News

Australian producer James M. Vernon is leading the charge for a new ten sound stage studio in the country.

The Lakeside Studio and Penrith Lakes Development Corporation today announced a commercial agreement to develop the purpose-built studio in Western Sydney to service the growing demand for content.

The Lakeside Studio complex is being planned across 96 acres (39 hectares) west of Sydney. The multi-million-dollar facility is being lined up over three phases with the idea for it to eventually feature 10 sound stages of various sizes aimed at attracting large-scale international productions, as well as catering for the domestic market.

According to the developers, Number One sound stage will have a capacity of 48,000sqft (4500sqm) and will be the largest sound stage in the Southern Hemisphere, with a total sound stage area of more than 226,000sqft. There will also be a massive backlot and extensive water shooting options, the team said.

James M.

Following the production of Antaine Furlong’s Ascendant at Fox Studios Australia towards the end of 2019, producer James M. Vernon wanted to return to the Sydney facility to film his next project.

However, he found space was hard to come by.

“We couldn’t get in because Marvel and other projects were there for the foreseeable future,” he told If.

“It got us thinking that we’ve got nowhere to go and there are a whole lot of other people that have got nowhere to go as well.”

The predicament would plant the seed for Lakeside Studio, a $150 million film production precinct to be built at Penrith Lakes.

A commercial arrangement has been agreed upon with Penrith Lakes Development Corporation to deliver the facility, which will be spread over 39 hectares in the tourism and tech precinct immediately west of the city’s CBD.

The three-stage development will feature 10 sound stages...

Antaine Furlong and Charlotte Best on the set of Rising Wolf’.

Antaine Furlong’s Shanghai-set action thriller Rising Wolf, toplined by Charlotte Best, is currently shooting at Fox Studios in Sydney.

Best plays a young woman, Aria Wolf, who is trapped and kidnapped in the elevator of a super high-rise building at the mercy of tormentors in the Russian Intelligence Agency. The film is intended as the first of a trilogy, in which Aria and fraternal twin sister Zara discover their true powers, which are the result of an incident when they were seven years old.

This is Furlong’s debut feature, and he has penned the script with Kieron Holland, with James M. Vernon and Kristy Vernon producing. The production has been financed by a single private investor, and the producers are currently in discussion with various distributors internationally.

Starring alongside Best are Jonny Pasvolsky, Susan Prior, Tahlia Sturzaker,...

David Wenham on set of his directorial feature debut, 'Ellipsis'..

In the second part of his interview with If, David Wenham chats about his recent roles in 'Wake in Fright', 'In Like Flynn' and 'Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales'...

When David Wenham was offered the role of the police sergeant Jock Crawford in the miniseries Wake in Fright he initially recoiled at the idea.

As a passionate admirer of Canadian director Ted Kotcheff.s seminal 1971 movie based on the Kenneth Cook novel he thought the idea of a remake was ridiculous.

Wenham had watched the restored movie twice, at the Sydney Film Festival and at the Chauvel cinema, rating it as a visceral experience and an incredible piece of filmmaking.

However he changed his mind after reading Stephen M. Irwin.s script for the Network Ten two-parter directed by Kriv Stenders.

Exclusive: Mathilde Epstein joins as Film Mode COO.

Clay Epstein’s Los Angeles-based Film Mode Entertainment continues to ramp up a year after launch, partnering with James M. Vernon’s Screen Corporation on a slate of films and bringing on Mathilde Epstein [pictured] as COO.

Epstein kicks off with worldwide sales on The Ninth Passenger starring Jesse Metcalfe, Tom Maden, Alexia Fast and Timothy V. Murphy as students on a luxury yacht who fall prey to a mutant creature. Ian Pfaff directs and Corey Large and Felipe Dieppa are the producers.

Screen Corporation will develop and finance the roster, which includes The Girl Who Invented Kissing starring Suki Waterhouse as a seductive drifter who beguiles two small town brothers.

Vincent Piazza, Dash Mihok, Abbie Cornish and Luke Wilson star and Tom Sierchio directed. Large produced with George Zakk, while Joan LeSeur and Fliepe Dieppa served as executive producers.

Film Mode has also brought on sales veteran and former...

In Like Flynn..

Highlander director Russell Mulcahy has begun production on his Errol Flynn biopic, In Like Flynn,.on the Gold Coast.

The film will star Thomas Cocquerel (Red Dog: True Blue) as the Tasmanian-born Flynn alongside Corey Large, William Moseley, Clive Standen (Vikings), Callan Mulvey (Zero Dark Thirty), Isabel Lucas (The Water Diviner), David Wenham (Lion) and Dan Fogler..

Described as .mythical and satirical coming of age story., In Like Flynn will follow Flynn in his early life, as he and his friends set sail from Sydney to New Guinea in search of gold..

.What I want to bring to the screen is Flynn.s unapologetic and uninhibited desire to experience a full, adventurous and spectacular life, and reveal his deeply rooted belief in himself and an ability to survive on charisma and bravado,. said Mulcahy.

As well as starring in the film, Large will produce with James M. Vernon...

Exclusive: Bruce Nash's Nash Entertainment and Robert Kosberg have teamed with Hacksaw Ridge exec producer James M. Vernon's Mfm and Simon David Hunters' Myth Film Company to produce Dreamland, a film based on the true story of neonatal care pioneer Dr. Martin Couney. In the early 20th century, Couney opened the Baby Incubators exhibit at Coney Island’s Dreamland amusement park in New York, saving thousands of preemies who were not allowed in most hospitals at that…...

Hacksaw Ridge.

If.is giving away 15 double passes to Mel Gibson's Hacksaw Ridge: enter here.

After thirteen Aacta nominations, is.Hacksaw Ridge on a path to the Oscars?.

.It.s a nice thought,. says one of the film's executive producers, James M. Vernon. .But we may be getting a little ahead of ourselves here, as the main game is achieving a successful theatrical release in Australia and North America which Icon and Lionsgate are well on the way to realising."

Icon is releasing the film locally on November 3, while Lionsgate is releasing the Usd $40 million production the next day, November 4, in the States.

.It's my hope that a number of the Hacksaw crew will be recognised in the craft categories at this year.s Aacta Awards,. says Vernon.

Hacksaw tells the true story of U.S. Army medic and conscientious objector Desmond Doss and was shot in Sydney and Bringelly last year.

(l-r):.Kevin Bishop,.Xavier Samuel and.Kris Marshall.in A Few Less Men.

A Few Less Men, the sequel to Stephan Elliott's 2011 comedy A Few Best Men, was helmed by Mark Lamprell, the screenwriter of Babe: Pig in the City and director of 2000's My Mother Frank and 2013's Goddess.

Lamprell came on board after reading the script by Dean Craig (Death at a Funeral), who wrote the original film.

"It was lovely working on somebody else's screenplay because it was a really solid screenplay structurally," Lamprell said. "I could see that there was a really good movie in there. Dean's a very accomplished writer. The whole guts of it were laid out before me.".

Lamprell, who got his start at Kennedy Miller making Bts documentaries such as The Making of Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome (1985), describes A Few Less Men as "a silly comedy.".

"It's not high-brow wit.

Xavier Samuel, Kris Marshall and Kevin Bishop in A Few Less Men.

Arclight Films have released a first look at A Few Less Men, the sequel to 2011's A Few Best Men..

The new film sees Goddess' Mark Lamprell taking over directing duties from Priscilla's Stephan Elliot, and will be released by StudioCanal in Australia and Nz.

The film was produced by Laurence Malkin, Tania Chambers and Share Stallings and written by Dean Craig (Death at a Funeral), and footage is currently being screened to buyers in Cannes.

.From a talented group of filmmakers with a proven track record of delivering strong, entertaining stories with broad appeal, A Few Less Men is sure to satisfy audiences in Australia and abroad", said StudioCanal Australia and New Zealand Chief Executive Elizabeth Trotman..

"Here at StudioCanal we are so pleased to be on board and are looking forward to developing an exciting campaign.

Arclight Films has announced the start of principal Photography in Perth, Western Australia, on A Few Less Men and a slew of key pre-sales.

Rights to Mark Lamprell’s sequel to A Few Best Men have gone in Australia and New Zealand (StudioCanal), Italy (Lucky Red), Middle East (Italia Films), Eastern Europe (Modus Vivendi), Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Columbia (Eastwood Holdings) and Vietnam (Galaxy).

Xavier Samuel, Kris Marshall and Kevin Bishop reprise their roles in the story of men who must take their friend’s coffin back to London after a crash landing leaves them stranded in the Australian bush. Dean Craig once again is the writer.

Laurence Malkin, Tania Chambers and Share Stallings and Gorean Films Limited are producing and Ingenious, Screen Australia, ScreenWest and Lotterywest, Arclight Films, New Oz and The Post Lounge are co-financiers.

Craig, Arclight chief Gary Hamilton, Mark Lazarus, James Vernon and Josh Kesselman served as executive producers.

Shane Jacobson, [link...

Arclight Films has announced the start of principal Photography in Perth, Western Australia, on A Few Less Men and a slew of key pre-sales.

Rights to Mark Lamprell’s sequel to A Few Best Men have gone in Australia and New Zealand (StudioCanal), Italy (Lucky Red), Middle East (Italia Films), Eastern Europe (Modus Vivendi), Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Columbia (Eastwood Holdings) and Vietnam (Galaxy).

Xavier Samuel, Kris Marshall and Kevin Bishop reprise their roles in the story of men who must take their friend’s coffin back to London after a crash landing leaves them stranded in the Australian bush. Dean Craig once again is the writer.

Laurence Malkin, Tania Chambers and Share Stallings and Gorean Films Limited are producing and Ingenious, Screen Australia, ScreenWest and Lotterywest, Arclight Films, New Oz and The Post Lounge are co-financiers.

Craig, Arclight chief Gary Hamilton, Mark Lazarus, James Vernon and Josh Kesselman served as executive producers.

Shane Jacobson, [link...

The company has secured a raft of key sales on the comedy follow-up to A Few Best Men and announced from Toronto an October 26 production start in Western Australia.

Deals have closed in Australia and New Zealand (StudioCanal), Italy (Lucky Red), Middle East (Italia Films), Eastern Europe (Modus Vivendi), Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador and Columbia (Eastwood Holdings) and Vietnam (Galaxy).

Xavier Samuel, Kris Marshall and Kevin Bishop will reprise their roles in the follow-up to the 2011 wedding comedy (pictured) written by Dean Craig.

Mark Lamprell directs and Laurence Malkin, Tania Chambers and Share Stallings produce. Financiers include Ingenious, Screen Australia, ScreenWest and LotteryWest, Arclight Films, New Oz and The Post Lounge.

Craig serves as executive producer with Arclight chief Gary Hamilton, Mark Lazarus, James Vernon and Josh Kesselman.

Kelly Dolen.s John Doe: Vigilante premiered in Us cinemas last Friday and was met with mostly negative reviews which branded it as shrill, gory and pseudo-intellectual.

However one critic hailed the thriller as "riveting, unsettling, important, and poignant."

Main Street Films launched the film starring Battlestar Galactica.s Jamie Bamber as John Doe, a self-styled vigilante who is on trial for 33 murders, on 20 screens in California, Colorado and Arizona.

The screenplay by Stephen M. Coates follows a vigilante group called Speak for the Dead which supports Doe.s cause while he.s in prison, igniting a debate about justice versus vengeance. Lachy Hulme (Offspring, Power Games: The Packer-Murdoch Story, The Matrix Revolutions) plays a reporter who is trying to uncover the true story about Doe..

Produced by Screen Corp.s James M. Vernon and Kristy Vernon, Keith Sweitzer and David Lightfoot, the film will debut in Australia on May 1 via Monster Pictures.

Main Street Films’ suspense thriller John Doe: Vigilante opens on March 21, 2014 in select cities. The controversial film addresses the themes of justice, vengeance and a failing legal system and begs the question, “is violence ever justified?” The film stars Jamie Bamber (Battlestar Galactica) as a man who takes the law into his own hands after becoming frustrated with a failing legal system. During test screenings the film received positive reviews with one audience member calling it, “riveting and very compelling.” Additionally, Bamber has spoken out about the film’s controversial subject matter calling it a “social commentary about what’s right and wrong.”

“When 67% of former prisoners are rearrested within three years of their release you know there’s something wrong with the legal system,” said Kelly Dolen, director. “John Doe: Vigilante is intended to create a debate and put a mirror up to society. We aren’t glamorizing violence,...

Kelly Dolen.s John Doe: Vigilante will debut in Us cinemas on March 21, the tenth Australian film to have secured a cinema release in that market this year.

Monster Pictures will launch the thriller starring Battlestar Galactica.s Jamie Bamber as John Doe . a man accused of being a vigilante serial killer- in Australia on May 8.

The screenplay by Stephen M. Coates follows a vigilante group called Speak for the Dead which supports Doe.s cause while he.s in prison, igniting a debate about justice versus vengeance.

Lachy Hulme (Offspring, Power Games: The Packer-Murdoch Story, The Matrix Revolutions) plays a reporter who is trying to uncover the true story about Doe.

.John Doe: Vigilante is intended to create a debate and put a mirror up to society,. said Dolen. .We aren.t glamorising violence, but posing the question.is violence ever really justified? Who decides what is right and what is wrong?...

Main Street Films has bought North American rights to John Doe, an Australian thriller about an anti-hero who attempts to rid the community of criminals while taking out those he knows are about to commit crimes.

The director is Kel Dolen (Reign in Darkness, Gates of Hell), the screenplay is by Steve Coates and the cast is headed by Battlestar Galactica.s Jamie Bamber and Lachy Hulme (Howzat! Kerry Packer's War, Beaconsfield).

The film was produced by ScreenCorp..s James M. Vernon and Kristy Vernon with Keith Sweitzer and David Lightfoot. Leanne Walker is the executive producer.

Main Street Films chairman Craig Chang along with Harrison Kordestani saw John Doe at the Cannes Film Market and negotiated the deal with Vernon. .We used our two screenings at Cannes to create a profile for the film and it turned out better than expected,. Vernon told If.

The Us company is releasing Mike Newell.s Great Expectations,...

Financier/executive producer James M. Vernon has an unusual problem in the Australian film industry: he says he has more money to invest than there are viable projects.

Vernon.s Media Funds Management (Mfm) has co-financed a raft of films including Mark Lamprell.s Goddess, Fred Schepisi.s The Eye of the Storm, Simon Wincer.s The Cup, Stephan Elliott.s A Few Best Men and the soon-to-be-released Brian Trenchard-Smith-directed action thriller Absolute Deception.

Among the Mfm co-funded films in post-production are the Spierig brothers. supernatural thriller Predestination, Russell Scott.s 3D IMAX documentary Hidden Universe and Geoff Davis. WW1 drama The Stolen.

The most recent project Mfm co-funded was Trenchard-Smith.s action comedy Hard Drive, shot on the Gold Coast and starring John Cusack and Thomas Jane.

Typically Mfm provides up to 100% of the producer offset, up to 100% on pre-sales and gap financing based on qualified sales agency sales estimates.

Robert Hughes. epic account on the birth of Australia, The Fatal Shore, will be turned into a dramatised six-hour television series next year.

ScreenCorp.s James M. Vernon has taken an option on the rights and has attached Scottish historian and TV presenter Neil Oliver to host the series.

Vernon told If the production will be faithful to Hughes. book but set in the modern day, with CGI-created re-enactments of the epic events during the country.s settlement by England.

The screenplay is being written by Drew Lees, with Vernon as story editor. Vernon had been working on the project with Hughes until the author.s death last August.

The docudrama will be an Australian-uk co-production and Vernon will seek to pre-sell it to broadcasters in both countries with the expectation that it will also be attractive to North American networks. Vernon envisions hiring high-profile directors from Australia and UK but none is signed yet.

This could be an interesting combination. Karl Urban and young & sweet Willow Shields are set to star in the upcoming 3D fantasy film titled The Wonder. The movie comes from director Ron Underwood and, apparently it will include a lot of teenagers, magic, a rainbow, catastrophe and… well, China? Try to find some connection, or read the rest of this report for more details.

So at this moment, thanks to THR, we know that The Wonder will center on Shields’ character, 14-year-old Rachel who, together with two of her classmates, find the end of a rainbow which, magically, transports them to China.

There, they find themselves pursued by local authorities and a mysterious organisation.

With unexpected help from Consul William Stanley, played by Urban, the kids are able to elude their chasers but soon discover that their journey has triggered a major natural disaster.

Together with their new friend Cheng,...

More outer space hijinx are ready to ensue with the latest period piece that rides the stars to infinite terror. Get ready, kids. It's time to check into the Skylab.

Skylab will be directed by Rupert Glasson. James M. Vernon, David Lightfoot, Ayisha Davies, and Kristy Veron star.

Synopsis

Skylab is a taut, claustrophobic, edge-of-your-seat sci-fi thriller in which three astronauts find themselves stranded 200 miles above the Earth and forced into a desperate fight to the death with a malevolent alien. Set onboard Nasa’s eponymous space station, the action takes place in the hours leading up to its famous crash landing in the Outback of Australia.

Set in 1978, Skylab begins as a classic paranoid Cold War thriller. The space station is due to be decommissioned and has been an empty vessel for over two years, left to its lonely orbit around the Earth. Nasa is thrown into panic stations...

Screen Australia has annouced development investment for 13 features, two animated shorts, two games and the completion of two shorts.

Projects include B Model, to be directed and produced by Rachel Griffiths, as well as new projects from the Spierig Brothers (Jungle), Bruce Beresford (The Fortunes of Richard Mahoney, co-production with China), Emile Sherman (Tracks) and Gregor Jordan (Five Spice)

Hannah Hilliard (Franswa Sharl) and Callum Cooper (Little Brother) were announced as the first recipients of the new Director’s Acclaim Fund, which recognises the importance of directors maintaining momentum following critical acclaim of their short film.

The projects are:

Features

B Model

Producers Rachel Griffiths, Louise Smith

Writer Samantha Strauss

Director Rachel Griffiths

Synopsis A young Australian girl gets swept up into the chaotic, exciting world of high fashion modelling. Sydney, Tokyo, London and New York. An innocent in a sex-soaked business, she is seeking love and validation, but isn...

Film Victoria and the state Government have announced that the sci fi action adventure Popbot and crime thriller John Doe will be made in Melbourne, from pre-production to post.

The projects were secured thanks to Victoria’s Production Investment Attraction Fund (Piaf), and are expected to bring in a combined $35m in production expenditure in the state, creating about 430 jobs for locals.

Popbot is based on the graphic novel series by Ashley Wood and Tp Louise. It will be produced by Resolution Independent’s Pete Ford and Media Funds Management’s James M. Vernon and Kristy Vernon.It will be shot at Docklands Studios, combining motion capture and 3D character animation, in the second half of 2011.

John Doe, from John Doe Productions and Woodburn Sweitzer Management, will be produced by Kristy Vernon and Keith Sweitzer and directed by Kelly Dolen. James M. Vernon will executive produce, with Mfm representing investors.