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/Alex-Proyas-Paradise-Lost-called-off-and-Digital-Domains-local-office/KTAWRLWWYS.html http://if.com.au////article/Alex-Proyas-Paradise-Lost-called-off-and-Digital-Domains-local-office/KTAWRLWWYS.html Brendan Swift Alex Proyas' sci-fi epic Paradise Lost has been scrapped after the filmmakers and Legendary Pictures were unable to agree on a final budget. Australian sources have confirmed the decision (first reported by Deadline.com), which represents a major blow for the local industry. The VFX-heavy tale about good and evil was expected to bring an estimated $88 million in production expenditure to New South Wales and create an estimated 1300 jobs. However, escalating costs forced a production delay late last year in an attempt to reduce the budget to a reported $US120 million. But the gap between the filmmakers proposed budget and Legendary Pictures couldŒnot be breached. NSW deputy premier and minister for trade and investment, Andrew Stoner, said the film's ambitious visual... Fri, 10 Feb 2012 12:00:45 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/Dr-D-posts-8-79m-net-profit-however-future-remains-clouded/XAZNWKGRHN.html http://if.com.au////article/Dr-D-posts-8-79m-net-profit-however-future-remains-clouded/XAZNWKGRHN.html Brendan Swift Dr D Studios posted a net profit of $8.79 million last financial year, according to financial documents filed with the corporate regulator. However, the future of the company remains unclear following a production lull in the wake of Happy Feet Two. Sources say a board meeting will be held this weekŒwhere the future of the company will be discussed by joint partners Omnilab Media and Kennedy Miller Features. It is believed that about 20 people are still employed by the company – a far cry from the more than 650 it employed at its peak last year while it rushed to finish 3D animated feature Happy Feet Two. Late last year, Dr D director Doug Mitchell said the business had been restructured as it faced a production gap between Happy FeetŒTwo and the fourth Mad Max film,... Wed, 08 Feb 2012 16:18:39 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/Ben-Mendelsohn-Sophie-Lowe-and-Gary-Sweet-join-The-Grandmothers/GCSLZCUTPS.html http://if.com.au////article/Ben-Mendelsohn-Sophie-Lowe-and-Gary-Sweet-join-The-Grandmothers/GCSLZCUTPS.html Brendan Swift Australian actors Ben Mendelsohn, Sophie Lowe and Gary SweetŒhave joined the cast of Australian-French co-production The Grandmothers.Œ They join the principal cast of Naomi Watts, Robin Wright, Xavier Samuel and James Frecheville in a tale about two lifelong friends who fall in love with each other's teenaged sons. Jessica Tovey (Underbelly, Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo) will also make her feature debut in the film. The Grandmothers has been adapted for the screen by Academy Award-winning writer Christopher Hampton (Dangerous Liaisons, Atonement) from a story written by Nobel Prize for Literature winner Doris Lessing. The eight-week shoot marks the English-language debut for director Anne Fontaine (Coco avant Chanel) and is due to begin on Monday (February 6)... Thu, 02 Feb 2012 09:36:14 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/Optus-One80Project-top-10-finalists-announced/QFGCSBLOZI.html http://if.com.au////article/Optus-One80Project-top-10-finalists-announced/QFGCSBLOZI.html Sam Dallas “You can have the most whizz-bang camera moves and special effects but unless you have a great idea it’s absolutely meaningless.” So says veteran actor David Wenham, best known for such projects as 300 and Lord of the Rings, and more recently Killing Time. “I think the most important element in any film or television piece is the idea itself. And it has to be a really unique, original idea.” Content creators need to keep this in mind – particularly those competing for the Optus One80Project crown as Wenham is one of the three main judges. Joining Wenham in his second year as judge is Tomorrow, When The War Began actor Lincoln Lewis and 2010 One80 winner Maia Horniak. The Optus/MTV competition, now in its sixth year, is an opportunity for... Wed, 25 Jan 2012 15:43:34 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/Ursula-Dabrowskys-back-with-horror-film-Inner-Demon/WZUFCDVPOL.html http://if.com.au////article/Ursula-Dabrowskys-back-with-horror-film-Inner-Demon/WZUFCDVPOL.html Sam Dallas Ursula Dabrowsky’s “new slice of cinematic fright” will start filming this month. Inner Demon is the Adelaide filmmaker’s second film in her ‘Demon’ trilogy, following 2009’s self-financed psychological horror Family Demons. The new revenge film, also penned by Dabrowsky, has been financed from the South Australian Film Corporation’s Filmlab initiative which provides a cash budget of up to $350,000 for eight different projects. Launched in 2009, it’s assisted such films as Shut Up Little Man! An Audio Misadventure (which has just completed a 25-state theatrical run in the US), 52 Tuesdays (currently in production) and One Eyed Girl, which stars Maeve Dermody and starts shooting April 16. Inner Demon, which has the tagline... Fri, 20 Jan 2012 11:49:37 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/Kodak-files-for-Chapter-11-in-US-bankruptcy-court/FQOZKFPKQO.html http://if.com.au////article/Kodak-files-for-Chapter-11-in-US-bankruptcy-court/FQOZKFPKQO.html Brendan Swift Film and camera company Eastman Kodak has filed for chapter 11 business reorganisation in the US Bankruptcy Court after failing to back innovative technologies and battling new market entrants. The company, which has been in business for more than a century,Œwill now undergo a restructure after securing a $US950 million debtor-in-possession credit facility from Citigroup to enhance liquidity and working capital. Non-US subsidiaries, such as the Australian arm, are not affected. Kodak Australasia's general manager, entertainment imaging and professional services (Australia and New Zealand),ŒDarren Swenson,Œwas unavailable for comment. Motion picture film remains a popular choice for high-end local feature films althoughŒongoing advances in digital capture... Fri, 20 Jan 2012 09:01:31 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/Blinder-begins-production-next-month-casts-Oliver-Ackland-Rose-McIver/WTJZJYDVRE.html http://if.com.au////article/Blinder-begins-production-next-month-casts-Oliver-Ackland-Rose-McIver/WTJZJYDVRE.html Staff reporter AFL feature film Blinder has unveiled its cast ahead of a 10-week shoot which begins next month in Victoria. The film will star Oliver Ackland (The Slap), Rose McIver (The Lovely Bones), Steve Bisley (Red Hill), Anna Hutchison (Wild Boys), Zoe Carides (Death In Brunswick), Bob Morley (Road Train) and Angus Sampson (Insidious). Ackland plays an ex-footballer who returns home after a long absence to clear his name and reignite an old flame. Richard Gray (Summer Coda, Mine Games) is directing the screenplay he co-wrote with Scott Didier and Michele Gray. They are also producing the film alongside former footballers Glenn Archer, Adrian Gleeson and Sam Kekovich, as well as Virginia Kay, Bryce Menzies, Chris Lemole and Mike Gillespie. “I grew up holidaying with family on... Thu, 19 Jan 2012 17:22:56 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/Maureen-Barron-appointed-CEO-of-Screen-NSW/TNZAIEPKGL.html http://if.com.au////article/Maureen-Barron-appointed-CEO-of-Screen-NSW/TNZAIEPKGL.html Amanda Diaz Screen NSW has appointed Maureen Barron to the role of chief executive. The former head of Screen Queensland replaces previous CEO Tania Chambers, who resigned last September. “With Sydney being her hometown, I am confident Maureen will be a passionate and successful advocate for the screen industry in NSW," said Arts Minister George Souris in a statement. Barron has spent more than 30 years working in the screen industry and has served as the vice president of SPAA, chair of the Australian Film Commission and the corporate general manager of television production company, Southern Star. In 2010, she was named a Member of the Order of Australia for her contribution to film and television. Most recently, Barron spent two and a half years as the CEO of Screen... Tue, 17 Jan 2012 12:39:39 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/Top-of-the-Lake-begins-production-next-month/VLVTPRWQXB.html http://if.com.au////article/Top-of-the-Lake-begins-production-next-month/VLVTPRWQXB.html Fay Al-Janabi The new mini-series from Oscar-winning director Jane Campion, Top of the Lake, will begin production in early-February in Queenstown, New Zealand. Campion (The Piano) penned the screenplay with Gerard Lee (Sweetie), and will be directing alongside Australian director Garth Davis (Love My Way). Top of the Lake follows the troubling search for pregnant 12-year old, Tui, who disappears after last being seen standing chest deep in a frozen lake. The haunting case pushes the boundaries of detective Robin Griffin as she loses herself in the investigation in order to find the missing girl, colliding with Tui’s drug lord father and a guru at a local women’s camp in the process. The series stars Mad Men’s Elisabeth Moss; actor Holly Hunter, who won an Oscar for her role... Mon, 16 Jan 2012 12:01:50 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/NSW-injects-3-3m-in-14-productions-including-The-Grandmothers-Puberty-Blues/MXRDIEIXQQ.html http://if.com.au////article/NSW-injects-3-3m-in-14-productions-including-The-Grandmothers-Puberty-Blues/MXRDIEIXQQ.html Brendan Swift The New South Wales government has invested more than $3.3 million across 14 screen productions, including French-Australian co-production The Grandmothers. The minister for tourism, major events, hospitality, racing and the arts, George Souris, saidŒ Sydney is "set to shine as the star of a big international film” with The Grandmothers, which will showcase actors Naomi Watts, Robin Wright, Xavier Samuel and James Frecheville. “I’m delighted that The Grandmothers is to be made here in NSW by one of our top local creative teams, including producer Andrew Mason of Hopscotch Features, working in collaboration with renowned French producer Phillip Carcassonne and internationally acclaimed director Anne Fontaine," he said in a statement. “Ms... Mon, 16 Jan 2012 11:20:32 +1100 http://if.com.au////article/100-Bloody-Acres-begins-production-with-Damon-Herriman-and-Angus-Sampson/GZCBWGYVVN.html http://if.com.au////article/100-Bloody-Acres-begins-production-with-Damon-Herriman-and-Angus-Sampson/GZCBWGYVVN.html Brendan Swift Horror feature 100 Bloody Acres has begun production in Adelaide. Actor Damon Herriman (Love My Way, Offspring) leads the cast, which also includes Angus Sampson (Where the Wild Things Are, Spirited), Anna McGahan (Underbelly 4: Razor, Spirited), Oliver Ackland (The Proposition, The Slap), and Jamie Kristian (Underbelly 4: Razor, Rescue Special Ops). Guest appearances include John Jarratt (Wolf Creek), Chrissie Page (Last Ride), Paul Blackwell (Red Dog) and Reg the dog (Dr Plonk). 100 Bloody Acres is the debut feature from brothers Colin and Cameron Cairnes, who won several awards for their short 2009 film Celestial Avenue.ŒThe feature screenplay, whichŒfollows two brothers and their struggling organic blood and bone fertiliser business, won first place in the horror section... Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:41:39 +1100