Noticias

Quick Links Who Stars in Troppo? What Is the Crime Drama About? A Knockout With Critics & Fans Why Audiences Should Check it Out

Prime Video is no stranger to creating and distributing exceptional television content, with sensational shows like The Boys, Reacher, and Fallout dazzling audiences all across the world. While the streaming juggernaut can provide endless entertainment and has a huge selection of diverse programs available with the click of a button, there are also underrated gems on the service that have flown under the radar of fans. One show in particular taking the world (and viewers) by storm, is the critically-acclaimed Australian crime drama Troppo.

Thomas Jane and Nicole Chamoun headline the gripping series, in which they play a mismatched brooding former cop and private investigator who team up to investigate what happened to a tech pioneer in the rough and rugged Far North Queensland. The first season...

When Margot Robbie Admitted To Disliking This ‘Disgusting’ Thing About Her The Wolf Of Wall Street Character, Naomi Lapagila (Picture Credit: Facebook)

Margot Robbie is one of Hollywood’s most famous actresses, especially after the colossal success of her film Barbie. The actress rose to fame as Naomi Lapagila in The Wolf of Wall Street. Her character was the second wife of Leonardo DiCaprio’s character, Jordan Belfort. Margot undoubtedly gained a lot of recognition for the part, but she disliked one thing about Naomi ardently. Keep scrolling to know more.

Robbie began her acting career with independent thriller movies and made her television debut in 2008 with the series City Homicide. Margot’s breakthrough came with the Martin Scorsese film. The actress’ selection for the film also has an interesting story behind it. During the audition for the movie, the actress wanted to do something impressive and only had one chance.

When Margot Robbie Thought She’d Go Unnoticed In The Wolf Of Wall Street (Picture Credit: IMDb)

Thanks to her blockbuster movie Barbie, Margot Robbie is one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actresses. The actress has some notable films to her credit, but she once admitted that she’d go unnoticed in the Leonardo DiCaprio-led film The Wolf of Wall Street. She played the role of Naomi Lapaglia, the second wife of Leo’s Jordan Belfort.

The film came out in 2013, giving Margot unparalleled fame and recognition. From there on, she never had to look back again. The talented actress started her career in 2008’s City Homicide, and soon she became one of the most popular actors in Hollywood. Veteran director Martin Scorsese directed the movie, and Margot’s improvisation during its audition helped her land the part of Naomi. Keep scrolling to get the full deets.

In an interview with BAFTA,...

Margot Robbie was only 22 years old when she filmed The Wolf of Wall Street, which helped her secure the role of Naomi due to the character's younger age. Leonardo DiCaprio, who played Jordan Belfort, was 16 years older than Robbie, highlighting a significant age difference between the two main actors. The real Naomi Lapaglia, on whom Robbie's character was based, was also 22 years old when she met Jordan Belfort, making Robbie's age accurate to her real-life counterpart.

The Wolf of Wall Street was Margot Robbie’s breakout role; it put her on the Hollywood map in a big way — but how old was the actress at the time of filming? Robbie has had quite the movie career thus far. She not only starred alongside big names like Leonardo DiCaprio in The Wolf of Wall Street, but she also headlined Birds of Prey, playing Harley Quinn to acclaim, Focus alongside Will Smith,...

Exclusive: Daniel MacPherson has signed with Buchwald.

Macpherson got his start on TV in the long-running Australian soap opera Neighbours as Joel Samuels.

He will next be seen in the Russell Crowe-directed thriller Poker Face, opposite Crowe and Liam Hemsworth, which hits theaters on November 16. He will soon begin production on the upcoming action-thriller Land of Bad, reteaming him with Crowe and Hemsworth, who will also star. The Australian actor was previously with UTA.

He can currently be seen in a heavily recurring role in the Apple TV+/Sundance series Foundation opposite Jared Harris and Lee Pace. Prior to that, he played the co-lead for three seasons in the reboot of the adrenaline-fueled military series Strike Back for Cinemax/HBO.

He starred in the Australian mini-series Bad Mothers and played the lead in two of Shane Abbess’ sci-fi action/thrillers, The Osiris Child and Infini, and in...

Margot Robbie will soon be back on screens as Harley Quinn in James Gunn's The Suicide Squad, and fans didn't need much excuse to celebrate the Aussie actress on her 31st birthday. Having recently found herself ranking amongst the highest-paid actresses on Forbes' rich-list, receiving multiple Academy Award and Golden Globe Award nominations and been listed as one of the most influential people in the world, there is plenty to be celebrated. Going from TV soap Neighbours, through the Wolf of Wall Street and to her iconic take on Harley Quinn, Robbie has gained herself an army of fans that some stars don't achieve in a lifetime.

Born in Queensland, Australia, Margot Robbie spent her childhood years performing "shows" for family, an early sign of where her life was headed with a bit of luck. She was enrolled in circus school by her mother, where she excelled at the trapeze,...

Kelly Lefever.

Prolific screenwriter, script producer and story editor Kelly Lefever is juggling multiple projects – not least a deeply personal series about disability.

Inspired by her own family’s experiences, Care will look at five families who each care for a family member who was born with or acquired a disability.

Her daughter Alexandra, who is 30, was born with Kabuki syndrome, a rare genetic disorder.

“This is a universal story,” Kelly told If. “There are more than 3 million people in Australia who care for a family member or a close relative.

“Most of us will have to deal with this at some time in our lives with aging parents. For me it has been a very grounding experience which has also brought tremendous joy and humour.”

Lefever is in talks with a producer and intends to pitch the project to the ABC, Sbs or streamers.

Another project she created is Sundown,...

Kelly Lefever.

Prolific screenwriter, script producer and story editor Kelly Lefever is juggling multiple projects – not least a deeply personal series about disability.

Inspired by her own family’s experiences, Care will look at five families who each care for a family member who was born with or acquired a disability.

Her daughter Alexandra, who is 30, was born with Kabuki syndrome, a rare genetic disorder.

“This is a universal story,” Kelly told If. “There are more than 3 million people in Australia who care for a family member or a close relative.

“Most of us will have to deal with this at some time in our lives with aging parents. For me it has been a very grounding experience which has also brought tremendous joy and humour.”

Lefever is in talks with a producer and intends to pitch the project to the ABC, Sbs or streamers.

Another project she created is Sundown,...

While much of Australia’s film and TV slate is currently being held up over insurance matters, production has now begun near Sydney on low budget feature “Dark Noise.” It is one of the first local films in Australia to start since the end of nationwide coronavirus lockdowns.

The film features the rising star of the British Shakespearean stage Imogen Sage (BBC TV’ “Doctors”) as a young woman foley artist alone in a forest listening for frogs. She hears something she shouldn’t have and stumbles upon a cocaine farm. Other cast includes features Callan Colley (“The Letdown”), Brett Rogers (“Rake”) and Australia’s Leah Vandenberg and Lauren Clair (“Packed To The Rafters,” “Underbelly”).

“Dark Noise” is written and directed by Clara Chong and produced and shot by her partner Ben Allan. Carlo Giacco serves as the film’s composer, while Sam Wilde is the production designer. Production is by Main Course Films company,...

Universal Pictures Home Entertainment is planning a series of Twitter ‘watch parties’, encouraging audience to stream a selected title at a set time and discuss it online, alongside special guests. The series kicks off May 16 with a screening of Halloween (2018), involving director David Gordon Green and Jamie Lee Curtis. On May 23, former Nasa Astronaut Scott Kelly will host a screening of Apollo 13, followed by a screening of The Breakfast Club on May 30.

Endemol Shine Group (Esg) has sold a raft of programming to Plex, which the ad-funded streamer will carry in the U.S., UK, Canada, Australia, Germany, France, Italy and Spain. Shows that form part of the deal include Anthony Bourdain: Parts Unknown, Bananas in Pyjamas, City Homicide, Deal or No Deal and MasterChef. Peaky Blinders will also be made available on Plex in Italy and Spain. Kasia Jablonska, Esg’s head of digital distribution and monetization, said: “Plex is a unique platform,...

Alison Whyte in ‘The Kettering Incident’ (Photo: Ben King).

Celebrating 30 years in the acting profession, Alison Whyte is happy to offer advice to young or other aspiring actors.

Perhaps best known for her roles in Network 10’s Playing for Keeps, Foxtel’s The Kettering Incident and Satisfaction and Jocelyn Moorhouse’s The Dressmaker, the Vca graduate proffers these tips:

– Learn to live with rejection and remain optimistic: “It’s easy to get pessimistic if you are unemployed. Isolate one problem and know that it won’t affect the rest of your life.”

– Look after yourself mentally when you are playing roles that require grieving or other deep emotions.

– Don’t think about working overseas until you have a solid list of credits under your belt.

On the subject of mental health, in June Whyte finished performing in the Malthouse Theatre production of Nick Enright and Justin Monjo’s five-hour adaptation of Tim Winton’s Cloudstreet.

Australian actor and voiceover artist Vale Richard Carter, known professionally as Richard Carter, has passed away at the age of 65. While the exact cause of death hasn't been specified, Carter had reportedly been battling a "brief illness" leading up to his death. He is survived by his wife Lindsey and daughter Amy. Carter's agency, Lisa Mann Creative Management, also confirmed the actor's passing in a statement. "He was an esteemed actor, a storyteller, and someone who touched the lives of many," the message read. "His generosity knew no bounds and his loss is too great to quantify. He will be sorely missed."

Carter first began his acting career in 1983, appearing as a "sleazy carnival customer" in the Australian crime drama Hostage. That same year, he appeared as two separate characters in the TV series Sons and Daughters. Throughout the 80s, Carter continued to appear in various movies and TV shows,...

Grammy winners Patti Labelle and Brandy Norwood are set to guest-star on Fox’s Star this spring in multi-episode arcs.

Labelle will play Carlotta Brown’s (Queen Latifah) tough but loving mother, Christine, while Norwood has been cast as Carlotta’s younger sister, Cassie.

Labelle’s previous TV credits include Daytime Divas (as well as Fox’s own Empire, playing herself), while Norwood had long runs on The Game and Moesha, plus arcs on 90210 and Drop Dead Diva.

Ready for more of today’s newsy nuggets? Well..

* Monica Barbaro (Chicago Justice, UnREAL) has landed the female lead in Netflix’s...

Image Comic's Witchblade is once again being adapted as a TV series. It's being produced by Sony Pictures Television and NBC Universal, and Cb confirmed that it will air on NBC.

According to the report, the new series will include "a police procedural element that makes sense given the fact that Sara Pezzini, the woman who wears the Witchblade, is a cop in the comics, as well." They go on to describe what we can expect to see in the series saying:

Homicide detective Sara Pezzini is on the hunt for an elusive serial killer. Pezzini must navigate the grisly streets and police politics of San Francisco’s Mission District—until one day the bracelet she has worn her entire life gives her supernatural insight into a crime she’s trying to solve. Her bracelet is the Witchblade, an amulet that has been worn by remarkable women throughout history, and Sara is next in line.

Restoration (Photo credit: Jeff Paine).

Sci-fi thriller Restoration recently aired on the Nine Network and is currently streaming on Stan.

Shot at Docklands and on location around Melbourne, the film is set in a near-future world where humans are able to have their memories downloaded and backed up.

Oliver Klein (Grant Cartwright, Barracuda) wakes up.after a routine backup with his memories restored into the body of another man (Steve Carracher, Vanished).

Restoration also stars Craig McLachlan (The Doctor Blake Mysteries), Nadia Townsend (Knowing, City Homicide), Rosie Lourde (Starting From Now, Embedded) and Elizabeth Nabben (Winners & Losers).

The film was directed by Stuart Willis, who co-wrote the screenplay with Matthew Clayfield. Willis told If the idea was inspired by the ubiquity of smartphones and cloud technology, and influenced by the extended periods that both writers often spend away from home for work.

.There.s always that moment when you come...

Australian sci-fi thriller Restoration is set in a near-future world where humans have their memories downloaded for backup, and one man awakes after a routine backup with his memories restored into a body that is not his own. It is directed by Stuart Willis and features a stellar cast that includes Australian actor Craig McLachlan (The Doctor Blake Mysteries), Nadia Townsend (Knowing, City Homicide), Stephen Carracher (Vanished), Rosie Lourde (Starting From Now, Embedded), Elizabeth Nabben (Winners & Losers) and Ailís Logan (Alvin's Harmonious World of Opposites). The film had its Australian premiere on the Nine Network’s free-to-air channel 9Go! earlier this month and will be streamed on Australian subscription video-on-demand service Stan from September 8. Sydney-based production company Midnight Snack...

[Read the whole post on screenanarchy.com...]...

Lincoln Younes and Rahel Romahn in Down Under.

Lincoln Younes has appeared in City Homicide, Love Child, Home and Away and Hiding. If checks in with him on the publicity tour for his first feature lead role, in Abe Forsythe's Down Under.

How did you get your start?

I did a global rock eisteddfod in Japan when I was in Year 9. I was an incredibly shy kid. Performance was probably the last thing I wanted to do but I always had a real interest in people and in what made them tick. I loved the empathy side of people and trying to understand what.s behind it all. I wanted to play soccer professionally for a lot of my formative years, and then I chose acting, and I moved from Bendigo to Melbourne and my first audition was a show called Tangle, which I got. I played Ben Mendelsohn.s son.

Lincoln Younes and Rahel Romahn in Down Under.

Lincoln Younes has appeared in City Homicide, Love Child, Home and Away and Hiding. If checks in with him on the publicity tour for his first feature lead role, in Abe Forsythe's Down Under.

How did you get your start?

I did a global rock eisteddfod in Japan when I was in Year 9. I was an incredibly shy kid. Performance was probably the last thing I wanted to do but I always had a real interest in people and in what made them tick. I loved the empathy side of people and trying to understand what.s behind it all. I wanted to play soccer professionally for a lot of my formative years, and then I chose acting, and I moved from Bendigo to Melbourne and my first audition was a show called Tangle, which I got. I played Ben Mendelsohn.s son.

Restoration.

Midnight Snack Productions has announced that science fiction thriller Restoration, starring Craig McLachlan, will premiere on the Nine Network and Stan later this year.

Directed by Stuart Willis and independently produced by Midnight Snack.s Toby Gibson, Restoration is a one-hour film set in a near-future world where humans have their memories downloaded for backup.

It follows the story of a man who awakens with his memories restored into a body that is not his own.

.We.re thrilled to have closed a deal with one of Australia.s leading free-to-air commercial television networks and with pioneering Svod service Stan,. said Gibson.

.We.re very pleased Restoration will be seen by a wide Australian audience..

Midnight Snack is also currently exploring international options for the film.

.Having secured an audience in Australia, as well as Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Vanuatu territories, we.re now looking to expand...

Jessica Mauboy.

Channel Seven's The Secret Daughter, starring Jessica Mauboy, has begun filming in Sydney and country Nsw.

Mauboy leads the cast as Billie Carter, a part-time country pub singer whose life changes forever after a chance meeting with wealthy city hotelier Jack Norton, played by Colin Friels.

The drama will also star Bonnie Sveen (Home and Away), Matthew Levett (A Place To Call Home, Devil.s Playground), David Field (Catching Milat, No Activity), Rachel Gordon (Winter, The Moodys, Blue Heelers), Salvatore Coco (The Principal, Catching Milat) and Jared Turner (The Almighty Johnsons, The Shannara Chronicles).

Supporting cast members include former Miss World Australia Erin Holland, Jr Reyne (Neighbours), Libby Asciak (Here Come The Habibs), Johnny Boxer (Fat Pizza vs Housos), Terry Serio (Janet King), Waapa graduate Harriet Gordon-Anderson, Jeremy Ambrum (Cleverman, Mabo) and Amanda Muggleton (City Homicide, Prisoner).

.Seven is the home of Australian drama and we.re immensely...

Craig McLachlan has joined the cast of Australian science-fiction film Restoration..

McLachlan will play the role of Andrew Majury, chief executive of a high profile law firm and charismatic powerbroker.

McLachlan rounds out the cast of Nadia Townsend (Knowing, City Homicide), Grant Cartwright (Mtc.s The Crucible, Death Star PR), Stephen Carracher (Vanished), Rosie Lourde (Felony), Elizabeth Nabben (Childhood.s End) and Ailis Logan.

Producer Toby Gibson said he was absolutely thrilled to attach Craig to the project..

"Not only is Craig outstanding in the role, he.s a perfect fit for the world of Restoration," he said..

"Introducing additional key characters now will be exciting for our audience knowing that we have big plans for the Restoration property..

Director, Stuart Willis, said it was an incredible opportunity to work with a genuine star of the Australian screen and stage..

"Craig brought his magnetic personality to the screen and to the set,...

Last Cab to Darwin.s Emma Hamilton and City Homicide.s Ryan O.Kane head the cast of Network Ten.s Mary: The Making Of A Princess.

FremantleMedia Australia's telemovie will follow the chance meeting of Tasmanian-born Mary Donaldson and Crown Prince Frederik Andre Henrik Christian of Denmark at. Sydney's The Slip Inn in 2000. That led to a four-year courtship which culminated in their marriage.

The producer is Antonia Barnard, Sam Strauss wrote the screenplay and Jennifer Leacey is the director.. Shooting in Sydney starts on July 20, with Damian Wyvill as the DoP..

Hamilton played Anne Stanhope in The Tudors and will be seen in the fourth series of. Mr Selfridge. Her credits include Jeremy Sims. Last Cab to Darwin and TV.s The Musketeers, Poirot and Case Histories.

O.Kane appears in two upcoming Australian movies, Abe Forsythe.s black comedy Down Under and Peter Andrikidis. Alex & Eve.

Jungleboys is shooting a 6-part improvised comedy that follows two detectives on a stakeout for Stan, the Svod platform.s first original production.

No Activity is directed and written by Jungleboys. Trent O.Donnell, who developed the concept with Patrick Brammall, Darren Gilshenan and David Field.

The cast members, who are contributing to the writing process, include Brammall (The Moodys, Ruben Guthrie), Gilshenan (The Moodys, Maximum Choppage), Field (A Moody Christmas, The Rover), Dan Wyllie (Love My Way, Puberty Blues), Harriet Dyer (Love Child, Ruben Guthrie), Genevieve Morris (Comedy Inc, City Homicide), Damon Herriman (Justified, The Little Death) and comedian Sam Simmons, who was awarded best show for his performance at the 2015 Melbourne Comedy Festival.

They will be joined by two high-profile guest stars, one American, the other a Us-based Aussie, to be announced.

Jungleboys executive producer Jason Burrows and producer Chloe Rickard worked with O.Donnell on A Moody Christmas,...

Grant Cartwright, Nadia Townsend, Stephen Carracher and Rosie Lourde head the ensemble cast in Restoration, a 3-part,online sci-fi series which is due to start shooting at Docklands Studios on August 4.

Cartwright (whose credits include Mtc.s The Crucible and web series Death Star PR) will play Oliver Klein, who awakes to find his memories restored into a body that is not his own.

Townsend (Old School, City Homicide, Knowing) is cast as Emma Laws, a technician who works at Restoration Life Services, the facility which enables people to have their memories downloaded for back-up so when death happens, those memories can uploaded into a new body.

Carracher (Us thriller Vanished, The Doctor Blake Mysteries) is Gavin Worth, whose body becomes the vessel for Oliver.s restored memories.

Lourde (Felony, Stephen Sewell.s Embedded) portrays Talia Klein, Oliver.s wife. Rounding out the cast is Ailis Logan as Dr Francis Parr.

DirecTV has bought Us rights to Playmaker Media.s The Code, a six-part series about two brothers who stumble across information about a new technology - information that people in the highest political echelons will kill to keep secret.

ABC-tv commissioned the thriller, which stars Dan Spielman (An Accidental Soldier, Offspring), Ashley Zukerman (The Slap, Rush), Adam Garcia (Coyote Ugly, Bootmen), David Wenham (Top of the Lake, Killing Time), Lucy Lawless (Spartacus), Aden Young (I Frankenstein, Rectify), Chelsie Preston Crayford (Mystery of a Hansom Cab, Underbelly: Razor), Adele Perovic (SLiDE), Dan Wyllie (Rake, Puberty Blues), Aaron Pedersen (Jack Irish, City Homicide), and Paul Tassone (Underbelly).

The show was created by Shelley Birse and written by Birse, Blake Ayshford and Justin Monjo, directed by Shawn Seet (Love Child, Underbelly, Mystery of a Hansom Cab) and produced by Playmaker.s David Maher and David Taylor and Birse.

Developed through the Scribe Initiative...

Fledgling filmmaker Fergus Grady is planning a movie based on Lonely Planet founders Tony and Maureen Wheeler.s adventures and he has shot the pilot for a half-hour TV comedy/drama.

Grady, whose day job is acquisitions coordinator at Umbrella Entertainment, has bought a 2-year option for the film rights to the Wheelers. story. He.s talking to prospective writers and directors and envisions a road movie set in the 1970s.

English-born Wheeler, a former automotive engineer, and his wife published their first travel guide, Across Asia on the Cheap, after an overland trip from Europe to Asia and then to Australia in 1972.

Grady says the film will look at the Wheelers. experiences in countries such as Afghanistan, Nepal and Bali. Tony Wheeler has agreed to serve as a consultant. Grady will seek development funding from Film Victoria and/or Screen Australia to nurture the project over the next 12 months.

Wendy Hughes, who has died in Sydney aged 61, will be remembered by her peers as one of the finest actors of her generation.

Hughes won the AFI award for best actress for Careful, He Might Hear You in 1983 and was nominated on six other occasions, for Newsfront, My Brilliant Career, Lonely Hearts, My First Wife, Echoes of Paradise and Boundaries of the Heart.

.She was a brilliant actress who set the standard and was pioneering for her era,. filmmaker Philippe Mora, who was a close friend in the 1980s and early 1990s, told If.

.In my opinion without Wendy there would have been no Judy Davis, no Nicole Kidman and no Cate Blanchett. If timing had been different she would have been a major international star. As it is she leaves a legacy of perfect performances as one of Australia's greatest actresses..

Mora wanted to cast Hughes as the female...

Awgie-nominated scriptwriter Mia Tolhurst has died in Melbourne as a result of complications following heart surgery. She was 36.

Mia grew up in Launceston and got her first TV job in year 10 when she compiled a report for the ABC about her high school leavers. dinner.. She studied at Rmit and was awarded the Rmit Award in 1999 for the most outstanding student.

Early in her career she worked as a research consultant for Cinemedia, an associate producer for ABC Education online and project co-ordinator/writer. for the Village Roadshow/Network online entertainment service Scape.

Her screenwriting credits included Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries (seasons 1 & 2), City Homicide and episodes of Neighbours. She was nominated for an Awgie in 2011 for her City Homicide episode Last Man Standing.

.Mia loved television, both working in it and watching it,. said her partner Andrew Barnett. .More than that, she was addicted to great stories. Story telling was...

The Seven Network is keen to find a new vehicle for Erik Thomson after the end of Packed to the Rafters.

The actor is set to shoot a pilot for the network playing a character who is far removed from Dave Rafter, the decent, salt-of-the-earth family man who loved sport and 1980s music.

Thomson will play the title character in Hartman as a brilliant but flawed, over-sexed surgeon with an unfortunate bedside manner.

Shooting will start in Melbourne later this month, produced by Southern Star Entertainment. If understands Paul Moloney, a director-producer whose credits include Winners & Losers, City Homicide, Bed of Roses and Home and Away, will work on the project.

The pilot will also feature a female Gp, a local cop and a female vigneron. If it.s picked up the series would probably start shooting in the second half of next year.

Rebecca Gibney, who played Dave.s...

Claire van der Boom. Photo credit: David Cook..

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When Claire van der Boom auditioned for the role of a younger version of Diane Keaton.s character in the Us movie Life Itself, the director told her she was the only one who didn.t try to impersonate Keaton as Annie Hall in the classic Woody Allen movie.

That was the clincher and the Los Angeles-based Australian actress started shooting the film directed by Englishman Richard Loncraine (Wimbledon, My One and Only) in New York last week.

Adapted from Jill Ciment.s novel Heroic Measures, the film stars Keaton and Morgan Freeman as Ruth and Alex, a couple whose life is disrupted when the East Village apartment where they lived for 40 years is put up for sale, a bidding war ensues and Manhattan falls under a terrorism threat.

Claire plays Ruth as she meets Alex, an artist, when she models for his paintings.

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...

While we’re busy celebrating the best (and worst) in TV season finales, let’s also take a moment to air random grievances. One of my biggest pop culture pet peeves was poked by Law & Order: Svu’s season ender last night: People who know they could be in danger and do not use the chain on their door. Yes, the chain probably won’t do much, but isn’t it just human nature to use it if it’s there? Especially if, say, the sadistic serial rapist you were trying to put away — the one who likes to torture...

The second series of ABC1.s Miss Fisher.s Murder Mysteries begins shooting in Melbourne this week.

The 13-part series stars Essie Davis (The Slap, cloudstreet) as detective Phryne Fisher alongside Ashleigh Cummings (Puberty Blues, Dance Academy), Nathan Page (Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo, Redfern Now), Hugo Johnstone-Burt (Rake, cloudstreet), Miriam Margolyes (Harry Potter The Chamber of Secrets), Tammy MacIntosh (Crownies, East West 101), Travis McMahon (Howzat! Kerry Packer.s War), Anthony Sharpe (City Homicide), and Richard Bligh (The Mystery of a Hansom Cab).

Davis'.performance in the first series was recently recognised with an Aacta.nomination for Best Lead Actress in a Television Drama.

The second series of Miss Fisher.s Murder Mysteries is based on a number of Kerry Greenwood.s Phryne stories: the Dead Man.s Chest and.Unnatural Habits novels, and various short stories; as well as new crimes from the creators of series one.

The second series of ABC1.s Miss Fisher.s Murder Mysteries begins shooting in Melbourne this week.

The 13-part series stars Essie Davis (The Slap, cloudstreet) as detective Phryne Fisher alongside Ashleigh Cummings (Puberty Blues, Dance Academy), Nathan Page (Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo, Redfern Now), Hugo Johnstone-Burt (Rake, cloudstreet), Miriam Margolyes (Harry Potter The Chamber of Secrets), Tammy MacIntosh (Crownies, East West 101), Travis McMahon (Howzat! Kerry Packer.s War), Anthony Sharpe (City Homicide), and Richard Bligh (The Mystery of a Hansom Cab).

Davis'.performance in the first series was recently recognised with an Aacta.nomination for Best Lead Actress in a Television Drama.

The second series of Miss Fisher.s Murder Mysteries is based on a number of Kerry Greenwood.s Phryne stories: the Dead Man.s Chest and.Unnatural Habits novels, and various short stories; as well as new crimes from the creators of series one.

The Motion Picture Company is shooting a new web series called the Charity Porn Initiative.

Written by John Banas, the 18 x 6 minute series is about a website set up by Mpc producer Peter Slee in 2009 called charityporn.com.

The story follows the fortunes of the character whose life is turned upside-down as his website takes off.

It is being shot in January and February, and is scheduled for an early release online in 2013. The cast has yet to be announced.

The series is to be distributed next year via video sharing sites and the website thecpinitiative.com.

Peter Slee, who is creative director on the project, explained: “A web-series plays to our strengths and, as we’ve seen recently, content that is daring can find an audience online. Traditional distribution is increasingly looking to online for new talent, new ideas, and entertainment with proven audiences.”

Banas has written for TV shows including City Homicide,...

Beauty and the Beast might be a "tale as old as time," but the stars of The CW's reboot promise their version is modern, dark and grounded in reality.

The new series, which is a revamp of the 1980s-era CBS incarnation of the classic fairy tale with a procedural twist, stars Smallville's Kristin Kreuk as New York City homicide detective Catherine Chandler. Tough on the outside, Cat buries a world of hurt stemming from witnessing her mother's death at the hands of two gunmen when she was just a teen. Australian actor Jay Ryan plays Vincent Keller, an ex-military man who was turned into a beast during a government experiment gone wrong and is the unknown person who saved Cat that fateful night years ago. And just like the original story, there's an inexplicable force pulling both the beauty, Cat, and Vincent, the beast, towards each other.

Read More...

A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of sitting down with Amy Allan (interview here), physical medium and co-host of Travel Channel's compelling series "The Dead Files." Today we spoke with her partner in crime, Steve Dischiavi.

Devoting more than 21 years of active service to the New York City Police Department, retired Homicide Detective Steve Dischiavi is now lending his expertise to the series that has paranormal fans worldwide absolutely buzzing. Based on the powerful premise that every property has a story to be told, Dischiavi and Allan combine their unique skills to solve unexplained paranormal phenomena in haunted locations across America.

We began by asking Steve how he initially got involved with Amy and the show.

"I had been on a documentary for the NYPD called "NYPD 24/7" for ABC News," says Dischiavi. "Once it aired, there was a lot of buzz. It even won an Emmy. After it aired,...

This article was originally published in If Magazine #145 (Feb-March 2012).

Risqué romantic comedy Offspring has been a massive success for Channel Ten in its attempt to climb to the top of the Australian television ladder.

The series has helped steer the commercial network to second place behind Channel Seven after it premiered in August, 2010. But if it wasn.t tested at pilot stage, the AFI and Logie award-winning show would have died a dismal death and been scraped off the Ten slate.

.It tested remarkably well in a number of areas . but it tested remarkably poorly in two and it told us we made two big mistakes,. producer John Edwards says.

The two big mistakes related to casting and characters . two key ingredients in any screen project. The character was recast, the script reworked and four additional days of shooting saved the series. .I don.t think the show would.ve...

Some may have felt Kristin Kreuk’s Smallville character, Lana Lang’s romance with Clark Kent dragged the show to a halt. The super hero drama would fall into convoluted emo-driven subplots that action fans didn’t want to be bothered with. Besides, we all knew Superman would someday be with his Lois Lane when he got to Metropolis. In reality, Kreuk was just warming up for what could be an even bigger romantic fantasy, as the lead role in the CW’s modern take on the 1980′s Beauty and The Beast series that starred Linda Hamilton (Terminator) and Ron Perlman (Sons of Anarchy).

Kreuk will play Catherine, a New York City homicide detective, who is still emotionally damaged from her mother’s murder nine years ago. The killer was taken care of swiftly by Vincent Koslow, The Beast. Using her skills as a detective, she tracks down the Beast,...

Each week within this column we strive to pair the latest in theatrical releases to worthwhile titles currently streaming on Netflix Instant Watch. This week we offer alternatives to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol, and We Bought a Zoo.

With the holidays hitting this weekend, a family friendly zoo tale does box office battle with a dizzying espionage thriller and the feel bad movie of Christmas. If you want to spend your holiday revels, relishing inspiring true tales, action-packed adventures, and deeply dark tales of revenge, we got you covered with the best of movies now available online through Netflix.

When seeking the elusive truth behind a missing girl’s disappearance, a dedicated journalist (Daniel Craig) crosses paths with an edgy but enchanting young hacker. Rooney Mara stars as Lisbeth Salander, the controversial It girl of Stieg Larsson’s Millenium trilogy. David Fincher directs.

Like your thrillers extra dark?...

Movie stars have tradionally gone to cable television to star in well-written scripted series (Laura Linney, Steve Buscemi)  but this fall, well-known movie actors flocked to network t.v.  CineMovie has your guide to  big screen talent headlining their own shows on the small screen.

Maria Bello  Prime Suspect on NBC Thursdays 10pm

The History of Violence and Abduction actress takes her toughness to the tube as a New York City homicide detective. Prime Suspect is based on the Helen Mirren British tv mini-series.

Jim Caviezel - Person of Interest on CBS Thursdays 9pm

The Passion of Christ star joins Lost's Michael Emerson in the J.J.  Abrams suspense drama. Caviezel stars as a former CIA agent tracking down criminals before they commit the crimes. Think of it as Tom  

Cruise's The Minority Report for the small screen.

Patrick Wilson  A Gifted Man on CBS

Read more...

Jessica Mauboy has been named 'Female Artist of the Year' at the annual Indigenous awards show in Australia. The former Australian Idol contestant, who is a staunch supporter of various Aboriginal charities, was given the gong at the Deadly Awards ceremony in Sydney Opera House last night. City Homicide actor Aaron Pederson hosted the show and also won the award for 'Best Actor', while singer Gurrumul Yunupingu took home the 'Male Artist of the Year' and 'Album of the Year' titles. Deborah Mailman won the 'Best Female Actor' category for her role as Cherie in Offspring, a year after winning the same title for movie Bran Nue Dae. Film of the year went to Mad B**tards, band Iwantja were named 'Most Promising New Talent in Music' and The LAst Kinection won 'Single (more)...

Bleak aboriginal drama Mad Bastards, set in the Kimberley, was named film of the year at last night’s Deadly Awards. The Deadlys are an annual celebration of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander achievement in music, sport, entertainment and community.

Mad Bastards was Brendan Fletcher’s debut feature.

Sbs’s Living Black was named best TV show.

Aaron Pedersen of City Homicide was named best male actor. Offspring’s Deborah Mailman was best female actor.

Full winners list (Pdf)...

I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the American version of Prime Suspect is my favorite new hour-long show on network television. It may very well be the best new show premiering this Fall. It’s a smart, un-condescending cop show that is anchored by a fantastic performance by Maria Bello. Bello more than earns her right to take over for the legendary Helen Mirren (star of the British original) in the reboot as Jane Timoney, a gruff and bitter New York City homicide detective who’s been passed over to work a high profile murder because she is a woman. Even though her lieutenant, another gruff “Noo Yawker” played by Aidan Quinn, is more interested in good police work than the genders of his squad members, it’s Jane’s fellow detectives who use their foul, overtly sexist notions to prevent her from advancing.

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Michael Mann’s daughter Canaan Mann directs her second feature film after her debut in 2001 ‘Morning’ with Texas Killing Fields, a crime film that premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival today, based on the gruesome true events of the murder of a woman who was dumped in an old oil field that happened outside the city of Houston, in Texas. It is based on the novel of the same name but Mann has previously said in interviews that she got hooked on the tragedy when she saw a newspaper a map of the real killing of this poor woman, leaving her compelled to tell this story.

The film follows Texas City homicide detectives Mike Souder (Sam Worthington) and Brian Heigh (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) while they are trying to solve one of their cases (Maan has previously claimed that there’s still 27 cold cases in...

"Prime Suspect. on NBC was inspired by the British miniseries that starred Helen Mirren. The NBC version takes a look inside a tough New York City homicide department and follows Jane Timoney (Maria Bello), an unconventional detective on her journey to solve cases and make a name for herself in this new department. Aidan Quinn costars; Peter Berg serves as director and producer of the show. At the recent television critics' association, Maria Bello shared with us her approach and view of the character: "I like to say that I.m not Jane. Alex [writer Alexandra Cunningham] and I are Jane together. Without the writing, the kind of quirkiness and edginess that this character has and this dry...

Did you know Spike Lee executive produced a horror/thriller called You're Nobody 'til Somebody Kills You ? Yeah, it was way off our radar, too, until now. Michael Pinckney, who is making his feature debut after a string of assistant director gigs, landed Big Daddy Kane, Doug E. Fresh and Ed Lover to appear alongside stars Michael Kenneth Williams, Michael Mosley and Chance Kelly. The film is described as "an action-packed and gritty story of two New York City homicide detectives that are forced into the high-stakes world of the hip hop industry. A complex web of murder, sex, money and music unfolds as the homicide detectives track a serial killer with an appetite for some of hip hop's biggest stars." So, it's a slasher flick with hip hop stars as the victims?...

The Australian Writers’ Guild has announce the nominations for its 44th Awgie Awards.

The writers of Australia’s best stage, screen and radio scripts have been nominated across 23 awards, including Shaun Grant (Snowtown), Alice Addison (The Hunter), Jonathan Teplitzky (Burning Man) and Tony Krawitz

(The Tall Man) all screening at Tiff.

Awg President, Academy Award nominee Jan Sardi said in a statement, ‘The foundation of all great productions is the script. Each year the Awgie Awards recognise and celebrate the creators of those foundations, the writers. The nominations for this year’s Awgie awards clearly demonstrate the high standard of Australian performance writing. Some of the writers honoured today are familiar names, underscoring the consistent excellence of their work and ongoing contribution to our industry. Equally exciting are the new names and titles reflecting the breadth and vibrancy of Australian scriptwriting talent.”

As well as announcing the winners of the below categories,...

Nominations for the 2011 Deadly Awards have been announced, including nominations for best film, TV show, and best male and female actors.

The Deadly’s, now in their 17th year, are Australia’s leading Indigenous awards for achievements in the performance arts, sport and community.

In the Film category; Mad Bastards, Toomelah, Here I Am, Shifting Shelter 4 and Jandamarra’s War are nominated, while in the TV category; On the Edge (Nitv), Living Black (Sbs), Marngrook Footy Show (Nitv & ABC), The Barefoot Rugby League Show (Nitv) and Yamba’s Playtime (Imparja Television) are nominated.

In the female actor of the year category, the nominees are: Rarriwuy Hick for Wrong Skin (play), Deborah Mailman for Offspring, and three entries from Here I Am; Marcia Langton, Pauline Whyman and Shai Pittman.

In the male actor of the year category, the nominees are: Aaron Fa’Aoso for East West 101, Jack Charles for Jack Charles v The Crown,...