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A full house greeted Chris Hemsworth as he dropped into the Red Sea Film Festival for an In Conversation event with jury head, Baz Luhrmann. It was something of an Oz fest as the beginning of the conversation was dominated by George Miller and littered with references to fellow antipodean superstars like Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman and Mel Gibson. It was natural Miller was predominant as Hemsworth had flown directly from Comic Con in Brazil, where the first trailer of Miller’s “Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga” was premiered.

“There was a lot of enthusiasm,” Hemsworth said. “We finished filming a year and a bit ago, so there was a lot of anticipation from me and the fan base.” Both Luhrmann and Hemsworth credited Miller as an inspiration on their careers. Luhrmann quoted Akira Kurosawa in praising Miller’s ability to create an “immaculate reality” as a storyteller who showed...

Damian Hill and Ty Perham in ‘West of Sunshine.’

Shooting of M4M began in Melbourne on Monday as the cast and crew regrouped following the death on September 22 of Damian Hill, who co-wrote the crime drama/romance with the director Paul Ireland.

Ireland has dedicated the film inspired by Shakespeare’s ‘Measure for Measure’ to Hill, his best mate who was to co-produce and play Angelo, a character the director described as a fallen angel.

“After Dame died we got together and decided the best thing to do is carry on and make this for Dame,” says Ireland, who first collaborated with the actor/producer/writer in Pawno in 2015.

“Everyone has been amazing and very stoic. Dame and I were like a married couple. We worked together every day. He was so humble, a beautiful person. I feel like I have lost a part of me, but I’m determined to get through this.

David Wenham on set of his directorial feature debut, 'Ellipsis'..

In the second part of his interview with If, David Wenham chats about his recent roles in 'Wake in Fright', 'In Like Flynn' and 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales'...

When David Wenham was offered the role of the police sergeant Jock Crawford in the miniseries Wake in Fright he initially recoiled at the idea.

As a passionate admirer of Canadian director Ted Kotcheff.s seminal 1971 movie based on the Kenneth Cook novel he thought the idea of a remake was ridiculous.

Wenham had watched the restored movie twice, at the Sydney Film Festival and at the Chauvel cinema, rating it as a visceral experience and an incredible piece of filmmaking.

However he changed his mind after reading Stephen M. Irwin.s script for the Network Ten two-parter directed by Kriv Stenders.

(l-r): Jay Ryan, Ewen Leslie (seated), George Pullar, Paul De Gelder, Marco Alosio and Julian Maroun (seated). (Photo: Mark Rogers).

Shooting begins this week in Sydney on Fighting Season, a new Foxtel drama that follows Australian soldiers returning from Afghanistan..

The six-part series looks at a possible cover-up where the "lines between killer and family man, between hero and victim, between truth and imagination, are constantly shifting."

Producer Kylie du Fresne said the series is based on extensive research and interviews with former soldiers about their time in Afghanistan and the realities of coming home and reintegrating into society..

A Goalpost Pictures production, the show will be helmed by director Kate Woods (Looking for Alibrandi), who returns to Australia after a decade working in the Us on programs like Law and Order Svu and Suits. Wasted on the Young.s Ben Lucas will also direct..

The cast is led...

(l-r) Scott Glenn and Mimi Leder on location in Broken Hill.

HBO.s critically acclaimed The Leftovers returns to Foxtel this week after shooting a large chunk of its third and final season in Australia last year.

The show tracks the impact of The Sudden Departure, in which two per cent of the world.s population vanished without a trace, on those left behind.

As the show.s regular director and Ep Mimi Leder (Deep Impact) puts it: .If you.re going to do a show about the end of the world, what greater place to go to than Australia, which is practically at the end of the world to us (laughs)..

Leder and the production team, including creators Damon Lindelof (Lost) and Tom Perrotta (Little Children, Election), on whose novel the series is based, were inspired by the Australian films of the 70s.

.Season two was very much inspired by Picnic at Hanging Rock,...

Sean Keenan.

Puberty Blues star Sean Keenan has nabbed the lead role in Ten's Wake in Fright two-parter, which begins shooting today..

Keenan will play John Grant, a young school teacher who descends into his own personal nightmare after being stranded in the small outback mining town of Bundanyabba.—.the role made famous by Gary Bond in Ted Kotcheff's 1971 original.

Keenan just worked with director Kriv Stenders, who's helming both episodes of the TV redo, on Foxtel telemovie Australia Day.

He's joined in the cast by David Wenham (Seachange, Lion), Caren Pistorius (Offspring), Gary Sweet (House Husbands), Alex Dimitriades (The Slap), Robyn Malcolm (Upper Middle Bogan), Lee Jones (The Bastard Executioner), Anna Samson (Winners & Losers), Hannah Frederiksen (Hunters) and Jada Alberts (Wentworth), with filming to take place in Broken Hill and Sydney.

Written by Stephen M. Irwin, the Wake In Fright mini is produced by Helen Bowden (The Slap,...

In Theaters March 17, 2017 and on VOD and Digital HD March 21, 2017 Syfy Films is pleased to announce the release of the anticipated sci-fi thriller Atomica, in theaters on March 17, 2017 and on VOD and Digital HD on March 21, 2017. The film is directed by Dagen Merrill (“Beneath,” “Broken Hill,” “Murder in the Dark”) and written by Kevin Burke (“Ultimate Spider-Man,” Marvel’s “Avengers Assemble,” “Beneath”), Fred Fernandez-Armesto and …

The post Syfy Films Releases ‘Atomica’ first appeared on Hnn | Horrornews.net - Official News Site...

The theatrical and VOD / Digital HD release of Dagen Merrill's Atomica from Syfy Films is slated for mid-March, and casting as well as a synopsis for the film kicks off today's Horror Highlights. Also: info on The Bye Bye Man soundtrack from the Newton Brothers, images and release details for the zombie film The ReZort, and a trailer for Hostage to the Devil.

Atomica Release Details & Still: Press Release: "New York, NY -- January 11, 2017 -- Syfy Films is pleased to announce the release of the anticipated sci-fi thriller Atomica, in theaters on March 17, 2017, and on VOD and Digital HD on March 21, 2017. The film is directed by Dagen Merrill (“Beneath,” “Broken Hill,” “Murder in the Dark”) and written by Kevin Burke (“Ultimate Spider-Man,” Marvel’s “Avengers Assemble,” “Beneath”), Fred Fernandez-Armesto and Adam Gyngell. The cast includes Dominic Monaghan (the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “Pet”), Tom Sizemore (“Saving Private Ryan,...

If you have found the lack of sci fi thrillers staged in nuclear power plants distressing they SyFy has answered your calls of woe. Today the Us cable network announced the release date for Dagen Merrill's Atomica (formerly Deep Burial and Half Life). The sci-fi thriller will start in U.S. cinemas on March 17th, then will be on VOD and Digital HD on March 21st. Atomica is directed by Dagen Merrill (“Beneath,” “Broken Hill,” “Murder in the Dark”) and written by Kevin Burke (“Ultimate Spider-Man,” Marvel’s “Avengers Assemble,” “Beneath”), Fred Fernandez-Armesto and Adam Gyngell. The cast includes Dominic Monaghan (the “Lord of the Rings” trilogy, “Pet”), Tom Sizemore (“Saving Private Ryan,” “Black Hawk Down”) and Sarah Habel (“Hostel: Part III,” USA Network’s “Rush”). ...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Syfy Films announced today the release of the sci-fi thriller Atomica, in theaters on March 17, 2017 and on VOD and Digital HD on March 21, 2017. The film is directed by Dagen Merrill (Beneath, Broken Hill, Murder in the Dark) and written by Kevin Burke (Ultimate Spider-Man, Marvel’s Avengers Assemble, Beneath), Fred Fernandez-Armesto and Adam Gyngell. The cast includes Dominic Monaghan (the Lord of the Rings trilogy, Pet), Tom Sizemore (Saving Private Ryan, Black Hawk Down) and Sarah […]...

Kriv Stenders on-set..

More than five years since the original, the team behind 2011.s Red Dog have reunited for a sequel, Red Dog: True Blue — that.s actually a prequel.

Given the fate of the first film.s lead characters, that.s a canny move, though not one driven by box office, according to producer Nelson Woss. .

.There's a tight-knit team of the people behind Red Dog, and we wanted to try and find another film. [Writer] Daniel Taplitz suggested this concept which was almost like a reboot, or an origin story, that allowed us to go back and explore themes that were really interesting to [director] Kriv [Stenders] and I, because we both have young kids...

That idea, of going back to the 60.s, firmed up around two and a half years ago, says Stenders.

.It was great that we some had time off and some time to think about it and...

(l-r): Jason Isaacs, Zen McGrath and director Kriv Stenders on the set of 'Red Dog: True Blue'.

Kriv Stenders might just be the busiest director in Australia.

The helmer's first sequel, Red Dog: True Blue, comes out on Boxing Day, he's got Foxtel TV movie Australia Day in the can, and he's currently in the thick of making a documentary on The Go-Betweens.

After that Stenders begins production on Ten's two-part adaptation of Kenneth Cook's Wake in Fright, previously the basis for Ted Kotcheff's 1971 film of the same name: considered by many the greatest Australian film of all time.

For now, the director is focused on True Blue, and admits to nerves in the run-up to its release.

"Look, of course, I'm anxious," Stenders told If. "I know I've made a really good film, I'm really proud of this film. My job is to make...

(l-r): Jason Isaacs, Zen McGrath and director Kriv Stenders on the set of 'Red Dog: True Blue'.

Kriv Stenders might just be the busiest director in Australia.

The helmer's first sequel, Red Dog: True Blue, comes out on Boxing Day, he's got Foxtel TV movie Australia Day in the can, and he's currently in the thick of making a documentary on The Go-Betweens.

After that Stenders begins production on Ten's two-part adaptation of Kenneth Cook's Wake in Fright, previously the basis for Ted Kotcheff's 1971 film of the same name: considered by many the greatest Australian film of all time.

For now, the director is focused on True Blue, and admits to nerves in the run-up to its release.

"Look, of course, I'm anxious," Stenders told If. "I know I've made a really good film, I'm really proud of this film. My job is to make...

Jessica Marais in 'Love Child'..

Screen Nsw has announced it will invest in 20 new Australian film and television projects..

These will include seven TV dramas to be funded under the $20 million Made in Nsw Fund, announced by the Nsw Government earlier this year..

Among the Made in Nsw fund projects are Monkey, a family action-adventure series based on the Chinese legend 'Journey to The West', to be produced by See-Saw Films; Fighting Season, about Australian soldiers returning from Afghanistan, from the producers of The Sapphires and Cleverman; and Friday on My Mind, the story of legendary Australian rock band The Easybeats from the producers of Love Child and The Code. Love Child has also been funded for a further season.

Nash Edgerton is set to make his TV debut, directing Jungle.s Mr In Between, the story of a charismatic yet volatile hitman. Michelle Bennett will produce.

According to new reports, Charlize Theron as the battle-hardened character 'Furiosa' will return for a fast-tracked "Mad Max; Fury Road" prequel, currently in development:

The untitled prequel will be filmed in and around 'Broken Hill', an area in New South Wales, Australia and that shooting could start as soon as later this year, focusing on the backstory of 'Furiosa', played by ("Monster") Oscar winner Theron.

"Mad Max: Fury Road" won Academy Awards for Costume Design, Film Editing, Makeup and Hairstyling...

...Production Design, Sound Editing and Sound Mixing.

Click the images to enlarge, click here for a review of the film and Sneak Peek "Mad Max: Fury Road"...

Reports in Australia’s Herald Sun suggest Theron and director George Miller may return for film that will focus on Furiosa’s backstory

A followup to Mad Max: Fury Road, George Miller’s surprise commercial and critical hit, is in the works, according to unconfirmed reports.

According to the Australian Herald Sun, the untitled prequel “will be filmed in and around Broken Hill”, an area in New South Wales, and that shooting “could start as soon as later this year”. The script is said to focus on the backstory of Furiosa, played by Oscar-winner Charlize Theron.

Continue reading...

For those of you who have been waiting for news regarding a new Mad Max movie, today is your lucky day. The Herald Sun is reporting that director George Miller is currently in development on a prequel to Mad Max: Fury Road.  The news comes from a "highly placed onset source" who says the film is called Mad Max: Wasteland, which is a title that has been previously mentioned as being a working title, and it's currently in pre-production. 

According to the report, the story will focus on Furiosa's backstory, which is something I think a lot of fans speculated could happen. They go on to say that Miller is "gearing up" for the project, which "could start as soon as later this year" at Broken Hill Film Studio in Austrailia. 

Miller has previously said that he plans to make at least two more Mad Max films and that...

Simon Brew Sep 19, 2016

Mad Max: The Wasteland could be shooting by the end of the year, claims a new report...

George Miller was, even as the excellent Mad Mad: Fury Road garnered award nominations and hard cash, working on the idea of another Mad Max film (in fact, it was reportedly on his mind even as he was developing his acclaimed sequel). And according to a new article from Australia, the project he’s settled on is a prequel to the Fury Road story.

The Herald-Sun in Australia has broken the story, that’s neither been confirmed by Warner Bros or Miller. It reckons, though, that filming on the next Mad Max film will take place in and around the Broken Hill area of the country. The report also adds that production could even begin before the end of the year.

Furthermore, it also reports that Tom Hardy – who didn...

Charlize Theron’s Furiosa was such a vital part of “Mad Max: Fury Road” that many considered her the film’s actual protagonist. This naturally led to speculation about a new installment in the series centering around her, rather than Tom Hardy’s Max, and Australia’s Herald Sun newspaper is now reporting that the supposed prequel is already in development.

Read More: “I’d Love To Play This Woman Again, Definitely”: Charlize Theron Is Ready For More Furiosa

A few details cast doubt on the report, namely that director George Miller will once again be returning to the helm of his post-apocalyptic franchise; the Aussie filmmaker has stated in interviews that, should he direct another “Mad Max” movie, it won’t be until he’s done something else first. The Herald Sun is saying that the untitled prequel “will be filmed in and around Broken Hill,” an area in New South Wales,...

Get ready to return to Valhalla, because it looks like the next installment of the Mad Max franchise may very well already be underway. Mad Max: Fury Road was one of the best movies of 2015 and one of the biggest surprises both at the box office and during awards season. It makes sense that Warner Bros. would want to make a follow-up, but we hadn't heard anything about the movie getting underway. Until now.

Don't get too excited, given that nobody involved with the movie has officially said anything definitive, nor has Warner Bros., but a new report claims the movie is already well underway. According to the Herald Sun, a prequel movie with the working title of Mad Max: The Wasteland is currently gearing up for pre-production in Broken Hill, Australia. The tabloid has cited a "highly placed onset source" in regards to the rumor, for whatever that may be worth.

Kriv Stenders on a recce for Wake In Fright in Broken Hill.

The Nsw Government has invested over $2 million to secure four new feature films, four television drama series and four factual TV series, as well as several one-off documentaries, a web series and a multiplatform project. The productions are predicted to create 1080 new screen jobs and generate a direct production spend of almost $35 million in Nsw. Included among them is Ten.s recently announced mini-series Wake In Fright, the first local production to be supported under the Screen Nsw.s $20 million Made in Nsw Fund. The other 15 productions are being supported through the Film Production Finance Fund. According to Deputy Premier and Minister for the Arts Troy Grant the fund can now support many more local film and television productions because funds have been freed-up by the Made in Nsw Fund. The full list of funding recipients: Project: Ali's Wedding...

Before Mad Max: Fury Road began to take shape, rebooting the franchise and giving 2015 one its best movies, there were plans for a true Mad Max 4 sequel that would have had Mel Gibson reprising his iconic role as Max Rockatansky. But as history has revealed, that follow-up was doomed never to happen. And now we have Tom Hardy in the role of the mad one. So, what kept Mel Gibson from donning his one-armed leather jacket a fourth and final time?

Speaking with Yahoo! Movies, Mad Max: Fury Road director George Miller has finally opened up about what exactly happened with his planned Mad Max 4. Which eventually became Mad Max: Fury Road. This reboot was 15 years in the making, and it was an epic journey to finally get it on screen.

The original Mad Max 4 starring Mel Gibson almost moved forward as a real movie twice. The actor was signed on,...

Read: SXSW Review: 'Uncle Kent 2' is the Craziest Movie Sequel Ever Epic Pictures Group has hit the ground running in their acquisitions ahead of the European Film Market, picking up rights for both "Uncle Kent 2" and "Half Life."  Directed by Dagen Merrill ("Beneath," "Broken Hill"), the latter stars Dominic Monaghan ("Lord of the Rings," "Lost") as a lone safety inspector as he is assigned to determine why a remote nuclear power plant has suddenly gone offline. Set in the near future, the science-fiction thriller is Merrill's fourth directorial effort and is currently in post-production.  The ambitious and creative "Uncle Kent 2" premiered at the 2015 SXSW Film Festival, receiving critical acclaim and plaudits for its refreshing take on sequels and its divergence from the mumblecore qualities that its predecessor had. Todd Rohal moves away from the naturalistic nature of the previous film and...

The 27th annual Palm Springs International Film Festival (Psiff) will launch on Friday, January 1 with Klaus Härö’s Golden Globe-nominated and Academy Award-shortlisted "The Fencer." The Festival’s closing night film will then screen on Sunday, January 10 with the U.S. premiere of "Last Cab to Darwin," directed by Jeremy Sims. The Festival announced its complete lineup of films including Talking Pictures, Special Presentations and additional programming. A total of 176 films will screen in this year’s festival from January 1-11.

“Bookending the festival are two films from opposite sides of the globe, both of which promise an emotionally stirring film-going experience,” said Artistic Director Helen du Toit. “'The Fencer' is the ideal opener for Palm Springs – not just because it is a beautifully made film, and a crowd-pleaser, but also because Finnish director Klaus Härö has become a festival favorite over the years. We are equally excited to be wrapping the festival with the Us premiere of Jeremy Sims’ 'Last Cab to Darwin,' a road movie/comedy set in the Australian outback and featuring the irresistible Michael Caton as a man who, while trying to expedite his own demise, finally learns how to live.”

Opening and Closing Screenings

Opening night title "The Fencer" is a Golden Globe nominee for Best Foreign Language Film and Finland’s Best Foreign Language Oscar® submission. The film is about a young fencer in the early 1950s who, while hiding from the Russian secret police, becomes a physical education teacher in an Estonian village. His after-school sporting club brings inspiration to students and teacher alike, but the past catches up and faces him with a difficult choice.

The Festival will close with the U.S. premiere of "Last Cab to Darwin" directed by Jeremy Sims. In this warm-hearted road movie Rex is a loner, and when he’s told he doesn’t have long to live, he embarks on an epic drive through the Australian outback from Broken Hill to Darwin to die on his own terms. But his journey reveals to him that before you can end your life, you have to live it, and to live it, you've got to share it. The film stars Michael Caton and Jackie Weaver.

Talking Pictures

Every year, the Festival presents a series of special programs devoted to exploring the careers and creative choices of the top talents in the world of cinema, including Oscar®-caliber actors and directors in conversation with leading entertainment journalists. Each program includes a film screening and an on-stage conversation.

Golden Globe nominee Lily Tomlin will attend the screening of Sony Pictures Classics’ "Grandma" and participate in an on-stage interview immediately following, presented by Tribeca Short List. Elle Reid has just gotten through breaking up with her girlfriend when her granddaughter Sage unexpectedly shows up needing 600 dollars before sundown. Temporarily broke, Grandma Elle and Sage spend the day trying to get their hands on the cash and their unannounced visits to old friends and flames end up rattling skeletons and digging up secrets.

Director Asif Kapadia will attend the screening of his documentary "Amy," a sympathetic and revealing portrait of Amy Winehouse which employs the singer’s own candid footage and creative visualizations of her lyrics to illuminate the story of her all-too-short life and career.

“The Talking Pictures program creates once in a lifetime opportunities for audiences to hear directly from some of the year’s hottest Oscar ®contenders — and this year is no exception,” said Festival Director Darryl Macdonald. “Golden Globe nominee Lily Tomlin will discuss her widely acclaimed work in 'Grandma' following the film’s screening; and director Asif Kapadia will join us to unpack his heartbreaking, intimate documentary 'Amy.' ”

Special Presentations

The Festival will hold three special presentations. Golden Globe-nominated "The Brand New Testament," which is also the Best Foreign Language Oscar submission from Belgium, directed by Jaco Van Dormael and starring Pili Groyne, Benoit Poelvoorde and Catherine Deneuve. The film is a high-concept satire in which God accidentally sets off a panic after his disgruntled daughter leaks the apocalyptic plans stored on his computer. The U.S. premiere of "Eye in the Sky," directed by Gavin Hood and starring Helen Mirren, Alan Rickman and Aaron Paul, is a thriller set in the world of remotely piloted aircraft warfare. "The Revenant," directed by Alejandro González Iñárritu and starring Leonardo DiCaprio as frontiersman Hugh Glass, is nominated for three Golden Globe awards including Best Picture-Drama, Best Actor-Drama and Best Director.

Dinner and a Movie

The festival will screen the documentary "Cooking Up a Tribute," directed by Luis Gonzalez and Andrea Góme, as part of its Dinner & a Movie program. The film follows famed restaurateurs Josep, Jordi and Joan Roca as they take their renowned El Celler de Can Roca on the road, exploring and incorporating the native cuisines of Mexico, Colombia and Peru in their cooking. And the screening will be followed by a dinner at Mr. Lyons restaurant with a menu by chef Tara Lazar and Masterchef finalist Stephen Lee...

★★★★☆ If there's one thing that Australia has in spades it's miles and miles of open road. Be it tarmacked or dust and dirt, lifelong cab driver, Rex (Michael Caton), covers a fair amount of both driving from Broken Hill, Nsw, through Oz's barren Red Centre, to Darwin at the tip of the Northern Territory. His objective in Jeremy Sims' film: to take advantage of new euthanasia laws and cut short the three months he has been given to live after the recurrence of stomach cancer. "No fuckin' hospitals," says Rexy. He's going out on his own terms and that's that. Adapted from Reg Cribb's play by playwright and director, Last Cab to Darwin raises the right-to-die/euthanasia debate, as well as posing questions of inherent racism.

Due to the large volume of films that the Toronto International Film Festival screens every year, participants often find themselves unsure of how to decide what to see. To that end, festival organisers often distribute the films into numerous programmes to reflect commonalities among them. The Contemporary World Cinema Programme, to that end, looks at the features from filmmakers from around the world, showcasing the talents being displayed from numerous countries.

The full lineup for the 2015 Tiff Contemporary World Cinema Programme has now been announced, adding to the previously announced slate of Canadian Films in the Programme. The films, as well as their official synopses, can be seen below.

25 April, directed by Leanne Pooley, making its World Premiere

Award-winning filmmaker Leanne Pooley utilizes the letters and memoirs of New Zealand soldiers and nurses along with state of the art animation to tell the true story of the 1915 battle of Gallipoli.

The grassroots campaign for Jeremy Sims. Last Cab to Darwin has paid off handsomely as the drama starring Michael Caton, Mark Coles Smith, Jacki Weaver and Ningali Lawford-Wolf opened strongly last weekend.

Benefitting from extensive Q&A screenings across the country following the Sydney Film Festival premiere, the road movie starring Caton as a Broken Hill cabbie who learns he doesn.t have long to live and sets off for Darwin, fetched $1.14 million on 221 screens.

Adding $229,000 from previews, the total is nearly $1.4 million and the film ranked fourth behind Trainwreck, the second weekend of Mission: Impossible Rogue Nation and Fantastic Four.

.We.re thrilled the film has found the audience we hoped it would find and we.re hoping it will have long legs,. says Sims, who spent seven years developing, producing, directing and co-writing the film with Reg Cribb.

Sims and Caton took part in nearly 50 screenings in six...

Jeremy Sims' Last Cab to Darwin will be the first film to premiere under the new Independent Association of Australia initiative, My Cinema Premiere. Both the initiative and the film.s involvement were announced by Icaa CEO Adrianne Pecotic at the opening of the Icaa Conference, held from 5-7 May at Dendy Opera Quays in Sydney. My Cinema Premiere is an extension of Icaa.s hugely successful marketing platform, My Cinema, which was launched at the Conference last year. Supported by Screen Australia.s Enterprise Growth program, My Cinema Premiere has been created to allow Australian cinema audiences - particularly in regional areas - the opportunity to enjoy the excitement and glamour of an exclusive premiere event. The initiative is a branded series of special events and preview screenings designed to build audiences for select films in Icaa Independent Cinemas. Hosted around the country by Icaa, the aim is...

Producer Lisa Duff has joined Screen Australia as investment development manager, documentaries.

She succeeds Mary-Ellen Mullane, who started two weeks ago as senior commissioning editor at Sbs.s National Indigenous Television (Nitv).

Duff has worked on features, TV dramas and documentaries for 15 years. Most recently she produced with Greg Duffy Last Cab to Darwin, Jeremy Sims. road movie drama starring Michael Caton, Jacki Weaver, Emma Hamilton and Ningali Lawford-Wolf; and Anupam Sharma.s Unindian, a romantic comedy featuring Tannishtha Chatterjee and Brett Lee in his first lead role.

Icon will release Last Cab, the saga of a taxi driver who is told he doesn.t have long to live and embarks on an epic drive from Broken Hill to Darwin to die on his own terms, in August.

Her other credits include Sims. Last Train to Freo and the shorts Aunty Maggie and the Womba Wakgun and Footy: The La Perouse Way.

Thirty years after the last instalment of George Miller.s epic Mad Max saga aired at Cannes, Mad Max: Fury Road is set to make a blazing return.

The much-hyped fourth film will screen in Official Selection Out of Competition on Thursday 14th May at the Grand Théâtre Lumière.

Though there is a new actor in the title role (Tom Hardy has replaced Mel Gibson), the essence remains the same: the world is post-apocalyptic, oil and water are scarce, and only the mad survive.

Academy Award winner Charlize Theron also stars as Empress Furiosa who comes across Max while fleeing a gang who are in hot pursuit..

Originally meant to be filmed in the Broken Hill region in Australia, the shoot had to be moved to Namibia after the barren Australian wasteland received a deluge of almost unheard of rain.

Writer/director George Miller will once again take the helm...

With the next major update for Evolve scheduled to roll out within the next few weeks, Turtle Rock Studios has revealed the first two Dlc maps coming to the game. The two pack is scheduled to launch first on Xbox One, with PC and PlayStation 4 getting them later on.

The first of the two maps is the Broken Hill Mine area. Set in a deep maze of caves located below the surface of Shear, Broken Hill Mine is broken up into three distinct areas. The massive mine features several hidden entryways for the monster of your choice to bust through. Since you are still running through caves, though, most of the action between hunters and monsters will be of the close-quarters variety.

The second map, which actually takes place above the first one, is the Broken Hill Foundry. A more industrial friendly locale, the Broken Hill Foundry is a mix...

Little Accidents director Sara Colangelo with Anne-Katrin Titze on casting Elizabeth Banks: "I had seen her in W and I loved her in the role of Laura Bush." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

On a bitterly cold evening following a sold out opening night screening in New York at Cinema Village's #1 theater of Sara Colangelo's smartly woven Little Accidents, starring Elizabeth Banks, Boyd Holbrook, Jacob Lofland, Josh Lucas, Chloë Sevigny with Beau Wright, Alexia Rasmussen and James DeForest Parker, I spoke with the director and producers Anne Carey and Summer Shelton and the enthusiastic audience joined in.

Jacob Lofland as Owen: "In the case of Owen's storyline, you might feel the horror of it more standing back."

As we were waiting for the screening to conclude, Sara mentioned to me Mike Nichols' Silkwood, Atom Egoyan's The Sweet Hereafter and John Ford's How Green Was My Valley as inspirations.

Total screen drama production in Australia has increased a healthy 11 per cent from last year, raising the total spend to $837 million . the highest on record.

According to the Screen Australia 2013/2014 Drama Report, released today, the sector as a whole is in a strong position across all states.

South Australia in particular broke records with the value of drama production in the state increasing almost 50 per cent on last year.s record levels ($50M) to $73 million.

Other highlights include domestic production levels accounting for over 76 per cent of the overall drama expenditure, clocking up a tidy $640 million; as well as the production of feature films rising 18 per cent to a spend of $297 million. This increase was due in part Russell Crowe.s The Water Diviner, to be released on Boxing Day, and Alex Proyas. Gods of Egypt. International co-productions such as Maya the Bee and Life also contributed significantly.

The 2013/2014 Australian...

Screen Nsw is investing $400,000 in 2:22, a psychological thriller from Australian writer-director Paul Currie.

Teresa Palmer will star as a woman who gets involved with a guy who is drawn by a bizarre pattern of events to Central Station every day at 2:22pm and. discovers this is the time and location of a murder 27 years ago..

Currie told If he has pushed back the start of production until early next year while the search continues for the lead male and another key character, the ex-boyfriend of Palmer.s character.

Icon will release in Australia and Good Universe is handling international sales. According to Screen Nsw the production will spend nearly $8.1 million in Nsw. Currie said the budget will be $11 million- $12 million.

In the latest funding round Screen Nsw is also investing $25,000 from the production finance fund and $50,000 from the regional filming fund in Outback ER, Screentime.s 8 x 30. observational documentary series for ABC TV,...

Queenslanders hoping to get in on the Hollywood action will have the chance to put their properties on display to prospective film location scouts by using a new crowd-sourcing tool on their mobile phones. The tool is a mobile app called Screen Queensland (Sq) Location Gallery, Crew & Facilities Directories, which lets users register their properties as potential film sets. When the details of these properties are uploaded, screen industry professionals can quickly and efficiently find the most suitable locales for their productions. Behind the scenes of this new scheme is the government.s screen agency Screen Queensland, which has initiated a partnership with the Us-based developer Reel Scout to deliver on the Campbell Newman government.s election promise of .arts for all Queenslanders.. The tool has been used by a wide variety of clients across the globe including other government screen agencies across Australia such as ScreenNSW, Gold Coast Film Office,...

The reboot for the Mad Max franchise, Mad Max: Fury Road, has been in development for a long time. Part of that was out of the production's control. Filming was set to begin in November 2011, but the location had to be changed after heavy rains changed the landscape of Broken Hill. The production then moved to Namibia, but the delays caused recasting and rearranging the actors' schedules. Then in November 2013, the movie required heavy reshoots. The studio finally set down May 2015 for the release date, and yesterday was the first test screening. Hit the jump to read the new synopsis along with the mixed reactions to the screening. The film stars Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Zoe Kravitz, Riley Keough, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Hugh Keays-Byrne, and Nathan Jones. Mad Max: Fury Road opens May 15, 2015. First, here's the new synopsis for Mad Max: Fury Road: “Mad Max: Fury Road is...

I’m openly hopping on the Brandon Harris bandwagon and declaring Tribeca’s programming vastly underrated. Leaps and bounds ahead of SXSW, much of the curation this year proved artful and risky, with standouts including Fishtail, Güeros, Young Bodies Heal Quickly, Gabriel, Broken Hill Blues, Ne Me Quitte Pas, Glass Chin, 1971, Summer of Blood and so forth. Even its selections that didn’t completely click were admirable in their aims. It’s frustrating then that the winners feel so incredibly safe. Particularly, the gifting of the Best Documentary prize to a two-time Academy Award nominee, when I can think of no fewer than five first timers in competition who were more deserving of both […]...

I’m openly hopping on the Brandon Harris bandwagon and declaring Tribeca’s programming vastly underrated. Leaps and bounds ahead of SXSW, much of the curation this year proved artful and risky, with standouts including Fishtail, Güeros, Young Bodies Heal Quickly, Gabriel, Broken Hill Blues, Ne Me Quitte Pas, Glass Chin, 1971, Summer of Blood and so forth. Even its selections that didn’t completely click were admirable in their aims. It’s frustrating then that the winners feel so incredibly safe. Particularly, the gifting of the Best Documentary prize to a two-time Academy Award nominee, when I can think of no fewer than five first timers in competition who were more deserving of both […]...

Mining town Kiruna in Northern Sweden: "There were some mining poems, old ones, about seeing the lights and being in the shadow." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

Broken Hill Blues (Ömheten) director Sofia Norlin and I arranged to meet at the Tribeca Film Festival press lounge to have a follow up conversation after her Tribeca Talks: Pen to Paper - Calling the Shots panel appearance. We spoke about working with light, a small crew, meeting editor Thelma Schoonmaker, Aki Kaurismäki's pastel colors, workers' lyricism, gender, nature and Dh Lawrence.

Broken Hill Blues is a filmic ballad of a northern Swedish mining town that is in danger of collapsing into the earth. Norlin explores the worlds above and sometimes below ground of adults, teenagers, and children who go about their daily lives and encounter love, wilderness, anger, and themselves among the ferns or driving an old car.

Broken Hill Blues' director Sofia Norlin...

l - r Eric Kohn with Marshall Curry, Ira Sachs, Sofia Norlin and Orlando von Einsiedel at the Tribeca Talks: Calling The Shots. Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

On Easter Sunday in New York, directors Sofia Norlin (Broken Hill Blues with Sebastian Hiort af Ornäs and Lina Leandersson); Marshall Curry (Point And Shoot on Matthew VanDyke's struggles); Ira Sachs (Love Is Strange, starring John Lithgow, Marisa Tomei and Alfred Molina) and Orlando von Einsiedel (Virunga on the plight of Park Director Emmanuel de Merode and the Mountain Gorillas) convened for a Tribeca Talks: Pen to Paper - Calling The Shots panel.

Robert Altman's Nashville, Joshua Oppenheimer's The Act Of Killing, Michael Moore's Roger And Me, Hoop Dreams directed by Steve James, Rob Epstein's The Times Of Harvey Milk, John Schlesinger's Midnight Cowboy and the oeuvre of Andrei Tarkovsky played a part in the way the filmmakers thought about time.

Sydney -- Production on upcoming Australian indie feature, Strangerland, starring Nicole Kidman, is getting under way in Sydney this week, with Joseph Fiennes replacing Guy Pearce as Kidman’s husband in the film. Pearce had to quit the film last month due to scheduling conflicts. Filming will also take place in the outback towns of Canowindra and Broken Hill for the mystery drama, which tells the story of Catherine (Kidman) and Matthew Parker (Fiennes), whose relationship is pushed to the brink when their two teenage children disappear into the remote Australian desert and they are forced to confront the mystery of their

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Teenage Australian model Maddison Brown makes her acting debut in Strangerland, the Kim Farrant-directed mystery drama which has started shooting in Sydney. Nicole Kidman and Joseph Fiennes play a couple whose lives unravel after their two teenage children go missing in the Australian desert. Hugo Weaving plays the cop who leads the investigation. Brown and Nicholas Hamilton (Mako: Island of Secrets) play the missing kids. Lisa Flanagan (The Gods of Wheat Street, Redfern Now) portrays an Indigenous woman who is having an affair with Weaving's character and Meyne Wyatt (The Sapphires, Redfern Now) is a handyman who works for the couple. Fiona Seres and Michael Kinirons wrote the screenplay. The producers are Dragonfly Pictures. Naomi Wenck and Fastnet Films. Macdara Kelleher. An Australian/Irish co-production, it.s the first feature directed by Farrant, whose credits include TV.s Rush and the documentary Naked on the Inside. Kidman said, .I...

Joseph Fiennes has replaced Guy Pearce as the co-lead in Strangerland, the Kim Farrant-directed drama about a couple whose teenage kids disappear. . The .news was broken by Deadline.com, which did not explain why Pearce dropped out. However Variety reports that Pearce is in talks to play Whitey Bulger.s brother in Warner Bros.' Black Mass, which will star Johnny Depp as Bulger, the Boston crime boss and FBI informant. Joel Edgerton is also on board that film, which will be directed by Scott Cooper (Crazy Heart). Nicole Kidman and Hugo Weaving are attached to star in Strangerland,. which is scripted by Fiona Seres and Michael Kiniron and produced by Naomi Wenck and Macdara Kelleher. . Transmission is the Australian distributor and Wild Bunch is selling international rights. Screen Australia is among the investors. Shooting is due to start soon in and around Broken Hill. The DoP is P.J. Dillon,...

The deeply unsettling Australian New Wave classic Wake in Fright makes a long-awaited and welcoming return to cinemas this weekend. We recently spoke to the film’s director Ted Kotcheff about his experiences whilst making the movie in the sweltering and barren Aussie outback. The veteran filmmaker (who has worked on a number of varied and well-loved features in his career, including First Blood and Weekend at Bernie’s) talked candidly about the initial challenges faced in bring this weird, booze-drenched tale to the screen.

HeyUGuys: What drew you to the material originally? It’s not the most obvious of choices for a Us-based filmmaker.

Ted Kotcheff: I’d just done a project in the UK with a writer friend of mine named Evan Jones and we were hired by a film company over there. Evan told me of this wonderful Australian book which he thought would be right up my alley.

By the looks of it, the Tribeca Film Festival might finally be growing out of their awkward teenage phase and moving into a new era where the nab more than just Sundance and SXSW festival rejects. Artistic Director Frederic Boyer has managed to nab some noteworthy American indie projects such as Lou Howe’s Gabriel (see pic above), Keith Miller’s Five Star, Adam Rapp’s Loitering with Intent, and Tristan Patterson’s Electric Slide.

On the docu front, we’ve got the latest from the likes of notable documentarians Marshall Curry and Jessica Yu. Think Ewan McGregor’s Long Way Round meets child solider movie for Curry’s awesomely titled Point and Shoot — where the Libyan rebel army take hold of Curry’s subject. Yu moves from water shortage in Last Call at the Oasis (read our review) to the biggest pandemic of all; Misconception looks at the consequences...

The 13th Tribeca Film Festival has announced half its slate for next month’s New York celebration, which runs April 16-27. Culled from more than 6,000 submissions, Tribeca 2014 includes 55 world premieres, 37 first-time filmmakers, and 22 female directors. “Variously inspired by individual interests and experience and driven by an intense sensibility of style, the array of new filmmaking voices in this year’s competition is especially impressive and I think memorable,” said Frederic Boyer, Tribeca’s artistic director. “The range of American subcultures and international genres represented here are both eclectic and wide reaching.”

On April 17, Gabriel will open the World Narrative competition,...

Tribeca Film Festival top brass have announced (4) the World Narrative and Documentary Competition film selections and Viewpoints titles, comprising 47 of the 89 features that will screen at the festival over April 16-27.

The World Narrative Feature Competition will open with the world premiere of Lou Howe’s Gabriel starring Rory Culkin, while the corresponding documentary category kicks off with the world premiere of Frédéric Tcheng’s Dior And I (pictured).

Viewpoints opens with the world premiere of Onur Tukel’s Summer Of Blood and the section includes the North American premiere of Diao Yinan’s Berlin Golden Bear winner Black Coal, Thin Ice as well as the Us premiere of David Mackenzie’s Starred Up.

All three sections will commence on April 17. As previously announced, the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival will open with documentary Time Is Illmatic a day earlier.

Overall the festival will screen features from 32 countries including 55 world premieres, six international premieres, 12 North American...

UK-based Australian actress Emma Hamilton and The Gods of Wheat Street.s Mark Coles Smith have joined the cast of Last Cab to Darwin, Jeremy Sims. road movie drama about a man who is told he doesn.t have long to live and embarks on an epic drive from Broken Hill to Darwin to die on his own terms. On his journey he discovers that before you can end your life you have to live it and to live it, you have to share it.

Shooting is due to start in Broken Hill in early May, with Greg Duffy and Lisa Duff producing and Michael Caton in the lead. Reg Cribb (Bran Nue Dae, Last Train to Freo) and Jeremy Sims wrote the screenplay, which was inspired by the cases of Max Bell and Bob Dent. Bell was a terminally ill cab driver who drove 3,000 km from his home in...

Anna Odell’s drama wins best film at the Guldbagge Awards; Per Fly’sWaltz for Monica (Monica Z) wins four.

Anna Odell’s feature debut The Reunion (Återträffen) received two top prizes at the 50th Guldbagge Awards in Sweden last night. The depiction of a class reunion after 20 years won Best Film and Best Screenplay.

Odell, who wrote the screenplay, said on stage: “I usually say things how they are, but I’m really bewildered. Long live art, life and liberty! And culture and everything.”

It marks the third consecutive year that a debut female filmmaker collected the Best Film statuette after Lisa Aschan’s She Monkeys (Apflickorna) and Gabriela Pichler’s East Sleep Die (Äta sova dö).

Produced by Mathilde Dedye, for French Quarter Film, The Reunion previously picked up the Fipresci prize for Best First Feature in Venice last August and is set to screen at the Rotterdam Film Festival (Jan 22 - Feb 2).

The night’s...

Per Fly’s biopic leads Swedish film award nominations with 11 nods, followed by Shed No Tears, The Reunion and Hotell.Scroll down for full nominations

Waltz With Monica (Monica Z), from Danish director Per Fly, leads the race for the Guldbagge (Golden Beetle) – the Swedish national film awards, now in its 50th year – with 11 nominations.

The story of legendary Swedish singer-actress Monica Zetterlund stars Edda Magnason in her first film role.

The biopic has been nominated for best film, best director, best cinematography and best actress for Magnason. Its other nominations include two of the three slots in the best supporting actor category for Kjell Bergqvist and Sverrir Gudnason.

Shed No Tears (Känn ingen sorg), about a man who dreams of success in the music world, has secured nine nominations. The film is directed by Måns Mårlind and Björn Stein, back from Hollywood after directing action sequel Underworld: Awakening.

The duo have been nominated for best director...