.Hollywood studios rarely release theatrical documentaries so Mark Hartley is chuffed to be invited to Los Angeles next month for the premiere of his profile of the 1980s filmmaking machine run by Menahem Golan and Yoram Globus.
Warner Bros. is launching Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-igpjqRDgDI&feature=youtu.be) in 17 Us cities on September 18.
Hartley and his producer, Wildbear Entertainment.s Veronica Fury, found an ally in Brett Ratner and James Packer.s RatPac Entertainment, which co-finances films with WB.
Ratner contacted Hartley when he read a story in Variety about Drafthouse Films acquiring the Us rights to the doc.. Subsequently a big piece of the Australian funding fell through when Screen Australia declined to invest in the project (although the agency later put up completion funds).
Drafthouse agreed to step aside, realising that RatPac's investment was the only...
Warner Bros. is launching Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-igpjqRDgDI&feature=youtu.be) in 17 Us cities on September 18.
Hartley and his producer, Wildbear Entertainment.s Veronica Fury, found an ally in Brett Ratner and James Packer.s RatPac Entertainment, which co-finances films with WB.
Ratner contacted Hartley when he read a story in Variety about Drafthouse Films acquiring the Us rights to the doc.. Subsequently a big piece of the Australian funding fell through when Screen Australia declined to invest in the project (although the agency later put up completion funds).
Drafthouse agreed to step aside, realising that RatPac's investment was the only...
- 8/17/2015
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Ivan Sen.s Mystery Road and Kim Mordaunt.s The Rocket shared the best film honours at the Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards presented last night.
The Great Gatsby collected four awards followed by The Rocket with 3 and Mystery Road and The Turning with 2 awards each.
Naomi Watts was named best actress for her role in the little-seen Adoration and Aaron Pedersen was best actor for Mystery Road. Sen was best director.
There was another tie for the supporting actor prize: The Great Gatsby.s Joel Edgerton and Mystery Road.s Hugo Weaving. The Turning.s Rose Byrne was best supporting actress. The Rocket.s Sitthiphon Disamoe was on hand to receive the gong for best young performer.
Best script award went to The Railway Man.s Frank Cottrell Boyce and Andy Paterson. Haydn Keenan's Persons of Interest was named best documentary.
An Acknowledgment Award was presented to...
The Great Gatsby collected four awards followed by The Rocket with 3 and Mystery Road and The Turning with 2 awards each.
Naomi Watts was named best actress for her role in the little-seen Adoration and Aaron Pedersen was best actor for Mystery Road. Sen was best director.
There was another tie for the supporting actor prize: The Great Gatsby.s Joel Edgerton and Mystery Road.s Hugo Weaving. The Turning.s Rose Byrne was best supporting actress. The Rocket.s Sitthiphon Disamoe was on hand to receive the gong for best young performer.
Best script award went to The Railway Man.s Frank Cottrell Boyce and Andy Paterson. Haydn Keenan's Persons of Interest was named best documentary.
An Acknowledgment Award was presented to...
- 3/11/2014
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
Gregory Peck and Ava Gardner in On the Beach.
.
When the distributor that had agreed to release Fallout pulled out, director Lawrence Johnston and producer Peter Kaufmann decided to self-distribute the documentary which celebrates the life and work of Australian novelist Nevil Shute.
That strategy entails a lot of time and effort to book cinemas but so far it.s paying off. Fallout premiered at Melbourne.s Cinema Nova on October 31 and ran for three weeks and it screened in Adelaide. The film opens on December 5 at the Dendy Newtown in Sydney and at the Arc cinemas in Canberra.
Johnston and Kaufmann are arranging four screenings at Melbourne.s Acmi in December/January and a one-off showing at the George Cinema in St Kilda on December 14. They.re discussing with exhibitors engagements in other states. International sales are being handled by Paris-based Melimedia.
The film focuses on Shute.s most famous work,...
.
When the distributor that had agreed to release Fallout pulled out, director Lawrence Johnston and producer Peter Kaufmann decided to self-distribute the documentary which celebrates the life and work of Australian novelist Nevil Shute.
That strategy entails a lot of time and effort to book cinemas but so far it.s paying off. Fallout premiered at Melbourne.s Cinema Nova on October 31 and ran for three weeks and it screened in Adelaide. The film opens on December 5 at the Dendy Newtown in Sydney and at the Arc cinemas in Canberra.
Johnston and Kaufmann are arranging four screenings at Melbourne.s Acmi in December/January and a one-off showing at the George Cinema in St Kilda on December 14. They.re discussing with exhibitors engagements in other states. International sales are being handled by Paris-based Melimedia.
The film focuses on Shute.s most famous work,...
- 12/3/2013
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
The Indiedoco campaign to save the single documentary has been supported by every major documentary organisation.
Launched at the Australian Directors Guild conference, the campaign calls on the ABC and Sbs to follow the example of BBC2 by reinstating a single documentary strand. It urges Screen Australia to remove the requirement for a broadcaster pre-sale for the National Documentary Program and to set up a new panel to select projects for Ndp funding based on creative, cultural and artistic criteria.
The organisers also want Screen Australia to revive a slate development program for documentary filmmakers similar to the Australian Film Commission.s General Development Investment Program; a substantial boost to Screen Australia's Signature Fund; and for the agency to change the definition of 'bona fide release' for feature documentaries to enable more feature docs to qualify for the 40% producer offset.
Indiedoco reps are arranging meetings with commissioning editors at the...
Launched at the Australian Directors Guild conference, the campaign calls on the ABC and Sbs to follow the example of BBC2 by reinstating a single documentary strand. It urges Screen Australia to remove the requirement for a broadcaster pre-sale for the National Documentary Program and to set up a new panel to select projects for Ndp funding based on creative, cultural and artistic criteria.
The organisers also want Screen Australia to revive a slate development program for documentary filmmakers similar to the Australian Film Commission.s General Development Investment Program; a substantial boost to Screen Australia's Signature Fund; and for the agency to change the definition of 'bona fide release' for feature documentaries to enable more feature docs to qualify for the 40% producer offset.
Indiedoco reps are arranging meetings with commissioning editors at the...
- 12/1/2013
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
First Footprints, Jabbed, Fallout and Once My Mother were among the winners of the 2013 Ipaf Atom awards presented in Melbourne on Thursday night.
Founded in 1982 and voted by members of the Australian Teachers of Media, the awards recognise film and media excellence in the education and screen industry sectors.
There were more than 600 entries from Australian and New Zealand media producers in 29 categories. The event was hosted by Brian Nankervis from RocKwiz. The Intellectual Property Awareness Foundation (Ipaf) was the naming sponsor this year.
Martin Butler and Bentley Dean.s First Footprints, which tells how the first Australians adapted, migrated, fought and created in dramatically changing environments, was named best documentary, general.
Sonya Pemberton.s Jabbed, which poses the questions how do you decide whether to vaccinate or not, and what are the risks?, took the award for best docu, science, technology and the environment.
Lawrence Johnston.s Fallout, which...
Founded in 1982 and voted by members of the Australian Teachers of Media, the awards recognise film and media excellence in the education and screen industry sectors.
There were more than 600 entries from Australian and New Zealand media producers in 29 categories. The event was hosted by Brian Nankervis from RocKwiz. The Intellectual Property Awareness Foundation (Ipaf) was the naming sponsor this year.
Martin Butler and Bentley Dean.s First Footprints, which tells how the first Australians adapted, migrated, fought and created in dramatically changing environments, was named best documentary, general.
Sonya Pemberton.s Jabbed, which poses the questions how do you decide whether to vaccinate or not, and what are the risks?, took the award for best docu, science, technology and the environment.
Lawrence Johnston.s Fallout, which...
- 11/29/2013
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
As a solo producer, Unicorn Films. Lizzette Atkins has a remarkably diverse and prolific development slate.
Atkins is preparing projects for directors Sue Brooks, Matthew Saville and Ana Kokkinos plus a slate of low-budget horror movies. While they span a variety of genres, Atkins says there is a common thread: all are director-driven.
She founded Unicorn Films last year after nine years as a partner in Circe Films, whose credits include Jon Hewitt.s steamy thriller X, Lawrence Johnston.s Night and Eddie Martin.s Lionel, a feature documentary on Aboriginal boxer Lionel Rose.
Her latest production, Anna Broinowski.s Aim High in Creation! had its world premiere on Wednesday at the Melbourne International Film Festival.
The most advanced project on her slate is Brooks. Driving Back from Dubbo, the saga of a 15-year-old girl who runs away with her best friend to see her favourite band, prompting her parents...
Atkins is preparing projects for directors Sue Brooks, Matthew Saville and Ana Kokkinos plus a slate of low-budget horror movies. While they span a variety of genres, Atkins says there is a common thread: all are director-driven.
She founded Unicorn Films last year after nine years as a partner in Circe Films, whose credits include Jon Hewitt.s steamy thriller X, Lawrence Johnston.s Night and Eddie Martin.s Lionel, a feature documentary on Aboriginal boxer Lionel Rose.
Her latest production, Anna Broinowski.s Aim High in Creation! had its world premiere on Wednesday at the Melbourne International Film Festival.
The most advanced project on her slate is Brooks. Driving Back from Dubbo, the saga of a 15-year-old girl who runs away with her best friend to see her favourite band, prompting her parents...
- 8/7/2013
- by Don Groves
- IF.com.au
This article first appeared in If Magazine issue #150
Producer Lizzette Atkins justifies the theatrical nature of Aim High In Creation! on several levels: the scale and scope of the ideas; its experimental style; the broad interest in the closed society of North Korea; and director Anna Broinowski.s cinematic eye.
.And Anna has proven she can sustain a story for 90 minutes,. says Atkins, referring to the bold Forbidden Lie$..
If the various threads can be woven neatly together, this intriguing project could be a pearler. Cinematic propaganda is the key theme and the film follows Broinowski as she travels to North Korea to meet with that industry.s leading lights and examine former leader Kim Jong-il.s passion for cinema and the filmmaking manifesto he published. Back in Australia, applying the advice she got on a script she took with her, Broinowski makes a short about a community overcoming gas frackers . after all,...
Producer Lizzette Atkins justifies the theatrical nature of Aim High In Creation! on several levels: the scale and scope of the ideas; its experimental style; the broad interest in the closed society of North Korea; and director Anna Broinowski.s cinematic eye.
.And Anna has proven she can sustain a story for 90 minutes,. says Atkins, referring to the bold Forbidden Lie$..
If the various threads can be woven neatly together, this intriguing project could be a pearler. Cinematic propaganda is the key theme and the film follows Broinowski as she travels to North Korea to meet with that industry.s leading lights and examine former leader Kim Jong-il.s passion for cinema and the filmmaking manifesto he published. Back in Australia, applying the advice she got on a script she took with her, Broinowski makes a short about a community overcoming gas frackers . after all,...
- 3/14/2013
- by Sandy George
- IF.com.au
An Australian feature documentary has found a Us theatrical release five years after being released in Australian cinemas.
Lawrence Johnston’s Night will be distributed through Moustrap Films as part of the distributor’s Film Festival Flix campaign.
Producer Lizzette Atkins told Mumbrella: “Mousetrap was looking for films that they could take to an audience as an event screening. Lawrence is going over and he’ll be doing a Q&A after the screenings. It’s a great way of rolling out a niche product to the audience.”
When released in 2008, the film – about nighttime – struggled to attract an audience. Atkins said: “It was modest – kind of disappointing. I’d say it opened across 12-16 screens. Dendy did an extraordinary job on publicity but it didn’t connect with audiences.”
The Us deal was struck by Odin’s Eye Entertainment’s Michael Favelle.
It will be released across 25 theatres in...
Lawrence Johnston’s Night will be distributed through Moustrap Films as part of the distributor’s Film Festival Flix campaign.
Producer Lizzette Atkins told Mumbrella: “Mousetrap was looking for films that they could take to an audience as an event screening. Lawrence is going over and he’ll be doing a Q&A after the screenings. It’s a great way of rolling out a niche product to the audience.”
When released in 2008, the film – about nighttime – struggled to attract an audience. Atkins said: “It was modest – kind of disappointing. I’d say it opened across 12-16 screens. Dendy did an extraordinary job on publicity but it didn’t connect with audiences.”
The Us deal was struck by Odin’s Eye Entertainment’s Michael Favelle.
It will be released across 25 theatres in...
- 2/6/2013
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
Never Forgotten
On August 6 of 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima less than one month after their initial test. With the clear intent of ”completely destroying Japan’s power to make war”, a second bomb was then dropped three days later of the city of Nagasaki. This is the must-see story of the only people on Earth who survived a nuclear blast.
Here is a complete rundown of the candid survivors who shared their stories ( it might seem tedious at this point, but suck it up, it’s worth it ). Yasuyo Tanaka and Chiemi Oka were the eldest of 20 or so children in an orphanage when the bomb went off. ”Why did I survive?” asked Kiyoko Imori visually traumatized by her experiences. While Shigeko Sasamori wondered out loud in broken English: ”If I didn’t get bomb, what kind of life I had?”.
After...
On August 6 of 1945, the United States dropped an atomic bomb on the city of Hiroshima less than one month after their initial test. With the clear intent of ”completely destroying Japan’s power to make war”, a second bomb was then dropped three days later of the city of Nagasaki. This is the must-see story of the only people on Earth who survived a nuclear blast.
Here is a complete rundown of the candid survivors who shared their stories ( it might seem tedious at this point, but suck it up, it’s worth it ). Yasuyo Tanaka and Chiemi Oka were the eldest of 20 or so children in an orphanage when the bomb went off. ”Why did I survive?” asked Kiyoko Imori visually traumatized by her experiences. While Shigeko Sasamori wondered out loud in broken English: ”If I didn’t get bomb, what kind of life I had?”.
After...
- 7/22/2012
- by The0racle
- AsianMoviePulse
Screen Australia has invested $1m in five documentaries through the signature documentary program.
The investment is expected to trigger $2.2m in production.
Recipients include writer/director Matthew Bate, producer/director John Cherry, filmmaker Lawrence Johnston, writer/producer/director Janine Hosking and the team of writer/director Juliet Lamont and producer Jessica Douglas-Henry.
Liz Stevens, Screen Australia’s documentary manager said: “This year’s exciting line-up of Signature documentaries were chosen from 50 plus applications. They’ll take audiences on inspirational journeys, touching on the personal and the political, and reveal that truth is stranger than fiction.”
The full list of projects:
The Call Of Conscience (working title)
iKandy Films Pty Ltd
Producer/ Writer/Director: Janine Hosking
Producer/Writer: Katey Grusovin
Synopsis: From the grave, a dead man identifies his alleged killers.
Fallout
Rough Trade Pictures Pty Ltd
Producer: Peter Kaufmann
Producer/Writer/Director: Lawrence Johnston
Synopsis: Following the atomic destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,...
The investment is expected to trigger $2.2m in production.
Recipients include writer/director Matthew Bate, producer/director John Cherry, filmmaker Lawrence Johnston, writer/producer/director Janine Hosking and the team of writer/director Juliet Lamont and producer Jessica Douglas-Henry.
Liz Stevens, Screen Australia’s documentary manager said: “This year’s exciting line-up of Signature documentaries were chosen from 50 plus applications. They’ll take audiences on inspirational journeys, touching on the personal and the political, and reveal that truth is stranger than fiction.”
The full list of projects:
The Call Of Conscience (working title)
iKandy Films Pty Ltd
Producer/ Writer/Director: Janine Hosking
Producer/Writer: Katey Grusovin
Synopsis: From the grave, a dead man identifies his alleged killers.
Fallout
Rough Trade Pictures Pty Ltd
Producer: Peter Kaufmann
Producer/Writer/Director: Lawrence Johnston
Synopsis: Following the atomic destruction of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,...
- 12/12/2011
- by Colin Delaney
- Encore Magazine
SYDNEY -- The federal government's Film Finance Corp. is following a worldwide trend by financing a feature-length documentary, Night, aimed for a theatrical release. Two additional fictional features, two children's television series and eight documentaries also were approved for funding at the FFC's October board meeting Friday. The FFC describes Night as "a visually lush feature-length documentary, which will explore the universal nature of night and how we experience it." Writer-director Lawrence Johnston created the award-winning documentary Eternity and feature film Life. Johnston is producing with Lizzette Atkins, with sales and distribution going through SBS Independent. Night has been selected by the FFC through its evaluation process. Films chosen through evaluation receive a letter of intent containing the terms and conditions of proposed FFC funding. The FFC board makes a formal commitment to fund evaluation projects only when the producers have satisfied the terms and conditions set out in the letter.
- 10/31/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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