Tributes are flowing for Chris Chamberlin, one of the media and entertainment industry.s most popular and respected publicists who died yesterday, 10 days before his 40th birthday.
A senior national publicist for the ABC since 2014, Chamberlin was on holidays in India. The cause of death has not been revealed.
.Chris was highly regarded and respected by everyone who was lucky enough to have known him,. Leisa Bacon, the ABC.s director of audiences, said in an email to staff.
.Chris has managed campaigns for projects across all TV genres - news, factual, entertainment and children.s programs. The list of credits is enormous and Chris knew everything there was to know about developing publicity opportunities for marketing campaigns. He built strong relationships with on-air talent, through to production teams and key media outlets.
.Chris was incredibly committed, working tirelessly to ensure the best possible outcome on every single program and project he was involved with.
A senior national publicist for the ABC since 2014, Chamberlin was on holidays in India. The cause of death has not been revealed.
.Chris was highly regarded and respected by everyone who was lucky enough to have known him,. Leisa Bacon, the ABC.s director of audiences, said in an email to staff.
.Chris has managed campaigns for projects across all TV genres - news, factual, entertainment and children.s programs. The list of credits is enormous and Chris knew everything there was to know about developing publicity opportunities for marketing campaigns. He built strong relationships with on-air talent, through to production teams and key media outlets.
.Chris was incredibly committed, working tirelessly to ensure the best possible outcome on every single program and project he was involved with.
- 6/26/2017
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
It's a belated release, but we'll take it: David Michod's "The Rover" is finally getting a soundtrack release. Lakeshore Records will release the album digitally on October 7th and on CD November 11. We revealed details of all the music featured in the post-economic collapse drama during Cannes, but now you'll be able to actually have the music all in one place. The highlight, beyond existing tracks by Tortoise and William Basinski already available online, is an original score by Antony Partos (“99 Homes,” “Animal Kingdom”) with additional music by Sam Petty (“Animal Kingdom”). Here’s some details from the press release. Antony Partos is one of Australia’s most awarded film composers. His passion lies in creating innovative scores that morph acoustic with an eclectic mix of bespoke elements. His feature film credits include the Sundance Festival winning film, Animal Kingdom (starring Guy Pearce and Oscar® nominee Jacki Weaver), The Home Song Stories (starring.
- 9/24/2014
- by Edward Davis
- The Playlist
The Australian films premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival are getting a fair bit of love from critics, and the occasional brickbat.
Josh Lawson.s The Little Death, Tony Ayres Cut Snake and director Sotiris Dounoukos. French-shot short A Single Body have been warmly received.
Lawson.s sex comedy, his feature directing debut, which opens on September 25 via eOne, was hailed by Twitch Film.s Kwenton Bellette as a .cheeky cracking Australian comedy that is filled with amazing chemistry, hilarious moments and clever exchanges. It is well worth your time..
Of the writer/director/star Bellette observed, .His goofiness on screen and well-mannered presence has permeated execrable dross from Australia and made it watchable. His painful turn as Doug, the loser partner in Showtime's black comedy series House of Lies, is probably the face he is most known for, but The Little Death is his directorial debut, and will...
Josh Lawson.s The Little Death, Tony Ayres Cut Snake and director Sotiris Dounoukos. French-shot short A Single Body have been warmly received.
Lawson.s sex comedy, his feature directing debut, which opens on September 25 via eOne, was hailed by Twitch Film.s Kwenton Bellette as a .cheeky cracking Australian comedy that is filled with amazing chemistry, hilarious moments and clever exchanges. It is well worth your time..
Of the writer/director/star Bellette observed, .His goofiness on screen and well-mannered presence has permeated execrable dross from Australia and made it watchable. His painful turn as Doug, the loser partner in Showtime's black comedy series House of Lies, is probably the face he is most known for, but The Little Death is his directorial debut, and will...
- 9/7/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Out of the Past: Ayres’ Neo-noir is a Pulpy Brood
With a little luck, Australian director Tony Ayres’ latest film, Cut Snake will evolve beyond the festival circuit, unlike his accomplished 2007 drama The Home Song Stories with Joan Chen, which still remains unavailable in the Us. A period piece neo-noir, Ayres and screenwriter Blake Ayshford take a familiar premise down a surprisingly knotty path that makes for an intriguing and apprehensively sweaty yarn.
It is Sydney, 1974, and Pommie (Sullivan Stapleton) has just been released from prison. He seems to be looking for someone, showing up on an old woman’s doorstep, looking for an old friend named Sparra (Alex Russell). His friend doesn’t live there anymore, but an underlying uneasiness about Pommie’s insistence convinces us he’s going to find out where he went. Sure enough, he’s next seen staking out Sparra’s new home right outside of Melbourne,...
With a little luck, Australian director Tony Ayres’ latest film, Cut Snake will evolve beyond the festival circuit, unlike his accomplished 2007 drama The Home Song Stories with Joan Chen, which still remains unavailable in the Us. A period piece neo-noir, Ayres and screenwriter Blake Ayshford take a familiar premise down a surprisingly knotty path that makes for an intriguing and apprehensively sweaty yarn.
It is Sydney, 1974, and Pommie (Sullivan Stapleton) has just been released from prison. He seems to be looking for someone, showing up on an old woman’s doorstep, looking for an old friend named Sparra (Alex Russell). His friend doesn’t live there anymore, but an underlying uneasiness about Pommie’s insistence convinces us he’s going to find out where he went. Sure enough, he’s next seen staking out Sparra’s new home right outside of Melbourne,...
- 9/5/2014
- by Nicholas Bell
- IONCINEMA.com
Sullivan Stapleton.s performance as a vicious thug in Cut Snake has been lauded after the world premiere of Tony Ayres. crime thriller at the Melbourne International Film Festival last Saturday.
In the 1970s-set film scripted by Blake Ayshford Stapleton.s character Pommie is an ex-crim who tracks down his former cellmate Sparra (Alex Russell).
While Sparra tries to go straight with his soon-to-be-wife Paula (Jessica de Gouw), who knows nothing of his shady past, Pommie sets out to lure him on a dangerous path.
.Cut Snake is reasonably engrossing thanks to its eye-candy cast of rising stars, notably a ferocious but emotionally exposed performance from Sullivan Stapleton,. declared The Hollywood Reporter.s David Rooney .
..For an emerging actor doing muscle movies like 300: Rise of an Empire, Stapleton, who first turned heads as a different kind of thug in Animal Kingdom, doesn't shrink from displays of the torn heart...
In the 1970s-set film scripted by Blake Ayshford Stapleton.s character Pommie is an ex-crim who tracks down his former cellmate Sparra (Alex Russell).
While Sparra tries to go straight with his soon-to-be-wife Paula (Jessica de Gouw), who knows nothing of his shady past, Pommie sets out to lure him on a dangerous path.
.Cut Snake is reasonably engrossing thanks to its eye-candy cast of rising stars, notably a ferocious but emotionally exposed performance from Sullivan Stapleton,. declared The Hollywood Reporter.s David Rooney .
..For an emerging actor doing muscle movies like 300: Rise of an Empire, Stapleton, who first turned heads as a different kind of thug in Animal Kingdom, doesn't shrink from displays of the torn heart...
- 8/12/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
The BBC has bought both series of Nowhere Boys, ABC3.s teen action-adventure created by Matchbox Pictures. Tony Ayres.
The show, which follows four mismatched teenage boys who cross over into another universe in which they were never born, will air on the Beeb.s kids channel Cbbc.
The first series took the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award for best children.s TV drama and last night won a TV Week Logie Award for most outstanding children.s drama.
Production of the second series will begin in Melbourne in late June, produced by Beth Frey and executive produced by Michael McMahon. Peter Salmon is the set-up director and Craig Irvin, one of the writers on the first series, will be among the directors.
The young leads are Joel Lok (The Home Song Stories) as science nerd Andy, Dougie Baldwin (Upper Middle Bogan) as Goth Felix, Rahart Adams (Every Witch Way,...
The show, which follows four mismatched teenage boys who cross over into another universe in which they were never born, will air on the Beeb.s kids channel Cbbc.
The first series took the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award for best children.s TV drama and last night won a TV Week Logie Award for most outstanding children.s drama.
Production of the second series will begin in Melbourne in late June, produced by Beth Frey and executive produced by Michael McMahon. Peter Salmon is the set-up director and Craig Irvin, one of the writers on the first series, will be among the directors.
The young leads are Joel Lok (The Home Song Stories) as science nerd Andy, Dougie Baldwin (Upper Middle Bogan) as Goth Felix, Rahart Adams (Every Witch Way,...
- 4/27/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Sullivan Stapleton and Alex Russell will play ex-cons in Cut Snake, Matchbox Pictures. crime thriller directed by Tony Ayres, which shoots in Melbourne in late October.
Also attached is Jessica De Gouw, a fast-rising Aussie actress who stars in TV's. Arrow and the upcoming series Dracula, which features Jonathan Rhys Meyers as the vampire who.s brought back to life and poses as an American entrepreneur.
The producers are Trevor Blainey (Noise) and Matchbox Pictures. Michael McMahon (The Home Song Stories, Lou, The Slap).
Written by Blake Ayshford (The Time of Our Lives, The Straits), Cut Snake is described as a tense, psychologically-driven crime thriller in which one man discovers his biggest enemy to putting the past behind him is himself.
It marks a return to the big screen for Ayres who directed a segment of Tim Winton.s The Turning,. episodes of The Slap, executive-produced Underground: The Julian Assange Story...
Also attached is Jessica De Gouw, a fast-rising Aussie actress who stars in TV's. Arrow and the upcoming series Dracula, which features Jonathan Rhys Meyers as the vampire who.s brought back to life and poses as an American entrepreneur.
The producers are Trevor Blainey (Noise) and Matchbox Pictures. Michael McMahon (The Home Song Stories, Lou, The Slap).
Written by Blake Ayshford (The Time of Our Lives, The Straits), Cut Snake is described as a tense, psychologically-driven crime thriller in which one man discovers his biggest enemy to putting the past behind him is himself.
It marks a return to the big screen for Ayres who directed a segment of Tim Winton.s The Turning,. episodes of The Slap, executive-produced Underground: The Julian Assange Story...
- 8/27/2013
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
As a result of the Director.s Attachment Scheme, emerging directors now have the opportunity to work alongside Tony Ayres on his new film Cut Snake.
The scheme, launched in March this year and aimed at emerging film directors, is funded by Screen Australia and managed by the Australian Directors Guild.
Cut Snake is the second project to be tied to the scheme (Kriv Stenders. Kill Me Three Times was previously announced in March) and applications for the attachment are currently open.
Screen Australia and the Adg have committed to providing three director.s attachments per year..
.We are very excited that the second film for the attachment scheme is with Tony Ayres,. said Adg Executive Director, Kingston Anderson. .He is one of our most talented screen directors..
Screen Australia.s Head of Development, Martha Coleman, said, .This is another great opportunity for an emerging director to learn from a hugely respected and generous director,...
The scheme, launched in March this year and aimed at emerging film directors, is funded by Screen Australia and managed by the Australian Directors Guild.
Cut Snake is the second project to be tied to the scheme (Kriv Stenders. Kill Me Three Times was previously announced in March) and applications for the attachment are currently open.
Screen Australia and the Adg have committed to providing three director.s attachments per year..
.We are very excited that the second film for the attachment scheme is with Tony Ayres,. said Adg Executive Director, Kingston Anderson. .He is one of our most talented screen directors..
Screen Australia.s Head of Development, Martha Coleman, said, .This is another great opportunity for an emerging director to learn from a hugely respected and generous director,...
- 4/22/2013
- by Emily Blatchford
- IF.com.au
• 24′s Dennis Haysbert is in talks to play Manute in Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, the role originated in 2005′s Sin City by actor Michael Clarke Duncan, who passed away earlier this year at 54. Haysbert will join Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Jaime King, and Rosario Dawsome, who are all reprising their roles in the first film; Jamie Chung is taking over Devon Aoki’s role. As with the first film, Robert Rodriguez and Frank Miller are sharing writing and directing duties on the film, based on Miller’s series of Sin City graphic novels. [THR]
• Timothy Olyphant (FX’s Justified) will join Kurt Russell,...
• Timothy Olyphant (FX’s Justified) will join Kurt Russell,...
- 12/6/2012
- by Adam B. Vary
- EW - Inside Movies
Australian Singapore co-production Bait 3D, a sharksploitation disaster film continues its strong run at the Chinese box office, taking nearly $20m with over 2.77m tickets purchased. The film is ranked number one and its success has meant the producers have already announced a second.
The announcement:
Bait 3D, which first screened publicly to enthusiastic audiences who gave the film standing ovations at sold out screenings at the Venice Film Festival is now taking a bite out of international box offices since its recent releases in Italy, the Us, Australia, The Netherlands, Kuwait, Malaysia, Russia and especially China.
The film is currently ranked #1 (for the week of October 15-21) in China and has taken in nearly $20M since its premiere in the region 10 days ago and made over $10M last week alone. There have been over 2,770,000 tickets purchased.
“Bait 3D’s popularity in China is absolutely thrilling and we couldn’t be more pleased,...
The announcement:
Bait 3D, which first screened publicly to enthusiastic audiences who gave the film standing ovations at sold out screenings at the Venice Film Festival is now taking a bite out of international box offices since its recent releases in Italy, the Us, Australia, The Netherlands, Kuwait, Malaysia, Russia and especially China.
The film is currently ranked #1 (for the week of October 15-21) in China and has taken in nearly $20M since its premiere in the region 10 days ago and made over $10M last week alone. There have been over 2,770,000 tickets purchased.
“Bait 3D’s popularity in China is absolutely thrilling and we couldn’t be more pleased,...
- 10/26/2012
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
Toronto International Film Festival. Glenn is in Australia but he's seen Monday's premiere "Lore".
Australia isn’t a regular player in the Academy’s annual game of Best Foreign Language Film. We’ve only submitted five films prior to 2012: Clara Law’s Floating Life (1996), which I have never seen; Steve Jacobs’ La Spagnola (2001), which is fun, if slight, immigrant comedy; Rolf de Heer’s Ten Canoes (2006) a fabulous film that was the first ever filmed in native Aboriginal dialects; Tony Ayres’ The Home Song Stories (2007), which features an incredible performance by Joan Chen; and Samson & Delilah (2009), Warwick Thornton’s groundbreaking indigenous drama about two teens escaping their remote lives only to stumble upon tragedy at every turn. Thornton’s film was the closest Australia has ever come to snagging a nomination, having managed to find a spot on the nine-wide shortlist. As great as that film was, however, its...
Australia isn’t a regular player in the Academy’s annual game of Best Foreign Language Film. We’ve only submitted five films prior to 2012: Clara Law’s Floating Life (1996), which I have never seen; Steve Jacobs’ La Spagnola (2001), which is fun, if slight, immigrant comedy; Rolf de Heer’s Ten Canoes (2006) a fabulous film that was the first ever filmed in native Aboriginal dialects; Tony Ayres’ The Home Song Stories (2007), which features an incredible performance by Joan Chen; and Samson & Delilah (2009), Warwick Thornton’s groundbreaking indigenous drama about two teens escaping their remote lives only to stumble upon tragedy at every turn. Thornton’s film was the closest Australia has ever come to snagging a nomination, having managed to find a spot on the nine-wide shortlist. As great as that film was, however, its...
- 9/8/2012
- by Glenn Dunks
- FilmExperience
Applications are now open for the 10th annual film market SPAAmart, put on by the Screen Producers Association of Australia.
The announcement:
The Screen Producers Association of Australia (Spaa) today announced that applications are now open for the 10th annual feature film market, SPAAmart 2012, which will take place during the annual Spaa Conference in November.
SPAAmart is calling for distinct feature film projects at an advanced stage of development with significant attachments, and ready to present to the market for financing, sales and distribution.
SPAAmart was launched in 2003 with the aim of bringing the best Australasian feature projects to the attention of local and international financiers. Films that have previously participated in SPAAmart as a launching pad include Clubland, West, Noise, The Home Song Stories, Lucky Miles, Romulus My Father, The Last Ride, Beautiful Kate, The Cedar Boys and most recently Beneath Hill 60 and Mei Mei.
As with previous years,...
The announcement:
The Screen Producers Association of Australia (Spaa) today announced that applications are now open for the 10th annual feature film market, SPAAmart 2012, which will take place during the annual Spaa Conference in November.
SPAAmart is calling for distinct feature film projects at an advanced stage of development with significant attachments, and ready to present to the market for financing, sales and distribution.
SPAAmart was launched in 2003 with the aim of bringing the best Australasian feature projects to the attention of local and international financiers. Films that have previously participated in SPAAmart as a launching pad include Clubland, West, Noise, The Home Song Stories, Lucky Miles, Romulus My Father, The Last Ride, Beautiful Kate, The Cedar Boys and most recently Beneath Hill 60 and Mei Mei.
As with previous years,...
- 8/1/2012
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
From drama to reality and factual – meet the production house powerhouses responsible for Australia’s greatest television.
Andrew Denton
Owner/ Creative guy
Zapruder’s Other Films The Gruen Transfer, Hungry Beast, Country Town Rescue, Randling
With producers Anita Jacoby and Peter Thompson, Andrew Denton’s Zapruder’s Other Films is known for intelligent and often funny television.
Denton came to prominence as the host of ABC’s 1988 comedy show Blah Blah Blah and was quick to get involved behind the scenes. His first executive producing credit came in 2001 when he gave The Chaser team their break with The Election Chaser.
Denton is responsible for adland favourite The Gruen Transfer, with five series including Gruen Planet and Nation under its belt. The show is one of the ABC’s highest rating formats attracting international interest.
Denton’s great skill is fostering young talent with his 2008 Project Next experiment resulting in Hungry Beast.
Andrew Denton
Owner/ Creative guy
Zapruder’s Other Films The Gruen Transfer, Hungry Beast, Country Town Rescue, Randling
With producers Anita Jacoby and Peter Thompson, Andrew Denton’s Zapruder’s Other Films is known for intelligent and often funny television.
Denton came to prominence as the host of ABC’s 1988 comedy show Blah Blah Blah and was quick to get involved behind the scenes. His first executive producing credit came in 2001 when he gave The Chaser team their break with The Election Chaser.
Denton is responsible for adland favourite The Gruen Transfer, with five series including Gruen Planet and Nation under its belt. The show is one of the ABC’s highest rating formats attracting international interest.
Denton’s great skill is fostering young talent with his 2008 Project Next experiment resulting in Hungry Beast.
- 2/17/2012
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
Director Cate Shortland (Somersault) has begun shooting new feature film Lore in Germany.
A co-production with Germany and with UK participation that stars Saskia-Sophie Rosendahl and Ursina Lardi (The White Ribbon), it is produced by Liz Watts (Animal Kingdom, The Home Song Stories) British producer Paul Welsh (Skeletons) and German producers Karsten Stoter and Benny Drechsel (A Mysterious World, Jaffa).
Based on Rachel Seiffert’s Booker-nominee novel The Dark Room, Shortland adapted if for the screen with British writer Robin Mukherjee.
Lore is set in the spring of 1945 as the German front collapses and the Allied forces take control over Hitler’s country. With her Nazi parents imprisoned, 16-year-old Lore is left in charge of her four young siblings. Embarking on a journey across the devastated country, the children struggle to survive. And Lore has to learn to trust a person whom she had always been told was the enemy.
A co-production with Germany and with UK participation that stars Saskia-Sophie Rosendahl and Ursina Lardi (The White Ribbon), it is produced by Liz Watts (Animal Kingdom, The Home Song Stories) British producer Paul Welsh (Skeletons) and German producers Karsten Stoter and Benny Drechsel (A Mysterious World, Jaffa).
Based on Rachel Seiffert’s Booker-nominee novel The Dark Room, Shortland adapted if for the screen with British writer Robin Mukherjee.
Lore is set in the spring of 1945 as the German front collapses and the Allied forces take control over Hitler’s country. With her Nazi parents imprisoned, 16-year-old Lore is left in charge of her four young siblings. Embarking on a journey across the devastated country, the children struggle to survive. And Lore has to learn to trust a person whom she had always been told was the enemy.
- 7/26/2011
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
The Asia Pacific Screen Awards (Apsa) and Motion Picture Association (Mpa) will continue the Mpa Apsa Academy Film Fund, as announced at the 1st Beijing International Film Festival on Tuesday.
The fund that was initiated last year supports new films from Asia-Pacific by providing four grants of $25,000 each to four members of the Apsa Academy with film projects in different stages of completion.
The judging panel for the award will be chaired by Andrew Pike, Managing Director of Ronin Films and will comprise Chinese filmmaker Xue Xiaolu, director of Ocean Heaven and Australian filmmaker Tony Ayres, who directed The Home Song Stories.
The recipients of the grants in 2010 were: Lee Chang-dong for Memories of the Blue Hill Club; Sergey Dvortsevoy for Ayka; Peng Tao for Straw Man; and Iran’s Asghar Farhadi for Nader and Simin: A Separation, which won the Golden Bear at Berlin International Film Festival this year.
The fund that was initiated last year supports new films from Asia-Pacific by providing four grants of $25,000 each to four members of the Apsa Academy with film projects in different stages of completion.
The judging panel for the award will be chaired by Andrew Pike, Managing Director of Ronin Films and will comprise Chinese filmmaker Xue Xiaolu, director of Ocean Heaven and Australian filmmaker Tony Ayres, who directed The Home Song Stories.
The recipients of the grants in 2010 were: Lee Chang-dong for Memories of the Blue Hill Club; Sergey Dvortsevoy for Ayka; Peng Tao for Straw Man; and Iran’s Asghar Farhadi for Nader and Simin: A Separation, which won the Golden Bear at Berlin International Film Festival this year.
- 4/27/2011
- by NewsDesk
- DearCinema.com
The Screen Producers Association of Australia (Spaa) has announced the feature film projects that will participate at this year’s SPAAmart sessions during the organisation’s conference next month.
The list includes, amongst projects from emerging filmmakers, a romantic comedy by the Nadia Tass/David Parker team.
The selected projects are:
1. The Badadook
Kristina Ceyton, Producer.
Jennifer Kent, Writer/Director.
2. The Rocket
Sylvia Wilczynski, Producer.
Kim Mordaunt, Writer/Director.
3. The Witness Tree
Delia Churchill, Producer.
Alex Chomicz, Director.
Jacqueline Cook, Writer
4. The Warmth
Philippa Campey, Producer.
Rhys Graham, Writer/Director.
5. The Winter Chill
Samantha Jennings, Producer.
Justin Kurzel, Director.
Giula Sandler, Writer
6. Tying The Knot
David Parker, Writer/Producer.
Nadia Tass, Director.
7. Far From Home
Andrea Buck, Producer.
Dee McLachlan, Director.
Peter Lancucki, Writer.
SPAAmart was launched in 2003 with the aim of bringing the best Australasian feature projects to the attention of local and international financiers. Its success stories include include Clubland,...
The list includes, amongst projects from emerging filmmakers, a romantic comedy by the Nadia Tass/David Parker team.
The selected projects are:
1. The Badadook
Kristina Ceyton, Producer.
Jennifer Kent, Writer/Director.
2. The Rocket
Sylvia Wilczynski, Producer.
Kim Mordaunt, Writer/Director.
3. The Witness Tree
Delia Churchill, Producer.
Alex Chomicz, Director.
Jacqueline Cook, Writer
4. The Warmth
Philippa Campey, Producer.
Rhys Graham, Writer/Director.
5. The Winter Chill
Samantha Jennings, Producer.
Justin Kurzel, Director.
Giula Sandler, Writer
6. Tying The Knot
David Parker, Writer/Producer.
Nadia Tass, Director.
7. Far From Home
Andrea Buck, Producer.
Dee McLachlan, Director.
Peter Lancucki, Writer.
SPAAmart was launched in 2003 with the aim of bringing the best Australasian feature projects to the attention of local and international financiers. Its success stories include include Clubland,...
- 10/4/2010
- by Miguel Gonzalez
- Encore Magazine
'Lust, Caution' Wins Big at Taiwanese Golden Horse Awards
Ang Lee's controversial Lust, Caution dominated the Golden Horse Awards in his native Taiwan on Saturday, taking home seven trophies including Best Film and Best Director. The erotic World War II drama also won prizes including Best Actor for Tony Leung, Best Newcomer for Tang Wei and Outstanding Taiwanese Filmmaker Of The Year for Lee. Elsewhere, Lust, Caution star Joan Chen won Best Actress for her role in another movie, The Home Song Stories, and Tony Cheung collected Best Supporting Actor for his performance in The Drummer. Lust, Caution is ineligible to enter the 2008 Academy Awards race for Best Foreign Film after Oscar bosses decided too few people from Taiwan were involved in making the movie.
- 12/10/2007
- WENN
'Romulus,' 'Home Song' top Aussie film awards
SYDNEY -- Two films that deal with Australian immigrant stories -- Romulus, My Father, set in the postwar era, and The Home Song Stories, set in the 1970s -- shared the spoils with three awards apiece at Thursday's Australian Film Institute Awards.
Romulus, Richard Roxburgh's directorial debut, took home best film, though Roxburgh couldn't beat out Tony Ayres for best director for Home Song. Ayres also won best screenplay, and Joan Chen -- who reportedly came out of semi-retirement to play Shanghai nightclub signer Rose as she struggles to deal with two children in 1970s Australia -- won best actress. The wins gave Home Song eight AFI Awards; it received five craft awards in a separate ceremony Wednesday.
Romulus' other wins includes best actor for Eric Bana and best supporting actor to Martin Csokas.
Kodi Smit-McPhee, 10, who played Romulus' son Raymond, won the AFI Young Actor Award.
The best supporting actress nod went to Emma Booth for playing the feisty vixen Jill in Cherie Nowlan's Clubland.
With Geoffrey Rush hosting and stars including Cate Blanchett, Eric Bana and Anthony La Paglia presenting, the awards are billed as a celebration of Australian film.
Romulus, Richard Roxburgh's directorial debut, took home best film, though Roxburgh couldn't beat out Tony Ayres for best director for Home Song. Ayres also won best screenplay, and Joan Chen -- who reportedly came out of semi-retirement to play Shanghai nightclub signer Rose as she struggles to deal with two children in 1970s Australia -- won best actress. The wins gave Home Song eight AFI Awards; it received five craft awards in a separate ceremony Wednesday.
Romulus' other wins includes best actor for Eric Bana and best supporting actor to Martin Csokas.
Kodi Smit-McPhee, 10, who played Romulus' son Raymond, won the AFI Young Actor Award.
The best supporting actress nod went to Emma Booth for playing the feisty vixen Jill in Cherie Nowlan's Clubland.
With Geoffrey Rush hosting and stars including Cate Blanchett, Eric Bana and Anthony La Paglia presenting, the awards are billed as a celebration of Australian film.
- 12/7/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
'Home Song' continues winning streak
SYDNEY -- Tony Ayres' The Home Song Stories continues to dominate the Australian awards season, winning five of six possible categories Wednesday at the Australian Film Institute Industry Awards.
Home Song, which centers on Rose, a glamorous Shanghai nightclub singer who struggles to survive in 1970s Australia with two young children, won gongs for cinematography (Nigel Buck), editing (Denise Haratzis), original music score (Anthony Partos), production design (Melinda Doring) and costume design (Cappi Ireland).
The industry awards ceremony, hosted by Geoffrey Rush and also dubbed the craft awards, is a precursor to the main awards, which are set for today at a gala dinner and are broadcast nationally on the Nine TV Network. Home Song is up for another six awards today, including best film.
The Australian Film Institute nods continue Home Song's run of success on the awards circuit after it dominated the Inside Film people's choice awards in November, then scored best actress wins for Joan Chen at this week's Turin Film Festival and the Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
Home Song, which centers on Rose, a glamorous Shanghai nightclub singer who struggles to survive in 1970s Australia with two young children, won gongs for cinematography (Nigel Buck), editing (Denise Haratzis), original music score (Anthony Partos), production design (Melinda Doring) and costume design (Cappi Ireland).
The industry awards ceremony, hosted by Geoffrey Rush and also dubbed the craft awards, is a precursor to the main awards, which are set for today at a gala dinner and are broadcast nationally on the Nine TV Network. Home Song is up for another six awards today, including best film.
The Australian Film Institute nods continue Home Song's run of success on the awards circuit after it dominated the Inside Film people's choice awards in November, then scored best actress wins for Joan Chen at this week's Turin Film Festival and the Asia Pacific Screen Awards.
- 12/6/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
- With Eran Kolirin's The Band's Visit out of the foreign Oscar picture, Ioncinema.com predicts a four-way race between audience faves Persepolis, The Counterfeiters, 4 months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days and Caramel. Spain's The Orphanage has the best chance at completing the 5 pack. That said everything else is just a formality. The final five picks will be announced on Jan. 22. The Oscar ceremony takes place Feb. 24. 2008 Foreign Oscar Long ListArgentina: Xxy (Lucia Puenzo)Australia: The Home Song Stories (Tony Ayres) Austria: The Counterfeiters (Stefan Ruzowitzky)Azerbaijan: Caucasia (Farid Gumbatov)Bangladesh: On The Wings Of Dreams (Golam Rabbany Biblob)Belgium: Ben X (Nic Balthazar) Bosnia and Herzegovina: It's Hard To Be Nice (Srdjan Vuletic)Brazil: The Year My Parents Went on Vacation (Cao Hamburger)Bulgaria: Warden of the Dead (Ilian Simeonov)Canada: The Days of Darkness (Denys Arcand)Chile: Padre nuestro (Our Father) - (Rodrigo Sepulveda)China: The Knot (Yun shui
- 10/18/2007
- IONCINEMA.com
63 films qualify for foreign Oscar category
The animated film "Persepolis", from France, Denys Arcand's "Days of Darkness" from Canada, Johnnie To's "Exiled" from Hong Kong and Cristian Mungiu's Palm d'Or winner "4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days" are among the 63 films that have qualified for Oscar consideration in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences' foreign language film category.
The record number of 63 entries include first-time submissions from Azerbaijan (Farid Gumbatov's "Caucasia") and Ireland (Tom Collins' "Kings").
Nominations for the 80th Academy Awards will be announced Jan. 22, and the Oscars will be handed out Feb. 24.
The complete list follows:
Argentina, "XXY", Lucia Puenzo, director; Australia, "The Home Song Stories", Tony Ayres; Austria, "The Counterfeiters", Stefan Ruzowitzky; Azerbaijan, "Caucasia", Farid Gumbatov; Bangladesh, "On the Wings of Dreams", Golam Rabbany, Biplob; Belgium, "Ben X", Nic Balthazar; Bosnia and Herzegovina, "It's Hard to Be Nice", Srdan Vuletic; Brazil, "The Year My Parents Went on Vacation," Cao Hamburger; and Bulgaria, "Warden of the Dead", Ilian Simeonov.
Canada, "Days of Darkness", Denys Arcand; Chile, "Padre Nuestro", Rodrigo Sepulveda; China, "The Knot", Yin Li; Colombia, "Satanas", Andi Baiz; Croatia, "Armin", Ognjen Svilicic; Cuba, "The Silly Age", Pavel Giroud; Czech Republic, "I Served the King of England", Jiri Menzel, director; Denmark, "The Art of Crying", Peter Schonau Fog; Egypt, "In the Heliopolis Flat", Mohamed Khan; and Estonia, "The Class", Ilmar Raag.
The record number of 63 entries include first-time submissions from Azerbaijan (Farid Gumbatov's "Caucasia") and Ireland (Tom Collins' "Kings").
Nominations for the 80th Academy Awards will be announced Jan. 22, and the Oscars will be handed out Feb. 24.
The complete list follows:
Argentina, "XXY", Lucia Puenzo, director; Australia, "The Home Song Stories", Tony Ayres; Austria, "The Counterfeiters", Stefan Ruzowitzky; Azerbaijan, "Caucasia", Farid Gumbatov; Bangladesh, "On the Wings of Dreams", Golam Rabbany, Biplob; Belgium, "Ben X", Nic Balthazar; Bosnia and Herzegovina, "It's Hard to Be Nice", Srdan Vuletic; Brazil, "The Year My Parents Went on Vacation," Cao Hamburger; and Bulgaria, "Warden of the Dead", Ilian Simeonov.
Canada, "Days of Darkness", Denys Arcand; Chile, "Padre Nuestro", Rodrigo Sepulveda; China, "The Knot", Yin Li; Colombia, "Satanas", Andi Baiz; Croatia, "Armin", Ognjen Svilicic; Cuba, "The Silly Age", Pavel Giroud; Czech Republic, "I Served the King of England", Jiri Menzel, director; Denmark, "The Art of Crying", Peter Schonau Fog; Egypt, "In the Heliopolis Flat", Mohamed Khan; and Estonia, "The Class", Ilmar Raag.
- 10/18/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
'Home Song' dominates Inside Film awards
SYDNEY -- The Australian film and TV awards season kicked off Wednesday with the announcement of nominations for the annual Inside Film awards, with the Australia -Singapore co-production Home Song Stories dominating the 2007 lineup.
Tony Ayres' semi-autobiographical film about a Chinese singer and her family who settle in Australia in the '70s picked up nine total noms, including best feature film, best director, best actor (Joel Lok) and best actress (Joan Chen).
The IF Awards are considered the people's choice awards, voted by readers of Inside Film magazine, although the awards for best director, best editing, best production design and best sound are voted on by industry professionals in each craft category.
Also vying for best picture are Dee McLachlan's independently-financed and produced thriller The Jammed, about the sex slave trade in underground Melbourne, which was nominated in a total of six categories, and Michael James Rowland's gentle comedy about Iranian and Cambodian refugees, Lucky Miles, which received five nominations.
Tony Ayres' semi-autobiographical film about a Chinese singer and her family who settle in Australia in the '70s picked up nine total noms, including best feature film, best director, best actor (Joel Lok) and best actress (Joan Chen).
The IF Awards are considered the people's choice awards, voted by readers of Inside Film magazine, although the awards for best director, best editing, best production design and best sound are voted on by industry professionals in each craft category.
Also vying for best picture are Dee McLachlan's independently-financed and produced thriller The Jammed, about the sex slave trade in underground Melbourne, which was nominated in a total of six categories, and Michael James Rowland's gentle comedy about Iranian and Cambodian refugees, Lucky Miles, which received five nominations.
- 10/12/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
The Home Song Stories
SYDNEY -- There's a fine line between deeply personal and self-indulgent. Chinese-Australian screenwriter-director Tony Ayres' "The Home Song Stories" sits just the wrong side of it.
Examining the ambiguity of his feelings toward his mercurial mother through this semi-autobiographical drama was undoubtedly cathartic. But, in the same way others' holiday snaps can become wearying, being asked to wallow in someone else's tragedy has limited appeal, and Ayres' closeness to the subject seems to have blinded him to the slackness of the narrative.
"Home", which moves on to the Adelaide Film Festival after Berlin, is a good-looking film with limited commercial appeal. It should generate interest on the festival circuit thanks to an intensely committed central performance by Joan Chen. Chen plays Rose, a Shanghai-born nightclub singer with a hard-knock background, who relies on her beauty and charm to get through, using a succession of men as meal tickets.
In the mid-1960s, Chen marries a sailor named Bill (Steve Vidler), another of the many "uncles" in her children's life, and they emigrate to Australia. The story is told through the eyes of young Tom (Joel Lok) who, with his older sister May (Irene Chen), is dragged pillar to post, from "uncle" to "uncle," when Rose up and leaves Bill after just a week in the new country.
Early expositional scenes drag. Rose finally goes back to the long-suffering Bill, clashes with his surly mother (Kerry Walker), moves a young lover in while her husband's away and is thrown out on her ear again. It's clear Ayres, whose debut feature "Walking on Water" won Berlin's Teddy Award in 2002, is more comfortable directing than writing. One shot of the glamorous Rose, poured into a jewel-colored cheongsam and sky-high heels, strutting peacock-proud past the drab, soul-destroying shop fronts of 1970s suburbia distills into a single image much of what Ayres struggles to say about his mother.
Tom, his cinematic stand-in, is torn throughout the film between love, despair, anger, disgust and admiration. Rose is painted alternately as a skilled emotional blackmailer and a damsel in distress. When she's up, the irresponsible good-time girl proves a fun companion to her children. But Rose's emotions always are roiling close to the surface.
When things start to go wrong with her new young love, Joe (Qi Yuwu), she clutches at her schoolboy son like a drowning woman, begging him to look after her, to save her. Ayres' script piles tragedy upon tragedy, with a numbing effect, until all we feel is a vague sense of despair with no chance of resolution.
Random fantasy sequences in which Tom vanquishes his enemies in kung-fu style prove an unnecessary distraction in an already unfocused screenplay. Performances overall are strong, though emotional arcs swing too wildly to get a true handle on the characters.
Production design is first-rate, with the ornamental trappings of Rose's exotic background forming a sharp contrast to the hideous 1970s decor of middle-class Australia. Perhaps garish shag-pile carpets and butt-ugly wallpaper were enough to kill the spirit of a beautiful foreign butterfly like Rose.
THE HOME SONG STORIES
Dendy Films
Big & Little Films and Porchlight Films
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Tony Ayres
Producers: Liz Watts, Michael
McMahon
Executive producers: Wouter Barendrecht, Michael J. Werner, Daniel Yun, Liz Koops
Director of photography: Nigel Bluck
Production
designer: Melinda Doring
Music: Antony Partos
Costume designer: Cappi
Ireland
Editor: Denise Haratzis
Cast:
Rose: Joan Chen
Joe: Qi Yuwu
Tom: Joel Lok
May: Irene Chen
Bill: Steve Vidler
Norma: Kerry Walker
Running time -- 105 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Examining the ambiguity of his feelings toward his mercurial mother through this semi-autobiographical drama was undoubtedly cathartic. But, in the same way others' holiday snaps can become wearying, being asked to wallow in someone else's tragedy has limited appeal, and Ayres' closeness to the subject seems to have blinded him to the slackness of the narrative.
"Home", which moves on to the Adelaide Film Festival after Berlin, is a good-looking film with limited commercial appeal. It should generate interest on the festival circuit thanks to an intensely committed central performance by Joan Chen. Chen plays Rose, a Shanghai-born nightclub singer with a hard-knock background, who relies on her beauty and charm to get through, using a succession of men as meal tickets.
In the mid-1960s, Chen marries a sailor named Bill (Steve Vidler), another of the many "uncles" in her children's life, and they emigrate to Australia. The story is told through the eyes of young Tom (Joel Lok) who, with his older sister May (Irene Chen), is dragged pillar to post, from "uncle" to "uncle," when Rose up and leaves Bill after just a week in the new country.
Early expositional scenes drag. Rose finally goes back to the long-suffering Bill, clashes with his surly mother (Kerry Walker), moves a young lover in while her husband's away and is thrown out on her ear again. It's clear Ayres, whose debut feature "Walking on Water" won Berlin's Teddy Award in 2002, is more comfortable directing than writing. One shot of the glamorous Rose, poured into a jewel-colored cheongsam and sky-high heels, strutting peacock-proud past the drab, soul-destroying shop fronts of 1970s suburbia distills into a single image much of what Ayres struggles to say about his mother.
Tom, his cinematic stand-in, is torn throughout the film between love, despair, anger, disgust and admiration. Rose is painted alternately as a skilled emotional blackmailer and a damsel in distress. When she's up, the irresponsible good-time girl proves a fun companion to her children. But Rose's emotions always are roiling close to the surface.
When things start to go wrong with her new young love, Joe (Qi Yuwu), she clutches at her schoolboy son like a drowning woman, begging him to look after her, to save her. Ayres' script piles tragedy upon tragedy, with a numbing effect, until all we feel is a vague sense of despair with no chance of resolution.
Random fantasy sequences in which Tom vanquishes his enemies in kung-fu style prove an unnecessary distraction in an already unfocused screenplay. Performances overall are strong, though emotional arcs swing too wildly to get a true handle on the characters.
Production design is first-rate, with the ornamental trappings of Rose's exotic background forming a sharp contrast to the hideous 1970s decor of middle-class Australia. Perhaps garish shag-pile carpets and butt-ugly wallpaper were enough to kill the spirit of a beautiful foreign butterfly like Rose.
THE HOME SONG STORIES
Dendy Films
Big & Little Films and Porchlight Films
Credits:
Screenwriter-director: Tony Ayres
Producers: Liz Watts, Michael
McMahon
Executive producers: Wouter Barendrecht, Michael J. Werner, Daniel Yun, Liz Koops
Director of photography: Nigel Bluck
Production
designer: Melinda Doring
Music: Antony Partos
Costume designer: Cappi
Ireland
Editor: Denise Haratzis
Cast:
Rose: Joan Chen
Joe: Qi Yuwu
Tom: Joel Lok
May: Irene Chen
Bill: Steve Vidler
Norma: Kerry Walker
Running time -- 105 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 2/9/2007
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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