News

Sony Pictures Classics has acquired all rights in the U.S., Latin America, and select territories in Southeast Asia and Eastern Europe to “The Miracle Club.”

Directed by Thaddeus O’Sullivan, the film stars Laura Linney, Maggie Smith, Kathy Bates and Agnes O’Casey.

The Dublin-shot film centers on four Dublin women who come together on a pilgrimage to the holy city of Lourdes in France, where they discover the solidarity in their friendship and unveil their own personal miracles.

Produced by Chris Curling, Joshua Maurer and Larry Bass, the film was shot throughout 2022 and is currently in post-production. “The Miracle Club” reunites its leading actresses and Sony Pictures Classics, with all three having starred in previous films released by the distributor, including Linney in “Jindabyne” (2006) and “Driving Lessons” (2006), Smith in the titular role of “The Lady in the Van” (2015), and Bates in “Love Liza” (2002) and “Midnight in Paris” (2011).

Said O’Sullivan:...

Cast headlined by Laura Linney, Maggie Smith and Kathy Bates.

Sony Pictures Classics has picked up all rights in the US, Latin America and across southeast Asia and eastern Europe to The Miracle Club, directed by Irish filmmaker Thaddeus O’Sullivan, starring Laura Linney, Maggie Smith, Kathy Bates and Agnes O’Casey.

The UK’s Embankment Films is handling sales.

The feature, shot in Dublin and in post-production, follows the women of Irish village Ballygar, all united in their dream of winning a pilgrimage to the sacred French town of Lourdes. Thanks to the help of a local priest, three close friends...

Roadshow’s The Dry has enjoyed a stellar run since its release on New Year’s Day, taking in nearly $7 million to date.

Robert Connolly’s adaption of Jane Harper’s best-selling novel returned to the top of the box office last weekend with takings of more than $2 million, bringing its overall total to $6.9 million.

It comes after the film grossed $3.5 million on its opening weekend, joining Happy Feet and Mad Max as one of the biggest box office debuts for an Australian film.

Roadshow Films CEO Joel Pearlman said the results “absolutely confirm” Australian films can deliver blockbuster results alongside their Hollywood counterparts.

“This result is an incredible example of just how willing Australian audiences are to support their own cinema and stories and how important it is for the local filmmaking community to continue to be provided with opportunities to create great works of cinema for Australians to delight in,...

Time spent in a modern war zone can be traumatic for participant and observer alike, yet across continents and cultures, the shared experiences of living and loving in the wake of such experiences can be startlingly similar. This is multi-faceted and overarching theme woven throughout Ben Lawrence’s sensitive and affecting new Australian drama “Hearts and Bones,” an impressive narrative feature debut from the winner of last year’s Sydney Film Festival documentary prize for “Ghosthunter.”

Lawrence’s thoughtful drama also casts an illuminating light on the current hot-button issue of immigrants to Australia and their place in the social fabric, specifically in the Western Sydney suburbs in which it is filmed. The film’s second-place finish in the narrative section of the fest’s audience award (behind Samuel Van Grinsven’s “Sequin in a Blue Room”) suggests it struck a chord with traditionally partisan Aussie audiences, and with proper handling,...

Leah Purcell accepting the Sydney Unesco City of Film Award..

Sydney Film Festival closed last night, with Ildikó Enyedi.s On Body and Soul awarded the $60,000 Sydney Film Prize..

The film from the Hungarian director has previously also won the Berlinale Golden Bear, and follows an unconventional romance between two co-workers who discover that each night they have exactly the same dreams.

Accepting the award Enyedi said: .It was such an amazingly strong competition. It.s marvellous that.such a film can move so many people, it gives me so much hope in cinema and in human communication.

Sydney filmmakers Sascha Ettinger Epstein and Claire Haywood were awarded the $10,000 Documentary Australia Foundation Award for Australian Documentary for The Pink House, about the last brothel in Kalgoorlie.

In a joint statement, the jury, which was made up of Ramona S. Diaz, CEO Documentary Australia Foundation Dr Mitzi Goldman and Amin Palangi said:.

"Amongst ten noteworthy films,...

Hyde & Seek.

Hyde & Seek will premiere on Nine October 3, the same airdate as Seven's new series The Secret Daughter. Matt Nable (Hacksaw Ridge, Arrow, Gallipoli) plays Gary Hyde, a detective hunting the killer of his best mate and partner. . Together with his new partner Claire McKenzie (Emma Hamilton, The Tudors, Mary: The Making of a Princess), Afp boss Jackie Walters (Mandy McElhinney, House of Hancock, Love Child) and Asio chiefs (Jindabyne's Deborra-lee Furness and Puberty Blues' Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Gary uncovers a criminal underbelly of murder and fraud as he's thrust into the secretive world of homeland security. . The show also stars Zoe Ventoura (Packed to the Rafters), Tai Hara (Home and Away), Claire Lovering (San Andreas), Andrew McFarlane (Devil.s Playground, Love Child), and Aaron Fa.oso (East West 101). In a statement, Nine.s heads of drama Andy Ryan and Jo Rooney said they were thrilled...

A family’s long-buried secret is unearthed in an Ibsen adaptation marked by fine performances

Very loosely based on Henrik Ibsen’s play The Wild Duck, this solid drama is transposed to contemporary Australia and a community blighted by a dying logging industry. Christian (Paul Schneider) returns home to attend the marriage of his father (Geoffrey Rush), but in doing so unearths a long-buried secret that has ramifications for the family of his best friend, Oliver (Ewen Leslie). The sense of communities rent apart by spectres from the past is reminiscent of the work of Ray Lawrence, the director of Lantana and Jindabyne. And it’s perhaps no coincidence that director Simon Stone appeared as an actor in the latter. Other influences include Terrence Malick, particularly in the use of sound and the way fragments of dialogue bleed across scenes. The melodrama of the third act is mitigated by the quality of the performances.

Matt Nable.

Matt Nable (Fell, Hacksaw Ridge, Arrow), Deborra-lee Furness (Correlli, Jindabyne), Mandy McElhinney (House of Hancock, Love Child), Emma Hamilton (The Tudors, Mary: The Making of a Princess) and Zoe Ventoura (Packed to the Rafters) are set to star in Hyde and Seek, a new series from Nine.

The series revolves around Detective Gary Hyde (Nable), whose best friend is killed in a seemingly random attack.

Together with his new partner Claire McKenzie (Hamilton), Hyde uncovers a criminal conspiracy that will threaten his life and endanger his young family.

Also joining the cast are Tai Hara (Home and Away), Claire Lovering (San Andreas), Andrew McFarlane (Devil.s Playground, Love Child), Aaron Fa.aoso (East West 101) and Stephanie Panozzo.

Hyde and Seek is being made for the Nine by Matchbox Pictures and distributed by NBCU..

Executive producers are Jo Rooney and Andy Ryan from the Nine Network and Debbie Lee (Glitch,...

Production designer Deborah Riley.

Game of Thrones production designer Deborah Riley is set explore the design process for the world's most watched series at two events in Sydney and Melbourne.

The Emmy award winning Riley, who has also worked on The Matrix, 21 Grams and Jindabyne, will be hosted by the Australian Production Design Guild and Ait.

The events, to be held at Ait in Sydney (February 26) and Mebourne (March 4), will celebrate Riley's work on the series.

Riley will share her design experiences and give a talk on the design behind Game of Thrones..

Riley started her design study as an Architecture student at the University of Queensland in 1991 and went on to complete the Stage Design degree at the National Institute of Dramatic Art.

She worked on The Matrix in 1998 as a set designer and .then worked on Anna and the King in Malaysia and returned to Sydney for Moulin Rouge.

Hugh Jackman and wife Deborra-Lee Furness, Nicole Kidman and husband Keith Urban at the Oscars Wolverine Hugh Jackman and wife Deborra-Lee Furness at the Academy Awards Hugh Jackman and wife Deborra-Lee Furness, along with Best Actress nominee Nicole Kidman and husband Keith Urban, are pictured above arriving at the 83rd Academy Awards, held on Feb. 27 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood. Stage and screen actor-singer Hugh Jackman was the Oscar ceremony host a couple of years ago, while Nicole Kidman was a 2011 Best Actress nominee for her performance as a bereaved mother in John Cameron Mitchell's Rabbit Hole, co-starring Aaron Eckhart and Dianne Wiest. More on Kidman further below. Recent Hugh Jackman movies The most recent film efforts of the Sydney-born Hugh Jackman were Gavin Hood's X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), in which he has the (second half of the) title role, and Baz Luhrmann's epic romance Australia (2008). Co-starring Nicole Kidman,...

It’s hard to nail down the personification of the ultimate evil. The Prince of Darkness deserves to be more than just a cackling, dark figure in the background or an over-the-top sleaze. This is an angel who has been cast out of Heaven and carries a major grudge. Neglecting the depth of his pain or not seizing the opportunity to have a little fun in the exercise of his machinations is always a problem, with no discernible representation able to strike a perfect balance yet. The best contemporary performances on film leave something to the imagination and twist our perception of the iconic role just enough to make it seem fresh or threatening. What follows is a list of cinematic Satans that have made an indelible impression, ranked from worst to best.

Gabriel Byrne in “End of Days”

Gabriel Byrne in End of Days (1999)

Byrne is a talented actor...

To have any chance of international sales, Australian films need to be original, bold, tell universal stories and be extremely well executed.

That.s according to some international sales agents whom If interviewed as part of our ongoing series of articles on the state of Australian cinema and ways to reach audiences more effectively.

While their views may sound obvious, they say that too often Australian films are failing on most if not all counts.

Michael Favelle of Odin.s Eye Entertainment agrees with the premise that producers should go big or small and avoid middle budget films, as If canvassed last week, but he sees a deeper problem.

.Yes there is a challenge in recouping and financing mid-range films but where we are failing more often is in original films with clear and compelling premises or stories with universal appeal,. says Favelle, the international sales rep for Canopy, Forbidden Ground,...

Ivan Sen.s Mystery Road has been warmly received by the UK critics as the Outback thriller began its cinema roll-out, and the Us release is set for October.

The detective story starring Aaron Pedersen, Hugo Weaving, Ryan Kwanten, Jack Thompson, Tony Barry, Robert Mammone and Tasma Walton opened on seven screens in London, Belfast, Dublin, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Sheffield last Friday, making a respectable £8,400 ($15,000).

Producer David Jowsey told If the UK distributor Axiom Films plans to expand the release to 28 cities through the end of October.

Typifying the warm critical reception, the Observer.s Mark Kermode declared, .This atmospheric Australian thriller is closer in tone to the measured, brooding unease of Ray Lawrence's Jindabyne than to the visceral thrills and spills of Greg Mclean's Wolf Creek.

.More interested in unpicking the broiling tensions of outback Queensland than in tying up the loose ends of his straggle-threaded whodunnit plot,...

Aaron Pedersen excels as an indigenous Australian cop caught between two worlds in Ivan Sen's evocative outback thriller

Despite playing out in locations with such evocative names as Massacre Creek, Slaughter Hill and the titular Mystery Road, this atmospheric Australian thriller is closer in tone to the measured, brooding unease of Ray Lawrence's Jindabyne than to the visceral thrills and spills of Greg McLean's Wolf Creek. More interested in unpicking the broiling tensions of outback Queensland than in tying up the loose ends of his straggle-threaded whodunnit plot, writer-director Ivan Sen (who also shoots, scores and edits) goes walkabout through the minefield of contemporary Australian culture, offering an evocative snapshot of an unravelling crime scene – social, racial and economic.

Charismatic Aaron Pedersen stars as detective Jay Swan, returning to his small-town roots after a stint in "the big smoke", which has merely widened the chasm between him and his former peers.

Sony Pictures Classics honchos Michael Barker and Tom Bernard have been feted up one side and down the other lately. The duo celebrated 20 years of Spc in 2012 and have received awards from the Museum of the Moving Image and the Gotham Awards as of late. Tonight they will receive the Los Angeles Film Festival's Spirit of Independence Award as the love keeps pouring in. Given that we recently celebrated the 20th anniversary of Fox Searchlight — another crucial entity in the indie film space — it seemed like we were over due for a similar appreciation of Sony Classics' 22 years of output. The interesting thing, though, is that unlike Searchlight, there isn't necessarily anything outwardly identifiable about Sony Classics films as, well, "Sony Classics films." They all have a strong whiff of good taste but they don't have the heavy marketing footprint of some of the studio's contemporaries. Barker and Bernard's cinephile passion is always evident,...

Morrissey Molloy Entertainment, Garry Charny.s Spotted Turquoise Films and Michael Gudinski.s Mushroom Pictures have unveiled a joint venture which aims to produce at least six films.

The first two projects are Boys in the Trees, a drama starring Harrison Gilbertson and Alice Englert, and Wake Up Dead, which has Alex Russell and Luke Ford attached.

.We each bring different skills and strong national and international contacts to the joint venture,. Charny tells If. The .matchmaker. was Maura Fay casting agent Marianne Jade, who is casting both films.

"She suggested we get together for a cup of coffee and we realised we were each producing a film we liked and respected,. said Molloy, who is developing Boys in the Trees for the co-venture between Mushroom and Morrissey Molloy.

Wake Up Dead is the first Australian film from Spotted Turquoise. Charny produced Ray Lawrence.s Jindabyne in his former role as head of April Films.

Director Ray Lawrence hopes to shoot his next two films, Here at the End of the World and Spinifex, back-to-back next year.

That may be a tall order for the filmmaker who has made just two pictures since his breakthrough Bliss (1985), which won three AFI awards and was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival. That was followed by Lantana (2001) and Jindabyne (2006).

.Each time I make a film I think it will be easier to do the next one, but it gets harder,. says Lawrence, who makes a good living directing TVCs. Here at the End of the World is an adaptation of the Lloyd Jones novel which spans three generations and several continents.

The main protagonist is Rosa, a spoilt, self-obsessed and unhappily married Spanish woman who lives in Wellington and has an affair with a 19-year-old farm boy. She ends up in Buenos Aires where...

Exclusive: Celsius takes rights to Ray Lawrence, Barrie M Osborne sweeping romance.

London-based sales company Celsius Entertainment has boarded sales to romantic drama Rosa [working tite], set to star Elena Anaya (The Skin I Live In) and Emily Browning (Sucker Punch, Sleeping Beauty).

Ray Lawrence (Jindabyne, Lantana) will direct Beatrix Christian’s (Jindabyne) script based on the book Here at the End of the World We Learn to Dance by Lloyd Jones.

The production team includes producers Barrie M Osborne (The Lord of the Rings), Andrew Mason (I, Frankenstein), Emma Slade (line producer, Tracker) and Dan Hennah (production designer, The Hobbit).

Rosa follows intertwining love stories across three generations and two continents as the eponymous young woman discovers a hidden bittersweet romance buried in her grandfather’s past in 1930’s Buenos Aires.

Simultaneously, Rosa struggles to find the balance between loving her down-to-earth husband Ivan and falling in love with a younger man.

Slated to shoot...

Shoreline is focused on discovering the best scripts from around the world. Their goal is to get these scripts into the hands of the producers and production companies who have the ability to get them made. They have the highest calibre and most respected industry judges of any screenwriting competitions out there and their judges are Oscar, Cannes & BAFTA winners and nominees.

30th June is the last day to enter your screenplay.

Feature Script – Late Deadline: 2nd June – 30th June 2013 £35 ($56 approx)

Short Script – Late Deadline: 2nd June – 30th June 2013 £25 ($40 approx)

Last years winner sold his screenplay to Christopher Figg, producer of: Hellraiser, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Dog Soldiers & many more.

There’s also over £9000 ($14000 approx.) in prizes to be won!

———-

To Enter Your Feature: http://www.shorelinescripts.com/shoreline-scripts-screenwriting-competition/feature/

To Enter Your Short: http://www.shorelinescripts.com/shoreline-scripts-short-script-submission/

Judges:

Oscar Nominated Producer, Stephen Woolley – The Crying Game,...

Shoreline Scripts, in partnership with Sound on Sight, is giving emerging independent writers and talented, new voices a chance to have their scripts put into the hands of leading producers and production companies who have the ability to get them made. This is your chance to have your screenplay read by the most respected industry judges of any screenwriting competition across the globe.

Here are the details. Best of luck to our readers who enter.

Shoreline Scripts Screenwriting Competition is offering 1 Free Feature script submission to it’s 2013 competition. www.shorelinescripts.com - How to enter: -

All you have to do is email contact@shorelinescripts.com with your name and ‘Sound on Sight’ in the subject heading. One reader will be chosen at random and notified that they have won by next Wednesday, January 16th.

Shoreline Scripts Screenwriting Competition is focused on discovering the best scripts from around the world.

This article originally appeared in If Magazine #147 (June-July 2012).

Two of director Wayne Blair.s most vivid memories of Cannes are being driven to the midnight screening of The Sapphires . .just breathe, just breathe,. he kept telling himself . and the sight of the Aboriginal Australian flag being flown at the Grand Hotel.

He.d been to the world.s most prestigious festival once before: in 2010 when the producers, Rosemary Blight and Kylie du Fresne, were financing the musical.

.It was one of those little fantasies you have: to get the money in Cannes and then be able to go back and present the film,. said Blair, one of 15 Australians who travelled to the South of France specifically for the film.s out-of-competition midnight screening.

This time around Blair was in Cannes for 10 days instead of three and, despite having to do between 20 and 30 media interviews, he said he enjoyed himself. He...

SPAAmart project Wake Up Dead, to be directed by Joel Kohn, and an adaptation of a stage play by former Sydneysider Jack Feldstein, are among the features being developed under Garry Charny.s new production company, Spotted Turquoise Films.

Charny has kept a low film profile since his former company, April Films, produced Ray Lawrence.s Jindabyne, which was in official selection at Cannes in 2006. He has been keen to re-enter the business, however, and has appointed Vca graduate and short film producer Josh Butt to work with him on development and packaging.

.I want to do films with heart," Charny told If Magazine. "I will never make Snowtown or even Animal Kingdom, not because they are not good -- or bad -- but because they are just not what I want to make....

The film noir detective story Wake Up Dead was in Butt.s portfolio and had already...

Carol Morley's bold drama-documentary about a young woman whose dead body lay undiscovered in a north London flat for three years is difficult to watch but unforgettable

The BFI London film festival is now in full swing, with a mouthwateringly juicy selection of movies, many of which have been extensively roadtested at other festivals, their reputations burnished and sellout status pretty much guaranteed. This week George Clooney is in town, an old friend of the Lff, to promote his movies The Ides of March and The Descendants, and to gladhand London's Bafta voters.

The Lff is certainly not short of glamorous titles, and yet I find myself broodingly preoccupied and even slightly obsessed with a sombre film from Britain. This is Carol Morley's horrifying, heartbreaking drama-documentary Dreams of a Life.

It has a real-life Eleanor Rigby tale to tell, and it asks powerful questions about community, sexual politics,...

Actor Gabriel Byrne's subtle portrayal of a psychotherapist in TV series In Treatment has won him awards and made him a heartthrob again at 59

An interesting irony of Gabriel Byrne's career is that despite having acted for 30 years and been one half of a celebrity couple for a decade when he was married to actor Ellen Barkin, he has managed, to his relief, to maintain an impressive privacy – yet the parts he chooses are, despite himself, highly personal, and even self-revelatory. What public perception there is of him seems to extend little beyond "Irish", "handsome" and – to use his least favourite yet the most popular description of him – "brooding". ("I don't even know what that means!" he complains, with – unfortunately for him – an expression close to brooding.)

Well, after meeting him, I can exclusively reveal that yes, he is Irish, and, yes, very handsome too, if, inevitably, a...

Hugh Jackman's actress wife has been honoured on TV. Deborra-Lee Furness, who is best known for her roles in Jindabyne, Prisoner and Correlli, was the first celebrity to feature in Eddie McGuire's new Australian version of This Is Your Life. Before Furness was told about the show, Jackman said: "I'm not good at keeping secrets, but she has no idea." Stars such as Jerry Seinfeld, (more)...

Damsels in Distress

Opens: 2011

Cast: Adam Brody, Analeigh Tipton, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Ryan Metcalf

Director: Whit Stillman

Summary: The story revolves around a group of style-obsessed college girls who take in a new student (Gerwig) and teach her their misguided ways of helping people at their grungy university.

Analysis: The first film in a decade from arthouse darling Whit Stillman, a filmmaker's filmmaker whose three Manhattan-based, yuppie-themed mannerist comedies - "Metropolitan," "Barcelona" and "The Last Days of Disco" - were a big influence on the likes of auteurs such as Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach. Stillman says this film varies somewhat from his previous trilogy of sorts, telling First Things that "This film is different, Completely different. Okay, not completely different, but it’s different".

Independently financed by Castle Rock CEO Martin Shafer, the project recently wrapped filming in Manhattan where Stillman returned to last year after having spent much...

Damsels in Distress

Opens: 2011

Cast: Adam Brody, Analeigh Tipton, Megalyn Echikunwoke, Ryan Metcalf

Director: Whit Stillman

Summary: The story revolves around a group of style-obsessed college girls who take in a new student (Gerwig) and teach her their misguided ways of helping people at their grungy university.

Analysis: The first film in a decade from arthouse darling Whit Stillman, a filmmaker's filmmaker whose three Manhattan-based, yuppie-themed mannerist comedies - "Metropolitan," "Barcelona" and "The Last Days of Disco" - were a big influence on the likes of auteurs such as Wes Anderson and Noah Baumbach. Stillman says this film varies somewhat from his previous trilogy of sorts, telling First Things that "This film is different, Completely different. Okay, not completely different, but it’s different".

Independently financed by Castle Rock CEO Martin Shafer, the project recently wrapped filming in Manhattan where Stillman returned to last year after having spent much...

Many of us see Australia in different ways - from outback deserts to busy city life - which is why the Australia Day Council of Nsw (Adcnsw) began the short film competition, Reel Australia. Now in its second year, the unique competition asks Australians to capture who they think we are via a two minute short film.   Acclaimed Aussie actors Gyton Grantley (Underbelly, Beneath Hill 60) and Deborah Mailman (Offspring, The Secret Life Of Us, Bran Nue Dae), and revered Australian director Ray Lawrence (Lantana, Jindabyne) will judge the competition based on four core elements: family and mateship, freedom, community and pride.

Another film having its world premiere at the Melbourne International Film Festival later this month is Blame, the debut feature of writer/director Michael Henry -- and based on this compelling trailer it's now at the top of my must-see list! 

Here's the lowdown... 

Seeking justice and revenge, five friends violently attack a man in his remote country house. Their plan: the perfect murder. Confident that their victim's death by his own hand will not be questioned, they overdose him on sleeping pills, but it all goes horribly wrong when their attempt fails and their victim fights for his life. 

In the aftermath, questions are raised about the true nature of the events leading up to the botched attack. As lies and secrets are revealed, the dynamic of the once-tight group shifts as the friends begin to question each other's motives. As they move closer to the truth, the weight...

Today is Australia Day here in, you guessed it, Australia. If you're American or British you're probably reading this and it's not technically Australia Day yet (26 of January), but that's my reward for Living In The Future! Time zones be damned! America celebrates the day that British people came to their land with Turkey and family get togethers and being thankful for good health. Australia celebrates by having a bbq and sitting in lawn chairs and wading pools. We're classy like that!

Over at my blog Stale Popcorn I have celebrating by doing another end-of-decade list, this time one that I'm sure not many others have done: Best Australian Films of the Decade. There are some titles on there that you non-Aussies will recognise like Samson & Delilah, Wolf Creek, Mary and Max and Australia, but there's also plenty you have probably never heard a single word about. No matter whether...

Cities around Australia have well and truly been swept up in the excitement of Film Festival season and there's more to come with the 2009 Message Sticks Indigenous Film Festival ready to tour the country in July.   In its 10th anniversary, the Festival will tour both metropolitan and rural cities around the country exhibiting films from the next wave of Indigenous filmmakers. This year's Festival will be headlined by Warwick Thornton's Samson & Delilah which was the recipient of the coveted Camera d'Or at Cannes this year.   Highlights of the Message Sticks Indigenous Film Festival include the premiere of seven short films including directorial debuts from actresses Deborah Mailman (Radiance, Rabbit-Proof Fence, Secret Life Of Us) and Leah Purcell (Jindabyne, The Proposition).

A whole new meaning was given to the film industry's term ‘green screen' in Sydney recently, when the very first Grass (Get Real About Sustainable Screens) forum was held. In Darlinghurst's Heffron Community Hall, professionals from the film industry, sustainable energy enthusiasts and members of the general public gathered to witness a panel discussion featuring director Ray Lawrence (Jindabyne, Lantana, Bliss), producer Emma Lawrence, Dr Richard Smith (director of Crude), film reviewer Nell Schofield and Dave Sag, founder of Carbon Planet. Grass is an initiative of the Australian Directors' Guild (Adg) and Harriet McKern, General Manager of the Adg, said, "I think getting the issue of the environment and sustainable practices and offsetting under the nose and in discussion for the Australian film industry is critical.

A chilling murder mystery directed by Ray Lawrence and a romantic comedy written by comedian and Rove stalwart Peter Hellier are two new features which will be backed by Screen Australia.   Being Dead is a chilling story about a couple who are savagely murdered and Screen Australia has announced that they're backing acclaimed director Ray Lawrence to direct the project. The film is to be adapted from Jim Crace's novel by Beatrix Christian who penned Ray Lawrence's drama Jindabyne. At the request of Lawrence, the action will be transferred from the UK to Newcastle in Nsw.   "Being Dead is classic Ray Lawrence relationship territory - an intelligent and deeply satisfying murder mystery in the same vein as Lantana.

• “Haunting” is the word that comes to mind when watching Ray Lawrence’s third feature film Jindabyne. It took two decades to make, but the final product is a potent vision derived from Raymond Carver’s short story “So much Water, So Close to Home”. The narrative follows a group of blue-collar fisherman, deep in the Australian outback, who come upon the body of an aboriginal girl floating in the river. They decide to leave the girl in the water, tying her to a branch so her body won’t drift away. After three days they finally notify the authorities. Upon arriving home the group is greeted with outraged spouses, a village turned against them and the local aboriginal culture calling for their blood. This is a film that isn’t about easy answers; it’s about the hard questions. It’s a film about morality and how cultures,

...

The ninth annual Method Fest, running March 29-April 5 in Calabasas, Calif., has announced a lineup that includes Jindabyne, an adaptation of a Raymond Carver story by Ray Lawrence and starring Laura Linney; Lonely Hearts, directed by Todd Robinson and starring Salma Hayek, James Gandolfini and John Travolta; and Man in the Chair, directed by Michael Schroeder and starring Christopher Plummer.

The fest, which focuses on independent film, will unspool at Viewpoint's Carlson Family Theatre and the Motion Picture and Television Fund's retirement community in Woodland Hills.

"We now have become a worldwide showcase of quality independent film," Method Fest executive director Don Franken said. "We have films with captivating performances and riveting stories that the audiences would really appreciate."

A total of 21 feature films and 45 shorts will screen, including the world premieres of Divergence, Charlie and School. The fest also will feature U.S. premieres of Iran's Bridge 13, Mexico's Carnaval de Sodoma and Bulgaria's Trade Routes.

• I might have been championing Lantana by lending out my DVD copy to anyone willing to give a chance to a great atmospheric piece of Aussie cinema and despite international kudos, the film’s director Ray Lawrence had the most difficult time financing his follow-up project. After showing to mixed reviews at last year’s Telluride & Toronto International Film Festival, finally Jindabyne makes it to theatres. Sony Pictures Classics releases the picture on April 27th in limited release. Written by Beatrix Christian, this is an adaptation of a Raymond Carver short story set in Australia. Stewart Kane, an Irishman living in the Australian town of Jindabyne, is on a fishing trip in isolated hill country with three other men when they discover the body of a murdered girl in the river. Rather than return to the town immediately, they continue fishing and report their gruesome find days later. Stewart's

...

• 51*. The Devil and Daniel Webster - Alec Baldwin 50. The Meat Trade - Antonia Bird 49. Mister Lonely - Harmony Korine 48. La Vie en Rose - Olivier Dahan 47. Across the Universe - Julie Taymor 46. Youth Without Youth - Francis Ford Coppola 45. Margaret - Kenneth Lonergan 44. The Inner Life of Martin Frost - Paul Auster 43. Hallam Foe - David Mackenzie 42. Death at a Funeral - Frank Oz 41. An American Crime - Tommy O'Haver 40. Smiley Face - Gregg Araki 39. Spring Break in Bosnia - Richard Shepard 38. Stop-Loss - Kimberly Peirce 37. Jindabyne - Ray Lawrence 36. Black Snake Moan - Craig Brewer 35. Reservation Road - Terry George 34. Red Road - Andrea Arnold 33. Rendition - Gavin Hood 32. The Host - Bong Joon-ho 31. Rolling Stones documentary - Martin Scorsese 30. Lust, Caution - Ang Lee 29. The Nanny Diaries - Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini 28. Margo at the Wedding - Noah Baumbach 27. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford

...

• Getting ever so closely to the Top 10, our top 20 is filled with an interesting mix of heavyweights (Tarantino, Cronenberg, Boyle and Wes Anderson) and up-and-comers (Sachs, Gillespie, Tarsem, Perelman). Enjoy! 51*. The Devil and Daniel Webster - Alec Baldwin 50. The Meat Trade - Antonia Bird 49. Mister Lonely - Harmony Korine 48. La Vie en Rose - Olivier Dahan 47. Across the Universe - Julie Taymor 46. Youth Without Youth - Francis Ford Coppola 45. Margaret - Kenneth Lonergan 44. The Inner Life of Martin Frost - Paul Auster 43. Hallam Foe - David Mackenzie 42. Death at a Funeral - Frank Oz 41. An American Crime - Tommy O'Haver 40. Smiley Face - Gregg Araki 39. Spring Break in Bosnia - Richard Shepard 38. Stop-Loss - Kimberly Peirce 37. Jindabyne - Ray Lawrence 36. Black Snake Moan - Craig Brewer 35. Reservation Road - Terry George 34. Red Road - Andrea Arnold 33. Rendition - Gavin Hood 32. The Host - Bong Joon-ho 31. Rolling Stones documentary - Martin Scorsese 30. Lust,

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• In today’s 10 piece, we got a trio example of filmmakers who’ve waited a while before making their sophomore induction. There is also a healthy representation of big studio films – not necessarily a sign of the times but perhaps an example of better script/project development. 51*. The Devil and Daniel Webster - Alec Baldwin 50. The Meat Trade - Antonia Bird 49. Mister Lonely - Harmony Korine 48. La Vie en Rose - Olivier Dahan 47. Across the Universe - Julie Taymor 46. Youth Without Youth - Francis Ford Coppola 45. Margaret - Kenneth Lonergan 44. The Inner Life of Martin Frost - Paul Auster 43. Hallam Foe - David Mackenzie 42. Death at a Funeral - Frank Oz 41. An American Crime - Tommy O'Haver 40. Smiley Face - Gregg Araki 39. Spring Break in Bosnia - Richard Shepard 38. Stop-Loss - Kimberly Peirce 37. Jindabyne - Ray Lawrence 36. Black Snake Moan - Craig Brewer 35. Reservation Road - Terry George

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SYDNEY -- George Miller's musical penguins have sung and danced their way into the record books in their home territory.

Since its Boxing Day opening, Happy Feet has grossed AUS$12.13 million ($9.3 million), the highest opening week of all time for an Australian film, distributor Roadshow Films said Tuesday.

The Warner Bros./Village Roadshow Pictures animated feature is expected to quickly join the top five Australian films of all time. That group includes No. 1 Crocodile Dundee, which has taken in $36.7 million; George Miller's Babe ($28.3 million); Baz Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge ($21.3 million); Crocodile Dundee 2 ($19.1 million); and Strictly Ballroom ($16.8 million).

Feet also will help boost Australian films' share of the boxoffice for 2006. Those figures will be officially released by the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia in the next few weeks. The No. 2-grossing Australian film of the year was Kenny, which took AUS$7.6 million ($5.8 million), followed by Jindabyne with AUS$5.2 million ($4 million).

The top overall grosser in the territory was Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest....

• It is award season in Australia again and the time for the small number of people in the Australian film industry to come together and pat each other on the back for a mostly mediocre job well done. The most prestigious of the three major award ceremonies that occur over the next month is the L’Oreal Paris Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards. It is the ceremony that attracts big names and they like people to know that. Russell Crowe hosted last year. Who cares if he isn’t actually Australian? This year this ceremony has snagged Australian actor Geoffrey Rush to host, a step up from last year. Pleasingly there are a few nominated films that warrant the caliber of the host. Suburban Mayhem, Kenny and Ten Canoes stand out from the rest for varying reasons and look to be the big winners of the night. Suburban Mayhem

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SYDNEY -- Australia's film critics picked Rolf de Heer's Ten Canoes as their top film of the year Friday at the annual Film Critics Circle of Australia awards ceremony in Melbourne.

Ten Canoes took three awards in total, one shy of the four earned by Jindabyne. Ray Lawrence picked up the best director award for Jindabyne, while the psychological thriller also took nods for best supporting actress (Deborra-Lee Furness) and best adapted screenplay (Beatrix Christian). Jindabyne lenser David Williamson shared his cinematography award with Ten Canoes Ian Jones.

Aside from the top film prize and shared cinematographer honor, Ten Canoes to the best editing prize for Tania Nehme. Balanda and the Bark Canoes, a documentary about the making of Ten Canoes, won the critics prize for best short documentary.

Neil Armfield's Candy picked up two awards: best actress for Abbie Cornish and best supporting actor for Geoffrey Rush.

Privately financed comedy Kenny, which has taken more than AUS$6 million ($4.5 million) at the boxoffice here to date, received two awards --Shane Jacobson received the best actor award and shared the best original screenplay nod with brother Clayton Jacobson.

SYDNEY -- Paul Goldman's dark comedy Suburban Mayhem dominated the nominations for the Australian Film Institute Awards announced Thursday, earning recognition in 12 of 15 film categories, but failed to get a nod for best feature film. The top award instead will be fought out between heroin flick Candy, psychological drama Jindabyne, break-out comedy hit Kenny and indigenous-language feature Ten Canoes. Among Suburban Mayhem's 12 noms is one for New Zealander Emily Barclay, a favorite for best actress for her star turn in the film as the murderous teenager Katrina. Barclay also received an acting nomination in the TV category.

SYDNEY -- As the Australian film and TV awards season kicks off, Ray Lawrence's Jindabyne and Neil Armfield's Candy dominated nominations for the first key event of the year, the Film Critics Circle of Australia (FCCA) awards. Candy and Jindabyne scored eight nominations each, the organization announced Tuesday. Candy received nominations for best film, director, adapted screenplay and music score as well as making a clean sweep of all the acting categories, with nominations for Abbie Cornish as best actress, Heath Ledger as best actor, Noni Hazlehurst as best supporting actress, and Geoffrey Rush as best supporting actor.

• Quick Links > Jindabyne > Ray Lawrence > Sony Pictures Classics > Lantana The enigmatic director Ray Lawrence will be returning to American screens next spring with the film Jindabyne . Sony Pictures Classics has picked up the rights to the film, which is already a box office hit in Australia. Laura Linney and Gabriel Byrne star in the film, about a group of men who find a dead Aboriginal girl while on a fishing trip but continue their trip as scheduled. Byrne plays one of the fishermen, Linney plays his deservedly furious wife. Jindabyne will make its North American premiere at the Toronto Film Festival. Jindabyne will be only Lawrence’s third feature film in twenty years. He made his directorial debut with Bliss in 1985. That film was nominated for the Golden Palm at Cannes. He made his sophomore effort, Lantana , in 2001, sixteen years after Bliss. That film, which starred fellow native Australian Anthony Lapaglia,

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NEW YORK -- Sony Pictures Classics has nabbed all North American rights to Ray Lawrence's drama Jindabyne, starring Laura Linney and Gabriel Byrne as a couple caught up in the aftermath of a girl's mysterious death. It will be released in the spring. The $9 million April Films production is only the third feature in more than 20 years from Lawrence (Bliss, Lantana) and was adapted by Beatrix Christian from the late Raymond Carver's short story, So Much Water So Close to Home. An Australian boxoffice hit, the film recently screened in Directors' Fortnight at the Festival de Cannes and will make its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next month. The film follows a group of friends (Byrne, John Howard, Stelios Yiakmis and Simon Stone) on a fishing trip as they discover an Aboriginal girl's body. They continue their vacation as planned, reporting their find to the police in their Australian high country home, Jindabyne. When details of the incident begin to spread, the men face the consequences with their wives and the community.

NEW YORK -- Sony Pictures Classics has nabbed all North American rights to Ray Lawrence's drama jindabyne, starring Laura Linney and Gabriel Byrne as a couple caught up in the aftermath of a girl's mysterious death. It will be released in the spring. The $9 million April Films production is only the third feature in more than 20 years from Lawrence (Bliss, Lantana) and was adapted by Beatrix Christian from the late Raymond Carver's short story, So Much Water So Close to Home. An Australian boxoffice hit, the film recently screened in Directors' Fortnight at the Festival de Cannes and will make its North American premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival next month. The film follows a group of friends (Byrne, John Howard, Stelios Yiakmis and Simon Stone) on a fishing trip as they discover an Aboriginal girl's body. They continue their vacation as planned, reporting their find to the police in their Australian high country home, Jindabyne. When details of the incident begin to spread, the men face the consequences with their wives and the community.

SYDNEY -- The Film Finance Corp. board on Thursday provided letters of intent to back two feature films under its new system of project evaluation, meaning funding will go ahead pending sign-off from the FFC board in September. The projects are Ana Kokkinos' The Book of Revelation and Ray Lawrence's Jindabyne, the latter employing a new financing model never before approved by the FFC. Jindabyne is an adult drama produced by Catherine Jarman and executive produced by Garry Charny and Phillipa Bateman through their April Films production shingle. Based on a Raymond Carver short story, "So Much Water, So Close to Home," the thriller, about the fallout within a community after three men who go fishing find a woman's body, was adapted for the screen by Beatrix Christian.

SYDNEY -- Icon Film Distribution Australia and Icon Entertainment International, the companies operated by Mel Gibson and Bruce Davey, have acquired for the first time the domestic and world distribution rights to an Australian film, Jindabyne, the new feature from director Ray Lawrence, whose Lantana enjoyed significant commercial and critical success around the world. Set up two years ago, Icon's Australian office has been involved in various local films, but only on a domestic basis. Its next Australian releases include the low-budget comedy Ned and drama The Night We Called It a Day. But this deal represents the first time the company has joined forces with Icon's overseas operation to back an Australian feature by taking on world rights, according to the Australian division's CEO, Mark Gooder.