Emma Thompson will play a widow who hires a sex worker for a "night of bliss" in the UK comedy Good Luck To You, Leo Grande, directed by Sophie Hyde.
First-time feature directors Thomas Wright ('Acute Misfortune'), John Sheedy ('H is for Happiness'), Ben Lawrence ('Hearts and Bones') and Natalie Erika James ('Relic') will vie for the Australian Directors' Guild Award for Best Direction in a Feature Film ($1 million or over) against Sophie Hyde ('Animals') and Wayne Blair ('Top End Wedding').
The creative team at Closer Productions has resumed pre-production on the ABC comedy 'Aftertaste' (working title), which stars Erik Thomson as a temperamental chef, using a new risk development tool.
Exhibitors have renewed calls to address the challenges facing most Aussie films in the crowded theatrical market.
It is a rare feat to translate a six season network TV hit into box office bankability but 'Downton Abbey' loyalists have swarmed to the occasion, with the Universal Pictures film adaptation steam-training to the top of the box office.
Sophie Hyde's 'Animals' launched in Australia yesterday, but the director has "no idea" if local audiences will come out to see it.
Some 34 feature films will compete for nominations for this year's AACTA Awards, and the longlist covers diverse range of titles, from box office earners like 'Top End Wedding' and 'Storm Boy', through to the critically lauded 'The Nightingale' and micro budget indies like 'Suburban Wildlife'.
Sophie Hyde’s 'Animals' opened in UK cinemas last weekend, its first territory, winning plaudits from the critics and sizable audiences.