News

Best Picture favorite “The Shape of Water” dominated the Oscar craft categories with seven nominations — Cinematography, Production and Costume Design, Editing, Original Score, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing. Guillermo del Toro’s period-fantasy romance only failed to snag a Visual Effects nomination.

“Dunkirk,” Christopher Nolan’s experimental Best Picture nominee, captured six craft noms (Cinematography, Production Design, Editing, Score, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing); Denis Villeneuve’s brutalistic “Blade Runner 20149” scored five (Cinematography, Production Design, Visual Effects, Sound Editing, and Sound Mixing); and Joe Wright’s surprise Best Picture nominee, “Darkest Hour,” grabbed four (Cinematography, Production and Costume Design, Makeup and Hairstyling).

Making History

But the biggest crafts story was Rachel Morrison making Oscar history as the first female cinematographer to secure a nomination for her poetic work on “Mudbound.” She was joined by frontrunner Roger Deakins, who grabbed his 14th nomination for “Blade Runner 2049″ in search of his elusive win; Bruno Delbonnel,...

Shona Martyn..

Former HarperCollins executive Shona Martyn is headed to Lingo Pictures, as the production company looks to respond to the booming business of book adaptation.

Martyn was the publishing director of HarperCollins in Anz until late last year, a role that encompassed local and international fiction and non-fiction.

Prior to that she was the publishing director at Transworld/Random House, arts editor at Vogue, editor of Good Weekend and founding editor of HQ Magazine. She was a member of the Sydney Writer's Festival board from 2003 to 2011.

"I am delighted to be joining the team at Lingo Pictures as their exclusive book scout at a time when the thirst for transforming books into TV and film has never been stronger,. said Martyn.

.There are many splendid stories just waiting to be made and many opportunities for authors as a result..

Lingo Pictures is owned by producers Helen Bowden (The Slap,...

Shona Martyn..

Former HarperCollins executive Shona Martyn is headed to Lingo Pictures, as the production company looks to respond to the booming business of book adaptation.

Martyn was the publishing director of HarperCollins in Anz until late last year, a role that encompassed local and international fiction and non-fiction.

Prior to that she was the publishing director at Transworld/Random House, arts editor at Vogue, editor of Good Weekend and founding editor of HQ Magazine. She was a member of the Sydney Writer's Festival board from 2003 to 2011.

"I am delighted to be joining the team at Lingo Pictures as their exclusive book scout at a time when the thirst for transforming books into TV and film has never been stronger,. said Martyn.

.There are many splendid stories just waiting to be made and many opportunities for authors as a result..

Lingo Pictures is owned by producers Helen Bowden (The Slap,...

'Glitch'.

Production has kicked off in Melbourne on the second season of Matchbox Pictures'.Glitch, with directors Emma Freeman and Tony Krawitz at the helm. The shoot will continue on location around the city and in regional Victoria until the end of March.

The first season of the zombie drama, created by Louise Fox (Broadchurch, Dead Europe) and Tony Ayres (The Slap, Cut Snake, Nowhere Boys), followed seven people who had inexplicably returned from the dead.

The second season sees .the Risen. unravel the mystery of how and why they are back while contending with a lethal threat..

In October it was announced that Netflix was coming on board as a production partner for the second season, along with Matchbox and the ABC.

.We can.t wait for our audience to see where the story goes. We want to deliver on the promise of answers and keep the thrills and spills coming,...

Glitch.

The second season of.Glitch will be co-produced by the ABC, Matchbox and Netflix.—.making it the closest thing to a Netflix Original produced locally..

The first season of the zombie drama streams on Netflix Oz and debuted on Netflix U.S. last week (October 15).

According to Chris Oliver-Taylor, MD of Matchbox Pictures and the show's Ep, "Glitch was something that Netflix were interested in very early as a result of the quality of series one."

"Matchbox always tries to produce programs that work for an international audience. The international deal was reasonably simple to construct; the more complicated piece of the puzzle was working with Netflix, NBCUniversal and the ABC to work out the local Australian arrangements, working through windowing and how to manage on-demand."

Oliver-Taylor is excited about what the deal might mean for the local sector.

"We think that by bringing on Netflix to be a...

Just like that, it’s fall already. The first round of films fresh out of Tiff and Venice and Telluride are making their ways to theaters and living rooms nationwide. And now, we enter the last third of the year, with plenty of titles to be excited about. Below, you’ll see every planned theatrical release for the month of September, separated out into films with wide runs and limited ones. (Synopses are provided by festivals and distributors.)

Each week, we’ll give you an update with more specific information on where these films are playing. In the meantime, be sure to check our calendar page, where we’ll update releases for the rest of the year. Happy watching!

Week of September 2 Wide

Morgan

Director: Luke Scott

Cast: Anya Taylor-Joy, Boyd Holbrook, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kate Mara, Michelle Yeoh, Paul Giamatti, Rose Leslie, Toby Jones

Synopsis: A corporate troubleshooter is sent to a remote,...

You've read our first 10 shows you need to check out this autumn, right? If you haven't, go do that now.

But wait - there's more! Late 2015 is bursting with quality television, so here are some more TV gems you should check out as the evenings start to draw in...

1. The Last Panthers - Sky Atlantic

Sky Atlantic will follow up Fortitude with another ambitious original drama this autumn. A crime thriller from the pen of This Is England's Jack Thorne, The Last Panthers charts the aftermath of a daring jewel heist and has heavyweights Samantha Morton and John Hurt in the lead roles.

2. Marvel's Jessica Jones - Netflix

The follow-up to the brilliant Daredevil, this November series casts Breaking Bad standout Krysten Ritter as Jessica Jones - an ex-superhero now working as a private detective. Upping the geek cred is David Tennant as Jessica's arch-nemesis, while Mike Colter will co-star...

Sullivan Stapleton and Alex Russell will play ex-cons in Cut Snake, Matchbox Pictures. crime thriller directed by Tony Ayres, which shoots in Melbourne in late October.

Also attached is Jessica De Gouw, a fast-rising Aussie actress who stars in TV's. Arrow and the upcoming series Dracula, which features Jonathan Rhys Meyers as the vampire who.s brought back to life and poses as an American entrepreneur.

The producers are Trevor Blainey (Noise) and Matchbox Pictures. Michael McMahon (The Home Song Stories, Lou, The Slap).

Written by Blake Ayshford (The Time of Our Lives, The Straits), Cut Snake is described as a tense, psychologically-driven crime thriller in which one man discovers his biggest enemy to putting the past behind him is himself.

It marks a return to the big screen for Ayres who directed a segment of Tim Winton.s The Turning,. episodes of The Slap, executive-produced Underground: The Julian Assange Story...

Local actor Jay Ryan . best known for Terra Nova and Offspring . may have cracked the tough North American market after being cast as .The Beast. in Us TV drama pilot Beauty and the Beast.

Ryan, who last year played Curran . a murderous security guard on the recently-cancelled dinosaur series Terra Nova, will play .beast. Vincent Koslow in a reboot of the 1980s CBS drama which starred Linda Hamilton and Ron Perlman.

He will star opposite .beauty. Kristin Kreuk (Smallville), while other cast members include Austin Basis (Life Unexpected), Nicole Gale Anderson (Jonas) and Nina Lisandrello (Pre). The CW drama series is being described as a modern-day romantic love story with a procedural twist.

It reportedly centres on Catherine (Kreuk), a tough-minded NYPD homicide detective, haunted after witnessing her mother.s murder nine years ago and the killers. quick demise at the hands of a beast. After years of searching, Catherine finally finds the beast,...

Lou (2010), directed and written by Belinda Chayko (Bored Olives [2000]) and starring legendary British actor John Hurt, is a tender, heartfelt film about one girl’s rite of passage. Set against the dramatic landscape of rural New South Wales, harried single mum Rhia (Emily Barclay) struggles to bring up her three daughters, hounded by debt collectors and the fear of being left on the shelf at twenty-seven.

(...)...

Updated through 4/20.

Gilles Jacob and Thierry Frémaux announced that, out of 1715 submissions, 49 features from 33 countries have been selected in total for this year's Cannes Film Festival — four of them made by women, a record. 19 titles are lined up for the Competition so far, leaving room for surprise announcements from here on to the Opening Ceremony on May 11.

Competition

Pedro Almodóvar's The Skin I Inhabit. As noted yesterday, here's what Variety's Justin Chang had heard as of this past weekend: "In late March, it seemed that Almodóvar, a Cannes veteran who won prizes for All About My Mother and Volver, might skip the event altogether this year. Since 2004's Bad Education, the helmer has presented every one of his films in competition at the May fest, usually following a spring local release. The Sept 2 Spanish release date for The Skin That I Inhabit (which Sony Classics will release Stateside in...

Animal Kingdom, Beneath Hill 60, and the other winners of the 2011 Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards have been announced. The Film Critics Circle of Australia (Fcaa) “is a group of cinema critics that judge Australian films.” The awards were handed out on March 13, 2011 at the “North Sydney Leagues Club at Cammeray in Sydney. ABC Local Radio’s Rod Quinn hosted the event.” The full listing of the 2011 Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards winners is below.

Best Film

Animal Kingdom, Producer Liz Watts

Best Director

David Michôd, Animal Kingdom

Best Actor – Leading Role

Ben Mendelsohn, Animal Kingdom

Best Actress – Leading Role

Jacki Weaver, Animal Kingdom.

Lily Bell-Tindley, Lou – Special Mention

Best Actress – Supporting Role

Essie Davis, South Solitary

Morgana Davies, The Tree – Special Mention

Best Actor – Supporting Role

Joel Edgerton, Animal Kingdom

Best Screenplay – Original

David Michôd, Animal Kingdom

Best Screenplay – Adapted Screenplay

David Roach, Beneath Hill 60

Best Cinematography

Denson Baker,...

The Film Critics Circle of Australia has announced the nominees for its 2010 Awards, and Animal Kingdom leads the pack with 10 nominations.

Beneath Hill 60 and The Waiting City follow behind with eight nominations each; Tomorrow, When the War Began has five, and Bran Nue Dae and South Solitary have four each.

It’s the first awards ceremony to recognise the previosly ignored Lou and The Waiting City as two of the best films of the year in the main categories; it’s also the first official recognition for South Solitary, which its producers did not even submit for consideration at last December’s AFI Awards.

The ceremony will be held on March 13 at the North Sydney Leagues Club in Cammeray.

The nominees are:

• Best Film

Animal Kingdom Producer: Liz Watts

Beneath Hill 60 Producer: Bill Leimbach

Bran Nue Dae Producers: Robyn Kershaw, Graeme Isaac

Tomorrow When The War Began Producers: Andrew Mason,...

Encore was asked by Matt Riviera to provide its list of the Top 10 films released theatrically in Australia in 2010 and, even though our specialty as a publication is local productions, it was a pleasant surprise to look at our final list and see two Australian films (and one with a considerable amount of Aussie talent) that deserved a spot in it. It wasn’t a pat on the back for the local industry, but a genuine recognition of the power of their stories and the skill of its execution.

The public is slowly starting to recognise it too; the top 10 highest grossing Australian films of 2010 made $45m at the box office, a figure that has brought optimism to an industry in desperate need of reassurance from the audience it serves.

This is the list Encore has contributed – and probably the only one topped by Toy Story 3, as animated films...

A total of six Australian feature films and one short will be heading to the 15th Pusan International Film Festival, which will be held from October 7 to 15.

***

World Cinema

Dreamland

Production Company: Bunya Productions

Producer: David Jowsey

Director/Writer: Ivan Sen

Sales: Bunya Productions

Australian Distributor: PackScreen in association with Bunya Productions

Cast: Daniel Roberts, Tasma Walton

Synopsis: Dan Freeman, an obsessive UFO hunter, roams the Nevada desert around the border of Area 51 searching the skies for contact. But alone in the desert he awakens to a bigger mystery.

Oranges and Sunshine

Production Companies: See-Saw Films & Sixteen Films

Producers: Emile Sherman, Camilla Bray, Iain Canning

Director: Jim Loach

Writer: Rona Munro

Sales: Icon Entertainment

Australian Distributor: Icon Film Distribution

Cast: Emily Watson, David Wenham, Hugo Weaving

Synopsis: The story of Margaret Humphreys, a social worker who uncovered one of the most significant social scandals in recent times: the organised deportation of children from the UK.

Ben C. Lucas’ Wasted on the Young is one of seven Australian films selected to screen at the Pusan International Film Festival in Korea next month. Young will be screened in the world cinema category along with Jim Loach’s Oranges and Sunshine, and Ivan Sen’s Dreamland.

Belinda Chayko’s Lou will screen in the flash forward section and The Kiss directed by Ashley Page, will be shown in the wide angle – short film showcase category.

Patrick Hughes’ Red Hill and Andrew Traucki’s The Reef have been selected to show in the midnight passion program – a diverse genre category, that recognises entertainment value.

Screen Australia’s Head of Production Investment Ross Matthews said: “It’s great to see such an exciting line-up of Australian films screening at Pusan, which has established itself as one of Asia’s most dynamic film events.”

Wasted on the Young tells the story...

The Australian Film Institute has published its list of feature film contenders for this year’s AFI Awards.

The AFI emphasised the fact that eight out of the 19 films were directed by women: “In an international industry where women are still significantly under-represented, Australia is heading in the right direction,” said CEO Damian Trewhella.

The contenders are:

Accidents Happen -Andrew Lancaster Animal Kingdom - David Michod Beneath Hill 60 - Jeremy Sims Blame - Michael Henry The Boys Are Back - Scott Hicks Bran Nue Dae – Rachel Perkins Bright Star - Jane Campion Daybreakers – Michael and Peter Spierig The Horseman - Steve Kastrissios I Love You Too – Dana Reid Lou - Belinda Chayko The Loved Ones - Sean Byrne Matching Jack – Nadia Tass Mother Fish (formerly Missing Water) - Khoa Do Subdivision - Sue Brooks Tomorrow When The War Began -Stuart Beattie The Tree - Julie Bertuccelli The Tumbler...

Animal Kingdom has made $3,160,736 since its June 3 release, according to distributor Madman Entertainment.

In its fourth week, the David Michod crime drama had 77 screens in Australia and it is likely to overtake Beneath Hill 60 (Paramount/Transmission, $3,172,243) as the third highest grossing local film of 2010 – and the most successful limited release with under 100 screens.

It will then be behind Bran Nue Dae (Roadshow, $7.56m) and The Kings of Mykonos: Wog Boy 2 (Paramount/Transmission, $4.8m).

According to information from Madman, the film screened at the Los Angeles Film Festival last Wednesday, with guests including Ewan McGregor, Curtis Hanson, Stephan Elliott, Luke Davies, Emma Lung, Kick Curry, David Lyons, Nash Edgerton as well as the film’s Us distributor, Tom Bernard Co-President of Sony Pictures Classics. It will be released in the Us on August 13.

Another Australian release currently in cinemas struggled to survive this weekend. The team behind Belinda Chayko’s drama...

The Australian Writers’ Guild has announced the nominations for the Awgie Awards.

Beneath Hill 60, Lou, Animal Kingdom and the still unreleased Griff the Invisible compete for best original feature screenplay, while Rush dominated the TV series category with three of its episodes going against one of Spirited. Underbelly’s second and third series monopolised the mini-series adaptation category.

The ceremony will take place at Peninsula, Melbourne, on August 20.

The nominees are:

Television: Series

Rush Ep 210 – Armoured Car by David Caesar and Adam Todd Rush Ep 208 – Boy in the Bush by Michelle Offen Spirited – The Man Who Fell To Earth by Jacquelin Perske Rush Ep 222 – Water by Adam Todd

Television: Mini Series Adaptation

Underbelly: The Golden Mile by Peter Gawler, Greg Haddrick, Kris Mrksa and Felicity Packard Underbelly: A Tale of Two Cities by Peter Gawler, Greg Haddrick, Kris Mrksa and Felicity Packard

Television: Serial

Home and Away Ep...

Animal Kingdom (Madman) has once again expanded screens (72) and obtained strong box office results, with $534,770 (average $7,427) on its third weekend, reaching #6.

Although it suffered a 37.7 percent drop from last week’s earnings, David Michod’s debut has earned more than $2.5 since its June 3 release.

Kingdom was behind Shrek Forever After (Paramount), Get Him to the Greek (Universal), Sex and the City 2 (Roadshow), The A-Team (Fox) and Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time (Disney).

Belinda Chayko’s Lou (Kojo Pictures) has not reported its earnings to the Motion Picture Distributors Association of Australia.

Courtesy of Kojo Pictures, we have passes for Belinda Chayko’s heartwarming drama Lou, starring John Hurt.

Lou tells the story of the relationship between 11-year-old Lou (a brilliant debut from Lily Bell-Tindley) and her grandfather. Not long after Lou’s father walks out of her life, her grandfather – a victim of Alzheimer’s – crashes in. But when Doyle comes to stay, Lou discovers, against all her expectations, the healing power of love.

The poster might not suggest so, but Lou wisely avoids sentimentality – the confusion in Doyle’s mind about Lou’s identity becomes a major issue instead of being an overtly sweet cross-generational life lesson. Chayko has created a short (under 90 minutes) but solid drama that relies heavily on the strength of the performances by Hurt, Bell-Tindley and Emily Barclay.

Lou will be released on June 17.

To win, email miguel@focalattractions.com.au and tell us, what non-Australian...

Sometimes, to get a film noticed, you need to recruit some serious talent. Micah Chua spoke with the creators of Lou, Belinda Chayko and Helen Bowden, about how British legend John Hurt ended up being part of their family drama.

Lou is the second feature film by Belinda Chayko after City Loop, produced by Matchbox Pictures’ Tony Ayres, Helen Bowden, Michael McMahon and executive producer Liz Watts (Porchlight Films).

The film tells the story of Lou, the daughter in a struggling family living in rural Nsw trying desperately to make ends meet. The family bond is tested when Alzheimer’s patient and Lou’s grandfather Doyle is dumped under their care.

Lou evolved from a script that Chayko wrote as a master’s degree project at the University of Western Sydney, but the process was not an easy one.

A Hand Doesn’T Hurt

The film was always intended to...

The Dungog Film Festival starts tomorrow, and according to director Allanah Zitserman, this is the year it will incorporate television into its program, at a much deeper level.

“There’s a lot more room for cross-pollination between film and TV in this country, and we want to encourage it and get both sides talking and discussing ways in which we can work together more,” Zitserman told Encore.

“It’s a great amount of talent in both industries, so let’s bring them together. We will be showing unaired TV pilots and we’ll have two live script readings for television projects.

“We’re working with all the broadcasters this year, both free-to-air and pay TV. Many television executives have already confirmed their attendance this year, and I will be working with the industry on how best to incorporate the TV aspects over the next few years,” said Zitserman.

In addition to the new TV content,...

The Dungog Film Festival has announced the world premiere screenings of feature films Lou, Road Train (pictured) and Surviving Georgia as well as a number of exciting special events.   Now in its fourth year, the Dungog Film Festival takes place in the titular picturesque town in Nsw's Hunter Valley. For one weekend, film fever sweeps over the tiny town as a mix of locals and tourists enjoy all the entertainment on offer.   The film set to open the festival this year is Lou, a tender and moving story about the relationship between 11-year-old Lou and her grandfather. The film stars Academy Award nominated and BAFTA Award winning actor John Hurt, AFI Best Actress Award winner Emily Barclay and newcomer Lily Bell-Tindley.

Lou, the new Australian feature film from writer/director Belinda Chayko, is set to star one of the world's most acclaimed and loved thesps, John Hurt.   Hurt has won BAFTA and Golden Globe Awards, and has been nominated for two Academy Awards for his performances in Elephant Man and Midnight Express. More recently, Hurt has starred in Indiana Jones And the Kingdom Of The Crystal Skull, Hellboy, as well as the upcoming Harry Potter And The Deathly Hallows Part 1 & 2. He is no stranger to working with Aussies either, having previously featured in the 2005 classic, The Proposition, an Australian western written by Nick Cave, and filmed in outback Queensland with director John Hillcoat.