All articles by Sandy George – Page 37
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Little Fish swims into lead for AFI Awards
Rowan Woods' Little Fish has received the largestnumber of nominations for this year's AFI (Australian Film Institute) Awards,announced today in Melbourne, with 13 nods including best film. Look Both Ways and two UK-Australian co-productions, The Proposition and OysterFarmer, were also nominated for best film. Three of the best filmnominees, Little ...
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AFI Awards to get makeover for TV debut
Organisers of the AFI(Australian Film Institute) Awards have revealed a major revamp on the heels ofthe recent announcement that the event is being hosted by Russell Crowe.The awards have been splitinto a craft and non-feature awards event on Friday November 25 at theWaterfront City Pavilion and a cocktail party and ...
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IndiVision project West set to crank up in Sydney
West, the second film greenlit under the Australian FilmCommission's new low-budget initiative IndiVision, is scheduled to startproduction in Sydney next week. The first draft of the film waswritten by its writer/director Daniel Krige about 20 years ago when he was just16 years of age.The film stars young actorsNathan Phillips, whose ...
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Wolf Creek release hit by Oz murder trial
A murder trialthat starts on Monday (Oct 17) has led to Australian distributor Roadshowwithdrawing home-grown horror flick Wolf Creek from some cinema screens at the requestof the Director of Public Prosecutions. The film will nolonger be shown in the Northern Territory from November 3 but will be releasedeverywhere else in ...
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Becker picks up world rights to Cattaneo's Dream
Becker Films Internationalhas snapped up world sales rights to the finished film Opal Dream, setin outback Australia and helmed by Full Monty director PeterCattaneo.The UK-Australianco-production started life on the Renaissance Films slate but was orphaned whenthe UK sales agent folded. It had its world premiere at theDinard British Film Festival ...
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Crowe to host Australian Film Institute Awards
One of the biggest names inshow business anywhere in the world, actor Russell Crowe, is to host the 2005Australian Film Institute (AFI) Awards in November in Melbourne.In a statement announcing thenews, Crowe said the ceremony will be "irreverent and respectful in equalmeasures". He continued: "Interesting TV, that's the aim. Fast-paced, ...
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Australia's FFC announces funding for seven features
Film Finance CorporationAustralia (FFC) has agreed to invest in seven features, two of which will behandled internationally by Celluloid Dreams and two by Arclight Films.The seven projects include actor/theatre director Richard Roxburgh'sdirectorial debut Romulus, My Father, to star Eric Bana; director CherieNowlan's long-awaited follow-up to Thank God He Met Lizzie, ...
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Rialto picks up rights to Tsotsi, C.R.A.Z.Y.
Rialto Distribution has picked up C.R.A.Z.Y. and Tsotsi,two of the major prize winners at the Toronto International Film Festival, fordistribution in Australia and New Zealand.Both films are also official entries in the best foreign film categoryof the 2006 Academy Awards: C.R.A.Z.Y. for Canada and Tsotsi forSouth Africa.C.R.A.Z.Y. won the Toronto ...
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Arclight picks up Aussie war story
Arclight Films has boarded anuntitled war story about Australian soldiers in Papua New Guinea during World War II, which gives former Film FinanceCorporation Australia (FFC) head Catriona Hughes her first credit as producer.The film, which startsshooting on September 30, also marks the feature debut of director AlisterGrierson, whose short film ...
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Fiji makes Oscar bid with The Land Has Eyes
Fiji has made its first ever attempt to win an Academy Award by submitting TheLand Has Eyes for the best foreign-language film category. In order to qualify,Australian-based distributor Ronin Films opened the film at the only multiplexin the Fijian capital of Suva on September 8, where it took a respectable ...
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Little Fish hooks Oz audiences
Little Fish has had the biggest opening for an Australian filmthis year in its home territory.Director Rowan Woods' secondfilm grossed $502,000 (A$655,672) in the week to September 14, coming seventhin the film chart. Distributor Icon says thisresult is comparable to Lantanaand Japanese Story, which went onto gross $9.4m and $3.5m ...
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Exhibitors team up for Australia's biggest arthouse cinema
Australia is to get its biggest purpose-built arthouse cinemain late 2006, a nine-screen complex in the national capital of Canberra that will link the Dendy and Electric Shadowsbrands. It will also be the firstspecialist complex to feature small, intimate auditoriums - two 35-seaters -with food and beverage delivered directly to ...
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Roadshow loses appeal against Wolf Creek rating
Distributor Roadshow haslost its appeal against the R18+ rating handed down three weeks ago to localhorror picture Wolf Creek, which it releases in cinemas on November 3.It was a unanimous decision madeby the three-member panel of the Classification Review Board and the deputyconvenor of the board. Former memberof parliament Trevor ...
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Wrenn lights up Firesign but keeps Celluloid gig
Michael Wrenn, who heads Celluloid Dreams' Pacific office, has launcheda production outfit, Firesign, and won New Zealand Film Commission (NZFC)development money for the feature Electric.Wrenn is working with debut director Brendan Donovan and writer ChadTaylor, who is adapting the script from his own novel. The story, set in thechaos of ...
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Sklan moves from AFC to SBS Independent
The Australian Film Commission (AFC) has lost its head of development CaroleSklan to SBS Independent.Sklan will be the new commissioning editor of drama for the productionarm of the multicultural broadcaster, replacing Miranda Dear, who recentlymoved to fellow public broadcaster ABC. Sklan, who remains based in Melbourne, will commissionAustralian drama series ...
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McLean, Weinsteins reteam for crocodile horror
The creative team behind red hot Australian horror movie Wolf Creek, including writer/director Greg McLean, is preparing to shoot Rogue, a film about a giant crocodile stalking tourists in the Australian outback that will be majority financed by The Weinstein Co.A large staff is known to be well into pre-production ...
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Movie Network, Tropfest launch Oz low-budget film push
The push to turn Australia'sfilm industry into a low-budget Mecca continues with the news that the giantoutdoor short film competition Tropfest and pay TV channel the Movie Networkwill fund a $770,000 (A$1m) feature for each of the next three years.Tropfest attracts up to 700short film entries each year and several ...
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Wallace And Gromit enjoy upbeat Oz world premiere
Aardman/DreamWorks animation WallaceAnd Gromit: TheCurse Of The Were-Rabbit world premiered in Sydney on Sunday (Sep 4) - three weeks before the US and four weeks ahead of theUK. The film goes wide in Australia on Sep 15.The positive reaction of the severalhundred strong audience - the majority of them young ...
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Oscar nominated director cranks up Eagle vs Shark
Eaglevs Sharkfrom Academy Award nominated writer/director Taika Waititi is to be the firstfeature for Whenua Films, set up in 2004 by producer Ainsley Gardiner and CliffCurtis, one of New Zealand's best-known actors.Thefilm has been fully financed by the New Zealand Film Commission. The fundingoutfit's sales division is handling international sales. ...
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Australian hit ready for international breakout
TheAustralian drama Look Both Ways may become the country's long-awaited international breakout after taking $230,000(A$300,000) on home soil in its first week from only 17 screens.The film, which has its international premiere at Toronto, has beenthe number one film in every cinema in which it opened and was the seventh ...