The Most Successful Australian Directors
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Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson was born January 3, 1956 in Peekskill, New York, USA, as the sixth of eleven children of Hutton Gibson, a railroad brakeman, and Anne Patricia (Reilly) Gibson (who died in December of 1990). His mother was Irish, from County Longford, while his American-born father is of mostly Irish descent.
Mel and his family moved to Australia in the late 1960s, settling in New South Wales, where Mel's paternal grandmother, contralto opera singer Eva Mylott, was born. After high school, Mel studied at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, performing at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts alongside future film thespians Judy Davis and Geoffrey Rush.
After college, Mel had a few stints on stage and starred in a few TV shows. Eventually, he was chosen to star in the films Mad Max (1979) and Tim (1979), co-starring Piper Laurie. The small budgeted Mad Max made him known worldwide, while Tim garnered him an award for Best Actor from the Australian Film Institute (equivalent to the Oscar).
Later, he went on to star in Gallipoli (1981), which earned him a second award for Best Actor from the AFI. In 1980, he married Robyn Moore and had seven children. In 1984, Mel made his American debut in The Bounty (1984), which co-starred Anthony Hopkins.
Then in 1987, Mel starred in what would become his signature series, Lethal Weapon (1987), in which he played "Martin Riggs". In 1990, he took on the interesting starring role in Hamlet (1990), which garnered him some critical praise. He also made the more endearing Forever Young (1992) and the somewhat disturbing The Man Without a Face (1993). 1995 brought his most famous role as "Sir William Wallace" in Braveheart (1995), for which he won two Oscars for Best Picture and Best Director.
From there, he made such box office hits as The Patriot (2000), Ransom (1996), and Payback (1999). Today, Mel remains an international superstar mogul, continuously topping the Hollywood power lists as well as the Most Beautiful and Sexiest lists.- Writer
- Producer
- Director
Baz Luhrmann is an Australian writer, director and producer with projects spanning film, television, opera, theater, music and recording industries. He is regarded by many as a contemporary example of an auteur for his distinctly recognizable style and deep involvement in the writing, directing, design and musical components of all his work. As a storyteller, he 's known as a pioneer of pop culture, fusing high and low culture with a unique sonic and cinematic language. He is the most commercially successful Australian director, with his films making up four of the top ten highest worldwide grossing Australian films ever.
During his studies at Australia's National Institute of Dramatic Art, Luhrmann collaborated with other students to create ''Strictly ballroom'', a stage production drawn from his childhood experiences in the world of ballroom dancing. Luhrmann later adapted the show into his 1992 film debut, Strictly Ballroom (1992), which premiered at Cannes to a fifteen-minute standing ovation. Thus began the ''Red Curtain Trilogy'', which would include the film Romeo + Juliet (1996) as well as the Oscar-winning Moulin Rouge! (2001). The latter also took home Golden Globes for Best Picture, Best Actress, and Best Original Score. This first body of work was capped by Luhrmann's 2002 Broadway adaptation of the opera ''La Bohème'', recognized by two Tony Awards.
In 2004, Luhrmann collaborated once more with actress Nicole Kidman to create No. 5 The Film, a short film featuring the iconic Chanel perfume, as well as costumes designed by Karl Lagerfeld. With its success, the piece ushered in a new era of fashion advertising and became a landmark in the evolution of branded content. In 2008, Luhrmann worked with Kidman for a third time on the ambitious epic Australia (2008), the titular country's second-highest grossing film of all time. He later adapted F. Scott Fitzgerald's ''The Great Gatsby'' into a 2013 film, The Great Gatsby (2013), which went on to become the director's highest-grossing movie at over $353 million worldwide. The film was awarded with two Oscars and earned praise from Fitzgerald's granddaughter, who noted that "Scott would have been proud". The film's soundtrack pulled the Roaring 20s into the 2000s, blending early 20th century jazz with contemporary hip-hop. The album, produced by Luhrmann, Anton Monsted, and Jay-Z, hit number one on the Billboard charts and garnered several Grammy nominations.
Most recently, Luhrmann created The Get Down (2016), a 2016 Netflix series and 1970s-set mythic saga of how the South Bronx, at the brink of bankruptcy, gave birth to hip-hop, punk and disco. In the interest of cultural authenticity and historical accuracy Luhrmann collaborated with some of the era's most legendary artists, including [linl=nm0334739], Kool Herc, Afrika Bambaataa, Nas, Kurtis Blow, and Hector Xtravaganza. The show was a critical success, certified fresh by Rotten Tomatoes, and described by Variety as "a reclamation of, and a love letter to, a marginalized community of a certain era, told through the unreliable tools of romance, intuition and lived experiences."
Add further information about Elvis film release here. Needs to be in his bio.- Producer
- Writer
- Director
George Miller is an Australian film director, screenwriter, producer, and former medical doctor. He is best known for his Mad Max franchise, with Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) being hailed as amongst the greatest action films of all time. Aside from the Mad Max films, Miller has been involved in a wide range of projects. These include the Academy Award-winning Babe (1995) and Happy Feet (2006) film series.
Miller is co-founder of the production houses Kennedy Miller Mitchell, formerly known as Kennedy Miller, and Dr. D Studios. His younger brother Bill Miller and Doug Mitchell have been producers on almost all the films in Miller's later career, since the death of his original producing partner Byron Kennedy.
In 2006, Miller won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for Happy Feet (2006). He has been nominated for five other Academy Awards: Best Original Screenplay in 1992 for Lorenzo's Oil (1992), Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay in 1995 for Babe (1995), and Best Picture and Best Director for Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Peter Weir was born on 21 August 1944 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is a director and writer, known for Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003), The Way Back (2010) and Witness (1985). He has been married to Wendy Stites since 1966. They have two children.- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Garth Davis's work has been recognized in every major award show around the world. His rigorous commitment to detail, cinematic sensibilities and deep appreciation of the actor-director relationship are his trademark. Garth most recently directed Foe for Amazon, based on the novel of the same name and starring Saoirse Ronan and Paul Mescal. It premiered at the 2023 New York Film Festival. He is best known for his directorial feature debut Lion, which was nominated for six Academy Awards including Best Picture, and for which Garth won a DGA Award. Garth's second feature film Mary Magdalene starred Rooney Mara and Joaquin Phoenix, and on the television side he directed Top of the Lake alongside director Jane Campion, for which he received Emmy and BAFTA nominations.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Michael Spierig was born in Germany. He is known for Predestination (2014), Daybreakers (2009) and Winchester (2018).- Director
- Composer
- Producer
Peter Spierig was born in Germany. He is known for Predestination (2014), Daybreakers (2009) and Undead (2003).- Producer
- Writer
- Director
James Wan (born 26 February 1977) is an Australian film producer, screenwriter and film director of Malaysian Chinese descent. He is widely known for directing the horror film Saw (2004) and creating Billy the puppet. Wan has also directed Dead Silence (2007), Death Sentence (2007), Insidious (2010), The Conjuring (2013) and Furious 7 (2015).
Before his success in the mainstream film industry, he made his first feature-length film, Stygian, with Shannon Young, which won "Best Guerrilla Film" at the Melbourne Underground Film Festival (MUFF) in 2000.
Prior to 2003, Wan and Leigh Whannell had begun writing a script based for a horror film, citing inspiration from their dreams and fears. Upon completing the script, Leigh and James had wanted to select an excerpt from their script, later to be known as Saw (2004), and film it to pitch their film to studios. With the help of Charlie Clouser, who had composed the score for the film, and a few stand-in actors, Leigh and James shot the film with relatively no budget. Leigh had decided to star in the film as well.
After the release of the full-length Saw (2004), the film was met with overwhelming success in the box office both domestically and internationally. The film ended up grossing 55 million dollars in America, and 48 million dollars in other countries, totaling over $103 million worldwide. This was over 100 million dollars profit, over 80 times the production budget. This green-lit the sequel Saw II (2005), and later the rest of the Saw franchise based on the yearly success of the previous installment. Since its inception, Saw (2004) has become the highest grossing horror franchise of all time worldwide in unadjusted dollars. In the United States only, Saw (2004) is the second highest grossing horror franchise, behind only the Friday the 13th (1980) films by a margin of $10 million.- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Dynamic film/video director Russell Mulcahy was born June 23, 1953, in Melbourne, Australia. He first gained fame directing visually striking music video clips for such artists as Elton John, Duran Duran, The Buggles and Bonnie Tyler. He is also well known for feature films, starting off with the comedy Derek and Clive Get the Horn (1979), the horror film Razorback (1984), the spectacular sword and sorcery of Highlander (1986), followed by the sequel Highlander II: The Quickening (1991).
He directed Denzel Washington and John Lithgow in the violent Ricochet (1991), made The Shadow (1994) with Alec Baldwin (a film version of the comic book) and took the helm for Swimming Upstream (2003).
In recent years Mulcahy has been involved in directing several telemovies and episodes of TV shows, including Queer as Folk (2000), 3: The Dale Earnhardt Story (2004), Mysterious Island (2005) and The Curse of King Tut's Tomb (2006) starring Casper Van Dien.- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Gillian Armstrong was born on 18 December 1950 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. She is a director and producer, known for My Brilliant Career (1979), Not Fourteen Again (1996) and Little Women (1994). She is married to John Pleffer. They have two children.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Wayne Blair was born on 28 November 1971 in Taree, New South Wales, Australia. He is an actor and director, known for The Sapphires (2012), Mystery Road (2018) and Redfern Now (2012).- Writer
- Producer
- Actor
David Michôd is known for The King (2019), Animal Kingdom (2010) and The Rover (2014). He is married to Mirrah Foulkes.- Actress
- Director
- Writer
Jennifer Kent was born on 5 March 1969 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. She is an actress and director, known for The Nightingale (2018), The Babadook (2014) and Monster (2005).- Writer
- Director
- Producer
Writer/director Geoffrey Wright specializes in making tough, gritty features with a hard and unflinching edge to them. He was born in 1959 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. Geoffrey graduated from the Swinburne Film and Television School with a Diploma of Arts in Film and Television. Wright worked as a movie critic for both the "Melbourne Age" and Radio 3AW prior to making his feature debut with the poignant short drama "Lover Boy." "Lover Boy" won awards for Best Australian Short Film at both the Sydney and Melbourne Film Festivals. Geoffrey caused quite a stir with the powerful and controversial "Romper Stomper," which received mixed reviews, but was a substantial box office hit. "Romper Stomper" won a handful of awards and Wright was even nominated for an AFI Award for Best Director. He followed "Romper Stomper" with the equally strong and startling "Metal Skin." Geoffrey Wright has subsequently directed an episode of the TV series "Naked: Stories of Men," the inspired tongue-in-cheek teen horror slasher romp "Cherry Falls" (Geoffrey won the Best Director Award at the Sitges - Catalonian International Film Festival for this particular picture), and the contemporary Shakespeare revamp "Macbeth."- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Rolf de Heer was born on 4 May 1951 in Heemskerk, Noord-Holland, Netherlands. He is a producer and director, known for Bad Boy Bubby (1993), Ten Canoes (2006) and Charlie's Country (2013).- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Rowan Woods was born in 1959 in Sydney, Australia. He is a director and actor, known for The Boys (1998), Little Fish (2005) and The Kettering Incident (2016).- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Producer
Simon Wincer was born in 1943 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is a director and assistant director, known for The Phantom (1996), Harlequin (1980) and Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (2001).- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Casting Department
Australian director Kate Woods wrapped a busy year in 2021, including directing Netflix's hit series, Umbrella Academy, and Peacock's The Lost Symbol, based on Dan Brown's best-selling book.
Her most recent work includes The Good Lord Bird, directing Ethan Hawke, who created, wrote, and starred in the project. Kate was nominated for Best Direction in a TV Movie or Miniseries by the Australian Director's Guild for Episode 6 of the series. Other projects include the Netflix original series the Messiah and Home Before Dark for Apple+.
Previous television directing credits include: Four of six episodes of Fighting Season for Foxtel and SkyVision U.K, nominated for 7 Australian industry awards including a 2019 AACTA Award for best miniseries; six episodes of the multi-award-winning Changi; three episodes of the Logie Award-nominated The Farm; and four episodes of Simone de Beauvoir's Babies, which won Best Mini-Series at the ATOM Film and Television Awards.
Since 2005 Woods has primarily worked in the United States, contributing to established titles such as: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.; Law and Order; NCIS LA; House MD; Suits; Lie to Me; Nashville; Once Upon a Time; Revenge; Shark; SVU; Private Practice; Past Life; Blindspot. As well as limited series: Underground; Hand of God; Unsolved: The Murders of Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G.
In Australia, Woods enjoys a long association with ABC TV drama. Her episodes of GP, Phoenix, and Janus were nominated for numerous AFI Awards including Best Director. The NHK co- production Escape From Jupiter won the Children's Audience Vote for Best Children's Television Drama at the ATOM Film & Television Awards. Corelli received a BANFF International Award for Best Episode in a Television Series. Adding to the long list are Police Rescue, Heartland; Mercury; Raw FM; Wildside; Something in the Air; MDA; All Saints; City Homicide; the telemovie Blackjack and Jim Henson's sci-fi series Farscape.
In 2008 Woods received the Australian Directors' Guild Michael Carson Award for Excellence in Television Drama Direction.
Woods' first feature film Looking for Alibrandi celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2020, with widespread media coverage reconnecting cast with fans across the world via Zoom interviews and fan festivities during Covid-19. The film, now considered a modern Australian classic, had a successful festival run worldwide, winning Best Film, Best Actress, and Best Editing at the AFI Awards and Best Film at the IF Awards. It gathered multiple prestigious nominations including the Film Critics Circle of Australia awards for Best Film, Best Director, Best Actress, and Best Editing, plus the Best Director at the Variety Club of Australia Awards.
Woods is represented by CAA in the U.S. and HLA Management in Australia- Director
- Writer
- Art Department
Jonathan Teplitzky is known for The Railway Man (2013), Burning Man (2011) and Better Than Sex (2000).- Director
- Writer
- Camera and Electrical Department
Andrew Dominik was born on 7 October 1967 in Wellington, New Zealand. He is a director and writer, known for Chopper (2000), Blonde (2022) and Killing Them Softly (2012).- Cinematographer
- Director
- Writer
Warwick Thornton was born on 23 July 1970 in Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia. He is a cinematographer and director, known for Samson & Delilah (2009), Sweet Country (2017) and Green Bush (2005).- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Bruce Beresford was born in Australia and graduated from Sydney University in 1962. He served as Film Officer for the British Film Institute Production Board from 1966-1971 and as a Film Advisor to the Arts Council of Great Britain. Beresford has also directed several operas including Girl Of The Golden West (Puccini), staged for the Spoleto Festival in Charleston and Spoleto (Italy) and Elektra (Strauss), which was staged for the State Opera Company of South Australia and performed in Adelaide and Melbourne. It won the Award for Best Opera Production of 1991. Immediately prior to starting production on PARADISE ROAD, Beresford directed SWEENEY TODD for the Portland Opera in Oregon.- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Fred began in advertising in Melbourne, Australia, working in an ad agency before joining the film production house, Cinesound. Two years later he founded the Film House directing both TV commercials and PR documentaries. His first foray into feature film making was The Priest, one chapter of the portmanteau film, Libido (1974). His first feature- length film was The Devil's Playground (1975), which won 6 AFI awards and established Fred's reputation as a talented producer, director, writer. The success of his second film The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1977) with Tommy Lewis, Freddie Reynolds. This took Fred to the U.S. where he directed Barbarosa (1981),with Willie Nelson, Gary Busey, Iceman with Timothy Hutton, John Lone (1983), Plenty (1985) starring Meryl Streep, Charles Dance, Sir John Gielgud and Sam Neil, Roxanne (1987) starring Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah. Fred returned to Australia to co-write and direct Evil Angels (aka A Cry in the Dark, 1988) from the novel by John Bryson, starring Meryl Streep and Sam Neil. Other films Fred directed and produced are The Russia House (1990) Sean Connery and Michele Pfeiffer, Mr. Baseball (1992) Ken Takakura, Tom Selleck, and Aya Takanashi. Six Degrees of Separation (1993) Stockard Channing, Donald Sutherland and Will Smith, then directed and co-produced IQ (1994) with Walter Matthau, Meg Ryan and Tim Robbins. Fred directed a re-shoot and restructure of Fierce Creatures (1996) John Cleese, Kevin Kline, Jamie Lee Curtis. Then he wrote the screenplay, produced and directed Last Orders (2000) Ray Winston, Michael Caine, Bob Hoskins. Soon after he directed and co-produced It Runs in the Family (2002) with Kirk, Michael and Cameron Douglas, Bernadette Peters and Michele Monaghan. Fred directed and co-produced Richard Russo's Empire Falls (2004) featuring Paul Newman, Ed Harris, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joanne Woodward, Robin Wright Penn and Helen Hunt for HBO. It was nominated for a number of awards and won the Golden Globe for Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television. In 2009 he directed and co-produced The Eye of the Storm, based on the novel by acclaimed author Patrick White starring Charlotte Rampling, Geoffrey Rush and Judy Davis. The film won the Special Jury Prize at Rome International Film Festival in November 2011. Fred's most recent project was 2013's Words & Pictures, with Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche. Since then he has been busy writing and developing a five part mini series, two original feature films, one a light comedy of a wedding on a train that goes crazily wrong, the other a satire of Bond 007 involving much mayhem and mistaken identities. He co-wrote, with Judy Morris, a romancedy set in China and Australia. Then co-wrote, with Morrie Rosmarin, a whistle blower thriller/romance. Fred is also mid development of The Olive Sisters, a romance across two time periods and Hitches, his original screenplay of a coming of age adventure. Fred Schepisi was awarded the Order of Australia for his service to the Australian film industry as a director, producer and screenwriter and a mentor to up and coming filmmakers.- Director
- Additional Crew
- Writer
Matthew Saville is known for Noise (2007), Please Like Me (2013) and Franz & Kafka (1997). He is married to Bryony Marks.- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Craig Gillespie is an Australian film director, best known for his films Lars and the Real Girl (2007), I, Tonya (2017) and Cruella (2021). Born and raised in Sydney, Gillespie moved to New York City at the age of nineteen to study illustration, graphic design and advertising at Manhattan's School of Visual Arts. Gillespie worked for fifteen years as a commercial director, commonly working with cinematographers Adam Kimmel and Rodrigo Prieto. His debut feature film was 2007's Mr. Woodcock but he left the project after several negative test screenings, and many scenes were re-written and re-shot.- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Henri Safran was born on 7 October 1932 in Paris, France. He is a director and writer, known for The Wild Duck (1983), Norman Loves Rose (1982) and Storm Boy (1976).- Director
- Writer
- Producer
Carl Schultz was born on 19 September 1939 in Budapest, Hungary. He is a director and writer, known for Careful, He Might Hear You (1983), The Seventh Sign (1988) and Goodbye Paradise (1982).- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Yahoo Serious (born Greg Gomez Pead) became one of Australia's most successful independent conceptual artists and filmmakers of the 1980s and 1990s. Considered the first Australian to write, produce, direct and star in a major motion picture. He legally changed his name to "Yahoo Serious" in 1980 before his sudden fame.
Born July 27, 1953 in New South Wales, Australia, Greg grew up near Newcastle and worked as a tyre fitter for a time to get through art school, but was eventually expelled from the school. Soon after he started combining his artistic talents with absurdist comedy and earned a lot of skeptical looks along the way.
At age 21, Yahoo independently wrote, produced, directed and filmed "Coaltown," a documentary tracing the socio-political history of coal mining. It was released in 1977. The following year he won the National Award for Best Australian Educational Documentary for his TV series "Lifestyle." After extensive traveling throughout Asia, Europe and America, he began writing, directing and performing in experimental comedy and became the first Australian to do so in a major motion picture.
This led to the spectacular success of his first weird, skimpily-budgeted vehicle Young Einstein (1988), the story of a young Tasmanian farmer who discovers rock music along with the theory of relativity. Blending political/social satire, silliness and slapstick with eye-popping visuals, he hit the jackpot with young audiences. Grossing over $100 million, he instantly branched out internationally, hitting all the popular talk shows and even making the cover of TIME magazine (February, 1989). Audiences took a fascination to his unique cinematic style. True to form, Serious involved himself in practically every detail of the making of the movie, from creating the original concept and script through incorporating the visual design and music soundtrack and performing all his own stunts.
Following this crazy but fantastic roller coaster ride, Yahoo was not able to produce a follow up movie soon enough and quickly became yesterday's news. Coming out five years later, Reckless Kelly (1993) was the story of a Robin Hood-like, motorcycle-riding robber who becomes a Hollywood movie star. While it matched his first film in unconventional silliness, it would not match its box office success or popularity and it disappeared rather quickly. He worked in tandem with his one-time wife, producer Lulu Pinkus, on all three films. They divorced in 2007.
Yahoo's third movie, Mr. Accident (2000), which centered around the most accident-prone man in the world, was also a commercial failure while still finding a cult following. Receiving an honorary doctorate from the University of Newcastle in 1996, he was a guest for the opening of the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
While no projects have occurred since his third film, who knows what's up this unique artist's sleeve next. An inveterate traveler and surfer living on the beaches of New South Wales, Yahoo is a board member of the Kokoda Track Foundation, a humanitarian aid organization focused on the indigenous people of Papua New Guinea. The Foundation provides education, health, and community services as well as disaster relief and tourism plans.- Director
- Writer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Don Sharp was born on the island of Tasmania off of Australia, and began his show-business career there as an actor. After World War II he traveled to England and continued his acting carer. He became a director in the mid-1950s and turned out some low- and medium-budget musicals, such as the Tommy Steele vehicle The Dream Maker (1963). In the mid-1960s he was hired by horror specialist Hammer Films and turned out some well-received thrillers, including The Kiss of the Vampire (1963), his first for Hammer. He worked on a few films as second-unit director, most notably Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes (1965), before returning to directing again, and turned out a string of thrillers, horror films and comedies. Towards the end of his career he worked in television on mini-series.- Director
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- Additional Crew
Catherine Shortland is an Australian filmmaker from Temora, New South Wales who is known for directing the Marvel film "Black Widow." She also directed the feature-length films "Somersault", "Lore", and "Berlin Syndrome." She directed the short films "Pentuphouse", "Flowergirl", and "Joy." She is married to Tony Krawitz and they have two children.- Actor
- Director
- Producer
Jeremy Sims is a prolific and popular figure in Australian artistic life. He works as an actor, director and producer across theatre, film and television. He has directed 5 feature films, over 40 hours of Television and won two AACTA/AFI awards.
In 2006, Jeremy produced and directed Last Train to Freo. The film received 3 AFI Award Nominations, including Best Actor.
In 2010 his second feature, the WW1 epic Beneath Hill 60 was nominated for 12 AFI Awards, 5 IF Awards and 8 FCCA Awards, including Best Director and Best Film across all three awards.
Jeremy was awarded the prestigious Alfred P Sloan Feature Prize at the Hamptons International Film Festival.
2014's Last Cab to Darwin, which he co-wrote, was a financial and critical hit. It received 13 AACTA (AFI) award nominations, with four cast members getting best actor nods, and Michael Caton winning for the lead role of Rex.
Jeremy's last film Rams, starring Sam Neill, Michael Caton and Miranda Richardson, was released in 2020 had multiple AACTA award nominations and has become a worldwide hit.
Jeremy has directed multiple seasons of the internationally successful period drama 'A Place to Call Home' as well as the 8 part Medical Rescue series RFDS for Endemol/Shine and the 6 part series Back To The Rafters for Amazon.
Jeremy has four feature films and a two television projects in development, including two features in late stage development with Screen Australia, slated to shoot next year.- Director
- Writer
- Actor
Kriv Stenders is known for Red Dog (2011), Boxing Day (2007) and The Illustrated Family Doctor (2005).- Director
- Producer
- Editor
Brett Sullivan is a London based Australian filmmaker. He is a founder and Creative Director at Steam Motion and Sound, located in London and New York.
In filmed stage features, Sullivan has directed Love Never Dies, Billy Elliot Live, Miss Saigon, Disneys Newsies, The Prince of Egypt, Aladdin, Waitress on Broadway. He also directed the concert film Michael Bublé Tourstop 148, and award wining PBS documentary Special When Lit, the definitive cult film on pinball.
Sullivan has directed and produced numerous music videos, documentaries, television programs and commercials for music artists such as Madonna, Michael Bublé, Phil Collins, Cher, Seal, Ed Sheeran, Natalie Merchant, Bette Midler, Jason Derulo, FUN, Josh Groban, Nile Rodgers, Robert Plant, James Blunt, Muse, Eric Clapton among others.
Sullivan has been the film producer for live to cinema events Les Miserables at the O2, Phantom of the Opera at the Royal Albert Hall & Jesus Christ Superstar, Heathers the Music, and Audra McDonald I Am What I Am.
Brett has filmed many musicals in the West End, Broadway, Germany, Canada and Australia including The Lion King, Hamilton, Singin' in the Rain, Beautiful, Oliver, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Wicked, Company, Pippin, Dirty Dancing, Mary Poppins, Kinky Boots, Jersey Boys, Les Misérables, Phantom of the Opera, Shrek, War Horse, A Strange Loop, Here Lies Love, The Rockettes and many more.- Writer
- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Hogan was born in Brisbane, Queensland. As a teenager, he lived on the North Coast of New South Wales and attended Mt St Patrick's College. He was said to have had a difficult time in high school as he was a victim of bullying. His film Mental is based upon his difficult adolescent years.- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Michael Rymer was born in 1963 in Australia. He is a director and producer, known for Angel Baby (1995), Battlestar Galactica (2004) and Hannibal (2013).- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Rachel Perkins' Australian Aboriginal heritage (Arrernte/Kalkadoon) has informed her entire filmmaking career. She founded Australia's premier Indigenous production company Blackfella Films in 1992, and has contributed extensively to the development of Indigenous filmmakers in Australia and, more broadly, to the Australian film and television industry.
Rachel has directed four feature films: Jasper Jones (nominated for Best Film at the 2017 AACTA Awards), as well as Radiance, One Night the Moon (which received 5 Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards), and the musical Bran Nue Dae which screened at the Sundance, Berlin and Toronto Film Festivals, and achieved a box office of $7.5 million in Australia. Rachel's films have screened at over 75 film festivals worldwide.
In 2012 Rachel directed the telemovie Mabo, which screened on ABC1 to mark the 20th anniversary of the historic High Court decision. Mabo was nominated for Most Outstanding Mini Series or Telemovie at the 2013 TV Week Logie Awards.
Rachel directed three episodes of the landmark ABC television drama series Redfern Now. The first Australian drama series written, directed and produced by Indigenous Australians, Redfern Now was awarded the 2013 and 2014 TV Week Logies for Most Outstanding Drama Series, and the 2014 AACTA Award for Best Television Drama Series. In 2013 and 2014 Rachel received the Australian Directors Guild (ADG) Awards for Best Direction in a TV Drama Series for her work on Redfern Now. In 2015 she directed the final telemovie instalment of Redfern Now: Promise Me, for which she received the 2015 ADG Award for Best Direction in a TV Drama Series.
In 2018 Rachel directed all 6 episodes of the first season of critical and ratings hit Mystery Road for the ABC.
In 2019 Rachel directed the 6 x 1 hour ABC drama series Total Control for the ABC, which premiered at Toronto International Film Festival, won the 2019 AACTA Award for Best TV Drama Series, the 2020 MIPCOM Diversify TV's Excellence Award for Representation of Race and Ethnicity (Scripted) and the 2021 Bronze Award for an Entertainment Program (Drama) at the New York Festivals TV & Flm Awards.
Rachel also wrote, directed and co-produced the seven-hour documentary series First Australians (2008), which received Australia's top honours including AFI and IF Awards, the UN Media Peace Prize, TV Week Logie, and the Writers and Directors Guild of Australia Awards. First Australians has sold throughout the world and is the highest selling educational title in Australia.
In 2014 Rachel completed the documentary Black Panther Woman for SBS, which was a finalist in the Documentary Australia Foundation Award at the Sydney Film Festival.
In 2015 she raised funding from a wide variety of sources for the Arrernte Women's Project, an archival recording of the traditional dances of the Arrernte women of Central Australia as a cultural project to preserve a unique cultural tradition.
Rachel is currently directing and writing First Wars for SBS, a major historical documentary series about the nation's frontier conflicts.
Rachel's other documentary work includes the series Blood Brothers, on which she was one of the writers, directors and producers as well as Spirit to Spirit, an international co-venture of Indigenous partners from New Zealand, Scandinavia, Canada and Australia.
With her Blackfella Films business partner, Darren Dale, Rachel Perkins co-curated the film program for the Message Sticks Indigenous Festival at the Sydney Opera House from 2002 until 2011, and in 2012 presented the curated program of Indigenous films Blackfella Films Presents in partnership with major Australian film festivals. Rachel has also curated the film programs for the Corroboree Sydney Indigenous arts festival and the Garma Indigenous Festival.
Since 2000, Rachel has been Managing Editor and Publisher of The Black Book Indigenous arts directory which is hosted online by Blackfella Films.
Rachel is a Member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences. She was honoured to receive the inaugural Contribution to Television IF Award at the 2011 Jameson IF Awards. In addition to her experience as an executive producer for both ABC and SBS Television, Rachel has previously served on the Council of the Australian Film Television and Radio School, the NSW Film and Television Office (now Screen NSW), the Australia Film Commission, and was a founding member of the National Indigenous Television Service (NITV).
Rachel was a member of the Board of Screen Australia from 2009 to 2013, and a Fellow of The University of Sydney Senate from 2011 to 2013. Rachel currently serves on the Council of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies (AIATSIS), and the Australian Heritage Council (Department of the Environment and Energy) and, along with other leading Australians active in the corporate, government, Indigenous and philanthropic sectors, Rachel is also on the Board of Jawun, a non-profit organisation which facilitates and manage secondments from the corporate and public sectors to a range of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander partner organisations in urban, regional and remote communities across Australia.- Director
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Alex Proyas has moved effortlessly between helming TV commercials and music videos to feature films. Born to Greek parents in Egypt, Proyas relocated to Australia with his family when he was three years old. He began making films at age ten and went on to attend the Australian Film Television and Radio School along with Jane Campion and Jocelyn Moorhouse. Proyas collaborated with Campion on two of her shorts, A Girl's Own Story (1984), for which he wrote and performed a song, and Passionless Moments (1983), which he photographed. Proyas' own short, Groping (1980), had earned him some attention at festival screenings in Sydney and London. Also while still a student, the enterprising novice formed Meaningful Eye Contact, a production company. Spirits of the Air: Gremlins of the Clouds (1987) marked Proyas' feature debut as director and screenwriter. Set in a post-apocalyptic world, the film, with its stylized production design and aural texture, was atypical of standard Australian fare, more closely resembling a longform music video. Critics admired the director's vision, but felt the overall result was lacking. Proyas continued to hone his craft helming TV advertisements for products like Nike, Nissan and Swatch (earning kudos from advertising associations in both Australia and England) and directing videos for such artists as Sting, INXS and Crowded House. In 1993 Proyas was tapped to helm the screen adaptation of James O'Barr's comic strip The Crow (1994). During production, star Brandon Lee died of an accidental gunshot wound (ironically, the film's story revolves around his character's resurrection). His death cast a pall over the remainder of the filming and its subsequent theatrical release, although reviews were generally favorably, most singling out the production values which created a colorless rain-soaked wasteland that invoked comparisons with Ridley Scott's seminal Blade Runner (1982) and Tim Burton's Batman (1989). Made for about $14 million, it grossed close to $50 million domestically. Proyas seemed set to move on to other projects and was announced as the director of Casper (1995), but left the project and was replaced by Brad Silberling. After a four-year absence he returned with another thriller, Dark City (1998), about an amnesiac who may or may not have been a serial killer. Garage Days (2002) marked Proyas' return to his homeland, Australia: the movie tells the story of a young Sydney garage band desperately trying to make it big in the competitive world of rock 'n' roll. In 2004 Proyas returned to Hollywood: he directed I, Robot (2004), a science-fiction film suggested by the 'Isaac Asimov' short story compilation of the same name that starred Will Smith. It was a box office success, but met with mixed reactions by readers and fans of the Asimov stories.- Writer
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Chris Noonan was born on 14 November 1952 in Sydney, Australia. He is a writer and director, known for Babe (1995), Stepping Out (1980) and Miss Potter (2006).- Producer
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Born in the Australian rural town of Griffith, New South Wales, Phillip Noyce moved to Sydney with his family at the age of 12. As a teenager, he was introduced to underground films produced on shoestring budgets as well as mainstream American movies. He was 18 when he made his first film, the 15-minute Better to Reign in Hell (1969) utilizing a unique financing scheme selling roles in the movie to his friends.
In 1973 he was selected to attend the Australian National Film School in its inaugural year. Here, he made Castor and Pollux (1973) a 50 minute documentary which won the award for best Australian short film of 1974.
Noyce's first professional film was the 50-minute docudrama God Knows Why, But It Works (1976) in 1975. This helped pave the way for his first feature, the road movie Backroads (1977) which starred Australian Aboriginal activist Gary Foley and iconic Australian actor Bill Hunter who would go on to appear in 2 other Noyce films. In 1978, he directed and co-wrote Newsfront (1978), which won Best Film, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay at the Australian Film Awards, as well as proving a huge commercial hit in Australia. In addition to opening the London Film Festival, Newsfront was the first Australian film to screen at the New York Film Festival.
In 1982, Heatwave (1982), co-written and directed by Noyce and starring Judy Davis, was chosen to screen at the Director's Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.
The success of the Australian produced Dead Calm (1989), starring Nicole Kidman, Sam Neill and Billy Zane brought Noyce to Hollywood, where he directed 6 films over the next decade, including Patriot Games (1992) and Clear and Present Danger (1994) starring Harrison Ford, and The Bone Collector (1999), starring Oscar© winners Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie.
In 2002 Noyce returned to his native Australia, where released two films worldwide at almost the same time. The Quiet American (2002) starred Michael Caine in an Academy nominated Best Actor performance and appeared on over 20 top ten lists for 2002, including the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute. Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) was based on the true story of three Aboriginal girls abducted from their families by Australian authorities in 1931 as part of an official government policy. The film won Best Picture at the Australian Film Awards, and together with The Quiet American garnered Noyce numerous best director awards including National Board of Review in the US and UK's London Film Critics Circle.
In 2006 Noyce directed Tim Robbins and Derek Luke in the South African set political thriller Catch a Fire (2006).
2010 Saw Noyce re-teaming with Angelina Jolie for his biggest box-office hit, the spy thriller Salt (2010), which grossed $295 million worldwide.
In Spring 2011, Noyce directed and executive produced the pilot for the ABC series Revenge (2011), which ended a four-season run on May 10, 2015.
In 2013 Noyce directed and executive produced the NBC pilot Crisis (2014), which went to series. Later that year, he returned to South Africa to film The Giver (2014), starring Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, and Brenton Thwaites, which opened in the US on August 15, 2014 from The Weinstein Company.
In 2016 Noyce directed the first night of the Emmy nominated miniseries Roots (2016).
In 2017 Noyce directed the pilot and first episode of Fox Network's medical show The Resident (2018) reuniting him with Emily VanCamp, who starred in Revenge.
In 2018 Noyce directed the feature Above Suspicion (2019), starring Emilia Clarke and Jack Huston. In 2018 he also directed the pilot and first episode of the 10-part series What/If (2019), starring Renée Zellweger and created by Revenge creator Mike Kelley, to be released in June 2019 by Netflix.- Director
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George Miller was born on 28 November 1943 in Edinburgh, Scotland, UK. He was a director and producer, known for The Man from Snowy River (1982), Matlock Police (1971) and The NeverEnding Story II: The Next Chapter (1990). He died on 17 February 2023 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.- Director
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J.P. McGowan was born on 24 February 1880 in Terowie, South Australia, Australia. He was a director and actor, known for The Lost Express (1917), Hills of Missing Men (1922) and Do or Die (1921). He was married to Mrs. Kaye Swart Northrop, Leona (Lorna) Haviland and Helen Holmes. He died on 26 March 1952 in Hollywood, California, USA.- Director
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After training as a fine artist before working as a director in Theatre and Opera, Australian writer, director, and producer Greg McLean's filmmaking career began when he wrote and directed the horror smash hit 'Wolf Creek.' The film played at the Sundance and Cannes Film Festivals before going onto worldwide 'cult film' status. After this success, he established Emu Creek Pictures, a production company based in Melbourne, Australia. He then wrote, directed, and produced the thrillers 'Rogue' and 'Wolf Creek 2', before directing, 'The Darkness', 'The Belko Experiment', and the survival thriller; 'Jungle'. Greg Executive Produced and directed episodes on two seasons of the 'Wolf Creek TV series and recently directed episodes for series including; 'The Gloaming', 'Bloom', 'Jack Irish', 'La Brea' (Seasons 1 and 2), 'The Twelve and was the series director for 'Scrublands' in 2023.- Director
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Known for his bold career growth, Australian director Justin Kurzel, who, after the striking debut feature The Snowtown Murders (2011), which conquered hearts of people on many festivals, has chosen a Shakespearean adaptation (Macbeth (2015)) starring famous international film actors Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard in the main roles as his second film, then was taking even more bold choice to take on blockbuster project, a screen adaptation of Assassin's Creed (2016) videogame, as only third of his features.
Kurzel was born on August 3, 1974 in the South Australian Gawler. His brother is the musician and composer Jed Kurzel, who is often working with him on various projects. Both grew up in Gawler.
Kurzel began studying at the National Institute of Dramatic Art in Sydney at the early 1990s.
At first he was making a music videos for the rock band The Messhall, founded by his brother. In 2005 future filmmaker made his first short film Blue Tongue (2005). Then, after six years, he released The Snowtown Murders (2011), a film about the mass murderer case starring Daniel Henshall which was praised and acclaimed both by the critics and by the audience for the striking experience of which is a truly cold and terrifying film it gives to the viewer. Kurzel had also written the script for the film, for which he was awarded the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award as Best Director in 2011, Gold Hugo at the Chicago International Film Festival, won Film Critics Circle of Australia Award for Best Directing and was nominated for Australian Directors Guild Award, British Film Institute Awards,
Then he wrote and direct one segment of The Turning (2013), the Boner McPharlin's Moll, for which, alongside all the other directors attached to the making, he was nominated for Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award for Best Directing.
In 2015, a turning point for Kurzel's career, he directed a successful adaptation of the Shakespearean tragedy Macbeth (2015), in which Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard took the main parts. The film was screened at the Cannes International Film Festival in 2015, when it received a Special Mention in FIPRESCI Prize, Special Mention on Critics Wee, and compete for the Palme d'Or, Golden Camera, Queer Palm and Critics Week Grand Prize. The film was very well received amongst the viewers and critics, was nominated for variety of awards across the globe and was presented with a special premiere showing at Edinburgh, Scotland, where all the main filming took place. For directing this film he was nominated for British Independent Film Awards as the Best Director.
During the shooting, the strong working relationship between Kurzel and actors Michael Fassbender and Marion Cotillard has been established, which resulted in announcing on December 2016 that he will helm the film adaptation of the popular computer game Assassin's Creed (2016) starring both of the actors alongside Jeremy Irons, Brendan Gleeson, Charlotte Rampling and Kurzel's wife Essie Davis. Making of such a high-profile studio picture established Kurzel in the world of high-budget filmmaking, giving him many doors open for his future possible projects.
Kurzel currently resides in London, UK with his wife, actress Essie Davis, and their children.- Director
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Robert Luketic was born on 1 November 1973 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is a director and writer, known for The Ugly Truth (2009), Killers (2010) and 21 (2008).- Director
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Clayton Jacobson was born on 26 October 1963 in Australia. He is a director and editor, known for Kenny (2006), Brothers' Nest (2018) and Upgrade (2018).- Director
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Gregor Jordan was born in 1966 in Sale, Victoria, Australia. He is a director and writer, known for Two Hands (1999), Ned Kelly (2003) and Buffalo Soldiers (2001).- Director
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Rod Hardy was born in 1949 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He is a director and producer, known for December Boys (2007), Thirst (1979) and Two for Texas (1998).- Director
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Australian-born writer, producer and director Patrick Hughes continues to establish himself as one of Hollywood's most in-demand filmmakers by bringing compelling material to global audiences anchored by striking visuals and comedic storytelling.
Upcoming, Hughes will debut THE HITMAN'S WIFE'S BODYGUARD, which he directed for Lionsgate, starring Ryan Reynolds, Salma Hayek, and Samuel L. Jackson. The film follows the world's most lethal odd couple, bodyguard Michael Bryce (Reynolds) and hitman Darius Kincaid (Jackson) on another life-threatening mission. The film will be released by Lionsgate on June 16, 2021. The feature is the follow up to the smash hit THE HITMAN'S BODYGUARD, also starring Reynolds and Jackson, which was #1 at the box office for three consecutive weeks and grossed over $180 million worldwide.
Additionally, next year Sony will release Hughes' highly-anticipated feature THE MAN FROM TORONTO, which he directed, and features another all-star cast including Woody Harrelson, Kevin Hart and Kaley Cuoco. The film is centered on the world's deadliest assassin and New York's biggest screw-up being mistaken for one another at an Airbnb rental. It will debut on January 14, 2022.
Previously, Hughes served as the director of the most recent installment of 'The Expendables' franchise, THE EXPENDABLES 3 for which he was handpicked by Sylvester Stallone to helm. Starring Stallone, Harrison Ford, Mel Gibson and Arnold Schwarzenegger, the film was released by Lionsgate on August 11, 2014.
In 2010, Hughes directed, wrote and produced the modern-western thriller RED HILL. The film, which marked Hughes' feature directorial debut, premiered to rave reviews at the Berlin Film Festival - where it was one of the hottest sales and the fasting-selling film at the festival that year - and went on to be celebrated by audiences and critics alike.
Hughes is known worldwide as a venerated commercial film director with notable spots for brands such as Xbox, BMW, Honda, Mercedes, Vodafone and Toyota. A graduate of the Victorian College of the Arts (VCA) Film & Television school, Hughes' has written and directed over twenty short films including the 2001 Tropfest winner The Lighter, and Signs; a romantic tale that quickly became an online sensation, garnering over 10 million hits and winning a Cannes Gold Lion in 2009.
He is based in Los Angeles and in Melbourne.- Producer
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Robert is one of Australia's most acclaimed and best-known filmmakers with an international career spanning 30 years. His films include the box office hit Paper Planes with Sam Worthington, Balibo starring Oscar Isaac and Anthony Lapaglia and the compendium feature film The Turning with Cate Blanchett and Rose Byrne. Most recently Robert wrote and directed The Dry based on Jane Harper's best-seller and starring Eric Bana. In television, he directed the International Emmy-nominated The Slap and Barracuda for NBC Universal and recently completed Deep State for Fox Network Group, starring Mark Strong. As a producer and executive producer Robert's credits include The Boys, Romulus My Father, The Warriors, Gallipoli and Chasing Asylum.