Press release from Sian Clement
The action thriller THE CURE, starring Antonia Prebble (Outrageous Fortune, Power Rangers, The Tribe) and Australian Daniel Lissing (Packed to the Rafters, Crownies) wrapped this week following a phenomenal five week shoot in and around Wellington.
The film is written, produced and directed by David Gould previously of Weta Digital where he handled visual effects on features such as The Lord of the Rings, King Kong, Rise of the Planet of the Apes and The Adventures of TinTin. In between these features he returned to Australia to make the short films Awaken and Inseparable Coil. This week, after wrapping THE CURE, he attended the AUSTRALIAN SCREEN INDUSTRY AWARDS in Brisbane, winning the BEST DIRECTOR AWARD. He also won the BEST NEW FILM AWARD for AWAKEN. The short film has also screened at numerous international festivals, winning at the Australian ‘In the Bin’ festival and Sydney’s Animation Festival. It also showcased earlier this year as part of the Unscripted Art Exhibition in Wellington.
He comments: “The award winners are chosen by members of the wider film industry rather than a select few individuals, so it’s great to know that you have the support and respect of your fellow industry peers. Having just wrapped the shoot of my first feature film a mere 48 hours earlier made it all the more satisfying. What an amazing year!”
Gould was similarly delighted with production on the THE CURE: “We aimed for the stars and I think we’re quite close to actually achieving that. With budget and time constraints you expect to have to compromise, but with this film the quality has been far beyond what I had expected,” he says. He attributes this to "a fantastic crew", among them highly experienced 1st AD Marc Ashton who "kept a steady keel and was always there by my side" and award-winning DOP David Paul who "had my back and was very collaborative and flexible".
In the film, Prebble stars as Beth, a young and determined biochemist who discovers the pharmaceutical company she works for developed a cure for cancer many years earlier, failing to release it because it would harm their chemotherapy drug sales. This knowledge could prove deadly.
Lissing is her partner Ryan, a conflicted biochemist who must choose between love and fame. Stephen Lovatt (Spartacus; This is not a Love Story); John Bach This is Not my Life; Spartacus) and John Landreth (Rage) complete the key cast.
Although shot in New Zealand, THE CURE is firmly aimed at the international market with Wellington doubling for San Diego and the actors as Americans.
Gould is currently preparing for the Visual Effects process with Frank Rueter whom Gould worked with at Weta: “We first need to establish San Diego where the film is set and a lot of muzzle flashes, gunfire, explosions – all the things that we couldn’t practically do in the film. So far our visual effects have comprise practical special effects work on set, for example, using foam and solvents to create melting effects; taking real test tubes and shooting them at high speed to simulate gunfire and so on. It’s been an interesting process for me, working in special effects and practical effects and then seeing how we’re going to combine those to produce the final visual effects.”
Gould’s career has spanned a wide variety of companies and continents, technology and art. A native of Australia, he has played a key role in developing an eclectic mix of technology, including an award-winning laser rendering system used by organisations such as NASA, British Aerospace; Walt Disney Imagineering and Sony Pictures. He is also the author of two acclaimed books on Maya programming and recently won the Maya Masters award.
The film’s official website is http://www.thecuremovie.com