Advocating for appropriate policy reform to support Australian stories on screen will be among the chief priorities of the new Australian Directors’ Guild (Adg) executive director, Alaric McAusland.
Further, he hopes to support directors of underrepresented backgrounds through diversity and inclusion initiatives, and uphold the Adg’s now almost 40 year tradition of protecting the creative and economic rights of its members and their teams.
McAusland’s appointment was announced by the guild today, as well of that of Ana Tiwary, who will take on the new position of strategy and development executive.
Starting November 16, McAusland succeeds Diana Burnett, who departs to take up a new role as a studio manager at Animal Logic.
McAusland was most recently chief operating officer at Grace – A Storytelling Company in LA, and prior to that Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Anz MD for some nine years. He has also been the general manager of Atlab,...
Further, he hopes to support directors of underrepresented backgrounds through diversity and inclusion initiatives, and uphold the Adg’s now almost 40 year tradition of protecting the creative and economic rights of its members and their teams.
McAusland’s appointment was announced by the guild today, as well of that of Ana Tiwary, who will take on the new position of strategy and development executive.
Starting November 16, McAusland succeeds Diana Burnett, who departs to take up a new role as a studio manager at Animal Logic.
McAusland was most recently chief operating officer at Grace – A Storytelling Company in LA, and prior to that Deluxe Entertainment Services Group Anz MD for some nine years. He has also been the general manager of Atlab,...
- 11/5/2020
- by Jackie Keast
- IF.com.au
Diana Burnett.
Executive director Diana Burnett will depart the Australian Directors’ Guild next month after one year in the job to take up the new role of studio manager at Animal Logic.
The body’s membership has increased significantly during her tenure, growing from about 700 to more than 1,000 members, including more than 200 from diverse backgrounds.
In Mach the Adg opened its ranks to aspiring screen directors and those who want to support the directing community, waived joining fees and offered discounts on fees as the production industry faced a lengthy shutdown.
“It wasn’t an easy decision because I love the work we’ve been doing, but it’s the right step for me,” Burnett, who starts in the new job in November, tells If. “There are some exciting projects on the horizon at Animal Logic.
“I am really proud of what my team have accomplished over the past year including navigating the Covid-19 pandemic,...
Executive director Diana Burnett will depart the Australian Directors’ Guild next month after one year in the job to take up the new role of studio manager at Animal Logic.
The body’s membership has increased significantly during her tenure, growing from about 700 to more than 1,000 members, including more than 200 from diverse backgrounds.
In Mach the Adg opened its ranks to aspiring screen directors and those who want to support the directing community, waived joining fees and offered discounts on fees as the production industry faced a lengthy shutdown.
“It wasn’t an easy decision because I love the work we’ve been doing, but it’s the right step for me,” Burnett, who starts in the new job in November, tells If. “There are some exciting projects on the horizon at Animal Logic.
“I am really proud of what my team have accomplished over the past year including navigating the Covid-19 pandemic,...
- 9/18/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Bobby Cannavale, Michael Shannon and Regina Hall are the latest additions to the cast of the Hulu-commissioned series Nine Perfect Strangers, which started shooting in Byron Bay today.
American Jonathan Levine is directing all eight episodes of the drama based on the Liane Moriarty novel, produced by Made Up Stories’ Bruna Papandrea, Steve Hutensky and Jodi Matterson and Blossom Films’ Nicole Kidman and Per Saari.
As If reported, the production will inject more than $100 million into the state’s economy.
In pre-production Kidman and her core creative team set up an isolated production hub under police-supervised quarantine at her Southern Highlands property.
The series is set at a boutique health-and-wellness resort where nine stressed city dwellers try to get on a path to a better way of living. Watching over them during the 10-day retreat is the resort’s director Masha (Kidman).
Cast as the nine strangers are Cannavale,...
American Jonathan Levine is directing all eight episodes of the drama based on the Liane Moriarty novel, produced by Made Up Stories’ Bruna Papandrea, Steve Hutensky and Jodi Matterson and Blossom Films’ Nicole Kidman and Per Saari.
As If reported, the production will inject more than $100 million into the state’s economy.
In pre-production Kidman and her core creative team set up an isolated production hub under police-supervised quarantine at her Southern Highlands property.
The series is set at a boutique health-and-wellness resort where nine stressed city dwellers try to get on a path to a better way of living. Watching over them during the 10-day retreat is the resort’s director Masha (Kidman).
Cast as the nine strangers are Cannavale,...
- 8/9/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Tiffany Boone with ‘Hunters’ co-star Al Pacino.
Tiffany Boone, who plays Nazi hunter Roxy Jones opposite Al Pacino, Logan Lerman and Kate Mulvany in the Amazon series Hunters, has been added to the cast of Nine Perfect Strangers, which starts shooting in Byron Bay on August 10.
Meanwhile the Australian Directors’ Guild asked the producers of the Hulu commissioned series, Nicole Kidman’s Blossom Films and Made Up Stories, for an Australian director to be attached to the production.
The producers turned down the request, citing Covid-19 restrictions, Adg executive director Diana Burnett tells If. The international director has not been named.
So Burnett has asked for Screen Australia’s support in inserting a provision in the Location Offset rules stipulating there must be an Australian director attachment on all projects which receive the incentive. “This is necessary for the upskilling of Australian talent,” Burnett says.
Based on Liane Moriarty’s novel,...
Tiffany Boone, who plays Nazi hunter Roxy Jones opposite Al Pacino, Logan Lerman and Kate Mulvany in the Amazon series Hunters, has been added to the cast of Nine Perfect Strangers, which starts shooting in Byron Bay on August 10.
Meanwhile the Australian Directors’ Guild asked the producers of the Hulu commissioned series, Nicole Kidman’s Blossom Films and Made Up Stories, for an Australian director to be attached to the production.
The producers turned down the request, citing Covid-19 restrictions, Adg executive director Diana Burnett tells If. The international director has not been named.
So Burnett has asked for Screen Australia’s support in inserting a provision in the Location Offset rules stipulating there must be an Australian director attachment on all projects which receive the incentive. “This is necessary for the upskilling of Australian talent,” Burnett says.
Based on Liane Moriarty’s novel,...
- 7/24/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Daina Reid and Kay Pavlou.
Directors Daina Reid and Kay Pavlou will be the special guest presenters for Screenworks’ 2020 Online Directing Intensive.
Put on in partnership with the Australian Directors Guild (Adg) with support from Screen Queensland and Screen Nsw, the intensive, to be held in September, is aimed at early career directors based in regional Australia – up to 18 will be selected to participate.
Reid will present a three-hour online intensive on skills and techniques for directing drama, while Pavlou will then deliver a three-hour workshop focused on point of view documentary storytelling.
Both guest speakers will provide advice and guidance about screen industry career opportunities and pathways during the workshop. There will be the opportunity to receive a half-hour one-on-one consultation with one of the speakers to receive advice on projects, skills development and careers.
“We are delighted to be able to bring these amazingly talented guest speakers together to deliver these workshops,...
Directors Daina Reid and Kay Pavlou will be the special guest presenters for Screenworks’ 2020 Online Directing Intensive.
Put on in partnership with the Australian Directors Guild (Adg) with support from Screen Queensland and Screen Nsw, the intensive, to be held in September, is aimed at early career directors based in regional Australia – up to 18 will be selected to participate.
Reid will present a three-hour online intensive on skills and techniques for directing drama, while Pavlou will then deliver a three-hour workshop focused on point of view documentary storytelling.
Both guest speakers will provide advice and guidance about screen industry career opportunities and pathways during the workshop. There will be the opportunity to receive a half-hour one-on-one consultation with one of the speakers to receive advice on projects, skills development and careers.
“We are delighted to be able to bring these amazingly talented guest speakers together to deliver these workshops,...
- 7/22/2020
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Sophie Hyde, pictured here on the set of ‘Animals’, has been nominated for two Adg Awards.
First-time feature directors Thomas Wright (Acute Misfortune), John Sheedy (H is for Happiness), Ben Lawrence (Hearts and Bones) and Natalie Erika James (Relic) will vie for the Australian Directors’ Guild (Adg) Award for Best Direction in a Feature Film ($1 million or over) against Sophie Hyde (Animals) and Wayne Blair (Top End Wedding).
Up in the $1 million or under category are Josephine Mackerras for Alice, Imogen Thomas for Emu Runner, Lucy Colman for Hot Mess, Luke Sullivan for Reflections In The Dust and Samuel Van Grinsven for Sequin In A Blue Room.
The Adg announced nominees for its annual awards today, with winners to be announced in Sydney at a ceremony October 19. A record 202 entries were received this year, up from 117 in 2019.
“At these challenging times, it is more important than ever that we come...
First-time feature directors Thomas Wright (Acute Misfortune), John Sheedy (H is for Happiness), Ben Lawrence (Hearts and Bones) and Natalie Erika James (Relic) will vie for the Australian Directors’ Guild (Adg) Award for Best Direction in a Feature Film ($1 million or over) against Sophie Hyde (Animals) and Wayne Blair (Top End Wedding).
Up in the $1 million or under category are Josephine Mackerras for Alice, Imogen Thomas for Emu Runner, Lucy Colman for Hot Mess, Luke Sullivan for Reflections In The Dust and Samuel Van Grinsven for Sequin In A Blue Room.
The Adg announced nominees for its annual awards today, with winners to be announced in Sydney at a ceremony October 19. A record 202 entries were received this year, up from 117 in 2019.
“At these challenging times, it is more important than ever that we come...
- 7/14/2020
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Diana Burnett.
Breaking ranks with Screen Producers Australia, the Australian Directors’ Guild (Adg) opposes two of Spa’s key policy proposals as well as making the case to rename the Producer Offset to the Creative Offset.
The Adg disagrees with Spa’s calls to make light entertainment programs eligible for an increased 30 per cent Producer Offset and to combine the Producer, Location and Pdv Offsets, arguing: “Different rules and regulations apply to each Offset and [they] should remain separate.
In its submission to the government’s ‘Supporting Australian Stories on Our Screens’ options paper review, the guild says: “The intention of the Offset is to support market failure in vulnerable content and this is even more important today with the overwhelming competition in the marketplace.”
Most controversially, it contends the Producer Offset should be renamed the Creative Offset, which would mean IP would remain with the creator of the project and his or her production company,...
Breaking ranks with Screen Producers Australia, the Australian Directors’ Guild (Adg) opposes two of Spa’s key policy proposals as well as making the case to rename the Producer Offset to the Creative Offset.
The Adg disagrees with Spa’s calls to make light entertainment programs eligible for an increased 30 per cent Producer Offset and to combine the Producer, Location and Pdv Offsets, arguing: “Different rules and regulations apply to each Offset and [they] should remain separate.
In its submission to the government’s ‘Supporting Australian Stories on Our Screens’ options paper review, the guild says: “The intention of the Offset is to support market failure in vulnerable content and this is even more important today with the overwhelming competition in the marketplace.”
Most controversially, it contends the Producer Offset should be renamed the Creative Offset, which would mean IP would remain with the creator of the project and his or her production company,...
- 7/5/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
After postponing the Australian Directors’ Guild Awards from May 11 to September, the Adg is extending the deadline for submissions.
The guild will now accept submissions for works that screened up to March 31, which means, for example, that films which premiered at the Sundance and Berlin International Film Festivals will be eligible.
Submissions are open until May 8 with nominations to be announced on June 30. The Adg plans to hold the Awards ceremony on either September 28 or 29, subject to venue availability and the lifting of social distancing restrictions.
“It goes without saying that the Covid-19 situation is extremely challenging for directors and for the wider screen industry,” says Adg executive director Diana Burnett.
“By extending the submission deadline, our directors have a greater opportunity to share and be celebrated for their work. As we have to wait until later in the year to host the Awards, this extended deadline just makes sense.
The guild will now accept submissions for works that screened up to March 31, which means, for example, that films which premiered at the Sundance and Berlin International Film Festivals will be eligible.
Submissions are open until May 8 with nominations to be announced on June 30. The Adg plans to hold the Awards ceremony on either September 28 or 29, subject to venue availability and the lifting of social distancing restrictions.
“It goes without saying that the Covid-19 situation is extremely challenging for directors and for the wider screen industry,” says Adg executive director Diana Burnett.
“By extending the submission deadline, our directors have a greater opportunity to share and be celebrated for their work. As we have to wait until later in the year to host the Awards, this extended deadline just makes sense.
- 4/16/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
The Adg delegation at Screen Forever.
The Australian Directors’ Guild (Adg) is opening its membership to aspiring screen directors and those who want to support the directing community as the production industry faces a lengthy shutdown.
The organisation, which has about 700 members, has waived joining fees and is offering free membership to associate members including theatre directors, writers, producers, cast, crew, agents, students and other industry professionals until June 30.
Full members, both emerging and experienced, will get a 50 per cent discount off the new annual fees of $300 and $550 respectively (valid until December 31) if they apply before June 30.
Membership is open for screen directors who have at least two directing credits for features, TV and/or online works or significant credits on TVCs or a games platform.
Current monthly paying member have the option to cease monthly payments and keep their membership until its expiry date.
Adg executive director Diana Burnett...
The Australian Directors’ Guild (Adg) is opening its membership to aspiring screen directors and those who want to support the directing community as the production industry faces a lengthy shutdown.
The organisation, which has about 700 members, has waived joining fees and is offering free membership to associate members including theatre directors, writers, producers, cast, crew, agents, students and other industry professionals until June 30.
Full members, both emerging and experienced, will get a 50 per cent discount off the new annual fees of $300 and $550 respectively (valid until December 31) if they apply before June 30.
Membership is open for screen directors who have at least two directing credits for features, TV and/or online works or significant credits on TVCs or a games platform.
Current monthly paying member have the option to cease monthly payments and keep their membership until its expiry date.
Adg executive director Diana Burnett...
- 3/31/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Screen Producers Australia CEO Matthew Deaner.
Amid production shutdowns and job losses, the Australian Directors’ Guild (Adg), Australian Writers’ Guild (Awg), the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (Meaa) and Screen Producers Australia (Spa) have penned a joint letter to the Federal Government to seek urgent support for the screen industry.
Among the many productions to have halted or been postponed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic are The Voice, Clickbait, Australia’s Got Talent, Australian Survivor, Holey Moley, Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Presley biopic and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
The joint letter asks government:
• to recalibrate the support announced in the first round of Government stimulus to ensure it is available to sole traders. This will mean that the support is available to a large number of producers, writers, directors, cast and crew impacted by production shutdowns;
• to support and redeploy agency resources to meet...
Amid production shutdowns and job losses, the Australian Directors’ Guild (Adg), Australian Writers’ Guild (Awg), the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (Meaa) and Screen Producers Australia (Spa) have penned a joint letter to the Federal Government to seek urgent support for the screen industry.
Among the many productions to have halted or been postponed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic are The Voice, Clickbait, Australia’s Got Talent, Australian Survivor, Holey Moley, Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Presley biopic and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.
The joint letter asks government:
• to recalibrate the support announced in the first round of Government stimulus to ensure it is available to sole traders. This will mean that the support is available to a large number of producers, writers, directors, cast and crew impacted by production shutdowns;
• to support and redeploy agency resources to meet...
- 3/20/2020
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Bowing to the inevitable, the Australian Directors’ Guild has postponed its annual awards that were due to be presented at Sydney’s City Recital Hall on May 11.
The awards are now scheduled to take place in September, exact date to be confirmed.
There will be 21 categories this year with the addition of Best Direction in a Short Animation Film.
Adg executive director Diana Burnett tells If: “Due to the recent government restrictions on gatherings under Covid-19 measures, we have postponed the Adg Awards.”
This year the guild secured a new sponsor in Panavision, with prizes for two awards: a $5,000 camera package for Best Direction in a Short Film and a $10,000 camera package for Best Direction in a Feature Film made for less than $1 million.
This week the Australian Cinematographers Society decided to delay indefinitely the 2020 National Acs Awards for Cinematography which were due to be presented at the National Gallery...
The awards are now scheduled to take place in September, exact date to be confirmed.
There will be 21 categories this year with the addition of Best Direction in a Short Animation Film.
Adg executive director Diana Burnett tells If: “Due to the recent government restrictions on gatherings under Covid-19 measures, we have postponed the Adg Awards.”
This year the guild secured a new sponsor in Panavision, with prizes for two awards: a $5,000 camera package for Best Direction in a Short Film and a $10,000 camera package for Best Direction in a Feature Film made for less than $1 million.
This week the Australian Cinematographers Society decided to delay indefinitely the 2020 National Acs Awards for Cinematography which were due to be presented at the National Gallery...
- 3/19/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Directors have almost a week to nominate their works for the Australian Directors’ Guild Awards, which will be presented at Sydney’s City Recital Hall on May 11.
In a new sponsorship, Panavision will present prizes for two awards: a $5,000 camera package for Best Direction in a Short Film and a $10,000 camera package for Best Direction in a Feature Film made for less than $1 million.
Thanking Panavision, Adg executive director Diana Burnett said: “These two prizes are especially meaningful to our emerging directors.”
Panavision’s national Tvc marketing manager Nic Godoy said: “We value the importance of a healthy sustainable industry and we thank the Adg for its role in helping directors and for supporting our shared values.”
Tickets are now on sale and the deadline for late submissions is 5 pm on March 3. The awards will encompass 21 categories, one more than last year with the addition of Short Animation Film.
To be eligible,...
In a new sponsorship, Panavision will present prizes for two awards: a $5,000 camera package for Best Direction in a Short Film and a $10,000 camera package for Best Direction in a Feature Film made for less than $1 million.
Thanking Panavision, Adg executive director Diana Burnett said: “These two prizes are especially meaningful to our emerging directors.”
Panavision’s national Tvc marketing manager Nic Godoy said: “We value the importance of a healthy sustainable industry and we thank the Adg for its role in helping directors and for supporting our shared values.”
Tickets are now on sale and the deadline for late submissions is 5 pm on March 3. The awards will encompass 21 categories, one more than last year with the addition of Short Animation Film.
To be eligible,...
- 2/25/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Katrina Irawati Graham and Ana Tiwary.
A key focus for Women in Film & Television (Wift) Australia this year will be expanding its current programs, each of which addresses the exit and entry points for all women and non-binary people in the screen industry.
Another priority for the organisation is looking for ways to increase female and non-binary screen practitioners’ fiscal longevity and sustainability, Wift Australia chair Katrina Irawati Graham tells If.
“If anyone wants to support us in this then give us a call. We are in this for the long game,” says Graham.
On her own initiative producer Ana Tiwary, a Wift Australia board member, is creating an action plan for diversity and inclusion to share with the screen industry.
“Most screen industry organisations and guilds understand the importance of inclusion and some have put together guidelines but there is a need for a simple action list that is easy to follow and implement,...
A key focus for Women in Film & Television (Wift) Australia this year will be expanding its current programs, each of which addresses the exit and entry points for all women and non-binary people in the screen industry.
Another priority for the organisation is looking for ways to increase female and non-binary screen practitioners’ fiscal longevity and sustainability, Wift Australia chair Katrina Irawati Graham tells If.
“If anyone wants to support us in this then give us a call. We are in this for the long game,” says Graham.
On her own initiative producer Ana Tiwary, a Wift Australia board member, is creating an action plan for diversity and inclusion to share with the screen industry.
“Most screen industry organisations and guilds understand the importance of inclusion and some have put together guidelines but there is a need for a simple action list that is easy to follow and implement,...
- 1/13/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Australia’s screen industry craft guilds have decried the Federal Government’s abrupt decision to fold the Department of Communications and the Arts into a new super ministry, omitting the Arts, as an insult to the industry.
They say the removal of ‘Arts’ from the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications signals a fundamental disregard for the arts and arts education in Australia and a lack of respect for the vital role a federal Arts department plays in maintaining a national arts policy and supporting creative industries.
Stressing the sector’s economic value, they point out the screen industry generates more than $3 billion a year and employs more than 40,000 people.
Noting the industry is struggling with ongoing funding cuts, threats to Australian children’s content across broadcast platforms and no requirement on streaming platforms to provide significant Australian content, the guilds fear the move signals further funding cuts,...
They say the removal of ‘Arts’ from the Department of Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Communications signals a fundamental disregard for the arts and arts education in Australia and a lack of respect for the vital role a federal Arts department plays in maintaining a national arts policy and supporting creative industries.
Stressing the sector’s economic value, they point out the screen industry generates more than $3 billion a year and employs more than 40,000 people.
Noting the industry is struggling with ongoing funding cuts, threats to Australian children’s content across broadcast platforms and no requirement on streaming platforms to provide significant Australian content, the guilds fear the move signals further funding cuts,...
- 12/10/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Diana Burnett.
Diana Burnett, the incoming executive director of the Australian Directors’ Guild (Adg), cites supporting female and other under-represented directors and helping directors to get more work internationally as among her objectives.
A Screen Australia executive for nearly 10 years, Burnett also lists building the guild’s presence in Canberra and continuing the industrial advocacy so ably handled by the Adg’s outgoing CEO Kingston Anderson as other priorities.
One of her first tasks will be to form a committee comprising the guild’s foundation members including Phil Noyce, Gillian Armstrong and Donald Crombie.
A ground-breaking industrial agreement for TV drama directors which Anderson has negotiated with Screen Producers Australia is expected to be unveiled at Screen Forever next month. Anderson tells If he hopes that will be followed by deals covering factual directors and feature directors.
Currently Screen Australia’s senior manager, business partnerships and corporate development, she starts...
Diana Burnett, the incoming executive director of the Australian Directors’ Guild (Adg), cites supporting female and other under-represented directors and helping directors to get more work internationally as among her objectives.
A Screen Australia executive for nearly 10 years, Burnett also lists building the guild’s presence in Canberra and continuing the industrial advocacy so ably handled by the Adg’s outgoing CEO Kingston Anderson as other priorities.
One of her first tasks will be to form a committee comprising the guild’s foundation members including Phil Noyce, Gillian Armstrong and Donald Crombie.
A ground-breaking industrial agreement for TV drama directors which Anderson has negotiated with Screen Producers Australia is expected to be unveiled at Screen Forever next month. Anderson tells If he hopes that will be followed by deals covering factual directors and feature directors.
Currently Screen Australia’s senior manager, business partnerships and corporate development, she starts...
- 10/9/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
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