News

Actor-director Sean Penn, who has been voicing his support for Ukraine in its fight against Russian invasion and was recently close to the front lines of the war, is set to play a fictionalised version of himself in the satirical Australian series “C*A*U*G*H*T”, reports ‘Variety’.

The show is an original production for Australian streamer Stan and has started production in Sydney’s Fox Studios.

According to ‘Variety’, the six-part series follows four Australian soldiers sent on a secret mission to a war-torn country. Mistaken for Americans, they are captured by freedom fighters and produce a hostage video that goes viral.

When the soldiers reach celebrity status, they realize that being caught might just be the best thing that could’ve happened to them.

‘Variety’ further states that the series is written, directed and produced by Australian actor and film maker Kick Gurry who will star alongside Penn.

Sean Penn, who was recently close to the front lines of the war in Ukraine, is playing a fictionalized version of himself in satirical Australian series “C*A*U*G*H*T.” The show is an original production for Australian streamer Stan and has now started production in Sydney’s Fox Studios.

The six-part series follows four Australian soldiers sent on a secret mission to a war-torn country. Mistaken for Americans, they are captured by freedom fighters and produce a hostage video that goes viral. When the soldiers reach celebrity status, they realize that being caught might just be the best thing that could’ve happened to them.

The series is written, directed and produced by Australian actor and film maker Kick Gurry (“Edge of Tomorrow”) who will star alongside Penn.

Penn also executive produces the show alongside producers John and Michael Schwarz (“Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan”, “Gold”) from Deeper Water Films,...

Matt Nable will make his directorial debut with Stan Original feature Transfusion, a thriller set to star Sam Worthington and Phoebe Tonkin.

Shooting now in Sydney, the film sees Worthington play Ryan Logan, a former Special Forces operative who is battling to cope with life after the loss of his wife (Tonkin) and is thrust into the criminal underworld to keep his only son from being taken from him.

Nable directs from his own script and will play a character known as Johnny. Also starring is new talent Edward Carmody, who will play Billy Logan, Ryan’s son.

John and Michael Schwarz from Deeper Water Films are the producers, with Transfusion marking the second Stan original film for the company following Anthony Hayes’ Gold.

Cailah Scobie, Paul Wiegard, Will Clarke, Andy Mayson and Mike Runagall are the executive producers.

Michael Schwarz said: “In Transfusion we’ve found a movie that...

Sam Worthington (“Avatar”) has signed on for crime thriller “Transfusion.” Altitude Media Group will represent the project at the upcoming Cannes Marche du Film (June 21-25).

The feature is helmed by actor, writer and director Matt Nable (“Arrow”) and represents his directorial debut. He previously wrote biker film “Outlaws”.

It began shooting in Sydney, Australia earlier this week.

Worthington is joined by fellow Australian Phoebe Tonkin (“The Vampire Diaries”) in the film, about a former Special Forces operative who finds himself in a criminal underworld as he tries to keep his son from being abducted.

“Transfusion” is produced by John Schwarz and Michael Schwarz of Deeper Water Films. Cailah Scobie from Stan and Paul Wiegard from Madman Entertainment will executive produce. Altitude Media’s Will Clarke, Andy Mayson and Mike Runagall will also executive produce.

“In ‘Transfusion’ we’ve found a movie that has that special combination of visceral action and achingly beautiful emotion,...

Sam Worthington and Phoebe Tonkin are starring in Matt Nable’s directorial debut, Transfusion. The thriller, which also features Nable, is about a former Special Forces operative thrust into the criminal underworld to keep his only son from being taken from him. Production began in Sydney earlier this week and Altitude has added it to its slate with international sales launching at the Cannes Market.

Transfusion is produced by John Schwarz and Michael Schwarz through Deeper Water Films, with executive producers Cailah Scobie from Stan, Paul Wiegard from Madman Entertainment and Will Clarke, Andy Mayson and Mike Runagall of Altitude Media.

The Stan Original Film will premiere on Stan in Australia in 2022 after a theatrical release through Madman Entertainment in Australia and New Zealand.

Nable is also a writer and actor who recently appeared in Oz hit The Dry. Other acting credits include Mel Gibson’s Hacksaw Ridge and FX series Mr Inbetween.

Production underway earlier this week in Australia.

UK firm Altitude will launch international sales on Australian writer-director Matt Nable’s thriller Transfusion at the online Pre-Cannes Screenings next week (June 21-25).

The film began production in Sydney earlier this week and stars Sam Worthington, Phoebe Tonkin and Nable in the story of a former Special Forces operative thrust into the criminal underworld in an effort to keep his only son from being taken from him.

John Schwarz and Michael Schwarz are producing for Australia’s Deeper Water Films, with executive producers Cailah Scobie from Australian streaming service Stan, Paul Wiegard...

Two feature films, three TV dramas, one children’s series, and one online project will share in $5.9 million of production funding from Screen Australia.

The projects include feature How To Please A Woman about a woman’s choice to take her all-male housecleaning business to a more intimate level; the previously announced ABC anthology drama series Fires, set during last summer’s devastating bushfires; Stan feature Gold, and a comedy about a single woman and her database of potential sexual partners in Spreadsheet for Viacom CBS.

Screen Australia’s head of content Sally Caplan said it was a testament to the resilience of the screen industry to have so many projects move into production during such a challenging period.

“It’s fantastic to kick off 2021 with such a great sample of the premium dramas that have been greenlit across the country,” she said.

“We’re so pleased to have supported...

Zac Efron has joined the cast of the Australian survival thriller ‘Gold’ set at streaming service Stan.

The film will follow two strangers travelling through a desert who stumble across the biggest gold nugget ever found. They hatch a plan to protect and excavate their bounty with one man leaving to secure the necessary equipment. The other man (Efron) remains and must endure harsh desert elements, ravenous wild dogs and mysterious intruders, whilst battling the sinking suspicion that he has been abandoned to his own fate.

‘Animal Kingdom’ and ‘The Light Between Oceans’ Anthony Hayes will helm and star in the feature from the screenplay he co-wrote alongside Polly Smyth.

Also in news – Lily James and Emma Thompson to lead rom-com ‘What’s Love Got To With It?’

“This is an exciting, gripping and timely tale about greed, humanity, who we are, what we’ve done to the world and...

Zac Efron is set to star in “Gold,” a survival thriller from director Anthony Hayes that will be introduced to buyers at the upcoming American Film Market.

Altitude Film Sales and CAA Media Finance will co-represent domestic sales on the film, and production is expected to begin in Australia later this month.

Hayes (“Animal Kingdom”) will also co-star in the film alongside Efron in a film about two strangers who together find a giant gold nugget while traveling through the desert. While one man leaves to go find supplies and return, the other is left to guard the gold, which puts him up against the elements of the desert, ravenous wild dogs, mysterious intruders and his own sanity that he’s been left here to die.

Hayes also co-wrote “Gold” with Polly Smyth, and he’ll produce for Rogue Star Pictures along with John Schwarz and Michael Schwarz through their Deeper Water Films banner.

Zac Efron (The Greatest Showman) has boarded survival thriller Gold, which Altitude Film Sales will introduce to buyers at the upcoming AFM virtual market and will co-rep domestic sales on with CAA Media Finance.

Actor Anthony Hayes (Animal Kingdom) will direct and co-star, based on a screenplay he co-wrote with Polly Smyth. John Schwarz and Michael Schwarz will produce through their Deeper Water Films banner (Danger Close: The Battle Of Long Tan), alongside Hayes for Rogue Star Pictures.

The film will follow two strangers traveling through a desert who stumble across the biggest gold nugget ever found. They hatch a plan to protect and excavate their bounty with one man leaving to secure the necessary equipment. The other man remains and must endure harsh desert elements, ravenous wild dogs and mysterious intruders, whilst battling the sinking suspicion that he has been abandoned to his own fate.

Shoot is due to...

Zac Efron has joined survival thriller “Gold,” an original film out of Australian streamer Stan.

Shopped to buyers at next week’s American Film Market (AFM), the film turns on two strangers traveling through a desert who stumble upon the biggest gold nugget ever found. When dreams of unimaginable wealth take hold, they devise a plan to protect and excavate their bounty with one man leaving to secure the necessary equipment.

Efron plays the man left behind, who comes up against unforgiving desert elements, ravenous wild dogs and mysterious intruders, all while wondering whether his partner is ever going to come back for him. Principal photography on the movie will begin in Australia this month — where film and TV production has been able to continue relatively unscathed during the Covid-19 crisis.

London-headquartered Altitude Film Sales will co-represent domestic sales on the film with CAA Media Finance. “Gold” will be released...

Anthony Hayes will co-star in and direct the survival thriller.

Zac Efron is to star in the upcoming Australian survival thriller Gold, which Altitude Film Sales will introduce to international buyers at the virtual AFM next week.

UK-based Altitude is co-representing domestic sales with CAA Media Finance. Principal photography is set to begin in Australia this month.

Anthony Hayes (Animal Kingdom) will direct and co-star in the film about two men travelling through a remote desert who stumble across the biggest gold nugget ever found.

They hatch a plan to excavate the treasure. One leaves to secure equipment while the...

Stuart Beattie.

Screenwriter/producer Stuart Beattie’s illustrious career is in overdrive, with multiple projects bubbling in the US, Australia and Germany.

Some 28 years after the Aussie moved to LA, he is cashing in on his hard-earned reputation and extensive network of creative contacts.

One Australian-based project is a biopic about speed skater Steven Bradbury, who overcame seemingly insurmountable odds to win Australia’s first ever Olympic Winter Games Gold Medal.

The other is Interceptor, an action thriller to be directed by LA-based Australian novelist Matthew Reilly.

His US-based slate includes Rain, a 10-part drama based on a series of books by Barry Eisler about the exploits of a Japanese-American contract killer named John Rain.

Beattie is writing the bible and pilot and executive producing for Bedrock Entertainment, a new production banner founded by director Daniel Sackheim and producer Tony To in partnership with ITV Studios America.

Sackheim will direct the pilot,...

(L-r) David Wenham, Alexander Bertrand and Rebel Wilson in ‘Les Norton.’

Roadshow Rough Diamond’s crime caper Les Norton, starring Rebel Wilson, David Wenham and Alexander Bertrand in the title role, will premiere on the ABC and iview on Sunday August 4 at 8.30 pm.

Set in 1985 and based on Robert G. Barrett’s Australian novels, the 10-part series follows the misadventures of Norton, a knockabout bloke from outback Queensland.

On the run from a troubled past, he blows into Sydney where he lands a job as a bouncer at a notorious illegal casino in Kings Cross. Desperate to get home, he is soon seduced by the city’s dubious charms and dragged into a web of underground criminality.

Les becomes tangled up in the illicit activities of his new boss, kingpin Price Galese (Wenham), and Price’s motley crew of former pro boxer turned casino doorman Billy Dunne (Hunter Page-Lochard), gun-for-hire...

Anthony Hayes.

Anthony Hayes will direct and co-star with Sam Worthington in Gold, a thriller about two guys who discover the world’s biggest gold nugget in the Australian desert.

Due to shoot in South Australia in September, the film will be produced by Deeper Water Films’ John and Michael Schwarz and Hayes’ Rogue Star Pictures.

Hayes co-wrote the script with his partner, former costumer Polly Smyth, her first writing credit.

The plot sees the men hatch a plan to excavate the gold as one leaves to secure equipment while the other stays behind to protect the discovery.

Saboteur Films, which reps Kriv Stenders’ Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan produced by Red Dune Productions’ Martin Walsh and the Schwarz brothers, is pitching the project at the Cannes film market.

Hayes tells If: “Polly and I wanted to come up with a smart film with few cast and one location.

Avatar actor Sam Worthington is set to star in Australian thriller Gold alongside Anthony Hayes (Animal Kingdom, The Light Between Oceans).

Saboteur Media has come on board the project, which Hayes will direct from a script he wrote with Polly Smith.

Gold centers on two men traveling through the remote desert who stumble across the biggest gold nugget ever found. They hatch a plan to protect and excavate the find, with one leaving to secure equipment and the other staying behind to protect the discovery.

The picture is being produced by John Schwarz (The Hunter’s Prayer, Killerman), Michael Schwarz (Danger Close, Deadline Gallipoli) through their ...

Avatar actor Sam Worthington is set to star in Australian thriller Gold alongside Anthony Hayes (Animal Kingdom, The Light Between Oceans).

Saboteur Media has come on board the project, which Hayes will direct from a script he wrote with Polly Smith.

Gold centers on two men traveling through the remote desert who stumble across the biggest gold nugget ever found. They hatch a plan to protect and excavate the find, with one leaving to secure equipment and the other staying behind to protect the discovery.

The picture is being produced by John Schwarz (The Hunter’s Prayer, Killerman), Michael Schwarz (Danger Close, Deadline Gallipoli) through their ...

Production scheduled to start in South Australia in September.

Sam Worthington will star in the upcoming Australian thriller Gold, which Saboteur Media represents worldwide and has introduced to Cannes buyers.

President of distribution Mark Lindsay has begun talks on the Croisette on the story about two men travelling through a remote desert who stumble across what they believe it the biggest gold nugget ever found.

They hatch a plan to excavate the treasure. One leaves to secure equipment while the other stays behind to protect the discovery.

Anthony Hayes (Animal Kingdom) also stars and the producers aim to announce more cast in Cannes.

Saboteur Media has launched sales in Cannes on thriller Gold, which is set to star Avatar’s Sam Worthington and Anthony Hayes (Animal Kingdom).

Pic centers on two men traveling through the remote desert who stumble across the biggest gold nugget ever found and hatch a plan to protect and excavate the gold. One leaves to secure equipment while the other stays behind to protect the discovery.

Script is from Hayes and Polly Smyth and the film will be directed by Hayes. The film is being produced by John Schwarz (The Hunter’s Prayer) and Michael Schwarz (Killerman) through their company Deeper Water Films and Hayes via Rogue Star Pictures. More cast is due to be announced during Cannes.

The Australian production was developed with the assistance of Screen Australia, South Australian Film Corporation and Film Victoria and is due to commence principal photography in September in South Australia.

Mark Lindsay,...

Travis Fimmel as Major Harry Smith.

Transmission Films has released two images and the trailer of Kriv Stenders’ Vietnam War movie Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan.

Travis Fimmel plays Major Harry Smith, who led a largely inexperienced company of 108 men who held off about 2,500 Viet Cong and North Vietnamese soldiers for three and a half hours in torrential rain on August 18 1966.

The drama scripted by Stuart Beattie, based on a story by James Nicholas, Jack Brislee, Karel Segers and Paul Sullivan, co-stars Luke Bracey, Richard Roxburgh, Daniel Webber, Nicholas Hamilton, Aaron Glenane, Anthony Hayes and Stephen Peacocke.

Transmission Films will launch the film produced by Red Dune Productions’ Martin Walsh and Deeper Water Films’ John and Michael Schwarz on August 8.

“To see the battle portrayed on screen for the first time is a heart pounding and emotional experience for audiences. The passion and expertise of the filmmaking team...

Imogen Banks and Asher Keddie, who will produce ‘The Sisters Antipodes’.

Screen Australia has announced more than $600,000 of story development funding for seven feature films, four television dramas and five online series.

The slate includes a currently untitled feature film from Little Monsters‘ Abe Forsythe, Jodi Matterson and Bruna Papandrea, based on a real missing person case in a remote Northern Territory town; TV series The Sisters Antipodes, produced by Asher Keddie and Imogen Banks, about estranged families who are pushed to opposite sides of the world; and an online series from writer/director Kauthar Abdulalim, Salma and the City, about a mother who sets her sights on winning the Australian Open

Screen Australia’s head of development Nerida Moore said: “It’s fantastic to see such strong applications coming through, and in this round we’ve noticed an increase in series as well as a lot of female writers attached to projects.

Rebel Wilson on the set of ‘Les Norton’.

The ABC and Roadshow Rough Diamond’s 10-part drama series Les Norton, which stars Rebel Wilson, David Wenham and Alexander Bertrand, began filming last week in Sydney, with Hunter Page-Lochard, Steve Le Marquand, Syd Zygier, Pallavi Sharda, Justin Rosniak and Kate Box joining the cast.

Set in 1985, the series – based on the novels by Robert G. Barrett – follows the exploits of Les Norton (Bertrand), a country bloke from outback Queensland. On the run from a troubled past, he blows into Sydney where he lands a job as a bouncer at a notorious illegal casino in Kings Cross. A classic fish out of water who’s desperate to get home, he soon finds himself seduced by the city’s illicit charms and dragged into a web of underground criminality.

Created by Morgan O’Neill and produced by Daniel Edwards and John Edwards, the directors include Jocelyn Moorhouse,...

Kriv Stenders on the Mumbai set of ‘Jack Irish’ last year (Photo credit: Martin McGrath)

Kriv Stenders has an enviable track record as the director of both Red Dog hits, The Principal, The Pacific: In the wake of Captain Cook with Sam Neill (co-directed with Sally Aitken), The Go-Betweens: Right Here and episodes of Jack Irish, Doctor Doctor and Hunters.

But even he acknowledges it took him 10 years to make his first feature – which he self-funded – and he has had his share of failures.

Currently in post on his Vietnam War movie Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan for producers Martin Walsh and John and Michael Schwarz, Stenders shared his experiences to encourage directors who are struggling to make their first or second features.

He was responding to a ground-breaking study by UK analyst Stephen Follows, reported by If, which shows far fewer directors in Australia get the chance to make their second feature,...

Liam Hemsworth is getting in on the action in Killerman.

Malik Bader, who helmed Cash Only, wrote and will direct the visceral action-thriller. The story centers on small-time money launderer Moe Diamond (Hemsworth), who is suffering from amnesia after a freak accident during a deal gone wrong. Plus, he's got vicious gangsters hot on his tail and dirty cops not far behind.

John and Michael Schwarz (Hunter Prayer) will produce along with The Solution's Myles Nestel (Wheelman). The Solution's Lisa Wilson will executive produce. The Solution is fully financing and handling international rights, and will introduce the project to ...

Liam Hemsworth is getting in on the action in Killerman.

Malik Bader, who helmed Cash Only, wrote and will direct the visceral action-thriller. The story centers on small-time money launderer Moe Diamond (Hemsworth), who is suffering from amnesia after a freak accident during a deal gone wrong. Plus, he's got vicious gangsters hot on his tail and dirty cops not far behind.

John and Michael Schwarz (Hunter Prayer) will produce along with The Solution's Myles Nestel (Wheelman). The Solution's Lisa Wilson will executive produce. The Solution is fully financing and handling international rights, and will introduce the project to ...