The Federal Government has splashed $21.58 million to lure two Netflix titles to Australia: feature film 'Escape From Spiderhead', due to shoot on the Gold Coast, and eight-part series 'Pieces of Her', bound for Sydney.
The launches last weekend of Gregor Jordan's 'Dirt Music' and Alister Grierson's 'Bloody Hell' underlined the challenges facing independent films in a theatrical market that is severely weakened by the Victorian shutdown, limits on seating capacity and the absence of Hollywood tentpoles.
A host of Aussie actors have joined the main cast of Baz Luhrmann's Elvis Presley biopic, including Richard Roxburgh, Helen Thomson, David Wenham, and Dacre Montgomery.
Writer-director Roderick MacKay’s debut feature 'The Furnace', an 1890s drama set during the gold rush in Western Australia, will have its world premiere in the Horizons section of the 77th Venice Film Festival.
Georgie Jutland (Kelly Macdonald) is barely holding it together these days without a drink. Once a nurse, now she’s trapped in the backwater fishing port of White Point with local crayfish baron, Jim Buckridge (David Wenham) and his two sons, whose dead mother she can never hope to replace.
One hazy night she sees the lone figure of Lu Fox (Garret Hedlund) appear in the mists of the bay. A long time ago he was a dirt musician, but now he survives as a poacher - an unwise choice given Jim’s iron-grip on the local fishing trade.
Georgie is instantly drawn to Lu, and the pair begin an intense affair. What Georgie doesn’t realise is that the Foxes and the Buckridges have a long, murky history.
Fearing Jim’s fury and haunted by his tragic past, Lu flees north to Coronation Island, a place dear to Georgie’s heart. Discovering Lu has fled, Georgie decides to follow him north with the unlikely help of Jim.
Based on the critically acclaimed novel by iconic Australian writer Tim Winton, Dirt Music is a tale of love and redemption, set against the awe-inspiring backdrop of the Australian West.
"There's a very beautiful spiritual element to it, that I think is brilliant and I love. But it's a bit out there."
David Wenham was set to fly to Vancouver to star in Netflix drama series 'Pieces of Her' when the producers were forced to shut down production on the day principal photography was due to start.
Writer-director Roderick Mackay’s feature debut 'The Furnace' is set to kick off in WA next month, headlined by a cast that includes Egyptian actor Ahmed Malek, David Wenham and Baykali Ganambarr.