http://if.com.au/ Inside Film - Australia en-us http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss info@if.com.au (The Editor) http://if.com.au////article/Tomorrow-When-the-War-Began-sequel-remains-in-development/PLYONPGTGU.html http://if.com.au////article/Tomorrow-When-the-War-Began-sequel-remains-in-development/PLYONPGTGU.html Brendan Swift The sequel to the highest-grossing local film of 2010, Tomorrow, When the War Began, remains in development, according to Omnilab Media managing director Christopher Mapp.Œ The teen action-thriller wasŒa huge hit in Australia – grossing more than $13.5 million – but underperformed in the United Kingdom and other territories, which dented the sequel’s prospects. Omnilab boss Christopher Mapp told IF magazine late last year that the company remains committed to the project, which is back in development after writer-director Stuart Beattie signed on to helm I, Frankenstein. The official Tomorrow, When the War Began Facebook page later confirmed that filmmaker Kieran Darcy-Smith is developing the script. “We’re still spending good money in... Wed, 08 Feb 2012 09:20:18 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/Rescue-plan-hatched-for-Roland-Joffes-Singularity/XXDTIRHYRV.html http://if.com.au////article/Rescue-plan-hatched-for-Roland-Joffes-Singularity/XXDTIRHYRV.html Brendan Swift A rescue plan has been hatched to save embattled Australian-UK feature Singularity from administration. The proposal, discussed at a creditors meeting held last week in Brisbane, involves completing the film by June 30, which would trigger millions of dollars in government rebates allowing creditors to be re-paid. About $1.5 million is owed to third party creditors although some internal claims remain outstanding. An initial creditors report from Worrells Solvency & Forensic Accountants initially estimated $15.13 million was owed to creditors however it is understood that the major portion of that relates to an investment vehicle which partially funded the production. Contrarian Tax Unit’s Brett Thornquest, who is assisting the administrators, said: “We’re... Tue, 07 Feb 2012 14:21:37 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/Filmmakers-Andrew-Wight-and-Mike-deGruy-killed-in-helicopter-crash/NKAGSQBASG.html http://if.com.au////article/Filmmakers-Andrew-Wight-and-Mike-deGruy-killed-in-helicopter-crash/NKAGSQBASG.html Sam Dallas Australian filmmaker Andrew Wight was killed over the weekend in a tragic helicopter crash. He was 52. Best known for producing and co-writing last year’s 3D feature film Sanctum, Wight and American cinematographer Mike deGruy, who also died in the crash,Œwere flying around NSW’s south coast when the chopper crashed. A NSW police media report said emergency services were called to the scene at about 3.55pm on Saturday at an airstrip in Jaspers Brush, near Nowra. NSW Police and other emergency services attended and found the helicopter – a Robinson R-44 – well alight. The pair were working together on a new National Geographic project when the accident happened. National Geographic Society president Tim Kelly paid tribute to the pair, saying both... Mon, 06 Feb 2012 10:17:30 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/EXCLUSIVE-Roland-Joffes-Singularity-starring-Josh-Hartnett-in-administration/CKJCPMLCMF.html http://if.com.au////article/EXCLUSIVE-Roland-Joffes-Singularity-starring-Josh-Hartnett-in-administration/CKJCPMLCMF.html Brendan Swift The company behind $28 million Australian-UK co-production Singularity has been placed into administration, owing millions of dollars to creditors including cast, crew and suppliers. The film – directed by Oscar-nominated Roland Joffé and starring Josh Hartnett, Bipasha Basu andŒNeve Campbell – was plagued by budget troubles for months before administrators were finally called in late last year. It is one of the biggest disasters to befall the Australian film industry in years. An estimated $15.13 million is owed to creditors, according to Worrells Solvency & Forensic Accountants, which is winding up Singularity Productions Pty Ltd. Worrells told creditors that it had now secured all of the company’s books and records, which it was reviewing,... Thu, 02 Feb 2012 10:11:29 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/Actors-Equity-appoints-new-director-Sue-McCreadie/NJBOVCMZHH.html http://if.com.au////article/Actors-Equity-appoints-new-director-Sue-McCreadie/NJBOVCMZHH.html Amanda Diaz Actors Equity Australia has appointed Sue McCreadie to the role of director. McCreadie joins the organisation from the NSW government's Trade & Investment creative industries department, where she spent four years managing the state's film incentives. She has worked as a policy manager for Screen NSW, the Film Finance Corporation and the Media and Entertainment Arts Alliance (MEAA) and served as the executive director of the Australian Writers Guild from 1998 to 2002. Equity's federal president Simon Burke welcomed the appointment. “Sue is well-loved and respected on all sides of the industry. Her track record of excellence and achievement makes her ideally placed to step into this key role in the Australian entertainment industry," he said in a statement. "Equity... Wed, 01 Feb 2012 09:38:56 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/Scott-Hicks-on-his-latest-film-The-Lucky-One/LUFEIUYITZ.html http://if.com.au////article/Scott-Hicks-on-his-latest-film-The-Lucky-One/LUFEIUYITZ.html Andre Fenby Australian director Scott Hicks’ upcoming film The Lucky One may begin on the battlefield, but for Hicks it’s a familiar story told in a different way. “This is a romance,” he says. “We all know where it’s going, but the point is how do you tell it?” The film is an adaptation of a novel of the same name written by Nicholas Sparks (whose novels The Notebook and Dear John have also been adapted for the screen). It tells the story of Logan Thibault, a young US Marine Sergeant played by Zac Efron (High School Musical), who finds a photograph of an unknown woman during the Iraq War. He soon comes to believe the picture is his lucky charm, and after returning home tracks her down. “That, I thought, was an amazing premise,” says... Fri, 27 Jan 2012 11:08:42 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/UPDATED-Nominations-announced-for-84th-Academy-Awards/CGISRDSITT.html http://if.com.au////article/UPDATED-Nominations-announced-for-84th-Academy-Awards/CGISRDSITT.html Amanda Diaz UPDATE (January 30, 2012): Australian producer Grant Hill is one of four producers that will accept the Oscar should Terence Malick's Tree of Life win Best Picture. The film's nominees were originally listed as 'to be determined', following the Academy's decision that only a maximum of three producers would be recognised per best picture contender. It was decided on Friday that Tree of Life represented 'extraordinary circumstances' and the rule was waived. Should the film upset popular contenders Hugo and The Artist, the Oscar will be accepted by Hill alongside fellow producers Sarah Green, Bill Pohlad and Dede Gardner. Correction: Sound re-recording mixer Andy Nelson, who received his thirteen nomination for best achievement in sound for Steven Spielberg's... Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:31:25 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/Ben-Lewins-The-Surrogate-acquired-at-Sundance/FVZKBQIRTK.html http://if.com.au////article/Ben-Lewins-The-Surrogate-acquired-at-Sundance/FVZKBQIRTK.html Sam Dallas Ben Lewin’s comeback flick The Surrogate has been acquired by Fox Searchlight Pictures following its screening at the Sundance Film Festival. Fox Searchlight reportedly spent $US6 million for worldwide rights to the film that was also penned by the former Australian. Lewin now resides in Los Angeles after moving in 1994. The LA times said the film sparked a bidding war between key distributors at Sundance, which involved The Weinstein Company and Lionsgate. The indie drama boasts an all-star cast including Helen Hunt, John Hawkes and William H. Macy and is based on poet/journalist Mark O’Brien. O’Brien was stricken with polio at the age of six, and was left paralysed from the neck down. He spent the remainder of life in an iron lung. The flick centres on his... Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:28:57 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/Stephan-Elliott-on-A-Few-Best-Men/CDEISMMBJW.html http://if.com.au////article/Stephan-Elliott-on-A-Few-Best-Men/CDEISMMBJW.html Amanda Diaz Stephan Elliott is a multi-tasker. For most of his career, he has juggled both writing and directing duties and now, while on the phone with IF, he is in the middle of sweeping his house. If A Few Best Men seems like a change of pace, it isn't. Although the script was written by Dean Craig (Death at a Funeral), the film's producers gave the director the freedom to contribute his own rewrites. "There's an awful lot of me in there," he says. "Dean took care of the English and I took care of the Australian." Elliott first read the script after being persuaded by producer Gary Hamilton. "I haven't read other people's scripts for years because I basically develop my own," he says. "So he kind of got me in an evil, manipulative... Tue, 24 Jan 2012 15:04:40 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/Love-and-Other-Drugs-screenwriter-Charles-Randolph-on-big-screen-opportunities/DSOMVGKXXZ.html http://if.com.au////article/Love-and-Other-Drugs-screenwriter-Charles-Randolph-on-big-screen-opportunities/DSOMVGKXXZ.html Rachael Gavin They say it’s not what you know but who you know that leads to success but according to Love and Other Drugs screenwriter and producer Charles Randolph, those days are gone. Speaking from New York ahead of his trip to Australia for Movie Extra Tropfest, Randolph says the opportunities for budding filmmakers are there for the taking. “I started 10-15 years ago. I think probably more when I first started [networking] was more important,” he explains. “I think mechanisms for identifying good scripts and identifying good material have become much more efficientˆ the contests that are available to people – the short film festivals – these things really do function much more as a farm team system for making features than they did when I started.” As... Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:44:32 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/Alethea-Jones-life-after-IF-Award-winning-When-the-Wind-Changes/FFELSMNKOZ.html http://if.com.au////article/Alethea-Jones-life-after-IF-Award-winning-When-the-Wind-Changes/FFELSMNKOZ.html Danii Logue In 2008 Alethea Jones attended the IF Awards after party and, borrowing someone else’s award, posted a photograph and caption on Facebook – “If onlyˆ”. Three years later that ‘if only’ became a reality when she and Offspring actor Richard Davies were awarded the Best Short Film IF Award for When the Wind Changes. It was Davies who, having acted in her graduating film work at VCA, approached Jones with the idea for the short film. “He was really nervous giving me the script but I read it and just fell in love with it,” Jones told IF. “The idea of two people talking at the same time is great and the way that he pitched it to me was very funny. He told me a sentence to say and as I said it he repeated it at the same time... Fri, 13 Jan 2012 11:56:59 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/Chris-Hemsworth-nominated-for-BAFTA-Rising-Star-Award/GTENAVCPJB.html http://if.com.au////article/Chris-Hemsworth-nominated-for-BAFTA-Rising-Star-Award/GTENAVCPJB.html Sam Dallas It wasn’t too long ago that Australian actor Chris Hemsworth was strolling “Summer Bay”. Now the former Home and Away star pounds the pavement in Tinseltown, after he landed the role of Thor in Marvel’s screen comic book adaptation. After just recently reprising his role as Thor inŒThe Avengers, starring alongside Samuel L. Jackson, Robert Downey Jr. and Scarlett Johansson, the 28-year-old actor has been nominated for a Rising Star Award at next month’s prestigious BAFTA Awards. TheŒgong recognises a new talent that is making an impact on the film industry. Hemsworth, who last year also finished his acting duties onŒSnow White and The Huntsman (which also starsŒKristen Stewart and Charlize TheronŒand features the work of Aussie... Thu, 12 Jan 2012 08:54:41 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/The-Grandmothers-starring-Naomi-Watts-starts-shoot-next-month/WAIOZLMEFK.html http://if.com.au////article/The-Grandmothers-starring-Naomi-Watts-starts-shoot-next-month/WAIOZLMEFK.html Sam Dallas Erotic tale The Grandmothers, boasting an all-star cast, will start filming next month. The somewhat-risqué drama, based on a short story of the same name by British author Doris Lessing, will star Naomi Watts (King Kong) and Robin Wright (Beowulf) who are two lifelong friendsŒwho fall in love with each other’s teenage sons. The two sons will be played by The Twilight Saga's Xavier Samuel and Animal Kingdom’s James Frecheville. The film, which received Screen Australia funding, isŒbeing described as an erotic tale of misguided love and a celebration of the enduring nature of female friendship. Penned for the screen by Oscar-winning British writer Christopher Hampton (Dangerous Liaisons), the flick is expected to be filmed in NSW however an... Tue, 10 Jan 2012 17:11:20 +1100