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.”

CAMERAS ROLL ON KINGDOM OF THE PLANETS OF THE APES AT DISNEY STUDIOS AUSTRALIA

SYDNEY – 20th Century Studios’ Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, starring Owen Teague,, Freya Allan, Peter Macon and Kevin Durand, has begun production in Sydney at the newly-renamed Disney Studios Australia. The previously-monikered Fox Studios Australia fell under the large restructuring of Fox assets now under The Walt Disney Company’s Australian footprint, resulting in the name change.

Under the direction of The Maze Runner helmer Wes Ball, the new film starts an all-new chapter in the Planet of the Apes saga, picking up many years after the conclusion of 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes. The screenplay is by Josh Friedman (War of the Worlds), Rick Jaffa and Amanda Silver (Rise of the Planet of the Apes), and Patrick Aison (Prey). Joe Hartwick Jr., Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver and Jason Reed are the film’s producers; Peter Chernin and Jenno Topping are the executive producers.

Steve Asbell, President of 20th Century Studios, said: “We’re thrilled to be in Sydney filming Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes at the world-class Disney Studios Australia. ‘Planet of the Apes’ is one of the most iconic and storied science fiction franchises in film history and an indelible part of our studios’ legacy. The extraordinary director Wes Ball and cast and crew are continuing the series’ tradition of imaginative, thought-provoking cinema. We can’t wait to share this new chapter with audiences in 2024.”

The production will receive some A$17 million in funding support through Screen NSW’s Made In NSW fund and broader tax breaks from the federal gov ernment. Estimates suggest that the production will provide more than 400 local jobs and inject more than A$128 million into the local economy. No announcement has been made regarding whether or not post-production will also be undertaken on the expansive studio lot. 

Planet of the Apes is one of 20th Century Studios’ most popular and enduring franchises, amassing more than $1.7 billion worldwide. Based on a novel by Pierre Boulle, the first film in the series was released by Twentieth Century-Fox in 1968 and went on to become one of the year’s biggest hits, winning a special Academy Award® and followed by four theatrical sequels and two television series.  A remake was directed by Tim Burton in 2001, then a 2011 reboot, Rise of the Planet of the Apes was followed by two sequels, 2014’s Dawn of the Planet of the Apes and 2017’s War for the Planet of the Apes.

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).

STEPHANIE ALEXANDER AND MAGGIE BEER’S TUSCAN COOKBOOK HEADED FOR THE BIG SCREEN

Australian production and distribution studio Arcadia has optioned Stephanie Alexander and Maggie Beer’s bestseller Tuscan Cookbook and Stephanie’s Journal for adaptation to the big screen.

Akin to box office hits The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Under the Tuscan Sun and Julie & Julia, the feature film will be written by Australian film and television writer Katherine Thomson (Amazon TV’s A Place To Call Home; Women He’s Undressed; StudioCanal’s Helena!). “As most women know, to have a best friend is a great blessing and if they share your passion and inspire you, then you’ve really lucked out,” says Thomson (pictured, below). “Stephanie and Maggie first shared their friendship with the world through the books, now they’re allowing me to expand on the narrative and into a movie – a big leap for them, and how fortunate am I.”

Published by Penguin, Stephanie Alexander and Maggie Beer’s Tuscan Cookbook, transports readers to the sunlit hills of Tuscany, where in 1997 they left Australia to run a cooking school in a villa outside of Siena. The Tuscan Cookbook records in detail their time in Italy, the dishes cooked, the places visited, the people who made it all happen and the guests who joined for the ride.

Arcadia has also taken the option to Stephanie's Journal, her personal account of a year which saw the opening of the Richmond Hill Cafe & Larder, the closure of the celebrated restaurant, Stephanie's, the impact of The Cook's Companion, published a year earlier and the cooking schools in Tuscany with Maggie Beer.

Said Stephanie: “It was the adventure of our lives. It deepened our friendship as we supported each other and convinced us all over again of the value of being with others who shared our enthusiasm for ripe and real flavours, in a country that daily reinforced the importance of eating well as an essential part of living well.”

Maggie added: “There are times in your life that are so wonderfully significant that you have to pinch yourself that it was even possible. Our friendship and support for each other was so incredibly special and life affirming. Re-reading Stephanie’s journal of that year brings every moment back to life in cinematic detail, so to think of it coming to the big screen is both exciting and just a bit scary too.”

The film will be produced by Lisa Shaunessy for Arcadia, a company on a run of successes that have included the Kodi Smit-McPhee sci-fi hit 2067 and the SXSW Midnighters’ opener Sissy, starring Aisha Dee. From their base in the central NSW township of Orange, they are currently in production on the sci-fi thriller In Vitro starring Succession’s Ashley Zukerman.

Arcadia parrtner and executive producer on the film, Alexandra Burke (pictured, left; credit Jude Keogh), says “As beloved icons, Maggie Beer and Stephanie Alexander have made significant contributions to Australian life, in a similar way to how Julia Child revolutionised the home kitchen in America. The story behind the Tuscan Cookbook captured my imagination many years ago and now the timing felt right.”

BACK TO BACK THEATRE'S DEBUT FILM BOUND FOR SYDNEY FILM FEST PREMIERE

Australia’s acclaimed Back to Back Theatre, a professional theatre company with an ensemble of actors with disabilities at its core, will screen their debut feature Shadow at the 2022 Sydney Film Festival, where it will have its Australian Premiere on June 15. This follows the film's International Premiere at SXSW earlier this year, where it earned the Visions Audience Award.

Directed by Bruce Gladwin and produced by Alice Fleming and Meret Hassanen, Shadow was co-conceived and co-authored by Back to Back’s core group of performance artists -  Michael Chan, Mark Deans, Sarah Mainwaring, Scott Price, Simon Laherty and Sonia Teuben. The 56-minute story involves a trio of disability activists who hold a public meeting, desperate to save the world. As the meeting unravels, they discover the greatest threat to their future is already in the room.

“Shadow uses a combination of dramatic and documentary-style elements to tell the story of a group of activists who hold a public meeting only to discover their own prejudices are their biggest obstacles to saving the world,” says Bruce Gladwin (pictured, right), who has crafted globally recognised work with Back to Back for over two decades. “Thematically, we wanted to understand individual and collective responsibility and question how we come together to make decisions that are in the best interests of society.”

Created over two and a half years through conversation and improvisation with the performers, 95% of the people on screen are people with disabilities, and the majority of the crew roles are fulfilled by interns who identify as people with disabilities supported by professional mentors. Says Gladwin, “The narrative and the film’s philosophical approach to the process of creation are intrinsically linked. This is community filmmaking."

Filmed on location in Geelong in December 2020, Shadow ambitiously builds upon the success of the company’s debut short, Oddlands, creating a feature film that is provocative and challenging. It is based on the company’s theatrical production The Shadow Whose Prey The Hunter Becomes (2019), which was developed at the 2019 Sundance Theatre Lab and described by The New York Times as “an extraordinary play”. 

For co-producer Alice Fleming, the film’s SFF acceptance is indicative of broadening audience tastes. “It continues to provide evidence that audiences and programmers are looking for more inclusive storytelling teams,” she says. Actor and co-writer Scott Price (pictured, left) agrees, stating “The fact that it is premiering at festivals such as SXSW and now Sydney Film Festival shows that it is a beautiful piece of work, and the importance of telling stories from the perspective of people with disabilities.”

The Sydney Film Festival dates are:
Wednesday 15 June, 3:15pm at State Theatre | AUSTRALIAN PREMIERE
Friday 17 June, 6:00pm at Palace Central
Saturday 18 June, 4:30pm at Dendy Newtown

SHADOW is jointly funded by the Australian Government Department of Social Services, the City of Greater Geelong Arts & Culture Department’s Arts Industry Commissions Program and supported by Screen Australia through the COVID-19 Budget Support Fund Program. (Photo credits: Jeff Busby)

OZ FILMMAKERS HONOURED WITH AUSPOST LEGENDS STAMP SERIES

Five of Australia’s most talented film directors are being honoured in the 26th annual Australia Post Legends Awards, celebrating their powerful contributions to Australian culture and the global film industry.

Baz Luhrmann, George Miller AO, Gillian Armstrong AM, Peter Weir AM, and Warwick Thornton will each have their portrait featured on new postage stamps as part of the 2022 Australian Legends of Filmmaking stamp issue.

Australia Post Group Philatelic Manager, Michael Zsolt said each of the directors had been recognised not only for their vision, talent and acclaim, but for their diverse and impactful storytelling on a national and international scale.

“Each year since 1997, we’ve celebrated living Australians who have made a unique contribution to the Australian way of life,” Mr Zsolt said. “The films created by our 2022 Legends all tell powerful stories that connect strongly with Australian audiences and help to shape our perception of not only ourselves but historical events and important socio-cultural themes.”

Gillian Armstrong AM, who amongst many accolades, received six AACTA awards and a Palme d’Or nomination for her debut film My Brilliant Career in 1979, said it was an honour to be a recipient of the 2022 Australia Post Legends Award alongside such a brilliant group of filmmakers.

“It’s wonderful that our film directors are being recognised for the powerfully unique and heartfelt Australian stories that we make, and it is a thrill to be named a Legend of an industry and artform that I’m so passionate about,” Ms Armstrong said.

“I used to collect stamps as a child, I liked those little pictures. So, it feels particularly full circle to be recognised for my big pictures!”

The annual Australia Post Legends Awards celebrate living Australians who have made a unique contribution to the nation through their field of endeavour, inspiring the community, and influencing the way Australians think about themselves. Past recipients include those who have excelled across a range of fields, including sport, the arts, entertainment, medical science and philanthropy, with Academy Award winners Cate Blanchett, Russell Crowe, Nicole Kidman AC and Geoffrey Rush AC named as Legends in 2009.

The 2022 Australian Legends of Filmmaking stamp issue comprises five $1.10 stamps, a first day cover, stamp pack, maxicard set, minisheet, five booklets of ten $1.10 stamps, and a booklet collection pack.

The stamps and associated products are available at participating Post Offices, via mail order by phoning 1800 331 794, and online at auspost.com.au/legends from Tuesday 15 March 2022, while stocks last.

MINDEROO PICTURES LAUNCH PROMISES PROGRESSIVE PROJECT SLATE

Asia-Pacific’s largest philanthropic organisation, Minderoo Foundation, has announced the launch of a social impact film enterprise, to be overseen by executive producer Richard Harris. The initiative, Minderoo Pictures, will support screen projects that tackle the global challenges championed by the Perth-based philanthropic organisation.

“Minderoo Pictures will be a strategic and active collaborator seeking the best films, the best teams and the best ways to invest across the film value chain, from development through to production and release,” says Harris (pictured, above; l-r, Harris with Minderoo's Nicola and Andrew Forrest). “At its heart, Minderoo Foundation believes in the transformative power of the arts to change the world. Minderoo Pictures will work to cut through and inspire global change.”

The new enterprise has been established with an initial commitment of $10 million AUD, making Minderoo Pictures a leading global player in impact film production.

Harris will work with the best creative teams globally to develop, produce and assist in the release of ambitious screen projects that inspire change. Harris comes to Minderoo Pictures with more than 20 years’ experience in the film industry, having held leadership roles at Screen Australia and the South Australian Film Corporation. 

The first four projects in development will span themes of ocean conservation, plastics and human health and early childhood development in Indigenous communities, including a feature film collaboration between Academy Award® winner Louie Psihoyos (The Cove, The Game Changers; pictured, above) and Josh Murphy (Artifishal); Blueback, helmed by Robert Connolly (The Dry); Honey Ant Dreamers, directed by Michael Cordell (Year of the Dogs) and Emily-Anyupa Butcher; and, First Born (pictured, below), produced by Workshop TV.  

Psihoyos said: “Film is a powerful force for creating social change. We are excited to partner with Minderoo Pictures to create films that can change the world.”

Minderoo Foundation Chairman Andrew Forrest said: “Our initiatives are tackling some of the most significant global challenges, from plastic pollution to modern slavery and cancer research. Lasting change doesn’t just happen by itself. To have real impact we must motivate people, companies, and governments to act, to reassess their behaviours or start a movement.”

Minderoo Foundation Co-chair Nicola Forrest said: “The arts enrich our lives and nourish our souls, and they can also be a powerful communication tool. Long form storytelling through film speaks to us in a unique way. It has the capacity to cut through, it can create movements for change and even trigger cultural shifts. Minderoo Pictures is seeking projects that will reach new audiences and inspire them to work towards a better, fairer world.”

In addition to the films themselves, Minderoo Pictures is also working to produce high profile, cross-platform impact campaigns, to reach diverse audiences across policy makers, schools, and the business sector.

NEMO HEADS NORTH AS DISNEY+ SERIES NAUTILUS DOCKS IN QUEENSLAND

Screen Queensland has announced that studio streaming arm Disney+ will film its live-action sci-fi adventure original series Nautilus at Village Roadshow Studios and surrounding Gold Coast locations from early next year.

 
The ten-part series, based on Jules Verne’s classic novel 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea, will chart the never-before-told origin story of Captain Nemo and his legendary submarine. The production will inject an estimated $96 million into Queensland’s economy and create approximately 240 jobs for our highly skilled local cast and crew, plus 350 extras. 

The Nautilus shoot continues a long-standing relationship between the ‘Sunshine State’ and The Walt Disney Company. Previously, the Mouse House filmed Pirates of The Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales in Queensland, as well as Thor: Ragnarök via their subsidiary Marvel Studios. 

Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk noted that the appeal of the state as a production venue is a direct result of her government’s Production Attraction Strategy, a critical part of Queensland’s Economic Recovery Plan. 

“With the series set to release to a massive global audience via the enormously popular streaming platform Disney+, the potential for multiple seasons is a particularly exciting prospect for our local screen workforce,” said Premier Palaszczuk, “not to mention the huge flow-on benefits to Queensland’s economy as my Government continues to strategically invest in our post-COVID recovery.” 

Screen Queensland CEO Kylie Munnich (pictured, left) said, “Nautilus will be a complex production requiring the construction of large-scale sets, together with heavy visual effects and a highly technical set-up for computer-generated creatures and worlds – it’s an epic project on a large scale, scheduled to film in Queensland for many months.” In addition to its sound stages, Village Roadshow Studio’s three water tanks (pictured, above) will be critical to the shoot, alongside expert local crew who are particularly experienced with water work.  

Nautilus tells Verne’s story from Nemo’s point of view: an Indian Prince robbed of his birthright and family, a prisoner of the East India Company and a man bent on revenge against the forces which have taken everything from him. But once Nemo sets sail with his crew on board The Nautilus, he not only battles with his enemy, but he also discovers a magical underwater world, learns to take his place as leader of the crew, and goes on an unforgettable adventure beneath the sea. 

“Jules Verne’s story is a beloved classic all around the world,” said Johanna Devereaux, Disney’s Director of Scripted Original Content, The series reimagines Verne’s classic tale for new generations, building on the legacy in place from the studio’s original 1954 film, 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (pictured, right). “It’s a huge privilege to bring The Nautilus and her crew to life again in such a bold, exciting way, with a diverse team of creative talent and on-screen characters. The series will be breath-taking, action-packed, and a huge amount of fun.”

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.