CASTING SECTOR HERALDS NEXT GEN TALENT POOL IN RISING STARS LIST

The Casting Guild of Australia has crowned Australia’s top emerging talent of 2022, revealing its 8th annual list of CGA Rising Stars.

The annual list has a strong track-record of picking Australian talent who are truly on the cusp of greatness. Previous recipients include Milly Alcock (House of Dragon), Eliza Scanlan (Little Women), Katherine Langford (13 Reasons Why), Thomas Weatherall (Heartbreak High), Zoe Terakes (Nine Perfect Strangers) Olivia De-Jonge (Elvis) and Alexander England (Little Monsters).

CGA President Thea McLeod said, "We’re so proud to watch these talented performers skyrocket from the casting room to our screens and stages. 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!"

Actor, gymnast and dancer Christopher Bunton made his feature film debut in Down Under and since then has gone on to star in Nude Tuesday, Relic, Lone Wolf and Kairos. He will soon be seen alongside Josh Gad and Isla Fisher in the second season of Stan’s Wolf Like Me.

James Majoos’ (pictured, right) recent role as ‘Darren’ in the worldwide Netflix reboot hit, Heartbreak High, has this year earned them an AACTA nomination for Best Lead Actor in a Drama. On stage he featured in Sydney Theatre Company’s production of Grand Horizons and Belvoir’s Fangirls.

Hattie Hook starred in Stan’s Ten Pound Poms and ABC’s Savage River alongside Rising Star alum Katherine Langford. This year she debuted in her first feature, Goran Stolevski’s Of An Age, which opened the 2022 Melbourne International Film Festival. Onstage, Hook’s credits include Gypsy, Mary Poppins and Annie.

Mabel Li was nominated for a Silver Logie for Most Outstanding Supporting Actress and won an Asian Academy award for Best Supporting Actress for her work in the SBS drama, New Gold Mountain (trailer, below). She has shone onstage 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 Picture’s Safe Home for SBS.

Maggie (Max) McKenna has appeared on television in the Foxtel comedy series Open Slather 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. Most recently, they’ve been seen in Sydney Theatre Company’s Melbourne and Sydney seasons of the Alanis Morrisette-inspired musical, Jagged Little Pill.

Michelle Lim Davidson (pictured, right; with co-star Magda Szubanski) has been seen on Nine Network’s After the Verdict and prior to that, The Newsreader, for which she received an AACTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Television Drama. Filming for the second season of The Newsreader has just wrapped and is set to air in 2023. Davidson is also a regular presenter on Play School and ABC KIDS Listen’s Story Salad.

Born in South Africa, Sana’a Shaik has starred in Stan’s Jack Irish, US mini-series Reckoning and as Xanthe in the sci-fi climate change feature 2067. She quill soon be seen in the feature film It Only Takes a Night, Amazon Prime's original Australian series Class of '07 and ABC's anthology series, Summer Love.

A proud Innawonga and Yindjibarndi man from the Pilbara region of Western Australia, Shaka Cook toured with 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, and in film, Top End Wedding and a lead role in critically acclaimed The Flood (trailer, below). 

Steph Tisdell is one of the brightest stars to explode on the Australian comedy scene in recent years. In 2014 she won the Deadly Funny National Grand Final and has gone on to sell out award-winning shows around the country. In 2021 Tisdell made her acting debut in ABC’s Total Control and will soon appear in the Amazon Prime series Class of ‘07.

Since her first major acting role came as ‘Ruby’ in the play Stolen by Jane Harrison, Tuuli Narkle has acted in the Sydney Theatre Company’s The Tenant of Wildfell Hall (pictured, right) and made 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 a stellar cast for Season 3 of ABC TV’s Mystery Road and received an AACTA Award Nomination for Best Lead Actress in Drama.

From November 18, audiences can meet this year’s Rising Stars as part of a 10 day series on CGA’s Instagram, with a new interview posted each day in the lead up to the official in-person presentation at the CGA Awards ceremony on Friday 2 December in Melbourne.

PRAYERS ANSWERED AS CHURCH CITY AUDS FLOCK TO ADELAIDE FILM FESTIVAL

The 2022 Adelaide Film Festival (AFF) has wrapped with the news that the 12-day event achieved a new box office and audience attendance record.

With audience attendance up 13% from the last AFF in 2020 (also a record result) and box office 56% up on the last pre-pandemic festival in 2018, the newly-annualised Festival’s expansion into multiple venues across Adelaide has proven to be a resounding success.

Ahead of Sunday’s Closing Night screening of Michael Philippou and Daniel Philippou’s debut feature Talk to Me, CEO & Creative Director Mat Kesting (pictured, right) announced that director Sinem Saban’s Luku Ngarra, which had its World Premiere at AFF 2022, won the Change Award. Bestowed upon works that inspire positive social or environmental impact and cinema expressing new directions for humanity, Luku Ngarra is an unflinching, Indigenous-funded documentary on the history and culture of Arnhem Land, seen through the eyes of one of Australia’s most respected Indigenous elders and traditional lawmen, Rev Dr Djiniyini Gondarra OAM. 

The winner of the Flinders University Short Film Prize was announced as Adelaide Film Festival Investment Fund film Are You Really The Universe (pictured, below), directed by Tamara Hardman and starring Tilda Cobham-Hervey. The Audience Award for Feature Fiction goes to Ribspreader, directed by Adelaide’s Dick Dale, and The Last Daughter, co-directed by Nathaniel Schmidt and Brenda Matthews, has won the Audience Award for Feature Documentary.

Previously announced were the two Jury determined awards. The AFF Feature Fiction Award 2022 was presented to Indonesian feature film Autobiography, with a $10,000 cash prize awarded to director Makbul Mubarak, and the AFF Feature Documentary Award went to The Hamlet Syndrome, with a $10,000 cash prize awarded to directors Elwira Niewiera and Piotr Rosolowski. The directors have since announced they are to donate the prize money to their film’s Ukrainian subjects, who are fighting in the war against Russia.

Kesting noted that the surge in attendance is a clear indication that the theatrical experience and a dedication to film culture is alive and well in South Australia. “Audiences embraced the AFF program and demonstrated a clear desire to go out to the cinema. The record-breaking box office and attendance results reaffirm the desire to see films in cinemas and engage with courageous filmmaking,” he said.

“An extraordinary cross section of work from around the world was presented, including a remarkable crop of new films from South Australia. We congratulate all the filmmakers [and] are proud to have supported numerous directorial debuts within the festival,” Kesting pointed out, referencing the AFFIF feature investment films Talk to Me; Sean Lahiff’s Carnifex; Matt Vesely’s Monolith; The Last Daughter, from co-directors Brenda Matthews and Nathaniel Schmidt; and, Madeline Parry’s The Angels: Kickin’ Down the Door. (Pictured, right; director  Sinem Saban and Rev Dr Djiniyini Gondarra OAM, from Luku Ngarra)

“The AFF’s 2022 results demonstrate why the South Australian Government has decided to invest $2 million to help annualise and expand the program,” declared S.A. Arts Minister Andrea Michaels in response to the festival’s success. “Congratulations to the entire Adelaide Film Festival team on these outstanding results. They have demonstrated that the event is a huge drawcard, not only for audiences, but also for film industry creatives globally.”

FURY ROAD FOLLOW-UP FURIOSA FIRES UP IN AUSTRALIAN OUTBACK

Principal photography is underway on Academy Award-winning filmmaker George Miller’s Furiosa, the much-anticipated return to the iconic dystopian world he created more than 30 years ago with the seminal Mad Max films. Anya Taylor-Joy stars in the title role, alongside Chris Hemsworth and Tom Burke.

An original new standalone action adventure will reveal the origins of the powerhouse character from the multiple Oscar-winning global smash Mad Max: Fury Road. The new feature is being produced by Miller’s own Australian-based Kennedy Miller Mitchell banner, together with the filmmaker’s Fury Road partners Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures. 

As the world fell, young Furiosa is snatched from the Green Place of Many Mothers and falls into the hands of a great Biker Horde led by the Warlord Dementus. Sweeping through the Wasteland they come across the Citadel presided over by The Immortan Joe. While the two Tyrants war for dominance, Furiosa must survive many trials as she puts together the means to find her way home.

Taylor-Joy (pictured, right) is on a meteoiric career trajectory, coming off Edgar Wright’s Last Night in Soho and Robert Eggers’ The Northman and the Netflix blockbuster mini-series, The Queen's Gambit. She has also starred in the romantic comedy Emma, based on the Jane Austen novel, Split from M. Night Shyamalan, and his follow up Glass.

Hemsworth is right at home with high-octane action, having starred in the Avengers and Thor films as well as the recent Netflix films Extraction and Spiderhead. His other film credits include Bad Times at the El Royale, 12 Strong, In the Heart of the Sea, Rush, Snow White and the Huntsman and Star Trek, among many others. His social media post featuring the first clapperboard of the Furiosa shoot (pictured, top) went viral with fans of the Mad Max saga.

Burke (pictured, left), stepping into a key role vacated by Yahya Abdul-Mateen II, is perhaps best-known for his award-nominated role in Joanna Hogg’s film The Souvenir, as well as playing the lead in the popular UK crime series C.B. Strike. He also starred as Athos in the BBC series The Musketeers, appeared in such feature films as Nicholas Winding Refn’s Only God Forgives, and played famed filmmaker Orson Welles in David Fincher’s Oscar-winning Mank.

Miller penned the script with Mad Max: Fury Road co-writer Nico Lathouris and produces alongside his longtime partner, Oscar-nominated producer Doug Mitchell (Mad Max: Fury Road; Babe).  Miller’s behind-the-scenes creative team includes such longtime collaborators as production designer Colin Gibson, editor Margaret Sixel, sound mixer Ben Osmo, costume designer Jenny Beavan and makeup designer Lesley Vanderwalt, each of whom won an Oscar for their work on Mad Max: Fury Road, as well as first assistant director PJ Voeten and second unit director and stunt coordinator Guy Norris.  The director of photography is Simon Duggan (Hacksaw Ridge; The Great Gatsby).

VALE KATE FERGUSON

Kate Ferguson, a vibrant and adored industry presence who parlayed her experience as a gifted actress and musician into a second phase career mentoring young talent, passed away on July 2 after a determined battle with cancer. She was 66.

A combination of extraordinarily diverse skills were recognised early in a young Kate, who achieved acclaim as both a ballet student and a concert pianist protege. But, after fleetingly dabbling in academia (she attended Sydney’s Macquarie University for one year), it would be the stage and screen that became the natural fit for her compelling presence and ‘brunette bombshell’ beauty.

At 14, Kate convinced administrators that she was 17 and secured entry into the Independent Theatre Company’s acting school in North Sydney, leading to a featured role in their production of Adventures in Fol (1974). She aligned herself with The Actor’s Theatre Company in inner-city Ultimo, where she starred as a burlesque cabaret version of Ophelia in The Naked Hamlet (1977); other more mainstream roles included Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead (1977) and Romeo and Juliet (1978). 

Her stage work would include roles opposite John Bell in the Opera House Drama Theatre production of The Lower Depths (1977); Jon Ewing, Rory O’Donoghue and Grahame Bond at the Bondi Pavilion in Hamlet on Ice (1976); and, Trevor White and Christopher Pate in Mike Wade’s 1981 revival of Hair (pictured, below).

From her bit part as ‘Bikini Girl’ in the Jack Thompson vehicle Petersen (1974), Kate became an engaging fan favourite and striking presence on-screen. Her film work included Peter Shillingford’s sexually frank drama, Naughty Girls (1975); opposite Andrew McFarlane in Ken Hannam’s Break of Day (1976); and, as ‘Skipper’ in Norman J. Warren’s bawdy sci-fi romp, Spaced Out (aka, Outer Touch; 1979). Most endearingly, she played ‘Edith’, one of Kristy McNichol’s lady entourage, in Ken Annakin’s 1982 musical, The Pirate Movie, a role that cast her alongside heartthrob Christopher Atkins as well as local stars Bill Kerr, Garry McDonald, Magge Kirkpatrick and Rhonda Burchmore.

On the small screen, Kate vamped it up as ‘Fay’ for a two episode arc opposite Graeme Blundell in Alvin Purple (1976; pictured, left); acted with Belinda Giblin, Hugh Keays-Byrne and Robyn Nevin in Oliver Howes’ rape drama, Say You Want Me (1977); and, supported leads Nicole Kidman and Terence Donovan in John Duigan’s Room to Move (1987). She also secured parts in such popular series as Case for the Defense (1978), Sons and Daughters (1982) and A Country Practice (1982).

By the late 1980s, Kate had refocussed her talent into industry education. A long stint teaching music in various forms, voice coaching and talent mentoring meant less time in front of audiences, but a blossoming reputation behind-the-scenes among the sector’s young, gifted artists. From 1985 to 1987, Kate was Music Director of the Australian National Capital Theatre Company; by 2005, such was her status amongst the burgeoning performer’s pool, she was able to launch Kate Ferguson Management and oversee the career paths of 100s of talented hopefuls. In 2014 and having relocated to Coffs Harbour on New South Wales’ mid-north coast, Kate undertook a senior teaching role as Vocal Coach at the Coffs Harbour Conservatorium. (Pictured, right; Kate, far left, in The Pirate Movie)             

Kate was born into a family of animal lovers - her father worked in the field of animal research; her mother, a veterinary surgeon - and she would surround herself with four-legged friends for much of her life. In her teens, she became an accomplished horsewoman, as well as dedicating her time to the breeding of her beloved Cavalier King Charles spaniels. Later in life, she would fall under the spell of ‘Sunny’, the goat with whom she shared her mid north coast home, along with, at various times, ageing chickens, Blake the snake, possums, water dragons and blue tongue lizards, a goanna, peacock, gecko and occasional echidna. 

Kate Ferguson is survived by her children Bonnie, Leif and Adie, and their extended families. She remained close friends with many of her castmates, including LA-based Atkins, Spaced Out lead Ava Cadell Knecht (pictured, above) and Alvin Purple co-star Anna Simone Scott, and boasted a vast network of friends across the entertainment industries. She will be mourned by many in her adopted hometown, where her contributions to promoting regional talent and the local arts community was invaluable.

2021 ADG AWARDS FIND NEW HOME AT ACTORS CENTRE AUSTRALIA

The 2021 Australian Director’s Guild (ADG) Awards will unfurl at a Gala Luncheon in Sydney on October 22 at the Actors Centre Australia (ACA) in Leichhardt.

One of the local sector’s most prestigious annual gatherings will also be a virtual event, live streamed nationally and internationally. In 2020, the online-only ceremony scored solid traffic numbers and the ADG and ACA identified an opportunity to expand on that audience with a multi-tiered presentation in 2021.

“I warmly welcome ACA as our new venue partner,” said ADG Executive Director Alaric McAusland (pictured, right). “The 2021 Awards will be an important moment to celebrate all that has been achieved by our members over the past year, a year which has offered incredible challenges and opportunities to Australian screen directors, as well as the achievements of the ADG over its 40-year history.”

McAusland promises that the 2021 Awards will build on last year’s deep industry support and cross-industry engagement, which saw a record number of entries and the most diverse list of nominees in the Awards’ history. “[I want] to extend our sincere thanks to our award sponsors [for] supporting last year’s Covid-impacted event and their continued support for this year,” he said. These include principal partner Australian Screen Directors Authorship Collecting Society (ASDACS), major partner Media Super and  Government supporters Screen NSW and Screen Australia.

Securing the ADG Awards is a further coup for the ACA, which continues to establish itself as one of the Harbour City’s premium event venues. “Actors Centre Australia is thrilled to be partnering with the ADG Awards in 2021,” said ACA Chief Operating Officer Anthony Kierann (pictured, left). “This celebration of the outstanding contribution that screen directors bring to our industry aligns with ACA’s commitment to developing the finest Australian on-screen talent. We warmly welcome ADG members and nominees to the Centre, as together, the arts community steps its way out of the pandemic.”

The ADG Awards recognise excellence in the craft and art of directing, as well as honouring individual contributions by Australian screen directors to the screen industry. The Awards are the only opportunity for Australian directors and their work to be acknowledged by their directing peers. The Awards cover the breadth of screen directing with categories across feature film, documentary, television, subscription video on demand, commercial, short film, animation, online, music video and interactive media.

Submissions to the 2021 ADG Awards will open on 30th June.

FIVE AUSTRALIAN FILMMAKERS SECURE SXSW SLOTS

The South By Southwest Film Festival, the annual indie sector mecca set deep in the heart of Texas, has picked five Australian works amongst its 2021 line-up. The diverse range of films, including three by women directors and two steeped in indigenous culture, will launch March 16 as part of the online roster of official selections.

The Aussie contingent are part of the 75 features in the program, including 57 World Premieres, three International Premieres, four North American Premieres, one U.S. Premiere, and 53 films from first-time filmmakers. In addition to the features line-up, 84 short films will unfold including music videos, five episodic Premieres and six episodic pilots. Highlighting the festival progressive ethos, twenty Virtual Cinema projects will screen and fourteen title design entries will be considered in competition.

The Australian films in the SXSW mix are: 

NARRATIVE SPOTLIGHT
THE DROVERS WIFE: THE LEGEND OF MOLLY JOHNSON (Director/Screenwriter: Leah Purcell, Producers: Bain Stewart, David Jowsey, Angela Littlejohn, Greer Simpkin, Leah Purcell) A reimagining of Leah Purcell’s acclaimed play and Henry Lawson’s classic short story. A searing Australian western thriller asking the question: how far do you go to protect your loved ones? With Purcell in the lead role, she is joined by Rob Collins, Sam Reid, Jessica De Gouw and Malachi Dower-Roberts. “To be following in the footsteps of the amazing films and filmmakers that have gone before me is humbling,” said Purcell, via a Screen Australia press release. “As an Indigenous Australian woman and filmmaker, I am proud to be sharing a story that literally has mine and my family's DNA all over it and to be able to share our cultural practise as storytellers through film to the world.”

24 BEATS PER SECOND
UNDER THE VOLCANO (Director: Gracie Otto, Screenwriters: Cody Greenwood, Gracie Otto, Ian Shadwell, Producers: Cody Greenwood, Richard Harris) The story of George Martin’s AIR Studios Montserrat and the island that changed music forever, Otto’s documentary features interviews with Sting, Mark Knopfler, Nick Rhodes, Jimmy Buffett, Verdine White, Tony Lommi, Stewart Copeland, Guy Fletcher, Midge Ure, and Roger Glover. Producer Cody Greenwood said, “The festival is universally recognised for its music documentaries, so to have Under The Volcano premiere at this festival is a huge honour. Our whole team worked tremendously hard to pull the film together and I can’t wait for it to be shared with audiences.” (Pictured, above: Andy Summers and Sting in Under The Volcano. Photo credit: Danny Quatrochi)

MIDNIGHT SHORTS
THE MOOGAI (Director/Screenwriter: Jon Bell) An Aboriginal psychological horror, The Moogai is the story of a family terrorized by a child-stealing spirit. In a statement following his selection, Bell said, “The festival pulls from a number of mediums and speaks to multiple disciplines. I think The Moogai will find an audience with the patrons of SXSW because they’re up for the kind of story we’re telling. A story of loss from an Indigenous point of view. There are many similarities between Australian Aboriginal and Native American connection to country and the clash of cultures with the western world that I think it will feel familiar and foreign to American audiences.” After receiving impressive accolades locally, including an AACTA Award 2020 nomination for Best Short Film and winning the Erwin Rado Award for Best Audience Short Film at Melbourne International Film Festival 2020, The Moogai will make it’s international premiere at SXSW. (Pictured, above: Shari Stebbens in The Moogai)

MUSIC VIDEO COMPETITION 
JULIA STONE - 'BREAK' (Director/Screenwriter: Jessie Hill) Award-winning Australian folk singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Julia Stone’s latest clip, directed by Jessie Hill. (See the full clip below)

VIRTUAL CINEMA COMPETITION
OF HYBRIDS AND STRINGS (Australia, France, Germany; Director: Lauren Moffat, Producer: Fabbula) Of Hybrids and Strings is a fabulatory immersion into possible human and non-human connectedness. In a forest, at night, one becomes strangely entangled to plants and creatures. Until the forest starts to crystallize…  "With Of Hybrids and Strings, I wanted to create a science-fiction-like experience, but without forcing people into a particular perspective," says Moffat on the film's website. "I wanted to construct a speculative narrative that would shift classic science-fiction themes—such as environmental disorders—by thinking them outside all preconceptions." (World Premiere) (Pictured, above: Moffat's 'Hybrid Flowers' from Of Hybrids and Strings)

Register for SXSW Online 2021: From March 16-20, experience conference sessions and keynotes addresses, music showcases, film screenings, exhibitions, networking events, mentor sessions, professional development, and more, all in a digital setting.

BREAK by Julia Stone; directed by Jessie Hill.

RON HOWARD, BRIAN GRAZER TO MENTOR OZ CREW ON GOLD COAST SHOOT

Screen Queensland has partnered with Brian Grazer and Ron Howard’s talent development company, Impact Creative Systems, to transform the careers of four Queensland-based screen professionals through a prestigious attachment opportunity on the set of their latest project, Thirteen Lives. The film adaptation of the 2018 Thai boys’ soccer team cave rescue will commence production on the Gold Coast this March.

Aligned with local on-set skill shortages, the program is now open for applications from emerging screen industry professionals in the areas of costume design, set design, accounting, and assistant directing, to be attached to Thirteen Lives for a period of 12 weeks during production.

Academy Award® winners Brian Grazer and Ron Howard (pictured, above), director on Thirteen Lives, said the philosophy of Impact to discover, cultivate and empower the next generation of creative storytellers worldwide, has been extended to unearth talented production-focused practitioners.

“We’re excited about the potential for Impact to transform careers in areas where the screen industry, in Queensland but also globally, is experiencing particular skill shortages,” said Mr Grazer and Mr Howard, via a  joint statement.

“It’s also a deep part of our philosophy and approach to give back to the locations where we are filming and this program is a great way of providing emerging screen professionals of promise the opportunity to work on a major feature film in their own backyard.”

In addition to these attachment opportunities, Thirteen Lives is estimated to employ more than 275 cast and crew and inject around $45 million into the Queensland economy.

Screen Queensland CEO Kylie Munnich (pictured, right) praised Impact for their commitment to help develop the next wave of screen industry professionals, from a diverse range of disciplines, in the state.

“For every production Screen Queensland supports, attachments are an obligation as part of a proven strategy to grow and diversify the local industry.

“As demand for Queensland as a production location continues to escalate, these kinds of initiatives are vital to creating a viable industry to rival other major screen hubs globally,” Ms Munnich said.

The on-set experiences of the four successful candidates will also be documented as part of a bespoke digital campaign including regular video diaries and social media updates.

For more information and to apply visit https://www.impact-australia.com/crews . Applications close 14 February 2021.

R.I.P. HUGH KEAYS-BYRNE

Actor Hugh Keays-Byrne, a towering presence in Australia’s acting community and iconic genre cinema figure, has passed away in hospital overnight, aged 73. Destined to be forever remembered as ‘The Toecutter’ in the 1979 action classic Mad Max, Keays-Byrne reunited with director Dr George Miller 36 years later to play ‘Immortan Joe’ in the blockbuster reboot, Mad Max: Fury Road. It would be his final film role.

Born in Srinigar, India in 1947 to British parents, Keays-Byrne acted extensively on the London stage in his formative years, working with the Royal Shakespeare Company on productions of  As You Like It, Hamlet, King Lear, Much Ado About Nothing and Troilus and Cressida. A RSC tour of Australia performing in A Midsummer’s Night Dream led to the actor relocating here, his classically trained credentials providing entry into the burgeoning film and television sector.

The imposing physicality and enigmatic screen presence for which he would garner a legion of fans was evident in his big screen debut as ‘Toad’ in the late Sandy Harbutt’s motorbike-gang classic, Stone (1974; pictured, right), a role which caught the eye of director Brian Trenchard-Smith, who cast him in the action opus, The Man From Hong Kong (1975). This was a prolific period for the actor, with television work in the made-for-small-screen movies Essington (1974) and Polly My Love (1975) and the popular historical series Ben Hall (1975) and Rush (1976), for which he won a Best Actor Logie award.

Recognised as an invaluable ensemble player, support parts began to mount; Keays-Byrne supplied vivid character work in Phillipe Mora’s Mad Dog Morgan (1976), John Duigan’s The Trespassers (1976), Carl Schultz’s Blue Fin (1978) and Simon Wincer’s Shapshot (1979). With the industry hungry for local content, TV-movie production was at an unprecedented high, demand that the actor benefitted from with compelling turns in Beyond Reasonable Doubt (1977), Say You Want Me (1977), The Death Train (1978) and The Tichborne Affair (1978).

His star-making role came when he provided the villainous ying to young NIDA graduate Mel Gibson’s heroic yang in Miller’s low-budget, high-octane Mad Max. In a fearlessly crafted performance that perfectly conveys the anarchy and brutality of the post-apocalyptic setting, Keays-Byrne’s ‘Toecutter’ is one of Australian film’s most enduring figures; his left-field interpretation of psychotic villainy has ensured lines such as “Jessie, Jessie, Jessie, you've not got a sense of humor,” and “What a wonderful philosophy you have” will live forever. The performance earned Keays-Byrne a Best Supporting Actor nomination at the1979  Australian Film Institute Awards.

Hugh Keays-Byrne remained loyal to the sector that embraced him as a young English actor, staying in Australia and working steadily throughout the 1980s in such films as ian Barry’s  The Chain Reaction (1980; pictured, right, with Steve Bisley), Jonathan Dawson’s Ginger Meggs (1982), Werner Herzog’s Where the Green Ants Dream (1984), Richard Lowenstein’s Strikebound (1984), Graeme Clifford’s Burke & Wills (1985), Tim Burstall’s Kangaroo (1986), George Miller (the other one)’s Les Patterson Saves the World (1987) and David Webb Peoples’ Salute of the Jugger (1989). In 1992, he co-directed the dystopian action-thriller Resistance, reuniting him with fellow Mad Max alumni Vincent Gil (‘Nightrider’) in a support role.

International productions utilising Australian facilities recognised the value of a professional presence like Hugh Keays-Byrne, providing steady work for the actor throughout the 1990s in series such as Moby Dick (1998), opposite Patrick Stewart and Henry Thomas; Journey to the Centre of the Earth (1999), starring Treat Williams; and, as fan favourite ‘Grunchik’ in the sci-fi hit, Farscape.

Dr George Miller always acknowledged the invaluable contribution the actor made during the guerilla-style shot of Mad Max. It is known that the director had written a key role for the actor in his planned DCU adaptation, Justice League: Mortal, a Warner Pros tentpole project that was ultimately shut down only weeks before production was due to begin in 2007. His casting as ‘Immortan Joe’ in Mad Max: Fury Road was seen as a spiritual bond back to the original film and greeted with adoration by the franchise’s fanbase.

WARNERMEDIA AND ROADSHOW FILMS SPLIT IN DISTRIB SECTOR SHAKE-UP

Once considered one of the sturdiest partnerships in global film distribution, WarnerMedia and Roadshow Films will cut ties at the end of 2020 after four decades. Australian parent company Village Roadshow Ltd (VRL) announced to the ASX on Monday that December 31 would be the final day of their co-dependent arrangement, with Denis Villeneuve’s sci-fi epic Dune (December 17) and Patty Jenkins blockbuster DCU sequel Wonder Woman 1984 (December 26) representing their final films together.

Long held and cherished relationships at the boardroom level have dissolved in recent times. In August, an overhaul at WarnerMedia by corporate owner AT&T saw several top executives ousted, including a crucial ally in Ron Sanders, President of Worldwide Theatrical Distribution and Home Entertainment. No indication was given as to whether VRL would still rep Warner titles on the home video front, although that contract also expires in December.  

Founded as a drive-in theatre venture in 1954 by Roc Kirby, whose car-friendly venues became known as ‘villages’, Roadshow expanded into traditional cinema sites (or ‘hardtops’) throughout the 1960s. Kirby’s sons Robert and John entered the family business and, with young execs like Graham Burke (pictured, right; with Robert Kirby, left)promoted through the ranks, Roadshow expanded into the distribution sector, launching a specialised division in 1967. By 1971, Roadshow were so dominant in the Australian market they were able to forge their first partnership with Warner Bros.

In the wake of the acquisition of De Laurentis Entertainment, the entity Village Roadshow was formed in 1989, a show of strength that further solidified ties with Warner Bros. Their first release together was the Kylie Minogue vehicle, The Delinquents (1989), followed by such blockbuster successes as Analyze This, The Matrix and Deep Blue Sea (all 1999); Miss Congeniality (2000); Ocean’s Eleven (2001); Happy Feet (2006); Sherlock Holmes (2009); The Great Gatsby (2013); The Lego Movie (2014); Mad Max Fury Road (2015) and Joker (2019).

While embodying the ‘business’ side of showbusiness, the union also found critical favour with David O. Russell’s Three Kings (1999), a National Board of Review honouree, and provided Denzel Washington with his lead actor Oscar in Antoine Fuqua’s Training Day (2001). The partnership forged a strong bond with writer/director Clint Eastwood and his Malpaso Productions, leading to a stake in such prestige pics as Space Cowboys (2000), Mystic River (2003), Gran Torino (2008), American Sniper (2014), Sully (2016) and The 15:17 to Paris (2018).

The Village Roadshow / Warner Bros partnership weathered some expensive underperformers as well, including Red Planet (2000); The Majestic (2001); The Adventures of Pluto Nash (2002; pictured, right); Showtime (2002); Dreamcatcher (2003); Catwoman (2004); The Invasion (2007); Speed Racer (2008); Gangster Squad (2013); Jupiter Ascending (2015); Winter’s Tale (2014); and, In the Heart of the Sea (2015).

In announcing the split, Roadshow CEO Joel Pearlman said, “It has been an honour to release so many incredible Warner Bros. titles over the years and we are proud of the work that we have achieved together.” It was made clear in the ASX filing that the license deal between VRL and Warner Bros. in the theme parks business remains intact and that the $468million sale of VRL to funds managed by BGH Capital would be unaffected.

VRL will continue to seek productions for their Village Roadshow Studios at Gold Coast in Queensland, currently home to Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis and rumoured to be pitching for Taika Waititi’s Thor sequel. It also owns 31% of the New York-based sales and production company FilmNation.

It is understood that the Australian division of Universal Pictures will take control of Warner titles from early 2021.

HANKS RETURNS TO OZ FOR BAZ'S ELVIS EPIC

Cameras are set to roll September 23 on Warner Bros. Pictures’ Elvis, the blockbuster musical drama from Oscar-nominated filmmaker Baz Luhrmann. The latest production from the director of The Great Gatsby (2013), Moulin Rouge! (2001) and Australia (2008) will command all sound stage space at the Village Roadshow Studio lot in Oxenford, Queensland, where actor Austin Butler (Once Upon a Time...in Hollywood, 2019) will step into the blue suede shoes as rock’n’roll legend Elvis Presley.

The dramatic and complicated relationship between the iconic singer and his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker, will be the focus of the narrative, which Luhrmann has co-written with regular collaborator, Craig Pearce. Two-time Oscar-winner Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump, 1994; Philadelphia, 1993) will play the driven, volatile Parker, while Australian actress Olivia DeJonge (The Visit, 2015; Better Watch Out, 2014) has been confirmed as Priscilla Presley. 

Previously announced support players include Maggie Gyllenhaal (The Kindergarten Teacher, 2019; Secretary, 2002) as Gladys Presley; Rufus Sewell (Dark City, 1998; Vinyan, 2008) as Vernon Presley; and, British singer Yola, aka Yola Carter, as gospel singer Sister Rosetta Tharpe, a key influence on Presley’s musical education.

It is the second start for the mammoth shoot, with pre-production halted in mid-March when COVID-19 conditions shut down filming in most countries, including Australia. The film earned unwelcome publicity when it was announced that Hanks and wife Rita Wilson had contracted the virus and would be isolated in a Brisbane hospital until they were well enough to travel home to the U.S. 

Re-energised by the confirmed shooting date, Luhrmann stated (via a studio press release), “We’re back to, as Elvis liked to say, ‘taking care of business!’  It is a real privilege in this unprecedented global moment that Tom Hanks has been able to return to Australia to join Austin Butler and all of our extraordinary cast and crew to commence production on Elvis.” Hanks has arrived in the northern Australian state to prepare for filming, which includes two weeks of quarantine before joining cast and crew on set.

The production is expected to employ 900 Australian cast and crew and inject an estimated US$105million into the local economy. 

Luhrmann is also producing the film, alongside Catherine Martin, Gail Berman, Patrick McCormick and Schuyler Weiss, with Andrew Mittman executive producing. Key creatives include are all longtime Luhrmann collaborators - director of photography Mandy Walker (hot off Niki Caro’s Mulan, for Disney); Oscar-winning production designer and costume designer Catherine Martin; editors Matt Villa and Jonathan Redmond; and, composer Elliott Wheeler, who scored the director’s Netflix series, The Get Down.

Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis is currently slated for release on November 5, 2021.