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The ‘Zombies 4’ cast at a table read (Disney/Matt Klitscher)

Filming has begun on Zombies 4 (working title) with Milo Manheim returning as Zed the zombie, Meg Donnelly back as cheerleader Addison, Kylee Russell returning as zombie Eliza, and Chandler Kinney reprising her role as Willa the werewolf. Joining the supernatural fun are Lisa Chappell (McLeod’s Daughters) as Eldress and Jonno Roberts (La Brea) as Commander Bright.

Additional newcomers to the franchise include Swayam Bhatia (The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers) as Vera, Julian Lerner (The Wonder Years) as Ray, and Mekonnen Knife (Joe vs. Carole) as Vargas. The threesome are described as new mysterious supernatural monsters.

Malachi Barton joins as Victor and Freya Skye is playing Nova.

“The franchise’s fourth installment follows Zed and Addison as they embark on a road trip the summer after their first year of college,” reads Disney Branded Entertainment’s synopsis. “As adventures unfold,...

Exclusive: Production is officially underway on Zombies 4 (w/t) in New Zealand with stars Swayam Bhatia (Disney’s The Mighty Ducks: Game Changers) playing Vera; Julian Lerner (ABC’s The Wonder Years) as Ray; and Mekonnen Knife (Joe vs. Carole) as Vargas—all characters are new mysterious supernatural monsters.

Lisa Chappell (McLeod’s Daughters) and Jonno Roberts (La Brea) also join the cast in new adult roles as Eldress and Commander Bright, respectively.

The “Zombies” franchise’s fourth installment follows Zed (Milo Manheim) and Addison (Meg Donnelly) as they embark on a road trip the summer after their first year of college. As adventures unfold, they unexpectedly discover the warring worlds of Sunnyside and Shadyside and come into contact with Nova (Freya Skye), Victor (Malachi Barton), Vera, Ray and Vargas on their summer travels. Zombies, werewolves and aliens alike are shocked by the meeting of two new supernatural groups.

The...

Similar to France’s New Extremity, Australia experienced its own significant genre resurgence in the 2000s. Most agree the Land Down Under’s golden days of filmmaking began in the ’70s and then drew to a close around the late ‘80s. This period, better known as the Australian New Wave, soared to new heights after the government issued substantial support for the arts. After a steep decline in the ‘90s, though, homegrown horror made a slow but noticeable comeback in the early 21st century. And no other movie from that era is more responsible for bringing Australia back into the conversation than 2005’s bleak and stylish Wolf Creek.

It wouldn’t be a mid-2000s horror movie without the practically mandatory and hyperbolic “based on true events” promotion. In this case, though, Wolf Creek is indeed inspired by a ripped-from-the-headlines true crime. Several, in fact. Ivan Milat, who died in...

Alycia Debnam-Carey Depositphotos

Alycia Jasmin Debnam-Carey, an Australian actress, gained recognition for her roles as Lexa in the dystopian science fiction series The 100 (2014–2016; 2020) and Alicia Clark in the horror drama series Fear the Walking Dead (2015–2022). She started her career in 2003 with a short drama film called Martha’s New Coat, directed by Rachel Ward. Her first feature film appearance was in the American disaster film Into the Storm (2014). In 2022, she made her directorial debut with the episode “Ofelia” in the seventh season of Fear the Walking Dead.

Career:

From 2003 to 2013, Debnam-Carey began her career by appearing in various short films and television series in Australia. She made her film debut in Martha’s New Coat and later appeared in the drama series McLeod’s Daughters and voiced a character in the animated short film The Safe House. She also played supporting roles in several short films. In 2010, she was cast...

The first season of Hallmark Channel’s Ride came to an end on May 28. The rodeo family drama introduced viewers to the McMurrays, a Colorado ranching family struggling to keep their business afloat while also dealing with some serious trauma from the past. But with their story having concluded – at least for now – fans are faced with the question of what to watch next. Fear not, we have you covered. Here are six shows that are similar to Ride on Hallmark.

‘Heartland’ ‘Heartland’ | Courtesy of CBC

Multi-generational family drama Heartland has been going strong on Canadian TV since 2007. The long-running show (16 seasons and counting) follows a ranching family in Alberta. It stars Michelle Morgan as Lou Fleming, who returns home to help run her family’s ranch after her mother dies in a car accident. Shaun Johnston plays Lou’s grandfather Jack, a former rodeo star, and Amber Marshall staras...

It’s never a Bad day to be a user of Amazon’s free ad-supported streaming platform Freevee. After all, who doesn’t love getting hundreds of hours of entertainment at no cost? But some days are still better than others, especially when the service announces it is adding new channels to its lineup.

Watch Now $0 / month amazonfreevee.com

Such an announcement was forthcoming this week, when Amazon brought on three new free streaming channels from Cinedigm. These new channels join a myriad of other brands from the Cinedigm portfolio on Freevee, including Realmadrid TV, El Rey, Bob Ross: The Joy of Painting, The Elvis Presley Channel, Midnight Pulp, and the Nacelle Pop Channel.

The new channels now available to Freevee users are:

RetroCrush: RetroCrush allows viewers to experience the golden age of anime with fan favorites and deep cuts across the classic anime TV and movie spectrum, including more...

Peter Hardy, the Australian actor best known for his role in the long-running drama series McLeod’s Daughters, has died. He was 66. According to Deadline, Hardy died on Thursday, March 16, from drowning while on a snorkeling excursion at West Australia’s South Beach in Fremantle. Bystanders pulled him from the water unconscious at 10:40 Am local time and tried to revive him before paramedics arrived on the scene. But he could not be saved. “I am devastated to say that my brother, Peter Hardy, passed away suddenly this morning,” Hardy’s brother Michael wrote in a Facebook post. “This is the only means I have of contacting his wide group of loved ones and friends. Rest in peace my beloved little brother.” Born on January 11, 1957, in Perth, Western Australia, Hardy started his career as a musician, playing the French horn in the Ccgs Orchestra. He would later take his talents to the stage,...

Australian actor Peter Hardy, known for such TV series as McLeod’s Daughters, as well as films and stage musicals, died from drowning during a snorkeling excursion at West Australia’s South Beach in Fremantle on Thursday March 16. He was 66.

The actor was reportedly pulled from the water unconscious at 10:40 Am local time on Thursday. Before paramedics arrived on the scene, bystanders tried to revive him, but he could not be saved.

Hardy’s credits include drama/romance series McLeod’s Daughters in which he appeared in 44 episodes. He also made three appearances on long running soap Neighbours, as well as stints on crime dramas Rush and Stingers. He was also in Andrew Dominik’s award-winning 2000 feature Chopper which starred Eric Bana.

His musical credits include more than 1,500 performances as Bill Austin in the Australian cast of Mamma Mia! Hardy also was in The Boy from Oz alongside Hugh Jackman during its Australian tour,...

Peter Hardy, who graced screens as an actor on Australian drama series “McLeod’s Daughters” and in the movie “Chopper,” has died at 66 after drowning in a snorkeling accident off the Australian coast.

Hardy’s brother, Michael Hardy, shared the news in a Facebook post Thursday, saying “I am devastated to say that my brother, Peter Hardy, passed away suddenly this morning… Rest in peace my beloved little brother.”

According to local reports, Hardy passed away after snorkeling at a beach in Fremantle after traveling to see his mother in the city nearby Perth in Western Australia. The West Australian reported that, prior to the incident, Hardy had posted on social media and tagged himself at Cottesloe Beach and South Beach in Fremantle just an hour before he was taken out of the water, unresponsive.

In addition to his roles in “McLeod’s Daughters” and “Chopper,” Hardy also appeared in several episodes of the series “Neighbors,...

Actor Peter Hardy has died at the age of 66.

The TV star drowned in an apparent snorkelling accident off the Australian coast.

In Australia, Hardy was best known for his role in McLeod's Daughters, appearing in 44 episodes of the drama series, as well as the 2000 film Chopper and the stage version of Mamma Mia! The Musical.

He also featured in three episodes of Neighbours in 1997, playing a character called Jimmy Drane.

Local reports suggest that Hardy had travelled to Fremantle – near Perth, in Western Australia – from London to see his elderly mother.

Hardy is then said to have gone snorkelling at Fremantle’s South Beach, sharing an update on social media shortly before his death.

The West Australian reports that Hardy was taken out of the water at roughly 10:40am on Thursday (16 March).

Bystanders are said to have attempted to save Hardy’s life, administering CPR while awaiting the arrival of paramedics.

When it was announced that "The Hunger Games" star Liam Hemsworth would be replacing Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia on "The Witcher," fan reactions ranged from perplexity to downright rage. Cavill has served as the leading monster slayer on the hit Netflix series' first two seasons and upcoming third, but due to what is presumably scheduling conflicts regarding Cavill's return to the DC Extended Universe as Superman, Hemsworth will be stepping into the role for season 4. In Cavill's statement regarding the replacement, he called Hemsworth "fantastic," and indicated he found him to be a worthy successor as the White Wolf.

"As with the greatest of literary characters, I pass the torch with reverence for the time spent embodying Geralt and enthusiasm to see Liam's take on this most fascinating and nuanced of men," he said. "Liam, good sir, this character has such a wonderful depth to him, enjoy diving...

Dreamchaser, the Hugh Marks- and Carl Fennessy-headed venture which has ambitions to become a significant studio, has signed a development and production deal with prolific Australian novelist and producer, Posie Graeme-Evans. She was the creator behind Nine Network’s hit series “McLeod’s Daughters.”

Joining Dreamchaser as executive producer, partner: scripted, Graeme-Evans’ Millennium Pictures will develop and produce a slate of new scripted projects for the studio. Dreamchaser will serve as executive producer on all projects and take them out internationally.

Already in advanced development under the new partnership is the drama “The McLeods of Drovers Run.” Penned by Graeme-Evans, the prequel to the hit 2001 series received early support from the state government in Tasmania through Screen Tasmania.

The original series ran for 224 episodes across eight seasons. The series and its cast were nominated for multiple awards including the AFI Award for “Best Television Drama Series” in 2004 and 2006 and 41 Logie Awards,...

Exclusive: Nicholas Burton (Damaged) and Aaron Jeffery (X-Men Origins: Wolverine) are set to recur in Netflix’s dramatic thriller series Pieces of Her, starring Toni Collette and Bella Heathcote.

Based on the 2018 book by bestselling crime author Karin Slaughter, the eight-episode series comes from an all-female creative team led by Charlotte Stoudt, Bruna Papandrea, Lesli Linka Glatter and Minkie Spiro, who will direct the season.

Written by Stoudt, who serves as showrunner, Pieces of Her is set in a sleepy Georgia town where a random act of violence sets off an unexpected chain of events for 30-year-old Andy Oliver (Heathcote) and her mother Laura (Collette). Desperate for answers, Andy embarks on a dangerous journey across America, drawing her towards the dark, hidden heart of her family.

Burton plays Andrew Queller, the younger son of Martin Queller (Terry O’Quinn) and the idealist of the family.

Jeffery plays a mysterious and potentially...

Frank Woodley.

Many producers fear the Federal Government’s sweeping media reforms will spell the death knell of Australian features, forcing them and some writers and directors to focus on content for streamers or free-to-air broadcasters.

Lowering the Producer Offset for films to 30 per cent from July 2021 will leave a gap of at least 25 per cent of the budgets which most producers will find impossible to fill, according to producer/distributor Sue Maslin.

“The exceptions will be largely foreign-financed films or local films with cast led by foreign actors making the most of Australian financial incentives, cast, crew and locations. That or extremely low budget films with little hope of competing in the cinema market,” the Film Art Media principal tells If.

“I find this summary dismissal of Australian cinema devastating and will be forced to relegate all feature films currently in development to the bottom drawer until we see...

Stan Original ‘I Am Woman.’ (Photo credit: Lisa Tomasetti).

Stan has warned the Federal Government that mandating minimum levels of spending on Australian content would undermine the streaming industry’s ability to generate the revenues needed to invest in high-quality Australian productions.

Similarly, Amazon Prime Video opposes regulation that would oblige it to screen a prescribed number of hours of Australian programming on its service, claiming that would reduce the non-Australian content selection or lead to the “inclusion of low quality or low viewership content.”

In their submissions to the government’s ‘Supporting Australian Stories on Our Screens’ options paper review posted online this week, both endorse Netflix’s call for a voluntary investment model.

“This model would also mitigate the risk of introducing a new regulatory regime that suffered from the same shortcomings that have led to this review, which became necessary largely because the current content quota system...

‘McLeod’s Daughters’ (Photo credit: Millennium Pictures).

Posie Graeme-Evans, co-creator of the Nine Network drama McLeod’s Daughters, is working on a feature film spin-off with producer Sue Clothier and screenwriter Emma Jensen.

Screen Tasmania is funding the early development of McLeods of Drovers Run, scripted by Jensen and produced by Graeme-Evans and Clothier.

Based on an origin story by Graeme-Evans, the plot sees tragic, unfinished business that begins in 1850s Scotland at the ancestral home of the McLeods return to haunt the present day family.

The logline reads: “In the end, family is all we have when the past will not die. That’s a good thing. Right?”

Graeme-Evans is convinced there is still a huge appetite for the McLeod’s franchise. Currently screening on Stan, the series won the Meaa’s The Great Australian Binge vote for Australia’s most favourite show.

A McLeod’s Daughters reunion attended by cast members Bridie Carter,...

Camera operator Toby Hogan and Arnie Custo on location.

Veteran Home and Away director Arnie Custo and series producer Lucy Addario describe how cast and crew are adapting to the Covid-safe guidelines.

Plus, Custo’s tips for emerging directors. First up are the responses from the director who has been with the Seven Network show since 2013.

Q: How are you, the cast and fellow crew members adjusting to the new health and safety protocols?

A:Very well all things considered. We have great nurses and safety officers keeping us vigilant and the crew are doing a fabulous job getting the job done whilst maintaining distance from each other. The cast have been wonderful as well and very understanding of any changes we make in terms of blocking scenes to keep distance.

Q: I imagine it may be difficult to stop some reflexive actions like touching colleagues or props?

A: Incredibly so,...

‘McLeod’s Daughters.’

McLeod’s Daughters, the Nine Network drama co-created by Posie Graeme-Evans and Caroline Stanton, was proclaimed Australia’s most favourite show in the Great Australian Binge.

Fremantle’s Wentworth came second, followed by Bunya Productions’ Mystery Road series and Riley Turner Productions’ Kath & Kim (which is streaming on Netflix).

Fewer than 10 votes separated Fremantle’s Neighbours and Seven Studios’ Home and Away in fifth and sixth place.

Matchbox Pictures/For Pete’s Sake Productions’ The Heights ranked seventh, followed by Southern Star’s Puberty Blues, Rob Sitch’s 1997 classic The Castle – the most popular Aussie movie – and Southern Star’s Offspring.

Ludo Studio’s Bluey was voted the No. 1 children’s show. Michala Banas announced the results on YouTube last night.

The Meaa ran the initiative asking people to vote online for the Australian film or show they’ve loved watching in lockdown as part of the...

The Meaa’s The Great Australian Binge initiative, which invites people to vote online for the Australian film or show they’ve loved watching in lockdown, reveals a large fondness for nostalgic TV.

The most popular show thus far – voting closes at midnight this Sunday – is McLeod’s Daughters, the Nine Network drama co-created by Posie Graeme-Evans and Caroline Stanton, which is airing on Stan.

The show starring Bridie Carter, Sonia Todd, Jessica Napier, Rachael Carpani, Simmone Mackinnon and Aaron Jeffery ran on Nine for eight seasons from 2001 to 2009.

Fremantle’s Wentworth is running second, followed by Bunya Productions’ Mystery Road series, Riley Turner Productions’ Kath & Kim (which is streaming on Netflix) and Fremantle’s Neighbours.

Nearly 5,500 people have voted so far. Each is automatically referred to a petition calling on Arts Minister Paul Fletcher to do more to support the people who make the entertainment that Australia loves. The...

Fin Edquist.

Fin Edquist is perhaps best known for animated adventures aimed at children and families – but the screenwriter finds equal satisfaction in creating adult-themed dramas.

Reflecting that diversity, his upcoming slate includes an Alice Springs-set series to be produced by Brindle Films’ Rachel Clements; a feature film spin-off of On the Edge, a planned TV animated children’s series; and a dark thriller/horror.

“My natural inclination is to the darker stuff,” says Edquist, whose writing credits include McLeod’s Daughters and House Husbands; he also co-created The Secret Daughter with Sam Meikle, Justin Monjo and Kristen Dunphy but didn’t get the chance to work on the Screentime/Seven Network show.

“The kids stuff is something I discovered later on in my career. I enjoy them equally and am glad I can work in both. They present different challenges and requirements and different forms of escape.

“I have four children.

Noel Mpofu and Anthony Ellis.

Seasoned writer and script executive Anthony Ellis has joined Screentime in the newly created role of head of scripted.

Ellis will work alongside head of production (scripted) Kerrie Mainwaring at the Banijay-owned production company headed by CEO Rory Callaghan.

Also at Screentime, chief financial officer Noel Mpofu has been promoted to chief operating officer. Earlier Screentime executive producer Johnny Lowry was upped to head of non-scripted.

These moves follow the retirement late last year of executive chairman Bob Campbell.

A former head of scripted content at Fremantle and Wentworth script executive, Ellis’ most recent credit was writing an episode of Breathless, Fremantle’s four-part thriller created by Neighbours executive producer Jason Herbison for Network 10 and the UK’s Channel 5.

Ellis said: “I am delighted to join Screentime and look forward to helping secure and build on its legacy of innovative, compelling and hugely popular drama.

Dustin Clare.

Aussie actor Dustin Clare has joined the newly retitled Pacific Rim: Uprising (previously Pacific Rim: Maelstrom) alongside John Boyega and Scott Eastwood.

Steven S. DeKnight is directing the project, with Thomas Tull, Mary Parent, Jon Jashni, and Guillermo del Toro (the director of the original) producing alongside Boyega and Femi Oguns..

Cale Boyter is exec producing the Universal/Legendary pic, which will bow in theaters February 23 next year.

Clare appeared in Stan's recent Wolf Creek series. His other credits include All Saints, McLeod's Daughters, Underbelly, The Eye of the Storm and Goddess.

The actor is probably best known internationally for starring roles in Spartacus: Gods of the Arena and Spartacus: War of the Damned. Starz's Spartacus franchise has form with Australians, with the late Andy Whitfield and Suicide Squad's Jai Courtney starring in the first season..

Clare moved into writing and producing with 2014 indie feature Sunday,...

Crocodile Dundee (Source: Screen Australia).

The screen industry contributes around $3 billion to the economy annually and creates over 25,000 full time equivalent jobs, according to a new report commissioned by Screen Australia.

Launching the report at the Screen Forever conference on Tuesday, Minister for the Arts Mitch Fifield described it as the first full measure of the economic and cultural value of the screen sector..

"But it has struck me that the value of our screen stories can be viewed from a different angle, and that is: what if we didn't have them," he said.

"Would Anzac Day have revived and would our diggers be as well understood without the force of Peter Weir's Gallipoli? How would we view our shared past, present and future without the perspectives brought to us by First Australians, That Sugar Film or Howard On Menzies? How would our children view the world without the...

Chanel Cresswell and Josh Helman in.My.Name is Lenny.

Principal photography has begun in London on My Name is Lenny, starring Aussie actor Josh Helman (X-Men: Apocalypse, Mad Max: Fury Road) as British bare-knuckle fighter Lenny McLean..

The film is being produced by Salon Pictures, which recently wrapped on Jonathan Teplitzky.s Churchill starring Brian Cox and Miranda Richardson..

Joining Helman is current Ufc middleweight champion Michael Bisping as his arch rival, Roy .Pretty Boy. Shaw as well as veterans Michael Gambon (Harry Potter, Hail Caesar) and Nick Moran (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels).

The film is directed by Ron Scalpello (Offender, Pressure) and written by Martin Askew (Rocknrolla) and Salon co-founder Paul Van Carter (one of the producers of Churchill).

Van Carter said that Salon was "delighted to finally bring the legend of Lenny to life by making an intelligent and intimate film with our amazing cast.

Australian actor Dustin Clare, best known for his roles in McLeod's Daughters and Starz's Spartacus, will distribute a new documentary under his Fighting Chance Films banner.

Life Off Grid documents the lives of people who have made a decision to live off the grid, without mobile phones or electric and natural gas infrastructure.

Fighting Chance previously produced and distributed Sunday, the 2014 feature Clare wrote and starred in with Camille Keenan..

Life Off Grid was directed by Jonathan Taggart and produced by Phillip Vannini. The duo spent two years travelling across Canada, visiting 200 off-gridders in their homes..

Life Off Grid.

.I was very inspired by the off-gridders in this frank and honest documentary focusing on living with only what we need", Clare said. .

"Their determination and genuine desire to live as close to nature as possible was reason enough to get behind the release..

Life Off Grid will have a limited...

It's with a great sense of disbelief - a feeling I know is shared by many in our industry still reeling from the passing of Jeff Truman - that I solemnly inform Awg members that we have lost the significant talents of James Walker from our screens.

A bright and sharp-minded contributor to Australian scriptwriting for more than a decade, James - at the youthful age of 41 years, husband and father of two young boys - succumbed to a diabetic coma on 11 January and was tragically unable to recover. He passed away peacefully on 20 January, surrounded by family.

A boy from Perth, James' talent was noticed early; he was singled out via a competition and sent to La for an experience that cemented his intention to become a writer. In various roles - including Script Editor, Script Producer and freelance writer - James worked on many of our fine dramas,...

Rebecca Gibney is set to star in and co-produce The Killing Field, a telemovie for the Seven network.

She.ll play the leader of a task force that.s sent to a country town to investigate a shocking crime.

The concept and screenplay came from Sarah Smith and Michaeley O'Brien. Samantha Lang (The Monkey.s Mask, episodes of My Place and Packed to the Rafters ) will direct.

Bill Hughes and Smith are producing for Seven, with Gibney as co-producer. Seven.s head of drama Julie McGauran is executive producer.

Smith co-created and produced with McGuaran Wild Boys and Rescue Special Ops for Southern Star Entertainment.

O.Brien.s screenwriting credits include episodes of Serangoon Road, Underbelly, Rescue Special Ops, City Homicide, McLeod.s Daughters, Sea Patrol and Blue Heelers.

Lang most recently directed Carlotta, the ABC telemovie which stars Jessica Marais as an Australian transgender pioneer who was a colourful figure in Kings Cross.

Never Tear Us Apart: The Untold Story of Inxs tunes up in Melbourne next week with a cast that blends newcomers and seasoned pros.

The four-hour miniseries for the Seven Network is the first drama from Shine Australia. The screenplay by Justin Monjo and Dave Warner is billed as the uncensored story of the iconic band.s rise to the top of the international charts and the aftermath of dealing with frontman Michael Hutchence.s death in 1997.

The band.s manager Cm Murphy is an executive producer and the filmmakers have been granted full access to their archive of music, photography and stories.

Luke Arnold, who stars as Long John Silver in the Michael Bay-produced pirate adventure series Black Sails for the Us network Starz, will play Hutchence. A graduate of the Western Australian Academy of Performing Arts, his credits include McLeod's Daughters, Rush, Rescue: Special Ops, City Homicide...

Australian cinematographer Jules O'Loughlin Acs has begun shooting big-budget Us TV series Black Sails in Cape Town, South Africa.

The eight-episode pirate series is being produced by filmmaker Michael Bay's company, Platinum Dunes, and also stars Australian lead Luke Arnold, who will play pirate John Silver (McLeod's Daughters, Rush), as well as Toby Schmitz (Crownies), who will play the role of Rackham.

Black Sails tells the story of Captain Flint (Toby Stephens) and his crew twenty years before their appearance in Robert Louis Stevenson's Treasure Island. It also stars Zach McGowan (as John Silver's rival Captain Charles Vane) and Hannah New.

O'Loughlin (Sanctum) was set to shoot horror film Wolf Creek 2 in South Australia before the call-up which led to "the hardest decision of my career to make," he said. The South African Black Sails shoot is expected to take five-months. O'Loughlin was recently nominated for...

Starz has announced the full cast for Michael Bay's upcoming eight episode original series "Black Sails," a prequel to the Robert Louis Stevenson's classic "Treasure Island."

Set twenty years before events in the book, the story chronicles the adventures of fabled buccaneer Captain Flint and his men. As already announced, Toby Stephens ("Jane Eyre," "Die Another Day") has been cast in the lead role as Captain Flint.

Aussie actor Luke Arnold ("Rush," "McLeod's Daughters," "Winners and Losers") has been cast as the young John Silver. Zack McGowan ("Shameless") will star as Captain Charles Vane, a rival pirate captain.

Hannah New ("Maleficent") will play the young and determined smuggler Eleanor Guthrie operating out of New Providence. Jessica Parker Kennedy ("The Secret Circle," "In Time") will play a tortured young prostitute who sees the dark side of the town.

Finally, Hakeem Kae Kazim ("Strike Back," "Hotel Rwanda") will play Mr.

Starz has just announced several new cast members for the upcoming Michael Bay-produced original series "Black Sails." The eight episode freshman season of the drama series is set to air on Starz in 2014. The pirate adventure tells the story of Captain Flint and his men, and takes place 20 years prior to Robert Louis Stevenson's classic "Treasure Island." Luke Arnold will star as the classic character, "John Silver," in the years before his well-known feats. Arnold is a native of Australia, where he began working in television on series including "McLeod's Daughters," "Rush" and "Rescue: Special Ops." He also went on to star in the feature film, Broken Hill . Zack McGowan will be featured as "Captain Charles...

Neighbours bosses have announced that McLeod's Daughters star Aaron Jeffery is joining the soap for a guest stint. The actor will be filming with the show for two months in the role of a tough new deputy editor who joins the Erinsborough News team in an upcoming storyline.

Pictured: Aaron Jeffery. Jeffery finished filming Underbelly: Badness last week and has now relocated from Sydney to Melbourne to take on his Neighbours part. He told Channel 5: "The character is a mix of Peter Pan and Ernest Hemingway. Very different (more)...

Concept art of what Bradley Cooper would've looked like in The Crow reboot, the first photo of Jeremy Irvine as Pip in Great Expectations, the Batwing on an NYC skyscraper rooftop on the set of The Dark Knight Rises, and the first photo from the new "Toy Story" short Small Fry.

Posters for Underworld: Awakening, Carnage, Goon, The Flowers of War, Coriolanus, Beauty and the Beast 3D, Think Like a Man, Red Tails, Journey 2: The Mysterious Island, Texas Killing Fields, Contraband, and four character posters for Snow White and the Huntsman.

"Activision has announced that "Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3" has set the record for the biggest entertainment launch of all time in any medium with 6.5 million copies sold and more than $400 million in revenue garnered from North America and the United Kingdom alone in the first 24 hours of release…" (The Guardian)

"Lionsgate has announced that the trailer for...

Two actors familiar to genre audiences passed away over the weekend - one an Oscar winning veteran with a long career behind him, the other a young star unfairly cut down in his prime.

Cliff Robertson, whom most will recognise these days for his portrayal of Peter Parker's father figure Uncle Ben in Sam Raimi's "Spider-Man", passed away at age 88 from natural causes.

Robertson scored an Oscar in 1968 for the lead role in "Charly", an adaptation of "Flowers for Algernon". Other notable roles included "Pt 109," "The Best Man," "Gidget," "Three Days of the Condor," "J.W. Coop" and various TV shows like "Falcon Crest," "Batman" and "The Twilight Zone".

The other tragedy today was the death of 39-year-old "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" star Andy Whitfield. The Welsh-born, Australian-trained actor got his start in Australia in guest roles on numerous local dramas including "All Saints," "Packed to the Rafters" and...

Actor Andy Whitfield has died after losing his battle with cancer. He was 39.

The Spartacus: Blood And Sand star passed away at home in Sydney, Australia on Sunday after succumbing to non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, according to his manager Sam Maydew.

His devastated wife Vashti paid tribute to the star, calling him a "beautiful young warrior" who died on a "sunny Sydney morning" in the "arms of his loving wife."

The British-born actor moved Down Under in 1999 and was a virtual unknown when he landed the lead in the gladiator TV drama series, which became a huge hit.

He was preparing to shoot a second series when he was struck down with the disease in 2010. He was replaced by Liam McIntyre.

Whitfield had previously appeared in several Aussie TV shows, including All Saints and McLeod's Daughters.

Actor Andy Whitfield has died after losing his battle with cancer. He was 39.

The Spartacus: Blood And Sand star passed away at home in Sydney, Australia on Sunday after succumbing to non-Hodgkin Lymphoma, according to his manager Sam Maydew.

His devastated wife Vashti paid tribute to the star, calling him a "beautiful young warrior" who died on a "sunny Sydney morning" in the "arms of his loving wife."

The British-born actor moved Down Under in 1999 and was a virtual unknown when he landed the lead in the gladiator TV drama series, which became a huge hit.

He was preparing to shoot a second series when he was struck down with the disease in 2010. He was replaced by Liam McIntyre.

Whitfield had previously appeared in several Aussie TV shows, including All Saints and McLeod's Daughters.

Bridie Carter has revealed that she is making a comeback to television. The 40-year-old Australian actress, who is best known for her role as Tess Silverman in McLeod's Daughters, said that now feels like the perfect time to return to work after spending the last few years being a mum. After leaving McLeod's Daughters, Carter won reality TV show Dancing with the Stars in 2008 but then decided to have a break in order to spend more time with her husband and sons Otis and Tobias. Carter told the Sunday Herald Sun: "I'm in the right place now. When you finish a long series like McLeod's Daughters you want a break, but I think I'm (more)...

Photo by: Ben Mark Holzberg/Lifetime

The shows you get out of Lifetime can be pretty hit or miss. That's generally a good thing as far as I'm concerned. You either love Drop Dead Diva, or you hate it, and I for one appreciate the "not for everyone" approach to show design. It's a recipe that gets trickier when you're venturing out into the massively overpopulated world of crime shows though, and Lifetime's new efforts, The Protector and Against the Wall, are faced with a tough road with genre norms butting heads against network image.

Shows focusing on cops and/or crime aren't well-suited to flights of fancy, or niche shtick, like several of Lifetime's other working models, and when people think Lifetime, a network that's going to suck in crime show fans is not exactly what leaps to mind.

I'm still not convinced by Lifetime's effort at balancing things with The Protector.

Production is set to commence in the south-west region of Western Australia next week on the surfing feature Drift, which will see Sam Worthington play a travelling surf photographer, and Xavier Samuel (Twlight Eclipse, The Loved Ones) and Myles Pollard (Wolverine, McLeod's Daughters) play surfer brothers.     Set in seventies Australia, the film is inspired by the true story of Australia's legendary surf communities and the rise of the global surf brands during this era. It follows the surf-obsessed Kelly brothers who, out of necessity, launch a backyard surf business - re-thinking board design, crafting homemade wetsuits and selling merchandise out of their van, which eventually sees the creation of a hit global brand.

More dwarf glamour shots have emerged from "The Hobbit" today, the third such shot with each containing a different mix of actors. Last week we had one English stage actor/performer and four New Zealand film, TV and stage actors. Today MSN has revealed a photo featuring two younger actors that genre fans may be more familiar with.

Arguably the 'hunkiest' of the dwarf actors, aside from Richard Armitage of course, the pair consists of Auckland-born actor Dean O'Gorman (who resembles my good mate Adam) as Fili and Irish actor Aidan Turner as Kili.

34-year-old O'Gorman, who replaced Brit actor Rob Kazinsky who left the project in April, has appeared on numerous TV productions shot in Australia and New Zealand including "Shortland Street," "Xena: Warrior Princess," "Farscape," "McLeod's Daughters," "Legend of the Seeker" and "Hercules".

28-year-old Turner is best known for playing the vampire lead John Mitchell in the first...

Bridie Carter has revealed that pregnancy helped boost her self-esteem. The Australian actress, who is best known for playing Tess in TV show McLeod's Daughters, said that by the time she had second child Tobias nine months ago, she felt "better" about her body. Carter told Woman's Day magazine: "I actually feel better about my body after my second pregnancy in a way, because I think I kind of knew what to expect a bit more. I knew that I would have a wobbly belly! "[5-year-old (more)...

Paget Brewster's time on "Criminal Minds" is coming to an end (for now), but she could be back on TV next season.

Brewster has landed a starring role in an NBC comedy pilot called "My Life as an Experiment." The show is based on writer A.J. Jacobs' book "Guinea Pig Diaries" and will star comedian Jon Dore as a journalist who submits to a range of lifestyle experiments, from "radical honesty" to crashing the Oscars. Brewster will play his no-nonsense wife, TVLine reports.

Brewster's last episode of "Criminal Minds" airs Wednesday (March 16), but it may not be the last viewers see of her on the CBS show. Should "Experiment" not get picked up, the "Minds" producers have offered to make her an every-episode regular next season.

Other casting news:

Scott Foley, Kyle MacLachlan and Michael Boatman have come aboard CBS' drama "The Doctor." The show stars Christine Lahti...

Dustin Clare, who plays the lead in Starz's Spartacus: Gods of the Arena, has signed with UTA. This is the first U.S. representation for the Australian actor, who continues to be represented by Rgm in his native country. In Gods of the Arena, prequel to hit series Spartacus: Blood and Sand, Clare plays the central character Gannicus, the second gladiator to become Champion of Capua. The limited series premiered last month to strong ratings. Clare recently completed Fred Schepisi’s feature The Eye of the Storm. He has appeared on such Australian series as Underbelly and McLeod's Daughters.

Nicholas Bishop, Rose Byrne and Alex O'Loughlin are only several Australian actors making a dent on the small screen.

Here are eight actors who are going strong on TV:

  >> Nicholas Bishop, "Body of Proof"

A decade of consistent work in some quality Australian TV dramas, including "Water Rats" and "White Collar Blue" and indie features followed Bishop's 1996 graduation form the National Institute of Dramatic Art. But it was a recurring role as Detective Peter Baker in the long-running Aussie Soap "Home and Away" that brought him the profile and press which led to his casting in Warner/Fox's short-lived "Past Lives." This season he's starring opposite Dana Delany in NBC's "Body of Proof" as former cop-turned-medical examiner.

  >> Rose Byrne, "Damages"

Byrne must rate as the busiest Aussie working in Hollywood. She's currently filming "X-Men: First Class," recently completed the Judd Apatow-produced comedy "Bridesmaids" and stars opposite Patrick Wilson in "Insidious,...

Aussie hunk Dustin Clare ("McLeod's Daughters," "Underbelly," "Satisfaction") has scored the major new role in "Spartacus: Gods of the Arena", the upcoming prequel to the recent first season of "Spartacus: Blood and Sand" reports The Live Feed.

In the six episode prequel, Batiatus (John Hannah) is not yet the head of his family or of the gladiator training school.

Clare plays Gannicus, the lead gladiator in the Ludus. However the House of Batiatus hasn't earned social respect or the right for its gladiators to fight in championship bouts as yet. Gannicus struggles to turn around the House's luck.

Joining him will be Jaime Murray ("Dexter," "Warehouse 13," "Hustle") as a Capua social climber and Marisa Ramirez ("General Hospital") as a slave girl. As previously reported, Spartacus himself Andy Whitfield will make a brief appearance towards the end of the prequel series.

Production on the series kicks off next month for airing in January.

A&E is taking another stab at original scripted programming -- emphasis on "stab."

The cable channel's new series "The Glades," which premieres at 10 p.m. Et Sunday (July 11), sets its crime-solving antics at the edge of the Florida Everglades. That's where Chicago cop Jim Longworth (Matt Passmore, "McLeod's Daughters") winds up after being accused -- falsely! -- of sleeping with his captain's wife and being exiled from the department.

His skills, if not his prickly personality, come in handy in his new home of Palm Glade, Fla., whose sleepy exterior masks a rather high murder rate. The cases will drive the plot each week, but A&E promises that the show will also include healthy amounts of time away from the crime scene as Jim pursues a single mom and med student (Kiele Sanchez, "Lost").

The show, which films on location in Florida and Georgia, also stars Michelle Hurd,...

Friday's schedule has just gone up for the 2010 Comic-Con at San Diego. As was the case with yesterday's breakdown, I'm focusing on film/TV/DVD related events, screenings and panels.

Read about Thursday's line-up of events.

10:00-11:00 Comedy Central: Ugly Americans— David M. Stern (showrunner and executive producer), Dan Powell (executive producer), Jeff Poliquin (supervising producer), Devin Clark (producer and series creator), Aaron Augenblick (director of animation), Matt Oberg (voice of Mark Lilly), Kurt Metzger (voice of Randall Skeffington), and Randy Pearlstein (voice of Leonard) take you behind the scenes at this animated series sensation. Featuring a sneak peek of the new season, Q&A, and more. One audience member selected will be drawn into an upcoming episode! Room 25Abc

10:15-11:15 Aloha, Earth!— Lost castaway found! Battlestar Cylon becomes human! Star Trek writers return from space! A supernatural force has drawn some of sci-fi's giants...

Here are the movie and TV highlights

The San Diego Comic-Con has posted the schedule for Friday, July 23. You can view the full schedule here, but below are the movie and TV events that ComingSoon.net/SuperHeroHype/ShockTillYouDrop.com will be concentrating on.

Friday, July 23

10:00-11:00 Comedy Central: Ugly Americans— David M. Stern (showrunner and executive producer), Dan Powell (executive producer), Jeff Poliquin (supervising producer), Devin Clark (producer and series creator), Aaron Augenblick (director of animation), Matt Oberg (voice of Mark Lilly), Kurt Metzger (voice of Randall Skeffington), and Randy Pearlstein (voice of Leonard) take you behind the scenes at this animated series sensation. Featuring a sneak peek of the new season, Q&A, and more. One audience member selected will be drawn into an upcoming episode! Room 25Abc

10:15-11:15 Aloha, Earth!— Lost castaway found! Battlestar Cylon becomes human! Star Trek writers return from space!

Ah, the glamorous life of a television star. The long days, the blistering heat and humidity, the luxury foldout couches in your trailer ...

Yes, working on a show can involve long hours in less-than-perfect conditions, but the stars of A&E's new drama "The Glades" don't seem to mind too much. In the clip below, which Zap2it has first, Kiele Sanchez and Matt Passmore take you on a brief tour of their life on set (the show films on locations in Florida and Georgia).

And if you keep your eyes peeled, you'll even see a slightly embarrassed Sanchez hide one of her bras that she'd apparently forgotten to clean up before letting the camera into her trailer.

"The Glades" stars Australian actor Passmore ("McLeod's Daughters," "Underbelly") as Jim Longworth, a Chicago cop who's exiled from the department and lands in a seemingly sleepy town on the edge of the Everglades in Florida.

Jeremy Sims has lost his driving licence for three months and been fined Au$$550 (£330). The Australian actor, who is best known for roles in Home and Away, The Secret Life Of Us and McLeod's Daughters, was sentenced in the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney yesterday after pleading guilty to low-range drink driving. Sims was breathalised by police and found to have a blood-alcohol reading of 0.076 after being spotted driving with his headlights (more)...