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From 1978 until her retirement in 2013, Nanci Griffith, who died August 13th at age 68, included numerous cover songs in her repertoire from writers as diverse as Nick Lowe and Paul Carrack (“Battlefield”) to Guy Clark (“Desperados Waiting for a Train”) and Julie Gold, whose “From a Distance” had been roundly rejected until Griffith became the first to record it. She even once covered the Rolling Stones’ “No Expectations” on Austin City Limits.

See Nanci Griffith Cover the Rolling Stones’ ‘No Expectations’

But it was Griffith’s original material that helped boost the careers of Kathy Mattea,...

Nanci Griffith, the Grammy-winning folk and country songwriter whose popular recordings include “Love at the Five and Dime,” “Once in a Very Blue Moon,” and “Outbound Plane,” died Friday, her manager confirmed to Rolling Stone. No cause of death was given. She was 68.

Born July 6th, 1953, in Seguin, Texas, and raised in Austin, Nanci Caroline Griffith began her performing career as a teenager, playing at clubs and festivals around Texas. She attended the University of Texas and began a career as a teacher, but then switched full-time to music in 1977. Around the same time,...

Now shooting his first co-lead role in an Australian feature after starring in Martin Scorsese.s Hugo, Steven Spielberg.s Lincoln and Tim Burton.s Dark Shadows, Gulliver McGrath is facing a dilemma. As he finishes his Vce exams juggled with his shooting schedule, the 17-year-old is tossing up whether to embark on a university course next year or to focus on his acting career.

.Acting is my dream but it is a fickle business so I do want something to fall back on,. McGrath tells If from the Adelaide set of writer-director Nicholas Verso.s The Boys in the Trees.

.I may go to university, perhaps to do a psychology degree, if my career doesn.t kick off..

In Verso.s debut feature McGrath and Toby Wallace (Never Tear Us Apart: The Untold Story of Inxs, Parer.s War) are playing teenagers, Jonah and Corey, who embark on a...

After starring in Martin Scorsese.s Hugo, Steven Spielberg.s Lincoln and Tim Burton.s Dark Shadows, Gulliver McGrath is playing his first co-lead role in an Australian feature.

Not bad for the Aussie actor who turned 17 last month.

In Boys in the Trees McGrath and Toby Wallace (Never Tear Us Apart: The Untold Story of Inxs, Parer.s War) are playing teenagers who embark on a surreal journey on Halloween night in 1997.

The feature debut of writer-director Nicholas Verso, it starts a five-week shoot in Adelaide on Monday, funded by the South Australian Film Corp., Mushroom Pictures and private investors.

The producer is Mushroom Pictures. John Molloy with Hedone Productions. Kate Croser and Sandy Cameron as co-producers.

Verso wrote the feature in 2011 and then went through the Afc.s Springboard, which funded his short The Last Time I Saw Richard, which was named best short fiction film at the Aacta Awards.

A remarkably combustible mixture of stomach-rippling dread, beautiful empty vistas, and an intimate tale of a father and son, Glendyn Ivin's Last Ride creates a distinctive mood from its first frame. Hugo Weaving stars as the father, Kev, who is always on alert and prone to violent outbursts of anger. Tom Russell plays his son, Chook, with a guarded sense that all is not quite right about the situation. The two are clearly on the run from something bad that happened recently, desperate to travel across the country to Adelaide, where, perhaps, something better awaits. The film played the Toronto International Film Festival in 2009, which is when Todd Brown filed his review: Last Ride is a crime movie completely unconcerned with the crime itself,...

DVD, VOD and Digital Download Release Date: Oct. 16, 2012

Price: DVD $29.95

Studio: Music Box

Hugo Weaving serves up some tough love for son Tom Russell in Last Ride.

Hugo Weaving (The Matrix, Lord of the Rings trilogy) stars in the 2009 Australian road movie drama Last Ride, the feature film by director Glendyn Ivin, winner of the Palme D’Or at the 2003 Cannes Film Festival for his short film Cracker Bag.

Weaving stars as troubled father Kev, a fugitive from the law who one night snatches up his 10-year-old son Chook (newcomer Tom Russell) and drives off into the rugged Australian outback. On the run for committing a crime of violence, Kev and Chook spiral into an increasingly complex relationship as they head deeper and deeper into the outback where the only guarantee is danger. Loyalty, love and betrayal all rear their heads as the father and son’s journey finds the two battling the elements,...

Over the last 25 years, critically acclaimed Nadia Tass has become one of Australia's most respected and versatile filmmakers. Born in Greece, Nadia started out as an actress on the TV series “Prisoner” before moving behind the camera for Malcolm. With husband and frequent collaborator David Parker providing the screenplay and cinematography, the acclaimed 1986 film introduced the mix of humor and humanity that has become Tass’ hallmark. Whether directing Aussie indies like Amy, Hollywood fare like Pure Luck, or theatrical productions in London and Australia, Tass creates works of emotional resonance that charm audiences all over the globe. Nadia Tass is honoured to have a retrospective of her films play at the American Cinematheque (Aero Theatre) in August. If you've never seen them but always wanted to, or if you've seen them and remember them fondly, then now is your chance to catch these classic Australian films (Malcolm, The Big Steal, Amy and Matching Jack) on the big screen in Santa Monica.

Aero Theatre, 1328 Montana Ave (at 14th Street), Santa Monica

Double Feature: Thursday, August 16 - 7.30pm

Malcolm, 1986, Lionsgate, 90 min. Dir. Nadia Tass.

Socially awkward but a mechanical genius, Malcolm loses his job as a Melbourne tramcar operator and takes in a couple of boarders to make ends meet. When he learns the pair are petty criminals, Malcolm uses his knack for gadgetry to help them pull off a series of dazzling robberies. Both warm and hilarious, Nadia Tass' debut feature won 8 Australian Film Institute awards including the Best Film award. Internationally, it won 21 awards.

Discussion between films with director Nadia Tass

The Big Steal, 1990, Cascade Films, 99 min. Dir. Nadia Tass

Young Danny (Ben Mendelsohn of "Animal Kingdom" fame) tries to impress the girl of his dreams with the promises of a ride in his new Jag; unfortunately, Danny drives his family's old Nissan Cedric. But there's a spiffy Jaguar XJ6 in a local used car lot, and the salesman (Steve Bisley) is offering him the deal of a lifetime - what could possibly go wrong? This delightful caper comedy took home 3 AFI awards including one for David Parker's screenplay.

Double Feature: Friday, August 17 - 7.30pm

Matching Jack, 2010, Cascade Films, 99 min. Dir. Nadia Tass

In the most recent film from noted Australian director Nadia Tass, a mother seeks a bone marrow match for her son, diagnosed with leukemia, and finds unlikely sources of hope in her husband's infidelity, and in another man with a sick child. With outstanding performances from stars Jacinda Barrett, James Nesbitt, Kodi Smit-McPhee and Tom Russell. It garnered the top awards at the Milan International Film Festival for Best Film, Best Director and Best Screenplay

Click to view trailer: www.matchingjack.com

Discussion between films with director Nadia Tass

Amy, 1998, Cascade Films, 104 min. Dir. Nadia Tass

Traumatized by the death of her rock star father, 8 year old Amy (a remarkable Alana De Roma) has become mute. When her mother (Academy Award nominee, Rachel Griffiths) brings her to Melbourne in search of treatment, they move in with some quirky locals, one of whom (Ben Mendelsohn) tries to use music to bring the little girl out of her world of silence. A touching mix of comedy, drama and son, Amy won 28 international awards, including the Grand Prix Cannes Junior at the Cannes Film Festival.

Series compiled by Grant Moninger. Program notes by John Hagelston. Retrospective facilitated by Joan Borsten of Films by Jove and Cida Goncalves of 8 Star Entertainment.

American Cinematheque - Aero Theatre

http://www.americancinemathequecalendar.com/aero_theatre_series

http://www.americancinemathequecalendar.com/aero_theatre_events?page=2

Thursday, August 16th - Malcolm and The Big Steal

http://www.americancinemathequecalendar.com/content/malcolm-the-big-steal

Friday, August 17th - Amy and Matching Jack

http://www.americancinemathequecalendar.com/content/matching-jack-amy

Tickets

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If there’s nothing particularly flooring about the narrative of Glendyn Ivin’s Last Ride - based on a Mac Gudgeon screenplay, which itself was taken from Denise Young’s 2004 novel – the film finds its stirring pulse in the way it unhurriedly frames a wounded father-son relationship against the never-ending landscapes of the Australian Outback. There is something immediately powerful about observing these two souls march through such a vast territory, because it sets up such a compelling incongruity; as they are surrounded by all the vast open-space the world can offer, the tension between them builds mightily so that even when young Chook (Tom Russell) stands alone atop the immense, puddle-coated Lake Gairdner, a sense of claustrophobia still trickles in. They are freed by their surroundings, but paralyzed by their past.

In an opening scene, when we see Kev (Hugo Weaving) cut his hair and beard in the bathroom of a roadside eatery,...

The Australian drama Last Ride, directed by Glendyn Ivin and based on Denise Young’s acclaimed novel, is a story that is both riveting and heartbreaking in its complex portrayal of a brutal yet loving petty criminal struggling with parenthood. When ex-jailbird fugitive Kev (brought to life in a stunning performance from Hugo Weaving) takes his 10-year-old son Chook (newcomer Tom Russell) on the run from the law, they set out on a journey into the remote and rugged outback, where both father and son will be faced with the devastating consequences of their actions. During this recent exclusive phone interview with Collider, actor Hugo Weaving talked about how proud he is of Last Ride and how happy it is that it is finally being released in the States (in theaters in NYC and available nationally through VOD) three years after completing it, what originally attracted him to the project and complex character,...

Last Ride is a little Australian film that’s been around for over three years now having been released in that country back in 2009 as well as making its way around to several film festivals including Toronto’s. Whatever the reason was for the delay in bringing it to the states is unknown, though it could easily have something to do with the film itself. It tries to tell the simple story of a father and son attempting to make their way across the Australian Outback, but like the characters themselves, the film encounters a few problems along the way.

It starts off with Kev (Hugo Weaving) and his young son, Chook (Tom Russell), already on the road. At first, we’re to think that they are simply traveling somewhere, but the film slowly reveals through dialogue and flashbacks that Kev has done something that is making him flee from the police.

Title: The Tree Director: Julie Bertucelli Starring: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Morgana Davies, Marton Csokas, Aden Young, Gillian Jones, Penne Hackforth-Jones, Christian Bayers, Tom Russell, Gabriel Gotting, Zoe Boe A tender, well sketched drama of familial reconnection and rebirth in the wake of tragedy, Julie Bertucelli’s The Tree, a French-Australian co-production set in the rural environs of the latter country, for the most part successfully balances the literal and metaphorical in its telling of coping with loss, and trying to move on after the death of a loved one. Engaging acting and some gorgeous and involving cinematography make this movie a treat for arthouse audiences. When her truck-driver husband Peter (Aden Young)...

The Tree

Stars: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Morgana Davies, Marton Csokas | Written and Directed by Julie Bertuccelli

One Day, One Life, Life in a Day, A Better Life, The Tree of Life and now, simply The Tree. That’s a whole load of movies released over a short space of time with pretty similar titles. Is anyone else getting confused?

The Tree is a quiet Australian drama that invokes many of the same themes and ideas as The Tree of Life (a death in the family, man versus nature, etc) but is told in a way that many may find more accessible – ie, less whispered mumbo jumbo and fewer dinosaurs (though I liked the dinosaurs in Tree of Life. I mean come on – dinosaurs!).

For the record, I liked The Tree of Life and I also kind of like this film. It focuses on a family in the wake of the father (Aden Young)’s death.

The Tree Trailer has premiered. Julie Bertucelli‘s The Tree (2010) movie trailer stars Charlotte Gainsbourg, Morgana Davies, Marton Csokas, Christian Byers, and Tom Russell. The Tree‘s plot synopsis: “based on the much-loved Australian novel, “Oh Father Who Art in the Tree” by Judy Pascoe. Dawn (Gainsbourg) and Peter live together with their children in the Australian countryside. In the middle of their garden stands the kids’ favorite playground : a massive Moreton Bay Fig tree, whose branches reach high towards the sky and roots stretch far into the ground. One day, Peter dies of a heart attack, crashing his car into the tree trunk. Dawn is left alone with her grief and four children to raise. All of them naturally go looking for comfort under their protective tree, which becomes even more present in their lives. The young daughter, Simone (Davies), thinking that her late father whispers to her through the leaves,...

Title: The Tree Directed By: Julie Bertucelli Written By: Julie Bertucelli, from the novel by July Pascoe (“Our Father Who Art in the Tree”) Cast: Charlotte Gainsbourg, Morgana Davies, Marton Csokas, Christian Byers, Tom Russell Screened at: Review 1, NYC, 6/29/11 Opens: July 15, 2011 It’s an old story. A woman gets divorced or her husband dies. The woman takes up with another man. The children are furious. Julie Betucelli in her second film feature gives the story her personal slant, in line with her first film, “Since Otar Left.” That 2003 movie deals with letters sent to a mother and daughter from an adored son in Paris. When the...

Matching Jack won Best Film at Milan International Film Festival on Saturday 14 May. The win adds to Matching Jack‘s Milan medal tally that last week saw Nadia Tass win for Best Director and Lynne Renew and David Parker awarded Best Screenplay.

Matching Jack tells the story of a door-knocking quest by a mother, Marisa (Jacinda Barrett) to find any illegitimate children her cheating husband (Richard Roxburgh) has left in his wake, after their son Jack (Tom Russell) has been diagnosed with leukemia and she needs to find a bone marrow match.

While in hospital, Jack forms a friendship with Irish boy Finn (Kodi Smit-McPhee) in the next bed while Marisa and Finn’s father, Connor (James Nesbitt) get off on the wrong foot but eventually find mutual respect and offer strength to support their children.

Barrett and Nesbitt were also nominated for awards at Milan in Best Acting Performance Female and Male respectively.

Australian film Matching Jack has received three awards at the Milan International Film Festival this week. The powerful drama.won Best Film,.Nadia Tass was awarded Best Director,.while Lynne Renew and David Parker walked away with Best Screenplay. The film, shot over six weeks in Melbourne,.stars James Nesbitt, Jacinda Barrett and Richard Roxburgh. The story centres around Marisa (Barrett) and the unshakable bond she has with her seriously ill son Jack (Tom Russell). Desperate to save Jack.s life, Marisa must sift through her husband.s (Roxburgh) serial affairs in hope of finding an illegitimate child who will be a biological match to her son. The film was critically well-received but posted a disappointing box office performance of $852,276 last...

Director Nadia Tass is hard to match, with her multifaceted career and her will to pursue a project, even if it takes 10 years like Matching Jack – her first Australian film in 13 years.

Matching Jack is the story of a woman (Jacinda Barrett) whose marriage falls apart just as her child (Tom Russell) is diagnosed with leukaemia. She begins a search for potential bone-marrow donors, including the offspring that her husband’s (Richard Roxburgh) infidelities may or may not have produced. She also shares a connection with the father (James Nesbitt) of another sick child (Kodi Smit-McPhee).

As personal as the film feels, it was not inspired by an event in Tass’s life; it is, in her words, an observation of how families are strengthened or dissipated once a traumatic event – such as cancer – comes into their lives.

“I’m interested in exploring the change that happens in life as a result of a catalyst,...

Twentieth Century Fox has moved Nadia Tass’s latest film Matching Jack, from September 30 to August 19.

The film will be released the same week as Phillip Noyce’s action film Salt, starring Angelina Jolie, as well as Cairo Time, Four Lions and Chloe.

It was written by Lunne Renew and David Parker, and produced by Tass, Parker and Richard Keddie.

Matching Jack is a drama; Marisa (Jacinda Barrett) is a mother forced to take matters into her own hands to save the life of her son, Jack (Tom Russell) after he is diagnosed with Leukemia. Determined to find a bone marrow donor, Marisa undertakes a tireless and exhaustive search, including delving into the infidelities of her husband David (Richard Roxburgh) in the hope that a donor might exist as a result of one of his many extra marital affairs.

Meanwhile, during his treatment, Jack befriends Finn (Kodi Smit-McPhee), a young...

Taylor Lautner could follow the step of his "Twilight" co-star Kristen Stewart who has just landed Orange Rising Star Award at 2010 BAFTAs. The 18-year-old hunk has been announced as one of the contenders to win Best Performance by Leading Young Actor at the 31st Annual Young Artist Awards for his portrayal of Jacob Black in "The Twilight Saga's New Moon". For the said prize, he will be up against Jake T. Austin ("Hotel For Dogs"), Jimmy Bennett ("Alabama Moon"), Max Records ("Where The Wild Things Are") and Devon Bostick ("Adoration").

Meanwhile, Emma Roberts and Saoirse Ronan are put under the same category, facing each other for the Best Performance by Leading Young Actress kudo. The "Hotel For Dogs" star and the "The Lovely Bones" beauty are additionally joined by Abigail Breslin ("My Sister's Keeper"), Jolie Vanier ("Shorts") and Yara Shahidi ("Imagine That") in the competition for the award.

The nominations...

Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato are placed in competition against each other at the upcoming 31st Annual Young Artist Awards. As the Young Artist Foundation unveiled this year's nominees, it is revealed that the two Disney stars and best friends are vying for Leading or Supporting Young Actress title in a category for TV movie, mini-series or special.

Both Selena and Demi received the nomination for their performance as Carter Mason and Rosalinda respectively in "Princess Protection Program". Beside each other, they are also up against two other hopefuls, Tori Barban of "The Christmas Hope" and Patricia Raven of "Dear Harvard".

The two teen stars are not the only Disney's leading lady to get nominated for 2010 Young Artist Awards. Miley Cyrus has earned a nod for Leading Young Actress in TV series for her role on "Hannah Montana". She is listed among four other contenders that include the star of Nickelodeon's "iCarly", Miranda Cosgrove.

Few countries outside the U.S.-European movie axis had quite the year Australia has had in Toronto, where the 2009 festival programmed an unprecedented 17 films from Down Under. They run the gamut from mainstream awards-season fare (The Boys are Back) to offbeat indie musicals (Bran Nue Day) to old-school revivals (the 1971 classic Wake in Fright) and ultimately to Last Ride, the sublime debut feature by director Glendyn Ivin. The film stars Hugo Weaving and 10-year-old Tom Russell as Kev and Chook, an ex-con father and his son on the run from something. They cross the Outback in stolen cars, hiding in forests and on desert ridges, mismatched yet devoted until a series of revelations rattles young Chook into second thoughts, then third thoughts, and finally action that will test the breaking point of family.

The cast includes: John Brumpton, Mick Coulhard, Rachel Francis, Anita Hegh, Adam Morgan, Levine Ngatokorua, Chrissie Page, Kelton Pell, Tom Russell, Sonya Suares, Hugo Weaving and Chris Weir.

The screenplay writer of Last Ride is Glendyn Ivin.

There are majority of directors in Australia who have started their career in short films. But there are only a few directors who achieved the level of success like Glendyn Ivin. Glendyn Ivin has been a winner of the Palme d’Or award for Cracker Bag at Cannes in the 2003.

In 2003, Glendyn Ivin’s short suburban film Cracker Bag won the Cannes Prix in the short fiction category and it was thought by many that probably it will be followed by a big budget film immediately. It is a low budget film. The scenery used is invaluable. There are some marvellous shots, awesome acting and...

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From Australia comes the first trailer for Glendyn Ivin's Last Ride, an indie drama starring Hugo Weaving and Tom Russell. In the film, Weaving plays a father who takes his son on the run after committing a crime and ends up trekking through the desert. This is one of the first times I've even heard of this movie, but it looks great and I can't wait to check it out, if it evers makes its way to America. I'm a huge fan of Hugo Weaving, to the point where I expect to love almost anything he's in, and this is the first small indie feature he's been in in a while. Thanks to our friends at Quiet Earth for digging up this trailer. Watch and enjoy! Watch the trailer for Glendyn Ivin's Last Ride: For more info on Last Ride, visit the film's official website: lastridemovie.com...