Australian producer and businessman Garry Charny (Jindabyne) has returned to film with new Australian production company Spotted Turquoise Films. Cinetic Media is attached to what is likely to be the first film under that banner.

Debut director Joel Kohn’s film noir detective story, Wake Up Dead, is set to star up-and-coming Australian actor Alex Russell (Chronicle, Bait 3D), who was recently cast in the remake of horror film Carrie. Luke Ford and Maeve Dermody are also in the cast.

John Sloss and Bart Walker at Cinetic are acting as sales agents for North America and assisting with financing. The creative team is looking to go into production in February or March 2013.

Josh Butt, who brought Wake Up Dead to Charny, has also joined Spotted Turquoise on a permanent basis.

The pair have just returned from a series of meetings in the US that included working with New York-based former Sydneysider Jack Feldstein on the development of a big screen adaptation of his stage play Love And Sex Between Prime Numbers. The romantic comedy is about an Australian mathematician who goes to New York and finds love. It will be filmed in both countries.

Charny spent a number of years developing projects under April Films and raised a significant amount of Australian equity for Ray Lawrence’s Jindabyne in 2005, which the company produced.

He has kept a low profile in the last couple of years while establishing Boost Media, an international sales and advisory company in the television and newspaper space that operates in 12 countries and has offices in Australia, Malaysia, India and the US.

“I am still a major investor, deputy chair of the group and president of Boost Media North America, but am only focused on board activities these days … You can’t be in film but stay on the sidelines. You’ve got to be passionate and committed.”

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