Exclusive: Producers Ian Collie and Rob Gibson are best known for helping bring an injured mongrel dog into the global consciousness in Colin From Accounts. Ahead of a busy 2024, the pair sat down with Deadline to chat about plans for their Easy Tiger Productions imprint, the state of TV in Australia and signing with CAA.
And where else to start, but with Colin From Accounts, Australian streamer Binge’s romantic sitcom series written by and starring real-life couple Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer. Over the weekend, the critically acclaimed show, winner of the Most Outstanding Comedy Program at the Logies, went into production on Season 2 after a delay primarily caused by the U.S. writers strike.
Gibson was first alerted to what would become Colin just after leaving his post as Head of Originals at Binge rival Stan. “Harriet had given me the script as a writing sample for another show,...
And where else to start, but with Colin From Accounts, Australian streamer Binge’s romantic sitcom series written by and starring real-life couple Patrick Brammall and Harriet Dyer. Over the weekend, the critically acclaimed show, winner of the Most Outstanding Comedy Program at the Logies, went into production on Season 2 after a delay primarily caused by the U.S. writers strike.
Gibson was first alerted to what would become Colin just after leaving his post as Head of Originals at Binge rival Stan. “Harriet had given me the script as a writing sample for another show,...
- 12/20/2023
- by Jesse Whittock
- Deadline Film + TV
The third season of Hoodlum’s Five Bedrooms will stream on Paramount+ New Year’s Day.
Back for another eight-episodes Kat Stewart, Stephen Peacocke, Doris Younane, Roy Joseph, Katie Robertson and Johnny Carr.
This season, they navigate their way through the perils and pleasures of not only co-housing, but turning said house into a bed and breakfast.
Plus, there are now two couples living under one roof, a garden-variety blindside betrayal, a brave new sexual journey, an unexpected parenting proposal, plus one-and-a-half unexpected marriage proposals.
Five Bedrooms is created by Michael Lucas and Christine Bartlett, who wrote the third iteration with Alisha Hnatjuk and Mithila Gupta.
The set-up director is Peter Templeman, alongside Fiona Banks and Craig Irvin.
Andy Walker is the producer, with executive producers Nathan Mayfield and Tracey Robertson.
The third season has been developed and produced with support from Film Victoria, and assistance from Screen Australia.
The...
Back for another eight-episodes Kat Stewart, Stephen Peacocke, Doris Younane, Roy Joseph, Katie Robertson and Johnny Carr.
This season, they navigate their way through the perils and pleasures of not only co-housing, but turning said house into a bed and breakfast.
Plus, there are now two couples living under one roof, a garden-variety blindside betrayal, a brave new sexual journey, an unexpected parenting proposal, plus one-and-a-half unexpected marriage proposals.
Five Bedrooms is created by Michael Lucas and Christine Bartlett, who wrote the third iteration with Alisha Hnatjuk and Mithila Gupta.
The set-up director is Peter Templeman, alongside Fiona Banks and Craig Irvin.
Andy Walker is the producer, with executive producers Nathan Mayfield and Tracey Robertson.
The third season has been developed and produced with support from Film Victoria, and assistance from Screen Australia.
The...
- 12/1/2021
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
In the second season of Stan’s Bump, premiering Boxing Day, Oly (Nathalie Morris) and Santi (Carlos Sanson Jr) continue to get to know each other, and discover just how much families can mess you up.
Meanwhile, Angie (Claudia Karvan) and Dom (Angus Sampson) continue to deal with the fallout of their separation and the complicated new relationships and dramas they have found themselves immersed in.
Also returning for Season 2 are stars Paula Garcia as Rosa, Ioane Saula as Vince, Safia Arain as Reema, Claudia Di Giusti as Bernadita, Sarah Meacham as Madison, Ricardo Scheihing Vasquez as Matias, Miguel Andrade as Alejandro, Christian Byers as Bowie, and Jana Zvendeniuk as Katerina.
Bump is produced by Roadshow Rough Diamond and its founders Dan and John Edwards along with Claudia Karvan. The series is co-created by Kelsey Munro and Karvan, with the writing team also consisting of Kelsey Munro, Jessica Tuckwell, Timothy Lee,...
Meanwhile, Angie (Claudia Karvan) and Dom (Angus Sampson) continue to deal with the fallout of their separation and the complicated new relationships and dramas they have found themselves immersed in.
Also returning for Season 2 are stars Paula Garcia as Rosa, Ioane Saula as Vince, Safia Arain as Reema, Claudia Di Giusti as Bernadita, Sarah Meacham as Madison, Ricardo Scheihing Vasquez as Matias, Miguel Andrade as Alejandro, Christian Byers as Bowie, and Jana Zvendeniuk as Katerina.
Bump is produced by Roadshow Rough Diamond and its founders Dan and John Edwards along with Claudia Karvan. The series is co-created by Kelsey Munro and Karvan, with the writing team also consisting of Kelsey Munro, Jessica Tuckwell, Timothy Lee,...
- 11/25/2021
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
US network The CW has snapped up Roadshow Rough Diamond’s Bump.
The Stan original series, created and co-written by Kelsey Munro, follows Nathalie Morris as Oly, an ambitious and high-achieving teenage girl who has a surprise baby.
Claudia Karvan, who produced the series with John and Dan Edwards, stars as her mother.
Set in and around a high school in inner Sydney, the series explores unexpected motherhood, unwelcome new relatives, unintended consequences and the culture clash between the two families.
The cast also includes Carlos Sanson Jnr, Angus Sampson, Catalina Palma, Safia Arain, Paula Garcia, Ioane Saula, Christian Byers, Claudia de Giusti, Miguel Andrade and Ricardo Scheihing Vasquez.
Munro is joined in the writers’ room by Jessica Tuckwell, Timothy Lee, Mithila Gupta and Steven Arriagada, with the first season directed by Geoff Bennett, Gracie Otto, and Leticia Caceres.
Screen Australia and Screen Nsw helped to provide finance, while ITV Studios manages international sales.
The Stan original series, created and co-written by Kelsey Munro, follows Nathalie Morris as Oly, an ambitious and high-achieving teenage girl who has a surprise baby.
Claudia Karvan, who produced the series with John and Dan Edwards, stars as her mother.
Set in and around a high school in inner Sydney, the series explores unexpected motherhood, unwelcome new relatives, unintended consequences and the culture clash between the two families.
The cast also includes Carlos Sanson Jnr, Angus Sampson, Catalina Palma, Safia Arain, Paula Garcia, Ioane Saula, Christian Byers, Claudia de Giusti, Miguel Andrade and Ricardo Scheihing Vasquez.
Munro is joined in the writers’ room by Jessica Tuckwell, Timothy Lee, Mithila Gupta and Steven Arriagada, with the first season directed by Geoff Bennett, Gracie Otto, and Leticia Caceres.
Screen Australia and Screen Nsw helped to provide finance, while ITV Studios manages international sales.
- 10/20/2021
- by Sean Slatter
- IF.com.au
The second season of Hoodlum Entertainment’s Five Bedrooms was among the key launch titles for Paramount+ as it went live in Australia yesterday. The streamer seems assured of its continued success, with production already underway on a third in Melbourne.
Key cast Kat Stewart, Stephen Peacocke, Doris Younane, Roy Joseph and Katie Robertson will all return as flawed, disparate housemates. No plot details have been revealed as yet.
Five Bedrooms is created by Michael Lucas and Christine Bartlett, who script the third iteration with Alisha Hnatjuk and Mithila Gupta.
The set-up director is once again Peter Templeman, alongside Fiona Banks and Craig Irvin.
Andy Walker is the producer, with executive producers Nathan Mayfield and Tracey Robertson.
Lucas said: “We are so ridiculously invested in these five characters, we simply can’t stop imagining funny, fraught, tragic, joyful situations to put them in. So, we are beyond delighted that we...
Key cast Kat Stewart, Stephen Peacocke, Doris Younane, Roy Joseph and Katie Robertson will all return as flawed, disparate housemates. No plot details have been revealed as yet.
Five Bedrooms is created by Michael Lucas and Christine Bartlett, who script the third iteration with Alisha Hnatjuk and Mithila Gupta.
The set-up director is once again Peter Templeman, alongside Fiona Banks and Craig Irvin.
Andy Walker is the producer, with executive producers Nathan Mayfield and Tracey Robertson.
Lucas said: “We are so ridiculously invested in these five characters, we simply can’t stop imagining funny, fraught, tragic, joyful situations to put them in. So, we are beyond delighted that we...
- 8/12/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Production and distribution company Arcadia Films is set to expand with two new appointments to its management team in Bec Janek and Anna Dadic.
The duo will steer the company with founding partners, producer Lisa Shaunessy and head of distribution Alexandra Burke.
Janek will be Arcadia’s head of production, having already worked as a co-producer on its sci-fi 2067 and line producer for upcoming film Sissy. A former executive at Russell Crowe’s Ssm, her credits also include the Cannes-selected short film, Dots.
Of her new role, she said: “I have known Lisa and Alex for many years and I’m excited to join this dynamic and creative company in this role to advance their bold and exciting production output.”
A former theatrical agent at Hla, Dadic will be head of development, managing the current feature slate and expanding slate of scripted television.
Already underway in development under Dadic is...
The duo will steer the company with founding partners, producer Lisa Shaunessy and head of distribution Alexandra Burke.
Janek will be Arcadia’s head of production, having already worked as a co-producer on its sci-fi 2067 and line producer for upcoming film Sissy. A former executive at Russell Crowe’s Ssm, her credits also include the Cannes-selected short film, Dots.
Of her new role, she said: “I have known Lisa and Alex for many years and I’m excited to join this dynamic and creative company in this role to advance their bold and exciting production output.”
A former theatrical agent at Hla, Dadic will be head of development, managing the current feature slate and expanding slate of scripted television.
Already underway in development under Dadic is...
- 8/5/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Exclusive: Australian producer-distributor Arcadia, whose recent credits include Netflix pic 2067 with Kodi Smit-McPhee and Ryan Kwanten, has made two hires and revealed its upcoming distribution and development slates.
Bec Janek is joining as Head of Production and Anna Dadic will take the role of Head of Development.
Janek comes into the role after a close collaboration with Arcadia, more recently as a co-producer on sci fi feature 2067 and line producer on Sissy, starring Aisha Dee (The Bold Type). Prior to those films, Janek produced Cannes 2018 shhort Dots and was a former executive at Russell Crowe’s Ssm.
Janek will be responsible for shepherding projects into production and will take the lead on select projects.
Dadic, a former theatrical agent at Hla Management, will manage Arcadia’s feature development slate and expand Arcadia’s slate of scripted TV.
Already underway in development under Dadic are the sci-fi series The Immaculate Void,...
Bec Janek is joining as Head of Production and Anna Dadic will take the role of Head of Development.
Janek comes into the role after a close collaboration with Arcadia, more recently as a co-producer on sci fi feature 2067 and line producer on Sissy, starring Aisha Dee (The Bold Type). Prior to those films, Janek produced Cannes 2018 shhort Dots and was a former executive at Russell Crowe’s Ssm.
Janek will be responsible for shepherding projects into production and will take the lead on select projects.
Dadic, a former theatrical agent at Hla Management, will manage Arcadia’s feature development slate and expand Arcadia’s slate of scripted TV.
Already underway in development under Dadic are the sci-fi series The Immaculate Void,...
- 8/5/2021
- by Andreas Wiseman
- Deadline Film + TV
The second season of Hoodlum Entertainment’s Five Bedrooms will premiere on Paramount+ August 11 as the streaming service launches in Australia.
Kat Stewart, Stephen Peacocke, Doris Younane, Katie Robertson, Roy Joseph, Kate Jenkinson and Hugh Sheridan return, joined by new faces Daniel Lapaine and Josh McKenzie.
The second instalment sees a new home. A DIY renovation. A DIY renovation injury. Two pregnancies. An ex-husband. A workplace bullying complaint. An unexpected tragedy. Love found and love lost.
Five Bedrooms is created by Michael Lucas and Christine Bartlett. Andy Walker is the series producer and the scripts are by Lucas, Bartlett, Mithila Gupta and Xavier Coy.
Peter Templeman is the set-up director, working with Fadia Abboud and Shirley Barrett.
Five Bedrooms is supported by Screen Australia and Film Victoria.
The post ‘Five Bedrooms’ (Season 2 Trailer) appeared first on If Magazine.
Kat Stewart, Stephen Peacocke, Doris Younane, Katie Robertson, Roy Joseph, Kate Jenkinson and Hugh Sheridan return, joined by new faces Daniel Lapaine and Josh McKenzie.
The second instalment sees a new home. A DIY renovation. A DIY renovation injury. Two pregnancies. An ex-husband. A workplace bullying complaint. An unexpected tragedy. Love found and love lost.
Five Bedrooms is created by Michael Lucas and Christine Bartlett. Andy Walker is the series producer and the scripts are by Lucas, Bartlett, Mithila Gupta and Xavier Coy.
Peter Templeman is the set-up director, working with Fadia Abboud and Shirley Barrett.
Five Bedrooms is supported by Screen Australia and Film Victoria.
The post ‘Five Bedrooms’ (Season 2 Trailer) appeared first on If Magazine.
- 7/14/2021
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Screen Australia has announced $5.6 million of production funding for three feature films and returning seasons of Stan’s Bump and 10’s The Secret She Keeps.
The films include two Arenamedia projects: an new animation from the Oscar-winning Adam Elliot and a second feature from writer/director Alena Lodkina (Strange Colours), titled Petrol. The other film is Paul Goldman’s Western Australian feature film Kid Snow, produced by Unicorn Films.
Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason said: “We have been blown away by the volume of applications for production funding and are heartened at the breadth of distinct Australian stories that continue to come through.
“Adam Elliot is set to delight audiences around the world with a remarkable new drama in his signature claymation style; and we’re thrilled to support writer/director Alena Lodkina whose 2017 feature Strange Colours premiered at the Venice Film Festival, as she expands on her unique voice with striking follow up Petrol.
The films include two Arenamedia projects: an new animation from the Oscar-winning Adam Elliot and a second feature from writer/director Alena Lodkina (Strange Colours), titled Petrol. The other film is Paul Goldman’s Western Australian feature film Kid Snow, produced by Unicorn Films.
Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason said: “We have been blown away by the volume of applications for production funding and are heartened at the breadth of distinct Australian stories that continue to come through.
“Adam Elliot is set to delight audiences around the world with a remarkable new drama in his signature claymation style; and we’re thrilled to support writer/director Alena Lodkina whose 2017 feature Strange Colours premiered at the Venice Film Festival, as she expands on her unique voice with striking follow up Petrol.
- 5/16/2021
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
The second season of Hoodlum Entertainment’s Five Bedrooms will premiere exclusively on Paramount+ when it launches in Australia August 11, with the ViacomCBS streamer also announcing three new local productions today.
They include comedy Spreadsheet, drama Last King of the Cross and feature film 6 Festivals, each of which is expected to commence production soon.
Paramount+, a rebrand of 10 All Access, will have a have starting subscription price of $8.99 per month, cheaper than competitors Netflix, Stan, Disney+ and Binge.
The content line-up includes series and films such as The First Lady, Dexter, The Luminaries, The Harper House, The Man Who Fell To Earth, The Gilded Age, Yellow Jackets, Coyote, Mayor of Kingston, Everyone is Doing Great, Spy City, Anne Boleyn, Leonardo, The Godfather, Mission: Impossible and Paw Patrol.
Other exclusive titles include Lioness, Halo, The Offer, Y:1883, Flatbush Misdemeanors, Stephen, Crossing Swords, Help, No Return, Line In The Sand and Ripley and documentaries,...
They include comedy Spreadsheet, drama Last King of the Cross and feature film 6 Festivals, each of which is expected to commence production soon.
Paramount+, a rebrand of 10 All Access, will have a have starting subscription price of $8.99 per month, cheaper than competitors Netflix, Stan, Disney+ and Binge.
The content line-up includes series and films such as The First Lady, Dexter, The Luminaries, The Harper House, The Man Who Fell To Earth, The Gilded Age, Yellow Jackets, Coyote, Mayor of Kingston, Everyone is Doing Great, Spy City, Anne Boleyn, Leonardo, The Godfather, Mission: Impossible and Paw Patrol.
Other exclusive titles include Lioness, Halo, The Offer, Y:1883, Flatbush Misdemeanors, Stephen, Crossing Swords, Help, No Return, Line In The Sand and Ripley and documentaries,...
- 5/6/2021
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
With Roadshow Rough Diamond’s Bump reportedly breaking viewing records for Stan since its launch on New Year’s Day, the streamer has ordered a second season.
Created and co-written by Kelsey Munro, the 10-part drama follows Nathalie Morris as Oly, an ambitious and high-achieving teenage girl who has a surprise baby. Claudia Karvan, who also produced the series with John and Dan Edwards, stars as her mother.
Set in and around a high school in inner Sydney, the series explores unexpected motherhood, unwelcome new relatives, unintended consequences and the culture clash between the two families.
Carlos Sanson Jnr plays the baby’s father, with Catalina Palma, Safia Arain, Paula Garcia, Ioane Saula, Peter Thurnwald and Ricardo Scheihing Vasquez as school friends and family members.
Development on the second series is currently underway with filming expected to commence later this year. Confirmed cast will be announced at a later date.
Created and co-written by Kelsey Munro, the 10-part drama follows Nathalie Morris as Oly, an ambitious and high-achieving teenage girl who has a surprise baby. Claudia Karvan, who also produced the series with John and Dan Edwards, stars as her mother.
Set in and around a high school in inner Sydney, the series explores unexpected motherhood, unwelcome new relatives, unintended consequences and the culture clash between the two families.
Carlos Sanson Jnr plays the baby’s father, with Catalina Palma, Safia Arain, Paula Garcia, Ioane Saula, Peter Thurnwald and Ricardo Scheihing Vasquez as school friends and family members.
Development on the second series is currently underway with filming expected to commence later this year. Confirmed cast will be announced at a later date.
- 1/13/2021
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
Shelley Birse has taken home the Australian Writers’ Guild’s (Awg) 2020 John Hinde Award for Science Fiction Writing for Stan Original series The Commons.
Birse, the creator of the show, receives $10,000 for the drama which offers a glimpse into a not-too-distant future where climate change and biotechnology raise important ethical questions for humanity.
The annual award, first presented in 2008, is funded by a bequest from the late film critic John Hinde. It was Hinde’s wish that future generations of Australian science-fiction screenwriters be nurtured through industry opportunities.
Highly commended in the produced category were Antony Webb’s Awgie-nominated short film Carmentis and episode 13 of The Unlisted, written by Mithila Gupta.
David Peterson’s feature script Untethered won in the unproduced category.
The screenplay follows a former refugee on a mission to Mars who must confront her lack of trust in her crew when their ship is damaged and grapple...
Birse, the creator of the show, receives $10,000 for the drama which offers a glimpse into a not-too-distant future where climate change and biotechnology raise important ethical questions for humanity.
The annual award, first presented in 2008, is funded by a bequest from the late film critic John Hinde. It was Hinde’s wish that future generations of Australian science-fiction screenwriters be nurtured through industry opportunities.
Highly commended in the produced category were Antony Webb’s Awgie-nominated short film Carmentis and episode 13 of The Unlisted, written by Mithila Gupta.
David Peterson’s feature script Untethered won in the unproduced category.
The screenplay follows a former refugee on a mission to Mars who must confront her lack of trust in her crew when their ship is damaged and grapple...
- 12/3/2020
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
Roadshow Rough Diamond’s 10-part drama Bump will premiere New Year’s Day on Stan.
The series, created by Kelsey Munro, centres around Oly (Nathalie Morris), an ambitious and high-achieving teenage girl who has a surprise baby and the complications that ensue for two families.
Claudia Karvan leads as Oly’s mother and is a producer of the series with John and Dan Edwards.
Also starring are Angus Sampson, Carlos Sanson Jnr, Catalina Palma, Safia Arain, Paula Garcia, Ioane Saula, Peter Thurnwald and Ricardo Scheihing Vasquez.
Bump was directed by Geoff Bennett, Gracie Otto and Leticia Caceres, with Munro working with scribes Jessica Tuckwell, Timothy Lee, Mithila Gupta and Steven Arriagada.
The post ‘Bump’ (Trailer) appeared first on If Magazine.
The series, created by Kelsey Munro, centres around Oly (Nathalie Morris), an ambitious and high-achieving teenage girl who has a surprise baby and the complications that ensue for two families.
Claudia Karvan leads as Oly’s mother and is a producer of the series with John and Dan Edwards.
Also starring are Angus Sampson, Carlos Sanson Jnr, Catalina Palma, Safia Arain, Paula Garcia, Ioane Saula, Peter Thurnwald and Ricardo Scheihing Vasquez.
Bump was directed by Geoff Bennett, Gracie Otto and Leticia Caceres, with Munro working with scribes Jessica Tuckwell, Timothy Lee, Mithila Gupta and Steven Arriagada.
The post ‘Bump’ (Trailer) appeared first on If Magazine.
- 12/2/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Rosie Lourde on the set of ‘Romance on the Menu’ (Photo credit: David Fell)
Multi-hyphenate talent Rosie Lourde’s career looks set to accelerate on the back of multiple deals for Romance on the Menu, her feature directing debut produced by the Steve Jaggi Company.
The romantic comedy starring Canadian Cindy Busby (Heartland) and Tim Ross was pre-sold to major European markets, premiered here as a Netflix Original film and has been acquired by an as yet-un-named streamer in the US.
The actor-turned writer, director and producer is currently in talks with production companies about several projects while developing a raft of her own projects, collaborating with the likes of Madeleine Dyer, Daniel Mulvihill, Kodie Bedford, Julie Kalceff, Mithila Gupta, Gretel Vella and the Afro Sistahs Collective.
After making Romance on the Menu on an extremely tight schedule of two weeks of pre-production and a 15-day shoot, followed by four weeks of editing,...
Multi-hyphenate talent Rosie Lourde’s career looks set to accelerate on the back of multiple deals for Romance on the Menu, her feature directing debut produced by the Steve Jaggi Company.
The romantic comedy starring Canadian Cindy Busby (Heartland) and Tim Ross was pre-sold to major European markets, premiered here as a Netflix Original film and has been acquired by an as yet-un-named streamer in the US.
The actor-turned writer, director and producer is currently in talks with production companies about several projects while developing a raft of her own projects, collaborating with the likes of Madeleine Dyer, Daniel Mulvihill, Kodie Bedford, Julie Kalceff, Mithila Gupta, Gretel Vella and the Afro Sistahs Collective.
After making Romance on the Menu on an extremely tight schedule of two weeks of pre-production and a 15-day shoot, followed by four weeks of editing,...
- 10/22/2020
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Paul Fletcher.
In a major overhaul of the regulatory system, the Federal Government is scrapping the fixed quotas for local drama, children’s programming and documentary and harmonising the film and TV Producer Offsets at 30 per cent.
Ignoring the vast majority of submissions to its Supporting Australian Stories on our Screens Options Paper review, the government has elected not to impose local content spending obligations on SVOD platforms.
Instead, it will merely ask the streaming services to report their Australian acquisitions to the Australian Communications and Media Authority from next year.
Foxtel is a major beneficiary of the reforms as the requirement to allocate 10 per cent of the revenues of its drama channels on local content will be halved from next July.
Setting the Producer Offsets for film, TV and docs at 30 per cent from July 1 2021 will be welcomed by TV producers but will almost certainly make it much tougher...
In a major overhaul of the regulatory system, the Federal Government is scrapping the fixed quotas for local drama, children’s programming and documentary and harmonising the film and TV Producer Offsets at 30 per cent.
Ignoring the vast majority of submissions to its Supporting Australian Stories on our Screens Options Paper review, the government has elected not to impose local content spending obligations on SVOD platforms.
Instead, it will merely ask the streaming services to report their Australian acquisitions to the Australian Communications and Media Authority from next year.
Foxtel is a major beneficiary of the reforms as the requirement to allocate 10 per cent of the revenues of its drama channels on local content will be halved from next July.
Setting the Producer Offsets for film, TV and docs at 30 per cent from July 1 2021 will be welcomed by TV producers but will almost certainly make it much tougher...
- 9/29/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
(L-r): Monica Zanetti, Mithila Gupta, Julie Kalceff, Darlene Johnson and Brooke Goldfinch.
Mithila Gupta, Brooke Goldfinch, Darlene Johnson, Julie Kalceff and Monica Zanetti have been selected by Screen Nsw and Australians in Film (AiF) to participate in a two-stage professional development lab designed to foster career pathways and networks in the US industry.
Known as the Charlie’s Talent Escalator Lab, the initiative is supported by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Each of the five filmmakers have already completed the first stage: a customised five-day virtual lab, which saw them paired with an industry mentor in LA, and given access to executives at US networks, streamers and studios, as well as writers, directors and producers.
For stage two, to be held in 2021 when health guidelines permit, participants will then travel to LA to meet their mentors, spend time in the field, attend meetings and network at Charlie’s in Raleigh Studios.
Mithila Gupta, Brooke Goldfinch, Darlene Johnson, Julie Kalceff and Monica Zanetti have been selected by Screen Nsw and Australians in Film (AiF) to participate in a two-stage professional development lab designed to foster career pathways and networks in the US industry.
Known as the Charlie’s Talent Escalator Lab, the initiative is supported by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association. Each of the five filmmakers have already completed the first stage: a customised five-day virtual lab, which saw them paired with an industry mentor in LA, and given access to executives at US networks, streamers and studios, as well as writers, directors and producers.
For stage two, to be held in 2021 when health guidelines permit, participants will then travel to LA to meet their mentors, spend time in the field, attend meetings and network at Charlie’s in Raleigh Studios.
- 8/26/2020
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
‘Bump.’
Stan today unveiled five Stan Original productions – two drama series, a true crime docuseries, a film and a comedy special – as part of an ambitious plan to ramp up local commissions.
The Nine-owned streamer said it plans to invest in more than 30 productions per year within five years, drawing on Nine’s production facilities and via co-productions with international partners including Hollywood studios and international networks.
It will continue to build on relationships with state and national screen agencies including initiatives such as the Stan and Film Victoria Development Fund and the Screen Queensland and Stan Premium Drama Development Fund.
The slate announced today includes Every Cloud Productions and Balloon Entertainment’s eight-part murder mystery Eden; Claudia Karvan, Kelsey Munro and Roadshow Rough Diamond’s 10-part half-hour drama Bump; and After the Night, a four-part true crime docuseries from Eq Media Group and Salon Pictures, created and directed by Thomas Meadmore.
Stan today unveiled five Stan Original productions – two drama series, a true crime docuseries, a film and a comedy special – as part of an ambitious plan to ramp up local commissions.
The Nine-owned streamer said it plans to invest in more than 30 productions per year within five years, drawing on Nine’s production facilities and via co-productions with international partners including Hollywood studios and international networks.
It will continue to build on relationships with state and national screen agencies including initiatives such as the Stan and Film Victoria Development Fund and the Screen Queensland and Stan Premium Drama Development Fund.
The slate announced today includes Every Cloud Productions and Balloon Entertainment’s eight-part murder mystery Eden; Claudia Karvan, Kelsey Munro and Roadshow Rough Diamond’s 10-part half-hour drama Bump; and After the Night, a four-part true crime docuseries from Eq Media Group and Salon Pictures, created and directed by Thomas Meadmore.
- 8/23/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
(L-r) Katie Robertson, Doris Younane, Stephen Peacocke, Kat Stewart and Roy Joseph pre-pandemic.
Hoodlum Entertainment will resume filming the second season of Network 10’s Five Bedrooms in Melbourne on Friday, three months after production was forced to shut down.
The producers are adhering to the Covid-Safe Guidelines developed by the Australian Screen Sector Task Force, supplemented with individual safety plans for department heads.
“Scripts are tweaked, hand santizer is stocked and our amazing cast is ready to walk back into scenes they began three months ago,” Michael Lucas, who co-created the show with Christine Bartlett, Tweeted on Sunday. “Trust me it’ll be seamless…”
Filming of episodes 5 and 6 was more than half way through when production paused, with episodes 7 and 8 to follow.
Doris Younane, who plays the lusty Heather, and her husband Billy lived in the Five Bedrooms house during the hiatus.
Younane, who has since moved to an apartment with Billy,...
Hoodlum Entertainment will resume filming the second season of Network 10’s Five Bedrooms in Melbourne on Friday, three months after production was forced to shut down.
The producers are adhering to the Covid-Safe Guidelines developed by the Australian Screen Sector Task Force, supplemented with individual safety plans for department heads.
“Scripts are tweaked, hand santizer is stocked and our amazing cast is ready to walk back into scenes they began three months ago,” Michael Lucas, who co-created the show with Christine Bartlett, Tweeted on Sunday. “Trust me it’ll be seamless…”
Filming of episodes 5 and 6 was more than half way through when production paused, with episodes 7 and 8 to follow.
Doris Younane, who plays the lusty Heather, and her husband Billy lived in the Five Bedrooms house during the hiatus.
Younane, who has since moved to an apartment with Billy,...
- 6/16/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Rodger Corser and Tina Bursill in ‘Doctor Doctor.’
The Nine Network has ordered a fifth season of Easy Tiger’s medical drama Doctor Doctor, a rare commission with much of the country in virtual lockdown.
Co-head of drama Andy Ryan says the broadcaster is developing a number of drama series for 2021 and 2022.
The renewal follows yesterday’s announcement by Nine Entertainment that it aims to cut costs by $266 million this calendar year as the pandemic flattens advertising revenues.
Nine said it expects to save $28 million in spending on broadcast content this year, primarily local drama and children’s programs, assuming a prolonged production shutdown.
Co-created by Easy Tiger’s Ian Collie and Tony McNamara, Doctor Doctor stars Rodger Corser as errant rural doctor Hugh Knight. Season four, which features regulars including Nicole da Silva, Ryan Johnson, Tina Bursill, Matt Castley and Miranda Tapsell, is on hiatus while Nine News screens...
The Nine Network has ordered a fifth season of Easy Tiger’s medical drama Doctor Doctor, a rare commission with much of the country in virtual lockdown.
Co-head of drama Andy Ryan says the broadcaster is developing a number of drama series for 2021 and 2022.
The renewal follows yesterday’s announcement by Nine Entertainment that it aims to cut costs by $266 million this calendar year as the pandemic flattens advertising revenues.
Nine said it expects to save $28 million in spending on broadcast content this year, primarily local drama and children’s programs, assuming a prolonged production shutdown.
Co-created by Easy Tiger’s Ian Collie and Tony McNamara, Doctor Doctor stars Rodger Corser as errant rural doctor Hugh Knight. Season four, which features regulars including Nicole da Silva, Ryan Johnson, Tina Bursill, Matt Castley and Miranda Tapsell, is on hiatus while Nine News screens...
- 3/31/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
(L-r) Xavier Coy, Michael Lucas, Mithila Gupta, script coordinator Alisha Hnatjuk and Christine Bartlett.
Michael Lucas, who co-created Network 10’s Five Bedrooms with Christine Bartlett, reached out to emerging writer Xavier Coy last year after reading Coy’s play Not Even God Can Save Us.
Coy wrote the play while he was studying at the Actors Centre Australia. Lucas invited the Sydney-based Coy to go to Melbourne for note-taking at the end of the first season of Hoodlum Entertainment’s relationships dramedy.
The result: The producers hired Coy to write an episode of the second season, his first TV credit, alongside Lucas, Bartlett and Mithila Gupta.
Lucas was given a copy of the play, an upper-class satire set a reception after a church service, by his husband, director Adrian Chiarella, with whom Coy is collaborating on a short film, Slippery Slope.
“I read Xavier’s play when I was on holiday in Turkey,...
Michael Lucas, who co-created Network 10’s Five Bedrooms with Christine Bartlett, reached out to emerging writer Xavier Coy last year after reading Coy’s play Not Even God Can Save Us.
Coy wrote the play while he was studying at the Actors Centre Australia. Lucas invited the Sydney-based Coy to go to Melbourne for note-taking at the end of the first season of Hoodlum Entertainment’s relationships dramedy.
The result: The producers hired Coy to write an episode of the second season, his first TV credit, alongside Lucas, Bartlett and Mithila Gupta.
Lucas was given a copy of the play, an upper-class satire set a reception after a church service, by his husband, director Adrian Chiarella, with whom Coy is collaborating on a short film, Slippery Slope.
“I read Xavier’s play when I was on holiday in Turkey,...
- 3/8/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Five Bedrooms.’
BBC One has acquired both series of Hoodlum Entertainment/Network 10’s Five Bedrooms from NBCUniversal Global Distribution.
It’s the second major deal for the Michael Lucas and Christine Bartlett-created relationships dramedy, which launches in the Us on NBCU’s streaming service Peacock in April.
The first series will premiere on BBC’s main channel in a daytime slot soon.
Now shooting, the second season again stars Kat Stewart, Stephen Peacocke, Doris Younane, Katie Robertson, Roy Joseph, Kate Jenkinson and Hugh Sheridan, with Andy Walker as series producer.
The new faces are Daniel Lapaine as Joseph, brother of Peacocke’s Ben, and Josh McKenzie as Xavier, a potential love interest for Joseph’s Harry. Screen Australia and Film Victoria are co-funding with 10.
Directors Fadia Abboud and Shirley Barrett joined set-up director Peter Templeman. Emerging writer Xavier Coy is the new addition to the writing team alongside Lucas,...
BBC One has acquired both series of Hoodlum Entertainment/Network 10’s Five Bedrooms from NBCUniversal Global Distribution.
It’s the second major deal for the Michael Lucas and Christine Bartlett-created relationships dramedy, which launches in the Us on NBCU’s streaming service Peacock in April.
The first series will premiere on BBC’s main channel in a daytime slot soon.
Now shooting, the second season again stars Kat Stewart, Stephen Peacocke, Doris Younane, Katie Robertson, Roy Joseph, Kate Jenkinson and Hugh Sheridan, with Andy Walker as series producer.
The new faces are Daniel Lapaine as Joseph, brother of Peacocke’s Ben, and Josh McKenzie as Xavier, a potential love interest for Joseph’s Harry. Screen Australia and Film Victoria are co-funding with 10.
Directors Fadia Abboud and Shirley Barrett joined set-up director Peter Templeman. Emerging writer Xavier Coy is the new addition to the writing team alongside Lucas,...
- 2/26/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Exclusive: BBC One has secured the keys to Australian drama Five Bedrooms from NBCUniversal Global Distribution.
The British public broadcaster becomes the latest international network to pick up the series, which will launch on NBCU’s streaming service Peacock in the U.S. in April. The show is set to launch on BBC’s main channel in a daytime slot soon.
The eight-part series is produced by Hoodlum Entertainment, the Tracey Robertson and Nathan Mayfield-run company behind ABC Studios International’s crime drama Harrow, with production investment from Screen Australia and developed and produced with the assistance of Film Victoria. international sales are being handled by NBCUniversal Global Distribution on behalf of Sky Studios.
Originally commissioned by Australia’s Network Ten, This Life-esque Five Bedrooms is the story of five loosely connected friends at the singles table at a wedding who, after too many champagnes, and wines and whiskeys and beers,...
The British public broadcaster becomes the latest international network to pick up the series, which will launch on NBCU’s streaming service Peacock in the U.S. in April. The show is set to launch on BBC’s main channel in a daytime slot soon.
The eight-part series is produced by Hoodlum Entertainment, the Tracey Robertson and Nathan Mayfield-run company behind ABC Studios International’s crime drama Harrow, with production investment from Screen Australia and developed and produced with the assistance of Film Victoria. international sales are being handled by NBCUniversal Global Distribution on behalf of Sky Studios.
Originally commissioned by Australia’s Network Ten, This Life-esque Five Bedrooms is the story of five loosely connected friends at the singles table at a wedding who, after too many champagnes, and wines and whiskeys and beers,...
- 2/26/2020
- by Peter White
- Deadline Film + TV
Ben Lawrence, Meg O’Connell and Mithila Gupta.
Screen Australia has selected 11 creatives to travel to New York in April as part of the Talent USA: New York delegation, where they will attend the Australian International Screen Forum.
The program is designed give Australian creators an opportunity to learn on the ground in the Us, and provides networking and professional opportunities.
Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason said: “To achieve success in this global industry it is imperative we help Australian talent establish and foster creative and business relationships in the Us – the largest English speaking market for screen content. This group were chosen because they are at the point in their careers where they can really take advantage of the opportunity and leverage these connections for their upcoming projects.”
Australian International Screen Forum co-founder and executive director Michael Kelleher said, “We are excited to showcase the 2020 Talent USA delegation to a New York industry audience.
Screen Australia has selected 11 creatives to travel to New York in April as part of the Talent USA: New York delegation, where they will attend the Australian International Screen Forum.
The program is designed give Australian creators an opportunity to learn on the ground in the Us, and provides networking and professional opportunities.
Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason said: “To achieve success in this global industry it is imperative we help Australian talent establish and foster creative and business relationships in the Us – the largest English speaking market for screen content. This group were chosen because they are at the point in their careers where they can really take advantage of the opportunity and leverage these connections for their upcoming projects.”
Australian International Screen Forum co-founder and executive director Michael Kelleher said, “We are excited to showcase the 2020 Talent USA delegation to a New York industry audience.
- 2/19/2020
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
(L-r) Katie Robertson, Doris Younane, Stephen Peacocke, Kat Stewart and Roy Joseph.
Directors Fadia Abboud and Shirley Barrett are joining set-up director Peter Templeman on the second season of Network 10/Hoodlum Entertainment’s Five Bedrooms, which is now shooting in Melbourne.
Emerging writer Xavier Coy is the new addition to the writing team, alongside the creators Michael Lucas and Christine Bartlett, while Mithila Gupta also returns.
The housemates face multiple questions in the new season, not least: After auctioning their communal home in the last episode, how quickly will they find a new abode?
How will the dynamic change with the pregnancy of Ainsley (Katie Robertson) and how will that affect the child’s father Lachlan (Hugh Sheridan)?
Will Harry (Roy Joseph) find new love with Xavier (Bad Mothers’ Josh McKenzie) and how will the arrival of Ben’s (Stephen Peacocke) brother Joseph (Daniel Lapaine), a successful international businessman,...
Directors Fadia Abboud and Shirley Barrett are joining set-up director Peter Templeman on the second season of Network 10/Hoodlum Entertainment’s Five Bedrooms, which is now shooting in Melbourne.
Emerging writer Xavier Coy is the new addition to the writing team, alongside the creators Michael Lucas and Christine Bartlett, while Mithila Gupta also returns.
The housemates face multiple questions in the new season, not least: After auctioning their communal home in the last episode, how quickly will they find a new abode?
How will the dynamic change with the pregnancy of Ainsley (Katie Robertson) and how will that affect the child’s father Lachlan (Hugh Sheridan)?
Will Harry (Roy Joseph) find new love with Xavier (Bad Mothers’ Josh McKenzie) and how will the arrival of Ben’s (Stephen Peacocke) brother Joseph (Daniel Lapaine), a successful international businessman,...
- 2/6/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Stephen Peacocke, Katie Robertson, Doris Younane, Roy Joseph and Kat Stewart at a table read for series 2.
NBC’s Us streaming service Peacock has bought Hoodlum Entertainment’s Five Bedrooms just as production of the second series of the relationships dramedy gets underway for Network 10.
Peacock will start to roll out in the Us on Comcast and Flex on April 15, spanning 24 million homes, followed by a nationwide launch on July 15.
There will be three versions: free, ad-supported; a more extensive, ad-supported tier that will be free to Comcast and Cox Cable subscribers and cost $US5 a month for everyone else; and an ad-free offering for $US5 for Comcast and Cox subscribers and $US10 for everyone else.
Created by Michael Lucas and Christine Bartlett, the second series again stars Stephen Peacocke, Katie Robertson, Doris Younane, Roy Joseph and Kat Stewart.
The network is expected to announce the full cast, directors and writers later this week,...
NBC’s Us streaming service Peacock has bought Hoodlum Entertainment’s Five Bedrooms just as production of the second series of the relationships dramedy gets underway for Network 10.
Peacock will start to roll out in the Us on Comcast and Flex on April 15, spanning 24 million homes, followed by a nationwide launch on July 15.
There will be three versions: free, ad-supported; a more extensive, ad-supported tier that will be free to Comcast and Cox Cable subscribers and cost $US5 a month for everyone else; and an ad-free offering for $US5 for Comcast and Cox subscribers and $US10 for everyone else.
Created by Michael Lucas and Christine Bartlett, the second series again stars Stephen Peacocke, Katie Robertson, Doris Younane, Roy Joseph and Kat Stewart.
The network is expected to announce the full cast, directors and writers later this week,...
- 2/3/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Natesha Somasundaram.
Growing up in Parramatta as the daughter of South Asian parents, Natesha Somasundaram never saw people like her on television.
She blames that invisibility for making it tough to develop a sense of her own identity – until she started writing for a living several years ago.
Her Sri Lankan Tamil parents emigrated to Australia in the late 1980s to escape the country’s civil war. “We grew up in a predominantly white area and I was the only person of colour at my school level,” she tells If.
“I had a very difficult time navigating my identity. I decided I never wanted to be associated with Sri Lanka or its culture. I shut that out of my system until the past couple of years as a writer when I reconnected with my culture.”
Intending initially to be an actor, she did a Bachelor of Performing Arts degree at Monash University,...
Growing up in Parramatta as the daughter of South Asian parents, Natesha Somasundaram never saw people like her on television.
She blames that invisibility for making it tough to develop a sense of her own identity – until she started writing for a living several years ago.
Her Sri Lankan Tamil parents emigrated to Australia in the late 1980s to escape the country’s civil war. “We grew up in a predominantly white area and I was the only person of colour at my school level,” she tells If.
“I had a very difficult time navigating my identity. I decided I never wanted to be associated with Sri Lanka or its culture. I shut that out of my system until the past couple of years as a writer when I reconnected with my culture.”
Intending initially to be an actor, she did a Bachelor of Performing Arts degree at Monash University,...
- 9/9/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Melissa Lee Speyer (Photo credit: Darwin Morales).
Emerging screenwriter Melissa Lee Speyer is gratified by the advances in screen diversity in the past three years but worries that progress has been exaggerated and there is still a significant imbalance.
Born in the UK to Chinese-Malaysian parents, Speyer sometimes finds she is the only non-white writer in writers rooms.
“For every diverse show loudly championed there are a dozen more with representation issues that nobody notices,” she tells If.
“I know it feels like all the money and opportunities are going in a very specific direction. Trust me, that’s not where 100 per cent of it is going. It’s often just talked about the loudest.
“In the last three years there’s been a lot of loud mainstream talk about diversity, coming off the back of 50 years of virtual silence.
“It’s not just about ‘not being the only non-white writer in the room,...
Emerging screenwriter Melissa Lee Speyer is gratified by the advances in screen diversity in the past three years but worries that progress has been exaggerated and there is still a significant imbalance.
Born in the UK to Chinese-Malaysian parents, Speyer sometimes finds she is the only non-white writer in writers rooms.
“For every diverse show loudly championed there are a dozen more with representation issues that nobody notices,” she tells If.
“I know it feels like all the money and opportunities are going in a very specific direction. Trust me, that’s not where 100 per cent of it is going. It’s often just talked about the loudest.
“In the last three years there’s been a lot of loud mainstream talk about diversity, coming off the back of 50 years of virtual silence.
“It’s not just about ‘not being the only non-white writer in the room,...
- 7/3/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Tristram Baumber.
Tristram Baumber studied English and creative writing at the University of Wollongong with the aim of making a living as a screenwriter.
That was 20 years ago. Since then his life and career have taken several twists and turns – but he is now reaping the rewards of persistence and determination.
“It took me a long time to get good at writing,” he tells If. The turning point came in March 2017 when Aquarius Films’ Polly Staniford and Angie Fielder hired him as an in-house writer.
He had been working with the producers on several projects including a rom-com feature and they were able to put him on staff thanks to a grant from Screen Australia’s Enterprise People program.
For the next two years he worked on multiple projects including the second season of Matt Okine’s Stan sitcom The Other Guy and The Unlisted, an action sci-fi thriller created...
Tristram Baumber studied English and creative writing at the University of Wollongong with the aim of making a living as a screenwriter.
That was 20 years ago. Since then his life and career have taken several twists and turns – but he is now reaping the rewards of persistence and determination.
“It took me a long time to get good at writing,” he tells If. The turning point came in March 2017 when Aquarius Films’ Polly Staniford and Angie Fielder hired him as an in-house writer.
He had been working with the producers on several projects including a rom-com feature and they were able to put him on staff thanks to a grant from Screen Australia’s Enterprise People program.
For the next two years he worked on multiple projects including the second season of Matt Okine’s Stan sitcom The Other Guy and The Unlisted, an action sci-fi thriller created...
- 6/24/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Roy Joseph.
Roy Joseph always wanted to be an actor but he was so lacking in self-confidence he did an entertainment management course at the Jmc Academy with a view to working in the music industry.
His self-belief grew after he completed a Nida Open Actors Studio program in Melbourne so he applied to enrol at Nida. Not once, but three times, without success. He also applied to Waapa and was accepted after his second try.
Before he graduated from Waapa at the end of 2017 he was introduced to casting director Nathan Lloyd by a fellow student. That led to his first breakthrough: winning a regular role as Vijay Kapoor, CEO of Doppelganger Designs, in the Gristmill/ ABC comedy Back in Very Small Business.
Lloyd recommended to Five Bedrooms creators Michael Lucas and Christine Bartlett they hire Joseph for the role of Harry, the gay surgeon who is hiding his sexuality from his Indian mother,...
Roy Joseph always wanted to be an actor but he was so lacking in self-confidence he did an entertainment management course at the Jmc Academy with a view to working in the music industry.
His self-belief grew after he completed a Nida Open Actors Studio program in Melbourne so he applied to enrol at Nida. Not once, but three times, without success. He also applied to Waapa and was accepted after his second try.
Before he graduated from Waapa at the end of 2017 he was introduced to casting director Nathan Lloyd by a fellow student. That led to his first breakthrough: winning a regular role as Vijay Kapoor, CEO of Doppelganger Designs, in the Gristmill/ ABC comedy Back in Very Small Business.
Lloyd recommended to Five Bedrooms creators Michael Lucas and Christine Bartlett they hire Joseph for the role of Harry, the gay surgeon who is hiding his sexuality from his Indian mother,...
- 6/24/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Niki Aken.
When screenwriter Niki Aken started writing TV shows seven years ago, she was the only one with an Asian or non-white heritage in the room.
That situation did not change until two years ago when the writer, who has a Malaysian father and an Aussie mother, and Benjamin Law began developing a show for Fremantle.
“For the first five years nearly everyone I worked with was middle class, Anglo and aged 40-plus,” she tells If.
As a founder member of Australian Writers’ Guild’s Diversity and Inclusion Action Committee alongside Law, Kodie Bedford, Jaime Browne, Mithila Gupta and Que Minh Luu, she has been heartened by the much greater diversity on screen and in writers’ rooms in the past couple of years.
One show she is developing with Ian Collie’s Easy Tiger is emblematic of the advances in pluralism across the industry. Based on an idea by Collie,...
When screenwriter Niki Aken started writing TV shows seven years ago, she was the only one with an Asian or non-white heritage in the room.
That situation did not change until two years ago when the writer, who has a Malaysian father and an Aussie mother, and Benjamin Law began developing a show for Fremantle.
“For the first five years nearly everyone I worked with was middle class, Anglo and aged 40-plus,” she tells If.
As a founder member of Australian Writers’ Guild’s Diversity and Inclusion Action Committee alongside Law, Kodie Bedford, Jaime Browne, Mithila Gupta and Que Minh Luu, she has been heartened by the much greater diversity on screen and in writers’ rooms in the past couple of years.
One show she is developing with Ian Collie’s Easy Tiger is emblematic of the advances in pluralism across the industry. Based on an idea by Collie,...
- 6/16/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Sleena Wilson.
Sydney producer Sleena Wilson has begun three months’ work experience in Los Angeles as the recipient of this year’s Village Roadshow Animal Logic Entertainment internship.
Wilson is working with the creative teams on the development slates at the Village Roadshow Entertainment Group and Animal Logic Entertainment in the initiative organised by Australians in Film.
“Exposure to the Us industry will no doubt be invaluable in shaping my career and slate of projects and I look forward to returning to Australia with this international perspective,” she said.
Previous recipients of the internship are David Edwardz (The Third Floor), Melanie Jayne (HBO), Lauren Brown (Ludo Studios) and Petra Lovrencic (Animal Logic).
After getting a Create Nsw producer’s attachment on Aquarius Films’ ABC/Netflix series The Unlisted, Sleena became an assistant to Aquarius producers Angie Fielder and Polly Staniford.
Last year she also served as assistant to producer Matt Reeder...
Sydney producer Sleena Wilson has begun three months’ work experience in Los Angeles as the recipient of this year’s Village Roadshow Animal Logic Entertainment internship.
Wilson is working with the creative teams on the development slates at the Village Roadshow Entertainment Group and Animal Logic Entertainment in the initiative organised by Australians in Film.
“Exposure to the Us industry will no doubt be invaluable in shaping my career and slate of projects and I look forward to returning to Australia with this international perspective,” she said.
Previous recipients of the internship are David Edwardz (The Third Floor), Melanie Jayne (HBO), Lauren Brown (Ludo Studios) and Petra Lovrencic (Animal Logic).
After getting a Create Nsw producer’s attachment on Aquarius Films’ ABC/Netflix series The Unlisted, Sleena became an assistant to Aquarius producers Angie Fielder and Polly Staniford.
Last year she also served as assistant to producer Matt Reeder...
- 5/14/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Timothy Lee on location in ‘Mystery Road.’
After serving as a script editor on three seasons of House Husbands and writing episodes of Rush and Serangoon Road, Timothy Lee’s career has gone up a couple of gears.
Lee, who graduated from Aftrs in 2006, modestly credits his progression in part to the talent drain which has resulted in numerous Aussie writers plying their trade in the Us and the UK.
“That has created opportunities for the next generation of writers,” says Lee, who got his start as a script assistant/researcher on Rescue Special Ops after securing an Australian Writers’ Guild internship with Southern Star, mentored by Sarah Smith.
That led to writing episodes of the Nine Network drama and the fourth season of Network Ten’s cop show Rush. Working on Playmaker Media’s House Husbands, he reflects, “was good for my craft but not so good for my profile.
After serving as a script editor on three seasons of House Husbands and writing episodes of Rush and Serangoon Road, Timothy Lee’s career has gone up a couple of gears.
Lee, who graduated from Aftrs in 2006, modestly credits his progression in part to the talent drain which has resulted in numerous Aussie writers plying their trade in the Us and the UK.
“That has created opportunities for the next generation of writers,” says Lee, who got his start as a script assistant/researcher on Rescue Special Ops after securing an Australian Writers’ Guild internship with Southern Star, mentored by Sarah Smith.
That led to writing episodes of the Nine Network drama and the fourth season of Network Ten’s cop show Rush. Working on Playmaker Media’s House Husbands, he reflects, “was good for my craft but not so good for my profile.
- 5/13/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Michael Lucas and Christine Bartlett.
After years of creating fictional characters in such series as House Husbands, Offspring, The Wrong Girl and Playing for Keeps, Christine Bartlett allowed herself the freedom to do something unprecedented in Five Bedrooms.
Namely: To flesh out a character modelled on her own life and experiences.
Doris Younane plays her alter ego Heather in Hoodlum Entertainment’s 8-part comedy-drama co-created by Bartlett and her frequent collaborator Michael Lucas, which premieres on 10 at 8.40 pm on May 15.
The set-up director Peter Templeman describes Heather as “funny, complex and raw, and that’s Chris.”
Bartlett tells If: “Michael gave me permission to be totally unfiltered, so I went balls-out like never before. I was blown away watching what Doris did to bring the character to life.”
At the crossroads in her life, Heather is married to Colin (Alan Dukes), whom she says “peaked at high school,” and they have two doltish adult children.
After years of creating fictional characters in such series as House Husbands, Offspring, The Wrong Girl and Playing for Keeps, Christine Bartlett allowed herself the freedom to do something unprecedented in Five Bedrooms.
Namely: To flesh out a character modelled on her own life and experiences.
Doris Younane plays her alter ego Heather in Hoodlum Entertainment’s 8-part comedy-drama co-created by Bartlett and her frequent collaborator Michael Lucas, which premieres on 10 at 8.40 pm on May 15.
The set-up director Peter Templeman describes Heather as “funny, complex and raw, and that’s Chris.”
Bartlett tells If: “Michael gave me permission to be totally unfiltered, so I went balls-out like never before. I was blown away watching what Doris did to bring the character to life.”
At the crossroads in her life, Heather is married to Colin (Alan Dukes), whom she says “peaked at high school,” and they have two doltish adult children.
- 5/9/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Peter Templeman on set with Stephen Peacocke.
Director Peter Templeman rates Michael Lucas and Christine Bartlett as Australia’s pre-eminent creators of TV comedy-dramas.
So he jumped at the chance to serve as the set-up director of the duo’s Five Bedrooms, Hoodlum Entertainment’s 8-part series which premieres on 10 at 8.40 pm on May 15.
He could not be happier with the performances of the ensemble cast led by Kat Stewart, Stephen Peacocke, Doris Younane, Katie Robertson, Roy Joseph, Kate Jenkinson and Hugh Sheridan.
“Michael and Chris created totally real characters, each with a rich inner life and a back story,” Templeman tells If. “Working on the show was a great experience. We were spoiled for talent.”
Scripted by Lucas, Bartlett and Mithila Gupta, the plot revolves around five strangers, all misfits, who find themselves at a singles table at a wedding. After an excess of alcohol they decide the solution...
Director Peter Templeman rates Michael Lucas and Christine Bartlett as Australia’s pre-eminent creators of TV comedy-dramas.
So he jumped at the chance to serve as the set-up director of the duo’s Five Bedrooms, Hoodlum Entertainment’s 8-part series which premieres on 10 at 8.40 pm on May 15.
He could not be happier with the performances of the ensemble cast led by Kat Stewart, Stephen Peacocke, Doris Younane, Katie Robertson, Roy Joseph, Kate Jenkinson and Hugh Sheridan.
“Michael and Chris created totally real characters, each with a rich inner life and a back story,” Templeman tells If. “Working on the show was a great experience. We were spoiled for talent.”
Scripted by Lucas, Bartlett and Mithila Gupta, the plot revolves around five strangers, all misfits, who find themselves at a singles table at a wedding. After an excess of alcohol they decide the solution...
- 5/9/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘The Unlisted.’
Netflix has acquired global rights outside Australia to The Unlisted, an action sci-fi thriller which follows two 13-year-old identical twins who team up with a group of underground vigilante to stop a powerful corporation from imposing control over the world’s youth.
Aquarius Films’ Angie Fielder and Polly Staniford are producing the 15-part half-hour series created by Justine Flynn, who is serving as executive producer and directs two episodes.
The ABC commissioned the series last year with funding from Screen Australia and Create Nsw. Toronto-based Sinking Ship Entertainment brokered the deal with Netflix, which becomes co-commissioner.
Discovered by casting director Kirsty McGregor, Ved and Vrund Rao play the twins, Dru and Kal, alongside Miah Madden and Abigail Adriano.
Rhys Graham, Nick Verso, Lucy Gaffy, Neil Sharma and Rebecca O’Brien directed the other episodes. The writers include Mithila Gupta, Timothy Lee, Tristram Baumber, Jane Allen and Greg Waters.
Netflix has acquired global rights outside Australia to The Unlisted, an action sci-fi thriller which follows two 13-year-old identical twins who team up with a group of underground vigilante to stop a powerful corporation from imposing control over the world’s youth.
Aquarius Films’ Angie Fielder and Polly Staniford are producing the 15-part half-hour series created by Justine Flynn, who is serving as executive producer and directs two episodes.
The ABC commissioned the series last year with funding from Screen Australia and Create Nsw. Toronto-based Sinking Ship Entertainment brokered the deal with Netflix, which becomes co-commissioner.
Discovered by casting director Kirsty McGregor, Ved and Vrund Rao play the twins, Dru and Kal, alongside Miah Madden and Abigail Adriano.
Rhys Graham, Nick Verso, Lucy Gaffy, Neil Sharma and Rebecca O’Brien directed the other episodes. The writers include Mithila Gupta, Timothy Lee, Tristram Baumber, Jane Allen and Greg Waters.
- 4/3/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
(L-r) Peta Astbury-Bulsara, Que Minh Luu and Warren Clarke (Photo credit: Bohdan Warchomij).
The ABC had greenlit the development of The Heights when Que Minh Luu, who co-created the drama serial with Warren Clarke, was alerted to a job vacancy at the public broadcaster.
Sally Riley, the ABC’s head of drama, comedy and Indigenous, suggested Luu apply for the role of an executive producer.
That presented a dilemma for the Matchbox Pictures development executive. “On one hand I was keen to see the show through to completion,” she tells If. “On the other hand I wanted to get into producing, jobs like that are rare and I may not have had the opportunity again.”
So she applied, got the position and continued to oversee the 30-episode production from Matchbox and Peta Astbury-Bulsara’s For Pete’s Sake Productions as an Ep.
Clarke and Luu had set up the writers...
The ABC had greenlit the development of The Heights when Que Minh Luu, who co-created the drama serial with Warren Clarke, was alerted to a job vacancy at the public broadcaster.
Sally Riley, the ABC’s head of drama, comedy and Indigenous, suggested Luu apply for the role of an executive producer.
That presented a dilemma for the Matchbox Pictures development executive. “On one hand I was keen to see the show through to completion,” she tells If. “On the other hand I wanted to get into producing, jobs like that are rare and I may not have had the opportunity again.”
So she applied, got the position and continued to oversee the 30-episode production from Matchbox and Peta Astbury-Bulsara’s For Pete’s Sake Productions as an Ep.
Clarke and Luu had set up the writers...
- 4/2/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
The cast of ‘The Heights’.
With the exception of flagship serials Home and Away and Neighbours, for the last few years, long-form adult drama has all but disappeared from our screens, replaced by high budget, short-run shows.
With that has also come a reduced number of training opportunities for emerging writers and directors, something that producers, writers and directors alike have lamented.
Given the landscape, it was somewhat of a surprise to see the ABC announce last June that it had commissioned a 30 x 30” serial drama in The Heights.
Produced by Matchbox Pictures and For Pete’s Sake Productions, The Heights is set in the fictional suburb of Arcadia Heights and explores the relationships, work lives and everyday challenges of six families living in a social housing tower and the rapidly gentrifying inner-city community that surrounds it.
The diverse ensemble cast includes Marcus Graham, Shari Sebbens, Roz Hammond, Fiona Press, Dan Paris,...
With the exception of flagship serials Home and Away and Neighbours, for the last few years, long-form adult drama has all but disappeared from our screens, replaced by high budget, short-run shows.
With that has also come a reduced number of training opportunities for emerging writers and directors, something that producers, writers and directors alike have lamented.
Given the landscape, it was somewhat of a surprise to see the ABC announce last June that it had commissioned a 30 x 30” serial drama in The Heights.
Produced by Matchbox Pictures and For Pete’s Sake Productions, The Heights is set in the fictional suburb of Arcadia Heights and explores the relationships, work lives and everyday challenges of six families living in a social housing tower and the rapidly gentrifying inner-city community that surrounds it.
The diverse ensemble cast includes Marcus Graham, Shari Sebbens, Roz Hammond, Fiona Press, Dan Paris,...
- 2/20/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
(L-r) Tanya Phegan, Ian Collie, Rachael Turk and Rob Gibson.
Bolstered by the arrival of Rob Gibson as CEO and producer, Ian Collie’s Easy Tiger Productions is ramping up the development of Australian and internationally-targeted projects, drawing on emerging talent as well as seasoned creatives.
“The difficulty we all recognise is that people like Tony McNamara, Andrew Knight and Kris Mrksa are getting pulled into Us or UK projects,” says Collie, who launched the company in 2017 with the backing of Fremantle.
“Our big focus is working with tomorrow’s talent, the wonderful emerging writers and creators who hopefully will be the next generation.”
Gibson adds: “It’s very much a two-pronged strategy of finding prestige projects and international opportunities with our increasingly sought after partners like Andrew Knight and Tony McNamara, and also working with rising stars and the next generation.
Collie and Gibson are working with development executives...
Bolstered by the arrival of Rob Gibson as CEO and producer, Ian Collie’s Easy Tiger Productions is ramping up the development of Australian and internationally-targeted projects, drawing on emerging talent as well as seasoned creatives.
“The difficulty we all recognise is that people like Tony McNamara, Andrew Knight and Kris Mrksa are getting pulled into Us or UK projects,” says Collie, who launched the company in 2017 with the backing of Fremantle.
“Our big focus is working with tomorrow’s talent, the wonderful emerging writers and creators who hopefully will be the next generation.”
Gibson adds: “It’s very much a two-pronged strategy of finding prestige projects and international opportunities with our increasingly sought after partners like Andrew Knight and Tony McNamara, and also working with rising stars and the next generation.
Collie and Gibson are working with development executives...
- 2/13/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Mithila Gupta.
After screenwriter Mithila Gupta began her career in the Neighbours writers’ room in 2010, she often found she was the “only brown person” in the room.
Nine years on, Gupta is a torch-bearer for diversity in her craft, with an impressive resume that includes Winners & Losers, Playing for Keeps, Network 10’s upcoming Five Bedrooms and the ABC’s The Heights.
“We’re taking the right steps,” Mithila tells If. “The biggest challenge is having more people of colour in the writers’ room. This isn’t just ticking boxes, it is getting authentic voices who can provide a fresh perspective. Diversity is personal to me; it is emotional.”
The Indian-born writer who came to Australian when she was three hails the formation last year of the Australian Writers Guild’s diversity and inclusion advisory committee as a big breakthrough. She is serving on the committee alongside Niki Aken, Kodie Bedford,...
After screenwriter Mithila Gupta began her career in the Neighbours writers’ room in 2010, she often found she was the “only brown person” in the room.
Nine years on, Gupta is a torch-bearer for diversity in her craft, with an impressive resume that includes Winners & Losers, Playing for Keeps, Network 10’s upcoming Five Bedrooms and the ABC’s The Heights.
“We’re taking the right steps,” Mithila tells If. “The biggest challenge is having more people of colour in the writers’ room. This isn’t just ticking boxes, it is getting authentic voices who can provide a fresh perspective. Diversity is personal to me; it is emotional.”
The Indian-born writer who came to Australian when she was three hails the formation last year of the Australian Writers Guild’s diversity and inclusion advisory committee as a big breakthrough. She is serving on the committee alongside Niki Aken, Kodie Bedford,...
- 1/28/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
(L-r) Roy Joseph, Doris Younane, Katie Robertson, Kat Stewart and Stephen Peacocke.
The Australian obsession with housing prices and affordability is the inspiration behind Five Bedrooms, Hoodlum Entertainment’s drama which started shooting in Melbourne today.
Commissioned by Network 10, the series features an ensemble cast led by Kat Stewart, Stephen Peacocke, Doris Younane, Katie Robertson, Roy Joseph, Kate Jenkinson and Hugh Sheridan.
Created by Michael Lucas and Christine Bartlett, the plot follows a group of very different people who find themselves at a singles table at a wedding.
After a few too many champagnes, wines, whiskeys and beers, the solution to all their problems seems to be buying a house together: A really big, five bedroom house.
Lucas tells If: “The idea of pooling together with friends to crack into the real estate market is something Christine and I have talked about for almost a decade now. As prices...
The Australian obsession with housing prices and affordability is the inspiration behind Five Bedrooms, Hoodlum Entertainment’s drama which started shooting in Melbourne today.
Commissioned by Network 10, the series features an ensemble cast led by Kat Stewart, Stephen Peacocke, Doris Younane, Katie Robertson, Roy Joseph, Kate Jenkinson and Hugh Sheridan.
Created by Michael Lucas and Christine Bartlett, the plot follows a group of very different people who find themselves at a singles table at a wedding.
After a few too many champagnes, wines, whiskeys and beers, the solution to all their problems seems to be buying a house together: A really big, five bedroom house.
Lucas tells If: “The idea of pooling together with friends to crack into the real estate market is something Christine and I have talked about for almost a decade now. As prices...
- 1/20/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
‘Playing for Keeps.’
The overnight ratings on Wednesdays for Network 10’s Playing for Keeps were respectable but the catch-up numbers are so healthy the broadcaster has commissioned a second series.
The first seven episodes of the Screentime-produced drama drew an average audience of 503,000, including time-shifted viewing, in the mainland capitals.
But the catch-up component jumped from 9 per cent for the premiere to 25.9 per cent for episode 5, 17.9 per cent for ep 6 and 21 per cent for ep 7.
The finale had 599,000 capital city viewers, which was up by 49 per cent or 197,000 viewers from the overnight number, including broadcast VOD viewing and the encore screening.
“We’re thrilled that Playing for Keeps has really found its place in the market,” said Network 10 head of drama Rick Maier, who came up with the idea of the show about Afl footballers’ wives and girlfriends and took it to Screentime.
“It’s become a bit of...
The overnight ratings on Wednesdays for Network 10’s Playing for Keeps were respectable but the catch-up numbers are so healthy the broadcaster has commissioned a second series.
The first seven episodes of the Screentime-produced drama drew an average audience of 503,000, including time-shifted viewing, in the mainland capitals.
But the catch-up component jumped from 9 per cent for the premiere to 25.9 per cent for episode 5, 17.9 per cent for ep 6 and 21 per cent for ep 7.
The finale had 599,000 capital city viewers, which was up by 49 per cent or 197,000 viewers from the overnight number, including broadcast VOD viewing and the encore screening.
“We’re thrilled that Playing for Keeps has really found its place in the market,” said Network 10 head of drama Rick Maier, who came up with the idea of the show about Afl footballers’ wives and girlfriends and took it to Screentime.
“It’s become a bit of...
- 11/14/2018
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
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