These Final Hours’ Angourie Rice has joined the cast of the movie spin-off of the ABC children’s drama Nowhere Boys.
Produced by Matchbox Pictures and directed by David Caesar, Nowhere Boys: The Book of Shadows, will get a limited theatrical release before its premiere on ABC3.
Rice, who made her big screen debut in These Final Hours, has since appeared in Mako: Island of Secrets, Worst Year of My Life, Again!, The Doctor Blake Mysteries and Walking with Dinosaurs 3D.
She makes her Hollywood debut in The Nice Guys, Shane Black’s noir crime-drama set in 1970s Los Angeles, starring Russell Crowe and Ryan Gosling, which Warner Bros. will release next year.
Now shooting in Melbourne, the Nowhere Boys movie follows teenagers Felix (Dougie Baldwin), Andy (Joel Lok), Sam (Rahart Adams) and Jake (Matt Testro) as they return home a year after discovering they were transported to an alternative world where they don't exist.
Scripted by Tony Ayres, Rhys Graham and Craig Irvin, the plot see the boys growing apart, feeding rivalry and distrust, until Felix discovers a Book of Shadows, which unleashes chaotic forces.
Also returning are series regulars Darci McDonald (Ellen), Sean Rees-Wemyss (Oscar), Michala Banas (Phoebe), Victoria Thaine (Alice), Ben Keller (Bear), Tamala Shelton (Mia) and Michelle Gerster (Viv).
Executive producer Ayres said, "We are stepping up to a whole new level of excitement, action and drama in the feature length version of Nowhere Boys. It's very exciting to have a director with the experience and talent of David Caesar leading the creative team on this new adventure."
Deirdre Brennan, ABC head of children's TV, said "Nowhere Boys has captured the imagination of young audiences in Australia and around the world, so we're thrilled to be working with Matchbox Pictures to continue this exceptional series. With David Caesar as director and a promise of more action, adventure and magic, our ABC3 fans are in for an exciting event."
Investors include Screen Australia, the ABC and Film Victoria, with NBCUniversal distributing internationally and the Australian Children’s Television Foundation handling Australasian sales.