Interviews

At the age of just 14 years, Brisbane-born talent Finn Little has already amassed an impressive filmography.  After securing the lead role in the Australian drama Storm Boy at just 11, Little has continued his steady rise in the industry with roles in the Netflix series Tidelands, the mini-series The Reckoning, and the Luke Evans-led…

A staple of the Australian entertainment landscape for over 30 years, Claudia Karvan has amassed countless accolades – including Logie and AACTA Award wins – and an enviable catalogue that has seen her conquer theatre, television and cinema. To coincide with the release of the new dramedy June Again (read our review here), Karvan spoke…

Famed on Instagram for his 6’7 frame and popularisation of the “man-bun”, California native Brock O’Hurn has traded in influencing for entertainment, transitioning from the phone screen to the big screen.  Having made his film debut in Tyler Perry’s Boo! A Madea Halloween, and its subsequent sequel, before earning television roles in drama series such…

The first ever African-American film producer to solely produce an Oscar-winning film (when Halle Berry won her Best Actress statue for Monster’s Ball), Lee Daniels has long associated himself with acclaimed fare throughout his career thus far. After a near-decade long break from directing films, the Academy Award-nominated director of such lauded features as Precious…

After making a name for himself in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Sam Claflin soon earned global recognition as Finnick Odair in The Hunger Games series.  Romantic leading roles and character driven projects followed, with his exercises in the dark psyches of his roles continuing with the release of Every Breath You Take….

Though the battle grounds of Mortal Kombat are far from the usual comedic landscape Josh Lawson is used to, the Australian actor/writer/director has certainly put his own stamp on proceedings in bringing the character of violent mercenary Kano to life. Touching down in Sydney to discuss his foray into the world of blockbuster cinema, Lawson…

Mortal Kombat fans rejoice! The hotly anticipated (and fantastically violent) cinematic re-adaptation of the best-selling game has arrived in cinemas for all eager, and legal, eyes to see (you can read our review here). In conjunction with the film’s release, Peter Gray caught up with its director, Simon McQuoid, and producer, E. Bennett Walsh, to…

Neil Burger‘s 30-year career as a filmmaker has taken the director on a varied journey.  From his beginnings as a music video director and faux documentarian, Burger became a staple name in mainstream cinema thanks to such commercial and critical successes as The Illusionist, Limitless, and Divergent. Now working off his first original script in…

Once a staple of Australian television – having worked on such notable homegrown series as McLeod’s Daughters, Underbelly, and Home and Away – Jonny Pasvolsky has since been making ground for himself across the Pacific, starring in such profile productions as Mortdecai opposite Johnny Depp, The Front Runner with Hugh Jackman, and the acclaimed series…

With Australian cinema exceeding expectations at the box office in 2021 alone, now feels like as a perfect a time than ever for homegrown productions to thrive within their own country.  Founding his own company to pursue his passion of filmmaking, Dublin-born Antaine Furlong had followed his dream to technical fruition as his debut feature…

To coincide with the trailer launch of Spirit Untamed, the latest from Dreamworks Studios telling of the epic adventure of a headstrong girl and the wild horse she shares a kindred spirit with, Peter Gray chatted with the film’s director, Elaine Bogan, detailing her experience as a first-time feature director, her background in animation, and…

An award-winning French novelist and playwright that the Times of London referred to as “the most exciting playwright of our time”, Florian Zeller has transitioned from the stage to the screen with the adaptation of his award-winning production,  The Father.  Set for release in Australian cinemas on April 1st (you can read our review here),…

Following its box office success in the US – the film topped the North American chart as one of the few films to maintain a cinema-only rollout – Nobody is planning its Australian unleashing on April 1st (no joke!).  In relation to the film’s release (you can read our review here), Peter Gray chatted with…

Australian actress Danielle Macdonald has wasted no time racking up an impressive resume in the near-decade she’s been working on screen.  Biding her time between acclaimed Australian dramas (I Am Woman) and Netflix successes (Dumplin’, Bird Box), the Sydney-born talent is furthering her mark in Azazel Jacobs’s surreal comedy French Exit (Read our review here)….

Arriving March 16th in the US on demand and digital, SAS: Red Notice (read our review here) is a slick actioner led by Australian actress Ruby Rose.  In the lead-up to the film’s debut, Peter Gray chatted with Rose and her co-star, Black Sails actor Tom Hopper, about the comforts of the action genre and…

Screening as part of the digital Transitions Film Festival, we caught up with Director Julie Sokolow to talk about her new documentary Barefoot: The Mark Baumer Story. What first attracted you to making a film about Mark Baumer? Back in 2016, a friend of mine frequently shared Mark’s videos on Facebook. I finally clicked on…

As Alex Winter’s acclaimed documentary Zappa arrives in cinemas (read our review here) to both introduce and re-establish Frank Zappa as one of the music industry’s late, great geniuses, the musician’s son – and Zappa producer – Ahmet Zappa is talking about the labour of love that is the film.  Peter Gray spoke with Ahmet…

Academy Award nominated writer/actor/director Josh Lawson is back behind the camera to follow up his 2014 debut The Little Death with the time-warped romantic comedy Long Story Short.  Ahead of the film’s local release (it’s set for Australian theatres on February 11th), Peter Gray caught up with the star to discuss the film’s origins, the…

Academy Award winning actress Regina King‘s feature film directorial debut, One Night In Miami, is arriving this week on Amazon Prime Video.  An adaptation of Kemp Powers’ acclaimed stage play detailing a fictionalised meeting between  Malcom X, Muhammed Ali, Jim Brown, and Sam Cooke in a Miami hotel room in 1964, the film has been…

Joe Klocek may not be a household name yet, but after his starring role in The Dry it’s likely Australia’s latest star has been born.  In the lead up to the film’s anticipated release, our own Peter Gray zoomed with the rising actor to discuss his comfortable casting process, the collaborative mood on set, and…

As The Dry prepares for a new year’s release, our own Peter Gray was fortunate enough to chat with the film’s director, Robert Connolly.  Excited to finally have his film seen across Australian cinemas, Connolly discussed if he felt any pressure in adapting such an acclaimed novel, how instrumental he was in casting, and what…

On the eve of the national release of the new Australian drama The Furnace, our own Peter Gray chatted with one of its stars, rising New Zealand actor Jay Ryan, about the trying filming conditions, learning new facts about Australian history, and how a horror movie changed his career. First off, congratulations on the film. …

Frank Marshall is one of the film industry’s most prolific producers.  Having founded Amblin Entertainment in 1981 with Steven Spielberg and Kathleen Kennedy, he has been at the forefront of blockbuster studio making for the past four decades; Back to the Future, Jurassic Park, and The Bourne Identity just some of the franchises he’s contributed…

To coincide with the US release of the hotly anticipated sequel The Croods: A New Age (set for a North American date of November 25th), our own Peter Gray caught up with the film’s director, Joel Crawford, to discuss the coup of reuniting the original cast and furthering the emotional aspect of the original story….

Christopher Landon‘s self-described “batshit crazy” body-swap horror movie Freaky is getting ready to be unleashed in Australian cinemas this week, and to coincide with its impending release The AU Review’s Peter Gray was fortunate enough to chat with the film’s lead actress, Kathryn Newton.  After the Big Little Lies alum noted that making scary movies…

On the eve of the release of The Craft: Legacy, writer/director Zoe Lister-Jones spoke to Peter Gray regarding the distinct feminine energy brought to the narrative, how inclusivity was an important factor, and the authenticity adhered to in her portrayal of witchcraft. When I first heard about The Craft: Legacy I assumed it was a…

With the imminent release of Rams set for Australian audiences, director Jeremy Sims has been discussing the film and what brought him to reinterpret the original Icelandic drama.  Our own Peter Gray chatted with Sims, learning of his approach to directing, how he has found the film’s reception so far, and why he had to…

As her critically acclaimed film Kajillionaire arrives in Australian theatres (read our review here), writer/director Miranda July spoke to our own Peter Gray about what drew her to create such a distinctive film, how star Evan Rachel Wood imprinted on the material, and the irony of releasing such a thematically anxious film in 2020. Kajillionaire…

  As the trailer for Christopher Landon‘s body-swap horror-comedy Freaky premieres across the globe, The AU Review’s Peter Gray was fortunate enough to chat with the director, touching on the casting of Vince Vaughn and Kathryn Newton, his love of the horror genre, and if we can expect a third Happy Death Day. After seeing…

On the eve of Shannon Murphy‘s tragic dramedy Babyteeth releasing in Australian cinemas (you can read our interview with her here) we were fortunate enough to chat with the film’s male lead, British-born Australian talent Toby Wallace.  As he stated that being able to talk about the film during COVID-19 is “a breath of fresh…