama Rfds (working title) started shooting in Broken Hill today with Jennifer Leacey as the set-up director. Leacey is directing four episodes and Jeremy Sims and Adrian Russell Wills are each helming two.

“The series feels very timely with what is going on in the world at the moment,” Banks, who is producing with Sara Richardson, tells If.

Banks, who co-created the series with Fennessy, based on his original idea, and Ian Meadows, continues: “We’re very lucky to be telling a story about people who...

Sophie Hyde, pictured here on the set of ‘Animals’, has been nominated for two Adg Awards.

First-time feature directors Thomas Wright (Acute Misfortune), John Sheedy (H is for Happiness), Ben Lawrence (Hearts and Bones) and Natalie Erika James (Relic) will vie for the Australian Directors’ Guild (Adg) Award for Best Direction in a Feature Film ($1 million or over) against Sophie Hyde (Animals) and Wayne Blair (Top End Wedding).

Up in the $1 million or under category are Josephine Mackerras for Alice, Imogen Thomas for Emu Runner, Lucy Colman for Hot Mess, Luke Sullivan for Reflections In The Dust and Samuel Van Grinsven for Sequin In A Blue Room.

The Adg announced nominees for its annual awards today, with winners to be announced in Sydney at a ceremony October 19. A record 202 entries were received this year, up from 117 in 2019.

“At these challenging times, it is more important than ever that we come...

The finalists for the Equity Ensemble Awards for Australian dramas, comedies and miniseries that aired in 2019 have been announced.

The awards honour outstanding performances by Australian small screen ensembles and recognise the truly collaborative process that leads to captivating viewing and powerful storytelling.

“Since 2011 these awards have been a celebration of local talent and local stories and a reminder of what’s at stake if we don’t vigorously defend Australian content on our screens,” according to Equity.

Drama: The Heights S1 (ABC TV), Diary of an Uber Driver S1 (ABC TV), Five Bedrooms S1 (Network 10), Bloom S1 (Stan).

Comedy: Get Krack!n S2 (ABC TV), The Letdown S2 (ABC TV), The Family Law S3 (Sbs).

Miniseries: Miss Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries (Network Seven), The Hunting (Sbs), Lambs of God (Foxtel).

The winners will be selected by the Meaa’s National Performers’ Committee and honoured at an awards ceremony later this year.

For Charmaine Bingwa, the last eight minutes and 46 seconds of George Floyd’s life under the knee of a white cop is a powerful reminder to people everywhere to check their biases and consider the implications of what they are saying or silently condoning.

As an Indigenous woman, Larissa Behrendt felt a personal connection to police brutality in the Us, drawing a parallel with the death of David Dungay and more than 430 other Aboriginal deaths in custody since the 1991 Royal Commission.

Gemma Bird Matheson suggests five ways in which a white person can deal with guilt, including telling white friends how he or she is contributing to anti-blackness and white supremacy; learning about Australia’s black history; and donating to families of First Nations who have suffered at the hands of Australian police.

Striking a similar tone, Eka Darville declares: “White Australia now it’s your turn – it starts with you.

Jeffrey Walker and Guy Pearce on the set of ‘Jack Irish.’

Jeffrey Walker will chat with actors and creatives he’s worked with in Australians in Film’s Blurring the Lines, a shortform interview series that will air live on Zoom and on AiF’s Facebook page.

In the first episode on Wednesday May 20 at 9am (Aest), produced by Brooke Harman, the Lambs of God director will talk to Ty Burrell, whom he directed in Modern Family for seven years.

Among the upcoming guests will be Guy Pearce (Jack Irish) Damon Herriman (Riot), Ann Dowd (Lambs of God) and Bones creator Hart Hanson.

Burrell played Phil Dunphy in Modern Family, which ran for 11 seasons on the Us ABC network. He is also a series regular opposite Amy Poehler in Fox’s animated family comedy Duncanville, which premiered in February.

During the coronavirus pandemic the actor created the program Tip Your...

David Taylor and and David Maher.

Playmaker Media co-founders David Taylor and David Maher reflect on the suspension of the local content quotas, the impact of the overseas talent drain and the key to longevity as the Sony-owned production company marks its 10th anniversary.

Q: Congrats on the 10-year milestone. There have been a lot of peaks and a few troughs?

A: Mostly peaks, thankfully, and valuable lessons learned from the occasional trough. It’s been a wild and varied wide, producing just under 200 hours of scripted drama. Some seismic shifts in the scripted content game along the way have enabled bigger budgets and bolder ideas.

Q: The Scribe Showrunner program which you launched in 2011 with Screen Australia’s support was a game-changing initiative that has been widely emulated. What inspired that idea?

A: Scribe came out of simply wanting to work with the best Australian writers who had the attributes,...

Helen Bowden.

Lingo Pictures MD Helen Bowden today called on the Federal Government to adopt the model set out in the Screen Australia/Acma options paper which would require all commercial networks, pay channels and Svod services to invest a percentage of their revenues in new Australian content.

Option 3 would also mean more funding for children’s programming for the ABC and Sbs to offset the likely reduction in kids’ content on commercial networks, and harmonising the Producer, Location and Pdv offsets at a single rate across all platforms.

But Bowden added the caveat that networks should not be told to fund a specific number of hours, arguing: “They can choose to do what works for them; they know their businesses.”

In a web session with Screen Producers Australia CEO Matt Deaner, Bowden suggested that model could also apply to the broadcasters’ catch-up platforms as linear viewing continues to decline.

‘Lambs of God’.

First Look Media’s streaming service Topic has acquired the North American rights to Lingo Pictures’ Lambs of God, setting a release date of May 7.

The four-part series, which won nine Aacta Awards, sees Essie Davis, Jessica Barden and Ann Dowd star as three Catholic nuns, the last sisters of the Order of St. Agnes, who live alone and forgotten in a rundown monastery on a remote island. When a young and ambitious priest (Sam Reid) appears, determined to sell the estate, the three women are caught up in a conflict between passion and their beliefs.

John Bell, Damon Herriman and Daniel Henshall also star in the gothic drama, based on Marele Day’s novel and produced by Jason Stephens and Elisa Argenzio, produced/written by Sarah Lambert and directed by Jeffrey Walker.

“Lambs of God is a great example of the type of programming that we...

Exclusive: Topic, First Look Media’s streaming service, has picked up North American rights to Australian drama Lambs of God starring The End of the F**king World’s Jessica Barden, The Babadook’s Essie Davis and The Handmaid’s Tale’s Ann Dowd.

The digital service will launch the four-part series on May 7. It comes after the series won a total of nine Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards in 2019 and was picked up by UK streamer BritBox for its launch slate.

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The show, originally commissioned by Australia’s Foxtel and produced by Lingo Pictures, was written by Sarah Lambert and directed by Jeffrey Walker.

‘Buffalo.’

Porchlight Films’ Buffalo, an espionage thriller set during the British nuclear tests in outback South Australia in the 1950s, will have its world premiere at Series Mania in France next month.

Commissioned by the ABC, the six-part series from writer-director Peter Duncan stars Ewen Leslie, Jessica de Gouw and James Cromwell.

Buffalo (formerly Fallout) and See-Saw Films’ The End, the assisted dying family drama created by Samantha Strauss for Foxtel and the UK’s Sky, will both screen in the International Panorma section.

In addition, Lingo Pictures’ Upright will play in the Midnight Comedies sidebar and Playmaker Media’s The Commons will screen in the International Showcase.

Blackfella Films’ Total Control will have its European premiere in special screenings, attended by Rachel Griffiths (who is serving on the international jury) and Darren Dale. Lingo Pictures’ Helen Bowden will sit on the international short films jury.

Set in 1956 at the...

Christoph Waltz and Guy Pearce are to star in the fantasy adventure comedy The Portable Door, adapted from Tom Holt's six-book fantasy series, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

The Jim Henson Company and Story Bridge Films, behind Daybreakers and Bait, are producing, with ArcLight Films representing the project at the European Film Market in Berlin for all territories outside of Australia and New Zealand.

Patrick Gibson (The Oa, Tolkien) stars in the film, which Jeffrey Walker (Ali’s Wedding, Lambs of God) will direct from a screenplay adapted by Leon Ford (Griff the Invisible). The Portable Door will be produced by Lisa Henson and Blanca ...

Christoph Waltz and Guy Pearce are to star in the fantasy adventure comedy The Portable Door, adapted from Tom Holt's six-book fantasy series, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.

The Jim Henson Company and Story Bridge Films, behind Daybreakers and Bait, are producing, with ArcLight Films representing the project at the European Film Market in Berlin for all territories outside of Australia and New Zealand.

Patrick Gibson (The Oa, Tolkien) stars in the film, which Jeffrey Walker (Ali’s Wedding, Lambs of God) will direct from a screenplay adapted by Leon Ford (Griff the Invisible). The Portable Door will be produced by Lisa Henson and Blanca ...

Daniel Henshall (Photo credit: Alex Vaughan).

Daniel Henshall and Ian Meadows have joined the cast of Clickbait, the Netflix-commissioned eight-part thriller shooting in Melbourne.

Co-created by Tony Ayres and Christian White, the Us-set series explores the ways in which dangerous and uncontrolled impulses are fueled in the age of social media and the ever widening fractures between virtual and real-life personas.

As If reported, Zoe Kazan stars as Pia Brewer, a young woman who is desperate for answers in the search for her missing brother in a case that has become a media sensation.

Betty Gabriel and Adrian Grenier play Sophie and Nick Brewer, a couple in Oakland who get caught up in a bizarre crime, with Phoenix Raie as Roshan Amir, an Oakland detective who investigates the case.

Henshall portrays Simon Oxley, a traumatized social media moderator who is looking for a way to gain some control over the situation.

Mark Warner receives his award from Karen Eastmure.

The editors of Ladies in Black, Bloom and The Final Quarter were among the honorees of the Australian Screen Editors’ annual Ellie Awards presented on Saturday night at the Eternity Playhouse in Darlinghurst.

Mark Warner’s work on Ladies in Black won best editing in a feature drama, James Manché’s episode 5 of Bloom was recognised as best editing in a drama and Sally Fryer’s The Final Quarter took the feature documentary editing prize.

That followed Fryer’s win at the Aacta Awards while the Adam Goodes doco directed by Ian Darling was named best documentary program at the Asian Academy Creative Awards in Singapore last Friday night.

The other recipients included Sara Edwards’ Gatwick – The Last Chance Hotel (documentary), Julie-Anne De Ruvo’s The Letdown (comedy), Nicholas Dunlop and Lawrie Silvestrin’s Don’t Stop the Music (factual entertainment) and...

Confrontational revenge drama “The Nightingale” was the big winner in the feature film category of the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards. “Lambs of God” was dominant in the TV section.

“The Nightingale” was named as best film. Jennifer Kent additionally won the best director and best screenplay awards. Giving her a night to remember, Kent was also named as one of the producers of “The Nightingale.” Aisling Franciosi was named best actress, giving the film six prizes.

The win meant snubs for “Hotel Mumbai and “Ride Like a Girl,” two of the highest grossing Australian films of the past year. “Mumbai” came away with a single Aacta prize, “Ride Like a Girl” none. Other defeated titles in the best film category were “Judy & Punch,” “Top End Wedding,” and “The King.” David Michod’s “The King” won Aacta awards for cinematography, costume design and production design.

Damon Herriman continued his winning streak,...

‘The Nightingale’.

Last night’s Aacta Awards saw a trifecta for Jennifer Kent, who took home Best Film, Best Direction and Best Screenplay for The Nightingale, with star Aisling Franciosi also winning Best Lead Actress.

Set in 1825, The Nightingale follows a young, female Irish convict (Franciosi) who chases a British officer through the Tasmanian wilderness bent on revenge after he committed an act of violence against her family, and who along the way enlists the help of an Aboriginal tracker. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2018, with Kent the only female director in competition. It won the Special Jury Prize and Baykali Ganambarr the Marcello Mastroiaani Award for his debut performance.

Produced by Causeway Films’ Kristina Ceyton, Made Up Stories’ Bruna Papandrea and Steve Hutensky, and Kent, the period tale beat out The King, Judy & Punch, Hearts and Bones, Ride Like A Girl and Top End Wedding for the Best Film prize.

Guardian Australia’s film critic tries to avoid red carpets at all costs. We made him sit through this one

Lambs of God and The Nightingale were among the big winners at this year’s Aacta awards – the Australian screen industry’s celebration of film and television.

The former – a brooding four-part Foxtel drama about creepy nuns living on a far-flung island – scored a total of eight awards in the TV categories, including best miniseries, best direction (for Jeffrey Walker) and best cinematography (for the veteran sharp eye Donald McAlpine).

Jennifer Kent’s thriller The Nightingale has taken home a trio of prizes at the 2019 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards in Sydney.

Kent’s period piece won Best Direction, Best Screenplay and Best Film, making Kent, who also produced, the first woman to receive awards across all three categories for the same film in the same year. The film’s female lead, Aisling Franciosi, received the Best Lead Actress prize.

The Nightingale follows a young Irish convict who chases a British officer through the rugged Tasmanian wilderness, bent on revenge for a terrible act of violence he committed against her family.

Bong Joon Ho’s lauded Cannes winner Parasite scored the Aacta Award for Best Asian Film. The award was presented to the South Korean film’s producer Kwak Sin-ae by Simu Liu, star of Marvel Comics’ upcoming film Shang-Chi and the Legend Of The Ten Rings,...

‘Lambs of God’.

Lingo Pictures’ Lambs of God was the big winner at yesterday’s Aacta Industry Luncheon, taking home seven of a potential nine awards, while Rodd Rathjen’s debut feature Buoyancy was named Best Indie Film.

Sweeping the afternoon, Lambs of God’s various accolades included Best Direction in a Television Drama or Comedy for Jeffery Walker; Best Cinematography in Television for Don McAlpine; Best Original Score in Television for Bryony Marks (one of two awards for the composer during the event); Best Production Design in Television for Chris Kennedy; Best Costume Design in Television for Xanthe Heubel; Best Sound Sound in Television for Nick Emond, Stephen Smith, Paul Devescovi and Mia Stewart; and Best Hair and Makeup for Zeljka Stanin, Paul Pattison, Cheryl Williams and Anita Howell-Lowe.

The Foxtel mini-series was beaten only out for Best Screenplay in Television, which went to Niki Aken and Matthew Cormack for The Hunting,...

‘Hearts and Bones’.

The casting directors behind Hearts and Bones, Judy and Punch, The Nightingale and Unsound will duke it out for the feature film prize at the upcoming Casting Guild of Australia Awards.

To be held November 29 in Melbourne, the awards will be hosted by actors Zahra Newman (Wentworth) and Mark Coles Smith (Picnic at Hanging Rock), with special guest Aacta Award-winning producer Todd Abbott from Guesswork.

In TV drama, the casting directors behind Diary of an Uber Driver, The Heights (series 1), Total Control and Wentworth (Season 7) have each been recognised with nods, while in the TV Miniseries & Telemovie category it will be a battle between those who worked on Lambs of God, On the Ropes, Secret Bridesmaids Business and The Hunting.

Casting Guild of Australia president Kirsty McGregor leads with seven nominations, three of which are shared with Gemma Brown and one with Stevie Ray (Diary of an Uber Driver...