News

Exclusive: The Mentalist actor Simon Baker, Bruna Papandrea’s Made Up Stories and Australian agent-producer Lee-Anne Higgins are taking to adapt Emily Perkins’ novel ‘Lioness.’

The trio have optioned the hot book, which comes from bestselling Aotearoa New Zealand author Perkins and won the recent Jann Medlicott Acorn Prize for Fiction at the 2024 Ockham New Zealand Book Awards.

Baker, who took his first full TV series starring role since The Mentalist in Netflix’s Boy Swallows Universe earlier this year, will direct all episodes. Papandrea, Steve Hutensky and Katie Amos will produce for Made Up Stories, along with Higgins, Baker and Perkins.

Lioness follows Therese Thorne, a woman who has married a wealthy older man and built a successful career, but now finds a fraud investigation threatening her sense of loyalty as well as her reputation. She faces a midlife reckoning about love and complicity, while being drawn to her neighbour,...

Streaming

Amazon Freevee has released the first images of Mischa Barton in the revival of long-running Australian soap “Neighbours,” production on which started April 17 in Melbourne. The images also feature cast members Jackie Woodburne and Alan Fletcher.

Alan Fletcher, Mischa Barton, Jackie Woodburne

The new series will premiere exclusively for free on Amazon Freevee in the U.K. and U.S. this fall and will include streaming rights to thousands of episodes from the previous seasons, which will be available prior to the new series’ premiere. The series will also stream on SVOD counterpart Prime Video in Australia, New Zealand and Canada. Australia’s Network 10, the home of “Neighbours” for 36 years, will retain first-run rights in the country.

The new season is a continuation of the long-running daily drama series about the lives, loves and challenges of the residents on Ramsay Street in Erinsborough, Australia, a fictional suburb of Melbourne.

‘The Cheaters’.

Critic David Stratton has curated a program of 10 “essential films” directed by Australian female filmmakers for the Sydney Film Festival and the National Film and Sound Archive (Nfsa).

Among them is 1930s silent melodrama The Cheaters, from Paulette McDonagh, digitally restored by the Nfsa, and which will screen with a score performed live by Jan Preston. There’s also Shirley Barrett’s Love Serenade, which won the Camera d’Or in 1996; Nadia Tass’ comedy Malcolm; Tracey Moffett’s Bedevil; Gillian Armstrong’s High Tide, Jackie McKimmie’s Waiting, and Jane Campion’s Sweetie.

Films from more recent years include Jennifer Kent’s The Babadook; Blessed from Ana Kokkinos, and Rachel Ward’s Beautiful Kate.

The films will screen as a retrospective program at the Art Gallery of New South Wales from June 5-10, as part of Sydney Film Festival which runs June 5-16. The retrospective will also screen...

Shirley Barrett's Love Serenade (1996) is showing May 14 - June 13, 2018 in many countries around the world.Australian writer-director Shirley Barrett’s latest venture, a screenplay-turned-novel titled Rush Oh!, is about the fascinating and true story of an inter-species bond that grew in the early 1900s between a whaling community in the coastal town of Eden and a pod of killer whales. Every year, the whales returned to help the whalers trap their prey and share in the common loot. In an interview, Barrett describes how she came upon the story one particular rainy day during a beach trip to Eden. She had sought shelter at the local whale museum and had been struck by the sight of a very impressive killer whale skeleton on display just as she had walked in. The museum, she had realized, had been built to showcase what remained of this formidable creature, a killer whale named ‘Old Tom,...

Luke Bracey and Mel Gibson on the Bringelly set of 'Hacksaw Ridge'. (Photo credit: Mark Rogers)

This year's Oscars ceremony went off alright, but not without a hitch (or two).

During the In Memoriam section, a photo of Australian producer Jan Chapman (Love Serenade, Lantana, The Babadook) was shown next to the name of late costume designer Janet Patterson, with whom Chapman worked on several Jane Campion films including The Piano, Bright Star and Holy Smoke..

Patterson died in October last year. Her final film was Thomas Vinterberg's adaptation of Far From the Madding Crowd, starring Carey Mulligan and Matthias Schoenaerts..

.I was devastated by the use of my image in place of my great friend and long-time collaborator Janet Patterson," the still-very-much-breathing Chapman told Variety..

"I had urged her agency to check any photograph which might be used and understand that they were told that the Academy had it covered.

Tania Lambert shoots a Toyota Tvc.

If speaks to cinematographers Anna Howard, Tania Lambert, Katie Milwright, Mandy Walker, Bonnie Elliott, Emma Paine, Velinda Wardell, Sky Davies and Ashley Barron about rising up the ranks, the gender gap and the DPs that inspire them.

No woman has ever won the Oscar for best cinematography. In fact, no woman has ever been nominated. In Australia, Abs statistics to 2011 put the percentage of female directors of photography at around 6 percent. Were you aware of the gender divide at the beginning of your career?

Lambert: I was keenly aware of the gender imbalance in the camera department when I first started as a camera assistant. It didn.t bother me a huge deal, but I felt I had to work extra hard to be respected in that role. There were only a few female camera assistants I knew of and one female Dop, Anna Howard,...

Nathaniel, Nick, and Joe revisit the Cannes film festival of 1996 (you might wanna quickly check that lineup & those prizes before listening) and the Best Actress race that started there. We also recommend other 1996 goodies that you may or may not have seen... or thought of in years.

Index (43 minutes)

00:01 Intro, Juries, and Crash's audacity prize

03:00 Best Actress: McDormand (Fargo) vs Blethyn (Secrets & Lies) vs Watson (Breaking the Waves)

10:09 Goodbye South Goodbye, The Eighth Day, Pillow Book, and Microcosmos

17:50 Trainspotting, Flirting With Disaster, A Self Made Hero, Lone Star, and Love Serenade

30:07 David Cronenberg's Crash

37:45 We each recommend a few more 1996 titles from Bound to The Long Kiss Goodnight

You can listen to the podcast here at the bottom of the post or download from iTunes. Continue the conversation in the comments. Which 1996 picture have you still not seen? Who got your Best Actress vote that year?...

Harvey Weinstein has risked his money releasing more Australian films than any other Us distributor so it is fitting that he.ll receive two awards from Aussie organisations this month.

The maverick producer-distributor will receive the inaugural Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts International Fellowship on November 23 at the Canberra International Film Festival.

At the same event he.s being honoured with the festival.s first Body of Work award, recognising his achievements in helping to elevate independent filmmaking from art house to mainstream.

Harvey and his brother Bob founded Miramax Films in 1979 and rapidly became champions of Australian cinema, distributing films such as Jane Campion.s The Piano and Holy Smoke!, John Duigan.s Sirens, Peter Duncan.s Children of the Revolution, P.J. Hogan.s Muriel's Wedding, Mark Joffe.s Cosi, Baz Luhrmann.s Strictly Ballroom and Phil Noyce.s Rabbit-Proof Fence.

Victoria Treole set up the Miramax...

Harvey Weinstein has risked his money releasing more Australian films than any other Us distributor so it is fitting that he.ll receive two awards from Aussie organisations this month.

The maverick producer-distributor will receive the inaugural Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts International Fellowship on November 23 at the Canberra International Film Festival.

At the same event he.s being honoured with the festival.s first Body of Work award, recognising his achievements in helping to elevate independent filmmaking from art house to mainstream.

Harvey and his brother Bob founded Miramax Films in 1979 and rapidly became champions of Australian cinema, distributing films such as Jane Campion.s The Piano and Holy Smoke!, John Duigan.s Sirens, Peter Duncan.s Children of the Revolution, P.J. Hogan.s Muriel's Wedding, Mark Joffe.s Cosi, Baz Luhrmann.s Strictly Ballroom and Phil Noyce.s Rabbit-Proof Fence.

Victoria Treole set up the Miramax...

The Collective announced a digital and DVD release for Crawl on February 26th. Following the recently released clips and photos, we’ve been given a brand new clip to share with readers.

“Written and directed by Paul China, and produced by brother Ben China, Crawl has been invited to over 30 festivals thus far. The film has been compared to the works of the Coen Brothers (No Country for Old Men and Blood Simple), Hitchcock and Polanski. Crawl, the debut feature film of the two brothers, showcases the work of rising talented filmmakers, unafraid to leap beyond the normal and expected to give audiences a deep, emotional, and horrific escape. The film is about a murder-for-hire gone bad which lands an innocent waitress hostage in her own home and driven to desperate measures for survival. It will be release on DVD and Digitally on February 26th, 2013.

The film brings together a...

The Collective recently announced a digital and DVD release for Crawl on February 26th. We’ve already given readers a look at the first trailer, and now have two clips and a photo gallery for you to check out:

“Written and directed by Paul China, and produced by brother Ben China, Crawl has been invited to over 30 festivals thus far. The film has been compared to the works of the Coen Brothers (No Country for Old Men and Blood Simple), Hitchcock and Polanski. Crawl, the debut feature film of the two brothers, showcases the work of rising talented filmmakers, unafraid to leap beyond the normal and expected to give audiences a deep, emotional, and horrific escape. The film is about a murder-for-hire gone bad which lands an innocent waitress hostage in her own home and driven to desperate measures for survival. It will be release on DVD and Digitally on February 26th,...

It has been announced that The Collective will be releasing Crawl to DVD and digitally on February 26th. We have additional release details, a look at the cover art, and a new trailer:

“The Collective, a leading entertainment management and production company, and top horror website BloodyDisgusting.com, bring you the new Australian suspense thriller Crawl as part of their Bloody Disgusting Selects film series.

Written and directed by Paul China, and produced by brother Ben China, Crawl has been invited to over 30 festivals thus far. The film has been compared to the works of the Coen Brothers (No Country for Old Men and Blood Simple), Hitchcock and Polanski. Crawl, the debut feature film of the two brothers, showcases the work of rising talented filmmakers, unafraid to leap beyond the normal and expected to give audiences a deep, emotional, and horrific escape. The film is about a murder-for-hire gone bad...

By Seth Metoyer, MoreHorror.com

Horror festival favorite Crawl will be releasing on DVD from The Collective and Bloody Disgusting on February 26, 2013. The film will also be available On Demand and as a Digital Download/Rental.

Check out the trailer below the official details.

From The Press Release:

The Collective, a leading entertainment management and production company, and top horror website BloodyDisgusting.com, bring you the new Australian suspense thriller Crawl as part of their Bloody Disgusting Selects film series.

Written and directed by Paul China, and produced by brother Ben China, Crawl has been invited to over 30 festivals thus far. The film has been compared to the works of the Coen Brothers (No Country for Old Men and Blood Simple), Hitchcock and Polanski. Crawl, the debut feature film of the two brothers, showcases the work of rising talented filmmakers, unafraid to leap beyond the normal and expected to give audiences a deep,...

Crawl, a new Australian suspense thriller, is headed to DVD and Digital Download on February 26. You can check out the trailer for the suspense thriller after the break.

Written and directed by Paul China, and produced by brother Ben China, Crawl brings together a cast spearheaded by rising-star Georgina Haig ("Fringe"), George Shevtsov (Love Serenade, Dead Calm), Catherine Miller ("Terra Nova") and Lynda Stoner ("Prisoner"). Other notable crewmembers include cinematographer Brian Breheny (The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert, The Hard Word) who not only shot the picture, but also produced and John Scott, the acclaimed editor of Little Fish, Sexy Beast and The Quiet American.

Read more...

  Take two talented, young, British-born Gold Coast based filmmakers. Add a double-crossing darkly humorous plot worthy of the Coen Brothers. Sprinkle it with a touch of David Lynch and a generous heap of Hitchcock and you have the spine-tingling suspense thriller Crawl - the mightily impressive feature debut of twin brother movie-makers Paul and Ben China.    Crawl headlines Love Serenade actor George Shevtsov as a mysterious Croatian hired to commit murder by a seedy bar owner (Paul Bryant). Georgina Haig (Wasted on the Young) plays the unfortunate young waitress who becomes embroiled in the double-crossing plot when she is taken hostage at her isolated forest residence.

Take two talented, young, British-born Gold Coast based filmmakers. Add a double-crossing darkly humorous plot worthy of the Coen Brothers. Sprinkle it with a touch of David Lynch and a generous heap of Hitchcock and you have the spine-tingling suspense thriller Crawl - the mightily impressive feature debut of twin brother movie-makers Paul and Ben China.    Crawl headlines Love Serenade actor George Shevtsov as a mysterious Croatian hired to commit murder by a seedy bar owner (Paul Bryant).

The Darwin International Film Festival premiered last night with special guest Shirley Barrett’s South Solitary.

Barrett – who won the prestigious Camera D’Or for Best First Film at Cannes for Love Serenade - introduced the film and then held an audience question and answer session after the screening.

The festival, which runs until Sunday, will screen nine films in total including the Australian premiere of Hans-Christian Schmid’s Storm and Jacques Audiard’s Academy Award nominated The Prophet.

A full list of films being screened at the festival can be found here...

Directors Shirley Barrett and Yonfan (Hong Kong) have joined the jury for the Sydney Film Festival’s Official Competition.

They will judge the 12 films under the direction of jury president Jan Chapman, working with the director of the Sundance Film Festival, John Cooper, and a fifth jury member yet to be announced.

Barrett’s latest project, South Solitary, will premiere on June 2, opening the festival. It will be released by Icon on July 29.

The director’s 1996 Love Serenade will also screen, as part of the Deluxe/Kodak film preservation program (June 12).

Yonfan’s Prince of Tears - Hong Kong’s entry for the 2010 Academy Awards – will also premiere at the festival on June 9.

The wining film will be announced on closing night, June 14.

The 12 films are:

• Four Lions, Dir Christopher Morris

• Heartbeats, Dir-Scr Xavier Dolan

• How I Ended This Summer, Dir-Scr Alexej Popogrebski

• If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle,...

Julie Bertucelli’s The Tree and Ben C. Lucas’ Wasted on the Young will represent Australia in the Sydney Film Festival Official Competition.

They will compete against Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives, Heartbeats, How I Ended this Summer, If I Want to Whistle, I Whistle, The Killer Inside Me, Life During Wartime, Lola, Women Without Men, Four Lions and Moloch Tropical for the $60,000 cash prize.

The Jury president is producer Jan Chapman, joined by Sundance director John Cooper and three other jurors, which will be announced in the coming weeks.

This year’s edition of the Sff will open on June 2 with Shirley Barrett’s local film South Solitary, starring Miranda Otto and Barry Otto. The closing night selection is the American production The Kids Are Alright, directed by Lisa Cholodenko and starring Julianne Moore, Annette Bening, Mark Ruffalo and Australian actress Mia Wasikowska.

Other local films...