News

Exclusive: Lydia West, Abbie Cornish and Brooke Satchwell are among high-profile acting talent leading Stan’s tenth anniversary slate, we can reveal.

The Australian streamer is today unveiling its latest TV series, films and acquisitions at a splashy showcase event held at Linseed House at the Grounds of Alexandria in Sydney. In total, it unveiled 14 originals — three scripted series, six features and five docs — along with a host of acquisitions.

On the originals front, Stan’s Chief Content Officer Cailah Scobie and Head of Originals Amanda Duthie are announcing the likes of He Had It Coming, Love Divided By Eleven and Whale Shark Jack, and a horror-comedy series, Gnomes.

He Had it Coming stars Lydia West (It’s a Sin), Natasha Liu Bordizzo (Ahsoka: Star Wars) and Liv Hewson (Yellowjackets). It follows Elise (West), an awkward English scholarship student who forms an unlikely alliance with fashion influencer Barbara (Liu Bordizzo) after...

Today, Paramount+ debuted the official trailer for the second season of the critically acclaimed original comedy series Colin From Accounts. The series premieres Thursday, September 26, exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S.

All eight episodes of the highly anticipated new season will be available to stream at launch. Series creators Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer have returned to write, executive produce, and star in the upcoming season.

Colin From Accounts is a romantic comedy about flawed, funny people choosing each other and embracing the all-too-relatable chaos of modern life. Season one of the hit series, currently available to binge on Paramount+, received widespread acclaim, winning two Gotham TV Awards (Breakthrough Comedy Series and Outstanding Performance in a Comedy Series) and maintaining a 100% Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

After Gordon (Patrick Brammall) and Ashley (Harriet Dyer) are brought together in season one by a spontaneous nipple flash and the subsequent...

The BBC has launched a new trailer for the upcoming second season of the romantic comedy series ‘Colin From Accounts.’

Created, written by and starring Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer, the eight-part series centres on Ashley and Gordon; two single(ish), complex humans who are brought together by a car accident and an injured dog.

Season 2 delves in after Gordon (Brammall) and Ashley (Dyer) are brought together in season one by a spontaneous nipple flash and the subsequent accident that injured the titular (no pun intended) dog, season two of the hit series opens with Ash and Gordon now living together and trying to get their beloved, special needs dog, Colin, back from his new owners. It’s the first in a series of hurdles for the new couple, as they find out more about each other, for better and worse.

Returning alongside Dyer and Brammell are Emma Harvie, Genevieve Hegney,...

Delightful Australian sitcom Colin From Accounts is back for series 2, which lands on BBC iPlayer on the 3rd September.

Colin From Accounts was one of the most wonderful surprises of 2022. Written by and starring real life husband and wife Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall, the warm-hearted Australian sitcom follows the story of Gordon and Ashley, who meet when she flashes him while she’s crossing the street, causing him to lose concentration and run over a dog.

Deciding to care for the poor mutt rather than have him put down, the two gradually get to know and, eventually, like each other while looking after the dog they call Colin From Accounts.

The synopsis for series 2 reads as follows:

After Gordon (Brammall) and Ashley (Dyer) are brought together in season one by a spontaneous nipple flash and the subsequent accident that injured the titular (no pun intended) dog, season two of...

The second season of the critically acclaimed original comedy series Colin From Accounts will premiere on Thursday, September 26, exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S. All eight episodes of the new season will be available to stream at launch.

Series creators Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer are returning to write, executive produce, and star in the upcoming season.

Season one of the hit series, which is currently available to binge on Paramount+, received widespread acclaim. It won two Gotham TV Awards (Breakthrough Comedy Series and Outstanding Performance in a Comedy Series) and maintains a 100% Certified Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Colin From Accounts is a romantic comedy about flawed, funny people choosing each other and embracing the all-too-relatable chaos of modern life.

After Gordon (Brammall) and Ashley (Dyer) are brought together in season one by a spontaneous nipple flash and the subsequent accident that injured the titular (no pun intended) dog,...

Paramount+ has set the premiere date for binge-watching Colin From Accounts Season 2 for September 26. The 8-episode second season will see the return of creators Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer, as writers, executive producers and stars.

Colin From Accounts is a romantic comedy about flawed, funny people choosing each other and embracing the all-too-relatable chaos of modern life. After Gordon (Brammall) and Ashley (Dyer) are brought together in Season 1 by a spontaneous nipple flash and the subsequent accident that injured the titular (no pun intended) dog.

Season 2 opens with Ash and Gordon officially living together and trying to get their beloved, special needs dog, Colin, back from his new owners. It’s one of the many hurdles for the new couple as they learn more about each other, for better and worse.

Emma Harvie, Genevieve Hegney, Michael Logo, Helen Thomson, Darren Gilshenan, Annie Maynard, Tai Hara and Glenn Hazeldine make up...

The delightful Colin From Accounts is back for season 2, and the first trailer has landed. It’s right here, in fact.

Colin From Accounts was one of the most wonderful surprises of 2022. Written by and starring real life husband and wife Harriet Dyer and Patrick Brammall, the warm hearted Australian sitcom follows the story of Gordon and Ashley, who meet when she flashes him while she’s crossing the street, causing him to lose concentration and run over a dog.

Deciding to care for him rather than have him put down, the two gradually get to know and, eventually, like each other while looking after the dog they call Colin From Accounts.

The synopsis for series 2 reads as follows:

After Gordon (Brammall) and Ashley (Dyer) are brought together in season one by a spontaneous nipple flash and the subsequent accident that injured the titular (no pun intended) dog, season two...

Breakout Australia comedy Colin From Accounts is back in production.

An official green light of Season 2 of the hit Binge sitcom came in August, after writers and stars Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer chose to down their pens in solidarity with WGA strike in the U.S. over the summer.

Exec producer Alison Hurbert-Burns from Binge told Deadline in October production would begin in “coming months,” adding: “As an Australian program it was outside of the strike, but they just felt it was the right thing to do.”

Brammall and Dyer finished the scripts once a deal was struck at the end of September. Production is now back underway across Sydney, with Easy Tiger Productions and CBS Studios returning the produce.

The show follows the lives of two flawed and funny people who begin an unconventional romance after being brought together when Ash (Dyer) spontaneously flashes her nipple at Gordon...

Australian writer Kodie Bedford has signed with CAA for representation.

Bedford co-wrote, executive produced, and script produced ABC series “All My Friends Are Racist,” which won Best Short Form Comedy at the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta) Awards in 2021. Created and co-written by Enoch Mailangi, the show follows Casey and Belle who live together and are the hottest friendship in town but when their ‘burn book’ wall, where they’ve listed all their friends as racists, is discovered, they are suddenly ousted from the friendship group.

The writer’s credits also include ABC series “Mystery Road.” In 2020, she was nominated for an Aacta in the Best Screenplay in Television category for the episode “Mystery Road: Broken” and in 2018 in the same category for the episode “Mystery Road: Waterhole.” In the series, detective Jay Swan is assigned to investigate a mysterious disappearance on an outback cattle station. Soon,...

Question Time

The U.K.’s cross-party Dcms Committee, which scrutinizes the spending, policies and administration of the government Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, is set to interrogate BBC bosses on impartiality, the license fee and earnings.

The committee, which is chaired by Julian Knight, is set to convene on Tuesday, Sept. 6 to question BBC director general Tim Davie, BBC chair Richard Sharp and BBC COO Leigh Tavaziva. They will ask questions on topics including how the corporation “plans to remain relevant and effective in the modern media landscape,” “how the BBC’s offering is impacted by a more polarised political atmosphere” and the future of the license fee in light of soaring inflation rates.

Questions about impartiality will be particularly of interest to BBC watchers following a recent lecture by former “Newsnight” host Emily Maitlis at the Edinburgh TV Festival, where she used her platform to suggest the BBC was too objective.

With the future of Australian TV drama under the microscope, there was always going to be added interest in the ABC’s 2022 slate.

The public broadcaster will deliver in the genre in its 90th year, officially announcing at today’s upfronts new series Significant Others and Savage River.

They join titles Mystery Road: Origin, Troppo, and Barons in a drama line-up that is noticeably larger than what has so far been announced by the commercial free-to-air platforms.

ABC director of entertainment and specialist Michael Carrington told If the broadcaster was pleased to be able to meet demand in the space.

“It’s something our audiences want and I’m thrilled we’re able to provide it,” he said.

“Drama is a really expensive genre. It takes a lot of effort, resources, craft skills, etc. to build a drama series, as well as a lot of time.

“Obviously we are investing...

The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts (Aacta) crowned the winners from its 2020 awards ceremony today, with Babyteeh and Stateless dominating the film and TV categories respectively.

Shannon Murphy’s tragi-comedy Babyteeth was the big winner on the film side, scooping Best Film, Best Direction, Screenplay (Rita Kalnejais), Actor (Toby Wallace), Actress (Eliza Scanlen), Supporting Actor (Ben Mendelsohn) and Supporting Actress (Essie Davis).

On the TV side, Stateless, the series starring and created by Cate Blanchett, won Best Mini Series, Lead Actor (Fayssal Bazzi), Lead Actress (Yvonne Strahovski), Supporting Actor (Darren Gilshenan), Supporting Actress (Blanchett), Screenplay (Elise McCredie), and Direction (Emma Freeman).

Further winners included Rebel Wilson, who took Best Presenter for Lol: Last One Laughing Australia, and Tim Minchin, who won Comedy Performer for Upright.

Elsewhere, Better Days took Best Asian Film, the Bryon Kennedy Award was presented to The Babadook filmmaker Jennifer Kent, and Steve Bedwell, Bryan Cockerill...

Exclusive: Former WME Partner and literary agent Melissa Myers has been named President and Partner of a new venture between Kinetic Content founder and CEO Chris Coelen, and Red Arrow Studios, the production division of European media company ProSiebenSat.1.

This marks an expansion into scripted for Red Arrow Studios company Kinetic, a reality powerhouse behind such series as relationship mega hits Love Is Blind for Netflix and Married At First Sight for Lifetime, both created and executive produced by Coelen.

The venture is set to focus on premium high-end English-language scripted TV series with both domestic and global appeal.

English-speaking scripted content has been important to Red Arrow’s production and distribution business, as well as German TV networks like those owned by ProSieben. Germany traditionally has been one of the top markets for U.S. scripted series. The venture also will tap into Red Arrow’s resources and Coelen and Myers’ relationships internationally.

‘No Visible Trauma’.

The Australian International Documentary Conference (Aidc) has announced 18 feature documentary and factual series projects that take part in its revamped FACTory pitching forum in March.

This year the FACTory will feature separate Forum pitches divided by genre categories, alongside a New Talent pitch, and a Rough Cut pitch.

The restructure has resulted in the largest ever number of FACTory projects accepted for pitching, with 18 projects spanning 12 different countries of production, including Canada, China, and India.

Producer and director teams in each Forum category and the New Talent pitch will present their projects in open forum sessions to curated groups of buyers, commissioners and distributors during Aidc 2020. Forum and New Talent pitches will be open to all Aidc pass-­holders, while Rough Cut sessions will be accessible by decision makers only.

All projects in FACTory 2020 will also be eligible to win pitch prizes, including:

● A complete opening titles...

Libbie Doherty.

Confirmed as head of children’s production at the ABC earlier this month, Libbie Doherty is on the look-out for comedies and factual entertainment programs.

Overseeing a department of 65 people including 25 in Melbourne, she commissions around 380 hours of content annually across ABC Kids and ABC Me as well as overseeing ABC Kids Listen, children’s digital products and third party social media.

Her budget for the fiscal year starting July 1 is unchanged, despite the $84 million funding cut over the next three years. “Our broad commissioning strategy is to present the best of Australian content and the best from the rest of the world,” she tells If in one of her first interviews since her appointment, after acting in the role for a year.

“We are always in the market for comedy. The Inbestigators is self-contained and won’t go to a second season so we definitely have room for comedies.

Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope on the set of 2015 feature Now Add Honey.

Gristmill honcho, writer and producer Robyn Butler is currently in post on two Little Lunch specials (one due for Halloween and one at Christmas) as well as season three of Upper Middle Bogan..Last year Butler and her partner Wayne Hope released their first feature, Now Add Honey, directed by Hope and written, produced by and starring Butler. If catches up with her on a break from the cutting room.

You.re in the middle of sound mix, is that right?

I.m back in picture post today, but yeah, sort of all over the place. I.m doing both Upper Middle Bogan season three and two Little Lunch specials. Gone are the days where you just make television shows; [now] you have to make 400 versions of online content and deliverables, so we.ve got four edits and...

Little Lunch.

Filming is underway in Melbourne on comedy series Little Lunch, with specials filmed at St Kilda Primary School yesterday.

Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley met the cast and crew and toured the set with series creators Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope of Gristmill, the production company behind the series.

The creative and life partners have a long list of credits, including The Librarians, Upper Middle Bogan, Very Small Business, and 2015 feature Now Add Honey.

The specials are backed by Film Victoria and will air on ABC3 and iView later this year.

The original 26 episode series, .based on the popular books written by Victorian author Danny Katz and illustrated by Mitch Vane, premiered on ABC3 in July 2015 and has since sold to Canada and Hong Kong and to Netflix in the USA, UK and Ireland.

Foley called the show a .great example of Victorian creativity with universal appeal...

Little Lunch.

Filming is underway in Melbourne on comedy series Little Lunch, with specials filmed at St Kilda Primary School yesterday.

Minister for Creative Industries Martin Foley met the cast and crew and toured the set with series creators Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope of Gristmill, the production company behind the series.

The creative and life partners have a long list of credits, including The Librarians, Upper Middle Bogan, Very Small Business, and 2015 feature Now Add Honey.

The specials are backed by Film Victoria and will air on ABC3 and iView later this year.

The original 26 episode series, .based on the popular books written by Victorian author Danny Katz and illustrated by Mitch Vane, premiered on ABC3 in July 2015 and has since sold to Canada and Hong Kong and to Netflix in the USA, UK and Ireland.

Foley called the show a .great example of Victorian creativity with universal appeal...

Robyn Nevin, Glenn Robbins, Robyn Malcolm and Annie Maynard in Upper Middle Bogan.

Filming has kicked off on season three of Upper Middle Bogan.

Created, written and produced by Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope, the eight-parter will again shoot in Melbourne.

.We're so excited to unleash the wild, loud and sometimes potty-mouthed world of Upper Middle Bogan", Butler said. "But enough about Robyn Nevin - we love all the cast and can't wait to make this season..

Series three will see the return of cast members Annie Maynard, Robyn Nevin, Michala Banas, Patrick Brammall, Glenn Robbins, Robyn Malcolm, Madeleine Jevic, Rhys Mitchell, Dougie Baldwin, Lara Robinson and Harrison Feldman.

.It took some prompting, but we.re beyond thrilled Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope agreed to give the country more of its favourite family comedy Upper Middle Bogan", ABC Head of Comedy Rick Kalowski said. "May the road from the Brights...

Furst Born

Quickly rising hunk Patrick Brammall ("Ruben Guthrie," "The Moodys") is set to reprise his leading role from the Australian sitcom "Upper Middle Bogan" in CBS' single-camera pilot U.S. remake of the show currently titled "Furst Born". Poppy Montgomery also stars.

'Bogan' creators Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope are teaming with Dan O'Shannon ("Modern Family") on the series in which the wife (Montgomery) in a successful family is shock to learn she's adopted. Brammell plays the husband, Swoosie Kurtz plays her mother while Katey Sagal and John Carroll Lynch have co-starring roles. [Source: ]

Scream

MTV has announced a May 31st premiere date for the second season of its "Scream" TV series. Six new actors, two of which will be regulars, have joined the cast of the new season which is currently in production in New Orleans. The series is undergoing a bit of a creative reboot for the new...

Patrick Brammall, who played the male lead Danny on the Australian comedy series Upper Middle Bogan, is set to reprise his role opposite Poppy Montgomery in CBS’ single-camera pilot adaptation Furst Born (formerly untitled Butler/Hope/O'Shannon). Written by Modern Family alum Dan O'Shannon and creators of the original Australian comedy Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope, Furst Born is an extended family show that centers on Bess (Montgomery), a successful doctor, happily married…...

Now that Unforgettable is just a memory, star Poppy Montgomery has lined up her next TV gig.The actress will play the lead in CBS’ single-camera comedy pilot Furst Born, our sister site Deadline reports.

RelatedPilot Season ’16: Scoop on This Fall’s (Possible) New Shows, Who’s In Them

The potential series, inspired by Australia’s Upper Middle Bogan, follows Montgomery’s Bess, a doctor, wife and mother of twins as she learns she was adopted and that her birth parents are a flamboyant but loving family of drag-racers. The cast also includes Swoosie Kurtz (Sisters), Katey Sagal (Sons of Anarchy...

Unforgettable star Poppy Montgomery is returning to CBS as the lead in Furst Born (form. untitled Butler/Hope/O'Shannon), a single-camera comedy pilot based on the Australian comedy Upper Middle Bogan. Written by Modern Family alum Dan O'Shannon and the creators of the original Australian comedy, Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope, Furst Born is an extended family show that centers on Bess (Montgomery), a successful doctor, happily married to Danny, and the mother of fraternal…...

Drop Dead Diva's Brooke Elliott has been cast in the Upper Middle Bogan TV series pilot at CBS. A family comedy, this Us adaptation of the Australian series Upper Middle Bogan, still does not have an official title. Elliott joins Katey Sagal, Swoozie Kurtz, and John Carroll Lynch, who were previously cast.

The Upper Middle Bogan pilot comes from Modern Family‘s Dan O’Shannon and Robyn Butler, and from Wayne Hope. Butler and Hope created the original Australian series.

Read More…...

CBS’ untitled comedy adaptation of the Australian comedy Upper Middle Bogan will be shot as single-camera, with the project’s executive producer Todd Holland directing the pilot.

The untitled half-hour, from Modern Family alum Dan O’Shannon, the creators of the original Australian comedy, Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope, CBS Studios and ABC Studios, was conceived, sold and originally written as single-camera. It was one of the few single-camera comedy scripts that CBS asked to be converted to hybrid or multi-camera after they were delivered. It was modified, and the Butler/Hope/O’Shannon project was ordered to pilot as a hybrid and without a director as executive producer Holland, who had been expected to helm, is a single-camera director.

After the pilot was picked up, I hear the writers and producers engaged in a discussion with CBS about changing the format back to single-camera as it better represents their original...

CBS’ untitled comedy adaptation of the Australian comedy Upper Middle Bogan will be shot as single-camera, with the project’s executive producer Todd Holland directing the pilot. The untitled half-hour, from Modern Family alum Dan O'Shannon, the creators of the original Australian comedy, Robyn Butler and Wayne Hope, CBS Studios and ABC Studios, was conceived, sold and originally written as single-camera. It was one of the few single-camera comedy scripts that CBS asked to…...

Upper Middle Bogan is set to be remade by CBS for American audiences.

The show's co-creator, Robyn Butler, told 774 ABC Melbourne's Jon Faine that the Us version would be "the same, but in America".

The redo is untitled, and presumably won't have the word "bogan" in the American title.

The original is available in the Us on streaming service Hulu and ABC iview in Australia. A third series will screen on the ABC later this year.

Butler and Wayne Hope, who made the feature Now Add Honey last year, will team with American writer Dan O'Shannon (Cheers, Frasier, Modern Family) on the pilot script.

CBS has given a pilot order to My Time/Your Time, a half-hour comedy from the creators of two previous CBS series: Bad Teacher‘s Hilary Winston and How I Met Your Mother’s Carter Bays and Craig Thomas. This is CBS’ second comedy pilot order this season, joining the untitled Dan O'Shannon/Robyn Butler/Wayne Hope project, which was ordered earlier today. Both were sold and originally written as single-camera and later converted to a hybrid format, part of CBS’ move this year…...

Word of mouth could not be stronger for The Dressmaker, judging by its superb second weekend takings in Australian cinemas.

However Wayne Hope.s comedy Now Add Honey misfired, perhaps illustrating the gulf in sensibility between TV and cinema.

Jocelyn Moorhouse.s The Dressmaker scored $3.6 million at 289 locations, a drop of just 3 per cent, which hoists its earnings to $8.26 million.

With that kind of stamina, the dramedy based on the Rosalie Han novel, starring Kate Winslet, Judy Davis, Liam Hemsworth and Hugo Weaving, could be headed for $20 million.

The Universal release was a cut above the rest as none of the newcomers made an impression and nationwide receipts dropped by 7 per cent to $9.9 million, according to Rentrak.s estimate.

Ridley Scott.s The Martian advanced to $25.3 million after earning $1.4 million in its sixth orbit (off just 10 per cent), while Steven Spielberg.s Bridge of Spies took $973,000 in its third weekend (down 25 per cent), reaching $5.6 million.

The tables are turned on serial killer Mick Taylor in the latest iteration of Wolf Creek commissioned by Stan, which starts shooting today at the Adelaide Studios and numerous locations in South Australia.

Vampire Academy.s Lucy Fry plays Eve, an American tourist in the six-part series directed by Tony Tilse and Greg Mclean, scripted by Peter Gawler and Felicity Packard.

John Jarratt.s Mick sets out to murder Eve.s family but she survives, rebuilds her shattered existence and vows revenge.

The series will have a markedly different tone to Mclean.s horror movies, focusing on Eve.s journey. Stan content and product director Nick Forward tells If, .No one wanted to make a 6-hour horror movie. We spent six months with the producers and writers looking for a hook for a televisual drama.

.Mick Taylor is still the grim reaper but this is a thriller about Eve.s journey.

Propelled by Oddball and Blinky Bill: The Movie, next week Australian films are set to smash the record for the biggest B.O. total in a single year.

The feature films and docs released in 2015 plus holdovers have amassed an estimated $61.8 million.

Produced by Steve Kearney and Richard Keddie and directed by Stuart McDonald, Oddball raked in $3.55 million in its second week, lifting its earnings to $6.3 million. Deane Taylor.s Blinky Bill climbed to $1.9 million after pocketing a tad over $1 million in its sophomore session.

So by the end of next week the 2015 total will surpass the current record of $63.4 million set in 2001, the year of Moulin Rouge!, Lantana, The Man Who Sued God and Crocodile Dundee in La..

In that year the Australian films. market share was 7.8 per cent. If the 2001 total was adjusted for inflation then 2015 would not be a record in real terms but the market share is a consistent barometer.

Netflix has bought Us, UK and Ireland rights to Gristmill Productions. mockumentary series Little Lunch.

The deal was negotiated by the international distributor, the Australian Children.s Television Foundation, which also sold the 26 x 15. series to Tvo in Canada and Tvb in Hong Kong.

Based on the books written by Danny Katz, the show set in a primary school playground at snack time premiered on ABC3 in May and had 997,000 views on iview.

Director/producer Wayne Hope said, .We.re thrilled that the seemingly small stakes of the playground resonated so widely. Thankfully, the anxieties around having the wrong costume on dress- up-day or a weird snack in your lunch box are universally funny..

Roadshow will launch Hope.s debut feature, Now Add Honey, a comedy starring Robyn Butler, Portia de Rossi and Hamish Blake, on November 5.

Last month Netflix bought comedy series Small Time Gangster , produced by Boilermaker Pty...

Australian films are poised to record their highest share of the national box-office for 14 years, which goes a long way towards regaining the faith of audiences after a long lean spell.

Through last Sunday, the feature films and docs released in 2015 plus holdovers had racked up $52.9 million. With Jeremy Sims. Last Cab to Darwin and Neil Armfield.s Holding the Man earning tidy sums and Stuart McDonald.s Oddball and Deane Taylor.s Blinky Bill the Movie opening on Thursday, the total will soon surpass 2009.s $54.7 million.

It might be a stretch but 2015 could come close to the all-time record of $63.4 million in 2001, the year of Moulin Rouge!, Lantana, The Man Who Sued God and Crocodile Dundee in La. After a strong start to the year from Mad Max: Fury Road, The Water Diviner, Paper Planes and That Sugar Film, Aussie films already have eclipsed 2014.s lowly $26.1 million (a market...

Australian films are poised to record their highest share of the national box-office for 10 years, which goes a long way towards regaining the faith of audiences after a long lean spell.

Through last Sunday, the feature films and docs released in 2015 plus holdovers had racked up $52.9 million. With Jeremy Sims. Last Cab to Darwin and Neil Armfield.s Holding the Man earning tidy sums and Stuart McDonald.s Oddball and Deane Taylor.s Blinky Bill the Movie opening on Thursday, the total will soon surpass 2009.s $54.7 million, the best result in the past 10 years. After a strong start to the year from Mad Max: Fury Road, The Water Diviner, Paper Planes and That Sugar Film, Aussie films already have eclipsed 2014.s lowly $26.1 million (a market share of 2.43 per cent) and 2013's $38.5 million. Despite some critical acclaim, Ruben Guthrie, Women He.s Undressed and Partisan did not resonate strongly and Manny Lewis tanked.

The Adelaide Film Festival has announced its competition line-up for 2015.

Four directorial debuts are among the Adelaide Film Festival’s (Oct 15-25) 10 competition titles: Visar Morina’s Father, a refugee story that opens in 1990s Kosovo and closes in Germany; Danish director Daniel Dencik’s historical drama Gold Coast, set in Africa; Lamb, set in director Yared Zaleke’s homeland of Ethiopia; and South Korean thriller Office from Hong Won-Chan.

The two Australian films in the mix are Sue Brooks’ Looking For Grace, starring Richard Roxburgh, Radha Mitchell and rising star Odessa Young, and a love story complicated by tribal tradition that was filmed in Vanuatu and sees documentary collaborators Bentley Dean and Martin Butler cross over into narrative drama.

Carol, Todd Haynes’ story of lady love set in Manhattan in the 1950s, also has a strong Australian connection given that the homegrown Cate Blanchett plays a wealthy socialite whose life becomes entangled with that of a shop...

The feature-length documentary with no sales agent has won Australia’s richest film award, the $71,000 (A$100,000) CinefestOZ Film Prize for homegrown films.

“Putuparri seems to work with audiences because the story touches people’s hearts,” producer John Moore told Screendaily. “We have had many people come up to us after screenings with a tear in their eye saying it has helped them understand what Aboriginal culture is all about … We are hoping that winning the prize will help us find an international sales agent who can get the film into some big international festivals.”

The CinefestOZ Film Festival has been running in Western Australia’s (Wa) Margaret River region for eight years and – especially since the introduction of the prize last year – has become a significant gathering place for Australian filmmakers.

The festival also provided an opportunity for state government agency ScreenWest to stage several industry events, including a day-long series of discussions about the importance of the...

The feature-length documentary with no sales agent has won Australia’s richest film award, the $71,000 (A$100,000) CinefestOZ Film Prize for homegrown films.

“Putuparri seems to work with audiences because the story touches people’s hearts,” producer John Moore told ScreenDaily.

“We have had many people come up to us after screenings with a tear in their eye saying it has helped them understand what Aboriginal culture is all about.

“We hope that winning the prize will help us find an international sales agent who can get the film into some big international festivals.”

The CinefestOZ Film Festival has been running in Western Australia’s (Wa) Margaret River region for eight years and – especially since the introduction of the prize last year – has become a significant gathering place for Australian filmmakers.

The festival also provided an opportunity for state government agency ScreenWest to stage several industry events, including a day-long series of discussions about the importance of the...

Adrian Brody in Backtrack..

.

Five Aussie films will vie for the $100,000 CinéfestOZ Film Prize, with two of the entries to have their Australian premiere at the Festival in August.

Backtrack, Now Add Honey, Pawno, Putuparri and the Rainmakers and The Daughter have each been selected out of over 30 submissions to make up the shortlist for the prize, now in its second year.

The winner will be announced at the Festival on Saturday 29th August, 2015.

The Film Prize is awarded to the producer of an Australian feature film (including feature documentaries) and last year was taken out by Robert Connolly for his family feature Paper Planes.

The film, which Connolly also directed, went on to enjoy huge success at the Australian box office and will be released by distribution companies Lionsgate in the UK and in North America by Eone.

The finalists for this year.s prize were determined by five...

After playing a drug mule in The Mule, Angus Sampson is staying on the wrong side of the law with a recurring role iin the second season of Fargo.

The La-based Sampson is cast as a member of the Gerhardt crime family in the sequel to the series inspired by the Coen brothers' movie, which starred. Billy Bob Thornton, Martin Freeman, Allison Tolman, and Colin Hanks and aired on the FX network in the Us and here on Sbs.

His character Bear Gerhardt is described as an intimidatingly large, inarticulate man who happens to be the most decent of the clan.

Shooting of the 10-episode series starts in in Calgary on January 19, forcing Sampson to relinquish the job of hosting the 4th Aacta Awards luncheon in Sydney on January 27.

Writer/actor/producer/director Adam Zwar (Agony Aunts, Lowdown and Wilfred) will host the luncheon. Zwar said: .My role is to...

The gambit of launching Tony Mahony and Angus Sampson.s dark comedy The Mule simultaneously on digital platforms in Australia, New Zealand, the Us and Canada last Friday, bypassing cinemas, seems to be paying off.

Initial reports from iTunes and distributor eOne are very encouraging, according to Sampson, who served as one of the producers.

Consumers can buy the title on digital platforms for $24.99 and it will be available to rent online and on DVD and Blu-ray on December 3.

The caper starring Sampson as a naive guy who is caught with lethal narcotics hidden in his stomach and tries to withhold the evidence, literally, ranks as the most popular indie title on iTunes in Australia and in the Us.

.In Australia iTunes says the film is doing three times better than its estimates, .Sampson tells If. .EOne just told me the pre-orders for physical sales are five times better than they would have done normally.

The sales company’s Ken DuBow is talking to Afm buyers on the film starring Portia de Rossi, Lucy Fry, Robyn Butler and Ben Lawson.

Wayne Hope directed from a screenplay by Butler about a child movie star who visits her mother at a chaotic time. The film screens at the market.

Hope and Butler of Australia’s Gristmill Productions produce Now Add Honey alongside Louisa Kors. The executive producers are Geoff Porz and Greg Sitch.

Acquisitions and sales consultant Richard S Guardian negotiated the deal with attorney Sitch. Lightning and Wme Global jointly represent Us rights.

Barring a miracle or at least several hits, the Australian films released in cinemas this year have no hope of matching 2013.s combined gross of $38.5 million.

Through last Sunday, 43 local features and documentaries had racked up $18.5 million nationwide. That includes mostly small amounts earned by 20 titles that opened in 2013 or earlier. As the Safc.s Richard Harris has pointed out, the results of each film should be evaluated on the basis of its release strategy rather than regarding every film that earns less than $1 million as a disaster and proof that Australian audiences have turned away from Aussie cinema.

However distributors and producers were counting on far stronger ticket sales for the Spierig brothers. Predestination, Matt Saville.s Felony, David Michôd.s The Rover and Zak Hilditch.s These Final Hours.

Only The Railway Man (which opened on Boxing Day and has a lifetime cume of $7.3 million), Wolf Creek 2...

Fledgling filmmaker Fergus Grady is planning a movie based on Lonely Planet founders Tony and Maureen Wheeler.s adventures and he has shot the pilot for a half-hour TV comedy/drama.

Grady, whose day job is acquisitions coordinator at Umbrella Entertainment, has bought a 2-year option for the film rights to the Wheelers. story. He.s talking to prospective writers and directors and envisions a road movie set in the 1970s.

English-born Wheeler, a former automotive engineer, and his wife published their first travel guide, Across Asia on the Cheap, after an overland trip from Europe to Asia and then to Australia in 1972.

Grady says the film will look at the Wheelers. experiences in countries such as Afghanistan, Nepal and Bali. Tony Wheeler has agreed to serve as a consultant. Grady will seek development funding from Film Victoria and/or Screen Australia to nurture the project over the next 12 months.

Ben Lawson is the latest Aussie to land a major role in a Us TV pilot. He.ll play Michael, a smart, funny, good-natured, dermatologist in the ABC comedy Damaged Goods. The show will feature Justin Hartley and Steve Talley as screwed-up guys who hook up with equally screwed-up women.

This is a big year for Lawson. with roles in Hoodlum Entertainment.s Network Ten drama Secrets & Lies, Wayne Hope.s comedy Now Add Honey, Playmaker Media.s Love Child on Nine, and his brother Josh Lawson.s directing debut, black comedy The Little Death. He.s also had guest roles in Rake and the Us series The Exes, Bones and Friends with Better Lives.. He's repped in Australia by United Management.

Aussie actress Indiana Evans has just been added to the cast of ABC.s drama pilot Secrets & Lies, which. starts shooting today in Wilmington, North Carolina. She plays Natalie,...

The ABC is looking to commission a second series of It.s a Date, the narrative comedy created by Peter Helliar.

Brendan Dahill, Head of Programming for ABC1 and ABC2, rates It.s a Date and Upper Middle Bogan as the broadcaster.s stand-out comedy hits of last year. The shows aired back-to-back on Thursday nights.

Gristmill Productions. Wayne Hope and Robyn Butler are producing another eight episodes of Upper Middle Bogan.

Dahill says he is talking to the producers of It.s a Date, Princess Pictures, about a second series. The show explores the tension, expectation and complication of finding true love, with each episode following two self-contained dates as they head toward desire or disaster.

It had an all-star cast including Asher Keddie, Kate Ritchie, John Wood, Lisa McCune, Stephen Curry, Sibylla Budd, Shane Jacobson, Sophie Lowe, Nadine Garner, Pia Miranda and Helliar.

Helliar was lead writer with a team of Phil Lloyd,...

If the 3rd annual Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards could be categorised as a David vs Goliath battle between The Rocket and The Great Gatsby, Goliath is the hands-down winner.

Baz Luhrmann.s opulent romantic drama won six awards tonight, for best film, director, adapted screenplay, lead actor Leonardo DiCaprio, supporting actor Joel Edgerton and supporting actress Elizabeth Debicki.

That.s in addition to the six awards in craft categories plus the Aacta award for outstanding achievement in visual effects bestowed on Luhrmann.s film on Tuesday.

Kim Mordaunt's The Rocket, which had 12 nominations versus 14 for Gatsby, had to be content with just one trophy, for Mordaunt.s original screenplay.

The outcome is likely to reignite the debate about the near-impossibility of comparing a lavishly-mounted 3D film financed by Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow Pictures, which cost $160 million, with an independently-funded Lao-set film from a first-time director budgeted at about $2 million.

An analysis of the Australian films released in cinemas in 2013 makes for grim reading, with a handful of critical and/or commercial successes outnumbered by misfires and under-achievers.

On the positive side, the debut films from directors Kim Mordaunt (The Rocket), Catriona McKenzie (Satellite Boy) and Mark Grentell (Backyard Ashes) unearthed talent with plenty of potential.

The year ended on a strong note with the Boxing Day launch of Jonathan Teplitzy.s The Railway Man, which ranks as the second-highest local grosser behind Baz Luhrmann.s The Great Gatsby, which amassed $27.4 million to become the fifth-biggest Australian title of all time.

Tellingly, the drama starring Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman raked in more money in its first week than the lifetime earnings of every other title. According to If.s estimate, the combined B.O. tally of the 26 local films and documentaries is $38.88 million, well short of 2012.s $47.9 million.

Only...

The combined B.O. tally of the Australian films and documentaries released theatrically this year will fall far short of 2012.s $47.9 million.

Through last Sunday, the 24 local titles had raked in about $37.5 million, according to If.s estimates. Only four titles earned more than $1 million and of those, Goddess. result was generally regarded as soft. Excluding Baz Luhrmann.s The Great Gatsby, which amassed $28.2 million to rank as the fifth-highest Australian grosser of all time, and Tim Winton.s The Turning, the per-picture grosses vary from modest to skimpy.

To be fair, the eight lowest-ranked titles had limited playing time and three, Uncharted Waters, Circle of Lies and Lasseter.s Bones, had Q&A screenings.

Australian B.O. takings should not be seen as the sole barometer of each film's success, given many have multiple viewings on VOD, pay-tv and free-to-air TV. Festival exposure and critical acclaim are also important,...

This may turn out to be a premature and fanciful call but 2014 is shaping as potentially one of the strongest years for Australian films, commercially and critically, in recent memory.

There are numerous grounds for optimism, starting with the overwhelmingly positive responses and, in some cases, deals for Tracks, The Railway Man, Wolf Creek 2, Felony and Canopy after their world premieres at either the Toronto or Venice film festivals.

Given the talent attached, the slate of films now shooting or in post-production looks highly promising, including Kill Me Three Times, The Rover, Son of a Gun, I, Frankenstein, Predestination, Charlie.s Country, Fell and Now Add Honey.

Added to that are several films from experienced filmmakers that are due to roll soon: Cut Snake, The Dressmaker and Paper Planes.

Industry figures whom If consulted are bullish about the prospects for the year ahead. There is a .very good reason for such optimism,...

Directing his first feature film, Now Add Honey, Wayne Hope staged a scene in Melbourne on Tuesday in which a character played by his wife Robyn Butler gets so angry she smashes a windscreen.

100 Bloody Acres actor Angus Sampson was on the other side of the windscreen. The glass duly shattered, nobody got hurt and Hope got the shots he wanted.

Asked if anyone was concerned about how his wife would handle the scene, Hope told If, .I wasn.t worried, but other people were.. That.s the kind of easy rapport you would expect between the husband and wife who collaborated on the ABC-tv series The Librarians and Very Small Business.

Butler wrote the screenplay for Now Add Honey, which stars Lucy Fry (who.ll be seen in the upcoming Hollywood film Vampire Academy: Blood Sisters), Portia de Rossi, Hamish Blake, Sampson, Ben Lawson and Lucy Durack.

Fry plays Honey Halloway,...