It’s strange that a switched on company like Hopscotch can take a multi-million dollar movie and not bother to upload the trailer in HD.

Of course, as we continue to make films that “people actually want to see” there will be those that believe we need to go back to depressing social realism like Blessed. Thoughts?

Synchronicity, which is written by Marissa Goodhill,  produced by Leesa Kahn and Catriona Hughes and has Kriv Stenders attached as director, is a musical set to the songs of Kylie Minogue. It follows 17-year-old Kylie Power as she is given one last chance to pursue her dream of being a synchronised swimmer.

Choir of Hard Knocks will be directed by Jonathan Teplitzky and produced by Jason Stephens. The story focuses on a group of disparate people banding together to find their voice under the guidance of their choirmaster.

The untitled project from the Edgerton brothers has Nash attached as writer/producer and director and Joel as co-writer.

Julia Leigh (Sleeping Beauty) also received development funding for Disquiet, another film based on one of her novels.

The full list of films are as follows:

ALEX AND EVE: romantic comedy, producer Murray Fahey, executive producer Bill Kritharas, writer Alex Lykos, co-writer Geoffrey Atherden, director Peter Andrikidis. Synopsis: A Greek Orthodox boy falls in love with a Lebanese Muslim girl creating a mismatch made in heaven. Based on the hugely crowd-pleasing play of the same name.

Could be a big fat aussie hit.

BACKTRACK: thriller, producer Jamie Hilton, writer/director Michael Petroni. Synopsis: Senior clinical psychologist Peter Bower’s life is in turmoil when he reluctantly accepts that all his patients are ghosts. Upon further investigation he discovers they all died on the same day. In a spine-tingling, supernatural thriller, Peter travels back to his past to confront a secret he has kept for 20 years.

Intriguing

BANJO & MATILDA: action romance, producer Bill Leimbach, writer David Roach, director Bruce Beresford. Synopsis: It’s 1895 in Central Queensland and, with the country in turmoil, a young city poet and journalist travels to a remote sheep station to track down a political agitator. When the clashes between union shearers and landowners turn to violence, a man is found dead in a billabong. Was it suicide or murder? Based on the extraordinary true story of Banjo Paterson, Samuel Hoffmeister and Waltzing Matilda.

A Waltzing Matilda movie? High concept.

BYZANTIUM: drama, producer Melanie Coombs, writer/director Cris Jones. Synopsis: After a road accident on the highway, a young man finds himself trapped in a strange, remote town where nothing – and no one – is as it seems.

More genre, sounds great.

CHOIR OF HARD KNOCKS: drama, producer Marian Macgowan, executive producer Jason Stephens, writer Pip Karmel, director Jonathan Teplitzky. Synopsis: A disparate and desperate group of people transcend their hopelessness and band together to find their voice, rediscovering, under the baton of their choirmaster, a dignity and purpose that their ravaged lives had threatened to destroy.

Based on a true story, Hobo with a Showtune meets Brassed Off.

CHRONICAL: science fiction, producer Lisa Shaunessy, executive producer Michael Rymer, co-producer James Whitlam, writer/director Seth Larney. Synopsis: The son of a scientist is called to the future to solve the world’s oxygen crisis and save the woman he loves.

Meh.

DISQUIET: psychological horror, writer/director Julia Leigh. Synopsis: A haunting tale of a family in extremis, based on her own novel.

Just no.

THE GLASS BLOWER: drama, producer Paul Sullivan, writer/director Denie Pentecost. Synopsis: 20-year-old Nicole is a cleaner at a prestigious art college but dreams of becoming a glass blower. When new teacher Kiera discovers her talent, Nicole accepts her help and they form an unconventional relationship leading Nicole to a buried secret that has been kept from her since she was a child.

See last comment.

JOE CINQUE’S CONSOLATION: crime drama, producer Sue Murray, writers Matt Rubinstein, Sotiris Dounoukos, director Sotiris Dounoukos. Synopsis: In early 1997, Anu Singh, a young law student at the Australian National University, began to tell many people she was planning to kill herself. As her mental and emotional state disintegrated, her plans grew more bizarre and macabre, concerning her boyfriend Joe Cinque. In October she knocked Joe out with Rohypnol and then injected him with a lethal dose of heroin. Nobody tried to stop her.

Yep.

KOALA BLUE: comedy, writer Duncan Kennedy.

More information needed, but making a comedy is brave. Unlike a kitchen sink drama, it’s easy to fail/garner bad reviews making a comedy.

A MURDER OF CROWS: crime, producers Murray Pope, Michael Robertson, writers Shayne Armstrong, Shane Krause, director Nick Robertson.

Cool title. Aren’t we even entitled to a synopsis for our taxpayer money?

NIM’S ISLAND: THE RETURN OF THE PIRATES: family, producers Chris Brown, Tom Hoffie, writer Ray Boseley, director Brendan Maher. Synopsis: A sequel to the hugely popular family film Nim’s Island.

No brainer financially.

THE POST OFFICE: romantic comedy, producers Angie Fielder, Polly Staniford, writers Emma Vuletic, Justine Flynn.

See A Murder of Crows

SYNCHRONICITY: musical, producers Leesa Kahn, Catriona Hughes, executive producer Greg Coote, writer Marissa Goodhill, director Kriv Stenders. Synopsis: Set to the hit music of pop star Kylie Minogue, this musical spectacular follows 17-year-old Kylie Power who, upon moving to her father’s hometown of Sydney, is given one last chance to pursue her dream of becoming a synchronised swimming champion.

Could go either way, clever concept.

UNTITLED: black comedy, producer Matthew Reeder, executive producer Greg McLean, writer/director Abe Forsythe. Synopsis: A dark comedy about racism set during the Cronulla riots.

I want to see this now.

UNTITLED: drama, producer Nash Edgerton, writers Nash Edgerton, Joel Edgerton, director Nash Edgerton.

In Edgertons we trust.

Thanks to Inside Film for this article.

Updated February 7th, 2012.

I have a Deep Throat. The same guy that told me The Cup sucked (despite the chance to adapt an amazing story) told me this works.

A Few Good Men (regardless of negative reviews) has done very well and has legs.

Any Questions For Ben will double that.

Update 21/2/2012

Nobody knows anything in Aussiewood. On reflection, it was hurt by a bad trailer and poster, not mention the review bias that deducts a star if there are no arthouse aesthetics of suicide, rape, incest and depression. It’s also hard to work out what the flick is actually about. Financially, it will be successful. DVD, Bluray, Cable, TV.. here and overseas. Working Dog don’t lose money.

I got it wrong on the box office. Majorly.

Not surprisingly, he finished his project before mine, an iPad app for kids called:

www.sparkytheshark.com

Check it out. And kudos, Mark.

Feature films receiving funding include: The Grandmothers, The Mule, Patrick and These Final Hours, which involve filmmakers Leigh Whannel, Robert Connolly, Antony I. Ginnane and Paul Currie.

Erotic tale The Grandmothers, produced by Andrew Mason among many others, is based on a story by Doris Lessing about two lifelong friends who fall in love with each other’s teenage sons. Its strong cast includes Naomi Watts, Xavier Samuel, Robin Wright and James Frecheville.

Saw’s Leigh Whannell is back in Australia with a new film which he writes, stars in and co-produces: The Mule. The black comedy, which is also written and produced by Angus Sampson, tells the story of unlikely drug mule Ray Jenkins, from Victoria, who takes on all the authority figures in his life using the only option within his control – holding on.

As reported earlier by IF, Patrick is a re-imagining of the 1970s chiller, while These Final Hours will be written/directed and produced by Zak Hilditch and Liz Kearney respectively.

Other features include The Pappas Brothers and high-concept psychological thriller 2.22, which is set in New York City.

“The high-concept thriller 2:22 is a type of film that rarely gets presented to Screen Australia and will be an international career-launcher for Australian director Paul Currie,” Screen Australia’s chief operating officer Fiona Cameron said in a statement.

Five adult drama investments have been made including biographical telemovie Underground. Following the early life of Julian Assange, it will be written and directed by Connolly while Helen Bowden and Tony Ayres will produce and executive produce, respectively.

Other funding for adult TV drama went to John Edwards’ World Series Cricket and Puberty Blues, as well as two-part ABC series Devil’s Dust and period drama series The Doctor Blake Mysteries.

“Adult television drama continues to move from strength to strength. This compelling mix of quality series and telemovies will continue to provide audiences with engaging and iconic Australian stories,” Cameron said.

Children’s television shows receiving funding from the national agency include Dance Academy Series 3, live-action children’s series In Your Dreams, by producer Noel Price (Seven Network), and comic animation series The Flamin’ Thongs (ABC).

FEATURES

2:22
Lightstream Pictures Pty Ltd
Producer Jackie O’Sullivan
Executive Producers Garrett Kelleher, Bruce Davey, Paul Brooks, Lawrence Inglee
Co-writer/Director/Co-producer Paul Currie
Co-writer Todd Stein
International Sales Gold Circle Films, Lionsgate International
Australian Distributor Icon Productions
Synopsis Dylan Boyd’s life as an air traffic controller is permanently derailed when an ominous pattern of events begins to permeate his life, funnelling him into Grand Central Station every day at 2.22pm. When he falls for a beautiful woman, it seems their lives were meant to intertwine long ago. With a grim fate looming, Dylan must solve the riddle of 2.22 to preserve a love that’s second chance has finally come.

THE GRANDMOTHERS
Hopscotch Features, Ciné-@, Mon Voisin Productions, Gaumont, France 2 Cinéma
Producers Andrew Mason, Philippe Carcassonne, Michel Feller, Dominique Besnehard, Francis Boespflug
Writer Christopher Hampton
Director Anne Fontaine
International Sales Gaumont
Australian Distributor Hopscotch/eOne
Synopsis Nobel Prize for Literature winner Doris Lessing’s beautiful and heart-wrenching story of two lifelong friends who fall in love with each other’s teenage sons. The Grandmothers is an erotic tale of misguided love and a celebration of the enduring nature of female friendship.

THE MULE
The Mule Development Co.
Producer Paul Clarke
Writer/Co-producers Leigh Whannell, Angus Sampson
Executive Producer Bruce Kane
Director Tony Mahony
International Sales eOne
Australian Distributor Hopscotch
Synopsis Ray Jenkins, an unlikely drug mule from Sunshine, Victoria, takes on all the authority figures in his life using the only option within his control – holding on!

THE PAPPAS BROTHERS
Pank & Martin
Producers George Pank, Eddie Martin, James Gay-Rees
Executive Producers Jude Troy, Rachel Okine, Paul McGowan
Director Eddie Martin
Editor Chris King
International Sales eOne, Cinetic
Australian Distributor Hopscotch/eOne
Synopsis Blood may be thicker than water but in the case of Tas and Ben Pappas who rose from the western suburbs of Melbourne to become the #1 and #2 skateboarders in the world, it was not sufficient to prevent both brothers from falling into a drug-fuelled spiral to hell from which only one returns.

PATRICK
FG Film Productions (Australia) Pty Ltd in association with Rising Sun Pictures
Producer Antony I Ginnane
Writer Justin King
Director Mark Hartley
International Sales Bankside Films
Australian Distributor Umbrella Entertainment
Synopsis For three years Patrick has been lying mute and immobile, a patient in Dr Roget’s clinic for the comatose. Dr Roget has been discharging increasingly large doses of electricity into Patrick’s brain, hoping for a sign of brain function. When young nurse Kathy starts working at the clinic, Patrick figures out how to utilise all that pent up power with deadly effect. A reimagining of Richard Franklin’s 1970s chiller.

THESE FINAL HOURS
8th In Line Pty Ltd
Producer Liz Kearney
Executive Producer Robert Connolly
Writer/Director Zak Hilditch
International Sales Maze Film Sales, Celluloid Nightmares, XYZ
Australian Distributor Footprint Films
Synopsis A self-obsessed young man makes his way to the party-to-end-all-parties on the last day on Earth, but ends up saving the life of a little girl searching for her father. Their relationship ultimately leads him on the path to redemption.

Rosen, opening this year’s SPAA conference in Sydney, said he was sick of hearing arguments that the local screen production sector was a cottage industry that only exists for cultural reasons. He instead called on the industry to embrace better financial models and creative processes which will boost content production, exports and create profitable businesses.

“I want us to be seen as an industry that has value in our economy, just like the mining industry or the car industry or the tourist industry,” he said.

“For us to succeed as an industry we need to start acknowledging that we are manufacturers of creative content. Each year we create thousands of hours of content, be that from current affairs, infotainment, comedy, drama, documentaries, feature films. The concept that we are manufacturers may offend our creative psyche but if we wish to lift ourselves out of the cultural ghetto that we are at times assigned to by government and patronised to by the agencies, who feel they are the Medicis of all things cultural, then we need to promulgate a position that firmly and squarely puts us in the same status as other manufacturing industries.

“We take great joy in ridiculing Hollywood as being the dream factory which sells out to the lowest common denominator for the sake of profit,. Well, at least they make a profit. But within that so-called creative sell-out is some of the best content in the world.”

His call comes as the government continues its convergence review, which is evaluating the regulations that apply to traditional media. It looms as a critical report for the future of local content.

Rosen called on the local industry to work with the free-to-air sector and pay-TV, which understand the value of local content better than telcos, and suggested that the 20 per cent Producer Offset tax rebate that applies to TV productions be doubled (which would bring it to the same level of subsidy as feature films). He also called for a lift in existing local content quotas (although broadcasters are largely arguing for a reduction).

“The industry needs to expand and the Producer Offset is the best and most efficient mechanism to manage that objective,” he said, while also calling on the Offset eligibility to be expanded to include a wider range of screen content, as well as games production.

Screen Australia is currently appealing a ruling by the Administrative Appeals Tribunal that a local documentary, Lush House, should qualify for the Producer Offset. The government agency believes that “infotainment”, such as cleaning show Lush House, should not qualify.

“That Screen Australia is trying to define through the courts what is or is not a documentary is misconceived purism – a cultural hangover I believe from the Film Australia days,” Rosen said.

“At a time when we want our content to grow exponentially this is not the time to have cultural arguments as to how worthy a documentary has to be in order to qualify for the Producer Offset. Screen Australia’s role, like the FFC before it, is as an administrator of the Producer Offset and not as an arbiter of taste and their argument that they are concerned that to broad a definition will blow out budget estimates of the Producer Offset is not what they are charged with – that should be a direct discussion between the industry and the government.”

Brendan Swift
if.com.au

For free.

You’ll have to contend with this bootleg:

Update 21/11/2011: Not anymore. I emailed Tourism Australia and they uploaded a HD version. Full credit to them for recognising a problem and fixing it. Watch it in HD.

Framerate could be higher, but you know, babysteps.

Update 8/2/2012

In Tourism Australia’s defence, they did have this online from the start. Trouble was, I never found it, because I searched for “There’s nothing like Australia”, like most people did. It leads you to a low resolution clip of the ad that has 118,409 views. I challenge you to find the official youtube clip, they never included in their tags, “There’s Nothing Like Australia”. The official version has 18,748 views. The official HD version has 6,011 views.

I’m going to be cheeky and ask them to update the tags.. stay tuned.

Update 9/2/2012
Thank you for your feedback. I have included the tags in the video

Well done Tourism Australia!