Author: Meg Kennedy

Hit ABC series Rosehaven to return later this year and make US debut

It’s the Australian comedy that got everybody talking. Rosehaven, the brainchild of Luke McGregor and Celia Paquola is set to begin production on its second series later this month. The first season, set in a rural Tasmanian town followed McGregor’s character, Daniel, as he helps his best friend Emma (Paquola) after her honeymoon goes wrong. The 8-episode…

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Melbourne’s Kino Cinema celebrates 30 years with special birthday program at 1987 prices

One of Melbourne’s most iconic arthouse cinemas is set to celebrate 30 years of business, with a throwback to iconic arthouse films from last three decades set to screen next month. First opened in 1987 in the hub of Collins St, The Kino quickly became Melbourne’s prime spot for international and domestic feature films, from art house…

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Scottish actor Brian Cox to appear at screenings of Churchill in Sydney and Melbourne

Iconic stage, TV and film actor Brian Cox (Bourne films, Braveheart, Planet of the Apes, Doctor Who) is set to make an appearance down under later this month for the release of Churchill, directed by Australian Jonathan Teplitzky (The Railway Man), Cox will be appearing at screenings of Churchill in Sydney and Melbourne, ahead of the…

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ABC miniseries The Easybeats begins production in Sydney

A new ABC event series based on the iconic Australian rock and roll band of the swingin’ ’60s has begun production in Sydney. The Easybeats had widespread international success with their 1966 single “Friday on My Mind”, but the synonymously named television mini-series will follow band back to their beginnings as young European immigrants who…

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Melbourne Cabaret Festival announces 2017 program

The eighth annual Melbourne Cabaret Festival has released a stellar lineup for 2017’s showcase, which will be running throughout June and July. Ten Australian premieres will take place, including an opening night hosted by Cabaret legend and Artistic Director Dolly Diamond, who states the Festival is “…full of homegrown Australian talent with a huge amount of…

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Watch the fun-filled, action-packed first trailer for Kingsmen: The Golden Circle

If you cast your mind back to 2015, you might remember a film by the name of Kingsman: The Secret Service that became a surprising box office hit and as well as becoming a box-office hit, was regarded as a revival of the spy genre. Fast forward almost two years later, and we finally have the first…

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Dust off your tinfoil hats: The X-Files revival series to return later this year

After a mostly well-received miniseries return for beloved sci-fi show The X-Files in early 2016, FOX has announced today with a teaser photo that the show will return for the 2017-18 season. Deadline reports that FOX has ordered a similar 10-episode run for the cult series, and will see the return of stars Gillian Anderson…

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Tickets on sale for screenings of 2016 Lexus Short Film Fellowship recipients

Tickets are set to be released today for the world-premiere screenings of recipients of the 2016 Lexus Short Film Fellowship. In partnership with the Sydney Film Festival, the short films will be shown at an exclusive screening and throughout the Festival itself in mid-June. This year’s filmmakers and respective short films include Anya Beyersdorf (How the Light…

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Palace Cinemas to hold ‘American Essentials’ indie film festival in May

Palace Cinemas are set to screen 20 independent American films for their nationwide Australian debut, as part of the ‘American Essentials’ showcase. The three-week festival will screen various new international film festival debuts, as well as restored American classics. The festival will open with the screening of the Oscar-nominated 20th Century Women, starring Annette Bening…

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ACMI and Golden Age Cinema to exclusively screen Kelly Reichardt’s Certain Women

Director Kelly Reichardt‘s (Meek’s Cutoff) award-winning latest release Certain Women, starring Michelle Williams, Laura Dern and Kristen Stewart, will be exclusively screening at selected venues later this month. ACMI will also be screening a limited season of Reichardt’s previous works, including Meek’s Cutoff,  Wendy and Lucy and Old Joy, to be screened on 35mm film. ACMI…

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Sydney’s For Film’s Sake Festival releases 2017 program showcasing female and minority filmmakers

The For Film’s Sake Festival (formerly WOW), a film festival focused on showcasing female and minority filmmakers to help thrive within the Australian Film Industry has released its 2017 program. Running later this month in Sydney, FFS will be screening various international and domestically produced films made by female-identifying artists and other minority groups, including…

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Film Review: Dance Academy: The Movie (Australia, 2017) still knows how to create great teen drama

Dance Academy was one of the shows that defined by teenage years. I was by no means a dancer; yet the representation of real, raw teenage issues was presented in an Australian spotlight – especially on a network that was rather lukewarm at the time (ABC3, now branded as ABCME) was addictive for an entire…

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International Television Festival Series Mania to make Australian debut in Melbourne

The world’s most prestigious festival for international television, Series Mania, is set to make its Australian debut in Melbourne with a joint partnership between ACMI and Film Victoria. Held annually in Paris, the Melbourne festival will display program highlights from Series Mania Paris 2017, with over 40 free screenings of premiere seasons of some of…

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Film Review: Ghost In The Shell (USA, 2017) is a visual spectacle, but lacks original storytelling

The first scene of Ghost In The Shell is incredibly haunting, as a crimson-hued setting features a fresh, human brain being delicately placed into a robotic body. It’s an uneasy mixture of human and AI – and according to Tesla CEO Elon Musk – it is a reality that’s not too far into the future, once…

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Take a first look at Alicia Vikander as Lara Croft in next year’s Tomb Raider reboot

The first photos of Oscar-winner Alicia Vikander (Ex-Machina, The Danish Girl) as the iconic video game action heroine Lara Croft have been exclusively released by Vanity Fair overnight. The article also revealed more of the backstory for the new incarnation of Croft, who was last portrayed onscreen in the commercially successful Tomb Raider films by Angelina Jolie. This…

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AF French Film Festival Review: A Woman’s Life (France/Belgium, 2016) is a melancholy look into a past patriarchal life

A dark, moving yet warming adaptation of Guy de Maupassant’s classic novel Une vie is eloquently created in to a period arthouse picture by director Stéphane Brizé (The Measure of a Man), as a young woman comes to grasp the turmoil that unfolds around her in 19th-century France. The aesthetic of the film is created perfectly by…

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AF French Film Festival Review: Planetarium (France/Belgium, 2016) is supernaturally addictive, but not as intriguing as it aims to be

A strong taste of the old is present in Planetarium, as Natalie Portman leads a dual-language spoken film about not only the ghosts of the supernatural around us, but also those which come from within before the dawning of a new war era. Directed and written by French filmmaker Rebecca Zlotowski (Grand Central) the film follows two…

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Watch the intense teaser for David Fincher’s thrilling Netflix series Mindhunter

Rolling off from the incredible success of House of Cards, David Fincher (The Social Network, Gone Girl) has returned to Netflix for a new series, Mindhunter. In the vein of True Detective, the series follows a a pair of FBI agents as they interview imprisoned serial killers in an attempt to solve cases in 1979. Watch the trailer here: Based…

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Brad Pitt stars in the teaser for Netflix black comedy film War Machine

If there’s anything we already know about 2017, it’s that Netflix has definitely upped their A-game in content. The teaser for David Michôd‘s new dark comedy war film War Machine, starring and produced by Brad Pitt, officially dropped over the weekend and features a star-studded cast including Tilda Swinton, Sir Ben Kingsley, Topher Grace and Will Poulter. Watch the…

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Doctor Who‘s Arthur Darvill to appear at Perth Oz Comic-Con

One of the most loved companions from the world of Doctor Who will be making an appearance Down Under. Best known for his role as the lovable Rory Williams, whom he played alongside Karen Gillian and Matt Smith from 2010-2012, Arthur Darvill will be making an appearance at Perth Oz-Comic Con. As well as his run…

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Tilda Swinton stars in the mysterious teaser for upcoming Netflix film Okja

Although short, the debut teaser trailer for new Netflix Original Film Okja will have you hooked. Directed by South Korean visionary Bong Joon Ho (Snowpiercer) comes a mysterious adventure following a young girl named Mija, where the stakes are high to prevent a powerful, multi-national company from kidnapping her best friend – a massive animal named ‘Okja’. Watch…

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Hugo Weaving hits the small screen as ABC’s new drama series Seven Types of Ambiguity to air in April

A new drama series starring Hugo Weaving and based on Elliot Perlman’s critically acclaimed novel will air on ABC and iView this April. Seven Types of Ambiguity is described as “an exploration of the complicated emotional terrain of relationships and the risks people will go to in the name of love.” The synopsis from ABC reads:…

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Georgia Fields talks fairytales, upcoming show with string quartet & lessons learned from a decade of releasing music

Even after one listen to Melbourne singer-songwriter Georgia Fields, her soft, folk charm is completely encapsulating.  Her most recent release Astral Debris, which she will perform with a string quartet at Northcote Uniting Church, is bound to be a completely ethereal and moving performance. Although the album is shrouded in themes of fairytales and mythology,…

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Australians in Film open applications for the 2017 Heath Ledger Scholarship

Australians in Film has announced that applications have now opened for 9th annual Heath Ledger Scholarship, awarded to Australian rising actors from ages 18-35 who demonstrate a long and potential career. The scholarship is dedicated to the legacy of Australian actor Heath Ledger, whose extraordinary commitment to the craft of acting, most notably in his…

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Natalie Dormer joins cast of Picnic At Hanging Rock television adaptation

Best known for her roles as the seductive Margaery Tyrell on Game of Thrones and daring film-maker Cressida in the last two Hunger Games films, British actress Natalie Dormer is headed Down Under for the new television adaptation of the 1967 Australian historical mystery novel, Picnic at Hanging Rock by Joan Lindsay. Foxtel announced earlier today…

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Oscar favourites dominate 2017 BAFTA Awards: La La Land and Manchester By the Sea among biggest winners

It’s almost set in Stone (pun not intended) of who will be raking in the Golden Men at the Oscars later this month, as La La Land continued to dominate internationally at the BAFTAs last night, taking home five films including the top award of the night, Best Film, Leading Actress for Emma Stone, Best…

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Interview: Training Day and Silicon Valley composer Jeff Cardoni talks recreating iconic sounds and the power of comedy on music

With the new TV series Training Day – an adaptation of the acclaimed 2001 film – hitting airwaves in the USA last week, we caught up with the show’s composer Jeff Cardoni to talk about his work taking the original score and reinterpreting it for the small screen. We also talk about some of his other…

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Watch Charlie Day and Ice Cube battle it out in new red-band trailer for Fist Fight

It’s no longer Sunny with Ice Cube in town. The new red-band trailer for school-yard comedy Fist Fight has just dropped, with It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Horrible Bosses star Charlie Day against Ice Cube (Ride Along films, 21 Jump Street) in the battle of the teachers, after Ron Strickland (Cube) is accidently fired by co-worker Andy…

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Daniel Day-Lewis and Paul Thomas Anderson reunite as production begins on new film

Ten years after Daniel Day-Lewis‘ Oscar-winning performance in There Will Be Blood, a creative reunion with writer and director Paul Thomas Anderson (Boogie Nights, Punch-Drunk Love) has begun production in the UK. The currently untitled film will take place in London’s fashion world during the 1950s, and “illuminates the life behind the curtain of an uncompromising…

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First Impressions: Lemony Snicket’s A Series of Unfortunate Events (USA, 2017) is enchanting, but needs time to find its footing

Right from the opening credits, A Series of Unfortunate Events consistently reminds you this tale is not for the fainthearted.  Author Lemony Snicket (Patrick Warburton) reiterates as the narrator of the series that the story is dreadful, melancholy and not for those looking for a happy narrative – but for Netflix, the self-aware entertainment bodes a mysterious and…

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