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The field for this year’s Aacta Reg Grundy Award has been announced, bringing together new concepts across gameshows, competition reality, and quizzes.

Australian Graffiti, Boomerang, Pass it On!, Real Teams, and The Second Best Game Show will battle it out for the $50,000 prize, which is designed to grow Australia’s unscripted entertainment through helping fund new formats.

In addition to the $20,000 in cash and $30,000 in development funding offered in 2020, $10,000 will be given to someone under 25 with a TV show pitch that impresses the judges.

Launched in partnership with Grundy’s wife, Rg Capital chairman Joy Chambers-Grundy, the award honours the hard work and entrepreneurial spirit of the late media icon, whose legacy includes the local production of formats such as Sale of the Century, Blankety Blanks, Wheel of Fortune, Family Feud, The Price Is Right and Perfect Match, as well as the creation of drama series Sons & Daughters, Prisoner and Neighbours.

When Foxtel first began to craft with Fremantle Wentworth back in 2011, the hope was it would sit comfortably alongside the service’s premium HBO and BBC dramas.

While based on Reg Watson’s long-running ’80s drama Prisoner, and suitably honouring its legacy, it was not designed to a be remake. The desire was to see a modern reimagining of the characters; one that was ambitious and bold.

“We wanted to make something great for Foxtel and set the bar high. It was all part of our hopes for what we could do in the future,” executive producer and former Foxtel head of drama Penny Win recalls to If.

Originally created by Lara Radulovich and David Hannam, Fremantle Australia CEO Ian Hogg pitched Foxtel director of television Brian Walsh the series over a meal in Cannes.

By December that year, early plotting was underway, with journalist and critics Michael Idato and...

When US-based producer Eden Gaha meets Australians working in unscripted that have made their way over to Los Angeles, he usually tries to hire them.

The former TV host and now president of unscripted at Shine USA told If his two decades of experience across both countries had shown him the value of skills from Down Under.

“There is a lot more reality in mainstream broadcast reality TV here than there is in the US on a ratio basis,” he said.

“Otherwise, the landscapes are relatively similar but I would say Australians do a lot more with a lot less; they’re very talented and very good.

“Whenever I meet Australians who have made their way to the US, I make the point of trying to buy them lunch because to have come up in the ranks in this business in that territory, you’ve pretty much done it all...

Aacta has announced the five finalists in contention for the inaugural Reg Grundy Award, with the winner to receive a $50,000 prize for their idea for a new unscripted TV format.

The pitches are:

Next Slide Please – Zach Mander

Comedians take to the stage to deliver a Ted Talk on a subject they have no idea about, prompted only by a power point presentation they are seeing for the first time. A slide presentation projected behind them gives them the title of their talk and cycles through graphs, pictures, and notes as their only stimulus. They have five minutes to convince the audience they are an expert; leading to hilarious situations.

The Marriage Pitch – Samantha Davies

There have been thousands of dating and wedding shows over the years, but never has a series focused on the single most emotionally jolting and dramatic ritual in our culture: the act of bending down...

Clockwise from top right: Sue Maslin, Nick Murray, Jub Clerc and Daley Pearson.

When this writer re-joined If in 2017, Netflix had an estimated 2.8 million subscribers, Stan had about 800,000 customers and the highest-rating entertainment show, The Block finale, attracted 2.5 million viewers in the five mainland capitals.

Today the streaming giant has approximately 5.8 million subs, Stan has 2.2 million and, major sporting events aside, broadcasters can only dream about that kind of reach.

Tim Worner was CEO of Seven West Media, Michelle Guthrie was the ABC’s not widely admired MD, Michael Ebeid drove Sbs and Paul Anderson ran Network 10 – all gone.

Among the heads of the screen agencies were Screen Queensland’s Tracey Vieira, Create Nsw’s Michael Brealey, Film Victoria’s Jenni Tosi, the South Australian Film Corporation’s Annabelle Sheehan and Screenwest’s Ian Booth.

Mitch Fifield was the largely ineffectual Minister for Communications and the Arts, Chris Hilton steered Essential Media,...

Reg Grundy hosting ‘Wheel of Fortune’ in 1959.

Aacta has launched the Reg Grundy Award: an annual $50,000 prize open to anyone with the best new idea for an unscripted TV format.

Established in partnership with Reg Grundy’s wife, Rg Capital chairman Joy Chambers-Grundy, the award is designed to honour Reg’s entrepreneurial spirit, while also fostering a new generation of ideas.

Grundy’s legacy includes the local production of formats such as Sale of the Century, Blankety Blanks, Wheel of Fortune, Family Feud, The Price Is Right and Perfect Match, as well as the creation of drama series Sons & Daughters, Prisoner and Neighbours.

The prize is open to anyone of any level of experience, who can demonstrate they have an idea that is original, viable and entertaining. Pitches can include genres such as quiz, variety, reality, competition, lifestyle, panel, and interview.

The judging panel will include Eureka Productions CEO Chris Culvenor,...

This thinking man’s epic got left behind with the demise of Road Show movies, which is a shame. A beautifully made, uncompromised story of warring 17th century Germany, it plays like a fine epic, with great performances. Audiences didn’t want to see Michael Caine playing this kind of character in a costume drama that wasn’t glorious escapism. Everybody’s good — it’s a great picture for Omar Sharif and the underappreciated Florinda Bolkan. The (originally) 70mm cinematography looked incredibly good in 1971.

The Last Valley

Blu-ray

Kl Studio Classics

1971 / Color / 2:35 widescreen (in release) / 125 min. / Street Date June 23, 2020 / available through Kino Lorber / 24.95

Starring: Michael Caine, Omar Sharif, Florinda Bolkan, Nigel Davenport, Per Oscarsson, Madeline Hinde, Michael Gothard, Brian Blessed, Miguel Alejandro, Christian Roberts, Yorgo Voyagis, Ian Hogg, Vladek Sheybal.

Cinematography: Norman Warwick, John Wilcox

Film Editor: John Bloom

Original Music: John Barry

Visual Effects: Wally Veevers

From the...

Chris Oliver-Taylor on the set of ‘Neighbours’.

Since taking the helm of Fremantle’s Asia Pacific operations last September, Chris Oliver-Taylor has been busy realigning the Australasian business.

Adhering to Fremantle’s global mantra as “the place creatives call home,” the CEO has significantly upped the drama development budget and is prepared to commission blind scripts, i.e., before a network is aboard.

Oliver-Taylor and his team led by Jennifer Collins, the Australian director of content, are discussing projects with a host of A-grade writers including Robert Connolly, Giula Sandler, Katherine Thomson, Tommy Murphy and Matt Cameron.

“We want to work with world-class writers, predominantly but not exclusively Australian,” he tells If in his first interview since moving over from Matchbox Pictures, succeeding Ian Hogg.

“The second part of the strategy is having great IP, whether it’s a book, a play or an original idea. The third is a strong financial strategy.

The Creative Death sub-sub-genre took flight in the ‘70s with The Omen (1976), as that little imp Damien (and his dad) dispatched the cast in different macabre and entertaining ways. (Variety is the spice, and all that.) The ’78 sequel continued the burgeoning tradition, leading us up to The Legacy (1978) - a film that takes its own stab at variety by marrying The Old Dark House to The Dark Underlord and delivering a fun, wicked (albeit goofy) little offspring.

Released in September in the U.K. (and the following September stateside) by Columbia-emi-Warner (and Universal in the U.S.), The Legacy brought in $11 million against its $2.5 million budget, making it a commercial if not critical success. That this British/American co-production manages to combine their unique aesthetics into something coherent is and of itself some kind of horror miracle.

Maggie (Katharine Ross – The Stepford Wives) and her boyfriend Pete (Sam Elliott – Ghost Rider...

Communications Minister, Mitch Fifield, and Shadow arts minister, Mark Dreyfus, have been confirmed to speak at this year's Screen Forever Conference..

The two politicians will speak at the annual conference event for the Australian screen industry on Wednesday November 18 at Crown Conference Centre, Melbourne.

Screen Producers Australia chief executive, Matthew Deaner said it was a rare opportunity, ahead of next year.s federal election, to be able to hear from two of the most important policymakers for the industry..

"Screen Forever is a vital platform for the industry to debate and discuss the issues with hundreds of businesses able to hear directly from minister Fifield and Shadow Minister Dreyfus about their priorities and policies affecting screen production,. he said.

.In particular, this marks the first address to the screen industry by Minister Fifield since his appointment to the communications and arts portfolio..

"This level of engagement reflects the strong relationship...

The Voice and Australia.s Got Talent will return to the Nine Network in 2016.

.The fourth season of The Voice has attracted an average national audience of more than two million after just six episodes.

.Shine Australia chief executive, Mark Fennessy, said the Voice was a certified global smash which continued to deliver outstanding ratings and a brilliant second-screen experience..

"Together with our partners at Nine, we.re delighted to commence work even earlier in building on that success in 2016..

Applications for artists to be the 2016 Voice of Australia will open later in the year.

.Australia.s Got Talent casting starts today, with FremantleMedia executive producer, Julie Ward at the helm.

.FremantleMedia Australia will be producing Agt in association with her production company, ZigZag TV.

.FremantleMedia Australia and Asia chief executive, Ian Hogg, said "Got Talent" was a world-class format and that Julie was a world-class creative..

"It.s a powerful combination,...

FremantleMedia will develop and create entertainment formats for the Chinese market in a newly-minted joint venture with Shanghai Media Group's BesTV and China Media Capital (Cmc).

The deal to produce shows for broadcaster Dragon TV and Iptv operator BesTV was sealed by Ian Hogg, CEO of FremantleMedia Asia Pacific.

Based in Shanghai, the Jv.s development team will consist of local producers and format experts who will work with Fremantle executives to develop original entertainment.

In the rest of the world FremantleMedia International will sell the content through its worldwide distribution network.

.This is a ground-breaking deal, not only for Best TV, Smg, Cmc and FremantleMedia, but for Chinese audiences,. Hogg said. .The opportunity to create and execute story telling that focuses on Chinese values and tastes blended with western structure and creativity is a very powerful combination..

Smg president Wang Jianjun said, .We envision BesTV to be a new...

BBC

Doctor Who has a fine tradition of casting excellent guest stars right from the start. The black and white years were graced by high calibre thespians such as Julian Glover in The Crusade and well known actors such as Peter Butterworth as the Meddling Monk and Bernard Bresslaw as Varga the Ice Warrior. The colour years were also graced by some classy guest artists. Who could forget Philip Madoc’s Solon in The Brain of Morbius or Tony Bentley’s sublime Harrison Chase in The Seeds of Doom? Even when the show was regarded to be on its last legs, it could boast talent such as Ian Hogg, Honor Blackman, Pamela Salem and Sheila Hancock.

Since its revival, NuWho has managed to garner an even more impressive roster of talent. From Derek Jacobi’s one off Master, Hugh Bonneville’s pirate captain, Dougray Scott’s professor and Sarah Parish’s unforgettable Racnoss Queen,...

FremantleMedia Australia has promoted Jonathan Summerhayes to Director of Programming, replacing Tim Clucas who resigned in December after four years in the post.

A seven year Fma veteran, Summerhayes was the executive producer of The X Factor and before that Ep of The Biggest Loser and co-ep of MasterChef.

Overseeing the creative and production processes for all of FremantleMedia Australia.s entertainment and factual programming, he reports to Ian Hogg, CEO of Fma and Asia Pacific..

Concurrently, Beth Hart has joined Fma as Director of Television Content, reporting to Summerhayes. For the past three years she had been senior Executive Producer of the UK.s The X Factor and Deputy Head of Entertainment with Thames / SyCo Productions.

At Fma, Hart will focus on new and existing entertainment brands including Got Talent, Dancing With The Stars, Grand Designs, Recipe to Riches and The Apprentice.

Hogg said: .Both Jonathon and Beth are...

Shakespeare The King’s Man. co. Athena

Kieran Kinsella

Shakespeare: The King’s Man is one of the most engaging scholarly documentaries that you are likely to watch. The three part series is written and presented by Columbia University Professor James Shapiro whose award winning book 1599 now serves as a prelude to this critically acclaimed expose of the story behind the Jacobean era Shakespeare plays. The hit movie Shakespeare in Love proved that the Bard could appeal to a mainstream audience that is more used to special effects and CGI than sonnets and soliloquies. However, that movie took huge liberties with the truth whereas Shakespeare: The King’s Man sticks to the facts whilst shedding new light on the previously unknown or ignored events and motivations that shaped Shakespeare’s plays.

James Shapiro was new to TV when BBC4 first broadcast this show in 2012. However, Shapiro has been teaching the...

One of Britain's most distinguished actors, known for her roles on stage and screen

Margaret Tyzack, who has died aged 79, was one of Britain's greatest and most popular actors, working on stage, television and film for more than half a century. Sometimes described as being in the mould of Edith Evans and Flora Robson, she will be remembered particularly for performances in the golden age of BBC TV drama – Winifred in The Forsyte Saga (1967), Antonia in I, Claudius (1976) – as well as for stage performances such as Martha in the National Theatre's revival of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1981), for which she won an Olivier award for best actress, and Lottie with Maggie Smith in Lettice and Lovage (1987 and 1990), which earned her both Tony and Variety Club stage actress of the year awards. In 2008, well into her 70s, she scored perhaps one of her finest triumphs on stage as the wily,...