Film & TV

Tickets on sale now for Zoolander 2 “Ridiculously Fun Fan Event” on Australia Day

This Australia Day, Zoolander himself (Ben Stiller) will be making his way to Australia to appear at a special fan screening of the highly anticipated film Zoolander 2 at Sydney’s State Theatre – and tickets are on sale now. Tickets are $35 and include complimentary sparkling wine, beer, or water on arrival, with fans able to walk…

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Queer Screen’s Mardi Gras Film Festival returns to Sydney for its 23rd program on February 18th

Now in its 23rd year, Queer Screen’s Mardi Gras Film Festival proves it’s as important as ever in bringing LGBQTI stories to audiences, with a massive program across 2 weeks. Held at The Star Event Centre, Festival Director Paul Struthers took us through an upcoming program with films from all over the world as well…

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Eight new TV shows to get excited about in 2016!

Though the traditional TV seasons in the Northern Hemisphere runs from September to June, thanks much in part to services like Netflix, there are now more TV shows than ever that exist outside those boundaries – starting just about whenever they feel like! And in the months ahead, a slew of brand new TV shows will…

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Just how cold was it when Kurt Russell and Samuel L Jackson filmed The Hateful Eight?

In the second part of our chat, The Iris’ Larry Heath sits down with Kurt Russell and Samuel L Jackson to talk about filming The Hateful Eight in the cold Colorado weather, and we make some comparisons to Kurt Russell’s performance in The Thing. Watch the chat here: The Hateful Eight is in limited release…

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There’s a Cloverfield follow-up film coming in two months – and we’re only just finding out about it!

For quite a long time now, a secret Bad Robot project had been listed with a March 31st release date. We were starting to suspect that the whole thing was a red herring, or that it was mistaken information by the distributor. But sure enough, JJ Abrams had a film up his sleeve – and it’s a follow-up…

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Looking back at seven of Alan Rickman’s most iconic roles

Just days after David Bowie passed away suddenly from cancer at the age of 69, the great British actor Alan Rickman has been taken from us at the same age, by the same curse. As the cinema world mourns this great loss, we wanted to take a look back at the acclaimed actor’s seven more…

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Why you shouldn’t get excited about this much hyped Friends “reunion”

Given the social media excitement surrounding this Friends “reunion”, we at The Iris think it’s important to put it into perspective. This isn’t going to be some Curb Your Enthusiasm style reunion of brilliance –  as they did in the series with the Seinfeld cast. This is just an interview for a special honouring sitcom director…

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Australian Box Office Report: Close to being toppled, Star Wars remains on top

If you’ve been regularly visiting the site – in lieu of Box Office Reports over the holiday period – we’ve kept you up to date with Star Wars: The Force Awakens destroying every record imaginable. And not much has changed. It still sits on top here in Australia, this week earning a cool AU$4.9 million…

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Samuel L Jackson and Kurt Russell reveal what they had to learn for The Hateful Eight and talk Australian Audiences

In the first part of our interview series with Kurt Russell and Samuel L Jackson, The Iris’ Larry Heath sits down to talk about what they had to learn before filming The Hateful Eight, and what it was like watching the film the night before with an Australian Audience. Were we any different from the rest of…

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The Revenant and Aussie flick Mad Max: Fury Road lead unpredictable Oscars nominations for 2016

The 88th Annual Oscar nominations were revealed overnight in Los Angeles by Guillermo del Toro, Ang Lee, John Krasinski and Academy president Cheryl Boone Isaacs, and like the Globes earlier this week, there were plenty of surprises. Aussie flick Mad Max: Fury Road, and Spielberg drama Bridge of Spies likely sit atop that pile, receiving…

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Comedy Central (finally) launches a website Australians can actually watch videos on

U.S. channel Comedy Central has launched its very own Australian website. This means that Australians will now be able to access content that was previously geo-blocked in our country, including Inside Amy Schumer, The Daily Show, Broad City and more. The site will also feature locally produced Aussie videos, satirical editorial news, and pages dedicated to lovers of stand-up, including access…

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The director of Creed is set to helm Marvel’s Black Panther

Following Sylvester Stallone’s win at the Golden Globes earlier this week, the director of the latest film in the Rocky series, Creed, as well as the brilliant Fruitvale Station, has been announced as the latest to enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Ryan Coogler will take on Marvel’s Black Panther, for the character’s first ever live action film, with…

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Hilarious new trailer revealed for upcoming Coen Brothers comedy Hail, Caesar!

Next month will see the release of the anticipated new Coen Brothers comedy Hail, Caesar!, and today we’ve been gifted a brand new, hilarious trailer for the film. Set during the later years of Hollywood’s “Golden Age”, the film follows ” a single day in the life of a studio fixer who is presented with…

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CES 2016: Razer’s “ultimate ultrabook” revealed

Gaming technology and software company Razer has announced at CES 2016 a new gaming laptop – The Razer Blade Stealth. Referred to as the “ultimate Ultrabook” this new addition to the Blade lineup will be the thinnest and cheapest. Measuring at 0.52 inches thin and weighing at 2.75 pounds – this is thinner and lighter than…

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Captain America: Civil War directors spill new details on their “personal approach” to the new MCU Spider-Man

In an interview with comicbook.com, directors and brothers Anthony and Joe Russo spoke about their upcoming Marvel Comics film Captain America: Civil War and how their Spider-Man, played by Tom Holland, will be different to previous portrayals from Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield. In the lead-up to the highly anticipated sequel to Captain America: The Winter Soldier,…

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Melbourne’s White Night Program at ACMI set to feature an Internet Cat Festival, Google Goggles, Film Screenings and more

The Australian Centre for the Moving Image (ACMI) will once again open its doors for the White Night Program in Melbourne with a night of activities and film screenings, along with after hours access to world-class exhibitions. The program features a Cat Festival, a battle between elite gamers in the Gameplay lounge, the chance to experience Virtual…

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Film Review: Carol (M) (UK/USA, 2015)

Carol may look like a film set in the 1950’s but it feels far more modern than its exterior appears. A slow burning love story that refuses to end on a tragic note, performed by two exceptional leads that doesn’t require any loud professions about sexuality or equality or feminism to make its point. We…

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Live Blog: 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards

Join us as we live blog from the 73rd Annual Golden Globe Awards. Follow all the action on here, or on Twitter account – and watch the awards live on FOX8! ———- This content has recently been ported from its original home on The Iris and may have formatting errors – images may not be…

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The Revenant, The Martian and Mr. Robot among the big winners at the Golden Globes

It was a night that would prove difficult to predict. For every Leonardo DiCaprio (The Revenant) or Matt Damon (The Martian) there was a Maura Tierney (The Affair), Lady Gaga (American Horror Story: Hotel) or a Rachel Bloom (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend) – a winner who was far from the odds on favourite. It made it an…

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DVD Review: Southpaw (USA, 2015)

“Oh look it’s a boxing movie, cinema hasn’t seen that before,” is a cynical thought that would have gone through most minds whenSouthpaw was first announced. Having it directed by Antoine Fuqua, who brought us Training Day and The Equalizer, and written by Kurt Sutter, a man who worked extensively on Sons of Anarchy inspired…

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Who Will Win? The Iris predicts the winners of the 73rd Annual Golden Globes

It’s not long now until the 73rd Annual Golden Globes kick off, live from Los Angeles on FOX8 at 12pm (with red carpet coverage from 11am, replayed at 7.30pm) tomorrow, 11th January. Ricky Gervais is back hosting festivities, returning the duties that have been masterfully held by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. Expect hilarity –…

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Win a copy of Straight Outta Compton on DVD

One of the 2015’s biggest cinema success stories is Straight Outta Compton, the biopic that tracks the beginnings and progress of the world’s most notorious hip-hop group N.W.A. Rife with racial tension, inner city frustration, and self-expression, the film has gone on to become a commercial and critical triumph, dominating both the box office and…

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Here’s our first look at James Franco in action as Tommy Wiseau in The Disaster Artist

From Tommy Wiseau’s mysterious and strangely disinterested tone to some of the most quotable (for all the wrong reasons) pieces of dialogue in cinematic history, 2003 cult (quirky black) comedy The Room has remained in the hearts and minds of fans around the world for over a decade now. It’s achieved what very few other…

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The first full trailer for J.J. Abrams’ new time-travel series starring James Franco is here

Exclusive to streaming service Hulu, a time-travel thriller/drama created by Star Wars: The Force Awakens Director J.J. Adrams will be released later this year. Titled after and based on Stephen King novel 11.22.63, the eight-part series will star James Franco as a teacher who travels back in time to try and prevent the assassination of…

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Film Review: The Big Short (USA, 2015)

You probably already know director Adam McKay from his extensive catalogue of cringe-comedy – Anchorman, Step Brothers, and Talladega Nights, amongst others. The Big Short is the most recent film from McKay, and one that completely redefines the joker perspective that he is often associated with. It’s hilarious, but at its core The Big Short is an intelligent tragedy about the gruelling effects of…

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11 films to be excited about in the first half of 2016

Now that The Force Awakens is well and truly embedded in our cinemas, it feels like we have finally come to the end of a period of one anticipated film after another. It was a record breaking year, too, with Jurassic World, Furious 7, Minions, Star Wars VII, Inside Out and the final Hunger Games working hard…

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Pee-wee Herman, Jeff Nichols’ Sci-Fi drama and Tony Robbins among early SXSW Film Festival announcements

Ahead of the 23rd annual South by Southwest (SXSW) Film Conference Festival in Austin, Texas this March, a handful of films set to screen have been revealed, including four World Premieres. This includes Pee-wee’s Big Holiday, directed by John Lee and produced by Judd Apatow and Paul Reubens featuring Pee-wee Herman on a new adventure, produced…

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The official teaser trailer for The Conjuring 2 is here to haunt you

After the lackluster Annabelle last year, fans of the 2013 supernatural-horror The Conjuring have been anxiously waiting to see what Director James Wan would do for the direct sequel, The Conjuring 2: The Enfield Poltergeist. Now, we get to a glimpse at what’s in store as the original’s stand-outs, Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga return…

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The first footage from Better Call Saul season 2 is here!

Breaking Bad spin-off Better Call Saul was unsurprisingly met with massive acclaim with it premiered on AMC last year for it’s first season. Watching Jimmy McGill slowly but surely head down to path towards loveable dodgy lawyer (slash real life Lionel Hutz) Saul Goodman was fascinating to say the least, placing the show’s second season…

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DVD Review: Brand: A Second Coming (USA, 2015)

Shocking, humorous, provocative and purely interesting, Ondi Timoner’s latest documentary Brand: A Second Coming looks at the life and rise of one of Britain’s most unique comedians, Russell Brand. The film takes us, in particular, through his journey to produce a changed spiritual mind-self and his motivation for a socialist way of life. Brand, a self-defined narcissist,…

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