Tasmania-set crime-drama series “Bay of Fires” is to be reignited for a second season.
The show sees a single mother, portrayed by Marta Dusseldorp, forced into a witness protection program that relocates her and her family to a remote location in Tasmania. There they are surrounded by a community of suspicious and criminally-minded individuals.
The second season gives her a glimmer of hope. After months in which time nobody has tried to kill her, the woman finds herself in a position of influence. But she needs to juggle a host of new problems, some of which are of her own making.
The writing team is headed by Andrew Knight and Max Dann, Romina Accurso, Josephine Dee Barrett and Hannah Samuel (“The Pm’s Daughter”).
The show is an Archipelago Productions and Fremantle Australia production for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It has major production investment from the ABC and Screen Australia, in...
The show sees a single mother, portrayed by Marta Dusseldorp, forced into a witness protection program that relocates her and her family to a remote location in Tasmania. There they are surrounded by a community of suspicious and criminally-minded individuals.
The second season gives her a glimmer of hope. After months in which time nobody has tried to kill her, the woman finds herself in a position of influence. But she needs to juggle a host of new problems, some of which are of her own making.
The writing team is headed by Andrew Knight and Max Dann, Romina Accurso, Josephine Dee Barrett and Hannah Samuel (“The Pm’s Daughter”).
The show is an Archipelago Productions and Fremantle Australia production for the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. It has major production investment from the ABC and Screen Australia, in...
- 2/8/2024
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Production has begun in Sydney on the television drama “After the Verdict,” with Michelle Lim Davidson and Tess Haubrich joining the cast.
The six-part series follows four people who have just finished jury duty on a high-profile murder trial. As they return to normal life, they begin to question their verdict and take matters into their own hands, investigating the murder themselves.
The show was created, written and executive produced by Subtext Pictures’ Ellie Beaumont and Drew Proffitt. The completed series will premiere on the 9Network in Australia with Entertainment One (eOne) handling international sales. The production also received major investment from federal body Screen Australia in association with region screen agency Screen Nsw.
Lim Davidson (“The Newsreader”) and Haubrich (“Wolf Creek”) join the previously announced Sullivan Stapleton, Magda Szubanski and Lincoln Younes in the show’s main cast. Other roles go to Virginia Gay (“Judy and Punch”), Emma Diaz...
The six-part series follows four people who have just finished jury duty on a high-profile murder trial. As they return to normal life, they begin to question their verdict and take matters into their own hands, investigating the murder themselves.
The show was created, written and executive produced by Subtext Pictures’ Ellie Beaumont and Drew Proffitt. The completed series will premiere on the 9Network in Australia with Entertainment One (eOne) handling international sales. The production also received major investment from federal body Screen Australia in association with region screen agency Screen Nsw.
Lim Davidson (“The Newsreader”) and Haubrich (“Wolf Creek”) join the previously announced Sullivan Stapleton, Magda Szubanski and Lincoln Younes in the show’s main cast. Other roles go to Virginia Gay (“Judy and Punch”), Emma Diaz...
- 1/18/2022
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
With the future of Australian TV drama under the microscope, there was always going to be added interest in the ABC’s 2022 slate.
The public broadcaster will deliver in the genre in its 90th year, officially announcing at today’s upfronts new series Significant Others and Savage River.
They join titles Mystery Road: Origin, Troppo, and Barons in a drama line-up that is noticeably larger than what has so far been announced by the commercial free-to-air platforms.
ABC director of entertainment and specialist Michael Carrington told If the broadcaster was pleased to be able to meet demand in the space.
“It’s something our audiences want and I’m thrilled we’re able to provide it,” he said.
“Drama is a really expensive genre. It takes a lot of effort, resources, craft skills, etc. to build a drama series, as well as a lot of time.
“Obviously we are investing...
The public broadcaster will deliver in the genre in its 90th year, officially announcing at today’s upfronts new series Significant Others and Savage River.
They join titles Mystery Road: Origin, Troppo, and Barons in a drama line-up that is noticeably larger than what has so far been announced by the commercial free-to-air platforms.
ABC director of entertainment and specialist Michael Carrington told If the broadcaster was pleased to be able to meet demand in the space.
“It’s something our audiences want and I’m thrilled we’re able to provide it,” he said.
“Drama is a really expensive genre. It takes a lot of effort, resources, craft skills, etc. to build a drama series, as well as a lot of time.
“Obviously we are investing...
- 11/25/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
Tasmania will welcome production on crime/thriller drama series Bay of Fires next year after the ABC greenlit the project.
Produced by Archipelago Productions and Fremantle, the story follows single mother of two Stella Heikkinen (Marta Dusseldorp) as she experiences a spectacular and life-threatening fall from grace.
Betrayed by her own company and in immediate danger, Stella has no option but to move her young family to a small town in the Tasmanian wilds tiny amidst a community rife with simmering feuds, crime, and sometimes, murder.
Dusseldorp, who signed an exclusive development and production partnership with Fremantle in 2018, created the series with Andrew Knight and Max Dann, both of whom are writers alongside Sarah Bassiuoni.
She also produces for Archipelago Productions, alongside Sally Riley for the ABC, and Yvonne Collins. Executive producing are Greg Sitch, alongside Louise Smith for the ABC, and Chris Oliver-Taylor for Fremantle.
Major production investment has come from Screen Australia,...
Produced by Archipelago Productions and Fremantle, the story follows single mother of two Stella Heikkinen (Marta Dusseldorp) as she experiences a spectacular and life-threatening fall from grace.
Betrayed by her own company and in immediate danger, Stella has no option but to move her young family to a small town in the Tasmanian wilds tiny amidst a community rife with simmering feuds, crime, and sometimes, murder.
Dusseldorp, who signed an exclusive development and production partnership with Fremantle in 2018, created the series with Andrew Knight and Max Dann, both of whom are writers alongside Sarah Bassiuoni.
She also produces for Archipelago Productions, alongside Sally Riley for the ABC, and Yvonne Collins. Executive producing are Greg Sitch, alongside Louise Smith for the ABC, and Chris Oliver-Taylor for Fremantle.
Major production investment has come from Screen Australia,...
- 10/20/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
Nine has unveiled dramas Underbelly: Vanishing Act and After the Verdict as part of its 2022 slate, with the network emphasising its “strong investment” in the genre at its upfronts today.
The series join Eq Media Group’s real estate docu-drama Buying Byron, ITV Studios Australia’s prison ob-doc series Australia Behind Bars, Southern Pictures and Orange Entertainment Co’s Missing Persons Investigation, and The Full Box’s Million Dollar Murders as the new titles announced for next year.
The virtual event included the cast announcement of Screentime’s Underbelly: Vanishing Act, which tells the story of Melissa Caddick, the high-roller who allegedly embezzled over $40 million before disappearing.
The series stars Kate Atkinson as Melissa Caddick, alongside Colin Friels, Tai Hara, Maya Stange, Ursula Mills, and Sophie Bloom.
Underbelly: Vanishing Act is produced by Kerrie Mainwaring and Matt Ford, who is also writing alongside Michael Miller, with Geoff Bennett directing.
Subtext...
The series join Eq Media Group’s real estate docu-drama Buying Byron, ITV Studios Australia’s prison ob-doc series Australia Behind Bars, Southern Pictures and Orange Entertainment Co’s Missing Persons Investigation, and The Full Box’s Million Dollar Murders as the new titles announced for next year.
The virtual event included the cast announcement of Screentime’s Underbelly: Vanishing Act, which tells the story of Melissa Caddick, the high-roller who allegedly embezzled over $40 million before disappearing.
The series stars Kate Atkinson as Melissa Caddick, alongside Colin Friels, Tai Hara, Maya Stange, Ursula Mills, and Sophie Bloom.
Underbelly: Vanishing Act is produced by Kerrie Mainwaring and Matt Ford, who is also writing alongside Michael Miller, with Geoff Bennett directing.
Subtext...
- 9/15/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
Kitty Flanagan.
Production is underway on Kitty Flanagan’s six-part comedy Fisk (previously Entitled) for the ABC in Melbourne.
Flanagan stars as Helen Tudor-Fisk, a contract lawyer who is forced to take a job at a shabby suburban law firm specialising in wills and probate. The “fast-paced workplace sitcom” will also star Julia Zemiro, Marty Sheargold, Aaron Chen and Glenn Butcher, diving in to the everyday world of inheritances and squabbling relatives.
One of Porchlight Films’ final productions, the series is produced by Vincent Sheehan and co-directed and written by Flanagan with Penny Flanagan. Tom Peterson also directs. EPs are Greg Sitch, Liz Watts and Anita Sheehan, with ABC head of comedy Todd Abbott and Brett Sleigh.
Flanagan says: “This is the dream. My own show with all my favourite people both in front of the camera and behind it too. I’m thrilled to be making this in Melbourne for the ABC.
Production is underway on Kitty Flanagan’s six-part comedy Fisk (previously Entitled) for the ABC in Melbourne.
Flanagan stars as Helen Tudor-Fisk, a contract lawyer who is forced to take a job at a shabby suburban law firm specialising in wills and probate. The “fast-paced workplace sitcom” will also star Julia Zemiro, Marty Sheargold, Aaron Chen and Glenn Butcher, diving in to the everyday world of inheritances and squabbling relatives.
One of Porchlight Films’ final productions, the series is produced by Vincent Sheehan and co-directed and written by Flanagan with Penny Flanagan. Tom Peterson also directs. EPs are Greg Sitch, Liz Watts and Anita Sheehan, with ABC head of comedy Todd Abbott and Brett Sleigh.
Flanagan says: “This is the dream. My own show with all my favourite people both in front of the camera and behind it too. I’m thrilled to be making this in Melbourne for the ABC.
- 10/27/2020
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
Joel Edgerton will produce and star in Thomas M Wright’s ‘The Unknown Man’.
Amid turbulent times for the sector, Screen Australia has some positive news, announcing production funding for three feature films, four television series, a children’s series and two online projects.
Overall, the projects, including Thomas M Wright’s The Unknown Man, produced by See-Saw Films and Anonymous Content, and starring Joel Edgerton and Sean Harris, will share in $8.5 million of production funding.
Other projects include family drama The Midwife from Playmaker Media for Nine; a comedy created by Kitty Flanagan called Entitled for the ABC, and the debut feature film from artist Del Kathryn Barton, Puff, produced by Causeway Films.
“We’re blown away by the projects in this slate and it’s great to see such a wide range of genres. I am particularly delighted to support Puff, the directorial debut of renowned artist Del Kathryn Barton,...
Amid turbulent times for the sector, Screen Australia has some positive news, announcing production funding for three feature films, four television series, a children’s series and two online projects.
Overall, the projects, including Thomas M Wright’s The Unknown Man, produced by See-Saw Films and Anonymous Content, and starring Joel Edgerton and Sean Harris, will share in $8.5 million of production funding.
Other projects include family drama The Midwife from Playmaker Media for Nine; a comedy created by Kitty Flanagan called Entitled for the ABC, and the debut feature film from artist Del Kathryn Barton, Puff, produced by Causeway Films.
“We’re blown away by the projects in this slate and it’s great to see such a wide range of genres. I am particularly delighted to support Puff, the directorial debut of renowned artist Del Kathryn Barton,...
- 4/20/2020
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
‘Lambs of God’.
Lingo Pictures’ Lambs of God was the big winner at yesterday’s Aacta Industry Luncheon, taking home seven of a potential nine awards, while Rodd Rathjen’s debut feature Buoyancy was named Best Indie Film.
Sweeping the afternoon, Lambs of God’s various accolades included Best Direction in a Television Drama or Comedy for Jeffery Walker; Best Cinematography in Television for Don McAlpine; Best Original Score in Television for Bryony Marks (one of two awards for the composer during the event); Best Production Design in Television for Chris Kennedy; Best Costume Design in Television for Xanthe Heubel; Best Sound Sound in Television for Nick Emond, Stephen Smith, Paul Devescovi and Mia Stewart; and Best Hair and Makeup for Zeljka Stanin, Paul Pattison, Cheryl Williams and Anita Howell-Lowe.
The Foxtel mini-series was beaten only out for Best Screenplay in Television, which went to Niki Aken and Matthew Cormack for The Hunting,...
Lingo Pictures’ Lambs of God was the big winner at yesterday’s Aacta Industry Luncheon, taking home seven of a potential nine awards, while Rodd Rathjen’s debut feature Buoyancy was named Best Indie Film.
Sweeping the afternoon, Lambs of God’s various accolades included Best Direction in a Television Drama or Comedy for Jeffery Walker; Best Cinematography in Television for Don McAlpine; Best Original Score in Television for Bryony Marks (one of two awards for the composer during the event); Best Production Design in Television for Chris Kennedy; Best Costume Design in Television for Xanthe Heubel; Best Sound Sound in Television for Nick Emond, Stephen Smith, Paul Devescovi and Mia Stewart; and Best Hair and Makeup for Zeljka Stanin, Paul Pattison, Cheryl Williams and Anita Howell-Lowe.
The Foxtel mini-series was beaten only out for Best Screenplay in Television, which went to Niki Aken and Matthew Cormack for The Hunting,...
- 12/3/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Wayne Blair, Rachel Perkins, Greg McLean, Cameron and Colin Cairnes get green lights for new Australian films, including a new feature starring Kevin Bacon.
The directors of two of Australia’s biggest hits of the last five years, Rachel Perkins (Bran Nue Dae) and Wayne Blair (The Sapphires) have had new films financed in Screen Australia’s last funding round for the year.
Six films in all got a green light: another is Jungle from Wolf Creek director Greg McLean, who recently made his first Us film, 6 Miranda Drive, and has cast Kevin Bacon in this cinematic recreation of the true story of Yossi Ghinsberg managing to survive in the Amazon rainforest.
Perkins will direct the adaptation of the extremely popular book Jasper Jones in Western Australia next year. No cast are yet attached to the coming-of-age murder mystery written by Shaun Grant who was thrust into the limelight when the film of his debut script [link=tt...
The directors of two of Australia’s biggest hits of the last five years, Rachel Perkins (Bran Nue Dae) and Wayne Blair (The Sapphires) have had new films financed in Screen Australia’s last funding round for the year.
Six films in all got a green light: another is Jungle from Wolf Creek director Greg McLean, who recently made his first Us film, 6 Miranda Drive, and has cast Kevin Bacon in this cinematic recreation of the true story of Yossi Ghinsberg managing to survive in the Amazon rainforest.
Perkins will direct the adaptation of the extremely popular book Jasper Jones in Western Australia next year. No cast are yet attached to the coming-of-age murder mystery written by Shaun Grant who was thrust into the limelight when the film of his debut script [link=tt...
- 11/27/2014
- by Sandy.George@me.com (Sandy George)
- ScreenDaily
During a break in filming the Sbs telemovie Saved in 2009, actor Osamah Sami told director Tony Ayres and his co-star Claudia Karvan an amazing story.
Sami related how his first marriage lasted precisely one hour and 48 minutes. .I immediately thought, .there.s a film in that,.. Ayres tells If.
Andrew Knight came on board to collaborate with Sami on the screenplay of Ali.s Wedding and Screen Australia has agreed to invest in the project.
At one point Ayres was keen to direct but he has a full schedule as the Ep of Glitch and Nowhere Boys, so Wayne Blair will direct the romantic comedy.
Sheila Jayadev and Helen Panckhurst will produce for Matchbox Pictures, with Ayres, Michael McMahon, Greg Sitch and Nina Stevenson as EPs.
The plot follows Ali, the son of a Muslim cleric, who is caught between his sense of duty to his family and following his heart.
Sami related how his first marriage lasted precisely one hour and 48 minutes. .I immediately thought, .there.s a film in that,.. Ayres tells If.
Andrew Knight came on board to collaborate with Sami on the screenplay of Ali.s Wedding and Screen Australia has agreed to invest in the project.
At one point Ayres was keen to direct but he has a full schedule as the Ep of Glitch and Nowhere Boys, so Wayne Blair will direct the romantic comedy.
Sheila Jayadev and Helen Panckhurst will produce for Matchbox Pictures, with Ayres, Michael McMahon, Greg Sitch and Nina Stevenson as EPs.
The plot follows Ali, the son of a Muslim cleric, who is caught between his sense of duty to his family and following his heart.
- 11/26/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Screen Australia announced today it will invest nearly $10.7 million in 11 television and film projects which will trigger production worth almost $59 million.
In one of the most hotly contested funding rounds, six features succeeded. They include Wayne Blair.s romantic comedy Ali.s Wedding; Joe Cinque.s Consolation, a thriller about a troubled law student who tries to kill her boyfriend, from director Sotiris Dounoukos, whose A Single Body won best short at the Toronto International Film Festival, and Cameron and Colin Cairnes. horror movie Scare Campaign.
The other three are Taboo, the narrative feature debut of documentary filmmakers Bentley Dean and Martin Butler; Rachel Perkins. murder mystery Jasper Jones, based on the novel and play by Craig Silvey, adapted by Shaun Grant;. and Greg Mclean.s true-life thriller Jungle.
The TV projects are Shine Australia.s Peter Allen: Not the Boy Next Door for the Seven Network; a Jack...
In one of the most hotly contested funding rounds, six features succeeded. They include Wayne Blair.s romantic comedy Ali.s Wedding; Joe Cinque.s Consolation, a thriller about a troubled law student who tries to kill her boyfriend, from director Sotiris Dounoukos, whose A Single Body won best short at the Toronto International Film Festival, and Cameron and Colin Cairnes. horror movie Scare Campaign.
The other three are Taboo, the narrative feature debut of documentary filmmakers Bentley Dean and Martin Butler; Rachel Perkins. murder mystery Jasper Jones, based on the novel and play by Craig Silvey, adapted by Shaun Grant;. and Greg Mclean.s true-life thriller Jungle.
The TV projects are Shine Australia.s Peter Allen: Not the Boy Next Door for the Seven Network; a Jack...
- 11/26/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
The sales company’s Ken DuBow is talking to Afm buyers on the film starring Portia de Rossi, Lucy Fry, Robyn Butler and Ben Lawson.
Wayne Hope directed from a screenplay by Butler about a child movie star who visits her mother at a chaotic time. The film screens at the market.
Hope and Butler of Australia’s Gristmill Productions produce Now Add Honey alongside Louisa Kors. The executive producers are Geoff Porz and Greg Sitch.
Acquisitions and sales consultant Richard S Guardian negotiated the deal with attorney Sitch. Lightning and Wme Global jointly represent Us rights.
Wayne Hope directed from a screenplay by Butler about a child movie star who visits her mother at a chaotic time. The film screens at the market.
Hope and Butler of Australia’s Gristmill Productions produce Now Add Honey alongside Louisa Kors. The executive producers are Geoff Porz and Greg Sitch.
Acquisitions and sales consultant Richard S Guardian negotiated the deal with attorney Sitch. Lightning and Wme Global jointly represent Us rights.
- 11/6/2014
- by jeremykay67@gmail.com (Jeremy Kay)
- ScreenDaily
Screen Australia says it has not mismanaged its finances by spending its annual production funding in just six months - a state of affairs which it says reflects the strength of the local film industry.
The government screen agency revealed in mid-December 2012 that it had spent its entire annual $42 million drama production allocation due to the unprecedented number of quality feature film and television projects seeking support. The shock announcement was reminiscent of the agency's abrupt decision to cut its investment cap in 2009 while several films were mid-financed. That decision.threw several major Australian productions into dissaray including The Tree and the biggest box office hit of.2010, Tomorrow When the War Began (Omnilab Media had to increase its investment at the last minute to ensure production).
Overspending on such a scale has never occurred before, even going back to the era of Screen Australia.s predecessor funding arm, the Film Finance Corporation.
The government screen agency revealed in mid-December 2012 that it had spent its entire annual $42 million drama production allocation due to the unprecedented number of quality feature film and television projects seeking support. The shock announcement was reminiscent of the agency's abrupt decision to cut its investment cap in 2009 while several films were mid-financed. That decision.threw several major Australian productions into dissaray including The Tree and the biggest box office hit of.2010, Tomorrow When the War Began (Omnilab Media had to increase its investment at the last minute to ensure production).
Overspending on such a scale has never occurred before, even going back to the era of Screen Australia.s predecessor funding arm, the Film Finance Corporation.
- 2/6/2013
- by Brendan Swift
- IF.com.au
The Devil’s Playground
A series which picks up the story of classic feature film The Devil’s Playground 35 years on, is among 11 productions to receive Screen Australia funding.
Return to the Devil’s Playground is a six-part series produced by Matchbox Pictures’ Helen Bowden and Blake Ayshford and directed by The Strait’s Rachel Ward and Dead Europe’s Tony Krawitz.
Writers on the production are Ayshford, Cate Shortland, Alice Addison and Tommy Murphy.
The series picks up the story in 1988, 35 years after Fred Schepisi’s The Devil’s Playground, where main character Tom Allen, a psychiatrist and a secular confessor to the Catholic clergy, becomes entangled in political and theological intrigue.
The series is executive produced by Penny Chapman, Simon Burke, who played the original character of Tom Allen and is the current Actor’s Equity president, and Penny Win.
Screen Australia’s overall investment across the 11 productions...
A series which picks up the story of classic feature film The Devil’s Playground 35 years on, is among 11 productions to receive Screen Australia funding.
Return to the Devil’s Playground is a six-part series produced by Matchbox Pictures’ Helen Bowden and Blake Ayshford and directed by The Strait’s Rachel Ward and Dead Europe’s Tony Krawitz.
Writers on the production are Ayshford, Cate Shortland, Alice Addison and Tommy Murphy.
The series picks up the story in 1988, 35 years after Fred Schepisi’s The Devil’s Playground, where main character Tom Allen, a psychiatrist and a secular confessor to the Catholic clergy, becomes entangled in political and theological intrigue.
The series is executive produced by Penny Chapman, Simon Burke, who played the original character of Tom Allen and is the current Actor’s Equity president, and Penny Win.
Screen Australia’s overall investment across the 11 productions...
- 12/17/2012
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
Screen Australia has today announced it will invest over $11.4 million in five feature films and six television series, one of which is for children.
The feature projects include Kill Me Three Times from Red Dog director Kriv Stenders, The Darkside from writer/director Warwick Thornton, debut feature Fell from Kasimir Burgess, crime-thriller Cut Snake from director Tony Ayres (Home Song Stories) and comedy Now Add Honey from successful comedy team Wayne Hope and Robyn Butler (The Librarians).
Screen Australia.s Chief Executive Ruth Harley said, .It.s great to end the year investing in such a dynamic range of feature films from a good mix of experienced practitioners and emerging talent.
.I.m thrilled to announce Warwick Thornton.s highly creative and resonant Indigenous story, The Darkside. The smart and stylish thriller Cut Snake comes from a talented and experienced team and Kill Me Three Times is a well-told tale...
The feature projects include Kill Me Three Times from Red Dog director Kriv Stenders, The Darkside from writer/director Warwick Thornton, debut feature Fell from Kasimir Burgess, crime-thriller Cut Snake from director Tony Ayres (Home Song Stories) and comedy Now Add Honey from successful comedy team Wayne Hope and Robyn Butler (The Librarians).
Screen Australia.s Chief Executive Ruth Harley said, .It.s great to end the year investing in such a dynamic range of feature films from a good mix of experienced practitioners and emerging talent.
.I.m thrilled to announce Warwick Thornton.s highly creative and resonant Indigenous story, The Darkside. The smart and stylish thriller Cut Snake comes from a talented and experienced team and Kill Me Three Times is a well-told tale...
- 12/17/2012
- by Emily Blatchford
- IF.com.au
Director Simon Wincer is about to start production of his new horseracing film The Cup, but he admits that the project has been particularly difficult to put together.
“I’m glad that we’re up and running, because it’s certainly tried my patience a number of times,” Wincer told Encore.
The Cup tells the story of Damien Oliver, winner of the 2002 Melbourne Cup with the horse Media Puzzle. Oliver’s brother was killed in a horse racing accident in Perth, one week before the event.
Wincer and Eric O’Keefe started working on this project in 2003, and it’s taken seven years to make it happen. The $17.5m film was financed in 2008, but fell apart due to the global financial crisis.
Win some, lose some. That’s what The Cup has experienced in its long journey.
Ray Winstone was attached to the project, to play Irish trainer Dermot Weld.
“I’m glad that we’re up and running, because it’s certainly tried my patience a number of times,” Wincer told Encore.
The Cup tells the story of Damien Oliver, winner of the 2002 Melbourne Cup with the horse Media Puzzle. Oliver’s brother was killed in a horse racing accident in Perth, one week before the event.
Wincer and Eric O’Keefe started working on this project in 2003, and it’s taken seven years to make it happen. The $17.5m film was financed in 2008, but fell apart due to the global financial crisis.
Win some, lose some. That’s what The Cup has experienced in its long journey.
Ray Winstone was attached to the project, to play Irish trainer Dermot Weld.
- 5/28/2010
- by Miguel Gonzalez
- Encore Magazine
Brendan Gleeson has joined the cast of Simon Wincer’s "The Cup," a film about the 2002 Melbourne Cup horse race, which begins filming this summer in Australia. He will play legendary Irish horse trainer Dermot Weld.
The film is being produced by Wincer and Lance Hool of Silver Lion Films, with financing from Village Roadshow, Screen Australia and Film Victoria. Myriad Pictures will handle worldwide sales for the film in North America and territories outside of Australia, Singapore, New Zealand and Greece, which will be distributed by Village Roadshow.
Kirk D'Amico, CEO and president of Myriad, and Village Roadshow's Joel Pearlman are exec producing along with James M. Vernon, Greg Sitch and Peter DeRauch.
The film is being produced by Wincer and Lance Hool of Silver Lion Films, with financing from Village Roadshow, Screen Australia and Film Victoria. Myriad Pictures will handle worldwide sales for the film in North America and territories outside of Australia, Singapore, New Zealand and Greece, which will be distributed by Village Roadshow.
Kirk D'Amico, CEO and president of Myriad, and Village Roadshow's Joel Pearlman are exec producing along with James M. Vernon, Greg Sitch and Peter DeRauch.
NEW YORK -- Dimension Films acquired all North American, Australian and New Zealand rights to the horror flick Storm Warning.
The film, which combines elements of Deliverance and Straw Dogs, follows a husband and wife on a fishing trip gone very wrong. When they're captured by deranged locals, the wife fights back in a gory battle that director Jamie Blanks (Urban Legend) delivers with vivid prosthetic and digital effects.
Dimension execs bought Warning from Arclight division Darclight based on a screening of post-production footage. The film, shot in Melbourne, Australia, is scheduled for completion in May and tentatively set for theatrical release next year.
"It's pretty full-on in terms of its violence, with a more heightened reality than 'Wolf Creek, '" said producer Gary Hamilton, one of several Creek creators on the film. Peter Ford also produced, and Martin Fabinyi, Michael Gudinski, Greg Sitch and Mark Pennell served as execitive producers.
Nadia Fares, Robert Taylor, John Brumpton, David Lyons and Mathew Wilkinson round out the cast of Warning, which was written by Everett De Roche.
The film, which combines elements of Deliverance and Straw Dogs, follows a husband and wife on a fishing trip gone very wrong. When they're captured by deranged locals, the wife fights back in a gory battle that director Jamie Blanks (Urban Legend) delivers with vivid prosthetic and digital effects.
Dimension execs bought Warning from Arclight division Darclight based on a screening of post-production footage. The film, shot in Melbourne, Australia, is scheduled for completion in May and tentatively set for theatrical release next year.
"It's pretty full-on in terms of its violence, with a more heightened reality than 'Wolf Creek, '" said producer Gary Hamilton, one of several Creek creators on the film. Peter Ford also produced, and Martin Fabinyi, Michael Gudinski, Greg Sitch and Mark Pennell served as execitive producers.
Nadia Fares, Robert Taylor, John Brumpton, David Lyons and Mathew Wilkinson round out the cast of Warning, which was written by Everett De Roche.
- 12/12/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
SYDNEY -- Baz Luhrmann set the bar high for maverick adaptations of Shakespeare, but fellow Aussie director Geoffrey Wright takes a game leap at it with his postmodern rendering of Macbeth. While this juiced-up, drugs 'n' guns reworking can't match the startling originality or sheer mad spectacle of Luhrmann's "Romeo + Juliet," the two share a sexy swagger aimed at young viewers who might otherwise balk at the 400-year-old language.
Absent Hollywood stars in the league of Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, Macbeth can't expect "Romeo + Juliet's" robust international boxoffice, but receipts should be healthy at home, and the heady mix of nudity, uber-violence and a swoonworthy leading man will stir curiosity abroad.
This is Shakespeare as action film -- furiously paced and unapologetically cinematic. If the baroque sets and costumes often overwhelm the acting, it's unlikely the hipsters will mind. Wright, who directed Russell Crowe in the bruising neo-Nazi film Romper Stomper, has matched the sound and fury of the Bard's most bloodthirsty play with depictions of carnage that border on sadistic.
The slaying of Lady Macduff and her son prompted walk-outs in test screenings. Macbeth's frenzied butchering of Duncan, a murder that occurs offstage in the play, is shown here in gruesome detail.
Throw in a casually naked, coke-snorting Lady Macbeth and an orgy with the three witches -- portrayed as bare-breasted teenagers who look like they wandered in from The O.C. -- and you have a Macbeth that would give Roman Polanski pause.
Shakespeare's immortal tragedy about a Scottish prince's murderous quest for power has been relocated to the underworld of Melbourne's present-day gang wars, where the concept of bloody vengeance mirrors that of feudal times.
Macbeth (a lusty performance from Somersault's Sam Worthington) is now henchman to crime boss Duncan (a strong Gary Sweet), and the play's lords and noblemen become rock-star-ready hoods packing heat. The film opens with a flashily edited massacre following a dead-of-night drug deal, and it is a good 10 minutes before the first word is spoken.
The Elizabethan English jars at first (and some heavy Strine accents add another layer of bizarre), but soon the medieval-chic sets, the sleek black SUVs and machine guns and the florid but conversationally spoken language all mesh into a gothic parallel universe that makes its own kind of sense.
It is a bit Reservoir Dogs with a set borrowed from The Crow.
It helps that the original text is magnificent and the plot so precise; Wright and his co-writer Victoria Hill (who also plays a glamorous Lady Macbeth) have produced a fairly faithful, if heavily edited, reading of this timeless tale.
Duncan rewards Macbeth for his service during the earlier battle but, while under the influence of celebratory drugs and alcohol at a derelict nightclub, our hero is visited by the trio of witches who prophesy a much greater prize -- delivering their "fair is foul" speech as a glitter ball spins overhead.
Spurred on by the poisonously ambitious Lady Macbeth, Macbeth kills Duncan and seizes power. As the new crime lord's reign of terror continues and the body count grows, guilt plunges him into madness. With Worthington exhibiting less of the imperial hubris that defined previous Macbeths and more of a wild-eyed, Jack Black-style craziness that proves the film's weakest link.
Staggering drunkenly about his country mansion, dissolute and spooked while those around him plot revenge, the character discourages sympathy. Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, acquires an uncommon vulnerability with the implication that she is grieving the loss of a child.
Production design is as wicked as the narrative, all blood-red furnishings and misty, brooding exteriors, with John Clifford White's clamorous soundtrack and cinematographer Will Gibson's skewed camera adding to the disquiet.
Some of the minor players stumble over the dialogue, but performances generally are strong, though style mavens may be too busy drooling over the voguish costumes and opulent interiors to notice.
MACBETH
Mushroom Pictures
Credits:
Director: Geoffrey Wright
Screenwriters: Geoffrey Wright, Victoria Hill
Adapted from the play by: William Shakespeare
Producer: Martin Fabinyi
Executive producers: Michael Gudinski, Gary Hamilton, Greg Sitch, Antonio Zeccola
Director of photography: Will Gibson
Production designer: David McKay
Music: John Clifford White
Co-producer: Jenni Tosi
Costume designer: Jane Johnston
Editor: Jane Usher
Cast:
Macbeth: Sam Worthington
Lady Macbeth: Victoria Hill
Macduff: Lachy Hulme
Banquo: Steve Bastoni
Duncan: Gary Sweet
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 109 minutes...
Absent Hollywood stars in the league of Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, Macbeth can't expect "Romeo + Juliet's" robust international boxoffice, but receipts should be healthy at home, and the heady mix of nudity, uber-violence and a swoonworthy leading man will stir curiosity abroad.
This is Shakespeare as action film -- furiously paced and unapologetically cinematic. If the baroque sets and costumes often overwhelm the acting, it's unlikely the hipsters will mind. Wright, who directed Russell Crowe in the bruising neo-Nazi film Romper Stomper, has matched the sound and fury of the Bard's most bloodthirsty play with depictions of carnage that border on sadistic.
The slaying of Lady Macduff and her son prompted walk-outs in test screenings. Macbeth's frenzied butchering of Duncan, a murder that occurs offstage in the play, is shown here in gruesome detail.
Throw in a casually naked, coke-snorting Lady Macbeth and an orgy with the three witches -- portrayed as bare-breasted teenagers who look like they wandered in from The O.C. -- and you have a Macbeth that would give Roman Polanski pause.
Shakespeare's immortal tragedy about a Scottish prince's murderous quest for power has been relocated to the underworld of Melbourne's present-day gang wars, where the concept of bloody vengeance mirrors that of feudal times.
Macbeth (a lusty performance from Somersault's Sam Worthington) is now henchman to crime boss Duncan (a strong Gary Sweet), and the play's lords and noblemen become rock-star-ready hoods packing heat. The film opens with a flashily edited massacre following a dead-of-night drug deal, and it is a good 10 minutes before the first word is spoken.
The Elizabethan English jars at first (and some heavy Strine accents add another layer of bizarre), but soon the medieval-chic sets, the sleek black SUVs and machine guns and the florid but conversationally spoken language all mesh into a gothic parallel universe that makes its own kind of sense.
It is a bit Reservoir Dogs with a set borrowed from The Crow.
It helps that the original text is magnificent and the plot so precise; Wright and his co-writer Victoria Hill (who also plays a glamorous Lady Macbeth) have produced a fairly faithful, if heavily edited, reading of this timeless tale.
Duncan rewards Macbeth for his service during the earlier battle but, while under the influence of celebratory drugs and alcohol at a derelict nightclub, our hero is visited by the trio of witches who prophesy a much greater prize -- delivering their "fair is foul" speech as a glitter ball spins overhead.
Spurred on by the poisonously ambitious Lady Macbeth, Macbeth kills Duncan and seizes power. As the new crime lord's reign of terror continues and the body count grows, guilt plunges him into madness. With Worthington exhibiting less of the imperial hubris that defined previous Macbeths and more of a wild-eyed, Jack Black-style craziness that proves the film's weakest link.
Staggering drunkenly about his country mansion, dissolute and spooked while those around him plot revenge, the character discourages sympathy. Lady Macbeth, on the other hand, acquires an uncommon vulnerability with the implication that she is grieving the loss of a child.
Production design is as wicked as the narrative, all blood-red furnishings and misty, brooding exteriors, with John Clifford White's clamorous soundtrack and cinematographer Will Gibson's skewed camera adding to the disquiet.
Some of the minor players stumble over the dialogue, but performances generally are strong, though style mavens may be too busy drooling over the voguish costumes and opulent interiors to notice.
MACBETH
Mushroom Pictures
Credits:
Director: Geoffrey Wright
Screenwriters: Geoffrey Wright, Victoria Hill
Adapted from the play by: William Shakespeare
Producer: Martin Fabinyi
Executive producers: Michael Gudinski, Gary Hamilton, Greg Sitch, Antonio Zeccola
Director of photography: Will Gibson
Production designer: David McKay
Music: John Clifford White
Co-producer: Jenni Tosi
Costume designer: Jane Johnston
Editor: Jane Usher
Cast:
Macbeth: Sam Worthington
Lady Macbeth: Victoria Hill
Macduff: Lachy Hulme
Banquo: Steve Bastoni
Duncan: Gary Sweet
No MPAA rating
Running time -- 109 minutes...
- 9/11/2006
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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