Screen Australia backs 22 new projects Wed 16/12/2009
By Brendan Swift
Screen Australia will invest $13 million across 22 new productions, including its first 3D feature film, Bait.
The investment in four feature films, four television dramas and 14 documentaries is expected to trigger production valued at over $65 million.
Screen Australia chief executive Ruth Harley said 2009 has been a strong year for the Australian industry.
"A record number of films have achieved theatrical release, the Australian share of the box office looks set to exceed the five-year average, and television drama and documentary continue to draw strong audiences,” she said in a statement.
Total Australian box office revenue currently stands at about $995 million for the year, up 12 per cent on a strong 2008, with demand for 3D films bolstering attendances.
Three of the top seven feature films at the local box office over the year to date were 3D animations: Ice Age 3 ($30 million), UP ($28 million) and Monsters vs. Aliens ($21 million).
Bait 3D, written and directed by Russell Mulcahy (Razorback, Highlander), received strong support at the recent American Film Market.
It tells the story of a Gold Coast town hit by a tsunami, trapping dozens of local shoppers and tourists in a flooded underground supermarket and car park, where they are pursued by tiger sharks.
Screen Australia will also invest in writer-director Jonathan Teplitzky's drama Burning Man. It tells the story of a father and son’s struggle to deal with the unimaginable. Teplitzky has been directing television and commercials since his last feature Gettin’ Square in 2003.
The other two feature films are Blame, by writer-director Michael Henry, and Red Hill, by writer-director-producer Patrick Hughes.
Among television drama, Screen Australia will invest in a third season of the SBS crime series East West 101 and new mini-series Like a Virgin, about a woman whose sexual history catches up with her.
Varuna Pathways Forum: Stories to Screen Mon 2 NovVaruna Pathways Forum: Stories to Screen Mon 2 Nov
Varuna, The Writers’ House presents: Stories to Screen One-Day Forum
Date: Monday 2 November Time: 10:00am to 5.00pm - 2nd November Venue: The Carrington Hotel Cost: $165/ $150 conc. (includes morning tea/lunch/afternoon tea) Bookings: Varuna, The Writers' HousePh: 0247 825674 or mail to Varuna, 141 Cascade St, Katoomba NSW 2780 Full program & booking details/booking form: http://www.varuna.com.au/pathwaysforum.html
Eye opener...Jack Thompson (top) in Wake In Fright.
REDISCOVERING Wake In Fright is less like running into an old friend than someone you feared as a child. There has never been a more savage and scabrous film about Australia. Unfortunately, it was also uncomfortably true, which was one reason Australians didn't go to see it in large numbers when it came out in late 1971. It was just too confronting. Its power has hardly diminished in the years since, during which it became hard to see.
The film was hugely influential but mostly with nascent Australian filmmakers, some of whom saw it as a national disgrace that two great films had been made about Australia in one year, neither by an Australian (the other was Walkabout, directed by Nic Roeg). Perhaps that's why they were so good they were made by people who didn't have to live here.
Australia had no film industry to speak of in 1971. What there was gave us a rosier picture of ourselves the gentler comedy of They're A Weird Mob, for example. Wake In Fright took no prisoners. It was a vision of outback Australia as one of the inner circles of hell, a place of mad, murderous men and dull-eyed, sluttish women.
Varuna’s writing programs are national programs and are full of opportunities for writers from the Blue Mountains.
The LongLines New Australian Film Stories Workshop brings a new partnership to Varuna, with Blackheath firm Ink-to-Screen. They are looking for new stories for Australian films. There are programs for poetry and drama, and a most exciting workshop named Different Voices, seeking those voices that often get lost in the loudness of the commercial marketplace.
This year the LongLines Community Week will focus on writing practice. Up to eight Blue Mountains writers will be offered a place in this week, and will undertake to have a work week, which means working during the day and coming to Varuna for three evenings to have conversations with the five LongLines writers who will also be working at Varuna. The week will take place October 19-25.
Information on all programs can be obtained by visiting www.varuna.com.au.
Some science fiction novels can't be translated into films, but others are perfect for big screen enjoyment. Here are our nominations for the next big scifi movies, ripped from the pages of your favorite books.
Unfortunately, there are a number of adaptations that don't meet or really fail expectations. Alan Moore's comic books come to mind. But the news that Roland Emmerich might be directing Isaac Asimov's Foundation Trilogy, and that Scott Derrickson is set to direct an adaptation of Hyperion isn't exactly promising either. So here's our antidote: A short list of books that would likely make good films (and television series) that would succeed in theaters, and be fun to watch.
Mars, Ben Bova Ben Bova is a solid name in the SF genre, and Mars is a book that can easily be translated to the big screen. The premise is fairly simple and straightforward: 25 astronauts from Earth go to Mars, land, and begin exploring. There's the usual drama and excitement present here, but what this book really conveys is the sheer beauty and majesty of the Red Planet, something that really hasn't been done with films such as Red Planet and Mission to Mars, to name a couple recent ones.
Kindred, Octavia Butler This is a time travel story by the late Octavia Butler, one that would be a good candidate for adaptation. The story revolves around an African-American woman in 1976 Los Angeles who is pulled back in time by her white ancestor, and has to reconcile the two eras, while working to ensure her own survival. Fast-paced and topical, this is the type of book that could do extremely well as a smart action-adventure movie.
Soon, I Will Be Invincible, Austin Grossman This book has been optioned for a film, and reading through it in a day, I can see why: It's exciting, it's easy to get into and read and it's got a neat and tidy plot. There are archetypal villains, superhero teams with plenty of backstory material for tie-ins and years of comics and a fun storyline. But there is also a realistic approach to the world of superheroes, something that Hancock proved was marketable. I suspect that whoever holds the movie rights to this book will be watching Watchmen's performance at the box office.
Probability Moon, Nancy Kress This book is essentially what Stargate SG-1 should have been. The novel is set amidst an interplanetary war between humanity and the Fallers, an aggressive alien race. The main action occurs on World, where a human team discovers an artificial moon made from an ancient alien tech (which also allows for interplanetary travel) that might hold the key to humanity's survival. The plot is nothing new as far as movies go, but it is straightforward, interesting and a solid read. Visually, this could be stunning, with exploration on a planet and in space. There are also two sequels, Probability Sun and Probability Space, which could become sequels if the first movie does well.
Altered Carbon, Richard K. Morgan Richard Morgan's first book is one that would be difficult to translate to the screen, but if done right, it would be a fantastic film. Set five hundred years into the future, the story revolves around Takeshi Kovacs, a former soldier, in a world where people can download their consciousness into other bodies. Kovacs is set to investigate a wealthy man's supposed suicide, and he uncovers a conspiracy that has wide-ranging impact. It's a hardboiled cyberpunk-ish crime noir novel with enough action and violence to keep viewers excited. The book has been optioned as a film with James McTeigue attached as director - if this happens it's good news because he worked on Attack of the Clones, The Matrix trilogy, Dark City and directed V for Vendetta.
