Year: 2016

Top US Showrunner confirms Australian visit for Werner Film Productions’ The Story Lab Writers’ Room

Werner Film Productions (WFP) has secured a spot with Emmy Award winning writer/producer, content creator, showrunner and specialist script producer Javier Grillo-Marxuach (Lost) for a week-long intensive ‘writers’ room’ workshop to develop The Story Lab’s project HEREAFTER, created by Giula Sandler (Glitch) & David Hannam (Carlotta).  While in Melbourne, Grillo-Marxuach will also headline a Screen Australia ‘In Conversation’ event hosted by WFP’s…

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It looks like Captain America: Civil War won’t mark the first major tie-in to the Netflix Defenders after all

As we inch slowly, painfully, closer to the release of Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War, some armchair detective work by the team at comicbook.com has revealed what may be the first tentative link between the new film and Netflix’s growing collection of Marvel shows. Earlier this week, Disney circulated an email listing the cast members…

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Win a double pass to see Where To Invade Next

Academy Award-winning director Michael Moore returns with what may be his most provocative, subversive and hilarious film yet. In Where To Invade Next Moore plays the role of ‘invader’, visiting a host of nations including Italy, France, Germany and Tunisia to commandeer policies and ideas that will improve prospects in America. What he finds is…

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Video Games Review: StarCraft II: Nova Covert Ops (PC, 2016)

If you’ve been following the development of the StarCraft IP over the last decade or so, you’ll surely have heard of the fan-favourite Terran ghost, namely November Annabella Terra, or Nova for short. The character was to appear in her own title, aptly named StarCraft: Ghost, however the project was sadly canned in 2005. Now…

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Hands-On Preview: Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End (PS4, 2016)

After a few delays and huge discussions about the possible end to one of the most adored gaming franchises of the 21st century, Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End is finally ready, taking place three years after the action-packed, story-driven Uncharted 3.

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Our first impressions of Stan’s new drama The Girlfriend Experience

In case you were wondering, the sex really starts in the second episode. But if money is more your thing, you’ll be aroused in the first minute. Christine (Riley Keough) joins her friend Avery (Kate Lyn Sheil) in a hotel room where the oldest transaction has just taken place. The john has departed (in a…

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Tech Review: Parrot Bebop 2 Quadcopter Drone

About a fortnight ago, I read a review over at Gizmodo on the Phantom 4 drone titled “The DJI Phantom 4 is the nicest drone I’ve ever crashed.” I looked at the damage to the expensive piece of flying hardware and thought “God, that would be heartbreaking as a reviewer. I wonder how he dealt…

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Five things you have to eat in Hong Kong (and where to eat it!)

Today we take you to Hong Kong – a city for business, a city for shopping and (perhaps most importantly…) a city for FOOD. It’s hard to go wrong when it comes to a good meal in Hong Kong, but there are definitely plenty of highlights. Here, in no particular order, are five such meals we…

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Virgin’s Velocity Points are now redeemable across the Tigerair Network

In pretty major news for the local frequent flyer programs – of which Virgin and Qantas are the two major players – members of the Velocity Frequent Flyer Program are now able to redeem their points towards any Tigerair flight purchased from the Tigerair website or the Velocity Membership Contact Centre. To redeem points, members are instructed to log in…

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The Wizarding World of Harry Potter Opens at Universal Studios Hollywood

The Wizarding World of Harry Potter, a real-life incarnation of the fictional wizarding world we all know so well, opens to the public today at Universal Studios Hollywood. The park’s opening was celebrated on April 5th and featured a three-dimensional digital lighting projection on Hogwarts Castle, accompanied by music from the LA Philharmonic, conducted by…

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David Campbell to make a return to the stage in Dream Lover – The Bobby Darin Musical

David Campbell (Les Misérables, Guys and Dolls) is set to return to the musical stage for the lead role in the world premier production of Dream Lover – The Bobby Darin Musical this September. NSW Minister for Trade, Tourism and Major Events Stuart Ayres joined director Simon Phillips (Priscilla, Queen of the Desert – The…

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Broadway icon Megan Hilty makes one-off Australia debut June 8 at Arts Centre Melbourne

The exclusive one-night-only event at the Art Centre Melbourne’s Hamer Hall will showcase Megan Hilty with her four-piece band including musical director and pianist Matt Cusson and husband Brian Gallagher on guitar. Those lucky enough to score a ticket can except to sing along to hit songs, They Just Keep Moving the Line (SMASH!), Almost…

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First Impressions: Kansas City Shuffle’s ‘Happiness Hours’ Dumpling and Beer Pop-Up – The Rocks (Sydney)

“Simplicity is the key to brilliance” Bruce Lee once said and it seems Kansas City Shuffle in Sydney’s Rocks has taken this ethos to heart. The city cafe crew has opened up a dumpling and beer pop-up bar inspired by the martial arts legend and good times with an idea so simple it seems incredible…

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Music Video of the Day: Slow Turismo “Falter” (2016)

Get some electro grooves outta Canberra into your Wednesday, with Slow Turismo‘s “Falter”! The band have released the song’s music video, embarking on a decidedly abstract path for this one; pairing up some great animation with an undoubtedly catchy tune. It’s another great addition to Slow Turismo’s body of work, building on a great reputation the band…

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12 Aussie Album & EP releases you may have missed…Part II!

Earlier this week we brought you the first part of our lil’ 2015 album and EP retrospective, where we looked at some stellar releases that may have flown under your radar amid the flurry of wonderful Australian records that made their way to music fans everywhere. Today, we take a look at the second half…

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Carriageworks adds second BJÖRK DJ set & performance for VIVID Sydney!

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Carriageworks and VIVID Sydney have added an extra performance and DJ set by BJÖRK to their 2016 program. The acclaimed artist will be coming to Sydney to curate two nights of music at the Sydney venue, DJing alongside some special guests in June. The originally announced event will see the world premiere of the BJÖRK DIGITAL exhibition…

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The Jungle Giants hitting the road with Gideon Bensen, The Lulu Raes and Machine Age this June and July!

The Jungle Giants are good at putting together a tour line up, that’s for sure. Their 2015 national run introduced many more to Foreign/National and the Moses Gunn Collective and now, the Brisbane group are hitting the road for the first time this year, joined by Gideon Bensen, The Lulu Raes and Machine Age. Tasty. The ‘Together We Can Work Together Tour’…

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Methyl Ethel, Hiatus Kaiyote, RÜFÜS & Cloves joining the likes of Radiohead, LCD Soundsystem at Outside Lands!

San Francisco’s Outside Lands festival continues to be one we desperately want to be at, yet again delivering a line up of musicians we’re green with envy over. Taking place at the Golden Gate Park from August 5th – 7th this year, the festival brings together (unsurprisingly) Radiohead and LCD Soundsystem to headline the ninth year of Outside…

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2016 APRA Music Awards Wrap: Courtney Barnett, Kevin Parker, Sia & more recognised in Sydney!

Last night, Carriageworks hosted the 2016 APRA Music Awards, where the likes of Courtney Barnett, Kevin Parker, Peking Duk and Sia walked away with awards recognising some stellar songwriting through 2015, while Cold Chisel and songwriter Phil Barton were both acknowledged with special awards commending their work and contribution to the industry both in Australia and abroad. Performances on the night brought some unique highlights…

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Single of the Day: M83 ft. Mai Lan “Go!” (2016)

M83‘s forthcoming album Junk looks like it’s going to be stepping away from the cathartic synth-pop of 2011’s Hurry Up, We’re Dreaming and into the 80’s pop world with singles like “Do It, Try It”, and today’s single of the day, “Go”. “Go” features vocals from French singer Mai Lan, who’s set to appear on another…

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SXSW Music Interview: Sam & Nick of The Soorleys (Newcastle) on the band’s first US tour, recording in Nashville & more!

Newcastle folk-pop band The Soorleys have been making their mark on the US, spending some weeks through March touring and experiencing some iconic cities for the first time, definitely from an interesting perspective. From hitting ballrooms in Kansas City to recording in Nashville, through to arriving in Austin for their first ever SXSW, the family band have…

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The Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s 30th Birthday Bash will arrive on Foxtel in June

Foxtel has announced that it will broadcast the Melbourne International Comedy Festival’s 30th Birthday Bash as a six-part series, made exclusively for The Comedy Channel. The comedy festival hosted by Tommy Little was filmed last Friday in front of a live audience at Melbourne’s Regent Theatre. Each episode will be made up of a selection…

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DVD Review: Creed (USA, 2015)

Sylvester Stallone has been playing Rocky Balboa for forty years. It’s a credit to the almost-70-year-old actor that he has found a way to breathe new life into the iconic character in Creed, the seventh film in the Rocky franchise. In fact, his efforts even earned him an Oscar nomination this year, the third of…

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Akiva Goldsman penning Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep, sequel to The Shining

Academy Award-winning screenwriter Akiva Goldsman will adapt Stephen King’s Doctor Sleep, the sequel to the horror classic The Shining, for Warner Bros. Doctor Sleep takes place years after the events of The Shining and focuses on Danny (now middle-aged) who is still traumatized, causing him to drink. He soon gives up drinking and settles in a small town in New Hampshire….

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Village Cinemas Australia sets records on World Autism Awareness Day

Village Cinemas Australia welcomed over 2000 guests to its special film event, which celebrated the ninth annual World Autism Awareness Day. In an effort to raise awareness and understanding of autism, Village Cinemas hosted a cinematic experience catering to those living with Autism. In collaboration with Amaze, Sensory Friendly sessions of Disney’s Zootopia were screened at various locations, preceded by…

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Stan become first streaming service to be nominated for a Logie with No Activity

It was announced at the 58th TV Week Logie Award nominations that Australian streaming service Stan has secured three nominations for its original series No Activity.  This is the first time ever that an streaming or video-on-demand (VOD) service has been selected for Australia’s top television awards. No Activity was nominated for Most Outstanding Comedy…

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The first full trailer for The BFG is here

Steven Spielberg‘s take on the Roald Dahl classic got it’s first trailer today. It’s only a short teaser for the full film but it does give a good look at the visual effects set to the bring the titular giant to life – which, if nothing else, look like a pretty distinctive and cinematic take…

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Meet Shane, the Australian train joining the next Thomas and Friends movie

Following in the tradition of global franchising, Australia will soon have their very own anthropomorphic steam engine joining the cast of Thomas The Tank Engine. A green and gold engine from South Australia, Shane will be modelled on the 520 class – a train first built at South Australian Railways’ Islington workshops in 1943 to…

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Joel McHale to play Chevy Chase in upcoming Netflix biopic

After years torturing one another through Community, Joel McHale has begun final negotiations to play former-co-star Chevy Chase in the upcoming Netflix Original, A Futile and Stupid Gesture. The biopic will follow National Lampoon co-founders Douglas Kenney (played by Will Forte) and Henry Beard (played by Domhnall Gleeson). The film will be a ‘sad story…

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Roadshow bring runners home to the Rocky theme

To celebrate the release of Creed to DVD and Blu-ray, Roadshow set up a micro orchestra to cover the original Rocky theme (“Gonna Fly Now” by Bill Conti) at the crest of Sydney’s toughest set of stairs. Watch the embattled runners reborn in the video below, Creed is the tale of Apollo Creed’s son Adonis…

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