News

Hugo Weaving has been named as this year's CinefestOZ 2015 Screen Legend with today's launch of the festival's program.

Weaving will be recognised for his achievements as an Australian actor at the Festival.s Gala Night on 29 August at which Australia.s biggest film prize, the CinéfestOZ $100,000 Film Prize, is also awarded to an outstanding Australian film.

.Hugo Weaving is one of Australia's most celebrated actors and a passionate supporter of Australia film, television and theatre in and outside of his work. .

His credits include Stephan Elliott.s classic The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert; Jocelyn Moorhouse.s Proof and The Dressmaker opposite fellow Australian Judy Davis; Rowan Woods acclaimed drama, Little Fish alongside Cate Blanchett and Sam Neill; .Mystery Road directed by upcoming filmmaker Ivan Sen; Strangerland directed by first time director Kim Farrant opposite Nicole Kidman which screened at Sydney Film Festival and Sundance; Glendyn Ivin.s...

Three hundred twenty-three feature films are eligible for the 2014 Academy Awards, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced today.

To be eligible for 87th Academy Awards consideration, feature films must open in a commercial motion picture theater in Los Angeles County by midnight, December 31, and begin a minimum run of seven consecutive days.

Under Academy rules, a feature-length motion picture must have a running time of more than 40 minutes and must have been exhibited theatrically on 35mm or 70mm film, or in a qualifying digital format.

Feature films that receive their first public exhibition or distribution in any manner other than as a theatrical motion picture release are not eligible for Academy Awards in any category. The “Reminder List of Productions Eligible for the 87th Academy Awards” is available at http://www.oscars.org/oscars/rules-eligibility.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences also announced that 114 scores...

Original scores from The Boxtrolls, Divergent, Exodus: Gods And Kings and The Grand Budapest Hotel are among 114 scores eligible for nominations in the Original Score category for the 87th Oscars. The noms will be announced on January 15. The eligible scores along with their composers are listed below, in alphabetical order by film title:

“American Revolutionary: The Evolution of Grace Lee Boggs,” Vivek Maddala, composer

“Anita,” Lili Haydn, composer

“Annabelle,” Joseph Bishara, composer

“At Middleton,” Arturo Sandoval, composer

“Atlas Shrugged: Who Is John Galt?,” Elia Cmiral, composer

“Bears,” George Fenton, composer

“Belle,” Rachel Portman, composer

“Big Eyes,” Danny Elfman, composer

“Big Hero 6,” Henry Jackman, composer

“The Book of Life,” Gustavo Santaolalla and Tim Davies, composers

“The Boxtrolls,” Dario Marianelli, composer

“Brick Mansions,” Trevor Morris, composer

“Cake,” Christophe Beck, composer

“Calvary,” Patrick Cassidy, composer

“Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” Henry Jackman, composer

“The Case against 8,” Blake Neely, composer

“Cheatin’,” Nicole Renaud,...

It flirts with tweeness, but this film about a friendship between a murderer and a wedge-tailed eagle takes flight, thanks to the sublime performance of Hugo Weaving

For a film industry as small and as unpredictable as Australia's, where crops of quality titles come in waves and droughts can last for years, it's particularly dispiriting when terrific productions slip under the radar.

Writer/director Craig Monahan's riveting 1998 debut, The Interview, is a psychological crime drama in which a panicked suspect (Hugo Weaving) admits to murder then spectacularly reverses his confession, prompting interrogators and the audience to question whether he is a brilliant liar or just a halfwit. If any film could be considered Australia's version of The Usual Suspects, its this.

Continue reading...

It took scriptwriter Alison Nisselle and director/co-writer Craig Monahan 10 years to make Healing, a redemptive drama which opens in Australian cinemas on May 8.

Nisselle is hoping her next project, a feature on Julia Gillard, will happen rather more quickly.

But she tells If it will take at least two years to complete her research and finish the script on the former Prime Minister.s reign and ousting by Kevin Rudd.

It was announced last year that Rachel Griffiths will play Gillard in Stalking Julia, based partly on Kerry-Anne Walsh's book The Stalking of Julia Gillard. Wtfn.s Richard Keddie is the producer and Emma Freeman (Puberty Blues, Offspring and the Bob Hawke telemovie Hawke) is attached to direct.

Nisselle got the idea for Healing after reading a Philippa Hawker story in The Age about a rehabilitation program caring for wounded eagles, falcons and owls run by the Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary and Prisons Victoria.

Director Craig Monahan.s first film in 10 years is an intelligent and satisfying drama.

That.s according to the first reviews for Healing, which is screening at the European Film Market in Berlin.

Don Hany, Hugo Weaving, Xavier Samuel and Anthony Hayes star in the film scripted by Monahan (who last directed Peaches in 2004) and Alison Nisselle, inspired by a real-life alliance between the Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary and Prisons Victoria.

.A group of conflicted men, prisoners and inmates discover the majesty of great birds . and through them, the cleansing power of redemption . in the deeply felt outdoor drama Healing,. said Variety's Eddie Cockrell.

.The first film in a decade from director and co-writer Craig Monahan, whose 1998 psychological thriller The Interview remains an uncommonly smart genre piece, this equally intelligent and satisfying item will prove therapeutic to distribs on the hunt for quality fare..

Hany plays Viktor, a crim of Iranian...

Visit SydneysBuzz Reports for the complete Fall 2013 Rights Roundup Report.

With an entire new line-up of films Lighting Entertainment is present at Afm this week. The Santa Monica-based company dedicated to the worldwide distribution and licensing of independent content with a focus on quality theatrical films, has 10 new features in the market. Among them there are comedies, several thrillers, and heartfelt dramas.

Here is Lighting Entertainment's Afm line-up

We Gotta Get Out Of This Place

Director: Zeke Hawkins, Simon Hawkins

Cast: Jeremy Allen White, Logan Huffman, Mackenzie Davis

With his best pal Bobby and his girlfriend Sue getting ready to leave town for college, troublemaker B.J. steals money from his boss, Giff, so he can treat his friends to a wild weekend of partying. Unfortunately, the stolen money belonged to a dangerous gangster known as Big Red. The three teens are forced to rob a local money-laundering front to settle their debt and buy their freedom. They are driven into a world of organized crime to fight for their lives. Deception and insecurities among the three friends increase the tension leading to the heist, making it uncertain who will come out on top — or even alive.

Freezer

Director: Mikael Salomon

Cast: Dylan McDermott, Peter Facinelli, Yuliya Snigir

Robert (Dylan McDermott), an average guy with an average life, is tested beyond human endurance when he awakens to find himself locked in an industrial freezer by Russian thugs. The gangsters threaten his life unless he returns the $8 million dollars he stole from them. The only problem is, Robert has no idea what they are talking about. Searching his surroundings, he discovers Sam (Peter Facinelli) under a pile of boxes in the corner, beaten and battered.

As both men fight for their lives before freezing to death, the truth about their situation slowly reveals itself…

The Reckoning

Director: John V. Soto

Cast: Luke Hemsworth, Jonathan Lapaglia, Viva Bianca

A detective discovers a mysterious video while investigating the roadside execution-style murder of his partner. The footage, shot by two teenagers, reveals murky details behind the death of their sibling in an unsolved hit and run case. The teens have since gone missing, and as the detective retraces their journey to find them, he quickly uncovers a bloody trail of murder...that leads all the way back to him!

Healing

Director: Craig Monahan

Cast: Hugo Weaving, Don Hany, Xavier Samuel, Robert Taylor, Anthony Hayes, Jane Menelaus

After 16 years in prison, Viktor Khadem (Don Hany) is a man who has almost given up on life.

For his final 18 months, he is sentenced to Won Wron, a low-security, rural prison where Senior Officer Matt Perry (Hugo Weaving) has established a unique program to rehabilitate broken men by giving them the responsibility for the rehabilitation of injured raptors – beautiful, proud eagles, falcons and owls. Against all odds, Matt takes on Viktor as his number one test case, introducing him to Yasmine, the majestic Wedge-tailed Eagle with a 2 metre wingspan. If these two can tame each other, anything is possible. Healing is a powerful, moving story of redemption, the discovery of hope and the healing of the spirit – in the most unlikely place, for the most unique men, through the most unusual catalyst.

Inspired by a true story, Healing is a new Australian feature film written and directed by Craig Monahan, the multi-award winning director of The Interview (selected for Montreal, Seattle, Flanders and 30 other international Festivals); and Winner of Best Film - Australian Film Institute Awards

The Wonders

Director: Avi Nesher

Cast: Adir Miller, Yuval Scharf, Yehuda Levi, introducing Ori Hizkiah

This story focuses on Arnav, a graffiti artist and bartender living in Jerusalem. Always wearing a mask, he paints at night, and yearns for the day that his beloved ex-girlfriend Vax will return to him. But when Arnav sees a mysterious stranger forced into an abandoned apartment one night by three bearded men, he becomes involved with a hard-boiled investigator, a gorgeous mystery woman, and the conflicted mysterious captive himself. The captive, Shmaya Knafo, leads a cult of fanatically devoted followers who believe he can see into the future. Knafo may possess supernatural powers, or he might be just a clever con man. As dark, incriminating secrets come to light, Arnav is drawn into a world where lines blur between fact and fiction, and reality and imagination. When loyalties shift, Arnav finds his life turning stranger than his art. His attraction to Knafo’s mystery might be the artist’s way of reaching nirvana...or prove to be a fatal attraction.

Gus

Director: Jessie McCormack

Cast: Michelle Monaghan, Radha Mitchell, Jon Dore, Michael Weston, Mimi Kennedy

Lizzie (Radha Mitchell) longs to start a family with her husband Peter but is unable to conceive. Her best friend Andie (Michelle Monaghan), single and adrift, gets pregnant from a one-night stand and offers to give Lizzie the baby. Reluctantly, Peter agrees to be the child's father, and before he knows it Andie has moved into the guest room for the duration of her pregnancy. When Peter also invites his ne'er-do-well brother to the house, chaos ensues, testing the limits of friendship, family and a marriage. "Gus" depicts the deeply human struggles of these four people, taking a funny and poignant look at the ways we try to plan ahead when life has something else in mind.

Cavemen

Director: Herschel Faber

Cast: Skylar Astin, Camilla Belle, Chad Michael Murray, Dayo Okeniyi, Alexis Knapp, Kenny Wormald

Fed up with one-night-stands and empty relationships, La playboy Dean realizes that he wants something more out of life than just a party. With a little inspiration from his nine-year-old nephew and his best friend Tess, Dean decides to try his hand at finding true love for the first time - which proves to be much more difficult than he thought in modern-day Los Angeles! After a few hilariously bad first dates and some awful advice from his over-sexed guy friends, Dean begins to realize that the true love he has been seeking may be much closer to home. But when he is forced to make a decision between the girl he knows is perfect for him and the seductive party-girl of his fantasies, will Dean finally grow up…or will he just continue the party?

Storm Rider

Director: Craig Clyde

Cast: Kevin Sorbo, Kristy Swanson, C Thomas Howell, Danielle Chuchran

After her father loses his fortune and family home, a privileged teenage equestrian is forced to give up her beloved championship horse and is sent to live in the country with her reclusive uncle. She struggles to adjust to life on the secluded ranch without any friends, her horse, or her Dad, who has been sent off to prison. But after she meets the nice boy from the neighboring ranch, and is gifted a young horse , Stormy, she soon settles into her new life and realizes that this is perhaps where she was meant to be all along. A heartfelt family drama about second chances, finding happiness, and making the impossible possible.

Dead Drop

Director: R. Ellis Frazier

Cast: Luke Goss, Cole Hauser, Nestor Carbonell

After being shot by his best friend, pushed out of a plane, and miraculously surviving a dead-drop from 5,000 feet, Michael awakens to a living nightmare. His memory is limited, and psychotic tendencies have begun to creep in. Defying the orders of his CIA handlers, Michael re-inserts himself into the dangerous Mexican smuggling ring where he was operating deep under cover. He snakes his way through the underbelly of Northern Mexico, hunting for Santiago, the cartel boss who Michael believes threw him out of the plane and who is also holding his girlfriend hostage.

American Idiots

Director: Robert Taleghany

Cast: Jeffrey T. Schoettlin, Sean Muramatsu, Caroline D’Amore, Madeline Merritt

After losing the girl of his dreams to another man, Wyatt and his posse pack their suitcases and head out on the craziest, screwball road trip to Las Vegas to win her back. With less than twenty-seven hours to break up her wedding, they must make it before it is too late without falling apart at the seams and living up to their names... American Idiots!

Odd List Ryan Lambie Simon Brew 14 Nov 2013 - 06:19

The overlooked greats of the year 1998 come under the spotlight in our list of its 25 underappreciated movies...

Dominated as it was by the financial success of two giant killer asteroid movies, gross-out comedy hit There's Something About Mary and Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan, 1998 proved to be an extraordinary year for cinema.

Okay, so history doesn't look back too fondly on Roland Emmerich's mishandled Godzilla remake, and Lethal Weapon 4 was hardly the best buddy-cop flick ever made, despite its handsome profit. But search outside the top-10 grossing films of that year, and you'll find all kinds of spectacular modern classics: Peter Weir's wonderful The Truman Show, John Frankenheimer's rock-solid thriller Ronin, and Terrence Malick's The Thin Red Line.

Then there was The Big Lebowski, the Coen brothers' sublime comedy that has since become a deserved and oft-quoted cult favourite.

Hugo Weaving is re-teaming with his "The Interview" and "Peaches" director Craig Monahan on the prison feature "Healing" at Point Blank Pictures and Pinnacle Films.

The story centers on real-life prison inmate Viktor Khadem’s (Don Hany) last eighteen months before release after serving a sixteen-year term.

Khadem is sent to Won Wron, a low-security, pre-release prison farm, where Senior Officer Matt Perry (Weaving) has established a unique program to rehabilitate broken men by giving them the responsibility for the rehabilitation of injured game birds, such as eagles, falcons and owls.

Xavier Samuel, Jane Menelaus, Anthony Hayes, Mark Leonard Winter, Robert Taylor, Justine Clarke, Laura Brent and Tony Martin also star.

Monahan and Alison Niselle co-wrote the screenplay, and filming begins in Melbourne and around regional Victoria next week ahead of an early 2014 release.

Source: THR...

I'm glad Hugo Weaving hasn't been stuck with just villain roles since The Matrix. It happens a lot to actors that have played superb villains but just like the best (Gary Oldman, Christopher Walken) Hugo Weaving has shown he's more than capable of playing a variety of roles. THR has news that he will be using some of that range for the film Healing that is being directed by fellow Australian Craig Monahan. The two have worked together before in Peaches and The Interview. The movie also stars...

.Australian feature Healing, starring Hugo Weaving, Don Hany and Xavier Samuel, is set to start shooting in Victoria on February 18.

The tale of redemption is inspired by a true story, writer-director-producer Craig Monahan said in a statement. .The script is inspired by true events and the powerful connection forged by humans with birds and animals..

Healing follows Viktor Khadem (Don Hany in his first major feature role), who has spent 16 years in prison and has almost given up on life. For his final 18 months, he is sentenced to a low-security, pre-release prison farm, where senior officer Matt Perry (Hugo Weaving) has established a unique program to rehabilitate broken men by giving them the responsibility for the rehabilitation of injured eagles, falcons and owls. Against all odds, Matt takes on Viktor as his number one test case, introducing him to Yasmine, a majestic Wedge-tailed Eagle, revealing a new path of inspiration and hope.