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Pop quiz: Who had the Number One song of 2024? You’d be forgiven if you didn’t guess that it was the big-voiced yet tender-hearted Atlanta crooner Teddy Swims, whose desperation-tinged soul ballad “Lose Control” has been on the Hot 100 singles chart for a staggering 74 weeks as of this writing, hitting the weekly chart’s summit for a week in March. (It’s still hanging in there at Number 9.) It may have only topped the chart for a single seven-day span, but its out-of-time straddling of R&b and rock,...

In “Healing,” Episode 4 of Live from the Other Side with Tyler Henry that aired on Oct. 8, clairvoyant medium Tyler Henry hosted a reading with Harry Jowsey, from Netflix’s Perfect Match and Too Hot to Handle, and four of Jowsey’s best friends: Chloe Veitch (also from Too Hot to Handle), Kristian Barbarich (whom he met on another dating show), Fara Curry (his COO whom he describes as his “support human”), and music exec Carter Gregory. Throughout the group’s reading, Henry touched on recurring themes of loss, family, and health issues, and personal and professional growth.

Henry, who describes his readings as “memories that aren’t mine,” offered solace to each of his guests who were individually seeking closure or peace to some degree. Jowsey, in particular, was comforted by Henry being able to connect with his mother’s late best friend, and two of his and Barbarich’s mutual friends,...

The next General Hospital spoilers video for Thursday, August 22, 2024, focuses on productive conversations, heart-to-hearts, interrogations, and potentially damaging chats.

Coming up in Port Charles

Uncle Cody (Josh Kelly) and nephew James (Gary James Fuller) have a cowboy-to-cowboy talk. Cody knows he has some explaining to do about how he didn’t “tell the truth about something really important.”

The ladies of Deception show up for another Home & Heart appearance. Lois (Rena Sofer) looks uncharacteristically nervous when she asks Brook Lynn (Amanda Setton) to be honest with her. Meanwhile, Maxie (Kirsten Storms) and Natalia (Eva Larue) have a heart-to-heart. Okay, maybe a better term is an interrogation or a grilling.

At the service for Baby Irene Marie, Willow (Katelyn MacMullen), for some reason, talks about how hard it is to love someone you know you can’t have. And we have questions. How does this conversation even happen? And what is...

Omd — aka Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark — are back, and this time, they’re getting political. On Wednesday, the beloved synth-pop pioneers announced their 14th studio album, Bauhaus Staircase, due out October 27th via White Noise. As a preview, they also shared the album’s title track as its first single.

A follow-up to their well-received 2017 album, The Punishment of Luxury, Bauhaus Staircase was forged during the Covid-19 pandemic, and wears the influence of the time period on its sleeve loud and proud. Isolating themselves, Omd’s members dove into their back catalog of unfinished ideas, using them as launching pads to thematically explore the unfolding turmoil of the world.

The lead single, “Bauhaus Staircase,” captures this dynamic, placing lyrics about artistic freedom, 20th century art movements, and “kicking down” fascism in a crescendoing soundscape of drums, synths, and electronic textures. The single also arrived with an animated music video,...

R&r to distribute in Australia and New Zealand.

Myriad Pictures CEO Kirk D’Amico and his team will launch worldwide sales excluding Australia and New Zealand in Cannes next month on crime thriller The Removalists starring Abbie Cornish, Bryan Brown, and Caroline Goodall.

Craig Monahan will direct for Pointblank Pictures from a screenplay he adapted with Australian playwright and screenwriter David Williamson from the latter’s 1971 stage play.

The Removalists addresses inequity, sexism, and abuse of power spanning 1976 to present day. Brown plays Neville Ross, a decorated police chief forced to relive his disastrous first day on the job when...

Singer Camila Cabello was honoured at Variety’s Power of Women event, presented by Lifetime, for her work with the Movement Voter Fund to launch the Healing Justice Project. Alongside fellow honourees Drew Barrymore, Kim Cattrall, Queen Latifah and Amanda Seyfried, Cabello took to the white carpet ahead of the event and used the opportunity to […]...

The story of three women who embark on a European train-ride tour in honor of their dearly departed friend, “Off the Rails” is inevitably colored by the 2020 death of Kelly Preston, who delivers her final screen performance as a member of this sorrowful trio. Such sentimental circumstances, however, can’t overshadow the creakiness of Jules Williamson’s film, which despite its title Laughs, tears, healing and incessant Blondie songs are all part of its rickety package, none of which is likely to help it make inroads with audiences when it debuts in theaters and on VOD on Dec. 10.

A high tolerance for corniness and the sound of Debbie Harry’s voice are prerequisites for “Off the Rails,” whose tale swiftly reunites lonely Kate (Jenny Seagrove), motherly Liz (Sally Phillips) and discontent actress Cassie (Preston) for the funeral of their fourth musketeer, Anna. Following a service at which Anna’s mother (a cameoing Judi Dench) speaks,...

“I didn’t realize I was the first brand ambassador. That was news to me,” Patrick Dempsey told The Hollywood Reporter during an interview about that new gig as the face for Porsche Design eyewear. While he may have been surprised by the milestone, it’s not a shock considering the 55-year-old’s long-standing relationship with Porsche as one of the brand’s veteran drivers, a co-owner of a racing team and as someone who has stood on the podium hoisting a trophy at the iconic 24 Hours of Le Mans race.

He jokes that he’s taking full advantage of ...

On “Healing,” a new single from U.K. singer Arlissa, orchestral strings introduce waves of pop production and R&b vocal stylings that crash together, resulting in an invigorating anthem. An unpretentious guitar part adds a human touch, and the programmed snaps feel like fresh rain on dry skin. “I thought I needed someone I could run to, but I needed healing,” Arlissa belts. Inadvertently or not, she’s reminding people to take a break and reconnect with their souls.

For the charismatic performer, a lot of growth happened between...

“The year has been in some ways just extraordinary in a beautiful way and it’s been in some ways extraordinary in a really challenging way,” proclaims Mapplethorpe producer Eliza Dushku.

From almost any perspective, that seems like an understatement from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum

Married last summer and expecting her first child this summer, Dushku has seen her more than a decade-long endeavor on the Ondi Timoner-directed film about the controversial and hyper-stylized photographer successfully make it to the big screen. After a premiere at the Tribeca Film Festival last year, the Samuel Goldwyn Film distributed-picture, with former Dr. Who and The Crown star Matt Smith in the title role, made a leap today with openings in NYC, La, Atlanta, Boston, Philadelphia, the nation’s capital and more.

At the same time, Dollhouse star Dushku was thrust into a controversial spotlight of her own as it...

Craig Carter..

One of Australia.s most respected sound designers, Craig Carter, has died in Melbourne.

The multiple AFI award winner had a heart attack last Friday, aged 60. The sound designer, editor, and recordist worked on more than 100 productions in a career spanning 34 years..

He was working with producer Tait Brady on Clayton Jacobson.s film Sibling Rivalry, now three weeks into production..

Brady, who first collaborated with Carter on Craig Monahan.s Healing, told If: .It.s incredibly sad. .Craig was such a great guy, gentle, thoughtful, so good natured and generous. A perfectionist who always went the extra mile and a very smart, sensitive sound designer who was also a musician and had a great musical ear, which fed into his work..

One of his last projects, PACmen, Luke Walker.s documentary on the inside workings of the controversial Political Action Committees which raise millions to support Us political candidates and causes,...

Shane Jacobson in 'Kenny', written and directed by brother Clayton. The two will join forces again on 'Sibling Rivalry'.

The brothers behind Kenny,.Shane and Clayton Jacobson, are set to reunite for a new film, black comedy Sibling Rivalry..

The feature is one of four film projects and seven television dramas supported by Screen Australia in its latest $8.8 million funding round..

The pair will co-star in the film, which revolves around two brothers who, with their mother at death.s door, go to extreme lengths to protect their inheritance.

Clayton will direct the film and produce along with Jason Byrne (Sucker, How to Talk Australians). The script has been penned by Jamie Browne (The Mule, Secret Daughter, Please Like Me), with Tait Brady (The BBQ, Little Acorns, Healing) and Julia Adams (Mako Mermaids,The Day My Butt Went Psycho) executive producing..

Among the other projects funded...

Alison Nisselle, Greg Mclean, Ian Anderson, Deb Cox and Fiona Eagger.

Greg Mclean and Alison Nisselle are among the five industry leaders honoured by Film Victoria at last night.s Screen Leader Awards.

The Screen Leader Awards were established by Film Victoria in 2012 to recognise screen professionals who.ve shown leadership through their achievements and a commitment to further developing the industry.

This year saw the addition of two new categories to recognise writing and directing.

The inaugural Fred Schepisi Award was presented to Mclean, acknowledging his achievements in directing from his 2005 debut feature Wolf Creek through to his most recent film The Belko Experiment, which screened at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival.

Nisselle, whose credits include television dramas Phoenix, Janus, Bed of Roses and the feature film Healing, received the Jan Sardi Award for her significant achievement as a screenwriter.

Deb Cox and Fiona Eagger, the duo behind Miss...

Hugo Weaving has been named as this year's CinefestOZ 2015 Screen Legend with today's launch of the festival's program.

Weaving will be recognised for his achievements as an Australian actor at the Festival.s Gala Night on 29 August at which Australia.s biggest film prize, the CinéfestOZ $100,000 Film Prize, is also awarded to an outstanding Australian film.

.Hugo Weaving is one of Australia's most celebrated actors and a passionate supporter of Australia film, television and theatre in and outside of his work. .

His credits include Stephan Elliott.s classic The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert; Jocelyn Moorhouse.s Proof and The Dressmaker opposite fellow Australian Judy Davis; Rowan Woods acclaimed drama, Little Fish alongside Cate Blanchett and Sam Neill; .Mystery Road directed by upcoming filmmaker Ivan Sen; Strangerland directed by first time director Kim Farrant opposite Nicole Kidman which screened at Sydney Film Festival and Sundance; Glendyn Ivin.s...

Andrew Lesnie was remembered as one of Australia.s finest cinematographers and a warm and generous bloke at a celebration of his life and career on Sunday.

Dozens of collaborators and friends including Sir Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh, Cate Blanchett, George Miller, Chris Noonan, Bill Bennett, Craig Monahan, Jack Thompson and Andrew Mason gathered to pay tribute to Lesnie, who died in April after a heart attack, aged 59.

Ray Martin hosted the event, Remembering Andrew, staged by the Australian Cinematographers Society at Event Cinemas Bondi Junction.

Video tributes from Russell Crowe, Bruce Beresford, Martin Freeman, Sir Ian McKellen, Barrie Osborne, Don McAlpine, Richard Roxburgh, Dean Semler and Peter Menzies Jnr, among others, were screened.

Among the clips of his work shown were The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (for which he won an Oscar) and other Jackson-directed films, The Water Diviner, Babe, Healing and Two If By Sea.

Jennifer Kent has won Best Direction in a Feature Film for The Babadook at the 2015 Australian Directors Guild Awards, held in Melbourne on Friday night.

The Awards celebrate the outstanding work of Australian screen directors over the past year, across 15 categories including film, television , Tvc and content created for the internet.

Other winners included Tony Krawitz for Best Direction in a TV Mini Series for episode five of Devil.s Playground and Matthew Saville for Best Direction in a TV Comedy for Please Like Me.

The ceremony, ordinarily held in Sydney, switched it up this year and took place at the Sofitel Melbourne on Collins.

Hosted by The Chaser.s Chris Taylor, the event honoured the 30th anniversary of Neighbours, with long-serving cast members Jackie Woodburne and Alan Fletcher in attendance along with Ariel Kaplan and Harley Bonner.

This year, the Adg presented both the Michael Carson Award and the Adg/DGA Finders Award.

The Australian Cinematographers Society will dedicate its annual awards to be handed out in Hobart on Saturday to one of its most esteemed members, Andrew Lesnie, who died on Monday.

Acs president Ron Johanson spoke for many when he told If today, .Andrew was one of our greatest cinematographers. It.s a huge loss. He leaves such a void..

Lesnie, who was 59, had been suffering from heart problems.. He won an Oscar for Best Cinematography in 2002 for Peter Jackson.s Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring and a BAFTA award in 2004 for Lord of the Rings: Return of the King.

He shot The Hobbit trilogy and Jackson's King Kong and The Lovely Bones, a collaboration which spanned eight movies and 17 years.

On his Facebook page Jackson wrote, "Andrew created unforgettable, beautiful images on screen, and he did this time and again, because he only ever served what he...

Robert Connolly, Nadine Garner, Sigrid Thornton and Denise Roberts will be among the presenters at next week.s Australian Directors Guild Awards.

December Media's Stuart Menzies will present the Michael Carson Award to Chris Langman and Adg president Ray Argall will bestow the Adg/DGA Finders Award on Craig Monahan for his film Healing.

Celebrating the 30th year of Neighbours, there will be a salute to the 87 directors who have worked on the program.

Representing the soap.s longest-serving cast members, Alan Fletcher and Jackie Woodburne will discuss their experiences.

Two newer members of the Neighbours cast, Ariel Kaplan and Harley Bonner, will also take part as presenters.

Hosted by The Chaser's Chris Taylor, the Adg Awards across 15 categories in film, television, multiplatform, music videos and advertising, will be announced on Friday May 8 at the Sofitel Melbourne on Collins.

Writer-director Craig Monahan will get the chance to screen his film Healing to key industry figures in Los Angeles and New York after winning the Australian Directors Guild.s Finders Award.

In partnership with the Directors Guild of America Finders series, the Adg selects one Australian feature film which is yet to secure Us distribution and is entered into the Adg Awards.

Monahan will accompany the film when it.s screened later in the year for distributors, managers and agents in La and NY.

Adg CEO Kingston Anderson said, .The Adg selects a film that is submitted to the Awards that does not have Us distribution and would provide the director with an opportunity to showcase their work. Healing and its director Craig Monahan fit perfectly for the Finders Award."

Produced by Tait Brady and Monahan.s Pointblank Pictures and co-scripted by the director and Alison Nisselle, the drama starring Don Hany,...

After tying for best film with The Water Diviner at the Aacta Awards, Jennifer Kent.s The Babadook has won the major prizes at the Australian Film Critics Association annual film and writing awards.

The horror movie took the awards for best film, director, lead actress Essie Davis and supporting actor Noah Wiseman.

Emulating his Aacta Award, David Gulpilil was named best actor for Charlie.s Country. Sarah Snook (who was recognised as best actress for Predestination at the AACTAs) was the surprise winner for best supporting actress for These Final Hours.

Gulpilil and Rolf de Heer collected the original screenplay award and Charlie.s Country.s Ian Jones was feted as best DoP. Gulpilil received his best actor statue on Friday evening from Aaron Pedersen (last year's Afca best actor winner for Mystery Road) during the BlakNite event at Treasury Gardens. He dedicated the award to .the spirit of the country and his family.

Russell Crowe's The Water Diviner is in the running for nine awards from the Film Critics Circle of Australia.

The Babadook and Predestination each scored eight nominations for the awards which will be presented on Tuesday 10 March in Sydney.

There are five nominations apiece for Charlie.s Country, Felony, The Rover and Tracks. Some 12 films released in calendar 2014 got nods.

Up for best film are The Babadook (producers Kristina Ceyton and Kristian Moliere), Charlie.s Country (Rolf de Heer, Peter Djigirr and Nils Erik Nielsen), Predestination (Paddy McDonald, Tim McGahan and Michael Spierig), Tracks (Iain Canning, Emile Sherman) and The Water Diviner ( Troy Lum, Andrew Mason and Keith Rodger).

Unlike the Aacta Awards, Crowe was nominated for best director alongside John Curran, de Heer, Jennifer Kent and the Spierig brothers.

Fcca president and ABC Radio host Rod Quinn said, .This year.s nominees show the diversity of the Australian...

The first round of Aacta Award winners have been announced today at the 4th Aacta Award Luncheon held at the Star Event Centre in Sydney.

Celebrating screen craft excellence in Australia, 22 awards were presented, recognising the work of screen practitioners working in television, documentary, short fiction film, short animation and feature film.

The Luncheon was hosted by writer/actor/producer/director Adam Zwar, who was also joined throughout the event by a list of distinguished presenters. including Aacta President Geoffrey Rush, David Stratton, Damian Walshe-Howling, Alexandra Schepisi, Charlotte Best and Diana Glenn.

In the feature film category, Predestination took home the most Awards; with Ben Nott Acs taking out the prize for Best Cinematography, Matt Villa Ase winning the award for Best Editing, and Matthew Putland scooping Best Production Design.

Tess Schofield was honoured with the Aacta Award for Best Costume Design for her work on The Water Diviner while...

Responding to the tough outlook for most independent films, Pinnacle Films is moving away from releasing a large slate of small theatrical titles and instead plans to focus on two or three wide- release commercial films per year. . Augmenting that will be a handful of smaller overseas and local .passion projects. such as the Spierig brothers. .Predestination and Craig Monahan.s Healing. . Pinnacle now looks to pick up films with name casts that have a guaranteed wide release in the Us, handled either by the major studios or the larger indies... . Its 2015 slate is headed by.Autobahn, an action thriller starring Anthony Hopkins,.Felicity Jones (The Theory of Everything), Nicholas Hoult and Ben Kingsley; and The Legend of Barney Thomson, a comedy-thriller directed by and starring Robert Carlyle, with Emma Thompson and Ray Winstone. . .Our smaller films were struggling to get exposure with exhibitors, who have limited space for independent product,...

Director Russell Crowe Movie up for Best Film: Australian Academy Awards 2015 nominations (photo: Actor-director Russell Crowe in 'The Water Diviner') Aacta Awards: Feature Film Categories Best Film The Babadook Kristina Ceyton and Kristian Moliere Charlie's Country Nils Erik Nielsen, Peter Djigirr and Rolf de Heer Predestination Paddy McDonald, Tim McGahan, Peter Spierig and Michael Spierig The Railway Man Chris Brown, Andy Paterson and Bill Curbishley Tracks Emile Sherman and Iain Canning The Water Diviner Andrew Mason, Keith Rodger and Troy Lum Best Director The Babadook Jennifer Kent Charlie's Country Rolf de Heer Predestination Peter Spierig and Michael Spierig The Rover David Michôd Best Actress Kate Box The Little Death Essie Davis The Babadook Sarah Snook Predestination Mia Wasikowska Tracks Best Actor Russell Crowe The Water Diviner David Gulpilil Charlie's Country Damon Herriman The Little Death Guy Pearce The Rover Best Supporting Actor Patrick Brammall The Little Death Yilmaz Erdogan...

Exclusive: Guardian Entertainment International in collaboration with Lightning Entertainment has acquired world sales rights to Jon Hewitt’s action film starring Dominic Purcell.

Turkey Shoot will receive its market debut at Afm this week and is directed by Jon Hewitt, who wrote the screenplay with Belinda McClory.

The action takes place in the not-too-distant future as a disgraced former Navy Seal is allowed to swap a prison sentence for participation in a kill-or-be-killed hit reality TV show.

The film is based on Brian Trenchard-Smith’s 1982 film and also stars Viva Bianca, Belinda McClory and Robert Taylor.

Antony I Ginnane produces and William Fayman, Richard S Guardian, Anthony J Lyons, Trenchard-Smith, Mark Spratt and Peter de Rauch serve as executive producers.

Lightning’s international sales slate includes the comedy Preggoland, drama Bravetown starring Lucas Till, Josh Duhamel, Maria Bello and Laura Dern, horror-thrillers Indigenous, Dark House, The Pack, dramatic thriller Ask Me Anything and Healing with Hugo Weaving.

Nick Matthews. psychological thriller One Eyed Girl has won the jury prize in the .Dark Matters. category at the Austin Film Festival in Texas.

Produce by David Ngo and written by Matthews and Craig Behenna, the South Australian-shot film tells of a psychiatrist, haunted by the death of a former patient, who stumbles upon a Doomsday cult and battles to save a teenage girl from its clutches

Starring Tilda Cobham-Hervey (The Kettering Incident, 52 Tuesdays), Mark Leonard Winter (Healing, Van Diemen.s Land) and Steve Le Marquand (Rake, Vertical Limit), One Eyed Girl will be released in Australian cinemas on April 2, distributed by The Backlot Studios.

The Dark Matters award was introduced last year and was won by Madellaine Paxson.s Blood Punch.

Austin Film Festival screenplay and teleplay competition director, Matt Dy said, "Screenwriters Craig Behenna and Nick Matthews have written a script that, on the page, would very likely...

Aaron Wilson.s WW2 drama Canopy won the jury grand prize and Craig Monahan.s Healing took the audience award at the 16th annual St Tropez Antipodes Film Festival. Rhys Graham.s Galore collected the prize for best female talent for Ashleigh Cummings and Lily Sullivan. Brett Stewart was named best male talent for Everything We Loved, the debut feature from Kiwi writer-director Max Currie. The drama revolves around a magician and his wife who look for a replacement child after their young son dies suddenly. There was a special mention for Galore.s Toby Wallace. The jury headed by Fred Schepisi awarded the best short prize to Miranda Edmonds and Khrob Edmonds. Tango Underpants. Stephen Lance.s My Mistress and Zak Hilditch.s These Final Hours also screened in competition. Wilson has been hosting Q&A screenings of Canopy in Us cinemas. The film is released on home entertainment in Australia this week.

Justine Clarke will play the female lead in A Month of Sundays, director Matt Saville.s follow-up to Felony.

Anthony Lapaglia will star as Frank Mollard, a real estate agent whose life takes an unexpected turn when he receives a call from his dead mother, sending him on a journey of redemption.

Clarke, whose film credits include Healing and the upcoming Maya the Bee Movie, will play Frank.s estranged wife. Saville wrote the screenplay, inspired by his family.s experiences. Screen Australia is co-funding the project, the first narrative feature from Madman Productions.

The producers are Nick Batzias and Kirsty Stark. Voltage Pictures is handling international sales. Stark and Batzias collaborated on the webseries Wastelander Panda commissioned by ABC iview.

Kenny.s Clayton Jacobson is attached to direct Don't Tell Mum I Work on the Rigs, a film adapted from the popular novels and diaries of former oil rigger...

The Santa Monica-based company has reported a flurry of market and post-market activity on its Croisette slate.

John V Soto’s The Reckoning starring Luke Hemsworth, Viva Bianca and Jonathan Lapaglia has gone to Anchor Bay/Starz for North America.

Lightning evp and general manager Ken DuBow announced deals on the crime thriller have closed in the Middle East (Eagle Films), Portugal (Media Page), Scandinavia (Atlantic Film), South Africa (Ster Kinekor), South Korea (Zecon Plus Corp), Thailand (Ipa), Turkey (Moviebox), Mexico (Renaissance) and Israel (Yes/Dbs).

Herschel Faber’s comedy Cavemen starring Chad Michael Murray and Camilla Belle and Alexis Knapp has been licensed to Benelux (Koch Media), China (Melting Culture), South Africa (Ster Kinekor), South Korea (Zecon Plus Corp), Turkey (D Productions), Germany (Lighthouse Home Entertainment) and UK (Bskyb).

Comedy Gods Behaving Badly starring Christopher Walken, Sharon Stone, John Turturro and Edie Falco has gone to China (Melting Culture), Germany (Pandastorm), Portugal (Films4You), South Korea (Joy...

The Wolverine made mincemeat of the fire-breathing monster at Australian cinemas last weekend.

Meanwhile Jennifer Kent.s spooky The Babadook had a respectable opening on the back of positive reviews and copious publicity since its world premiere at Sundance.

Bryan Singer.s X-Men: Days of Future Past, grabbed $8.4 million in the best debut yet for the seven-film franchise. That.s also the biggest opening of the year so far, a tribute to the star power of Hugh Jackman as the Wolverine, Jennifer Lawrence, James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Sir Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart, and Peter Dinklage as the villain.

The mutants cut Godzilla down to size as Warner Bros.. action adventure plunged by 64% to $2.5 million, scoring $10.8 million in 11 days. Takings overall improved by 10% to $15.6 million, according to Rentrak.s estimates.

The Babadook, which stars Essie Davis as a single mother who has to cope with her troubled son (newcomer Noah Wiseman...

The Godzilla reboot cast a long shadow at Australian cinemas last weekend but some of the holdovers held remarkably well, testament to the market.s elasticity when moviegoers are offered a wide range of appealing titles.

Directed by Brit Gareth Edwards, who got the gig on the strength of his little-seen 2010 debut film Monsters, Godzilla grabbed $6.7 million.

While that didn.t match, pro-rata, the whopping $93.1 million 3-day Us debut, the disaster movie featuring Bryan Cranston, Juliette Binoche, Elizabeth Olsen, Ken Watanabe and the CGI-created creature did post the biggest opening of the year in Oz, beating Captain America 2: The Winter Soldier.

After the worldwide weekend take of close to $200 million, Warner Bros and Legendary Pictures are already planning a Godzilla sequel.

Takings shot up by 28% to $14.1 million although the top three titles accounted for $10.8 million, according to Rentrak's estimates. Bad Neighbours, the gross-out comedy starring Seth Rogen, Rose Byrne and Zac Efron,...

The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts is inviting screen professionals to apply to be jurors for the 4th Aacta Awards to be held in Sydney in January 2015.

Jurors must be Aacta members and are sought for these categories: Feature Film Pre-Selection; Short Fiction Film & Short Animation; Documentary Television; Feature Length Documentary; Television Drama; Television Comedy & Light Entertainment; Reality Television; and Children's Television.

Last year more than 100 screen professionals took part in Aacta Awards juries.

Actress Susan Prior (Puberty Blues, The Rover), who was a juror for the 3rd Aacta Awards, said, .The debate between jurors was vigorous and passionate and it was wonderful to hear the thoughts of other jurors who have such a range of deep experience in filmmaking. I was proud that there was such diversity in our final choices and I would be involved again in a heartbeat."

Writer/actor Tony Briggs (Healing, The Sapphires) said,...

Hollywood comedy Bad Neighbours ruled for the second consecutive weekend at the Australian box-office while two Australian films struggled to find audiences.

Despite favourable reviews and copious publicity, Craig Monahan.s redemptive drama Healing had a modest debut, taking $81,000 at 38 screens.

Including previews, the film starring Don Hany and Hugo Weaving has grossed $96,000. Hany plays a criminal serving a long stretch for murder who is rehabilitated by a program caring for wounded eagles and other big birds in a minimum-security prison farm.

Sophie Hyde.s 52 Tuesdays fell by 26%, fetching $17,500 in its second weekend on 10 screens and $80,000 thus far. Both films generated positive reviews and wide media coverage, underlining that sometimes that isn't enough to attract cinemagoers.

B.O. takings totalled a shade over $11 million, down from the previous weekend.s $11.4 million, according to Rentrak, but only two titles clocked more than $1 million.

Neighbours, which stars Seth Rogen and Rose Byrne...

Australian films have raked in $13.7 million at the national box-office this year, a brighter start than the first four months of 2013.

Jonathan Teplitzky.s The Railway Man still ranks as the top title, making $5.5 million this calendar year and $7.3 million since its Boxing Day launch.

Greg Mclean.s Wolf Creek 2 wound up with $4.7 million, a solid number but below the original.s $6.1 million in 2005.

John Curran.s Tracks has taken $2.36 million, a modest result given the mostly positive reviews, Transmission's extensive publicity campaign and Mia Wasikowska.s performance as Robyn Davidson.

The one costly misfire is Stuart Beattie.s $65 million I, Frankenstein, whose fate was probably sealed after the action-horror film bombed in the Us in January.

It.s too early to judge the potential of Sophie Hyde.s 52 Tuesdays, which opened on May 1.

Hidden Universe 3D, Backyard Ashes, Lygon Street: Si Parla Italiano and Uncharted Waters:...

It took scriptwriter Alison Nisselle and director/co-writer Craig Monahan 10 years to make Healing, a redemptive drama which opens in Australian cinemas on May 8.

Nisselle is hoping her next project, a feature on Julia Gillard, will happen rather more quickly.

But she tells If it will take at least two years to complete her research and finish the script on the former Prime Minister.s reign and ousting by Kevin Rudd.

It was announced last year that Rachel Griffiths will play Gillard in Stalking Julia, based partly on Kerry-Anne Walsh's book The Stalking of Julia Gillard. Wtfn.s Richard Keddie is the producer and Emma Freeman (Puberty Blues, Offspring and the Bob Hawke telemovie Hawke) is attached to direct.

Nisselle got the idea for Healing after reading a Philippa Hawker story in The Age about a rehabilitation program caring for wounded eagles, falcons and owls run by the Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary and Prisons Victoria.

Australian films have raked in $14 million at the national box-office this year, a much stronger start than the first three months of 2013.

Jonathan Teplitzky.s The Railway Man has exceeded the industry.s expectations, making $5.5 million this calendar year and $7.2 million since its Boxing Day launch.

Greg Mclean.s Wolf Creek 2 has pocketed nearly $4.7 million, a solid number, although the sequel won.t match the original.s $6.1 million haul in 2005.

John Curran.s Tracks has taken nearly $2.1 million, a modest result given the mostly laudatory reviews, the extensive ad-pub campaign and Mia Wasikowska.s knock-out performance as the .camel girl. Robyn Davidson.

One school of thought is that the film was impacted by competition from Oscar-winner 12 Years a Slave and The Monuments Men.

Another theory holds that many people were familiar with the tale of the young woman.s 2,700 km trek across the Outback and wrongly expected the film...

Aaron Pedersen and Mark Leonard Winter have been added to the cast of The Fear of Darkness, writer-director Chris Fitchett.s supernatural thriller which starts shooting on March 6 on the Gold Coast.

They join the already announced cast of Maeve Dermody, Penelope Mitchell and Damien Garvey.

Mitchell (Hemlock Grove, The Vampire Diaries) will play Skye Williams, a patient in a psychiatric clinic who is accused of a gruesome murder. Dermody (Serangoon Road, Griff the Invisible) is Dr Sarah Faithfull, an empathetic psychiatrist who believes there is more to the case.

Pedersen, who played the lead in Ivan Sen.s Mystery Road and is a regular in the ABC Jack Irish telemovies,. will portray Dr Nicholas Trengrove, a criminal psychologist who tries desperately to ensure that those around him stay grounded and not surrender to any imagined horrors in the dark.

Winter, who appears in Craig Monahan.s upcoming drama Healing...

After 15 years of impressive. work in Australian films and TV series, Don Hany has the chance to make a name for himself in the Us.

Meanwhile young Aussie actress Natasha Bassett has scored a role in a Fox network comedy pilot, Here.s Your Damn Family.

Hany, who starred in The Broken Shore, Serangoon Road, Devils Dust and Offspring, has landed the lead role in Warriors, the pilot for a Us drama series.

Hany will play George Mann, a trauma surgeon for a Us military hospital inspired by the Walter Reed Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland. Caring for injured servicemen takes its toll on Hany.s character. The pilot was written by Chris Keyser (Party of Five, Sisters) and will be produced by Mandeville TV and ABC Studios for the ABC network.

Bassett, whose credits include Mental, Rake, Wild Boys and the Oz-shot NBC series Camp, will play a...

Don Hany, an established Australian TV actor who is virtually unknown in the U.S., has been tapped as the male lead in ABC’s medical drama pilot Warriors, from writer Chris Keyser, Mandeville TV and ABC Studios. Inspired by the Walter Reed Military Medical Center, Warriors follow the best and brightest active-duty military doctors and nurses as they practice trailblazing medicine. Hany will play trauma surgeon George Mann, who can’t stop taking care of these men, though it nearly breaks his heart, every day. This marks the first major Hollywood gig for Hany, who doesn’t have U.S. representation yet. He is well known in Australia, where he has a long list of TV and film credits, including series White Collar Blue and film Lucky Miles. He is getting strong early reviews for his starring role in Craig Monahan’s feature Healing. Repped in Australia by Shanahan Management.

Director Craig Monahan.s first film in 10 years is an intelligent and satisfying drama.

That.s according to the first reviews for Healing, which is screening at the European Film Market in Berlin.

Don Hany, Hugo Weaving, Xavier Samuel and Anthony Hayes star in the film scripted by Monahan (who last directed Peaches in 2004) and Alison Nisselle, inspired by a real-life alliance between the Healesville Wildlife Sanctuary and Prisons Victoria.

.A group of conflicted men, prisoners and inmates discover the majesty of great birds . and through them, the cleansing power of redemption . in the deeply felt outdoor drama Healing,. said Variety's Eddie Cockrell.

.The first film in a decade from director and co-writer Craig Monahan, whose 1998 psychological thriller The Interview remains an uncommonly smart genre piece, this equally intelligent and satisfying item will prove therapeutic to distribs on the hunt for quality fare..

Hany plays Viktor, a crim of Iranian...

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

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

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

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

Only...

Visit SydneysBuzz Reports for the complete Fall 2013 Rights Roundup Report.

With an entire new line-up of films Lighting Entertainment is present at Afm this week. The Santa Monica-based company dedicated to the worldwide distribution and licensing of independent content with a focus on quality theatrical films, has 10 new features in the market. Among them there are comedies, several thrillers, and heartfelt dramas.

Here is Lighting Entertainment's Afm line-up

We Gotta Get Out Of This Place

Director: Zeke Hawkins, Simon Hawkins

Cast: Jeremy Allen White, Logan Huffman, Mackenzie Davis

With his best pal Bobby and his girlfriend Sue getting ready to leave town for college, troublemaker B.J. steals money from his boss, Giff, so he can treat his friends to a wild weekend of partying. Unfortunately, the stolen money belonged to a dangerous gangster known as Big Red. The three teens are forced to rob a local money-laundering front to settle their debt and buy their freedom. They are driven into a world of organized crime to fight for their lives. Deception and insecurities among the three friends increase the tension leading to the heist, making it uncertain who will come out on top — or even alive.

Freezer

Director: Mikael Salomon

Cast: Dylan McDermott, Peter Facinelli, Yuliya Snigir

Robert (Dylan McDermott), an average guy with an average life, is tested beyond human endurance when he awakens to find himself locked in an industrial freezer by Russian thugs. The gangsters threaten his life unless he returns the $8 million dollars he stole from them. The only problem is, Robert has no idea what they are talking about. Searching his surroundings, he discovers Sam (Peter Facinelli) under a pile of boxes in the corner, beaten and battered.

As both men fight for their lives before freezing to death, the truth about their situation slowly reveals itself…

The Reckoning

Director: John V. Soto

Cast: Luke Hemsworth, Jonathan Lapaglia, Viva Bianca

A detective discovers a mysterious video while investigating the roadside execution-style murder of his partner. The footage, shot by two teenagers, reveals murky details behind the death of their sibling in an unsolved hit and run case. The teens have since gone missing, and as the detective retraces their journey to find them, he quickly uncovers a bloody trail of murder...that leads all the way back to him!

Healing

Director: Craig Monahan

Cast: Hugo Weaving, Don Hany, Xavier Samuel, Robert Taylor, Anthony Hayes, Jane Menelaus

After 16 years in prison, Viktor Khadem (Don Hany) is a man who has almost given up on life.

For his final 18 months, he is sentenced to Won Wron, a low-security, rural prison where Senior Officer Matt Perry (Hugo Weaving) has established a unique program to rehabilitate broken men by giving them the responsibility for the rehabilitation of injured raptors – beautiful, proud eagles, falcons and owls. Against all odds, Matt takes on Viktor as his number one test case, introducing him to Yasmine, the majestic Wedge-tailed Eagle with a 2 metre wingspan. If these two can tame each other, anything is possible. Healing is a powerful, moving story of redemption, the discovery of hope and the healing of the spirit – in the most unlikely place, for the most unique men, through the most unusual catalyst.

Inspired by a true story, Healing is a new Australian feature film written and directed by Craig Monahan, the multi-award winning director of The Interview (selected for Montreal, Seattle, Flanders and 30 other international Festivals); and Winner of Best Film - Australian Film Institute Awards

The Wonders

Director: Avi Nesher

Cast: Adir Miller, Yuval Scharf, Yehuda Levi, introducing Ori Hizkiah

This story focuses on Arnav, a graffiti artist and bartender living in Jerusalem. Always wearing a mask, he paints at night, and yearns for the day that his beloved ex-girlfriend Vax will return to him. But when Arnav sees a mysterious stranger forced into an abandoned apartment one night by three bearded men, he becomes involved with a hard-boiled investigator, a gorgeous mystery woman, and the conflicted mysterious captive himself. The captive, Shmaya Knafo, leads a cult of fanatically devoted followers who believe he can see into the future. Knafo may possess supernatural powers, or he might be just a clever con man. As dark, incriminating secrets come to light, Arnav is drawn into a world where lines blur between fact and fiction, and reality and imagination. When loyalties shift, Arnav finds his life turning stranger than his art. His attraction to Knafo’s mystery might be the artist’s way of reaching nirvana...or prove to be a fatal attraction.

Gus

Director: Jessie McCormack

Cast: Michelle Monaghan, Radha Mitchell, Jon Dore, Michael Weston, Mimi Kennedy

Lizzie (Radha Mitchell) longs to start a family with her husband Peter but is unable to conceive. Her best friend Andie (Michelle Monaghan), single and adrift, gets pregnant from a one-night stand and offers to give Lizzie the baby. Reluctantly, Peter agrees to be the child's father, and before he knows it Andie has moved into the guest room for the duration of her pregnancy. When Peter also invites his ne'er-do-well brother to the house, chaos ensues, testing the limits of friendship, family and a marriage. "Gus" depicts the deeply human struggles of these four people, taking a funny and poignant look at the ways we try to plan ahead when life has something else in mind.

Cavemen

Director: Herschel Faber

Cast: Skylar Astin, Camilla Belle, Chad Michael Murray, Dayo Okeniyi, Alexis Knapp, Kenny Wormald

Fed up with one-night-stands and empty relationships, La playboy Dean realizes that he wants something more out of life than just a party. With a little inspiration from his nine-year-old nephew and his best friend Tess, Dean decides to try his hand at finding true love for the first time - which proves to be much more difficult than he thought in modern-day Los Angeles! After a few hilariously bad first dates and some awful advice from his over-sexed guy friends, Dean begins to realize that the true love he has been seeking may be much closer to home. But when he is forced to make a decision between the girl he knows is perfect for him and the seductive party-girl of his fantasies, will Dean finally grow up…or will he just continue the party?

Storm Rider

Director: Craig Clyde

Cast: Kevin Sorbo, Kristy Swanson, C Thomas Howell, Danielle Chuchran

After her father loses his fortune and family home, a privileged teenage equestrian is forced to give up her beloved championship horse and is sent to live in the country with her reclusive uncle. She struggles to adjust to life on the secluded ranch without any friends, her horse, or her Dad, who has been sent off to prison. But after she meets the nice boy from the neighboring ranch, and is gifted a young horse , Stormy, she soon settles into her new life and realizes that this is perhaps where she was meant to be all along. A heartfelt family drama about second chances, finding happiness, and making the impossible possible.

Dead Drop

Director: R. Ellis Frazier

Cast: Luke Goss, Cole Hauser, Nestor Carbonell

After being shot by his best friend, pushed out of a plane, and miraculously surviving a dead-drop from 5,000 feet, Michael awakens to a living nightmare. His memory is limited, and psychotic tendencies have begun to creep in. Defying the orders of his CIA handlers, Michael re-inserts himself into the dangerous Mexican smuggling ring where he was operating deep under cover. He snakes his way through the underbelly of Northern Mexico, hunting for Santiago, the cartel boss who Michael believes threw him out of the plane and who is also holding his girlfriend hostage.

American Idiots

Director: Robert Taleghany

Cast: Jeffrey T. Schoettlin, Sean Muramatsu, Caroline D’Amore, Madeline Merritt

After losing the girl of his dreams to another man, Wyatt and his posse pack their suitcases and head out on the craziest, screwball road trip to Las Vegas to win her back. With less than twenty-seven hours to break up her wedding, they must make it before it is too late without falling apart at the seams and living up to their names... American Idiots!

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

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

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

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

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

Lightning Entertainment, the Santa Monica-based sales, production and distribution company, has acquired international rights to the hit South by Southwest Film Festival comedy, Gus, starring Michelle Monaghan (Source Code, Gone Baby Gone) Radha Mitchell (Olympus Has Fallen, Silent Hill) and Michael Weston (Fox’s “House,” HBO’s “Six Feet Under”), it was announced today by Robert Beaumont, President of Lightning.

The film, which premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival to rave reviews in March, marks the feature film debut of Jessie McCormack, who directed from her own script.

McCormack is also a producer alongside Kathryn Himoff, Kevin Fitzmaurice Comer and Erik Van Wyck. The film is executive produced by Richard N. Gladstein (Finding Neverland, The Cider House Rules, The Bourne Identity). The deal was negotiated by Lightning Entertainment’s Joseph Dickstein and ICM Partners on behalf of the filmmakers. ICM Partners represents Monaghan and Mitchell and is also...

Jonathan Lapaglia and Luke Hemsworth are joining The Reckoning, a film from Lightning Entertainment. The film will be directed John V. Soto (Crush). Hemsworth, much like the third Manning brother, is the lesser known of the Hemsworth clan, that has Thor and Gale as the other members. Lapaglia is the son of Without A Trace star Anthony Lapaglia. Check the press release for more deets on the film.

Los Angeles – Jonathan Lapaglia and Luke Hemsworth will star in the crime thriller The Reckoning, written and to be directed by John V. Soto (Needle, Crush), it was announced today by Robert Beaumont, President of Lightning Entertainment who is set to handle International sales rights to the film.

The Reckoning will start principal photography on April 29th on location in Australia. Deidre Kitcher (Needle, Crush) is producing. Robert Lundberg, Greg Coote, David Calvert-Jones, Roger Savill and Kim Savill will executive produce the film.

We first told you about the new film from the director of the 2010 Australian supernatural film Needle, John V. Soto, entitled The Reckoning, way back in October; and we now have an update on the film's progression for you!

From the Press Release

Jonathan Lapaglia (pictured) and Luke Hemsworth will star in the crime thriller The Reckoning, written and to be directed by John V. Soto (Needle, Crush), it was announced today by Robert Beaumont, President of Lightning Entertainment, who is set to handle international sales rights to the film.

The Reckoning will start principal photography on April 29th on location in Australia. Deidre Kitcher (Needle, Crush) is producing. Robert Lundberg, Greg Coote, David Calvert-Jones, Roger Savill, and Kim Savill will executive produce the film.

The story revolves around a detective who discovers footage at a murder scene, shot by two teenagers, that provides clues to the identity of a killer.

Jonathan Lapaglia and Luke Hemsworth will star in the crime thriller The Reckoning, written and to be directed by John V. Soto (Needle, Crush), it was announced today by Robert Beaumont, President of Lightning Entertainment who is set to handle International sales rights to the film.

The Reckoning will start principal photography on April 29th on location in Australia. Deidre Kitcher (Needle, Crush) is producing. Robert Lundberg, Greg Coote, David Calvert-Jones, Roger Savill and Kim Savill will executive produce the film.

The story revolves around a detective who discovers footage at a murder scene, shot by two teenagers, that provides clues to the identity of a killer. The teens have since gone missing, and as the detective retraces their journey, he soon uncovers a trail of deceit and murder that leads all the way back to him.

Kitcher says that the thriller is “best described as Memento meets Kalifornia.”

A Filmscope Entertainment production,...

Xavier Samuel Set For Australian Drama ‘Healing’ The Twilight Saga: Eclipse’s Xavier Samuel will co-star with Hugo Weaving and Don Hany in Healing, writer-director Craig Monahan’s drama which starts shooting in Victoria on February 18. Samuel, who’ll next be seen in Catherine Hardwicke’s thriller Plush, plays a young, vulnerable prisoner who gets involved in a rehabilitation program involving treating injured birds at a low-security prison farm run by Weaving’s Senior Officer Perry. Hany plays a long-term crim who has almost given up on life. The cast includes Jane Menelaus, Anthony Hayes, Mark Leonard Winter, Robert Taylor and Justine Clark. The producers are Tait Brady and Monahan’s PointBlank Pictures. Monahan co-wrote the script with Alison Nisselle. Andrew Lesnie is the Dop. Lightning Entertainment consultant Richard Guardian is pitching the project to buyers at Berlin’s European Film Market. – Don Groves Dueling Miniseries On Australian Billionaire Gina...

Hugo Weaving is re-teaming with his "The Interview" and "Peaches" director Craig Monahan on the prison feature "Healing" at Point Blank Pictures and Pinnacle Films.

The story centers on real-life prison inmate Viktor Khadem’s (Don Hany) last eighteen months before release after serving a sixteen-year term.

Khadem is sent to Won Wron, a low-security, pre-release prison farm, where Senior Officer Matt Perry (Weaving) has established a unique program to rehabilitate broken men by giving them the responsibility for the rehabilitation of injured game birds, such as eagles, falcons and owls.

Xavier Samuel, Jane Menelaus, Anthony Hayes, Mark Leonard Winter, Robert Taylor, Justine Clarke, Laura Brent and Tony Martin also star.

Monahan and Alison Niselle co-wrote the screenplay, and filming begins in Melbourne and around regional Victoria next week ahead of an early 2014 release.

Source: THR...

I'm glad Hugo Weaving hasn't been stuck with just villain roles since The Matrix. It happens a lot to actors that have played superb villains but just like the best (Gary Oldman, Christopher Walken) Hugo Weaving has shown he's more than capable of playing a variety of roles. THR has news that he will be using some of that range for the film Healing that is being directed by fellow Australian Craig Monahan. The two have worked together before in Peaches and The Interview. The movie also stars...