AUSTRALIA/NEW ZEALAND Prod Lists - Nov 25 2003

AUSTRALIA - November 25

PRE-PRODUCTION

IRRESISTIBLE
(Irresistible Films, Kennedy Mellor, Spice Factory, Movision Entertainment) Backers: Film Finance Corporation Australia, Movision. Int'l sales: Arclight. Dist: Palace (Aust/NZ), Momentum (UK), Blue Star (Italy). Psychological thriller. Sophie Hartley is convinced she is being stalked. She becomes increasingly certain that her husband's beautiful co-worker, Mara, wants her children, her husband, her life. But no-one believes her. Forced to prove her sanity, she makes a discovery more shocking than her worst fears. Exec prods: Sue Maslin, Gary Hamilton, Peter James, James Simpson. Prods: Tatiana Kennedy, Franziska Wagenfeld, David Parker, Michael Cowan, Jason Piette. Dir/scr: Ann Turner. DoP: Martin McGrath. Ed: Ken Sallows. Sound design: Craig Carter. Shooting in Adelaide from March 2004.
Contact: Franziska Wagenfeld, (61) 412 818 464

LIFE STORY
(Hibiscus Film) Backers: Australian Film Finance Corporation, Adelaide Film Festival, South Australian Film Corporation, Film Victoria, SBS Independent. Int'l sales: Fortissimo. Dist: Footprint (Aust/NZ). Genre: Drama (live action with animated sequences). Over a fiercely hot weekend, four people grapple with life-changing news, wondering whether their fate is deserved or earned, and how happiness might be possible. Prod: Bridget Ikin. Assoc prod: Barbara Masel. Dir/scr: Sarah Watt. DoP: Ray Argall. Ed: Denise Haratzis. Prod design: Rita Zanchetta. Main cast: William McInnes. Shooting in Adelaide from March 15 to April 30, 2004.
Contact: Wouter Barendrecht, Fortissimo, (852) 2311 8081

MOZART MAULERS
(Martin Brown Films) Budget: A$10 million. Backers: GreeneStreet Films, Film Finance Corporation Australia, Movie Network. Int'l sales: GreeneStreet Films. Dist: Roadshow (Aust/NZ). Romantic comedy. A student at the Sydney Conservatorium of Music starts a rugby league team of musical misfits and takes on the greatest team in the country. Prod: Martin Brown. Dir: John Polson. Scr: Dorian Mode, Richard Sutherlin, Louis Nowra. Main cast: tba. Shooting in Sydney from mid 2004.
Contact: Martin Brown, Martin Brown Films, (61) 2 9280 3066

POWER SURGE
(City Productions) Backers: Film Finance Corporation Australia. Int'l sales: ContentFilm. Dist: tba. Psychological thriller. With the police snapping at their heels, a couple take a heartbroken agoraphobic hostage in an isolated house. Exec prod: John Schmidt. Prods: Andrew Mason, Ed Pressman, Lizzie Bryant. Dir: Stuart McDonald. Scr: Dave Warner. Shooting in Sydney in 2004.
Contact: Lizzie Bryant, City Productions, (61) 2 9380 2111

TEN CANOES
(Fandango Australia/Vertigo Productions). Backers: Film Finance Corporation Australia, South Australian Film Corporation, Adelaide Film Festival, SBS Independent. Int'l sales: Wild Bunch. Dist: Palace (Aust/NZ), Italy (Fandango). Drama. A Yolngu tale in the Yolngu language set in Arnhem Land 120 years ago. Exec prods: Sue Murray, Domenico Procacci, Bryce Menzies. Prods: Julie Ryan, Rolf de Heer. Dirs: David Gulpilil, Rolf de Heer. Script: Rolf de Heer. DoP: Ian Jones. Ed: Tania Nehme. Prod design/costume design/hair/make-up: Yolngu community. Cast: David Gulpilil. Shooting in Arnhem Land from December 2003 until May 2004.
Contact: Julie Ryan, Vertigo Productions, (61) 8 8348 9382

THREE DOLLARS
(Arenafilm). Backers: Film Finance Corporation Australia, PMP/Showtime. Int'l sales: Becker. Dist: Footprint (Aust/NZ), Fandango (Italy). Comedy drama. An honest compassionate man finds himself, at age 38, with a wife and child and three dollars. Prod: John Maynard. Dir: Robert Connolly. Scr: Connolly, Elliot Perlman from a book by Perlman. DoP: Tristan Milani. Ed: Nick Meyers. Music: Alan John. Main cast: David Wenham. Shooting in Sydney from March 2004.
Contact: John Maynard, Arenafilm, (61) 2 9319 7011

YOU AND YOUR STUPID MATE
(Mondayitis Productions) Backers: Nine Films and Television, Film Finance Corporation Australia. Int'l sales: Lightning Entertainment. Dist: Hoyts (Aust/NZ). Comedy. Mates for life, Jeffrey and Phillip are happily unemployed until everything starts to go wrong. They are put on a work for the dole scheme, a freeway is built through the middle of their caravan park home, and their favourite TV show is to be axed. Exec prods: Jennie Hughes, Posie Graeme-Evans, Bryce Menzies. Prods: Marc Gracie, David Redman. Dir: Gracie. Scr: Dave O'Neil, Mark O'Toole. Shooting in Melbourne from January 19 to early March, 2004.
Contact: David Redman, Instinct Entertainment, (61) 3 9646 0955

IN PRODUCTION

THE HUMAN TOUCH
(Illumination Films, Go Patterson Films Productions) Backers: Film Finance Corporation Australia, South Australian Film Corporation, Film Victoria, PMP/Showtime. Dist: Dendy (Aust/NZ). Drama. Anna and David's relationship is tested when a wealthy, charming, worldly gentleman enters Anna's life, causing her to lose some of her sexual inhibitions. Prod: Mark Patterson. Dir/scr: Paul Cox. DoP: Ian Jones. Ed: Simon Whitington. Prod design: Asher Bilu. Costume/hair/make-up: Beverly Freeman. Music: Paul Grabowsky. Cast: Jacqueline McKenzie, Chris Haywood, Aaron Blabey, Rebecca Frith, Aden Young. Shooting in France from Oct 13 until Oct 25 and in South Australia from Nov 5 until Dec 5, 2003.
Contact: Mark Patterson, Go Patterson Films Productions, (61) 409 673 582

THE OYSTER FARMER
(Anthony Buckley Films, The Oyster Farmer Production [UK]) Budget: A$6.9m. Backers: Film Finance Corporation Australia, New South Wales Film and Television Office, Little Wing UK, Future Film UK. Int'l sales: Beyond Films. Dist: Dendy/Sherman Pictures (Aust/NZ). Modern romantic comedy. Eighth generation oyster farmers, Vietnam veterans with shotguns and 220 horsepower outboards, and other eccentrics in a frontier-style country. Exec prod: Jonathan Shteinman. Prods: Anthony Buckley, Piers Tempest. Dir/scr: Anna Reeves. Main cast: David Kelly, Alex O'Lachlan, Kerry Armstrong, Jack Thompson, David Field. Shooting near Sydney from November 10 until December 19, 2003.
Contact: Hilary Davis, Beyond Films, (44) 20 7636 9613

A MAN'S GOTTA DO
(Oilrag Productions) Backers: Film Finance Corporation Australia, New South Wales Film and Television Office, The Movie Network. Int'l sales: The Works. Dist: Hopscotch (Aust/NZ). Comedy. Eddy has gotta do what he's gotta do to keep his eccentric family together. Prods: Chris Kennedy, John Winter. Dir/scr: Chris Kennedy. DoP: Kim Batterham. Ed: Emma Hayes. Prod design: Elizabeth Moore. Costume design: Jane Johnston. Hair/make-up: Sherry Hubbard. Main cast: John Howard, Rebecca Frith, Alyssa McClelland, Gyton Grantley. Shot in regional New South Wales from May 5, 2003
Contact: Andrew Orr, The Works, (44) 20 7612 1080

DECK DOGZ
(b:j Films) Backers: Film Finance Corporation Australia, The Movie Network. Int'l sales: Arclight. Dist: UIP (Aust/NZ), Universal International (UK, Japan, Latin America). Teen. The one big aim of a trio of skateboard riders is to meet their hero, skating legend Tony Hawk. Exec prod: Richard Sheffield. Prods: Jennifer Bennett, Bill Bennett. Dir/scr: Steven Pasvolsky. DoP: Denson Baker. Ed: Jane Moran. Prod design: Sam Hobbs. Costume design: Sally Sharpe. Sound design: Wayne Pashley. Main cast: Tony Hawk. Shot in Sydney from August until September 26, 2003.
Contact: Jennifer Bennett, b:j Films, (61) 2 9516 1000

GRIM
(Paperbark Films, Rough Beast) Backers: private. Dark modern fairytale. Two lovers search for a happy ending. Prod: Gregory Read. Dir: Jon Hewitt. Scr: Jon Hewitt, Belinda McClory. DoP: Franc Biffone. Ed: Cindy Clarkson. Cost design: Catherine Raven. Hair/make-up: Annie Single. Art dir: Kate Saunders. Main cast: Belinda McClory, Aaron Pedersen, Anthony Phelan, Sandy Gore, Chris Baz, David Bonney, James Wardlaw, Paul Capsis. Shot in inner Sydney from March 3 until March 22, 2003.
Contact: Gregory Read, Paperback Films, (61) 2 9365 5300

ILLUSTRATED FAMILY DOCTOR
(Pod Film) Backers: Australian Film Finance Corporation, New South Wales Film and Television Office, SBS Independent, PMP/Showtime. Int'l sales: Moviehouse UK. Dist: Palace (Aust/NZ). Dark comedy. Gary Kelp is working on a medical guide for the lucrative mail order market and remains haunted by his father's recent death and the shock discovery that the body was 'harvested' for organ transplants. A modern fable that looks at what holds us together when everything else is falling apart. Prod: Catherine Kerr. Dir: Kriv Stenders. Scr: Kriv Stenders, David Snell from Snell's novel of the same name. DoP: Kevin Heywood. Ed: Denise Haratzis. Prod design: Elizabeth Mary Moore. Costume design: Wendy Cork. Hair/make-up: Deborah Lanser. Main cast: Samuel Johnson. Shot in Sydney.
Contact: Catherine Kerr, Pod Film (61) 2 9281 6499

MISSING TOM
(Rescued Films/Fandango Australia) Backers: Film Finance Corporation Australia, Film Victoria, PMP/Showtime. Int'l sales: Cinemavault. Dist: Palace Films (Aust/NZ), Fandango Distuzione (Italy). Drama. One day Tom White throws in his job and decides to run away. He goes missing inside the circles of a contemporary urban world and it takes him three years to find his way home. Exec prods: Domenico Procacci, Sue Murray. Prods: Alkinos Tsilimidos, Daniel Scharf. Dir: Alkinos Tsilimidos. Scr: Daniel Keene. Line prod: Anna Molyneaux. DoP: Toby Oliver. Ed: Ken Sallows. Prod design: Dan Potra. Cost design: Jill Johansen. Main cast: Colin Friels, Rachael Blake, Loene Carmen, Bill Hunter, Dan Spielman, David Field. Shot in Melbourne from May 2 until June 8, 2003.
Contact: Sue Murray, Fandango, (61) 2 9267 0609

MORE THAN SCARLET
(Red Carpet Productions) Backers: Film Finance Corporation Australia, PMP/Showtime, New South Wales Film and Television Office. Int'l sales: Fortissimo. Dist: Hopscotch (Aust/NZ). Coming-of-age drama. An adolescent girl discovers the difference between sex and love in the winter landscape of an Australian ski resort town. Exec prod: Jan Chapman. Prod: Anthony Anderson. Dir/scr: Cate Shortland. DoP: Robert Humphreys. Ed: Scott Gray. Prod design: Melinda Doring. Costume design: Emily Seresin. Hair/make-up: Angela Conte. Main cast: Abbie Cornish, Sam Worthington, Lynette Curran, Erik Thompson, Nathaniel Dean. Shot in Jindabyne from September 1 until October 11, 2003.
Contact: Anthony Anderson, Red Carpet Productions, (61) 2 9356 8677

PEACHES
(Point Blank Pictures) Backers: Film Finance Corporation Australia, South Australian Film Corporation, PMP/Showtime. Int'l sales: Cinemavault. Dist: Hopscotch (Aust/NZ). Drama. A love story that deals with accepting loss and change, and learning to move on. Tragedy can limit life if you let it or you can chose to reinvent your view of the world. Exec prod: Nick Stiliades. Prods: Craig Monahan, Don Reynolds. Dir: Craig Monahan. Scr: Sue Smith. DoP: Ernie Clark. Ed: Surresh Ayyer. Prod design: Robert Herriot. Composer: David Hirschfelder. Main cast: Hugo Weaving, Jacqueline McKenzie. Shot in Adelaide from March 24 until May 9, 2003.
Contact: Sally Steele, Hopscotch, (61) 2 9319 0233

STRANGE BEDFELLOWS
(Instinct Entertainment) Backers: Australian Film Finance Corporation, Becker Group, Film Victoria. Int'l sales: Eden Rock Media. Dist: Becker (Aust/NZ). Comedy. Two old timers in a small country town declare themselves a same sex couple on a tax return so one of them can escape a sticky financial situation. Exec prod: Shana Levine, Thomas Augsberger. Prods: David Redman, Nigel Odell. Dir: Dean Murphy. Scr: Murphy, Stewart Faichney. DoP: Roger Lanser. Ed: Peter Carrodus. Prod design: Ralph Moser. Costume design: Jeanie Cameron. Hair/make-up: Christine Miller. Main cast: Paul Hogan, Michael Caton, Pete Postlethwaite, Glynn Nicholas, Roy Billing, Paula Duncan. Shot in Yackandandah from August 5 until September 26, 2003.
Contact: Nigel Odell, Instinct Entertainment, (61) 3 9646 0955

THUNDERSTRUCK
(Wildheart Films, Eddie Wong Films) Backers: Film Finance Corporation Australia, New South Wales Film and Television Office, South Australian Film Corporation, ScreenWest, Sony Music Entertainment (Australia), PMP/Showtime. Int'l sales: BV International Pictures. Dist: Icon (Aust/NZ), Legend (Germany). Comedy. Five friends, all devoted AC/DC fans, make a pact to bury whoever dies first next to their idol Bon Scott. Eleven years later, four of them have to honour the promise. Exec prods: Al Clark, Andrena Finlay. Prod: Jodi Matterson. Dir: Darren Ashton. Scr: Shaun Angus Hall, Darren Ashton. DoP: Geoffrey Hall. Ed: Martin Connor. Prod design: Karen Harborow. Costume design: Ariane Weiss. Music: David Thrussell, Francois Tetaz. Main cast: Damon Gameau, Stephen Curry, Ryan Johnson, Callan Mulvey, Sam Worthington. Shot in Western Australia and South Australia from March 24 until May 24 2003.
Contact: Jodi Matterson, Eddie Wong Films (61) 2 9368 7233

PRE PRODUCTION

CASTLE OF LIES
(First Sun, Parallel Pictures [UK]) Int'l sales: New Zealand Film. Dist: tba. Period drama. Conny breaks free from the shackles of her Victorian family life and marries the much older William Larnach but instead of the marriage liberating her, she becomes increasingly drawn to Larnach's son Douglas. Exec prods: Jonathan Duncan, Ann Geim, Graham Bradstreet. Prod: Dave Gibson. Co-prod: Bill Chamberlain. Dir: Yvonne Mackay. Scr: Emma Frost, based on Michaelanne Forster's play Larnach. DoP: Richard Bluck. Ed: Paul Sutorius. Prod design: Clive Memmott. Shooting in Wellington and Rotorua in 2004.
Contact: Dave Gibson, First Sun, (64) 4 384 7789

FIFTY WAYS OF SAYING FABULOUS
(MF Films) Backers: New Zealand Film Commission. Int'l sales: New Zealand Film. Drama. Coming of age story of a boy growing up in a small southern town. Prod: Michele Fantl. Dir: Stewart Main. Script: Main from Grame Aitken's novel. DoP: Simon Raby. Shooting in Central Otago from February to March 2004.
Contact: Kathleen Drumm, New Zealand Film, (64) 4 382 7685

PERFECT CREATURE
(Crimbil Equities, Roc Media [UK]) Budget: NZ$17 million. Backers: New Zealand Film Fund, New Zealand Film Commission, UK equity fund. Int'l sales: Arclight (worldwide), NZ Film (Aust/NZ). Science fiction thriller. An original retelling of the vampire myth. Prods: Tim Sanders, Russel Fischer, Haneet Vaswani. Dir/script: Glenn Standring. Cast: Dougray Scott, Saffron Burrows, Jonathan Rhys Meyers. Shooting in Dunedin and Auckland from March until May 2004.
Contact: Tim Sanders, (64) 274 586 231

FRACTURE (formerly Crime Story)
(Crime Story) Budget: NZ$2.9m. Backers: New Zealand Film Commission, NZ On Air, TV3. Int'l sales: New Zealand Film. Dist: tba. Drama. A simple burglary goes wrong and the ripple effect reaches the robber, the victim and their families. Prod: Charlie McClellan. Dir: Larry Parr. Scr: Larry Parr from the Maurice Gee novel Crime Story. DoP: Fred Renata. Prod design: Kayne Horsham. Ed: Jonathan Woodford-Robinson. Costume design: Amanda Neale. Music: Victoria Kelly. Make-up: Frankie Karena. Cast: Kate Elliott, Jared Turner, John Noble, Cliff Curtis. Shot in Wellington from March 3 until April 18, 2002.
Contact: Kathleen Drumm, New Zealand Film, (64 4) 382 7685

IN MY FATHER'S DEN
(T.H.E. Film Ltd, Little Bird [UK]) Backers: UK Film Council, New Zealand Film Commission, Visionview, NZ On Air. Int'l sales: Element X, NZ Film. Dist: Icon (Aust/NZ). Psychological mystery. [Note to Screen: synopsis is coming] Exec prods: Sue Bruce Smith. Prods: Trevor Haysom, Dixie Linder. Dir/scr: Brad McGann. DoP: Stuart Dryburgh. Ed: Chris Plummer. Prod design: Jennifer Kernke. Cost design: Kirsty Cameron. Hair/make-up: Denise Kym. 1st AD: Axel Paton. Main cast: Matthew MacFadyen, Miranda Otto, Colin Moy, Jodie Rimmer, Emily Barclay. Shot in Otago and Auckland from September 8 until October 31.
Contact: Anne Chamberlain, unit publicist, (64) 21 399 159

SPOOKED
(Silverscreenfilms/Ora Digital) Backers: NZ Film Commission, NZ On Air, Capital Pictures. Int'l sales NZ Film. Conspiracy thriller. A young man who thinks he's just buying second-hand computers, until he discovers they contain sensitive banking records, mysteriously dies. Was Kevin murdered, or did he simply crash his car' Investigating journalist Mort Whitman will find out if it kills him. Exec prods: Eric Watson, Mark Hotchin. Prods Don Reynolds, Merata Mita, Geoff Dixon, Geoff Murphy. Dir: Geoff Murphy. Scr: Murphy using material from Ian Wishart's book The Paradise Conspiracy. DoP: Rewa Harre. Ed: Mike Horton. Production design: Shayne Radford. Costume design: Brett Garton. Hair/make-up: Linda Wall. Visual effects supervisor: Dean Lyon. Cast: Cliff Curtis, Chris Hobbs, Miriama Smith, John Leigh, Kelly Johnson. Shot in Auckland from Sept 21 until Oct 24, 2003
Contact Sue May, unit publicist, (64) 274 739 318