James O’Halloran, Rhiannon Fish and director Jo-Anne Brechin. (Image: David Fell)
The Steve Jaggi Company (SJc) is rounding out 2022 with another Brisbane-shot romance, this time working with director Jo-Anne Brechin.
After filming Colin Budds’ Love By the Glass in the city during October, the Queensland-based business has begun production on When Love Springs, starring Rhiannon Fish and James O’Halloran.
Fish, who acted in SJc’s A Royal in Paradise earlier this year, plays Rory Richards, a junior PR professional that heads to a quaint B&B on Lily Lake for her parent’s vow renewal.
Before she can relax, Rory runs into Jason (Callan Colley), the ex who broke her heart, and his new girlfriend. Panicked, Rory convinces the B&B’s future owner Noah (O’Halloran), to be her fake new boyfriend and in exchange, she’ll help Noah save his family’s B&B. Before they know it, sparks begin to fly between the unlikely pair.
The cast also Renee Herbert, Erin Connor, Steve Nation, and Francesca Savige.
When Love Springs is being produced by Steve Jaggi and Kelly Son Hing, with Vanessa Shapiro, Michael Gray, and Jip Panosot on board as executive producers.
It’s not the first time Brechin has collaborated with Jaggi, with the pair having worked together on 2017 coming-of-age dramedy Zelos.
Jaggi said his company was pleased to once again be producing a film with the “talented and experienced” director.
“It has been a huge year for SJc, and we’re keeping the pedal down right till the end,” he said.
“It’s fantastic to be teaming up again with director Jo-Anne Brechin, five years after working together on Zelos.”
Brechin commended the cast and crew for already being “amazing and so hardworking”, noting they had been able to find their groove “pretty quickly” on-set.
“We’ve created a beautiful setting full of old-school charm for this romantic story, and I’m excited for audiences to see the final result,” she said.
Athabasca Film will manage the domestic distribution of When Love Springs, which is being financed with the assistance of Xcelerate Action, while international sales and distribution will be handled by Nicely Entertainment.
While Roadshow Films took local musical comedy Seriously Red wide, it had a relatively slow start at the box office last weekend.
The film entered cinemas amid a fairly busy weekend of new releases, though none exactly set the world on fire; the MCU’s Black Panther: Wakanda Forever remains far and above the no. 1 title in its third weekend.
Black comedy horror The Menu fared the best, while exhibitors were disappointed by family turnout for Disney’s original animation Strange World. Luca Guadagnino’s cannibal romance Bones and All performed best at upscale venues.
Numero data puts the top 20 titles at $5.8 million, down 34 per cent on the previous weekend.
Not included the weekend figures is the result for Netflix’s Knives Out sequel Green Onion. The streamer doesn’t report BO for titles it releases theatrically, though exhibitors who IF spoke to who chose to screen the film – despite just a seven-day window – were highly enthused by the reaction.
Among those who were rapt with the response was Hayden Orpheum Picture Palace, GM Alex Temesvari, who predicts the film would have played well into the new year if it had been able.
“Having the season capped at only one week is a truly baffling decision given it’s a film that has massive theatrical demand and would have given both Netflix and cinemas a much needed smash hit before heading exclusively to their platform for streaming over Christmas,” he tells IF.
“Still, we’re grateful to have been able to run it on the big screen at all.”
Roadshow released the Gracie Otto-directed Seriously Red, starring Krew Boylan, Rose Byrne and Bobby Cannavale, wide on 269 screens, with the film generating $166,667 to come in at no. 7. By screen average, the film was the lowest performer in the top 10, with just $659 per screen.
With previews and festival screenings, figures bump up to $265,764.
The film, written by Boylan, follows a realtor who trades in her 9 to 5 career for life as a Dolly Parton impersonator. It bowed at SXSW in March, earned the public endorsement of Parton, and toured Australia’s biggest festivals. Reviews are somewhat mixed, though among the positive, some went so far to wonder as the film would be our next Priscilla(Tim Chappel, Priscilla‘s Oscar winning costume designer, worked on the film).
Majestic Cinemas CEO Kieren Dell hopes it will pick up on word-of-mouth, noting it deserves to find an audience.
“This pre Xmas period will be tough, but hopefully it will eke out a reasonable result, albeit off a patchy start,” he tells IF.
Temesvari was less optimistic, stating: “Unfortunately Seriously Red is seriously in trouble and has clearly been rejected by audiences. I can’t see it lasting too long which is a shame.”
Cinema Nova CEO Kristian Connelly believes the film’s future lies in regional Australia, given that the film’s plot and marketing has centred on a country and western star in Parton.
“The film’s future more certainly lies in the regions, where highly-accessible recent Australian fare such as Penguin Bloom and The Dry tended to over-index.”
Connelly adds that there is considerable hunger for local comedy theatrically, pointing to the success of How to Please A Woman and 2020’s Rams, and pre-COVID, Top End Wedding and The Dressmaker, urging more filmmakers to consider the genre.
“With mixed reviews for Seriously Red it’s not clear whether the film will have strong word of mouth but with so few recent Australian comedies in the market besides the more urban-appealing Wog Boys Forever, I’d like to see more locally made comedies in the mix (with the caveat that they’re actually funny).
“When we collectively reflect on our big screen culture we tend to highlight the comedies that helped define us as a nation – Crocodile Dundee, Muriel’s Wedding, Priscilla…, The Castle, Kenny – but with a few exceptions the last decade has been devoid of successful ones. Instead we have an abundance of dramas (many of which are incredibly heavy or dark in terms of themes) or genre thrillers made on a budget with a small cast (or high body count) in a bushland setting, both of which tend to be theatrically marginalised to upscale venues such as Cinema Nova and our contemporaries.
“Given the exceptionally funny comedies and comedians that populate our small screens, I wish I could fathom why we are not seeing more of them making the leap to the big screen.”
Melissa Black with clapper board on the set of The Smell of Bones.
Melissa Black was working as a librarian in Shepparton when she decided to take a giant leap of faith and enrol in a screenwriting degree at RMIT in Melbourne. “All my life I’ve wanted to work in film and TV, but it was only in the last five years that I realised I could,” she explains.
Melissa researched viable pathways into this rapidly evolving industry and took the plunge. “That was the best decision I made, just starting.”
Living in regional Victoria, over two hours from Melbourne’s CBD in a town called Tatura, doesn’t come without its challenges for an aspiring filmmaker. Just the other week Melissa found herself flooded into her hometown, with all major roads leading to the city inundated with water. “I did miss one day of a VFX shoot because of the floods,” she explains—a job she was invited back to after her recent Professional Attachment on season two of NBCs hit show, La Brea.
The La Brea script supervisor attachment, facilitated through VicScreen, required Melissa to relocate to the big smoke for a six-week stint, with filming of the hit-US series taking place at Docklands Studios Melbourne and on location across Victoria.
“CHARACTERS ARE EVERYTHING TO ME. SO, WATCHING THEM DEVELOP OVER SEASON ONE, AND KNOWING THAT THE SHOW WAS MADE IN AUSTRALIA GOT ME SO EXCITED. THEN BEING ATTACHED TO THE PRODUCTION IN SEASON TWO…I WAS JUST THRILLED.”
Primarily, Melissa is a writer, she clarifies. She recently completed shooting a proof-of-concept shoot for her short film, The Smell of Bones, which was selected as a top-five AACTA Pitch: Focus finalist. The opportunity to shadow a script supervisor on the second season of a major international TV drama, however, was exactly the kind of experience she was looking for to hone her craft as a screenwriter.
“I fell into script supervising by working on shorts with uni friends,” she says. It’s a job that ties the pre-production, production, and post-production together, providing an excellent insight into the entirety of a screen project.
“The script supervisor is there to represent the editor on set,” she explains. “It’s up to the script supervisor to be thinking about the cut. If a shot’s still owing for whatever reason, the script supervisor will take note of that. They will always have a copy of the most up-to-date script to support the production team, and the cast with lines and actions and other script information. In pre-production, script supervisors will time scripts and craft scene breakdowns to prepare for shooting.”
Melissa Black in the script supervisor chair on the set of La Brea S2.
“THE CREW FELT ENORMOUS…THERE WAS A LOT FOR ME TO TAKE IN AND LEARN. BUT EVERYBODY WAS SO GENEROUS AND SUPPORTIVE AND SHARED A LOT OF INFORMATION.”
Noting down shot sizes, camera lens changes, lighting variations, performance changes, as well as wardrobe, hair and make-up variables all fall into the script supervisor’s remit to guarantee continuity across each scene.
“Departments are really on top of what they do but taking photos and keeping an eye on these changes helps a lot, especially if you’re filming one part of a scene one day, and the other part two weeks later. For example, if a character turns to their left, and uses their left hand to open the door, taking note of that so it looks like the same shot.”
There are a lot of moving parts on set, and they all contribute to the overall quality of a production. Ensuring continuity through script supervision is an important piece of the puzzle. “Even if [script supervising] isn’t a path I follow forever, knowing what’s expected; how directors work, what the editors are looking for, is so valuable…it makes me a better writer.”
Melissa is a big fan of historical and supernatural story elements, so La Brea’s first season was right up her alley. “Characters are everything to me. So, watching them develop over season one, and knowing that the show was made in Victoria got me very excited. Then being attached to the production in season two…I was just thrilled.”
Ahead of La Brea’s return to Melbourne, Melissa contacted the skills team at VicScreen and submitted her application to join the skills register in order to be in the running for a professional attachment.
“I received great support with that application process; I adjusted a few things in my life and I got it. I was very, very shocked, and very excited when I got this placement. I was also very frightened that something would come along to ruin it. And then, two weeks before I was due on set, I caught COVID-19. I was really frightened that my chance would just disappear somehow. But luckily, everyone was very understanding, and it was just postponed a week.”
Melissa is a single mum to a 12-year-old boy. “So, the challenge is literally the distance and time it takes to get to the city,” she says, “as well as being away from him and having to lean and depend on my great support team.” Despite its challenges, being a single parent has emboldened Melissa to demonstrate what chasing your dreams looks like. “My son wants to work in the same industry, so he understands.”
Melissa Black on location of La Brea S2.
Over six weeks, Melissa worked across several episodes of La Brea under the guidance of professional script supervisors Ted Green and Janes Forbes, and a handful of rotating directors, gaining a first-hand insight into how a changing crew can achieve the same result through different methods. “The crew felt enormous…there was a lot for me to take in and learn, but everybody was so supportive and shared a lot of information.”
La Brea’s production is run on more of a US model, Melissa explains. “That was great for me to see and learn, because for this kind of career, I want to know how it’s done everywhere so that I can work everywhere. The majority of the crew were Australian, but there was a really good blend of people, and everybody was so knowledgeable… I can’t even explain how much I learned.”
Having spent 25 years working as a librarian, library manager, retail assistant and office administrator, Melissa isn’t exactly new to the workforce, however walking onto the set of a TV series as a newcomer in the industry could have been intimidating if it weren’t for the generosity of the crew surrounding her.
“The crew that I have come across have all been so encouraging with lifting people up in the industry. I actually got to pull up my sleeves and do the work myself. It wasn’t just observational. This attachment was such a brilliant way to fully immerse myself in a production.”
La Brea felt like a career-changing move, Melissa reiterates. “To create connection and network within in the industry, to learn, and to be part of the whole experience was phenomenal…It’s extremely hard work. Long hours, big days, but on top of that, it was so much fun.”
La Brea is produced by Universal Television and Matchbox Pictures, both divisions of Universal Studio Group, in association with Keshet Studios.
If you are an early-career screen practitioner looking for your industry break (behind the camera), you can apply to join the VicScreen Professional Attachments Register here.
You can also watch Season 2 of La Brea at 9Now here.
L-R (Top): Christopher Bunton, Hattie Hook, James Majoos, Mabel Li, and Maggie (Max) McKenna. Bottom are Michelle Lim Davidson, Sana’a Shaik, Shaka Cook, Steph Tisdell, and Tuuli Narkle.
The Casting Guild of Australia (CGA) has announced its Rising Stars for 2022, highlighting ten actors with the potential to break out on the world stage.
The list for the 8th year of the initiative comprises Christopher Bunton, Hattie Hook, James Majoos, Mabel Li, Maggie (Max) McKenna, Michelle Lim Davidson, Sana’a Shaik, Shaka Cook, Steph Tisdell, and Tuuli Narkle.
They follow in the footsteps of previous recipients Milly Alcock, Eliza Scanlan, Katherine Langford, Thomas Weatherall, Zoe Terakes, Olivia De-Jonge, and Alexander England.
From November 18, the 2022 Rising Stars will be featured as part of an interview series on CGA’s Instagram, with a new performer posted each day ahead of the official in-person presentation at the CGA Awards ceremony on Friday, December 2 in Melbourne.
CGA president Thea McLeodsaid the organisation was “so proud” to have watched the progression of this year’s cohort from the casting room to screens and stages.
“Since the guild’s inception, the CGA has seen an abundance of successful rising stars launch their careers in Australia and beyond,” she said.
“The annual Rising Star awards highlight the fantastic calibre of talent we have here in Australia. We send our deepest congratulations to the Rising Stars of 2022 – a very talented bunch.”
The program is supported by Casting Networks and Showcast, with both providing 24-month premium memberships for each of the actors.
The 2022 CGA Rising Stars are as follows:
Christopher Bunton: An actor, gymnast, and dancer who made his feature film debut in Down Under and has since gone on to star in Nude Tuesday, Relic, Lone Wolf and Kairos. In television, Bunton has appeared in Doctor, Doctor, The Other Guy and is set to grace the screen alongside Josh Gad and Isla Fisher in the second season of Stan’s Wolf Like Me. This year, he appeared in the AACTA-nominated digital series, It’s Fine, I’m Fine, which he also co-wrote. He is currently studying film at AFTRS with Bus Stop Films.
Hattie Hook:Hook has a role in Stan’s upcoming Ten Pound Poms and appeared in ABC’s Savage River alongside Rising Star alum Katherine Langford. In 2022, she debuted in her first feature, Goran Stolevski’s Of An Age, which opened the 2022 Melbourne International Film Festival. Her onstage credits include Gypsy, Mary Poppins and Annie.
James Majoos: Majoos earned an AACTA nomination for Best Lead Actor in a Drama for their role as ‘Darren’ Netflix’s Heartbreak High. On stage, they have appeared in Sydney Theatre Company’s production of Grand Horizons and Belvoir’s Fangirls, the latter of which was awarded the Best Production of a Mainstage Musical by the Sydney Theatre Awards in 2019.
Mabel Li: Since graduating from NIDA in 2019, Li has appeared in SBS series, The Tailings, and SBS drama, New Gold Mountain, for which she was nominated for a Silver Logie for Most Outstanding Supporting Actress and won an Asian Academy award for Best Supporting Actress. Onstage, she has been seen in Never Closer (Downstairs Belvoir), Miss Peony (Belvoir), Delilah by the Hour, and D.N.A (Seymour Theatre). Next year she will star in Kindling Pictures’ Safe Home for SBS.
Maggie (Max) McKenna: Since making their professional theatre debut in 2017 as Muriel Heslop in Sydney Theatre Company’s Muriel’s Wedding: The Musical, McKenna has appeared on television in the Foxtel comedy series Open Slather, for which they wrote and performed music parodies, and the ABC drama series The Doctor Blake Mysteries. In 2018, McKenna joined the American touring production of Tony Award-winning musical Dear Evan Hansen in the role of Zoe Murphy as it toured fifty U.S cities. More recently, they’ve been seen in Sydney Theatre Company’s Melbourne and Sydney seasons of the Alanis Morrissette-inspired musical, Jagged Little Pill, in which they starred as Jo.
Michelle Lim Davidson: A graduate of the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts with experience in theatre, TV and film, Davidson has had roles in Nine Network’s After the Verdict and ABC’s The Newsreader, for which she received an AACTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Television Drama. She is also a regular presenter on Play School and ABC KIDS Listen’s Story Salad.
Sana’a Shaik: Born in South Africa, Shaik moved to Perth a when she was 16. She cultivated her passion and ambition for the arts while at Curtin University, where she majored in Economics with a minor in Performing Arts. After studying the Meissner technique and working closely with various Sydney-based acting coaches, she has gone on to star in Stan’s Jack Irish, US mini-series Reckoning, and as Xanthe in the sci-fi climate change feature 2067. Shaik also has roles on feature film It Only Takes a Night, Amazon Prime’s original Australian series Class of ’07 and ABC anthology series, Summer Love.
Shaka Cook: A proud Innawonga and Yindjibarndi man from the Pilbara region of Western Australia, Cook has performed across Australia in theatrical productions for numerous main stage theatre companies, including a tour of The Secret River to the Edinburgh Festival and the National Theatre in London with the Sydney Theatre Company. On television, he has appeared in Cleverman, The Leftovers, Black Comedy, and Operation Buffalo, while his film work includes Top End Wedding and The Flood. Cook also starred as James Madison/Hercules Mulligan in the Australian production of international theatrical sensation Hamilton. He will next appear in feature film Kid Snow, due for release in 2023.
Steph Tisdell: It was in 2014 that Tisdell won the Deadly Funny National Grand Final, going on to sell out award-winning shows around the country. Seven years later, she made her acting debut in ABC’s Total Control and will soon appear in the Amazon Prime series Class of ‘07.
Tuuli Narkle: Born and raised in rural Western Australia, Narkle’s first major acting role came as ‘Ruby’ in the Jane Harrison play Stolen, which was directed and produced by Leah Purcell. Graduating from NIDA in 2018, Narkle has since appeared in multiple productions for stage and screen, including returning to the Sydney Theatre Company for their production of The Tenant of Wildfell Hall this year and making her Melbourne Theatre Company debut playing the role of Roxanne in a modern adaption of Cyrano. She starred in the comedy series All My Friends Are Racist for ABC iView and in the Corrie Chen-directed drama series Bad Behaviour for Matchbox Pictures. This year, she joined the cast of season 3 of ABC’s Mystery Road and received an AACTA Award nomination for Best Lead Actress in Drama.
See the full list of nominees for the 55th annual AWGIE Awards below. Winners in bold
FEATURE FILM – ORIGINAL Blaze – Del Kathryn Barton and Huna Amweero How To Please A Woman – Renée Webster Sissy – Hannah Barlow and Kane Senes Sweet As – Jub Clerc and Steve Rodgers
FEATURE FILM – ADAPTED Mrs Harris Goes to Paris – Keith Thompson with Carroll Cartwright & Anthony Fabian, and Olivia Hetreed The Drover’s Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson – Leah Purcell The Stranger – Thomas M. Wright
SHORT FILM Pasifika Drift – Natasha Henry Snapshot – Becki Bouchier The Moths Will Eat Them Up – Tanya Modini When The Sky Was Blue – Rae Choi
DOCUMENTARY – PUBLIC BROADCAST (INCLUDING VOD) OR EXHIBITION Beyond The Reef – Georgia Harrison Big Deal – Craig Reucassel and Christiaan Van Vuuren Girl Like You – Frances Elliott with Samantha Marlowe Ithaka – Ben Lawrence Peace Pilgrims – John Hughes
TELEVISION – SERIAL Home and Away: Episode 7742 – Louise Bowes Neighbours: Episode 8654 – Jessica Paine Neighbours: Episode 8801 – Emma J Steele
TELEVISION – SERIES Bump: Season 2, ‘AITA (Am I the Arsehole)’ – Jessica Tuckwell Firebite: Season 1, ‘I Wanna Go Home’ – Kodie Bedford Heartbreak High: Season 1, Episode 1 – Hannah Carroll Chapman The Newsreader: Season 1, ‘A Step Closer to the Madness’ – Niki Aken The Newsreader: Season 1, ‘No More Lies’ – Kim Ho and Michael Lucas Total Control: Season 2, Episode 2 – Pip Karmel
TELEVISION – LIMITED SERIES Fires – Tony Ayres, Belinda Chayko, Anya Beyersdorf, Steven McGregor and Jacquelin Perske with Mirrah Foulkes Lie With Me – Jason Herbison and Margaret Wilson with Anthony Ellis
ANIMATION Metropius: Season 1, Case #001 – Ally Burnham
CHILDREN’S TELEVISION – ‘P’ CLASSIFICATION (PRESCHOOL – UNDER 5 YEARS), ORIGINAL OR ADAPTED, ANIMATED OR PERFORMED Beep and Mort: Season 1, ‘Beep’s Home’ – Charlotte Rose Hamlyn Little J & Big Cuz: Season 3, ‘Levi Learns’ – Samuel Nuggin-Paynter Little J & Big Cuz: Season 3, ‘Serpent’s Eye’ – Dot West Little J & Big Cuz: Season 3, ‘Shelter’ – Adam Thompson
CHILDREN’S TELEVISION – ‘C’ CLASSIFICATION (CHILDREN’S – 5–14 YEARS), ORIGINAL OR ADAPTED, ANIMATED OR PERFORMED Rock Island Mysteries: Season 1, ‘A Young Mystery’ – Marisa Nathar The PM’s Daughter: Season 1, Episode 4 – Angela McDonald The PM’s Daughter: Season 1, Episode 8 – Lou Sanz The Strange Chores: Season 2, ‘Walk Wolfman’ – Luke Tierney
COMEDY – SITUATION OR NARRATIVE How to Stay Married: Season 3, ‘Keyboard Warriors’ – Nick Musgrove Metro Sexual: Season 2, ‘Martha Bradbury’ – Henry Boffin with Nicholas Kraak Spreadsheet: Season 1, ‘Chlamydia & Nits’ – Kala Ellis
COMEDY – SKETCH OR LIGHT ENTERTAINMENT Gruen: Season 13, ‘Punts’ – Sophie Braham and James Colley with Cameron James, Bec Melrose and Mark Sutton The Feed: ‘Comedy Sketches, 2021’ – Ben Jenkins, Alex Lee, Jenna Owen, Vidya Rajan and Vic Zerbst
AUDIO – FICTION Sunshadow: Episode 1, Episode, 9 and Episode 10 – Phil Enchelmaier and Bronwen Noakes The Bazura Project’s Radio Free Cinema: ‘Herzog’s Adventures in Wernerland’ – Lee Zachariah with Shannon Marinko The Fitzroy Diaries: Season 3, Episode 1, Episode 3, Episode 7 and Episode 8 – Lorin Clarke The Great Mantini – Simon Luckhurst Untrue Romance: ‘Call You Back’ – Tommy Murphy
AUDIO – NON-FICTION The Phantom Never Dies: Fantomen – Maria Lewis
STAGE – ORIGINAL Dogged – Andrea James and Catherine Ryan Horizon – Maxine Mellor
STAGE – ADAPTED Animal Farm – Van Badham Playing Beatie Bow – Kate Mulvany My Father’s Wars – Elaine Acworth
COMMUNITY AND YOUTH THEATRE Euphoria – Emily Steel Summer at Suspended Stone Camp – Madelaine Nunn Very Happy Children With Bright and Wonderful Futures – Joshua Maxwell
THEATRE FOR YOUNG AUDIENCES Cactus – Madelaine Nunn House – Dan Giovannoni We Are The Mutable – Matthew Whittet
INTERACTIVE MEDIA & GAMING Sun Runners: Radioactive Laser Eyes – Zoe Pepper
WEB SERIES AND OTHER NON-BROADCAST/NON-‘SUBSCRIPTION VIDEO ON DEMAND’ TV SHORT WORKS A Beginner’s Guide to Grief: Segment 1: Denial, ‘Stung By A Thousand Bees’ – Anna Lindner All My Friends Are Racist: Season 1, ‘Cancelled’ – Kodie Bedford and Enoch Mailangi Iggy & Ace: Season 1, Episode 3 and Episode 4 – AB Morrison It’s Fine, I’m Fine: Season 1, ‘Poo Boy’ – Jeanette Cronin The Power of the Dream: Season 1, ‘Swimming’ and ‘Weightlifting’ – Alexandra Keddie and Bobbie-Jean Henning
A procession of successful single women has been travelling from the United States to Australia lately.
Laura Price, a San Francisco lawyer, went to a tropical island to convince her childhood best friend to inherit a billion-dollar business. On arriving, she found he was now a hunky beach bum who preferred charity work … but might just be a better match than her questionable fiancé back home.
A San Francisco lawyer (Saskia Hampele) connects with a laid-back Australian hunk (Liam McIntyre) in This Little Love of Mine. CREDIT:STEVE JAGGI COMPANY
Then there was Caroline Wilson, a New York chef, who went to a coastal town after discovering her late aunt had left her a café. On arrival, she met the hunky cook … who just might be a better match than her dodgy ex-fiancé back home.
And Amelia Hart, a Chicago florist, went to a country town to salvage her little sister’s wedding. But as she spent time planning with the hunky best man, she realised – you guessed it – he just might be a better match than her dubious boyfriend back home.
They are all characters in romantic films that have been shot in Australia recently: Christine Luby’s This Little Love Of Mine, Rosie Lourde’s Romance On The Menu and Rogue Rubin’s Love In Bloom. And they’re part of the latest trend in Australian films: “uplifting, positive, female-driven stories set in idyllic locations”.
The Australian romance film boom
Romance on the Menu (2020) – Released on Hallmark in the US, Netflix in the rest of the world
This Little Love of Mine (2021) – Released in cinemas, then on Netflix
Christmas On The Farm (2021) – Released on Stan*
Sit. Stay. Love (2021) – Released in cinemas
A Perfect Pairing (2022) – Released on Netflix
Mistletoe Ranch (2022) – In cinemas from November 17
Love In Bloom (2022) – Releasing in February next year
You, Me And The Penguins (2023) – Releasing next year
A Royal In Paradise (2023) – In post-production
Love By The Glass (2023) – In production
In other words, romances in which career women – often in their thirties and with bad boyfriends – find love with a caring and ruggedly handsome guy. Often a laid-back Australian.https://www.youtube.com/embed/WR21TH-6LfY
Demand surged so much during the pandemic that Brisbane-based producer Steve Jaggi (Rip Tide, Dive Club) has shot eight romantic films in Queensland, including the ones above, since just before COVID-19 closed borders.Advertisement
The best title: Sit. Stay. Love, which is about an American aid worker who, on heading home to snowy Vermont for Christmas, has to save an animal shelter with a handsome vet. It’s also from the popular sub-genre of Christmas romances.
The poster for Mistletoe Ranch: a Christmas romance about a rising photographer (Mercy Cornwall) who heads back to the small American town she grew up in and finds sparks with her ex-fiance (Jordi Webber). CREDIT: STEVE JAGGI COMPANY
Another Brisbane production company, Hoodlum Entertainment, has made two romantic comedies along the same lines: Stuart McDonald’s A Perfect Pairing (a wine expert from Los Angeles heads to rural Australia to land a new client) and Christopher Weekes’ Christmas On The Farm (a successful author heads from New York to an Australian farm to cover up the lie behind her book).
In a way, they are (much) lower-budget versions of the Hollywood romcom, Ticket To Paradisethat Julia Roberts and George Clooney shot in Queensland during the pandemic.
Sometimes, the female stars are Australian or made their name here, including Rhiannon Fish (Home and Away), Tammin Sursok (Home and Away), Georgia Flood (Wentworth) and Mercy Cornwall (Dive Club). But Canadian Cindy Busby (Supernatural) and American Susie Abromeit (Jessica Jones) have both shot two of these films.
The next one off the production line, Mistletoe Ranch, opens in Australian cinemas next week. It centres on a rising twentysomething photographer who heads back to the small American town she grew up in to save Christmas celebrations … and finds a spark with her handsome ex-fiance.
Like Sit. Stay. Love, it was shot in Queensland using snow machines to create a wintry landscape.
Jaggi, a prolific producer of young adult and romance projects, says the demand for romances has exploded in the past two years. “COVID undoubtedly made a huge difference,” he says. “More and more people wanted to watch uplifting content.”
The expansion of streaming services has meant there are also new buyers for these optimistic PG-rated films.
“Before COVID, as an Australian company, you tried to make a film that would work for as broad an audience as possible to make money,” Jaggi says. “Now it’s the reverse: if you want to be successful as a business, you make more and more niche content.”https://www.youtube.com/embed/MFNKHY86oFk
The market includes the American cable channels Hallmark and Lifetime, more sophisticated romances for streaming services led by Netflix, and even more sophisticated versions for cinema release. Largely appealing to an aspirational female audience interested in adventure, Jaggi’s films are set either in Australia, the US or an exotic “generic” location.
“Escapist destinations tend to work well with the audience,” he says. “What we find works really well is if one of the protagonists is American and one is Australian. The ‘Australian hunk’ is a good formula.”
Jaggi is now planning 10 to 12 more romance films in the next two years. He is considering diversifying into having a thirtysomething man finding love, same-sex couples, and possibly “steamier” storylines.
While none of his films have Screen Australia funding, they are all supported by Screen Queensland – either logistically or through regional grants. And most use the country’s 30 per cent tax incentive (called the producer offset), while giving a break to rising (often female) directors.
“Australia is a huge entertainment exporter,” Jaggi says. And while that has traditionally been family and children’s shows watched by millions around the world, it now includes romances.
A bevy of talented Australian writers have been selected to participate in the screenwriter accelerator program.
ALL SCREEN
Image: VicScreen Marketing
Nine Australian writers have been selected to participate in the highly coveted screenwriter accelerator, Impact Australia, delivered by Impact and Gentle Giant Media Group.
Launching in Melbourne, the eight-week intensive will see talented writers from Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and the Australian Capital Territory convene at the University of Melbourne’s Victorian College of the Arts’ Southbank campus to participate in the program.
The successful participants of Impact Australia 2022
Victoria • Other People by Jordan Prosser • After Her by Sunanda Sachatrakul • Don’t You Remember by Dannika Horvat
New South Wales • Norfolk by Elias Jamieson Brown • The Mandala by Joel Perlgut and Victoria Zerbst • The Almost Insufferable Burden of Being a Talented Woman by Siobhan Domingo
Queensland • Roxbury Manor by Paul Clarke
Australian Capital Territory • Poly by Naomi Telushkin
These participants will be mentored by industry-leading screenwriters from around the world. This team of ‘Shapers’ will support and empower the diverse group of creators with the goal of accelerating the selected projects to be pitch-ready for global buyers and producers at the Impact Global Pitch Day in January 2023.
This year, the ‘Shapers’ will include Shaun Grant (Nitram, The Snowtown Murders), Kai Yu Wu (The Flash, Paper Girls), Sarah Lambert (Lambs of God, Love Child), Stuart Beattie (Obi-Wan Kenobi, I Frankenstein), Hunter Covington (Community,Black AF) and Stacy Traub (Black-Ish, Glee).
Impact CEO, Tyler Mitchell said: ‘The success of Impact alumni has been phenomenal to watch. With 8 movies produced, a Best Foreign Film Oscar candidate, 48 projects set up at major studios and networks, and the series Firebite on AMC+, which was co-created by Impact Australia’s Brendan Fletcher – it’s just been incredible to see these writers’ careers take off. We can’t wait to see the exciting material that emerges from this talented group of Creators and look forward to bringing this next wave of Australian creative talent and their projects to the global stage in January 2023.’
‘It is so exciting for Impact Australia to return to Melbourne for its third season, for the first time in person at the Victorian College of the Arts on the University of Melbourne Southbank Campus,’ said Gentle Giant Chairman and CEO Greg Basser.
‘None of this would have been possible without the great support from Screen Australia, Vic Screen and the University of Melbourne along with our partners at Screen NSW, Screen Queensland, Screen Canberra and Screen Territory. We can’t wait to see what these outstanding nine creators deliver as they work with some of the best writers from the global screen industry under the watchful eye of the Impact team. Melbourne and Australia continue to show that they truly are the home of original content for global audiences.’
‘A huge congratulations to this year’s talented cohort,’ said Screen Australia CEO Graeme Mason. ‘We’re thrilled that Impact is back in person this year and we are pleased to support these impressive writers with an opportunity to build invaluable relationships through the program and forge pathways to achieve global success with their screen stories.’
‘As global demand for quality screen content continues to boom, we’re positioning Victoria’s screen industry for success – delivering more local jobs on some of the world’s biggest screen projects,’ Victorian Minister for Creative Industries Steve Dimopoulos said.
‘We’re backing Impact as part of our $191.5 million VicScreen strategy, which is just one of the ways we are investing in local skills, stories and talent.’
Impact Australia is supported by Screen Australia and Learning Partner the University of Melbourne, in partnership with VicScreen, Screen NSW, Screen Queensland and Screen Canberra.
The mentorship program launched on 26 September and runs for eight-weeks, culminating in the Pitch Day in January 2023. For more information visit the Impact Development website.
The box office sees a small elite flocking to You Won’t Be Alone, as mainstream audiences prefer a pair of elderly lovers wisecracking in Ticket to Paradise.
Goran Stolevski’s Australian-Macedonian film You Won’t Be Alone arrived this year with some excellent reviews. ‘A spellbinding horror movie from a great new talent’, said The Guardian, though David Stratton admits to being down on the film.
We will side patriotically with Variety, which contributes, ‘Drawing on his Macedonian roots, director Goran Stolevski delivers a truly unique feature debut: an erotically charged, at times brutish quest for identity, disguised as an elevated horror film.’
The film also played at the Melbourne International Film Festival, where Stolevski’s sophomore featureOf An Age opened the festival to rave reviews. 2022, it seems, is the year of Stolevski.
But how does the Box Office treat that true filmic reality – a new talent with a powerful vision? It went out on seven screens and made just $11,000. Here’s hoping this is ‘week one’ in a cunning plan by distributor Madman. It has taken $422,000 around the world including $405,000 from the US, before streaming in North America on Peacock.
In other news, Del Kathryn Barton’s Blaze has been in cinemas for five weeks, is now on only one screen and has made $85,000. It seems daring cinema is not being celebrated – and magic realism is treated like the pox.
The box office ladder
For the second weekend in succession, soft rom-com Ticket to Paradise from Julia Roberts and George Clooney takes the top slot with a hefty $2.87m, even as all the states went into school holiday mode and saw younger audiences filling theatres.
Ticket toParadise lost 61 screens to run on 454 total, but only dropped 5% in total box office, to put a solid $7.8m into the exhibitor bank accounts.
DC League of Super-Pets went up by 50% to reach $7.87m, almost challenging Ticket to Paradise for top slot. In fact, it has made $4,000 more than Ticket to Paradise over the same two weeks by pulling ahead this week.
Paws of Fury climbed into the ring to face the Super-Pets, but took only $559,000. It has 150 less screens, but is also burdened with a younger demographic. It opened in the US back in July with $9.7m, and ultimately made $38m around the world. The budget was around $70m.
The other reasons for the Fury flop? it is a parody/homage to Blazing Saddles (which is too confusing for the young’uns), and it has been accused of racism for using Chinese gang tropes.
Avatar has been re-released and lit up 500 screens to make a modest $1.39m to claim third place on the ladder. IMAX would have been a significant contributor. It turns out we still have an appetite for colourful space adventures.
Fall, at the number four slot, probably deserves more. Two people trapped up a 2,000 foot mast is an elegant premise that makes no bones about the emotions on offer, and it did very well internationally. $20m off a budget of $4.6m will make UK expat director Scott Mann very happy after a miserable run of three indie action flops, none of which took more than $6.2m.https://www.youtube.com/embed/iSspRSGc4Dk?feature=oembed
We got this film late, and it claimed $754,000 off 264 screens. Not bad, with more to come.
Bullet Train, fattened up with $12.05m over 8 weeks, is coasting into its final station, but still making $337,000 on a weekend. Horror pic Orphan: First Kill has taken $2.56m in four weeks; Rom-com After Ever Happy is slogging along with $1.80m in three weeks, and horror funny Bodies Bodies Bodies has hustled $692,000 in two weeks, which is not bad.
Elvis is sitting on the porch strumming a guitar with $33.27m.
Good Luck to You, Leo Grande has hung in for six weeks to reach $3.06m, with $85,000 this weekend on 94 screens. Without a US release it made $9.72m around the world though some of the figures are obsolete.
Three Thousand Years of Longing never found an audience. Here it has made $1.21m in four weeks and is down to 75 screens and $90,000 over the weekend, though the international total is $24m. However, $12.58m comes from the US, so Leo Grande pushed it fairly hard. They are very different films, but they both have Australian directors.
The Drover’s Wife: the Legend of Molly Johnson has been around for 21 weeks, is now on one screen, and has made $1.90m, but won’t cross the $2m barrier. So near and so far.
See How They Run is built around Agatha Christie’s play, The Mousetrap, which a producer tries to option before his murder. Even the Christie herself becomes involved. Who knows how it will go here, though competition for grownups wanting some silly fun is limited.
Smile is yet another psychological horror rooted deep in the supernatural, involving doctors and self-generated horror. It’s said to have good scares, but little stands out in rewriting an ageing genre.
In other words, the school holiday films are playing out, and nothing much else is happening.
Go and see You Won’t Be Alone if you can find it. You will belong to a small, smug elite – and don’t we all want that?
By Sandy George. 6 September 2022. Screen International
Melbourne-based producer Arenamedia is on a roll. The filmmaker-driven independent, run by Australian producer, director and writer Robert Connolly, has three films — Blueback, Emily and Sweet As — playing at Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
Connolly wrote (with Harry Cripps) and directed 2021 Australian box-office hit The Dry, starring Eric Bana, and his directing credits range from his early social and political critiques The Bank, Three Dollars and Balibo through to family film Paper Planes, International Emmy-nominated TV series The Slap and Deep State for Fox Network Group. As a producer and executive producer, Connolly has also worked on films and series such as The Boys, Romulus, My Father, The Warriors, Gallipoli and Chasing Asylum.
With Connolly often busy directing and writing, Arenamedia has three other full-timers who produce or executive produce: Liz Kearney, Robert Patterson and emerging writer/producer Tara Bilston. James Grandison — who runs the Western Australian office and produced Blueback alongside Connolly and Kearney — Kate Laurie (Petrol) and Chloe Brugale (Because We Have Each Other) are non-exclusive producers at Arenamedia.
“We are lean but have a model that allows a diverse amount of work,” says Connolly, who notes that all Arenamedia producers and other key creatives have a stake in their own productions via partnership arrangements. “The whole producing team share an interest in deeply humanist stories, whether they be dramas, thrillers or comedies… We’re not trying to second-guess the market.”
Like many producers, Connolly believes television has taken over the middle ground of scripted content, forcing a polarisation of cinema. This partly explains Arenamedia’s slate being either bold, hard-to-finance films by new and emerging directors or films of scale, usually driven by Connolly himself.
Environmental drama Blueback — premiering as a special presentation at TIFF — is an example of the latter. It stars Mia Wasikowska, Radha Mitchell and Eric Bana, and is written and directed by Connolly based on Tim Winton’s novel. “It has this epic, dramatic scale but at its heart it is a profound film about saving the ocean, and a commercial film with big environmental ambition,” says Connolly. HanWay Films has pre-sold Blueback to territories including Weltkino Filmverleih in Germany, while Roadshow Films will open it locally on January 1, 2023.
Meanwhile, Emily is actress Frances O’Connor’s feature directing debut and opens TIFF’s Platform section. Emma Mackey plays author Emily Brontë, and the Tempo/Beaglepug production with Arenamedia has been pre-sold widely by Embankment Films, including to Bleecker Street for the US.
Jub Clerc’s directing debut Sweet As is playing in TIFF Discovery, anchored by emerging First Nations actor Shantae Barnes-Cowan’s performance. Investment from the Melbourne International Film Festival (MIFF)’s Premiere Fund meant it received its world premiere there on August 13.
“The whole producing team share an interest in deeply humanist stories, which could be dramas, thrillers or comedies,” says Connolly.
Diverse portfolio
ROBERT CONNOLLY
Meanwhile, Force Of Nature is in post. The sequel to The Dry is again with MadeUp Stories and features five women who go on a hiking retreat in the Australian bush but only four return. “We’re unafraid of making unashamedly Australian work with Australian talent,” says Connolly.
Also in the works is Mike Hailwood Film, based on the UK motorcycle racing legend’s 1978 comeback. Bana is writing and will play Hailwood and direct alongside Connolly. “It will shoot on the Isle of Man, in Victoria and possibly in New Zealand but maybe not until 2024,” says Patterson.
There are also a pair of animated features on the slate: stop-motion Memoir Of A Snail, written and directed by Oscar winner Adam Elliot (Harvey Krumpet), and Magic Beach, based on Alison Lester’s children’s book.
Kearney and Connolly are also involved in Originate, a VicScreen/SBS initiative that aims to champion new voices from traditionally underrepresented backgrounds. They will act as executive producers and mentors on the project that goes into production.
Patterson says Arenamedia has strong theatrical ambitions for its projects. It has its own distribution arm CinemaPlus and sales arm North South East West, which makes it easier for the firm to access finance from government agency Screen Australia — whose eligibility criteria stipulates that local distributors and international sales agents must be attached prior to production.
But Arenamedia will partner up where appropriate. Sphere Films and Roadshow picked up Sweet As on completion, for example. Roadshow has signed on for six Arenamedia theatrical releases, including The Dry and Force Of Nature. Madman has Emily locally. “We’re all about the cinema experience for communal consumption,” says Patterson. “We’re not purists and snobs but it’s what we all do and love.”
Jon Bell’s ‘The Moogai’ will receive production funding from Screen Australia.
New seasons of Total Control and children’s titles Rock Island Mysteries and Strange Chores, as well as feature films from Northern Pictures, Made Up Stories and Causeway Films are among the nine projects that will share in $12 million of production funding from Screen Australia.
Four feature films, three television dramas, and two children’s titles will be supported through the agency, the likes of which also include a feature version of Jon Bell’s award-winning short The Moogai, and television dramas While the Men are Away and North Shore.
Screen Australia head of content Grainne Brunsdon said there had been a “solid pipeline of impressive applications” so far this financial year, making for an “incredibly competitive” selection process.
“We know there is an appetite for fun, joyful drama content in the international market right now and we’re pleased to announce a number of distinct Australian dramedies and romantic comedies that will engage global audiences as part of this mix,” she said.
“We are also proud to support Australian creatives expanding their skillset, including Northern Pictures producing their first feature film Little Bird and Arcadia bringing to life their first episodic drama with While the Men Are Away for SBS.”
Head of First Nations Angela Bates said the titles supported through her department explored “important themes of intergenerational trauma, colonisation, and power”.
“We are proud to announce two premium dramas today including a new season of Total Control, which continues to not only captivate viewers but also provide important opportunities for emerging filmmakers above and below the line,” she said.
Deborah Mailman and Rachel Griffiths in ‘Total Control’.
The successful projects are as follows:
First Nations
The Moogai: A psychological horror from writer/director Jon Bell, who teams up with producers Mitchell Stanley, and Causeway Films’ Kristina Ceyton and Samantha Jennings. The film follows Sarah and Fergus, a hopeful young couple who give birth to their second baby. What should be a joyous time of their lives becomes sinister when Sarah starts seeing a malevolent spirit she is convinced is trying to take her children. Fergus desperately wants to believe her but grows increasingly worried as she becomes more unbalanced. The Moogai is financed with support from Screen NSW. Australian distribution is by Maslow Umbrella 387 Entertainment with Bankside managing international sales.
Total Control (season three): A six-part third series of the ground-breaking drama for ABC starring Deborah Mailman and Rachel Griffiths. In the corridors of power, adversaries Alex Irving and Rachel Anderson battle to control their political destinies. Season two writers Stuart Page and Pip Karmel again team up with producers Darren Dale, Erin Bretherton, and Rachel Griffiths. They are joined by writers Julia Moriarty, Meyne Wyatt, and Debra Oswald. Total Control season three is financed with support from the ABC, with All3Media managing international sales.
Feature Films
Addition: The debut feature film from writer Becca Johnstone and director Marcelle Lunam, who are working with producers Bruna Papandrea, Steve Hutensky, and Jodi Matterson of Made Up Stories, and Cristina Pozzan of Buon Giorno Productions. This romantic comedy follows 30-something-year-old Grace who has a thing for numbers and the inventor Nikola Tesla. But when an average guy, Seamus, comes along, Grace falls for Seamus and her meticulously ordered life begins to unravel around her. To let this love in, she must let go of the things she’s been holding onto. Addition will be distributed in Australia by Roadshow Films, with WME managing international sales.
Went up the Hill: A psychological three-handed thriller played out between only two actors. The story follows Jack as he travels to a remote region in New Zealand to attend the funeral of Elizabeth, the mother who abandoned him as a child. There he meets Jill, Elizabeth’s widow. Both are searching for answers; Jack about why she deserted him and Jill about why she killed herself. But Elizabeth’s spirit lingers and soon finds a way to possess both Jack and Jill’s bodies at night. Caught in a life-threatening nocturnal dance, Jack and Jill must find a way to let go of Elizabeth’s toxic hold, before she pushes them to the edge. This film is a New Zealand/Australian co-production from writer/director Samuel Van Grinsven and writer Jory Anast, who previously collaborated on their debut feature Sequin in a Blue Room. Causeway Films’ Samantha Jennings and Kristina Ceyton are producing alongside Vicky Pope. Went up the Hill has been offered production investment from the New Zealand Film Commission and is financed with support from Spectrum Films, Stage 23, RB Sound, and Screen Canterbury. Vendetta Films is handling local distribution while Bankside Films is on board for international distribution.
Little Bird: A romantic comedy from Northern Pictures about a poor but spirited young woman, who teams up with a burnt-out legend to become one of Australia’s most extraordinary flying teams. Set in the glamorous world of 1930s aviation and based on pilot Nancy Bird Walton, Little Bird is about defying expectations and letting your spirit soar as high as the sky. The creative team features director Darren Ashton, writers Harry Cripps and Hannah Reilly, and producers Joe Weatherstone and Catherine Nebauer. It is financed with support from Screen NSW, with local distribution by Maslow Umbrella 387 Entertainment and Parkland Pictures managing international sales.
Television Drama
While the Men are Away: A queer, revisionist historical dramedy for SBS set in 1940s rural Australia. While the men are off fighting in WWII, the people who have been excluded from power suddenly find themselves running the show. Two Women’s Land Army recruits from Sydney arrive in the country and undergo a heady course in race relations, rural politics, spirituality, sex, and personal growth- oh, and farming. While the Men are Away is created by Alexandra Burke, Kim Wilson, and Monica Zanetti, and written by Wilson, Zanetti, Jada Alberts, Magda Wozniak, Enoch Mailangi, and Sam Icklow. It is produced by Lisa Shaunessy of Arcadia. The series is financed with support from Screen NSW with Red Arrow Studios International managing international sales. The title is the first 8 x 30 drama from SBS Scripted Originals.
North Shore: A six-part crime thriller for Paramount ANZ created by Mike Bullen and directed by Gregor Jordan with writing from Marcia Gardner. Set on and around Sydney Harbour, this series follows the clash of cultures when British and Australian detectives team up to solve a complex murder mystery, and uncover a conspiracy with international political consequences. Produced by Beach Road Pictures, North Shore is financed with support from Screen NSW. It is also produced in association with ITV Studios, which will handle international distribution.
Children’s Projects
Rock Island Mysteries (season two): A 20-episode second series for Network 10, detailing the adventures of Aussie teen Taylor Young and her gang of friends. The group continue their adventurous search for Taylor’s missing Uncle Charlie now that they know he is still alive somewhere within the increasingly mysterious Rock Island. Season two sees the return of directors Jovita O’Shaughnessy and Evan Clarry, and writers Alix Beane, Marisa Nathar, Jessica Brookman, and Trent Roberts. They are joined by writers Matthew Bon, Chloe Wong, Rachel Laverty, and Dave Cartel. Rock Island Mysteries is produced by Timothy Powell and Jonah Klein of Fremantle Australia. The series is financed with support from Screen Queensland, with international sales by ViacomCBS.
The Strange Chores (season three) : A 26-part third season for ABC of Ludo Studio and Media World Pictures’ series about two teenage wannabe monster warrior heroes, Charlie and Pierce, and a spirited ghost girl Que, who master their skills from the ageing monster hunter Helsing by doing his strange supernatural chores. Director Scott Vanden Bosch returns with writers John McGeachin and Luke Tierney, and executive producers Daley Pearson, Charlie Aspinwall and Colin South. They are joined by writers Alix Beane and Magda Wozniak, and producer Carmel McAloon. The series is financed in association with VicScreen and with support from Screen Queensland. It is distributed globally by Boat Rocker.
