South Australian Anthony Frith’s close encounter with “Sharknado” prodco The Asylum in “Mockbuster” is among five handpicked titles to be showcased at the Adelaide Film Festival Goes to Cannes showcase, held at Cannes Marché du Film on May 17.
The five works in progress range from queer adult anime, comedic doc, and traditional non-fiction to family dramas, helmed mostly by newcomers, and reflect the dynamic filmmaking community of Southern Australia, set to tempt potential co-financiers in Cannes.
So far two titles have received international backing. “Mockbuster” has been pre-sold to Giant Pictures and Drafthouse Films for North America, on top of domestic distribution in Australia via Umbrella Entertainment; Kelly Schilling’s drama “With or Without You,” handled locally by Icon Film Distribution, has been picked up by global sales agent LevelK.
Aimed at bringing together selected South Australian creators and producers with global industry delegates and to promote South Australia as a filmmaking hub,...
The five works in progress range from queer adult anime, comedic doc, and traditional non-fiction to family dramas, helmed mostly by newcomers, and reflect the dynamic filmmaking community of Southern Australia, set to tempt potential co-financiers in Cannes.
So far two titles have received international backing. “Mockbuster” has been pre-sold to Giant Pictures and Drafthouse Films for North America, on top of domestic distribution in Australia via Umbrella Entertainment; Kelly Schilling’s drama “With or Without You,” handled locally by Icon Film Distribution, has been picked up by global sales agent LevelK.
Aimed at bringing together selected South Australian creators and producers with global industry delegates and to promote South Australia as a filmmaking hub,...
- 4/24/2024
- by Annika Pham
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Australian streamer Stan has today unveiled a 25-strong slate, adding scripted titles from Matchbox Pictures and the producers behind Colin From Accounts, acquisitions from the UK and U.S. and a new version of Drag Race to its ranks.
Content from the likes of All3Media, AMC, Banijay, the BBC, Fremantle, ITV, Lionsgate, Universal Internatational Studios, Paramount, Sony and Warner Bros Discovery is on the slate, which was showcased at the iconic Sydney Opera House as Stan’s latest salvo in Australia’s competitive streaming market.
Among the key scripted originals is Critical Incident, a psychological crime thriller from Matchbox, the Australian production subsidiary of Universal Studio Group-owned Universal International Studios. Written by Sarah Bassiuoni (The Secrets She Keeps), it recently completed production in Western Sydney, with major production investment from Screen Australia.
The six-part show depicts life in the Western suburbs of Sydney and delves into the complex...
Content from the likes of All3Media, AMC, Banijay, the BBC, Fremantle, ITV, Lionsgate, Universal Internatational Studios, Paramount, Sony and Warner Bros Discovery is on the slate, which was showcased at the iconic Sydney Opera House as Stan’s latest salvo in Australia’s competitive streaming market.
Among the key scripted originals is Critical Incident, a psychological crime thriller from Matchbox, the Australian production subsidiary of Universal Studio Group-owned Universal International Studios. Written by Sarah Bassiuoni (The Secrets She Keeps), it recently completed production in Western Sydney, with major production investment from Screen Australia.
The six-part show depicts life in the Western suburbs of Sydney and delves into the complex...
- 3/12/2024
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Lily Sullivan earned a lot of horror-loving fans with her performance in last year’s Evil Dead Rise, writer/director Lee Cronin’s addition to the Sam Raimi-created Evil Dead franchise. Those horror-loving fans are going to have a new Sullivan film to check out soon, when Well Go USA gives a theatrical and digital release to Monolith on February 16th – and with just a month to go before that date arrives, a trailer for the film has arrived online. You can check it out in the embed above.
The feature directorial debut of Matt Vesely, who has 15 years of short film credits on his filmography, Monolith was written by Lucy Campbell. This is Campbell’s first feature writing credit, following multiple script editor and script coordinator credits on projects like the Wolf Creek TV series, Wanted, Pine Gap, The Hunting, Upright, Stateless, A Sunburnt Christmas, Firebite, and Aftertaste.
The feature directorial debut of Matt Vesely, who has 15 years of short film credits on his filmography, Monolith was written by Lucy Campbell. This is Campbell’s first feature writing credit, following multiple script editor and script coordinator credits on projects like the Wolf Creek TV series, Wanted, Pine Gap, The Hunting, Upright, Stateless, A Sunburnt Christmas, Firebite, and Aftertaste.
- 1/10/2024
- by Cody Hamman
- JoBlo.com
"It is spreading like a disease - any of us could be next!" Well Go USA has revealed an official trailer for a sci-fi mystery indie film titled Monolith, made down in Australia by filmmaker Matt Vesely as his feature directorial debut following a few other shorts. This first premiered in 2022 at the Adelaide Film Festival in Australia, with screenings at SXSW, Overlook, Fantasy Filmfest, FrightFest, & Screamfest in 2023. The film stars Lily Sullivan as a journalist whose investigative podcast uncovers an artifact, an alien conspiracy, leading her to uncover the lies at the heart of her own story. Through the clever containment of a single location and only one on-screen character, Monolith surveils a disgraced journalist who turns to podcasting, before uncovering a strange artifact that she believes is evidence of an alien conspiracy. The small cast also includes voices of Ling Cooper Tang, Ansuya Nathan, Erik Thomson, and Terence Crawford.
- 1/9/2024
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Production is underway on “Kangaroo Island,” the feature film debut from Australian director Tim Piper and screenwriter Sally Gifford.
The family relationship drama-comedy centers around a struggling Hollywood actress forced to reunite with her sister as part of her father’s last wishes. It stars Rebecca Breeds, Erik Thomson, Adelaide Clemens and Joel Jackson.
Lou Wells (portrayed by Breeds) was set to become Hollywood’s next big thing – but a few years later, she’s hit rock bottom. Broke and aimless, she reluctantly accepts a ticket from her estranged father (Thomson), home to Kangaroo Island for a “family reunion.” When her father’s real agenda unfolds, years of tension resurface, and Lou struggles between continuing to run away from her past or working to repair the damage done.
“Kangaroo Island” is a Pouch Potato Productions production, in conjunction with Piro Inc. Ot has financial support from the South Australian Film...
The family relationship drama-comedy centers around a struggling Hollywood actress forced to reunite with her sister as part of her father’s last wishes. It stars Rebecca Breeds, Erik Thomson, Adelaide Clemens and Joel Jackson.
Lou Wells (portrayed by Breeds) was set to become Hollywood’s next big thing – but a few years later, she’s hit rock bottom. Broke and aimless, she reluctantly accepts a ticket from her estranged father (Thomson), home to Kangaroo Island for a “family reunion.” When her father’s real agenda unfolds, years of tension resurface, and Lou struggles between continuing to run away from her past or working to repair the damage done.
“Kangaroo Island” is a Pouch Potato Productions production, in conjunction with Piro Inc. Ot has financial support from the South Australian Film...
- 12/19/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Amid breaking news coverage of the attacks on Israel, Fremantle has decided against bringing the Australian satirical comedy C*A*U*G*H*T, which stars and is executive produced by Sean Penn, to MIPCOM for promotion and international sales amid the expanding conflict with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas.
“In light of the current situation unfolding in Israel, we have taken the decision not to showcase C*A*U*G*H*T at MIPCOM this year. At this time, our hearts and thoughts are with our colleagues and our partners in Israel, and all those affected,” a Fremantle spokesperson said on Tuesday.
The Stan original comedy follows four Australian soldiers who are sent on a secret mission to a war-torn country. Mistaken for Americans, they are captured by freedom fighters and appear in a hostage video that goes viral.
When the soldiers reach celebrity status, they decide being caught might just be the best...
“In light of the current situation unfolding in Israel, we have taken the decision not to showcase C*A*U*G*H*T at MIPCOM this year. At this time, our hearts and thoughts are with our colleagues and our partners in Israel, and all those affected,” a Fremantle spokesperson said on Tuesday.
The Stan original comedy follows four Australian soldiers who are sent on a secret mission to a war-torn country. Mistaken for Americans, they are captured by freedom fighters and appear in a hostage video that goes viral.
When the soldiers reach celebrity status, they decide being caught might just be the best...
- 10/10/2023
- by Etan Vlessing
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Sean Penn-produced satirical series “C*A*U*G*H*T” has dropped out of Mipcom due to the Israel-Hamas war.
“In light of the current situation unfolding in Israel, we have taken the decision not to showcase ‘C*A*U*G*H*T’ at Mipcom this year,” Fremantle said in a statement. “At this time, our hearts and thoughts are with our colleagues and our partners in Israel, and all those affected.”
Australian-made “C*A*U*G*H*T” was meant to hold a Media Mastermind Keynote at the international TV conference in Cannes on Oct. 18. Penn was set to be in attendance, as well as series star Matthew Fox and creator, writer and director Kick Gurry.
The Stan original series follows “four Australian soldiers on a covert mission in a war-torn country,” according to its official plot description. “Mistaken for Americans, they’re captured and produce a hostage video that achieves unexpected viral success,...
“In light of the current situation unfolding in Israel, we have taken the decision not to showcase ‘C*A*U*G*H*T’ at Mipcom this year,” Fremantle said in a statement. “At this time, our hearts and thoughts are with our colleagues and our partners in Israel, and all those affected.”
Australian-made “C*A*U*G*H*T” was meant to hold a Media Mastermind Keynote at the international TV conference in Cannes on Oct. 18. Penn was set to be in attendance, as well as series star Matthew Fox and creator, writer and director Kick Gurry.
The Stan original series follows “four Australian soldiers on a covert mission in a war-torn country,” according to its official plot description. “Mistaken for Americans, they’re captured and produce a hostage video that achieves unexpected viral success,...
- 10/10/2023
- by Ellise Shafer
- Variety Film + TV
Sean Penn, whose Volodymyr Zelenskyy documentary “Superpower” recently launched on Paramount+, will be on the iconic stage of Cannes’s Grand Auditorium later this month — but it won’t be for a movie.
The Oscar winner is set to attend Mipcom, the international TV conference, alongside Matthew Fox (“Lost”) and Kick Gurry (“Edge of Tomorrow”) to discuss their wartime satire series “C*A*U*G*H*T” as part of a Media Mastermind Keynote on Oct. 18. Penn, who stars and serves as executive producer on the show, will participate in a panel discussion with Fox and Curry. The session will see them discuss ways in which the series explores themes of identity, fame and social media absurdities.
Landing a Hollywood star like Penn is a massive coup for Mipcom, which has sought to raise its profile within a competitive landscape for industry events.
A Stan original, “C*A*U*G...
The Oscar winner is set to attend Mipcom, the international TV conference, alongside Matthew Fox (“Lost”) and Kick Gurry (“Edge of Tomorrow”) to discuss their wartime satire series “C*A*U*G*H*T” as part of a Media Mastermind Keynote on Oct. 18. Penn, who stars and serves as executive producer on the show, will participate in a panel discussion with Fox and Curry. The session will see them discuss ways in which the series explores themes of identity, fame and social media absurdities.
Landing a Hollywood star like Penn is a massive coup for Mipcom, which has sought to raise its profile within a competitive landscape for industry events.
A Stan original, “C*A*U*G...
- 10/6/2023
- by Elsa Keslassy
- Variety Film + TV
Sean Penn, Matthew Fox, and Kick Gurry are heading to Mipcom Cannes to talk about their satirical comedy series C*A*U*G*H*T.
In a major coup for the TV market, they’ll discuss the Australian show in an exclusive Media Mastermind Keynote on Wednesday, October 18 at 12pm local time in France, alongside distributor Fremantle.
Two-time Academy Award winner actor Penn, who serves as an executive producer (and acts as himself in the series), will feature in the panel in at the Palais des Festivales’ Grand Auditorium, alongside Fox (Lost), and Curry (Edge of Tomorrow), moderated by TV and film critic Rhianna Dhillon.
The session will feature footage and an ‘In Conversation with’ segment featuring Penn, Fox and Gurry, bringing insights about approach taken for the series, which explores themes of identity, fame, and the absurdity of the viral age and looks to comedically deconstructs the intellectual ideas humanity faces.
In a major coup for the TV market, they’ll discuss the Australian show in an exclusive Media Mastermind Keynote on Wednesday, October 18 at 12pm local time in France, alongside distributor Fremantle.
Two-time Academy Award winner actor Penn, who serves as an executive producer (and acts as himself in the series), will feature in the panel in at the Palais des Festivales’ Grand Auditorium, alongside Fox (Lost), and Curry (Edge of Tomorrow), moderated by TV and film critic Rhianna Dhillon.
The session will feature footage and an ‘In Conversation with’ segment featuring Penn, Fox and Gurry, bringing insights about approach taken for the series, which explores themes of identity, fame, and the absurdity of the viral age and looks to comedically deconstructs the intellectual ideas humanity faces.
- 10/6/2023
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
Susan Sarandon, playing the U.S. Secretary of State Alaska Adams, gets the better of Bryan Brown, as the Australian prime minister, in a fast-paced verbal duel that represents the first footage from the Sean Penn-produced satirical comedy series “C*A*U*G*H*T.”
An elite team of Aussie soldiers is sent to an island nation to retrieve a secret file that has gone astray. Mistaken for Americans, they are captured by freedom fighters and produce a hostage video that goes viral. When the soldiers achieve celebrity status on social media, they realize that being caught might just be the best thing that could’ve happened to them.
“C*A*U*G*H*T” explores themes of identity, fame, and the absurdity of the viral age. “Why can’t we comedically deconstruct the intellectual ideas that humanity is facing right now?” says Kick Gurry who directs, produces and stars in the six-part series.
An elite team of Aussie soldiers is sent to an island nation to retrieve a secret file that has gone astray. Mistaken for Americans, they are captured by freedom fighters and produce a hostage video that goes viral. When the soldiers achieve celebrity status on social media, they realize that being caught might just be the best thing that could’ve happened to them.
“C*A*U*G*H*T” explores themes of identity, fame, and the absurdity of the viral age. “Why can’t we comedically deconstruct the intellectual ideas that humanity is facing right now?” says Kick Gurry who directs, produces and stars in the six-part series.
- 8/30/2023
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Stan Original series 'C*A*U*G*H*T' follows four Australian soldiers, played by Kick Gurry, Ben O'Toole, Lincoln Younes, and Alexander England, that are sent on a secret mission to a war-torn country after the Australian Minister of Defence (Erik Thomson) texts a ‘secret file’ to the Princess of Behati-Prinsloo, a small island nation.
The post ‘C*A*U*G*H*T’ (Trailer) appeared first on If Magazine.
The post ‘C*A*U*G*H*T’ (Trailer) appeared first on If Magazine.
- 8/22/2023
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
There’s nothing quite like having an Oscar-winning actor in your corner, or perhaps a star of one of the biggest TV Series of all time. In the case of Kick Gurry, creator, producer and actor in the forthcoming Stan Original Series “Caught,” the backing of Sean Penn and Matthew Fox has undoubtedly been a boon.
After Gurry shared an early teaser of the show crafted with friends in Australia, Penn’s reaction was music to his ears. As Gurry shared with Variety, “He said everyone’s afraid of stories right now and we have to be pushing forward with courage in storytelling.”
Indeed, the courage to tell bold, new stories has resulted in an audacious six-episode satirical comedy series slated to premiere later in 2023. The series boasts a formidable cast that Gurry describes as a “murderer’s row of talent.” Among them, Sean Penn, who also serves as an executive producer,...
After Gurry shared an early teaser of the show crafted with friends in Australia, Penn’s reaction was music to his ears. As Gurry shared with Variety, “He said everyone’s afraid of stories right now and we have to be pushing forward with courage in storytelling.”
Indeed, the courage to tell bold, new stories has resulted in an audacious six-episode satirical comedy series slated to premiere later in 2023. The series boasts a formidable cast that Gurry describes as a “murderer’s row of talent.” Among them, Sean Penn, who also serves as an executive producer,...
- 5/23/2023
- by Callum McLennan
- Variety Film + TV
"The only way to make sure he's safe, is to keep him secret." Quiver Distribution has revealed an official US trailer for the Australian eco drama Blueback, now set to open in theaters (nationwide!!) in March in the US. The film originally premiered at TIFF 2022 last fall, and already opened in Australia earlier in the year. Most recently it just played at the 2023 Sundance Film Festival last monh. An inspiring story for the whole family, Tim Winton's best-selling novel comes to life on the big screen. The latest film from The Dry director Robert Connolly, starring Mia Wasikowska. The story follows Abby, a young girl who initially befriends a magnificent wild blue groper while diving. When she's older, Abby realizes that the fish is under threat, and she takes inspiration from her activist Mum, Dora, taking on the poachers to save her friend. The film also stars Radha Mitchell,...
- 2/6/2023
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Sundance Now and AMC+ have released the official trailer for Black Snow, a new six-part series premiering on February 23, 2023. Described as part whodunit and part coming-of-age drama, Black Snow stars Travis Fimmel as a cold-case detective investigating a murder.
In addition to unveiling the official trailer, AMC+ and Sundance Now released a batch of photos ahead of the show’s two-episode premiere.
In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, Fimmel described why Black Snow caught his interest.
“What intrigued me about him is that he’s a very flawed character. He’s got a lot of issues, childhood issues that he’s still dealing with, parental figures, and I think that’s the reason he became a cold-case detective,” said Fimmel. “There’s some stuff that unravels in the story that he went through that is very similar to the stuff that’s going on in the main storyline.
In addition to unveiling the official trailer, AMC+ and Sundance Now released a batch of photos ahead of the show’s two-episode premiere.
In an interview with The Sydney Morning Herald, Fimmel described why Black Snow caught his interest.
“What intrigued me about him is that he’s a very flawed character. He’s got a lot of issues, childhood issues that he’s still dealing with, parental figures, and I think that’s the reason he became a cold-case detective,” said Fimmel. “There’s some stuff that unravels in the story that he went through that is very similar to the stuff that’s going on in the main storyline.
- 2/2/2023
- by Rebecca Murray
- Showbiz Junkies
Following on the heels of international hit “The Dry,” veteran Australian director Robert Connelly has tackled another local literary adaptation in “Blueback,” based on his celebrated compatriot Tim Winton’s 1997 novella. That slender tome (subtitled “A Contemporary Fable”) was aimed primarily at younger readers. The film adopts a somewhat more grownup, realistic, less parabolic tenor, though its ecology-minded narrative remains a bit sketchy for feature treatment — resulting in a pleasant, very handsome-looking movie rather short on dramatic impact.
Nonetheless, it’s got more than enough significant plusses to offer, from an appealing cast led by Mia Wasikowska and Radha Mitchell to much spectacularly inviting underwater photography. Having already played a few other fests in advance of its Sundance showcase (and opened commercially in a few territories), it is slated for U.S. theatrical release by Quiver Distribution on Feb. 24, with VOD following April 21.
Abby Jackson (Wasikowska) is a marine biologist working on a seafaring lab,...
Nonetheless, it’s got more than enough significant plusses to offer, from an appealing cast led by Mia Wasikowska and Radha Mitchell to much spectacularly inviting underwater photography. Having already played a few other fests in advance of its Sundance showcase (and opened commercially in a few territories), it is slated for U.S. theatrical release by Quiver Distribution on Feb. 24, with VOD following April 21.
Abby Jackson (Wasikowska) is a marine biologist working on a seafaring lab,...
- 1/21/2023
- by Dennis Harvey
- Variety Film + TV
Sean Penn, who was recently close to the front lines of the war in Ukraine, is playing a fictionalized version of himself in satirical Australian series “C*A*U*G*H*T.” The show is an original production for Australian streamer Stan and has now started production in Sydney’s Fox Studios.
The six-part series follows four Australian soldiers sent on a secret mission to a war-torn country. Mistaken for Americans, they are captured by freedom fighters and produce a hostage video that goes viral. When the soldiers reach celebrity status, they realize that being caught might just be the best thing that could’ve happened to them.
The series is written, directed and produced by Australian actor and film maker Kick Gurry (“Edge of Tomorrow”) who will star alongside Penn.
Penn also executive produces the show alongside producers John and Michael Schwarz (“Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan”, “Gold”) from Deeper Water Films,...
The six-part series follows four Australian soldiers sent on a secret mission to a war-torn country. Mistaken for Americans, they are captured by freedom fighters and produce a hostage video that goes viral. When the soldiers reach celebrity status, they realize that being caught might just be the best thing that could’ve happened to them.
The series is written, directed and produced by Australian actor and film maker Kick Gurry (“Edge of Tomorrow”) who will star alongside Penn.
Penn also executive produces the show alongside producers John and Michael Schwarz (“Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan”, “Gold”) from Deeper Water Films,...
- 10/2/2022
- by Katherine Tulich
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Two-time Oscar winner and Gaslit star Sean Penn and Lost‘s Matthew Fox are set as leads of an Australian satirical comedy series for streaming service Stan. The pair will star in C*A*U*G*H*T, a six-part series from Kick Gurry (Edge of Tomorrow) that takes aim at fame and stardom.
Joining them are series creator Gurry, Bella Heathcote (Bloom), Bryan Brown (Bloom), Erik Thomson (Black Snow), Ben O’Toole (Hacksaw Ridge), Lincoln Younes (After the Verdict), Alexander England (Black Snow), Mel Jarnson (Mortal Kombat), Fayssal Bazzi (Stateless), Dorian Nkono (The Twelve) and Rebecca Breeds (Clarice).
Stan plans to launch the series, which is in production, in 2023. It is producing in association with Fremantle, which also has international distribution rights and has struck an exclusive UK deal with ITV’s upcoming streaming service, Itvx.
Satirical comedy C*A*U*G*H*T follows four Australian soldiers sent...
Joining them are series creator Gurry, Bella Heathcote (Bloom), Bryan Brown (Bloom), Erik Thomson (Black Snow), Ben O’Toole (Hacksaw Ridge), Lincoln Younes (After the Verdict), Alexander England (Black Snow), Mel Jarnson (Mortal Kombat), Fayssal Bazzi (Stateless), Dorian Nkono (The Twelve) and Rebecca Breeds (Clarice).
Stan plans to launch the series, which is in production, in 2023. It is producing in association with Fremantle, which also has international distribution rights and has struck an exclusive UK deal with ITV’s upcoming streaming service, Itvx.
Satirical comedy C*A*U*G*H*T follows four Australian soldiers sent...
- 9/28/2022
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
“Take a good close look at what we’re fighting for,” says Mia Wasikowska’s oceanographer in “Blueback,” as she scans the Australian bay where she grew up. She’s talking to a colleague, even as writer-director Robert Connolly (“Paper Planes”) is really saying the same thing to us.
Connolly has turned Tim Winton’s 1997 novella into his own environmental cri de coeur — premiering at the Toronto Film Festival — and while the specifics can get a bit clunky, his passion drives our interest all the way to the end.
The end is where we begin, actually, with Wasikowska’s Abby getting a call while she’s working. Her aging mother, Dora (Liz Alexander), has had a stroke, and Abby has to rush back to remote Longboat Bay (Western Australia’s Bremer Bay stands in for the fictional coast) to care for her.
Also Read:
‘Judy & Punch’ Film Review: Provocative...
Connolly has turned Tim Winton’s 1997 novella into his own environmental cri de coeur — premiering at the Toronto Film Festival — and while the specifics can get a bit clunky, his passion drives our interest all the way to the end.
The end is where we begin, actually, with Wasikowska’s Abby getting a call while she’s working. Her aging mother, Dora (Liz Alexander), has had a stroke, and Abby has to rush back to remote Longboat Bay (Western Australia’s Bremer Bay stands in for the fictional coast) to care for her.
Also Read:
‘Judy & Punch’ Film Review: Provocative...
- 9/16/2022
- by Elizabeth Weitzman
- The Wrap
"The only way to make sure that he's safe - is to keep him a secret." And to save the reef!! Roadshow Films in Australia has revealed the first official Australian trailer for the film Blueback, a nature drama opening Down Under this summer. The film is premiering at the 2022 Toronto Film Festival this month, hence the new trailer out for its upcoming premiere. An inspiring story for the whole family, Tim Winton's best-selling novel comes to life on the big screen. The latest film from The Dry director Robert Connolly, starring Mia Wasikowska as Abby. The story follows Abby, a young girl who initially befriends a magnificent wild blue groper while diving. When she's older, Abby realizes that the fish is under threat, she takes inspiration from her activist Mum, Dora, and takes on poachers to save her friend. The film also stars Radha Mitchell, Ilsa Fogg (as the younger Abby), Liz Alexander,...
- 9/7/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Exclusive: Vikings, Raised By Wolves and Warcraft star Travis Fimmel has been set to lead new mystery-drama series Black Snow, which is underway in Australia for streamer Stan.
The six-part series follows the mystery of a small-town murder that rocked North Queensland’s Australian South Sea Islander community. The show is financed and produced in association with All3Media International, which is handling international sales. Sundance Now is releasing in U.S.
Also starring are newcomers Talijah Blackman-Corowa and Jemmason Power with Brooke Satchwell, Alexander England, Rob Carlton, Erik Thomson, Kym Gyngell, and Australian singer Ziggy Ramo making his screen debut.
The Stan Original is part coming-of-age drama and part whodunit. In 1995, seventeen-year-old Isabel Baker was murdered. The crime shocked the small town of Ashford and devastated Isabel’s Australian South Sea Islander community. The case was never solved, the killer never found. In 2020, the opening of a time capsule unearths...
The six-part series follows the mystery of a small-town murder that rocked North Queensland’s Australian South Sea Islander community. The show is financed and produced in association with All3Media International, which is handling international sales. Sundance Now is releasing in U.S.
Also starring are newcomers Talijah Blackman-Corowa and Jemmason Power with Brooke Satchwell, Alexander England, Rob Carlton, Erik Thomson, Kym Gyngell, and Australian singer Ziggy Ramo making his screen debut.
The Stan Original is part coming-of-age drama and part whodunit. In 1995, seventeen-year-old Isabel Baker was murdered. The crime shocked the small town of Ashford and devastated Isabel’s Australian South Sea Islander community. The case was never solved, the killer never found. In 2020, the opening of a time capsule unearths...
- 7/11/2022
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
"There are a lot of women who really like the thought of a man cleaning their house." Brainstorm Media has revealed an official US trailer for an Australian indie sex comedy called How to Please a Woman, both written and directed by filmmaker Renée Webster. The film opens later this month in a few American cities, and it also played at the 2022 Bentonville Film Festival. This looks like pure unadulterated fun! When her all-male house-cleaning business gets out of control, a mature woman must embrace her own sexuality, if she is to make a new life for herself. The film is described as "a precarious, often hilarious and revealing journey into the vulnerable world of what women really want and how hard it can be to get it right." Starring Sally Phillips as Gina, with Erik Thomson, Alexander England, Ryan Johnson, Caroline Brazier, Josh Thomson, Hayley McElhinney, and Tasma Walton.
- 7/7/2022
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
Comedy “How to Please a Woman,” starring “Veep” and “Bridget Jones Diary” actor Sally Phillips, has generated brisk business for Beta Cinema. Brainstorm Media has taken all rights for the U.S. and will release the film theatrically on July 22, and pay TV operator Sky has secured all rights for the U.K.
Beta Cinema also sold all rights for Canada (Mongrel Media), Poland (Monolith Films), former Yugoslavia (Discovery), Czech Republic (Bohemia Motion Pictures) and Hungary (Ads).
Madmen will put the film out in Australia and New Zealand on a wide release on May 19 and May 26, respectively.
Phillips stars as 50-year-old Gina, who feels she has become “invisible to everyone.” Establishing a house-cleaning service, staffed by good-looking male cleaners who provide cleaning with benefits, the film follows her as she learns how to ask for what she wants and encourages other women to do the same.
“We fell in love...
Beta Cinema also sold all rights for Canada (Mongrel Media), Poland (Monolith Films), former Yugoslavia (Discovery), Czech Republic (Bohemia Motion Pictures) and Hungary (Ads).
Madmen will put the film out in Australia and New Zealand on a wide release on May 19 and May 26, respectively.
Phillips stars as 50-year-old Gina, who feels she has become “invisible to everyone.” Establishing a house-cleaning service, staffed by good-looking male cleaners who provide cleaning with benefits, the film follows her as she learns how to ask for what she wants and encourages other women to do the same.
“We fell in love...
- 5/4/2022
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
Coming Home In The Dark Review — Coming Home In The Dark (2021) Film Review, a movie directed by James Ashcroft and starring Daniel Gillies, Erik Thomson, Miriama McDowell, Matthias Luafutu, Billy Paratene, Frankie Paratene, Desray Armstrong, Alan Palmer, Ike Hamon, Sam Carter, Bailey Cowan, Timon Zeiss, Tioti O’Donnell and Kaira O’Donnell. New Zealand director [...]
Continue reading: Film Review: Coming Home In The Dark (2021): Grim And Violent Film Is Well Acted But Occasionally Redundant...
Continue reading: Film Review: Coming Home In The Dark (2021): Grim And Violent Film Is Well Acted But Occasionally Redundant...
- 10/10/2021
- by Thomas Duffy
- Film-Book
The premiere of Amazon’s Back to the Rafters last month and the impending production of Netflix’s Heartbreak High offer insight into how international platforms approach local IP with cultural resonance.
Whereas one picks up the story of a family six years after their last outing, the other will reimagine a world from before the turn of the century, sharing only its title and young adult genre with the original.
The local and international popularity of both series – Heartbreak High was sold to more than 80 countries in the ’90s and Packed to the Rafters to a number of European and Asian territories, as well as South Africa – makes them appealing for platforms like Netflix and Amazon with global audiences. However, the process of bringing back an old favourite is not always a smooth one.
Five years ago, Foxtel commissioned a re-imagining of Joan Lindsay’s novel Picnic at Hanging Rock...
Whereas one picks up the story of a family six years after their last outing, the other will reimagine a world from before the turn of the century, sharing only its title and young adult genre with the original.
The local and international popularity of both series – Heartbreak High was sold to more than 80 countries in the ’90s and Packed to the Rafters to a number of European and Asian territories, as well as South Africa – makes them appealing for platforms like Netflix and Amazon with global audiences. However, the process of bringing back an old favourite is not always a smooth one.
Five years ago, Foxtel commissioned a re-imagining of Joan Lindsay’s novel Picnic at Hanging Rock...
- 10/6/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
Stars: Daniel Gillies, Matthias Luafatu, Miriama McDowell, Erik Thomson, Billy Paratene, Frankie Paratene, Alan Palmer | Written by James Ashcroft, Eli Kent | Directed by James Ashcroft
From Black Sheep to Deathgasm to Housebound, New Zealand has a pretty good relationship with horror, even if it leans towards the comedy side sometimes (this is no bad thing of course!) but Coming Home In The Dark is anything but a comedy movie.
It doesn’t take long to realise this either as the opening scenes show two guys come across a family in the beautiful but scarcely populated New Zealand wilderness. These two guys aren’t very nice people and are soon taking the family on a terrifying road trip.
Coming Home In The Dark is brutally violent but you’ll never numb to this violence. It isn’t plastered across every minute of the movie, there’s meaning, thought and reasoning behind each and every hit.
From Black Sheep to Deathgasm to Housebound, New Zealand has a pretty good relationship with horror, even if it leans towards the comedy side sometimes (this is no bad thing of course!) but Coming Home In The Dark is anything but a comedy movie.
It doesn’t take long to realise this either as the opening scenes show two guys come across a family in the beautiful but scarcely populated New Zealand wilderness. These two guys aren’t very nice people and are soon taking the family on a terrifying road trip.
Coming Home In The Dark is brutally violent but you’ll never numb to this violence. It isn’t plastered across every minute of the movie, there’s meaning, thought and reasoning behind each and every hit.
- 9/13/2021
- by Alain Elliott
- Nerdly
John Huston’s classic “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” (1948) echoes through Roderick MacKay’s feature debut “The Furnace” which premiered at last year’s Venice section Orizzonti, before heading on a festival tour with the final stop at Karlovy Vary, where we caught it. Both films are the stories of gold and greed, but the key difference between them are their milieus and the differences between the American and the Australian use of western genre tropes.
In America, westerns were created to preserve the myth of the hardy pioneers that fought the savage Natives for the land and have pushed the frontiers of the so-called civilised world from one ocean to another. Only in the New Hollywood era, the revisionist westerns appeared aimed at debunking the myths and used as the metaphorical canvas to expose the American imperial politics of the 20th century. In Australia, however, the western setting...
In America, westerns were created to preserve the myth of the hardy pioneers that fought the savage Natives for the land and have pushed the frontiers of the so-called civilised world from one ocean to another. Only in the New Hollywood era, the revisionist westerns appeared aimed at debunking the myths and used as the metaphorical canvas to expose the American imperial politics of the 20th century. In Australia, however, the western setting...
- 9/1/2021
- by Marko Stojiljković
- AsianMoviePulse
Six-part series Back to the Rafters, set to debut globally on Amazon Prime Video September 17, picks up six years on from when we last saw the Rafter family. Dave (Erik Thomson) and Julie (Rebecca Gibney) have created a new life in the country with youngest daughter Ruby (Willow Speers).
As everyone comes together in Sydney to celebrate Dave and Julie’s 35th Anniversary, history repeats and circumstances force them all to cram into Ben’s two-bedroom home – once again packed to the-you-know-what. During the visit it becomes apparent that the older Rafter children are facing new challenges with Ben (Hugh Sheridan) recently married to Cassie (HaiHa Le) and hoping to start a family, Nathan (Angus McLaren) trying to do it all as a single dad to Edward (Kaspar Frost) and Rachel (Georgina Haig) living a secret life in New York. Granddad Ted (Michael Caton) struggles to find his place, Julie...
As everyone comes together in Sydney to celebrate Dave and Julie’s 35th Anniversary, history repeats and circumstances force them all to cram into Ben’s two-bedroom home – once again packed to the-you-know-what. During the visit it becomes apparent that the older Rafter children are facing new challenges with Ben (Hugh Sheridan) recently married to Cassie (HaiHa Le) and hoping to start a family, Nathan (Angus McLaren) trying to do it all as a single dad to Edward (Kaspar Frost) and Rachel (Georgina Haig) living a secret life in New York. Granddad Ted (Michael Caton) struggles to find his place, Julie...
- 8/25/2021
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
New Trailer Available For Sundance Shocker Coming Home In The Dark – In Theaters And VOD October 1st
Coming Home In The Dark Directed by James Ashcroft Written by Eli Kent and James Ashcroft Starring Daniel Gillies, Erik Thomson, Miriama McDowell, Matthias Luafutu Dark Sky Films Will Release Coming Home In The Dark In Select Theaters and VOD On October 1st **Sundance Film Festival 2021 – Official Selection** “As an exploration of the …
The post New Trailer Available For Sundance Shocker Coming Home In The Dark – In Theaters And VOD October 1st appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.
The post New Trailer Available For Sundance Shocker Coming Home In The Dark – In Theaters And VOD October 1st appeared first on Horror News | Hnn.
- 8/22/2021
- by Adrian Halen
- Horror News
Perhaps the most surprising thing of Coming Home in the Dark is seeing Daniel Gillies with a Kiwi accent and appearing to pull it off. Not as surprising is that he appears to be playing a bad guy with some nuance; something the actor has done very effectively for much of his career.
James Ashcroft's feature film debut, which he co-wrote with Eli Kent, stars Erik Thomson and Miriama McDowell as Hoagie and Jill respectively. The couple is on an idyllic outing at an isolated coastline with their sons when they are taken hostage by a pair of drifters, Mandrake and Tubs (played by Gillies and Matthias Luafutu).
While at first Hoagie and Jill assume the encounter was random, it soon becomes clear that Mandrake and Hoagie have history and the encounter was not accidental.
::...
James Ashcroft's feature film debut, which he co-wrote with Eli Kent, stars Erik Thomson and Miriama McDowell as Hoagie and Jill respectively. The couple is on an idyllic outing at an isolated coastline with their sons when they are taken hostage by a pair of drifters, Mandrake and Tubs (played by Gillies and Matthias Luafutu).
While at first Hoagie and Jill assume the encounter was random, it soon becomes clear that Mandrake and Hoagie have history and the encounter was not accidental.
::...
- 8/10/2021
- QuietEarth.us
Coming Home in the Dark Trailer 2 — Dark Sky Films has released the second movie trailer for Coming Home in the Dark (2021). View here the first Coming Home in the Dark trailer. Crew The Coming Home in the Dark stars Daniel Gillies, Erik Thomson, Miriama McDowell, Desray Armstrong, and Matthias Luafutu. James [...]
Continue reading: Coming Home In The Dark (2021) Movie Trailer 2: Two Drifters take a Family by Force, Initiating a Collision with Their Past...
Continue reading: Coming Home In The Dark (2021) Movie Trailer 2: Two Drifters take a Family by Force, Initiating a Collision with Their Past...
- 8/9/2021
- by Rollo Tomasi
- Film-Book
"Where are you taking us?" "Home..." Dark Sky Films has released another new official US trailer for the New Zealand "nihilistic morality thriller" film Coming Home in the Dark, which originally premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. A family’s idyllic outing descends into terror when a high school teacher and his family go out exploring an isolated coastline. An unexpected meeting with a pair of murderous drifters thrusts the family into a nightmare road trip where they find themselves captured by the enigmatic psychopath Mandrake and his hulking man-child accomplice Tubs. Coming Home in the Dark stars Daniel Gillies, Erik Thomson, Miriama McDowell, and Matthias Luafut. One review says the film is a "rivetingly nasty ride and an assured debut from a promising new director." This trailer starts out quite calm, but gets more intense as it goes on. Looks like it gets very dark and...
- 8/8/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
“As an exploration of the ways in which childhood damage can manifest asunfettered evil in adults, Coming Home In The Dark is a rivetingly nasty rideand an assured debut from a promising new director.”– David Rooney, The Hollywood Reporter
Dark Sky Films Will Release Coming Home In The Dark Directed by James Ashcroft, In Select Theaters and VOD On October 1st. Check out the scary trailer:
A family’s idyllic outing at an isolated coastline descends into terror when high school teacher Alan ‘Hoaggie’ Hoaganraad, his wife Jill, and stepsons Maika and Jordon unexpectedly come across a pair of murderous drifters – the enigmatic psychopath Mandrake and his hulking man-child accomplice Tubs – who thrust them into a nightmare road trip. At first, the family’s terror seems to be born of a random encounter with two sociopaths, but as the night drags on, Hoaggie and Jill realize that this nightmare...
Dark Sky Films Will Release Coming Home In The Dark Directed by James Ashcroft, In Select Theaters and VOD On October 1st. Check out the scary trailer:
A family’s idyllic outing at an isolated coastline descends into terror when high school teacher Alan ‘Hoaggie’ Hoaganraad, his wife Jill, and stepsons Maika and Jordon unexpectedly come across a pair of murderous drifters – the enigmatic psychopath Mandrake and his hulking man-child accomplice Tubs – who thrust them into a nightmare road trip. At first, the family’s terror seems to be born of a random encounter with two sociopaths, but as the night drags on, Hoaggie and Jill realize that this nightmare...
- 8/5/2021
- by Tom Stockman
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Coming Home in the Dark Trailer — James Ashcroft‘s Coming Home in the Dark (2021) movie trailer has been released. The Coming Home in the Dark trailer stars Daniel Gillies, Erik Thomson, Miriama McDowell, Desray Armstrong, and Matthias Luafutu. Crew James Ashcroft and Eli Kent wrote the screenplay for Coming Home in the Dark. Matt Henley [...]
Continue reading: Coming Home In The Dark (2021) Movie Trailer: A Family is Kidnapped on Vacation in James Ashcroft’s Thriller Film...
Continue reading: Coming Home In The Dark (2021) Movie Trailer: A Family is Kidnapped on Vacation in James Ashcroft’s Thriller Film...
- 7/20/2021
- by Rollo Tomasi
- Film-Book
"I'm a magician. I make things disappear..." An international trailer has debuted for the New Zealand film titled Coming Home in the Dark, which originally premiered at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. The film has been praised as a "nihilistic morality thriller" and "nail-biting" tale of a family on a road-trip gone awry. A school teacher is forced to confront a brutal act from his past when a pair of ruthless drifters takes him and his family on a nightmare road-trip. Coming Home in the Dark stars Daniel Gillies, Erik Thomson, Miriama McDowell, and Matthias Luafut. From the looks of it, this is a very intense thriller that gets into some very dark places once it gets going. There are a lot of good films coming out of New Zealand recently and all horror fans should keep their eye on this one. Get a first look at the film below.
- 7/15/2021
- by Alex Billington
- firstshowing.net
The leading sales, finance and production outfit Beta Cinema will present first footage from the upcoming Australian comedy drama “How to Please a Woman” at next week’s Pre-Cannes Screenings. Variety has been given the first still from the film, starring Sally Phillips, whose credits include the “Bridget Jones’s Diary” movies, and a recurring guest role as the Finnish Prime Minister in “Veep.” The Munich-based firm will show five completed films during the virtual event.
In “How to Please a Woman” Phillips plays a woman in middle age who feels she has become “invisible to everyone.” The film follows her as she learns how to ask for what she wants and encourages other women to do the same. She sets up a house cleaning service, staffed by good-looking male cleaners, with benefits.
Other cast include Erik Thomson, Alexander England (“Alien: Covenant”), and Caroline Brazier. The director and writer is Renée Webster.
In “How to Please a Woman” Phillips plays a woman in middle age who feels she has become “invisible to everyone.” The film follows her as she learns how to ask for what she wants and encourages other women to do the same. She sets up a house cleaning service, staffed by good-looking male cleaners, with benefits.
Other cast include Erik Thomson, Alexander England (“Alien: Covenant”), and Caroline Brazier. The director and writer is Renée Webster.
- 6/18/2021
- by Leo Barraclough
- Variety Film + TV
English actress, television presenter, and comedian Sally Phillips will lead writer/director Renée Webster’s debut feature How to Please a Woman when filming on the comedy/drama gets underway in Wa this month.
Phillips plays Gina, a 50-something woman who has a business idea to launch an all-male house-cleaning service. However, when her business grows out of control, Gina must acknowledge her own appetite if she is to make a new life for herself.
The cast also includes Erik Thomson, Alexander England, Caroline Brazier, Tasma Walton, Roz Hammond, Cameron Daddo and New Zealander Josh Thomson.
How to Please a Woman is being produced by Tania Chambers of Feisty Dame Productions and Judi Levine of Such Much Films, with Deanne Weir, Roxana McMallan, Olivia Humphrey, Adrian and Michela Fini, and Pam and Julius Colman coming on board as executive producers.
Phillips said the opportunity to work with the team of...
Phillips plays Gina, a 50-something woman who has a business idea to launch an all-male house-cleaning service. However, when her business grows out of control, Gina must acknowledge her own appetite if she is to make a new life for herself.
The cast also includes Erik Thomson, Alexander England, Caroline Brazier, Tasma Walton, Roz Hammond, Cameron Daddo and New Zealander Josh Thomson.
How to Please a Woman is being produced by Tania Chambers of Feisty Dame Productions and Judi Levine of Such Much Films, with Deanne Weir, Roxana McMallan, Olivia Humphrey, Adrian and Michela Fini, and Pam and Julius Colman coming on board as executive producers.
Phillips said the opportunity to work with the team of...
- 4/12/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
Sally Phillips, the British actor known for her role in all three Bridget Jones movies, will head the cast of Australian comedy drama film “How to Please a Woman.”
Pitched as a warmhearted look at sexuality and vulnerability at all stages of life, the film casts Phillips as a 50-something woman who has the inspired idea of launching an all-male house-cleaning service. But she must ask herself questions when the business grows out of control.
Production starts next week in Perth, West Australia, under the direction of Renee Webster, whose previous directing credits include Australian Broadcasting Corporation series “The Heights” and “Itch.” Webster also penned the screenplay.
The completed film will be released in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment. International sales are handled by Germany’s Beta Cinema.
Erik Thomson, who recently appeared in “The Furnace” and next appears in “Blueback,” is set as the male lead. Other cast include Alexander England,...
Pitched as a warmhearted look at sexuality and vulnerability at all stages of life, the film casts Phillips as a 50-something woman who has the inspired idea of launching an all-male house-cleaning service. But she must ask herself questions when the business grows out of control.
Production starts next week in Perth, West Australia, under the direction of Renee Webster, whose previous directing credits include Australian Broadcasting Corporation series “The Heights” and “Itch.” Webster also penned the screenplay.
The completed film will be released in Australia and New Zealand by Madman Entertainment. International sales are handled by Germany’s Beta Cinema.
Erik Thomson, who recently appeared in “The Furnace” and next appears in “Blueback,” is set as the male lead. Other cast include Alexander England,...
- 4/12/2021
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Already a hit for ABC Australia, where its first two episodes pulled in nearly one quarter of the audience share for its prime time slot, tasty comedy “Aftertaste” will now participate in the Berlinale Series Market and Conference looking to attract broadcasters abroad.
With its comic story of a cancelled chef and his upstart baker niece, “Aftertaste” is a recipe for laughs. Actor and producer Erik Thomson is Easton West: a celebrity chef with a city-sized ego forced to relocate to his pastoral beginnings and start again alongside his baker niece Diana, played by newcomer Natalie Abbott.
“Aftertaste” is written and created by Julie De Fina and Matthew Bate and produced by Closer Productions for ABC Australia with ABC Commercial taking worldwide distribution rights. Jonathan Brough (“Rosehaven”) directs.
Variety spoke with De Fina and Bate ahead of the series’ Berlin participation.
In a modern story of redemption, what role...
With its comic story of a cancelled chef and his upstart baker niece, “Aftertaste” is a recipe for laughs. Actor and producer Erik Thomson is Easton West: a celebrity chef with a city-sized ego forced to relocate to his pastoral beginnings and start again alongside his baker niece Diana, played by newcomer Natalie Abbott.
“Aftertaste” is written and created by Julie De Fina and Matthew Bate and produced by Closer Productions for ABC Australia with ABC Commercial taking worldwide distribution rights. Jonathan Brough (“Rosehaven”) directs.
Variety spoke with De Fina and Bate ahead of the series’ Berlin participation.
In a modern story of redemption, what role...
- 2/26/2021
- by JD Linville and Jamie Lang
- Variety Film + TV
Eric Bana and Robert Connolly are set to reunite on a new feature adaptation, this time taking on Tim Winton’s Blueback.
Fresh from the success of The Dry, which is approaching $20 million at the box office, Connolly has begun filming for his latest project in Western Australia, assembling a similarly strong cast.
Mia Wasikowska will play main character Abby alongside newcomers Ariel Donoghue and Ilsa Fogg, who will portray the younger Abby.
They are joined by Radha Mitchell, Liz Alexander, Clarence Ryan, Pedrea Jackson, Erik Thomson and Bana.
Set on the coast of Wa, the story centres on Abby, a child who befriends a magnificent wild groper while diving.
When Abby realises that the fish is under threat, she must take on poachers to save her friend.
Writer-director Connolly produces under his Arenamedia banner, together with Liz Kearney and James Grandison.
Blueback has received investment from Screen Australia, in association with Screenwest,...
Fresh from the success of The Dry, which is approaching $20 million at the box office, Connolly has begun filming for his latest project in Western Australia, assembling a similarly strong cast.
Mia Wasikowska will play main character Abby alongside newcomers Ariel Donoghue and Ilsa Fogg, who will portray the younger Abby.
They are joined by Radha Mitchell, Liz Alexander, Clarence Ryan, Pedrea Jackson, Erik Thomson and Bana.
Set on the coast of Wa, the story centres on Abby, a child who befriends a magnificent wild groper while diving.
When Abby realises that the fish is under threat, she must take on poachers to save her friend.
Writer-director Connolly produces under his Arenamedia banner, together with Liz Kearney and James Grandison.
Blueback has received investment from Screen Australia, in association with Screenwest,...
- 2/16/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
The New Zealand film Coming Home in the Dark, James Ashcroft's first feature, starts off intensely: a well-off family enjoy a road trip in the countryside. During a picnic, they are interrupted by a couple of strangers with weapons and a peculiar attitude. The confusion doesn’t take long to clear up, although the fear continues: they are being assaulted. Their vehicle and some belongings are the criminals’ main target. The leader of the thugs, Mandrake –who unlike his silent partner, Tubs (Matthias Luafutu), is outspoken and radiates some charisma despite being a bastard– announces that they’ll retire. The horror seems to end for the family... until one of the sons refers to his father (Erik Thomson)...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...
- 2/9/2021
- Screen Anarchy
An expensive new car slouches on the side of a deserted country road, unoccupied and unattended, while one passenger door hangs open, creaking disconsolately in the afternoon breeze. It’s the kind of opening image that immediately warns you the film to come is up to nothing good, or at least nothing pleasant: “Coming Home in the Dark” never tells us who was behind the wheel of that abandoned car, though it gives us enough indirect detail to paint a pretty vivid, stomach-turning picture of what went down. At first glance, New Zealand filmmaker James Ashcroft’s unforgiving, tightly wound debut appears to be a nihilistic horror excursion in the blood-leaking vein of “Wolf Creek,” before its torture-porn trappings give way to a moral weight as unanticipated by the characters as it is by the audience.
Though it’s plenty nasty and nervy enough to earn its spot in Sundance’s Midnight program,...
Though it’s plenty nasty and nervy enough to earn its spot in Sundance’s Midnight program,...
- 2/5/2021
- by Guy Lodge
- Variety Film + TV
In rural New Zealand, Hoaggie (Erik Thomson) rides in the passenger seat. His wife, Jill (Miriama McDowell), is driving and their sons Maika (Billy Paratene) and Jordan (Frankie Paratene) are in the back. It’s the middle of nowhere in New Zealand: scenic, sure, but totally isolated. It’s a good place for a family picnic too, and it fits the bill for a few minutes. That’s when a greasy dude named Mandrake (Daniel Gillies) and his mute lackey, Tubs (Matthias Luafutu), show up. Mandrake seems to know that Hoaggie is a teacher, and he seems a little too laid back as he attacks the family with pure, unhinged sadism. The fact that he goes on to take the family for an all-night joyride from hell is just a way to salt the wounds.
For a while, Coming Home in the Dark works because it doesn’t just lean into the brutality.
For a while, Coming Home in the Dark works because it doesn’t just lean into the brutality.
- 1/31/2021
- by Matt Cipolla
- The Film Stage
In his new horror film “Coming Home in the Dark,” premiering at Sundance on Saturday, star Daniel Gillies had to go to a dark place to embody the role of Mandrake, a psychopathic killer who abducts two unsuspecting hikers. And his director says he was more than up for the challenge.
“He was willing to put everything on the line, and he was open to exploration and trying new things and getting back on the horse again and again and again,” director James Ashcroft said at TheWrap’s Virtual Sundance Studio. “That’s what I want as a director, is to work with an actor who’s willing to be risky and try and give them as wide a space to swing as possible, or as confined a space, being in a car.”
Much of the action of “Coming Home in the Dark” literally involves Gillies’ character driving his two...
“He was willing to put everything on the line, and he was open to exploration and trying new things and getting back on the horse again and again and again,” director James Ashcroft said at TheWrap’s Virtual Sundance Studio. “That’s what I want as a director, is to work with an actor who’s willing to be risky and try and give them as wide a space to swing as possible, or as confined a space, being in a car.”
Much of the action of “Coming Home in the Dark” literally involves Gillies’ character driving his two...
- 1/30/2021
- by Brian Welk
- The Wrap
All-night bidding wars are as much a staple of the Sundance Film Festival as snow drifts and thin air. The mountaintop gathering highlights the best of indie film and shines a light on the next generation of Tarantinos and Soderberghs. This year looks different. Sundance will go virtual in 2021 due to Covid-19. But that doesn’t mean that studio executives and agents aren’t going to be working the phones just as furiously. Here’s a look at films that have the goods to inspire streaming services and indies to go toe-to-toe in the hopes of landing the next “Palm Springs” or “Promising Young Woman.”
Coda
Director: Sian Heder
Cast: Emilia Jones, Eugenio Derbez, Troy Kotsur
Sales agent: CAA/ICM
Buzz: This drama about a girl who is the only hearing person in her deaf family is said to be emotionally stirring and commercial, two things that should resonate with potential buyers.
Coda
Director: Sian Heder
Cast: Emilia Jones, Eugenio Derbez, Troy Kotsur
Sales agent: CAA/ICM
Buzz: This drama about a girl who is the only hearing person in her deaf family is said to be emotionally stirring and commercial, two things that should resonate with potential buyers.
- 1/28/2021
- by Brent Lang, Rebecca Rubin and Matt Donnelly
- Variety Film + TV
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre echoes through the arid plains of this hardy, old-fashioned yarn. Like John Huston’s classic, The Furnace is a story of gold, greed and amorality with added grit that’s typical of the Australian ‘Meat Pie’ Western. Indeed, it comes during a brutal renaissance in the genre that started with The Proposition and has been followed by such films as Sweet Country, The Nightingale and True History of the Kelly Gang. With its mix of timeless themes and stark milieu, The Furnace joins this canon indepicting a continental history replete with prejudice, cruelty and psychopathic British lawmen.
Our focaliser is Hanif (Ahmed Malek), an Afghan cameleer imported by the Empire to move freight across Australia’s vast interior. Life in the wilderness is harsh, but Hanif finds good company in a group of Aborigines and a Sikh named Jundah (Kaushik Das). However, this is a land of heat,...
Our focaliser is Hanif (Ahmed Malek), an Afghan cameleer imported by the Empire to move freight across Australia’s vast interior. Life in the wilderness is harsh, but Hanif finds good company in a group of Aborigines and a Sikh named Jundah (Kaushik Das). However, this is a land of heat,...
- 1/28/2021
- by Jack Hawkins
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Having burned all his bridges in restaurants across Europe, volatile celebrity chef Easton West (Erik Thomson) finds himself with one more chance in a high-end Shanghai restaurant. But when opening night turns into a pig-slinging disaster, the subsequent social media tsunami washes Easton ashore in the Adelaide Hills.
Arriving like a pariah to a dysfunctional family he abandoned 30 years previously, he finds his outspoken 19-year-old pastry cook niece, Diana (Natalie Abbott), is the only person who shows any interest in his return. Diana represents everything he’s not – young, female and with her finger on the pulse – so Easton takes her under his wing in an effort to crawl his way back to relevance.
Together, Easton and Diana set off on their quest to create Australia’s next great restaurant. But with no money, an anger management problem, and a volatile family literally built upon the skeletons of the past,...
Arriving like a pariah to a dysfunctional family he abandoned 30 years previously, he finds his outspoken 19-year-old pastry cook niece, Diana (Natalie Abbott), is the only person who shows any interest in his return. Diana represents everything he’s not – young, female and with her finger on the pulse – so Easton takes her under his wing in an effort to crawl his way back to relevance.
Together, Easton and Diana set off on their quest to create Australia’s next great restaurant. But with no money, an anger management problem, and a volatile family literally built upon the skeletons of the past,...
- 1/12/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Writer-director Roderick MacKay is keen to further explore frontier mythology following the release of his debut feature The Furnace this week.
Produced by Timothy White (I Am Mother) and Tenille Kennedy (H is for Happiness), the film follows Egyptian actor Ahmed Malek as a young Afghan cameleer who partners with Mal, a mysterious bushman (David Wenham) on the run with two Crown-marked gold bars.
Together the unlikely pair must outwit a zealous police sergeant and his troopers in a race to reach a secret furnace – the one place where they can safely reset the bars to remove the mark of the Crown.
The cast includes Jay Ryan, Erik Thomson (The Luminaries), Baykali Ganambarr (The Nightingale), Trevor Jamieson (Storm Boy), Mahesh Jadu (The Witcher) and Samson Coulter (Breath).
Having had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September, the 1890s drama will open on 115 screens via Umbrella Entertainment tomorrow.
Produced by Timothy White (I Am Mother) and Tenille Kennedy (H is for Happiness), the film follows Egyptian actor Ahmed Malek as a young Afghan cameleer who partners with Mal, a mysterious bushman (David Wenham) on the run with two Crown-marked gold bars.
Together the unlikely pair must outwit a zealous police sergeant and his troopers in a race to reach a secret furnace – the one place where they can safely reset the bars to remove the mark of the Crown.
The cast includes Jay Ryan, Erik Thomson (The Luminaries), Baykali Ganambarr (The Nightingale), Trevor Jamieson (Storm Boy), Mahesh Jadu (The Witcher) and Samson Coulter (Breath).
Having had its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival in September, the 1890s drama will open on 115 screens via Umbrella Entertainment tomorrow.
- 12/9/2020
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
So hefty is the ABC’s slate in 2021, director entertainment and specialist Michael Carrington is confident audiences won’t even realise that many of the broadcaster’s productions faced shutdowns and delays during the pandemic.
As announced at the ABC’s upfronts this afternoon, the line-up for the new year includes new dramas Fires and The Newsreader, new comedies Fisk and Preppers, as well as the return of Total Control, Frayed, Jack Irish, Harrow and Superwog.
2021 will also see the premiere of Jungle Entertainment’s mental health drama Wakefield, with all eps planned to drop on ABC iview.
Also on the line-up is Closer Productions’ chef comedy Aftertaste, starring Erik Thomson, Natalie Abbott and Rachel Griffiths, and feature anthology Here Out West, penned by a group of emerging writers from Western Sydney.
“Seven or eight months ago we were in full production and overnight we stopped production all around Australia,...
As announced at the ABC’s upfronts this afternoon, the line-up for the new year includes new dramas Fires and The Newsreader, new comedies Fisk and Preppers, as well as the return of Total Control, Frayed, Jack Irish, Harrow and Superwog.
2021 will also see the premiere of Jungle Entertainment’s mental health drama Wakefield, with all eps planned to drop on ABC iview.
Also on the line-up is Closer Productions’ chef comedy Aftertaste, starring Erik Thomson, Natalie Abbott and Rachel Griffiths, and feature anthology Here Out West, penned by a group of emerging writers from Western Sydney.
“Seven or eight months ago we were in full production and overnight we stopped production all around Australia,...
- 11/25/2020
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Todd Abbott.
Installed as ABC head of comedy in July, Todd Abbott will start evaluating the development materials of the comedy projects that received support under the $5 million Fresh Start Fund this week – and next week he hopes to greenlight development on several projects that he’s already been evaluating.
That’s the good news for Australian producers and creators – tempered by the fact that the broadcaster’s comedy slate for 2021 is fully committed. So the projects that will advance from now on will premiere in 2022.
Given the ABC’s budget constraints, Abbott tells If: “Everyone has had to tighten their belts. My task is to maintain the comedy department’s output and to keep the Wednesday comedy night thriving – and then I’ll try to work out how to do hostile takeovers of the other nights. None of the projects I am looking at now is expected to be...
Installed as ABC head of comedy in July, Todd Abbott will start evaluating the development materials of the comedy projects that received support under the $5 million Fresh Start Fund this week – and next week he hopes to greenlight development on several projects that he’s already been evaluating.
That’s the good news for Australian producers and creators – tempered by the fact that the broadcaster’s comedy slate for 2021 is fully committed. So the projects that will advance from now on will premiere in 2022.
Given the ABC’s budget constraints, Abbott tells If: “Everyone has had to tighten their belts. My task is to maintain the comedy department’s output and to keep the Wednesday comedy night thriving – and then I’ll try to work out how to do hostile takeovers of the other nights. None of the projects I am looking at now is expected to be...
- 9/15/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘The Furnace.’
Roderick MacKay’s debut feature The Furnace has been hailed as a compelling, ambitious and meticulously researched exploration of a little-known slice of Australian history following the world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival.
Critics praised the performances of Egyptian actor Ahmed Malek as Hanif, a wide-eyed young Afghan cameleer, and David Wenham as a shifty gold prospector.
DOPs Michael McDermott and Bonnie Elliott’s camerawork was lauded for capturing the ancient landscapes of the Western Australian interior, as were Mark Bradshaw’s score and production designer Clayton Jauncey’s recreation of the gold rush town Mount Magnet in its infancy.
Produced by Timothy White and Tenille Kennedy, the 1890s drama co-starring Jay Ryan, Erik Thomson, Kaushik Das, Baykali Ganambarr, Trevor Jamieson, Mahesh Jadu and Samson Coulter screened in the festival’s Horizons section on Saturday.
The plot follows Malek’s Hanif and Wenham’s Mal who...
Roderick MacKay’s debut feature The Furnace has been hailed as a compelling, ambitious and meticulously researched exploration of a little-known slice of Australian history following the world premiere at the Venice International Film Festival.
Critics praised the performances of Egyptian actor Ahmed Malek as Hanif, a wide-eyed young Afghan cameleer, and David Wenham as a shifty gold prospector.
DOPs Michael McDermott and Bonnie Elliott’s camerawork was lauded for capturing the ancient landscapes of the Western Australian interior, as were Mark Bradshaw’s score and production designer Clayton Jauncey’s recreation of the gold rush town Mount Magnet in its infancy.
Produced by Timothy White and Tenille Kennedy, the 1890s drama co-starring Jay Ryan, Erik Thomson, Kaushik Das, Baykali Ganambarr, Trevor Jamieson, Mahesh Jadu and Samson Coulter screened in the festival’s Horizons section on Saturday.
The plot follows Malek’s Hanif and Wenham’s Mal who...
- 9/6/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
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