Australian New Wave
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Peter Weir was born on 21 August 1944 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is a director and writer, known for Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003), The Way Back (2010) and Witness (1985). He has been married to Wendy Stites since 1966. They have two children.- Producer
- Writer
- Director
George Miller is an Australian film director, screenwriter, producer, and former medical doctor. He is best known for his Mad Max franchise, with Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (1981) and Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) being hailed as amongst the greatest action films of all time. Aside from the Mad Max films, Miller has been involved in a wide range of projects. These include the Academy Award-winning Babe (1995) and Happy Feet (2006) film series.
Miller is co-founder of the production houses Kennedy Miller Mitchell, formerly known as Kennedy Miller, and Dr. D Studios. His younger brother Bill Miller and Doug Mitchell have been producers on almost all the films in Miller's later career, since the death of his original producing partner Byron Kennedy.
In 2006, Miller won the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature for Happy Feet (2006). He has been nominated for five other Academy Awards: Best Original Screenplay in 1992 for Lorenzo's Oil (1992), Best Picture and Best Adapted Screenplay in 1995 for Babe (1995), and Best Picture and Best Director for Mad Max: Fury Road (2015).- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Fred began in advertising in Melbourne, Australia, working in an ad agency before joining the film production house, Cinesound. Two years later he founded the Film House directing both TV commercials and PR documentaries. His first foray into feature film making was The Priest, one chapter of the portmanteau film, Libido (1974). His first feature- length film was The Devil's Playground (1975), which won 6 AFI awards and established Fred's reputation as a talented producer, director, writer. The success of his second film The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1977) with Tommy Lewis, Freddie Reynolds. This took Fred to the U.S. where he directed Barbarosa (1981),with Willie Nelson, Gary Busey, Iceman with Timothy Hutton, John Lone (1983), Plenty (1985) starring Meryl Streep, Charles Dance, Sir John Gielgud and Sam Neil, Roxanne (1987) starring Steve Martin and Daryl Hannah. Fred returned to Australia to co-write and direct Evil Angels (aka A Cry in the Dark, 1988) from the novel by John Bryson, starring Meryl Streep and Sam Neil. Other films Fred directed and produced are The Russia House (1990) Sean Connery and Michele Pfeiffer, Mr. Baseball (1992) Ken Takakura, Tom Selleck, and Aya Takanashi. Six Degrees of Separation (1993) Stockard Channing, Donald Sutherland and Will Smith, then directed and co-produced IQ (1994) with Walter Matthau, Meg Ryan and Tim Robbins. Fred directed a re-shoot and restructure of Fierce Creatures (1996) John Cleese, Kevin Kline, Jamie Lee Curtis. Then he wrote the screenplay, produced and directed Last Orders (2000) Ray Winston, Michael Caine, Bob Hoskins. Soon after he directed and co-produced It Runs in the Family (2002) with Kirk, Michael and Cameron Douglas, Bernadette Peters and Michele Monaghan. Fred directed and co-produced Richard Russo's Empire Falls (2004) featuring Paul Newman, Ed Harris, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Joanne Woodward, Robin Wright Penn and Helen Hunt for HBO. It was nominated for a number of awards and won the Golden Globe for Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture made for Television. In 2009 he directed and co-produced The Eye of the Storm, based on the novel by acclaimed author Patrick White starring Charlotte Rampling, Geoffrey Rush and Judy Davis. The film won the Special Jury Prize at Rome International Film Festival in November 2011. Fred's most recent project was 2013's Words & Pictures, with Clive Owen and Juliette Binoche. Since then he has been busy writing and developing a five part mini series, two original feature films, one a light comedy of a wedding on a train that goes crazily wrong, the other a satire of Bond 007 involving much mayhem and mistaken identities. He co-wrote, with Judy Morris, a romancedy set in China and Australia. Then co-wrote, with Morrie Rosmarin, a whistle blower thriller/romance. Fred is also mid development of The Olive Sisters, a romance across two time periods and Hitches, his original screenplay of a coming of age adventure. Fred Schepisi was awarded the Order of Australia for his service to the Australian film industry as a director, producer and screenwriter and a mentor to up and coming filmmakers.- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Bruce Beresford was born in Australia and graduated from Sydney University in 1962. He served as Film Officer for the British Film Institute Production Board from 1966-1971 and as a Film Advisor to the Arts Council of Great Britain. Beresford has also directed several operas including Girl Of The Golden West (Puccini), staged for the Spoleto Festival in Charleston and Spoleto (Italy) and Elektra (Strauss), which was staged for the State Opera Company of South Australia and performed in Adelaide and Melbourne. It won the Award for Best Opera Production of 1991. Immediately prior to starting production on PARADISE ROAD, Beresford directed SWEENEY TODD for the Portland Opera in Oregon.- Producer
- Director
- Writer
Born in the Australian rural town of Griffith, New South Wales, Phillip Noyce moved to Sydney with his family at the age of 12. As a teenager, he was introduced to underground films produced on shoestring budgets as well as mainstream American movies. He was 18 when he made his first film, the 15-minute Better to Reign in Hell (1969) utilizing a unique financing scheme selling roles in the movie to his friends.
In 1973 he was selected to attend the Australian National Film School in its inaugural year. Here, he made Castor and Pollux (1973) a 50 minute documentary which won the award for best Australian short film of 1974.
Noyce's first professional film was the 50-minute docudrama God Knows Why, But It Works (1976) in 1975. This helped pave the way for his first feature, the road movie Backroads (1977) which starred Australian Aboriginal activist Gary Foley and iconic Australian actor Bill Hunter who would go on to appear in 2 other Noyce films. In 1978, he directed and co-wrote Newsfront (1978), which won Best Film, Best Director and Best Original Screenplay at the Australian Film Awards, as well as proving a huge commercial hit in Australia. In addition to opening the London Film Festival, Newsfront was the first Australian film to screen at the New York Film Festival.
In 1982, Heatwave (1982), co-written and directed by Noyce and starring Judy Davis, was chosen to screen at the Director's Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival.
The success of the Australian produced Dead Calm (1989), starring Nicole Kidman, Sam Neill and Billy Zane brought Noyce to Hollywood, where he directed 6 films over the next decade, including Patriot Games (1992) and Clear and Present Danger (1994) starring Harrison Ford, and The Bone Collector (1999), starring Oscar© winners Denzel Washington and Angelina Jolie.
In 2002 Noyce returned to his native Australia, where released two films worldwide at almost the same time. The Quiet American (2002) starred Michael Caine in an Academy nominated Best Actor performance and appeared on over 20 top ten lists for 2002, including the National Board of Review and the American Film Institute. Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002) was based on the true story of three Aboriginal girls abducted from their families by Australian authorities in 1931 as part of an official government policy. The film won Best Picture at the Australian Film Awards, and together with The Quiet American garnered Noyce numerous best director awards including National Board of Review in the US and UK's London Film Critics Circle.
In 2006 Noyce directed Tim Robbins and Derek Luke in the South African set political thriller Catch a Fire (2006).
2010 Saw Noyce re-teaming with Angelina Jolie for his biggest box-office hit, the spy thriller Salt (2010), which grossed $295 million worldwide.
In Spring 2011, Noyce directed and executive produced the pilot for the ABC series Revenge (2011), which ended a four-season run on May 10, 2015.
In 2013 Noyce directed and executive produced the NBC pilot Crisis (2014), which went to series. Later that year, he returned to South Africa to film The Giver (2014), starring Jeff Bridges, Meryl Streep, and Brenton Thwaites, which opened in the US on August 15, 2014 from The Weinstein Company.
In 2016 Noyce directed the first night of the Emmy nominated miniseries Roots (2016).
In 2017 Noyce directed the pilot and first episode of Fox Network's medical show The Resident (2018) reuniting him with Emily VanCamp, who starred in Revenge.
In 2018 Noyce directed the feature Above Suspicion (2019), starring Emilia Clarke and Jack Huston. In 2018 he also directed the pilot and first episode of the 10-part series What/If (2019), starring Renée Zellweger and created by Revenge creator Mike Kelley, to be released in June 2019 by Netflix.- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Gillian Armstrong was born on 18 December 1950 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. She is a director and producer, known for My Brilliant Career (1979), Not Fourteen Again (1996) and Little Women (1994). She is married to John Pleffer. They have two children.- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Dynamic film/video director Russell Mulcahy was born June 23, 1953, in Melbourne, Australia. He first gained fame directing visually striking music video clips for such artists as Elton John, Duran Duran, The Buggles and Bonnie Tyler. He is also well known for feature films, starting off with the comedy Derek and Clive Get the Horn (1979), the horror film Razorback (1984), the spectacular sword and sorcery of Highlander (1986), followed by the sequel Highlander II: The Quickening (1991).
He directed Denzel Washington and John Lithgow in the violent Ricochet (1991), made The Shadow (1994) with Alec Baldwin (a film version of the comic book) and took the helm for Swimming Upstream (2003).
In recent years Mulcahy has been involved in directing several telemovies and episodes of TV shows, including Queer as Folk (2000), 3: The Dale Earnhardt Story (2004), Mysterious Island (2005) and The Curse of King Tut's Tomb (2006) starring Casper Van Dien.- Director
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Producer
Simon Wincer was born in 1943 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is a director and assistant director, known for The Phantom (1996), Harlequin (1980) and Crocodile Dundee in Los Angeles (2001).- Director
- Producer
- Writer
Writer, director and producer Richard Franklin was born on July 15, 1948 in Melbourne, Australia. Infatuated with cinema at an early age, Franklin first began making 8mm films at age 10. Franklin saw Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho" two years later and was hooked on movies for life. Richard enrolled at Monash University in Melbourne and worked as an assistant cameraman at a television advertising company. Franklin eventually went to America and attended the University of Southern California in 1967. While studying at USC Franklin got Hitchcock to do a Q&A session for a screening of "Rope." Hitchcock in turn invited Franklin to watch him work on the set of "Topaz." Franklin returned to Australia following graduation in 1969 and got a job as an assistant director for the popular TV series "Homicide." Franklin went on to direct several episodes. He also made several short movies and documentaries around this time. Franklin made his feature film debut with the raunchy sex comedy "The True Story of Eskimo Nell." He followed this picture with the equally bawdy "Fantasm." His third movie "Patrick" was a nifty horror feature that proved to be a big international success; it won the Grand Prize at the Avoriaz Fantastic Film Festival, was nominated for an AFI Award for Best Film, and won the Best Director Award at the Sitges-Catalonian International Film Festival. "Roadgames" was a tense and witty "danger on the road" thriller knockout which was the most expensive Australian film made in the early 80s. Franklin then did the surprisingly solid and satisfying belated sequel "Psycho II." His other movies include the delightful "Cloak and Dagger," the silly "Link," and the hugely enjoyable "F/X 2." However, Franklin became weary of Hollywood studio politics and returned to his native Australia. He made the acclaimed play adaptations "Hotel Sorrento" and "Brilliant Lies." "Hotel Sorrento" won an AFI Award for Best Adapted Screenplay and was nominated for both Best Film and Best Director. Franklin also did a made-for-TV adaptation of Arthur Conan Doyle's classic fantasy adventure novel "The Lost World." His final feature was the horror thriller "Visitors." In addition to his film work, Franklin also directed episodes of the TV shows "Flatland," "A Fine Romance," and "Beauty and the Beast." He was a drummer in the Melbourne band The Pink Finks and was a lecturer at the Swinburne School of Film and Television in Australia. Richard Franklin died from prostate cancer at age 58 on July 11, 2007.- Director
- Producer
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
Ken Hannam was born on 12 July 1929 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He was a director and producer, known for Sunday Too Far Away (1975), Dawn! (1979) and Wandjina! (1966). He was married to Madlena Nedeva, Wendy Dickson and Lena Melocco. He died on 16 November 2004 in London, England, UK.- Director
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- Producer
Donald Crombie was born in 1942 in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia. He is a director and writer, known for The Killing of Angel Street (1981), Caddie (1976) and Cathy's Child (1979).- Director
- Actor
- Writer
Yahoo Serious (born Greg Gomez Pead) became one of Australia's most successful independent conceptual artists and filmmakers of the 1980s and 1990s. Considered the first Australian to write, produce, direct and star in a major motion picture. He legally changed his name to "Yahoo Serious" in 1980 before his sudden fame.
Born July 27, 1953 in New South Wales, Australia, Greg grew up near Newcastle and worked as a tyre fitter for a time to get through art school, but was eventually expelled from the school. Soon after he started combining his artistic talents with absurdist comedy and earned a lot of skeptical looks along the way.
At age 21, Yahoo independently wrote, produced, directed and filmed "Coaltown," a documentary tracing the socio-political history of coal mining. It was released in 1977. The following year he won the National Award for Best Australian Educational Documentary for his TV series "Lifestyle." After extensive traveling throughout Asia, Europe and America, he began writing, directing and performing in experimental comedy and became the first Australian to do so in a major motion picture.
This led to the spectacular success of his first weird, skimpily-budgeted vehicle Young Einstein (1988), the story of a young Tasmanian farmer who discovers rock music along with the theory of relativity. Blending political/social satire, silliness and slapstick with eye-popping visuals, he hit the jackpot with young audiences. Grossing over $100 million, he instantly branched out internationally, hitting all the popular talk shows and even making the cover of TIME magazine (February, 1989). Audiences took a fascination to his unique cinematic style. True to form, Serious involved himself in practically every detail of the making of the movie, from creating the original concept and script through incorporating the visual design and music soundtrack and performing all his own stunts.
Following this crazy but fantastic roller coaster ride, Yahoo was not able to produce a follow up movie soon enough and quickly became yesterday's news. Coming out five years later, Reckless Kelly (1993) was the story of a Robin Hood-like, motorcycle-riding robber who becomes a Hollywood movie star. While it matched his first film in unconventional silliness, it would not match its box office success or popularity and it disappeared rather quickly. He worked in tandem with his one-time wife, producer Lulu Pinkus, on all three films. They divorced in 2007.
Yahoo's third movie, Mr. Accident (2000), which centered around the most accident-prone man in the world, was also a commercial failure while still finding a cult following. Receiving an honorary doctorate from the University of Newcastle in 1996, he was a guest for the opening of the 2000 Sydney Olympics.
While no projects have occurred since his third film, who knows what's up this unique artist's sleeve next. An inveterate traveler and surfer living on the beaches of New South Wales, Yahoo is a board member of the Kokoda Track Foundation, a humanitarian aid organization focused on the indigenous people of Papua New Guinea. The Foundation provides education, health, and community services as well as disaster relief and tourism plans.- Producer
- Director
- Additional Crew
Peter Faiman was born in 1944 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He is a producer and director, known for Crocodile Dundee (1986), FernGully: The Last Rainforest (1992) and The Don Lane Show (1975).- Producer
- Actor
- Writer
John Cornell was born on 2 March 1941 in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, Australia. He was a producer and actor, known for Crocodile Dundee (1986), Crocodile Dundee II (1988) and The Paul Hogan Show (1973). He was married to Delvene Delaney. He died on 23 July 2021 in Byron Bay, New South Wales, Australia.- Writer
- Director
- Script and Continuity Department
Colin Eggleston was born on 23 September 1941 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He was a writer and director, known for Long Weekend (1978), Cassandra (1987) and Division 4 (1969). He was married to Dimity Reed and Briony Behets. He died on 10 August 2002 in Geneva, Canton Geneva, Switzerland.- Producer
- Production Manager
- Director
Tom Jeffrey was born in 1938 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. He is a producer and production manager, known for The Odd Angry Shot (1979), Fighting Back (1982) and Weekend of Shadows (1978).- Director
- Editor
- Writer
- Producer
- Writer
- Director
John Honey was born in 1944 in Tasmania, Australia. He is a producer and writer, known for Fatty & George (1981), Manganinnie (1980) and Frontiers of Flight (1992).- Director
- Producer
- Music Department
Rod Hardy was born in 1949 in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia. He is a director and producer, known for December Boys (2007), Thirst (1979) and Two for Texas (1998).- Actor
- Director
- Writer
Sandy Harbutt was born in 1941 in Australia. He was an actor and director, known for Stone (1974), Color Me Dead (1969) and The Long Arm (1970). He was married to Helen Morse. He died on 21 November 2020 in Wollongong, New South Wales, Australia.