ADVERTISEMENT

Red Dog set for stage and TV

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 The Sunday Times.

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 eighth biggest 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 bswift@www.if.com.au or on Twitter at @bcswift.