Stuart Beattie’s I, Frankenstein begins in Australia in January
Australia is to be the location for director Stuart Beattie’s production of feature I, Frankenstein which starts filming in January, co-producer Hopscotch Features today announced.
Beattie directed Tomorrow When The War began as well as writing, Australia, Pirates of the Caribbean, Collateral and G.I Joe. For the latest project, he has adapted the script from the graphic novel of the same name by Kevin Grevioux, co-creator of the Underworld franchise.
The project is a co-production with Lakeshore Entertainment. It features Aaron Eckhart (The Dark Knight, Rabbit Hole) as the monster, Adam Frankenstein.
Beattie said: “Mary’s Shelley’s story is about the creation of the first human being. This is the story is about that being becoming human.”
We didn’t mean to mislead the public by claiming review was from The Guardian says Surviving Georgia producer
The producer of Australian film Surviving Georgia has insisted that there was no intention to fool the public after a positive comment left anonymously by a reader on The Guardian’s website was promoted in publicity material as if it was an endorsement from the British newspaper itself.
The comment from “lutherfilms” said:
“Overall a film that touches your heart, and leaves you with a smile. What more could you want?”
But producer Spencer McLaren told Encore there was no intention to mislead filmgoers and there had been a slip-up by his marketing team. The film opens in Australia later this week.
Directed by Sandra Sciberras and Kate Whitbread, the film starring Pia Miranda, Holly Valance and Shane Jacobson came under fire last week from Stale Popcorn’s Glenn Dunks and Crikey’s Luke Buckmaster who pointed out the trailer suggests the film received four stars and glowing praise from The Guardian.
FX returns to Australia with zombie apocalypse and wild west drama
The FX channel is to make a return to Australian TV screens after an absence of eight years.
FX will be available on Foxtel from early next year.
The channel, owned by News Corp’s Fox International Channels, will launch with three key franchises – zombie drama The Walking Dead, The Transporter, which is based on the Jason Statham film, and wild west drama Hell On Wheels.
FX aired in Australia from 1995 to 2003 when it rebranded to W to mark a move to more female focused programming. Read more »
Chris Oliver-Taylor shifts from ABC to Matchbox Pictures
Matchbox Pictures – the production house behind ABC and SBS programmes such as The Slap, Leaky Boat, My Place and Sex: An Unnatural History – has announced the arrival of Chris Oliver-Taylor, previously with the ABC, as its managing director.
Oliver-Taylor was the ABC’s head of business and operations. Read more »
Studio picks up new programming at Mipcom
Australia’s pay TV arts channel Studio has picked up more than 40 hours of programming at the Mipcom TV festival in France.
Studio is run by SBS.
The programming includes four new series. Read more »
Producers Sherman and Woss to speak at SPAA event
Two of Australia’s most successful producers have been revealed as speakers at next month’s SPAA Conference in Sydney.
Emile Sherman, Oscar winning producer of The King’s Speech, and Nelson Woss, producer of current local box office hit Red Dog will both speak at the Screen Producers Association of Australia event which takes place from November 13 to 16.
Sherman and Woss will take place in an “on the couch” session at the conference. Read more »
The Hunter: Dafoe vs Tasmania
Hunting the mythical existence of an animal declared extinct, the filmic adaptation of Julia Leigh’s novel, The Hunter sees Willem Dafoe turn in a tense performance while showing off Tasmania’s striking landscape. Colin Delaney spoke with director Daniel Nettheim and producer Vincent Sheehan.
Michod: I’m suffering from decision fatigue
Animal Kingdom creator David Michod has revealed that his directing career is on hold as the film’s huge success has left him with “decision fatigue”.
Michod was speaking at a Screen Australia event in Sydney to celebrate locally made films that have received international acclaim. It won the World Cinema Jury Prize at Sundance.
Michod wrote and directed Animal Kingdom, which was one of the most critically celenrated Australian films in recent years.
Michod was joined on stage by Vincent Sheehan, producer of The Hunter, actress Rachel Blake who starred in Sleeping Beauty and Antony Waddington, executive producer of The Eye of the Storm. While Sheehan, Blake and Waddington championed the effects of international success, Michod told a different story. Read more »
SPAA reveals seven projects to be showcased
Seven film projects have been selected to be put in the shop window at this year’s Screen Producers Association of Australia conference.
SPAAmart, which runs alongside the SPAA conference features projects which are in an advanced state of production.
The criteria for being featured is that they are “well developed, distinctive, fresh and with the potential to be highly attractive to their intended audiences.”
The conference takes place in Sydney from November 13 to 16.
The seven selected projects are: Read more »
Mantracker TV show to involve ‘mystical’ Aboriginal trackers chasing TV conterstants
Active TV, producer of The Amazing Race Australia, is to bring the Mantracker show down under in a TV format which will see Aboriginal people helping track down contestants in the Outback.
The Canadian version of the reality show has run for seven series. Read more »