Inside Film

Inside Film http://if.com.au/ Inside Film - Australia en-us http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss info@if.com.au (The Editor) John Duigan on Careless Love http://if.com.au/2012/05/22/article/John-Duigan-on-Careless-Love/PZBNWLCDAI.html http://if.com.au/2012/05/22/article/John-Duigan-on-Careless-Love/PZBNWLCDAI.html Amanda Diaz It was the global financial crisis that inspired filmmaker John Duigan to write his latest film. The director, whose last Australian film was Sirens back in 1993, found himself reading an increasing number of articles about the impact of the economic downturn and how the rise in the cost of university fees and living expenses had seen a number of students picking up work in the sex industry. Careless Love is the story ofŒ Linh (Nammi Le), a social anthropology student at Sydney University who secretly works part-time as an escort to help pay her family's mortgage. As her worlds begin to collide, Linh struggles to compartmentalise. The script spent three years in development, with Duigan keen to fast track the filmmaking process. "I was attached to a couple of films overseas for four to five years," he says. "And when one of them fell through for the umpteenth time, I decided I wanted to make my next film quickly." The film was financed by a small group of investors and produced on what Duigan will only refer to as "quite a modest budget." The six week shoot took place in Sydney early last year, with the camera (a RED) occasionally overheating and breaking down in the summer heat. Careless Love features an array of established and up and coming faces - including Peter O'Brien, Eamon Farren (Red Dog) and Hugo Johnstone-Burt (Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries). "I've often blended the new with the more experienced," Duigan says. "One thing I noticed when I came back to Australia was what a great new pool of actors there are to draw from." Even Duigan himself has a cameo as Linh's lecturer at university. "I have a tendency towards self indulgence in my acting," he confesses with a laugh. "I woudn't give myself anything too testing. I've had cameos in my previous films - but only when the actors got sick. But with this, I was a minor academic when I was doing my masters so I thought I could play the role." The director flies to the UK at the end of the week to continue working on his new project, an English-set comedy called Ego about the rivalry between two middle-aged actors who attended drama school together in their youth. One re-voices a character in a Japanese crime series after enjoying some success in his youth as a romantic lead, while the other plays a B-grade James Bond type. Careless Love is in selected cinemas now, with more screens opening at the end of the month. Œ <img alt="" height="333" src="/image/Careless Love still.jpg" width="500" /> Andrew Hazzard and Nammi Le in Careless Love Tue, 22 May 2012 15:12:08 +1000 Matt Saville's Felony being spruiked at Cannes http://if.com.au/2012/05/21/article/Matt-Savilles-Felony-being-spruiked-at-Cannes/TKWUPAHBYT.html http://if.com.au/2012/05/21/article/Matt-Savilles-Felony-being-spruiked-at-Cannes/TKWUPAHBYT.html Sandy George Producer Rosemary Bligh is using the attention she’s getting at Cannes via The Sapphires to spruik Felony, which has Matthew Saville attached. “We’ve all been waiting for Matt Saville’s follow up film, since Noise,” Bligh told IF Magazine. “He is one of Australia’s exceptional directing talents and has, over recent years, delivered to audiences some of the best television that Australia has seen.” Joel Edgerton is also involved in Felony in more ways than one: “It’s an exciting project with a great creative team, including my fellow producer, writer and star Joel Edgerton.” Felony is about a police officer who knocks a young cyclist off his bike and lies about the incident. Solution Entertainment Group is handling international sales to the thriller, although CAA has US rights and Roadshow will distribute locally. The executive producers on the Goalpost Pictures Australia project are Solution principals Myles Nestel and Lisa Wilson, who describes the story told in the film as “heart-pounding”. Goalpost produced the 2007 film Clubland, is one of the companies that has received support under Screen Australia’s enterprise program, and is associated with Tristan Whalley and Nicki Parfitt’s UK outfit Goalpost Film. Mon, 21 May 2012 16:41:52 +1000 Cate Blanchett and Mia Wasikowska to star in lesbian drama Carol http://if.com.au/2012/05/21/article/Cate-Blanchett-and-Mia-Wasikowska-to-star-in-lesbian-drama-Carol/KCQRDNPUVE.html http://if.com.au/2012/05/21/article/Cate-Blanchett-and-Mia-Wasikowska-to-star-in-lesbian-drama-Carol/KCQRDNPUVE.html Amanda Diaz The tabloids are abuzz with the news that Cate Blanchett and Mia Wasikowska have been confirmed as the leads in lesbian drama Carol. The actresses will play lovers in the film, which will be directed by John Crowley (Boy A) and has been adapted from the Patricia Highsmith novella The Price of Salt by Phyllis Nagy. Carol has been co-developed and co-financed by UK broadcaster Channel 4's filmmaking arm Film Arm. It tells the story of two very different women living in 1950s New York - one, a girl in her twenties working in a department store who dreams of a better life, the other, a wife trapped in a loveless marriage desperate to break free, but fearful of losing her daughter in the process. The novella, which thriller writer Highsmith published in 1952 under the pseudonym Claire Morgan, was praised in its time for its optimistic ending - something not often found in lesbian-related fiction during that period. In a statement, producers Stephen Woolley and Elizabeth Karlsen said they were thrilled to have recruited Blanchett and Wasikowska, describing them as two of the most talented actors working today. Shooting is scheduled to begin in February 2013 in London and New York. International sales will be handled by Hanway at the Cannes Film Festival. Mon, 21 May 2012 09:45:52 +1000 Exclusive: Stuart Stanton's feature debut is an English-style comedy http://if.com.au/2012/05/18/article/Exclusive-Stuart-Stantons-feature-debut-is-an-English-style-comedy/XJXKFVILMR.html http://if.com.au/2012/05/18/article/Exclusive-Stuart-Stantons-feature-debut-is-an-English-style-comedy/XJXKFVILMR.html Sandy George Stuart Stanton is putting the finishing touches to his self-financed debut feature comedy Charlie Bonnet before shopping it around to Australian distributors. The Melbourne-based filmmaker includes bad acting in the comedy of errors -- but only because it’s a key part of the storyline! Charlie Bonnet tells the tale of a nervous, struggling actor who wants two things in life: to find the love of his life and to make a living from his passion for acting. Peter Stanley, who wrote and produced the film with Stanton, plays the title character. They met while studying film at RMIT and were both born in the UK and moved to Australia with their families when they were children. “It’s why the film’s comedy is English in style,” Stanton told IF Magazine. “I knew if the crew wasn’t laughing it wasn’t working. We would constantly rewrite jokes and dialogue on set if things didn't feel right.” Other cast members include Eddie Barcoo, who also has a script credit, Miranda Skerman, who plays the love interest who lives next door, and Diana Joselle the femme fatale. “I knew we could pull it off ourselves and I wanted full control," said Stanton, who is full of praise for all the cast and crew, who worked on deferrals. "Once we started, people jumped out of the woodwork to help ... We filmed every month or so from January last year until early this year because it was easier for me to do it that way financially." The entire filmmaking process was documented over 18 months on a Facebook page that now has 1400 followers. Through them, 8000 people were notified last week when the trailer was loaded on YouTube, where it has had 650 views. “Right now we are waiting on final delivery of audio including the music score composed by Pseudo Echo's frontman Brian Canham and then we are pretty much done. We were pumped that he agreed to do it.” Stanton is one of the two co-owners of corporate production company Final Focus Australia, which has many cinema owners among its clients. But he produced Charlie Bonnet under Glass Eye Projects, the company through which he has channelled all his short films. The film was previously called Inside The Actor’s Actor. Fri, 18 May 2012 13:03:48 +1000 Alex Russell cast in Carrie remake http://if.com.au/2012/05/17/article/Alex-Russell-cast-in-Carrie-remake/UYUGSRNRDQ.html http://if.com.au/2012/05/17/article/Alex-Russell-cast-in-Carrie-remake/UYUGSRNRDQ.html Amanda Diaz Aussie actor Alex Russell has been cast in the upcoming remake of Stephen King's prom night horror story Carrie. Russell will star alongside Chloe Moretz (Kick Ass, Dark Shadows) and Julianne Moore (The Kids are All Right, Crazy, Stupid, Love) in the remake as Billy Nolan - the same role which kickstarted John Travolta's career in the original 1970s film. "I'm really, really happy," Russell told IF last Saturday, the morning after hearing the news. "I celebrated quite hard last night." Carrie is the story of a timid girl with telekinetic powers who destroys her hometown after being pushed too far by the school's popular kids on prom night. Russell, who was seen recently in found footage film Chronicle and last year's Wasted on the Young, will play one of her tormentors. Filming commences in June, with Boys Don't Cry director Kimberly Peirce directing. Russell is represented by United Management in Australia and ROAR in the US. Thu, 17 May 2012 14:50:15 +1000 A Gabriel sequel by Shane Abbess could become a reality http://if.com.au/2012/05/14/article/A-Gabriel-sequel-by-Shane-Abbess-could-become-a-reality/JUGKISYAQU.html http://if.com.au/2012/05/14/article/A-Gabriel-sequel-by-Shane-Abbess-could-become-a-reality/JUGKISYAQU.html Sandy George After being attached to several US projects that have so far failed to go into production, Shane Abbess is returning to Australia to develop a sequel to his $250,000 debut Gabriel, which was picked up by Sony Pictures for worldwide release in 2006. “We are bringing him home to write the screenplay,” producer James Vernon told IF Magazine, “and will do everything we can to make sure that’s his next film and the budget is going to be substantial.” Abbess is still under a first-look deal with the studio and ideally they will sign-on for the next film, Vernon said, but failing that he will finance it through his financing arm MFM. Gabriel told the story of how the title character – played by Andy Whitfield -- fought to rid purgatory of evil fallen angels and save the souls of its inhabitants. The new film, tentatively titled Gabriel: Sins of the Father, is about the consequence and what happened to Gabriel’s son. Whitfield, who played the lead in the US series Spartacus: Blood and Sand a couple of years after Gabriel, died of cancer last year. “I don’t feel like there’s anyone out there who could replace Andy ˆ. (He) wanted to see this story through and I feel we’ve finally found a way to honour both he and the fans with integrity,” Abbess said in a statement. Vernon and daughter Kirsty Vernon will be producing under the Screen Corporation banner and Abbess’s production company Storm Alley Entertainment. Screen Corporation will handle international sales. Meanwhile, Screen Corporation has signed a first-look deal with Unversal Pictures International Australia for all motion pictures the company is packaging, financing and distributing in the territory. Former Roadshow and Disney head in Australia, Alan Finney, and former Warner Bros International president Wayne Duband have a hand in assessing Screen Corporation projects. Mon, 14 May 2012 09:58:38 +1000 Lisa Peers: An actor's perspective http://if.com.au/2012/05/11/article/Lisa-Peers-An-actors-perspective/KSLSHZCMCJ.html http://if.com.au/2012/05/11/article/Lisa-Peers-An-actors-perspective/KSLSHZCMCJ.html Lisa Peers Lisa Peers is one of Australia’s most loved actresses across stage and screen. Her thriving feature film career includes Sunday Too Far Away with Jack Thompson, Monkey Grip with Noni Hazlehurst, Buddies with Colin Friels, and the NZ classic Solo and Finding Nemo. She has also guest starred in COPS LAC, All Saints, A Country Practice, Home and Away, Bellbird, Pacific Drive, The Power The Passion and many others. Here she shares her insights into the one-shot style of filmmaking from an actor’s perspective. Recently I was asked to attend a film workshop exploring the one-shot style of filmmaking. The workshop was held at top private film school - Sydney Film School - as part of the Australian Film Festival. Director and feature filmmaker Ben Ferris ran the full day workshop. The one shot style is a process of film creation without cuts or editing. It can be used as a dramatic device that experiments with time and space to build tension and a sense of nostalgia. Iconic film directors such as Francis Ford Coppola, Bela Tarr and Stanley Kubrick have all drawn on the one-shot filmmaking style. In the industry, it’s known as high-risk film making and can be extremely difficult. If one thing is out of place, you have to abandon the whole film. As one of a group of actors, my objective was to give the student directors the opportunity to work with professional actors and act out scenes specifically storyboarded for this style of shooting. I attended because I love to work, and it’s fun to play with other actors and filmmakers, without the constraints of budget, time, and commercial requirements. The one-shot technique was not something I was experienced with, and I found it very intense to work with. It forces the actor to be really ‘in the moment’, paying attention all the time to the subtle nuances of the story (in this case improvised around an idea, but not rehearsed). Because one cannot rely on the editor to put together the best takes, and to manipulate the story with hindsight, it forces the actor to be aware of succinctly progressing the story. It requires an awareness of angles etc., but as you don’t always know where the camera is focussing, you need to always be 'on’. There has to be trust between the actor and camera operator, especially as in this case there was only one camera, and the camera operator and director are making choices about which actor to focus on in any given moment. For the purposes of the workshop, we split into groups, with each group assigned a director, writer cameraperson, and two to four professional actors. Our group discussed and workshopped ideas which could fit our age difference, and possible relationships. We decided upon a story of a young man being seemingly stalked by a woman at his workplace, a café. The tension built as she (I) started to question him about his life and family background. Eventually it was revealed that she was in fact his birth mother, and had been watching him for a while, waiting for an opportunity to reveal herself to him. In the scene, the camera operator decided to focus on the young man’s reactions, which really enhanced the voyeuristic feel of the scene. One thing the actor does not have to be concerned about with this style of filmmaking is the order of events/ shots etc. Because it’s all shot live. This gives a great sense of realism. As we worked through several takes, the story solidified, and in between the director asked us to progress some of the ides of each take, and elaborate on them. Each take was quite different, as ideas seemed to take on a life of their own, and we followed those threads a little differently each time. Overall, without the ability to call cut and redo certain moments, the one-shot technique is demanding for an actor. It calls for emotional intensity, awareness of angles and trust. In turn actors are rewarded with freedom to explore, improvise and play off each other with truthfulness, and true attention on each other. Our group is now planning on re-grouping, with a written script based on our improvised scene, and, still in the one-shot format, shoot our story as a short film. It's this kind of framework for networking with young filmakers which creates 'outside the box' creative opportunities. Fri, 11 May 2012 10:52:08 +1000 Chambers moves into producing with Greg McLean film http://if.com.au/2012/05/09/article/Chambers-moves-into-producing-with-Greg-McLean-film/HZXFSQTNKS.html http://if.com.au/2012/05/09/article/Chambers-moves-into-producing-with-Greg-McLean-film/HZXFSQTNKS.html Sandy George If Wolf Creek director Greg Mclean’s planned new thriller Kill Me Three Times gets some good pre-sales at Cannes, former Screen NSW chief executive Tania Chambers will get her first feature film credit as a producer. Chambers has been working closely for many months with A Few Best Men and Death At A Funeral producing pair Laurence Malkin and Share Stallings to set up the film in Australia. “As a film executive, I always described developing and financing films as an extraordinary jigsaw puzzle and now that I'm experiencing it first hand as an indie producer, it's even more complicated and exciting than I thought it was,” Chambers told IF Magazine from Paris. “I am extending my skills and enjoying the formation of a great creative team, all for the purposes of making this movie we are passionate about.” Chambers returned to Western Australia, where she used to run state film agency ScreenWest, after resigning from Screen NSW last year. She is working on a variety of projects with a range of people. According to London-based Screendaily.com, which broke the story about the new film, Kill Me Three Times is being represented by US sales and financing company Cargo Entertainment. Abbie Cornish, Ben Mendelsohn and Sullivan Stapleton are the Australians attached but the lead role is to be played by Brazilian-born Alice Braga, who is in Walter Salles’sŒ adaptation of Jack Kerouac’s cult book On The Road, which was in official competition in Cannes and was today named among the line-up of competition films in the Sydney Film Festival. Kill Me Three Times is set in an Australian surfing town inhabited by a young woman who links three tales of murder, blackmail and revenge. Wed, 09 May 2012 17:09:57 +1000 Dark Shadows star Gulliver McGrath talks Tim Burton and tea with Scorsese http://if.com.au/2012/05/08/article/Dark-Shadows-star-Gulliver-McGrath-talks-Tim-Burton-and-tea-with-Scorsese/ZJYFOUDAYA.html http://if.com.au/2012/05/08/article/Dark-Shadows-star-Gulliver-McGrath-talks-Tim-Burton-and-tea-with-Scorsese/ZJYFOUDAYA.html Amanda Diaz Gulliver McGrath may have missed out on the lead role in Martin Scorsese's Oscar-winning film Hugo, but that didn't stop the 13-year-old from hitting it off with the veteran director. After being flown to New York audition for the title character, McGrath lost out to Asa Butterfield but was offered a smaller role instead. With the story of Hugo paying a tribute to the magic of cinema, it's no surprise that the young actor found himself bonding with Scorsese over a mutual love of old films. The pair even had tea in the director's trailer, with Scorsese gifting McGrath with copies of Nosferatu and Metropolis. The Melbourne-born actor, who now lives in the UK with his parents and two younger brothers, will be seen next in Tim Burton's film revival of the 1960s gothic soap opera Dark Shadows. In the film, McGrath plays the great-nephew of vampire Barnabas Collins (played by Johnny Depp). "He's a very misunderstood little boy," says McGrath of his character. "He really likes Barnabas because Barnabas doesn't judge him. They become friends." The film, which also stars Eva Green, Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter and Australian actress Bella Heathcote, shot for five months at Pinewood Studios in the UK. The young actor particularly enjoyed his scenes with Depp. "He was a very nice guy," he says. "Very sweet and funny - a very talented actor." He is also full of praise for Daniel Day Lewis, who plays his on-screen father (and the President of the United States) in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln. Gulliver, or Gully, as he prefers to be called, first started out in acting after being cast in a commercial when he was six. He has also appeared in an episode of Rush and horror film The Loved Ones. ŒDark Shadows opens in cinemas May 10. Œ Œ <img alt="" height="333" src="/image/Dark Shadows 1.jpg" width="500" /> Gulliver McGrath, Jonny Lee Miller, Michelle Pfeiifer and Chloe Moretz Tue, 08 May 2012 11:48:23 +1000 Emily Blunt and Jason Segel talk The Five-Year Engagement http://if.com.au/2012/05/04/article/Emily-Blunt-and-Jason-Segel-talk-The-Five-Year-Engagement/MCCCEQSPZV.html http://if.com.au/2012/05/04/article/Emily-Blunt-and-Jason-Segel-talk-The-Five-Year-Engagement/MCCCEQSPZV.html Danii Logue Writing believable female characters can be difficult for screenwriters, not so for Jason Segel. The actor, who co-wrote his latest film, The Five-Year Engagement with his Forgetting Sarah Marshall director, Nick Stoller, attracted English actress Emily Blunt with a strongly-written female lead. “I really liked that the female role was such a laugh. She was so much fun and kind of awkward and flawed and there was something messy about the character. It didn’t feel like a guy had written a girl and objectified the girl,” Blunt told IF, adding that her co-star’s talent for writing female characters stems from the fact that he “writes them as guys.” “I think trying to imagine the heart of a woman is a really poor approach. I think people are generally the same,” Segel explained, praising Blunt’s performance in bringing the character to life. “I think one of the things people notice about the movie is that Violet seemed like a very realised woman. 80 per cent of that is due to Emily Blunt’s performance.” The Five-Year Engagement follows Tom (Segel) and Violet (Blunt) over a period from their engagement as they struggle to make it down the aisle and is the third time the stars have worked together (previous projects include Gulliver’s Travels and The Muppets). To fill the smaller roles Segel and Stoller looked to the small screen. It was Community and Mad Men’s Alison Brie who had the difficult job of mimicking Blunt’s English accent in her role as Suzie, Violet’s younger sister. It was a task Blunt helped with. “I sent her recordings of me telling stories or just talking to her. Which was so weird because I didn’t know her that well so I was like ‘Hi Alison, it’s Emily...’ She just listened to them and when I arrived on set I was like ‘ooh she sounds quite a lot like me’” Though she retained her English accent for the film, there was a voice Blunt had to master - the Cookie Monster. “I was so nervous,” she reveals, discussing the scene in which Violet and Suzie argue as the Cookie Monster and Elmo. “Nick got the idea because his little daughter, Penny, is always trying to get him to do voices and stuff,” she said. “So when he’s trying to have a conversation with his wife Penny will be going ‘Do the silly man voice’ or whatever. So he got the idea that that could be funny, could be a funny way to have an argument with two strange characters” The Five-Year Engagement is in cinemas across the country Œ <img alt="" height="316" src="/image/Blunt and segel.JPG" width="448" /> Emily Blunt and Jason Segel in The Five-Year Engagement Fri, 04 May 2012 12:28:13 +1000 Arclight picks up Justin Dix debut Crawlspace http://if.com.au/2012/05/04/article/Arclight-picks-up-Justin-Dix-debut-Crawlspace/KAQPANBTUD.html http://if.com.au/2012/05/04/article/Arclight-picks-up-Justin-Dix-debut-Crawlspace/KAQPANBTUD.html Sandy George Melbourne-based prosthetics and production design whiz Justin Dix has had his debut feature as a writer/director, Crawlspace, picked up by Gary Hamilton’s sales agency Arclight Films. Arclight got in contact immediately after the credits rolled at a screening of the science fiction action thriller in Los Angeles three weeks ago, and will premiere it at Cannes under the Darlight banner. The deal does not include North American rights, which are held by LA-based XYZ Films. Crawlspace is about a group of elite soldiers who infiltrate a top-secret underground military compound, only to discover that the facility is a testing ground for something far more sinister. The cast includes Ditch Davey, Amber Clayton, Peta Sergeant, Nicholas Bell, John Brumpton and Leslie Simpson. Although set under the Australian desert, it was entirely filmed at Docklands Studios Melbourne with private financing. “I’ve worked on a lot of low-budget Australian films, including 100 Bloody Acres and The Loved Ones, and took what I learned from them,” Dix told IF Magazine. “They say its easier to shoot a film in one room and I had one room but it was a very big room and we built 16 amazing sets in there.” Dix wrote the film with Eddie Baroo and Adam Patrick Foster and produced it alongside John Finemore and Nicholas Sherry. Greg McLean, James Hoppe and Craig McMahon are the executive producers. During the recent LA trip Dix also secured an agent and pitched his next film, Declassified, which is also “claustrophobic, military and spooky”. Fri, 04 May 2012 10:49:28 +1000 Jacki Weaver on The Five-Year Engagement http://if.com.au/2012/05/04/article/Jacki-Weaver-on-The-Five-Year-Engagement/PDHLVJDRCG.html http://if.com.au/2012/05/04/article/Jacki-Weaver-on-The-Five-Year-Engagement/PDHLVJDRCG.html Danii Logue Prior to 2010’s Animal Kingdom Jacki Weaver had spent almost a decade away from film and television but now, with an Oscar nomination under her belt, she’s making a name for herself in Hollywood. Her first project, The Five Year Engagement sees Weaver put Janine Cody firmly in the rearview mirror. “I did receive some scripts playing evil old criminals who meet a sticky end but I think I was well-advised to try and make a departure,” she said, “I just thought it was so charming with such a great sense of humour that I couldn’t have thought of a better way to start working in America” The Five Year Engagement, the latest comedy from Nick Stoller, Jason Segel and Judd Apatow, the creative team behind Forgetting Sarah Marshall. tells the story of Tom (Segel) and Violet (Emily Blunt), an engaged couple who can’t seem to find their way down the aisle. Weaver plays Sylvia, Blunt’s mother but despite this, confesses she didn’t think her scenes would make it into the film. “I’m surprised I’m still in the film. We shot about four hours of stuff. I reckon we could do a TV series out of it and a lot of it, of necessity, even though it’s a long film has gone by the wayside.” The reason for this, Weaver explains, is that the cast, which includes numerous comedy stars from Alison Brie (Community) and Chris Pratt (Parks & Recreation) to Mindy Kaling (The Office) were encouraged to improvise as much as they’d like. “There was a script, a really good script that we would always shoot exactly as scripted for two or three takes. And when he had that in the can then we were given our head. And some of it was outrageous, I have to say. I’ve never laughed so much in my life.” The Five Year Engagement is Weaver’s first Hollywood film but it certainly won’t be her last. Other films set to be released this year include The Silver Linings Playbook and Stoker alongside Nicole Kidman and Mia Wasikowska. She is also set to start shooting Wild Oats, a comedy alongside Shirley MacLaine, Jon Voight and Alan Arkin, later this year. The Five Year Engagement is in cinemas now. <img alt="" height="333" src="/image/Jacki Weaver Five year still.JPG" width="500" /> Jacki Weaver plays Sylvia, the mother of Emily Blunt's character in the film Œ Fri, 04 May 2012 10:47:29 +1000 Aussie horror film Muirhouse to premiere at Cannes http://if.com.au/2012/05/02/article/Aussie-horror-film-Muirhouse-to-premiere-at-Cannes/FAGWZRWUOX.html http://if.com.au/2012/05/02/article/Aussie-horror-film-Muirhouse-to-premiere-at-Cannes/FAGWZRWUOX.html Milana Vulovic The ghost-themed independent feature Muirhouse, written and directed by first-time feature filmmaker Tanzeal Rahim from The Media Collective, is one of the Australian films that will be screening in the market at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival. Muirhouse feels like a film made from "found-footage": shot on location by cinematographer Dan Freene (Wasted on the Young), the film actualizes the real-life horror themes of one ofŒ the most haunted -- reportedly -- homesteads in Australia, The Monte Cristo in Junee, NSW. The history of the house is littered with stories of foul play, murder and painful death, all of which are explored with a hand-held camera style reminiscent of The Blair Witch Project. The small cast and crew shot the entire film on-site over a two-year period beginning in May 2010. “The feeling in the house is something else," said Muirhouse leading man Iain PF McDonald. "You immediately feel like you’re being watched when you enter. It’s creepy." Rahim said the attention Muirhouse attracted from industry professionals prompted him to premiere the film at Cannes, where it will screen twice. No sales agent is attached. “We are very confident in Muirhouse and feel it’s more a question of who, not if, in regards to distribution,” said Rahim. McDonald, a Brisbane-bred Sydney actor, said his latest gig is on Australian writer/director Antony J Bowman's new film Almost Broadway, which is currently filming in Los Angeles. Bowman directed Hugh Jackman and Claudia Karvan in Paperback Hero back in the 90s. He has cast several Australians, including Cameron Daddo, in his new film. McDonald has appeared in a number of short films andŒ commercials including Rahim's The Piano Brothers for Advanced Medical Institute. Executive producer Aisha Deeb is also attending Cannes alongside the pair. Œ Wed, 02 May 2012 12:33:50 +1000 Cameras roll today on Teplitzky's The Railway Man http://if.com.au/2012/04/30/article/Cameras-roll-today-on-Teplitzkys-The-Railway-Man/GIKSIVMDZX.html http://if.com.au/2012/04/30/article/Cameras-roll-today-on-Teplitzkys-The-Railway-Man/GIKSIVMDZX.html Sandy George The 10-week shoot scheduled for Jonathan Teplitzky’s fourth feature, The Railway Man, starts today in Scotland, before moving to Thailand and Queensland. When local distributor Transmission Films comes to market the official Australian/UK co-production next year their job will be made easier by the two Academy Award winners in the cast: Nicole Kidman, who won her Oscar for The Hours in 2003, and Firth, who won his for The King’s Speech in 2010. The focus of The Railway Man is real-life British Army officer Eric Lomax who, years after he and thousands of other prisoners were forced to work on the construction of the Thai/Burma railway during World War II, returns to Thailand to confront his tormentor Nagase Takashi. Jeremy Irvine and Firth play Lomax at different times in his life and Hiroyuki Sanada plays Nagase. Kidman’s role is that of a woman who helps Lomax rid himself of his demons and becomes his wife. The film is based on an autobiographical book of the same name written by Lomax and the story has already been told in a documentary titled Enemy My Friend, which includes footage of the actual meeting between Lomax and Nagase on a bridge on the River Kwai. UK-based producer Andy Patterson wrote the script with Frank Cottrell Boyce and chose Queensland’s Chris Brown as his Australian partner. The third producer is Bill Curbishley. Paterson worked with Teplitzky on his most recent film, Burning Man. Teplitzky’s first two films were Better Than Sex and Gettin’ Square. The Railway Man is being made under the Pictures in Paradise and Archer Street production banners and is backed by Screen Australia in association with Silver Reel, Screen Queensland, Creative Scotland and Lionsgate UK. The executive producers are Claudia Blümhuber and Ian Hutchinson from Silver Reel, Zygi Kamasa for Lionsgate UK, Anand Tucker and Daria Jovicic. Œ <img alt="" height="333" src="/image/RAILWAYMAN03.jpg" width="500" /> Director Jonathan Teplitzky (centre) flanked by some of his actors, l-r, Jeremy Irvine, Colin Frith, Nicole Kidman and Stellan Skarsgård Mon, 30 Apr 2012 12:29:35 +1000 Bill Bennett's Defiant, starring Toni Collette, being set up as Aus film http://if.com.au/2012/04/27/article/Bill-Bennetts-Defiant-starring-Toni-Collette-being-set-up-as-Aus-film/FMDRXCDQNG.html http://if.com.au/2012/04/27/article/Bill-Bennetts-Defiant-starring-Toni-Collette-being-set-up-as-Aus-film/FMDRXCDQNG.html Sandy George The production team are hoping to get Australian status, and therefore the producer offset for the qualifying Australian expenditure, on director Bill Bennett's Defiant, which has Toni Collette and Dev Patel attached and is scheduled to start filming in India in October. The thriller is one of a number of high-profile Australian films in planning that are being presented at the Cannes Film Festival next month by sales agents; in this case, The Little Film Company. All the filming will happen in India with as many Australian heads of department as possible, and all the post in Australia. Sydney-based Anupam Sharma, who is producing with Bennett, isn’t discussing financing sources in detail but said the budget will be in excess of $6 million and no Indian production partner is in place as yet. Bennett has written the thriller, which was sparked by an article he saw in an Indian newspaper about five years ago. The story tells of two young Indian lovers wanting to marry against the wishes of their parents who, as a result, have arranged to have them killed. The third key character is a journalist, to be played by Collette. “Bill did some really hard on-ground research, travelling over six weeks and thousands of kilometres talking to victims, propagators, advocates, people opposing honour killings, lawmakers and breakers, politicians and so on,” Sharma told IF Magazine. “The script captures such fine and multilayered, vibrant and positive nuances of the Indian culture, apart from exposing the politics behind so called honour killings, that I could swear it was written by an Indian.” Screen NSW assisted the filmmakers to attend the Strategic Partners co-production market in Halifax and Screen Australia has provided development funds. Bennett’s agent at William Morris Endeavour, Robert Newman, has been helping in the search for partners. Executive producer Robbie Little is calling the film part Romeo and Juliet and part Bourne Ultimatum. Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:07:36 +1000 Russell Crowe lands biblical epic Noah, Guy Pearce to star in Iron Man 3 http://if.com.au/2012/04/23/article/Russell-Crowe-lands-biblical-epic-Noah-Guy-Pearce-to-star-in-Iron-Man-3/AICRGXASGW.html http://if.com.au/2012/04/23/article/Russell-Crowe-lands-biblical-epic-Noah-Guy-Pearce-to-star-in-Iron-Man-3/AICRGXASGW.html Paul Bugeja Paramount Pictures and New Regency Productions announced today that Russell Crowe will take on the eponymous role of Noah in Darren Aronofsky's next film. Noah, an adaptation of the biblical story, delves into the drama of a man on a divine mission to build an ark to save humanity. In a statement, Aronfosky expressed a great degree of excitement at the prospect of working with Crowe: "I rejoice that Russell Crowe will be by my side on this adventure. It's his immense talent that helps me to sleep at night. I look forward to being wowed by him every day." The film will begin shooting in July in Iceland and New York and is scheduled for release in March 2014. Crowe replaces Christian Bale, who pulled out of Noah due to a busy schedule. In an epic of somewhat different proportions, Guy Pearce will play the role of geneticist Adlrich Killian in Marvel and Disney Studio's Iron Man 3, to be directed by Lethal Weapon writer Shane Black. The plot of Iron Man 3 will pick out elements from Warren Ellis's six-issue Iron Man: Extremis comic books, also integral to the original Iron Man film, which earned $585 million worldwide. The sequel went on to earn $624 million. Production on Iron Man 3 begins in May, with a scheduled release of May 2013. Œ Mon, 23 Apr 2012 13:36:53 +1000 Aussie short Yardbird selected for Cannes http://if.com.au/2012/04/18/article/Aussie-short-Yardbird-selected-for-Cannes/EXDLXZOGFU.html http://if.com.au/2012/04/18/article/Aussie-short-Yardbird-selected-for-Cannes/EXDLXZOGFU.html Sandy George When official word came through that the 13-minute Aussie short Yardbird was in competition at Cannes, director Michael Spiccia had just stepped off a plane in Los Angeles ready for a series of meetings to do with his real job: directing commercials. Producer Jessica Mitchell finally got in touch with him after two hours of trying at 4am LA time. Earlier she had gone through an hour of nail-biting while she played phone tag with Cannes representative Christian Jeune. Spiccia is known in the commercials world for his visually potent work. Yardbird is his first drama and also Mitchell’s first film as a sole producer. “A lot of people nurtured us through the making of this film,” said Mitchell, naming many of the heads of department that worked on the film. She said that 10 films were chosen from more than 4,500 considered. Yardbird is the story of a young girl who lives in a remote car wrecking yard who takes on the local bullies that torment her father. It was filmed on location in six days at Talbot and Clunes in regional Victoria in January 2011. Post-production took place in Sydney. Spiccia and Mitchell will be in experienced hands when they head to the south of France for the world premiere because Yardbird’s writer and executive producer, Julius Avery, wrote and directed Jerrycan which won the Cannes Jury Prize for best short film in 2008. The trio are all Sydney-based. The film was produced by Mitchell’s fledgling Buffalo Films and Bridle Path Films, a collective of directors founded by Avery last year, in association with Goodoil Films, the production company that represents Spiccia’s commercials work. The two key sponsors of Yardbird were Efilm and Fin Design + Effects, which played a big part in heightening the drama. It received some funding through Screen Australia’s short film completion program. Cannes runs until May 16-27. The films in the main feature film competition are being announced tomorrow (April 19). Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:18:33 +1000 Inside Film Awards put on ice http://if.com.au/2012/04/18/article/Inside-Film-Awards-put-on-ice/RPZGTDBHCD.html http://if.com.au/2012/04/18/article/Inside-Film-Awards-put-on-ice/RPZGTDBHCD.html Sandy George It is a blow to the 2012 crop of Australian films that the Inside Film (IF) Awards have been put on ice for a year, given the media interest generated, but organisers say they are genuine in their aim of trying to rejuvenate the annual event. A difficult economic climate, competition for sponsorship and lack of funding options in NSW were the principal official reasons given for the decision, but the move is not just about funding issues according to IF Group General Manager Mark Kuban. “I think all media awards have to factor in changes in audience consumption if they are going to stay relevant,” he said. “The awards require a lot of effort, especially managing stakeholder expectations and return on investment, and not just in monetary terms. Holding off for a year will enable us to sit down and look at them strategically.” The Intermedia Group, a medium-sized Sydney-based publisher that owns both the IF Awards and IF Magazine, is one of those stakeholders of an event that bills itself as the people’s choice awards. “We're fortunate that we have access to a significant audience of 600,000 people through our other print and digital assets, including nearly 30 magazines, and we need to examine how we can engage with those people,” said Kuban. “We contacted them all about last year’s awards and have a lot of traction there.” He is particularly pondering ways of leveraging off the 40,000 people who have registered on the IF Awards website, receive the IF Awards newsletter and attend films six to 13 times per year. “Avid filmgoers,” he calls them. Changing the style of the broadcast event and/or broadcasting the awards online will be considered, as will different ways of seeking out voters. Perhaps it is no longer relevant, for example, to focus so much on festivals now that there are 180,000 people voting. Growing voter numbers is directing the accolades to more mainstream films, perhaps necessitating the introduction of a category for specialist titles, and also raises questions around how to balance the needs of the viewing public with the needs of the industry. “The format has hardly changed since the awards were established 13 years ago although since we acquired them in 2006 we have made them slicker and pushed the IF brand into middle Australia,” said Kuban. “We get amazing coverage that we believe is worth $8-9 million dollars to the film industry. One of the biggest challenges is knowing that no one format is perfect.” Intermedia also holds awards for the liquor industry, and for the hotel and accommodation sector. Wed, 18 Apr 2012 11:34:00 +1000 Liam Hemsworth to star in Robert Luketic's Paranoia, Brilliant on hold http://if.com.au/2012/04/17/article/Liam-Hemsworth-to-star-in-Robert-Luketics-Paranoia-Brilliant-on-hold/RJSYQCXEVK.html http://if.com.au/2012/04/17/article/Liam-Hemsworth-to-star-in-Robert-Luketics-Paranoia-Brilliant-on-hold/RJSYQCXEVK.html Amanda Diaz Fresh from his success in dystopian thriller The Hunger Games, actor Liam Hemsworth has signed on to star in fellow Australian Robert Luketic’s corporate espionage thriller Paranoia. The adaptation of Joseph Finder’s novel of the same name will see Hemsworth playing Adam Cassidy, a low-level employee at a high-tech corporation. When he is caught committing a crime, Corporate Security gives him the choice between jail and spying on a rival company. The film is being made for sales and distribution company ICM Global and will shoot in New York and Mumbai. It is understood that Gary Oldman and Harrison Ford are also in advanced negotiations to star in the picture. Shooting is scheduled to commence later this year. In August last year, it was announced that the director, whose past work includes Legally Blonde and 21, would helm Brilliant, a heist film with Hopscotch Features involved. It was described at the time as a cross between a James Bond film and My Fair Lady, but set in 2012. Eric Bana was attached to play the lead but pulled out due to a scheduling clash and was replaced by Gerard Butler. Luketic told the <a href="http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/whats-on/brilliant-idea-not-gone-to-plan/story-e6frexmi-1226311712116" target="_blank">Daily Telegraph</a> that he was unsure when or where the film would go into production. Tue, 17 Apr 2012 14:20:09 +1000 NAB Show: The fight against theatrical piracy http://if.com.au/2012/04/16/article/NAB-Show-The-fight-against-theatrical-piracy/QBJOVFJQMG.html http://if.com.au/2012/04/16/article/NAB-Show-The-fight-against-theatrical-piracy/QBJOVFJQMG.html Brendan Swift Illegal camcorder recording in movie theatres is the largest source of piracy in the world today. Detecting it is one thing – stopping it is another. Just ask Steve Weinstein, who leads the Motion Picture Association of America’s research venture MovieLabs. “We’ve had the government come to us with the way they blind snipers – that’s the same problem. They said ‘oh, you can just detune our laser’,” he said, drawing laughter from an audience attending a presentation on theatrical piracy at the 2012 NAB Show. “But we are working on some jamming ideas.” Weinstein said the association had made good progress detecting illegal recordings in cinemas – automatic scans produce images, which are then processed and send a signal to the appropriate person. Such scans can now detect cameras as small as an iPhone. Technology aimed at the distribution market can also now detect hidden watermarks or short pieces of audio and video content which may infringe copyright, such as YouTube’s detection facility. However, he also challenged the engineers and scientists in the audience to produce better solutions. “We have incremental ideas and we’re solving them one step at a time but we’re not making as much progress as we’d hope.” Protecting the initial theatrical window from piracy by just seven days – the prime revenue generating period – remains an achievable goal. “There are lots of things – we’re not solving the problem, we’re putting a dent in the problem, and it really is worth putting the dent in it.” Mon, 16 Apr 2012 03:39:07 +1000 IF's Sophie Lowe portrait to show at Head On Portrait Prize exhibition http://if.com.au/2012/04/13/article/IFs-Sophie-Lowe-portrait-to-show-at-Head-On-Portrait-Prize-exhibition/UHVBFHHENV.html http://if.com.au/2012/04/13/article/IFs-Sophie-Lowe-portrait-to-show-at-Head-On-Portrait-Prize-exhibition/UHVBFHHENV.html Staff reporter A portrait of actress Sophie Lowe (The Slap, Blame) featured in the 2011 June/July issue of IF magazine has been selected for the Head on Portrait Prize exhibition.The picture, by photographer Alina Gozin'a, will feature as part of slideshow which will screen continuously throughout the exhibition. The exhibition will open May 4 at ACP. <img alt="" height="350" src="/image/SophieLoweportrait.JPG" width="233" /> Photographer: Alina Gozin’a www.alinagozina.com.au Producer: Mim Davis Art Director: Alina Gozin’a Stylist: Kitty Taube Hair and Makeup: Debbie Muller Makeup supplied by: Cinema Secrets International Post by: Dave Mercer Sophie wears Max Mara, Carcoat Virgin Fri, 13 Apr 2012 12:52:12 +1000 Restraint: why an Australian thriller suffered a single-screen, one-week release http://if.com.au/2012/04/11/article/Restraint-why-an-Australian-thriller-suffered-a-single-screen-one-week-release/IXLEMFDZOR.html http://if.com.au/2012/04/11/article/Restraint-why-an-Australian-thriller-suffered-a-single-screen-one-week-release/IXLEMFDZOR.html Brendan Swift Restraint was backed by the government’s screen agency, directed by one of the country’s top TVC directors, and starred rising talent. Brendan Swift finds out why a $5 million taut-thriller gathered dust for years before a one-week cinema run in 2009. Restraint will be shown on TV this weekend on Channel Nine at 9.30pm on Saturday, April 14. (This article originally appeared in IF #121, June 2009.) It was an auspicious day. On April 2, Restraint had its premiere at inner-Sydney’s Chauvel Cinema – a small dual-screen complex better known for showing small Australian and art-house films. Among the cast and crew were respected director of photography Simon Duggan (I, Robot, Knowing), co-producer Anna Fawcett, and top TV commercials director David Denneen. But Denneen would give no speech that night. It had been almost four years since cameras stopped rolling and the film’s long-delayed release was less a celebration than a Pyrrhic victory. “It was on at nine o’clock, no publicity, and hardly anyone went, but at least I ticked a box off and was able to sell it to France,” Fawcett says. The one-week limited release at the Chauvel satisfied a French requirement that foreign-made films for local TV broadcast must have a theatrical run in its home country. The commercially-focused film – a psychological thriller about two fugitives who take refuge in a mansion owned by an agoraphobic art dealer – had appeared destined for bigger things before things began to unravel. The Film Finance Corporation (since merged into Screen Australia) announced plans to invest $4.14 million in the project – then known as Power Surge – in December 2004. The New South Wales Film and Television Office ($100,000) and US-based Form/Global Cinema Group completed the budget. (However, there remains some contention about the actual budget with the filmmakers stating the FFC invested about half of the estimated total $4 million budget.) Underwear model Travis Fimmel and actress Teresa Palmer were cast alongside UK-actor Stephen Moyer in the key roles. While the careers of all three have since taken off, their relative obscurity was to become a key point of contention for distributors. The film, which changed its name to Guests and then Ravenswood, finished its shoot in regional NSW’s Goulburn and Camden areas in the second half of 2005 and was due to be released in May 2006. Accent Film Entertainment director Peter Campbell – who originally had the distribution deal – says Restraint was aesthetically strong. However, he held reservations about the size of the film’s potential target audience, the star power of the cast, as well as the film’s ending. “What they wanted to do in terms of the theatrical spread was just too big for what it was likely to take [at the box office] and therefore we would have been up for a fairly hefty P&A [prints and advertising costs] and take a very large loss into the DVD release,” he says. After multiple test screenings, the film was cut back from about 120 minutes to 90 minutes and the ending re-jigged to make it slightly more ambiguous. (The original alternate ending is included on the DVD.) However, it continued to be turned down by local distributors. A precondition of the FFC’s $4.1 million investment was a guarantee that the film would have a theatrical release – it also had approval over the appointment of a distributor. A Screen Australia spokeswoman declined to answer questions about its involvement in the production. As the saga dragged on, the film’s most experienced producer Mark Lazarus left Filmgraphics to become a project manager at the Australian Film Commission in August 2006. The Film Finance Corporation announced that it would invest $1.04 million in his next feature film project, The Loved Ones, in December 2007. Deneen, who recently worked on Optus’ high profile TV commercial campaign and hopes to make other features, says he would never make another film without a written pre-sale agreement. He would also like to see more distribution support from Screen Australia, which is currently reviewing its marketing support and promotion guidelines. “It’s great they give you the finance but really they should have an arm that supports Australian films because they invest all this money and the money disappears into oblivion because the films aren’t getting distributed,” he says. Underlying the dilemma is the ongoing dire performance of local films at the box office, which has made exhibitors even more reticent to back local films this year. The release of teen thriller Crush was delayed several times before embarking on a small Perth screening in a bid to prove it could attract an audience. It follows the dismal box office performances this year of films such as Beautiful, which cost about $2 million (not including distribution costs such as advertising) and took just $51,008 across 19 screens. Restraint co-producer Anna Fawcett says the team felt the pressure of making their first feature film and had many people advising them to go down different paths. “It was a comedy of errors because we weren’t experienced enough. But we are now.” <img alt="" height="253" src="/image/Restraint.jpg" width="450" /> A scene from Restraint, starring Teresa Palmer. Wed, 11 Apr 2012 17:12:05 +1000 John Jarratt joins Pinball cast http://if.com.au/2012/04/11/article/John-Jarratt-joins-Pinball-cast/RSXZMRXPCX.html http://if.com.au/2012/04/11/article/John-Jarratt-joins-Pinball-cast/RSXZMRXPCX.html Danii Logue Wolf Creek star, John Jarratt, has joined the cast of Melbourne crime film Pinball. He joins a diverse cast that already includes hip-hop singer Brad Strut, recent VCA graduate Kevin Kiernan-Molloy and ex-criminal Mark ‘Chopper’ Read. “John is one of this country’s great character actors," the film’s writer-director, Matt Holcomb, said in a statement. "I’m not surprised that he’s Quentin Tarantino’s favourite Australian actor. It’s an honour, a privilege and a boon to have someone like John as a key member of the Pinball cast." Jarratt is currently shooting Quentin Tarantino’s latest film Django Unchained, which stars Jamie Foxx, Leonardo DiCaprio and Christoph Waltz. However, he will return to Melbourne when the second block of filming for Pinball begins this winter. Pinball, which is the first feature from Holcomb, tells the story of Clint Thorp (Kiernan-Molloy), a former Australian Rules footballer-turned-criminal left for dead after a failed hit on a crime lord mistakenly classified as a low-level target. Wed, 11 Apr 2012 11:10:14 +1000 Tom McSweeney and David Newman launch casting business http://if.com.au/2012/04/04/article/Tom-McSweeney-and-David-Newman-launch-casting-business/EMUQAABGGM.html http://if.com.au/2012/04/04/article/Tom-McSweeney-and-David-Newman-launch-casting-business/EMUQAABGGM.html Brendan Swift Respected casting directors Tom McSweeney and David Newman have combined forces to launch their own company, McSweeney Newman Casting. Newman, previously with Christine King Casting, counts many Australian and locally-produced projects among his credits including HBO series The Pacific, which required more than 3000 auditions, and went on to win an Emmy Award for Outstanding Casting for a Mini Series, Movie or Special. His other casting credits include Red Dog, A Few Best Men, Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark and upcoming features Mental, 100 Bloody Acres and Forbidden Ground. McSweeney, who moved from the US to Australia in 1998, has cast over 200 feature films, mini-series and telemovie projects and over 500 hours of episodic television. His credits include upcoming TV series Reef Doctors, as well as Nightmares & Dreamscapes, Salem’s Lot, The Great Raid, Scooby Doo, Aquamarine and Ghost Ship. He has also received four ARTIOS Award nominations from the Casting Society of America and an Emmy nomination for his work on US mini-series The Starter Wife. “Founded on the mission to foster talent and provide a creative environment where actors can work freely and not be hounded by the pressures of 'having to get the gig', we believe that true talent can come from anywhere, and that is what drives us to unearth the diamonds in the rough - to look beyond the obvious and to see in actors the potential that they themselves may not even see” McSweeney and Newman said in a statement. “Over the past decade, the talent emerging from Australia has been truly exceptional, as proven by the fact that there are currently so many top rating US or UK film and TV projects with Australian artists in prominent, if not leading roles. From our perspective, it's the sense of freedom, daring and commitment to the craft while maintaining their sense of humour, affability and cheeky larrikin charm which explains why the international market is responding in the way they have." McSweeney Newman Casting will have offices in Sydney, Melbourne and the Gold Coast. Wed, 04 Apr 2012 17:58:11 +1000 Fighting Fear: the making of a surf documentary http://if.com.au/2012/04/04/article/Fighting-Fear-the-making-of-a-surf-documentary/URLUYMWRRI.html http://if.com.au/2012/04/04/article/Fighting-Fear-the-making-of-a-surf-documentary/URLUYMWRRI.html Amanda Diaz When shooting a documentary about your two best mates, walking the line between being a filmmaker and a friend can be difficult. Just ask Macario De Souza. “As a friend, you want to put down the camera and be with your mates,” says the 27 year-old director. “But you can’t do that while you’re making a movie.” Fighting Fear is De Souza’s follow up to 2007’s Bra Boys, the highest grossing local (non-IMAX) documentary in Australian history. Shot over three years, the film tracks the friendship between cage fighter Richie Vas and pro-surfer Mark Matthews from the ages of 12 to 27 as they experience highs and lows, personally and professionally. “There’s a lot of movies about female friendship,” says executive producer Michael Lawrence. “But Macca and I hadn’t seen a film for a long time about men being mates, and I think mateship is a really great Australian theme.” The film was financed by private investors and shot on a number of cameras including the Canon 7D and 5D, the Sony EX3 and the Phantom HD Gold. “We did look at getting some funding, but it’s a slow process dealing with the government. I feel like all the young talented filmmakers never get to show their work because of all that bullshit,” says De Souza. “I guarantee there’s millions of kids out there that are three or four times more talented than I am and just haven’t had that opportunity.” Although categorised as an action documentary, the director is quick to emphasise that the focus is on the story and characters, with surfing and fighting making up less than 10 minutes of film. Lawrence credits this as the reason that veteran TV producer Sue Masters (SeaChange, Secret Life of Us) jumped on board. “She could feel that the story was something that a lot of young men are looking for,” says Lawrence. “Young men are confused about what they’re meant to be and they’re either wearing male makeup or glassing someone on the weekend. There’s got to be a middle road.” Both Vas and Matthews face trouble with the law during the film but De Souza sees them ultimately as role models for young men. “The thing with kids is, they’re not going to listen to teachers or authorities, they want to listen to people they can relate to,” says De Souza. “And if that’s someone who is getting in a cage and fighting, or someone who is surfing waves that can kill them, they’re going to listen to them or be inspired by them. “Being my best friends, I know what kind of men they’ve grown into – and I know they wouldn’t go back down that path anymore.” Wed, 04 Apr 2012 10:27:17 +1000 Drowning wins NFSA Orlando Award http://if.com.au/2012/04/04/article/Drowning-wins-NFSA-Orlando-Award/DRVAKLBMTL.html http://if.com.au/2012/04/04/article/Drowning-wins-NFSA-Orlando-Award/DRVAKLBMTL.html Danii Logue Craig Boreham’s short film Drowning is making waves more than three years after it was completed. Having screened at numerous festivals around the world, including as part of the Cinema des Antipodes program at Cannes last year, Boreham has won the NFSA Orlando Award for the short. Presented at the Melbourne Queer Film Festival, the NFSA Orlando Award is presented to the best lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or intersex short Australian film. It's a medium in which BorehamŒ – an IF Award Rising Talent nominee in 2010 – has made a name for himself, with shorts such as Violet screening at international film festivals. “The really beautiful thing about a short film generally is that it can often just be the exploration of a small idea... it’s freer in a way,” the writer/director said. However, Drowning, which tells the story of the changing relationship between two teenagers (Miles Szanto and Xavier Samuel) was not always intended to be a short. “I actually wrote the feature script first before we made the short film and then adapted that to find the short story within it,” Boreham said, adding that the reason he opted to make the story a short first was because “it was a good way of showing people who might be interested in the feature, the tone. It was a good way of exploring the characters and the performance style in a smaller way before we went ahead with the feature film.” Despite completing work on Drowning more than three years ago, Boreham has returned to the script and confesses that it has always been present in his mind. “We’ve been sort of developing the script into a feature script for the past couple of years so it’s still very much present but it’s just turned into a different form.” With work on the script finally complete, the film is currently seeking financing and Boreham is eager to begin shooting on his first feature. <img alt="" height="301" src="/image/photo by Hugh Rutherford.JPG" width="450" /> On the set of Drowning with director Craig Boreham (R) and director of photography Bonnie Elliott (L). Photo by Hugh Rutherford. <img alt="" height="679" src="/image/photo by Jeremy Mason.jpg" width="450" /> The poster shot for Drowning with actors Miles Szanto, Tess Haubrich and Xavier Samuel. Photo by Jeremy Mason McGraw. Wed, 04 Apr 2012 09:26:53 +1000 IF Magazine's Luke Doolan portrait wins London Photographic Association award http://if.com.au/2012/04/02/article/IF-Magazines-Luke-Doolan-portrait-wins-London-Photographic-Association-award/SZGBCBEAFR.html http://if.com.au/2012/04/02/article/IF-Magazines-Luke-Doolan-portrait-wins-London-Photographic-Association-award/SZGBCBEAFR.html Staff reporter IF Magazine's portrait of Oscar-nominated filmmaker Luke Doolan has won the top prize in the London Photographic Association's Let's Face It 8 portrait competition. The double-page spread, which appeared in IF Magazine #142 (August-September 2011), was the vision of Sydney-based photographer Alina Gozin'a. "Doolan likes the Infinite Monkey Theorem, which suggests that monkeys randomly banging on typewriters for an infinite amount of time would eventually produce the works of Shakespeare," Gozin'a told the <a href="http://www.london-photographic-association.com/site/pages.php?fid=0,182,817" target="_blank">LSE</a>. "In this photograph, the same idea is applied for the Australian film industry – which meant only one monkey was afforded and at mates' rates!" Doolan was nominated for an Oscar for his short film Miracle Fish and has also edited several award-winning films including Animal Kingdom. He is also the head of editing at <a href="http://www.aftrs.edu.au/about/contact-us/sydney.aspx" target="_blank">AFTRS</a>, where the portrait was shot. More information about Alina Gozin'a can be found at her <a href="http://www.alinagozina.com.au/" target="_blank">website</a>. More information about the Luke Doolan portrait and a full list of photo credits can be found <a href="http://www.london-photographic-association.com/site/pages.php?fid=0,182,817" target="_blank">here</a>. Œ Mon, 02 Apr 2012 12:30:49 +1000 The Jammed filmmaker Dee McLachlan on new terrorist comedy http://if.com.au/2012/03/30/article/The-Jammed-filmmaker-Dee-McLachlan-on-new-terrorist-comedy/KKIACPQYCA.html http://if.com.au/2012/03/30/article/The-Jammed-filmmaker-Dee-McLachlan-on-new-terrorist-comedy/KKIACPQYCA.html Matthew Worboys Dee McLachlan’s controversial new comedy 10terrorists had its debut screening on Thursday night at the Melbourne International Comedy Festival and while the film has been mostly accepted by audiences, it has been faced with its fair share of naysayers. “We had one person walk out at a test screening and fill in their form saying the film should never have been made.”, recalls McLachlan. 10terrorists follows a Hollywood producer as he sets up the most extreme reality show to date - Amateur Master Terrorist. Borrowing from other popular reality shows, Amateur Master Terrorist consists of segments such as Armed Apprentice, Queer Spy for the Terrorist Guy, Blasterchef and So You Want To Be A Terrorist!. “It started off as a script called Terry and Isim and was about Guantanamo Bay. Then that fell through because Harold and Kumar came along and Bush got voted out. But the idea shifted and turning into a morphing reality show with terrorists," explains McLachlan. The filmmaker is no stranger to controversial ideas. Her last film was the IF award-winning drama The Jammed, a story about human trafficking. On pushing boundaries, McLachlan says: “You always try to push a little further, and sometimes you think you’ve gone too far, but then other times you think you haven’t gone far enough. It’s all about playing with those boundaries.” For 10terrorists, McLachlan put aside her serious approach and decided to venture into the realm of absurdist comedy. “Comedy allows you to venture into areas where you can’t otherwise venture. It allows you to look at material that would otherwise be too hard to look at.” With such an offbeat film, producer Andrea Buck realised that the marketing had to be equally offbeat. As such, they decided to enter the film not specifically into film festivals, but into comedy festivals. The film was accepted into the Melbourne International Comedy Festival, and it was recently selected for the LA comedy festival. “When we made The Jammed, we knew its audience from the outset. It was a socially aware, middle range female audience. It was made for cinemagoers. With 10terrorists though, the audience is a little bit scattered, and is a much more mainstream audience," says Buck. The film is currently showing as part of the Melbourne International Film Festival, and will be released theatrically in the near future through distributor Titan View. Fri, 30 Mar 2012 13:53:31 +1100 Callan Mulvey cast in 300 sequel and Kathryn Bigelow's Zero Dark Thirty http://if.com.au/2012/03/27/article/Callan-Mulvey-cast-in-300-sequel-and-Kathryn-Bigelows-Zero-Dark-Thirty/HKWRWUZVNP.html http://if.com.au/2012/03/27/article/Callan-Mulvey-cast-in-300-sequel-and-Kathryn-Bigelows-Zero-Dark-Thirty/HKWRWUZVNP.html Amanda Diaz Actor Callan Mulvey has landed roles in two major US films: the sequel to sword-and-sandals blockbuster 300 and Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow's next project Zero Dark Thirty. Mulvey, who is best known for his roles in Rush, Underbelly and Heartbreak High will star alongside fellow Aussie Sullivan Stapleton (Animal Kingdom) in 300: Battle of Artemisia. The film, which will be produced by Zack Snyder, will be released in August 2013. In Zero Dark Thirty, Kathryn Bigelow's film about a team of Navy Seals that track down Osama Bin Laden, Mulvey joins a cast that includes Mark Strong, Joel Edgerton and Jessica Chastain. Filming is set to commence in April. Bigelow's last film, The Hurt Locker, won Oscars for Best Director and Best Picture in 2010. Mulvey is represented by Mark Morrissey and Associates and recently signed with prestigious agency CAA in Los Angeles. Œ <img alt="" height="354" src="/image/callanresized.jpg" width="300" /> Actor Callan Mulvey Tue, 27 Mar 2012 15:57:47 +1100 Caitlin Stasey on Tomorrow sequel: My involvement may be over http://if.com.au/2012/03/27/article/Caitlin-Stasey-on-Tomorrow-sequel-My-involvement-may-be-over/VYCNKMDRGF.html http://if.com.au/2012/03/27/article/Caitlin-Stasey-on-Tomorrow-sequel-My-involvement-may-be-over/VYCNKMDRGF.html Amanda Diaz Omnilab Media may remain committed to developing the sequel to 2010 blockbuster Tomorrow, When the War Began but the film's star, Caitlin Stasey, feels her involvement in the project is over. The actress, who won an IF Award for her performance as Ellie Linton in the adaptation of the best selling John Marsden novel, believes that if a second film does eventually go ahead, it may not feature the original cast members. "You always hear things, you always hear that someone's writing it, that someone's putting it together," says Stasey. "Nothing has happened until it happens. Unfortunately for the Tomorrow series, I feel that for the actors that were in the first film, maybe our commitment to it is done." Tomorrow, When the War Began, which was written and directed by Stuart Beattie, was the highest grossing Australian film of 2010, taking $13.48 million at the box office. In February 2011 it was announced that a sequel - also helmed by Beattie - would commence filming in September. But the production was moved back into the development stage when Beattie signed on to write and direct graphic novel adaptation I, Frankenstein. Omnilab Media managing director, Chris Mapp, told IF late last year that the company was still committed to the project - considering both film and television options. Wish You Were Here filmmaker Kieran Darcy-Smith is currently developing a new version of the script. Since Tomorrow's release almost two years ago, many of the film's young cast have gone on to build stable careers in the industry. Ashleigh Cummings, who played Robin, is currently appearing in ABC's Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries, Phoebe Tonkin (Fi) is one of the leads in US supernatural thriller series The Secret Circle and Lincoln Lewis (Kevin) has worked on various shows including SLiDE, Underbelly: Razor and the upcoming Tricky Business. "By the time we all get together, we'll probably be 35 and too old to play the characters," says Stasey. "Whenever someone tells me that they've seen the film, I thank them profusely just because it makes me so happy. But if they revisit the film in a couple of years and they use the next Australian starlet and the next Australian hunk, audiences have a limited loyalty so I think it'll be fine. I hope for the fans that they have something, even a television show, because people really did love it." Stasey is currently in the midst of filming her second collaboration with Beattie as a secondary lead in I, Frankenstein alongside Aaron Eckhart. "He's amazing, he's the single most generous man I've ever met in my life. He has such enthusiasm," she says of the writer/director. "He's like a mascot for positive thinking - it's nice to be around someone who reaffirms constantly that they love what they do, and anybody that loves something so much could never let you down. I hope I get to work with him late, late into my career." Stasey is also involved in comedian Josh Thomas's upcoming ABC series Please Like Me. The pair met when the actress appeared on popular game show Talkin' 'Bout Your Generation. Thomas encouraged Stasey to audition for the role of his character's ex-girlfriend and the rest is history. "Everything about it was funny – the language, the situations , it was perfect, and it fit into my style of humour," she says of the six-part series. "When I came down here, I was worried I’d have a lot of downtime, but fortunately this came up perfectly. And now they’re coexisting harmoniously in my schedule, which I’m really, really thrilled about." Tue, 27 Mar 2012 14:47:37 +1100 Red Dog set for stage and TV http://if.com.au/2012/03/19/article/Red-Dog-set-for-stage-and-TV/WLCIEDRMVI.html http://if.com.au/2012/03/19/article/Red-Dog-set-for-stage-and-TV/WLCIEDRMVI.html Brendan Swift One of Australia's most popular local films, Red Dog, could be reinvented as a stage show, a documentary and a TV show. The film's producer, Nelson Woss, told local media that he was in talks with a well-known producer to bring the story about the Pilbara region's famous kelpie to the stage, featuring music from the film's soundtrack. "What's quite nice about Red Dog now is that it's expanding into other areas," Woss told Perth's <a href="http://www.perthnow.com.au/entertainment/perth-confidential/wa-smash-hit-red-dog-let-off-the-leash/story-e6frg30l-1226302567746" target="_blank">The Sunday Times</a>. If the film makes it to the stage, it would follow in the footsteps of another popular Australian film, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, which was first adapted for the stage in 2006 in Sydney before heading to London in 2009 and New York in 2010-11. Red Dog grossed $21.3 million last year, making it the <a href="http://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/research/statistics/mrboxaust.asp" target="_blank">eighth biggest</a> local film of all time. Just two weeks after its release on DVD, it had become the sixth best-selling DVD of all-time although it has not enjoyed such widespread popularity at the UK box office this year. A stage show featuring music from the soundtrack would mark a major turnaround from just before the film's release, when every major record label rejected the soundtrack. Woss pressed ahead with the soundtrack and two-and-a-half weeks after the film was released, a number of record labels returned, by which time Woss and music supervisor were working with Roadshow's music division. The soundtrack features classic songs such as Eagle Rock by Daddy Cool as well as the film's score, which was composed by Cezary Skubiszewski. Contact this reporter at <a href="mailto:bswift@if.com.au" style="widows: 2; text-transform: none; background-color: rgb(255,255,255); text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; font: 12px/17px arial, helvetica, sans-serif; white-space: normal; orphans: 2; color: rgb(232,0,0); word-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px">bswift@if.com.au</a> or on Twitter at <a href="http://twitter.com/bcswift" style="widows: 2; text-transform: none; background-color: rgb(255,255,255); text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; font: 12px/17px arial, helvetica, sans-serif; white-space: normal; orphans: 2; color: rgb(232,0,0); word-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px" target="_blank">@bcswift</a>. Mon, 19 Mar 2012 16:26:57 +1100 Singularity may be set for more filming - UPDATED http://if.com.au/2012/03/16/article/Singularity-may-be-set-for-more-filming---UPDATED/LHAWFXEVEU.html http://if.com.au/2012/03/16/article/Singularity-may-be-set-for-more-filming---UPDATED/LHAWFXEVEU.html Brendan Swift Troubled UK-Australian co-production Singularity may be set for further filming later this year. Bollywood actress Bipasha Basu, who appears in the film,Œrecently told the Indian media that she had spoken to director Roland Joffé and further filming was set for April. “I have always maintained that Singularity isn’t in major financial trouble,” she recently told the <a href="http://www.hindustantimes.com/Entertainment/Bollywood/Rescue-plan-for-Bipasha-s-Hollywood-film-underway/Article1-822067.aspx" target="_blank">Hindustan Times</a>. “I met Roland some time ago and he was excited. I’ve two days of shooting left, which I will complete in April, then we will work on promotions, so financial issues don’t figure at all.” The company behind the $28 million production, Singularity Productions, remains in liquidation owing an estimated $1.5 million to third-party creditors. Worrells Solvency & Forensic Accountants, which has been managing Singularity Productions since last October, held another meeting of creditors this week in Brisbane. Contrarian Tax Unit’s Brett Thornquest, who is assisting the administrators, confirmed that some shooting is planned to take place in the UK, followed by final post-production.ŒOutstanding creditors will then be paid. Worrells partner Michael Griffin said he was not aware of specific plans for further filming although everyone involved hopes to release the film. “All parties are working towards that end,” he said. About 90 per cent of Singularity has already been filmed according to sources except for the ‘modern’ section of the tale, which follows marine biologist Jay Fennel (Josh Hartnett) who undertakes a near-fatal dive to save his wife (originally set to be played by Neve Campbell, who pulled out before filming began) while exploring an 18th century merchant ship wreckage. He then envisions India in 1778 where British captain James Stewart (also played by Hartnett) is about to embark on a dangerous mission while falling in love with a beautiful palace guard (Basu). The film was initially shot in Australia in late-2010 before moving to India for the second leg of shooting in early-2011. If the film can be cut together and released, it would trigger the lucrative Australian Producer Offset tax rebate, which would more than cover the unpaid debts. However, the strained relationship between Australian producers Grant and Dale Bradley and Belgian producer Paul Breuls remains a key stumbling block to completing the film. Contact this reporter at <a href="mailto:bswift@if.com.au" style="widows: 2; text-transform: none; background-color: rgb(255,255,255); text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; font: 12px/17px arial, helvetica, sans-serif; white-space: normal; orphans: 2; color: rgb(232,0,0); word-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px">bswift@if.com.au</a> or on Twitter at <a href="http://twitter.com/bcswift" style="widows: 2; text-transform: none; background-color: rgb(255,255,255); text-indent: 0px; letter-spacing: normal; font: 12px/17px arial, helvetica, sans-serif; white-space: normal; orphans: 2; color: rgb(232,0,0); word-spacing: 0px; text-decoration: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px" target="_blank">@bcswift</a>. Fri, 16 Mar 2012 14:04:19 +1100 Zak Hilditch's post-apocalyptic short Transmission selected for Tribeca http://if.com.au/2012/03/14/article/Zak-Hilditchs-post-apocalyptic-short-Transmission-selected-for-Tribeca/FPGYALOFGL.html http://if.com.au/2012/03/14/article/Zak-Hilditchs-post-apocalyptic-short-Transmission-selected-for-Tribeca/FPGYALOFGL.html Rachael Gavin Australian Zak Hilditch’s short film about a deadly pandemic and its impact on a father-daughter relationship has been selected for the Tribeca Film Festival (TFF). Transmission – written and directed by Hilditch – is among 60 short films from 25 countries up for contention at the New York based event. The festival will mark the short film’s international premiere. “It’s very excitingˆ it looks like we’re the only Australian film in there so it’s good to be flying the Aussie flag over in New York,” says Hilditch. “We’re planning to shoot our feature in the second half of this year and going over to something like Tribeca with the short that helped us get the feature funded in the first place is a good way to cap it all off.” Screen Australia supported production of Transmission via its Springboard program which aims to help filmmakers create a short to act as their calling card and compliment an existing feature film proposal. The short film was made to support upcoming feature film These Final Hours, which secured a $750,000 injection from ScreenWest and funding from Screen Australia. The apocalyptic film follows a self-obsessed young man heading to a party on the last day on earth, but instead ends up saving the life of a young girl looking for her father. “When we went through the Springboard program we had to identify elements in our feature that we needed to prove in a short film to eliminate risk with investors. "Basically, for us, we need to convey a sense of a large scale world, we needed to convey a sense of heat and we needed to have an action sequence in there as well, so it was strange taking all those elements and trying to figure out what would be the best scenario to create a short around – sort of like working backwards – but overall the father-daughter relationship was something that we needed to get right as [the feature has] a sort of pseudo-father-daughter relationship as well." These Final Hours will shoot later this year in and around Perth. Casting and crewing is currently underway. Wed, 14 Mar 2012 16:44:16 +1100 Producer Jeremy Thomas talks about A Dangerous Method http://if.com.au/2012/03/12/article/Producer-Jeremy-Thomas-talks-about-A-Dangerous-Method/BHEGKOLGVP.html http://if.com.au/2012/03/12/article/Producer-Jeremy-Thomas-talks-about-A-Dangerous-Method/BHEGKOLGVP.html Danii Logue Jeremy Thomas isn’t interested in making blockbusters. Instead the English producer, and founder of the Recorded Picture Company, wants to make what he calls "interest-busters" – films that pique the interest of the audience. His most recent interest-buster is A Dangerous Method, his third collaboration with Canadian director David Cronenberg following Naked Lunch (1991) and Crash (1996). Based on the play The Talking Cure by Christopher Hampton, A Dangerous Method details the complicated relationship between Carl Jung (Michael Fassbender), Sigmund Freud (Viggo Mortensen) and Jung’s patient and mistress, Sabina Spielrein (Keira Knightley). Although he’d never seen Hampton’s play, Thomas admits that “as a thinking person” he already knew and was interested in Jung, Freud and Spielrein, all of whom have been present in pop culture for years thanks to novels such as The White Hotel (D.M. Thomas) and films such as My Name Aas Sabina Spielrein. “I knew that he would make sure that every aspect of the film was beautiful in terms of accuracy,” Thomas said, praising Cronenberg, whom he calls The Professor, for his rigorous attention to detail. “So the film is absolutely accurate, even down to the date. When you see a date on the screen, that’s really the day it happened.” This accuracy came from the letters written by the three central characters, which provided the basis for Hampton’s play and which still exist and can be read by anyone with a desire and a sound knowledge of German. In addition to letters, there were also photographs of the characters and settings, which proved indispensable for the filmmakers. “This was the period of photography. So all the actors and all the people working on the film could really look and see what it was like,” Thomas said, comparing the film to other literary adaptations he has worked on such as Naked Lunch and Bernardo Bertolucci's The Sheltering Sky (which Thomas produced). While the subject matter may be somewhat specialised, Thomas never doubted that there was an audience for the film. “From Rio de Janeiro to Johannesburg to Timbuktu, people are interested in psychoanalysis and are interested in Jung and Freud, so I trusted that there would be enough people interested in seeing this film.” A Dangerous Method will be released in Australian cinemas on March 29. <img alt="" height="299" src="/image/Dangerous Method .jpg" width="450" /> A scene from A Dangerous Method. Mon, 12 Mar 2012 12:17:04 +1100 Oranges and Sunshine: behind the production design http://if.com.au/2012/03/09/article/Oranges-and-Sunshine-behind-the-production-design/WKTSOUBZWF.html http://if.com.au/2012/03/09/article/Oranges-and-Sunshine-behind-the-production-design/WKTSOUBZWF.html Melinda Doring Last year, production designer Melinda Doring won the IF Award for Best Production Design for Australian-UK drama Oranges and Sunshine as well as an AACTA award for for her work on The Eye of the Storm. She tells fellow production designer John Rohde how she created the production design for Oranges and Sunshine while working on a tight budget. John Rohde: How did you get involved with the film? Melinda Doring: Oranges and Sunshine producer Emile Sherman (See Saw Films) suggested me to his UK co-producer Camilla Bray (Sixteen Films). I happened to be in the UK in the beginning of 2009 having just finished another UK -Australian co-production, The Boys Are Back, so I had the opportunity to meet with the director Jim Loach in London. I loved Rona Munro’s script – it is based on the extraordinary autobiography Empty Cradles by Margaret Humphreys – so I found it easy to talk to Jim Loach about the project, something that was very close to his heart as he had been developing the script for the past seven years. My meeting with Jim Loach went well and when I returned back to Australia, found I had been offered the job. We had a few start dates but the film finally got the go ahead towards the end of 2009. Œ <img alt="" border="" height="285" hspace="" src="/image/Oranges2.jpg" style="text-align: center;" vspace="" width="450" /> JR: What type of research did you have to do? MD: I read Margaret’s book Empty Cradles to get as much information on real characters and locations that feature in the script. When a script is an adaptation from a book, it’s always great if you have time to read the original source material, as often little details may be left out that can help enrich the design process. I initially did some internet research, looking for visual information on scripted locations such as Bindoon, The Fairbridge Farms and anything I could find on the Child Migrants Trust and the Child Migration Scheme. This led me to photographic archives of child migrants arriving in Australia and their lives in the institutions they were assigned to – the images of the child migrants building the real Bindoon Boys Town School in WA really affected me – to think that children built the imposing Catholic Institution in the middle of nowhere is mind boggling. A month or two before our official pre-production was to start in Nottingham, Jim Loach came to Australia to start the initial search for some of the required locations in South Australia. He spent a week with the location manager Sarah Abbey and then I joined him for three days. This was a great thing to do early on as we got a real sense of what we would be contrasting our UK locations with, and it gave me another opportunity to understand what Jim wanted visually for the film. His main priority was that the film had a sense of period (1986-87), but that the period look didn’t distract from storytelling. When I arrived in Nottingham, one of my first priorities was to do more research at a couple of the local libraries. I didn’t have a lot of time to do this but it really helped me get a sense of what Nottingham and the UK was like during the film's time frame. This was important for me to understand, as we wanted a visual contrast for the look of the UK elements of Margaret’s hometown and that of what she experienced when she came to Australia. Œ <img alt="" border="" height="254" hspace="" src="/image/Oranges1.jpg" style="text-align: center;" vspace="" width="450" /> Œ I looked for a mix of documentary style photographers from the time as well as anything that would give me style/character/period references that matched the worlds we aimed to recreate. I wanted the audience to experience the visual difference, to experience her journey and the contrasts she was facing as she made the trip back and forth, as she relates to the child migrants and what she must have experienced. Martin Parr, a UK documentary style photographer, was a huge influence and inspiration to me in working out the visual feel of the film. He is known for his incredible images of the UK in the 1970s, 1980s and beyond – the images are not only great character studies, but they helped inspire ideas for developing the colour palette of the film. (His website if worth looking at: <a href="http://www.martinparr.com" target="_blank">www.martinparr.com</a>.) JR: How did you communicate your concepts? MD: As pre-production time was very limited, I created mood/colour palette boards from the research for the UK and Australia. We needed the colour palette to cohesively create the feel of the period (1986) something that both the sets and the costumes would follow. Costume designer Cappi Ireland and I collaborated on this palette and provided these ideas to cinematographer Denson Baker and Jim so we were all on the same page. I also compiled character/style reference files for the main locations to share with my key crew in both countries. When you are working with limited resources and time, having great references helps everyone in the art department communicate ideas quickly JR: What was the balance of built setsand found locations? MD: Most of the sets in the UK and Australia were locations that we adapted. In the majority of low budget productions that have large amounts of scripted locations, the budget really determines that finding good locations is a necessity, builds are not really an option, so locations are adapted to meet a character brief and meet period and stylistic requirements. On these types of productions locations can make our break you, so as a designer, you have to get very involved in choosing the right ones. In the UK the main location was Margaret’s family home. If the production had more money it probably would have made sense to build some of the interiors as sets. But as this wasn’t an option we used two locations. Œ <img alt="" border="" height="266" hspace="" src="/image/Oranges3.jpg" style="text-align: center;" vspace="" width="450" /> The exterior location was situated in a great street that gave you a real sense of the Nottingham landscape. This location was considered for the interior, but we all decided it was way too small to shoot all the scenes required, so we found a much larger location for the interiors. This house acted as our studio set – the rooms were little oversized which allowed better camera movement and provided better visual depth. We completely took over the place which was student house share: we relocated most of the tenants, emptied out their personal effects to repaint, changed the floor treatments, most of the electrical fittings, and all the interior dressings. The biggest art department challenge in South Australia was possibly recreating the Western Australian catholic school Bindoon. This required blending up to six locations to give the audience the sense of scale and grandeur that this location needed to convey. We used three exterior locations: two were shot in the remote Flinders Ranges in a place called Arkaroola. This required several small builds including the gateway to the complex and several religious monuments. The establisher of the main exterior building was another location in Adelaide. This required several elements to make it feel that it was situated in the same environment that had been established in Arkaroola. We matched the Arkaroola dirt to cover-up an existing concrete driveway and we added a large imposing religious statue in a garden bed and a partial façade that needed to blend into the traditional sandstone architecture and cover-up an existing contemporary glass entranceway. This façade included a door that gave the characters an entrance point. A further three more interior locations were used to complete the journey required by the script. Six locations seems excessive but we needed to create a sense of awe at the scale of the Bindoon complex as it is so pivotal in terms of the story telling process, and we just couldn’t find one or two locations that really fitted the bill on their own. JR: How big was your team? MD: Both teams were very small. A bit too small but somehow we got through it. I had a separate art director in each country – the UK art director was a Nottingham local, Janey Levick, and my SA art director Tuesday Stone, but no art department coordinators. Both Janey and Tuesday worked very hard putting together good teams. Both art departments were very resourceful, multitasking to get through the amount of locations and elements required. We had a slightly different balance of crew in both countries, due to the different needs of both shoots. <img align="" alt="" border="" height="279" hspace="" src="/image/Oranges4.jpg" vspace="" width="450" /> JR: How did you manage the international crew? MD: Well as soon as I started discussions about the project with the producers I started the process of locking in my art directors, as the budgets for both art departments were to run as separate entities. The UK producer Camilla Bray introduced me to Janey Levick. Janey has worked as an art director and as a designer on many productions that have come out of Nottingham so she really understands the local industry. I interviewed her via Skype and really felt that we had a similar approach to how the project needed to be handled. Janey put together a very tight team, most of who had worked together before, but I didn’t meet any of them until we were thrown into official pre-production, which was very fast and furious, so I had to put a lot of trust in her – she didn’t disappoint. Prior to leaving Australia I appointed art director Tuesday Stone to insure she could start the process of putting the South Australian team together so we could hit the ground running as soon I returned from the UK. JR: Did they differ from Australian crew? MD: Yes and no – It can be quite confusing at first. But as I had worked in the UK the year before on The Boys are Back I was prepared for it. The biggest difference is the way the art department is organised – roles have much the same titles, but the job descriptions vary slightly and many roles overlap. These subtle differences are too numerous to mention here but enough to create some initial confusion as to who is responsible for what. One position that works so successfully within the UK system is the role of the standby art director. This has to be my favorite position that exists on productions big and small in the UK. It is a great stepping-stone career option for up-and-coming designers and art directors. They are the designer’s/art director’s eyes and ears on set. They work for you in that they control the way the art department elements transition onto set and make sure everything runs smoothly in front of camera. They supervise the standby props and work closely with the cinematographer and director and they often do pre as the art director's assistant. I really wish we had this role in Australia. It allows the designer to feel that they can leave the set and know that everything will be alright. Standbys in Australia are amazing and keep their eyes on as much as possible but this role provides an extra set of eyes and allows the standby to focus on the continuity of the props while the standby art director concentrates on the frame. Art department coordinators only exist on large productions in the UK but this is because their role is spilt between varieties of other art department roles, so it balances out in a very different way. The other curious difference is that art departments in the UK have the responsibility of providing grip construction services and blacking out requirements, which seems very odd at first, so it really makes you appreciate the role of grips within the Australian framework. <img align="" alt="" border="" height="277" hspace="" src="/image/Oranges5.jpg" vspace="" width="450" /> JR: Did you feel that you had enough resources at your disposal? MD: To be honest, we had the bare minimum, so we had to be very creative to make sure we gave the film a consistent look. We had a great line producer who worked well with both my art directors and two wonderful creative art departments that were enthusiastic and skillful enough to work within the limitations. The other important element was that the entire core creative heads of department also understood the film's constraints. Everyone new that for the film to work we had to be good collaborators. JR: What were the main challenges for the art department? MD: A very short pre-production and short shoot in both countries, which meant decisions had to be made quickly, and the film's budget was pretty tight. So making sure that the resources of the art department budget were distributed appropriately. The art departments in both countries need to be flexible and multi task – we had lots of locations to deal with in both countries which meant continuous striking and dressing. In the UK, this meant that my crew work extraordinary hours to get the work done on time, particularly getting the main location ready for the shoot when we had limited access to the location. In Australia, the main challenge was that we didn’t have the resources that are available for a period film that are available in the UK. In the UK there are props stores with period graphics packaging, furniture, props and dressing. Not to say that everything is sourced from these stores, especially on a low budget production such as this, but they are there when needed. Another huge benefit was that the Nottingham production office had an on-site vehicle co-coordinator who had a selection of '80s vehicles we could choose from, which meant we didn’t have to spend time sourcing all our vehicles. In SA there are no props stores or vehicle coordinators with a ready-to-go stock of period vehicles, so everything had to be sourced from scratch. JR: What did you get out of the experience? MD: The project had a great heart because of the subject matter; I felt privileged to be part of the story-telling process. I loved working with Jim Loach the director, he was so easy to work with, very trusting but also very decisive when required. This was his first feature but he had such a vast experience as a TV director he really new how to get the most out of the challenges the production faced and provided a great on-set vibe among the crew. Having another opportunity to work in the UK was really great especially as Nottingham and the scale of this production offered such different challenges to the ones I faced on The Boys are Back (which was based out of London and with a much healthier budget), so I feel I have had a taste of two very different ways of working there. For more information about production design, visit the Australian Production Design Guild <a href="http://www.apdg.org.au/" target="_blank">here</a>. Fri, 09 Mar 2012 11:54:30 +1100 Dinka Bonelle Dzubur on short film Little Hands http://if.com.au/2012/03/07/article/Dinka-Bonelle-Dzubur-on-short-film-Little-Hands/GGWZOXEGRG.html http://if.com.au/2012/03/07/article/Dinka-Bonelle-Dzubur-on-short-film-Little-Hands/GGWZOXEGRG.html Fay Al-Janabi Little Hands is the first Australian film to be shot entirely in Bosnia and Herzegovina. An intimate short story exploring the complexity of identity, loss, and the importance of human connection, Little Hands follows young tourist Mia (Dinka Bonelle Dzubur), who arrives in the post-war city of Mostar looking for her only remaining family, her little sister Sofia (Manon Bennett). Dzubur is more than an actress – she is also the writer and executive producer of Little Hands. It was after feeling “dishearted” and “uninspired” by her acting roles in Australia – landing mainstream roles on Australian screens is particularly difficult for actors with diverse backgrounds – that she was prompted to create her own work. “The more I stepped into the world of international cinema, I realised we were all feasting from this cultural trail mix in which there are not many stories of strong, powerful, sexy women because there are not many female writer/directors. Yet, this is now changing slowly, and I decided to be a part of this change”. Dzubur was inspired to return to her native country of Bosnia and Herzegovina after first visiting the Cannes Film Festival in 2009. The purpose of her trip, she says, was to explore the production conditions of the region and meet the talent that Bosnia and Herzegovina had to offer. While travelling there, Dzubur was overwhelmed by the warmth, sincerity and talent of the children and youth she met in Mostar, and wanted to show this to the world. But it wasn’t just the children of Mostar that compelled Dzubur to write Little Hands – it was the story of a lady she met in Sarajevo that lingered in her mind, later forming the starting point for the film. Back in her hotel room, Dzubur began to draft a screenplay based on these women’s stories. “I wanted to explore what happened to the generation of Bosnian women and children who had to flee. Who left their homes, who lost family members in war, who grew up all around the world, whose identities are undefined. This wasn’t easy to do and it was important when plotting the narrative for the characters to have room for them to transform within themselves. This film is dedicated to the post-war generation and children of Bosnia and Herzegovina.” Inspired by Claire McCarthy’s The Waiting City, which was filmed on location in India, Dzubur sent the script to the Australian director, knowing McCarthy would have the sensibilities to tell the story with an engaging, powerful, aesthetic. Following McCarthy’s arrival in Mostar, workshops were organised to further develop the script. Rehearsals, it was decided, would simply hinder the film’s element of realism with their dull repetitiveness. A cast of 54 Bosnian children were featured in Little Hands alongside locals: Sarajevo-born Balkan actor Miraj Grbic (Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol) and actress Manon Bennett in leading roles contributing to the film’s raw, emotional energy. “Miraj, Manon and I had great chemistry. Claire decided early on not to rehearse too much with us, we just had a similar creative process”, Dzubur recalls. “First, second take, then no more. We worked very fast and very well”. Little Hands carries a similar visual style to The Waiting City: poetic realism. “The film takes elements of realism in an almost documentary way, but there is also a visual and narrative authority to the film’s style, tone, and approach to performance”, Dzubur says. Filmed on location, Little Hands is an exploration of Mostar city, from the ‘Egipatsko Selo’ children’s home, to its graceful medieval sites. But Dzubur hopes Little Hands does more than just expose Bosnia and Herzegovina’s visual beauty and horrific past. “I’m immensely proud to have realised a project that takes steps beyond cultural and religious lines”, she says. “This film brought together Bosnian, Croatian, and Australian artists together. I feel like I am making a difference. It is the first Australian project to film in Mostar city – I hope Australian audiences in particular see it and also start to be able to start relating to a new wave of Australian cinema”. Shot on RED ONE cameras by cinematographer Denson Baker ACS, and with close to five hours of footage from filming on location in Mostar (as well as war archival footage), Dzubur began to realise the challenges of realising a post-war offshore film shoot. “[It is important to] be simple and clear, and create an emotional arc that will resonate with the viewer”, she notes. “[Working] with director Claire McCarthy and editor Gwen Sputore was a long process and we had many test screenings to make sure we end up with a story that will portray the message we had envisioned for the film and that will be clear to an international audience. “I’m happy where we are. It’s been an interesting year. The circle has been completed. Making Little Hands has reminded me why I am an actress and an artist and has made me fall in love with film all over again. I see the power of film and I feel this medium is to be used wisely and responsibly. I firmly believe that telling stories is a really important part of fostering understanding, compassion and healing. As long as we keep telling stories, we continue to be human. “What I always enjoy the most about the work is the reaction from the audience. To see their faces, to see their expressions, to see how they were sitting in their chair uncomfortably, somewhere crying is a great testament to what this film can achieve”. Dzubur is currently in Los Angeles having just wrapped work on the feature film Isabella with John Lovitz and the TV Series True Blood for HBO. Her production company, Chandelier Films based out of Sydney, has expanded with the opening of a Croatian division. Dzubur is currently involved in five feature length projects: an adaptation of a comic book, a modern fairytale, a multi-plot drama, a thriller, and a romance. <img alt="" height="252" src="/image/Dinka-big.jpg" width="450" /> Manon Bennett and Dinka Bonelle Dzubur in Little Hands. Wed, 07 Mar 2012 11:07:54 +1100 Screen Australia helps fund The Tunnel sequel - The Tunnel: Dead End http://if.com.au/2012/02/29/article/Screen-Australia-helps-fund-The-Tunnel-sequel---The-Tunnel-Dead-End/EESDVGCADP.html http://if.com.au/2012/02/29/article/Screen-Australia-helps-fund-The-Tunnel-sequel---The-Tunnel-Dead-End/EESDVGCADP.html Sam Dallas A sequel to last year’s successful low-budget horror film The Tunnel is currently in the works. The sequel – titled The Tunnel: Dead End – received development funding from Screen Australia earlier this month and will pick up the story years down the track. No shoot date has been set for the horror flick. It’s a sequel creators Enzo Tedeschi and Julian Harvey weren’t planning on. “Initially, we weren’t anticipating doing another Tunnel film but the overwhelmingly positive reaction to the original – as well as our fans clamouring for another on an almost daily basis – made us go back and give it a second thought,” Tedeschi and Harvey, of Distracted Media, said in a joint statement. “We weren't going to go ahead unless we could find a story we were 100 per cent behind, which we now have, and are thrilled to have the support of Screen Australia.” The sequel will follow Tangles’ sister who is determined to answer once and for all what happened to her brother in the gloomy underground tunnels. The first film, which was backed by Andrew Denton's <a href="http://if.com.au/2012/02/27/article/Cordell-Jigsaw-and-Zapruders-Other-Films-merge-Cordell-Jigsaw-Zapruder-is-born/KAXLONNJJU.html" target="_blank">Zapruder's Other Films</a>, was internationally-recognised for its unique crowdfunding model and distinctive distribution. The filmmakers sold individual frames at $1 per frame in their attempt to raise a budget of $135,000 (the equivalent of a 90-minute film). It was first released for free on BitTorrent and was the first Australian film to be available for download specifically on the iPad. The filmmakers have also announced another "135K Project" is in the pipeline: claustrophobic science-fiction thriller Airlock. "The Tunnel: Dead End is a great opportunity to take Distracted Media into a different playing field but as producers we still very much believe in the basic principles of the <a href="http://135kproject.com/" target="_blank">135K Project</a>," Tedeschi and Harvey said. "Having a more mainstream film in The Tunnel: Dead End will enable us to up the stakes significantly with Airlock which will hopefully raise the bar for our free internet releases and what we can put back into their success." The film is one of 13 features given development funding by the national agency. Other projects receiving some of the $350,000-plus injection include Black Echoes (Greg McLean), Out West (Alister Grierson), The Outrageious Barry Bush (Kriv Stenders) and What Alice Forgot (Vincent Sheehan). The 13 projects are: ADDITION Genre Romantic Comedy Producers Bruna Papandrea, Cristina Pozzan Writer Harry Cripps Synopsis Grace cannot stop counting things. It has cost her her job as a teacher and shut her off from the rest of the world. But meeting Seamus opens up the possibility of a normal life. Unfortunately becoming normal is a lot harder than Grace thought. Based on the novel by Toni Jordan. BAD ANGEL Genre Comedy Producers Nicholas Cole, Antonia Barnard Writer Shaun Grant Synopsis The transformation of Angelo d’Angelo, a New York hit man who is unwittingly embraced into the bosom of a simple, rural Australian community. For the first time, Angelo learns that love and family are just as effective as any weapon he’s ever known. BLACK ECHOES Genre Horror Producers Murray Pope, Michael Robertson Writers Shayne Armstrong, Shane Krause Director Greg McLean Synopsis A group of international tourists are taken off the beaten path to an isolated village deep in the Vietnamese countryside where they experience a Viet Cong tunnel crawl that makes the famous Cu Chi tunnels seem like a playground... tighter, more claustrophobic, scarier. They get their money’s worth and then some! BOGAN WEDDING Genre Comedy Writer Jules Duncan THE DRESSMAKER Genre Drama Producer Sue Maslin Writer/Director Jocelyn Moorhouse Synopsis A bittersweet tragic-comedy about a glamorous young woman who returns, after many years in Europe, to her small home town in rural Australia in order to right some wrongs from the past. When Tilly comes home she not only heals her ailing mother, but with her sewing machine, and haute couture style, transforms the women of the town in such a way that she gets sweet revenge on those who did her wrong. She also falls unexpectedly in love, which leads to her greatest loss and her most destructive deed. Based on the acclaimed novel by Rosalie Ham. JULIAN CORKLE IS A FILTHY LIAR Genre Comedy Producers Marian Macgowan, Sarah Radclyffe Writer Mark Herman Synopsis A romp through family life and black-sheepedness in small town Tasmania in the 1980s. Based on the bestselling novel by DJ Connell. LAST CAB TO DARWIN Genre Drama Producer/Writer/Director Jeremy Sims Producer Greg Duffy Executive Producer Ian Darling Writer Reg Cribb Synopsis Max, a taciturn Broken Hill cabbie, has never done anything with his life. He’s in love with his neighbour Polly, but he’s never told anyone, not even himself. He thinks he’ll live and die alone in Broken Hill. Then something happens that forces Max to go on an extraordinary journey – a journey that shows him, and us, that it’s never too late to change your life. OUT WEST Genre Comedy Producers Catriona Hughes, Leesa Kahn, Terry Jennings Writer/Director Alister Grierson Synopsis Two corrupt ex-cops travel to Coober Pedy with a bag of cash and play chicken with vengeful bikies, thieves, a yakuza wannabe, sociopathic rednecks and a rather short-tempered, one-armed deaf guy. THE OUTRAGEOUS BARRY RUSH Genre Adventure Producer Alan Harris Writer Andy Cox Director Kriv Stenders PLATES DAY Genre Black Comedy Producer Jenny Day Writer/Director Bruce Petty Synopsis An animated feature film from Bruce Petty about the certainties we search for and the fantasies we can’t live without. SCARY GIRL Genre Children’s Animation Producer Sophie Byrne Executive Producer Steven DeNure Writer Polly Watkins Creator Nathan Jurevicius Synopsis Ten-year-old Arkie’s quest to find her friend Blister takes her into a strange and beautiful world, in which she must overcome her darkest fears in order to save him and fulfil her destiny. Based on the hugely popular graphic novel by Nathan Jurevicius. THE TUNNEL: DEAD END Genre Horror Producer/Writers Enzo Tedeschi, Julian Harvey Executive Producers Jonathan Chissick, Peter Thompson Director Carlo Ledesma Synopsis In 2008, Lindsay watched her brother vanish in the dark tunnels beneath Sydney. Now she’s looking for answers – but what happens if the answers find her first? WHAT ALICE FORGOT Genre Comedy Drama Producer Vincent Sheehan (Porchlight Films) Writer Pip Karmel INDUSTRY INTERNSHIPS MARY MINAS INTERNSHIP Producer Mary Minas will work closely with producer and distributor John Maynard (Balibo, An Angel at My Table, Romulus, My Father, The Bank) at Felix Media and Footprint Films in Melbourne for six months, receiving bespoke training in development, financing and distribution. Œ Wed, 29 Feb 2012 16:38:30 +1100