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It’s officially a new month and a new week, which means we have a bunch of brand new Blu-ray and DVD releases headed home this Tuesday. The official start to summer is right around the corner, which makes this the perfect time for Steven Spielberg’s Jaws to swim its way into 4K waters for the very first time, in honor of the film’s 45th anniversary this year. And if that wasn’t cool enough, Oscar winner Parasite from filmmaker Bong Joon Ho is also getting a 4K release this week as well.

Kino Lorber is also keeping busy with a pair of Blu-rays to kick off their slate of releases for the month—Let’s Kill Uncle and They Came from Beyond Space—and if you’re a big Creepshow fan, you’re definitely going to want to pick up the new anthology series this week.

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Camaron Engels, best known for Netflix teen show “Malibu Rescue,” and cast in the streamer’s upcoming series “Clickbait,” is to play Romeo in a new film adaptation of “Romeo and Juliet,” produced by Russian filmmaker Timur Bekmambetov and Igor Tsay, whose movie “Searching” raked in $75 million.

The project, with the working title “R#J,” is directed by Carey Williams, who won a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2018 for his short “Emergency.” Francesca Noel, who appeared in the Sundance Labs film “Selah and the Spades,” will play Juliet.

“I’m thrilled to be presenting a timeless classic in a never before seen fashion, and giving people of color an opportunity to see themselves onscreen in these iconic roles. There have been many versions of ‘Romeo and Juliet,’ but there’s never been one quite like this,” Williams said.

Variety has been given exclusive images from the production,...

London-based production, finance and sales company Film Constellation has boarded the critically-lauded “Relic,” the debut feature from Natalie Erika James. The film, which stars Emily Mortimer (“Shutter Island”), Robyn Nevin (“The Matrix Trilogy”) and Bella Heathcote (“The Neon Demon”), had its world premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in the Midnight section.

The film, which has been compared to “The Babadook,” is scheduled for theatrical release in the U.S. in the fourth quarter of this year with IFC Midnight. It was selected to play at SXSW this month, also in the Midnight section.

Co-written by James and Christian White, creator of Netflix’s “Clickbait,” the pic centers on three women. When Edna, an elderly and widowed matriarch of the family, goes missing, her daughter Kay and granddaughter Sam travel to their remote family home to find her. Soon after Edna’s return, and as her behavior turns increasingly volatile,...

(L-r) Yvonne Strahovski, Cate Blanchett and Emma Freeman on the ‘Stateless’ set.

The suspension and postponement of numerous screen productions has disrupted directors as much as any industry cohort – but many continue to develop film and TV projects.

“I’m using my downtime to develop some feature projects, in particular The Circus written by Alice Bell, and writing my first feature screenplay,” says Emma Freeman, who co-directed Stateless and was working with Tony Ayres on Netflix’s Clickbait until production halted.

To be produced by Leanne Tonkes, The Circus follows a circus troupe that is stranded by a horrific roadside accident in the middle of drought-stricken farmlands. As the troupe becomes more desperate, their star trapeze artist falls in love with a farmer and must choose between the life she’s always known and the life that could be if she stayed.

“This is an epic love story,” says Freeman,...

Screen Producers Australia CEO Matthew Deaner.

Amid production shutdowns and job losses, the Australian Directors’ Guild (Adg), Australian Writers’ Guild (Awg), the Media Entertainment and Arts Alliance (Meaa) and Screen Producers Australia (Spa) have penned a joint letter to the Federal Government to seek urgent support for the screen industry.

Among the many productions to have halted or been postponed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic are The Voice, Clickbait, Australia’s Got Talent, Australian Survivor, Holey Moley, Baz Luhrmann’s Elvis Presley biopic and Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings.

The joint letter asks government:

• to recalibrate the support announced in the first round of Government stimulus to ensure it is available to sole traders. This will mean that the support is available to a large number of producers, writers, directors, cast and crew impacted by production shutdowns;

• to support and redeploy agency resources to meet...

In a bid to present a holistic picture to government of how Covid-19 has impacted the screen industry, Screen Producers Australia (Spa) has called on the sector to share how coronavirus has affected their production slate and release schedule, and launched an industry survey.

“Ours is a powerful and enduring industry that has had the resilience to weather many storms. This being said, Covid-19 represents a unique threat to our businesses and workers on a scale we have not faced in living memory – physical production is not a job that can be done from home,” said CEO Matthew Deaner.

“We are already hearing from our members about suspension, delays and terminations for productions including The Voice, Clickbait and Australia’s Got Talent, and we acknowledge that this is merely the tip of the iceberg. While we have issued advice to our members on pragmatic steps to take for health and...

The coronavirus pandemic has resulted in the cancellation of four screen industry events, halted production on Netflix’s Clickbait and two major movies and postponed shooting of two TV reality shows.

Meaa members were informed today by the Clickbait producers there would be a two week hiatus due to general health concerns, nothing specific as no one associated with the production has contracted the virus.

Matchbox Pictures and Tony Ayres Productions told the union they will continue to closely monitor the situation and then reappraise to ensure the safety of cast and crew.

Ayres and Christian White co-created the Us-set, eight-episode thriller which began shooting in Melbourne in November, directed by Brad Anderson, Emma Freeman, Ben Young and Laura Belsey. Filming was due to wrap in April.

Filming of Fremantle/Seven Network’s Australia’s Got Talent and ITV Studios Australia’s/Nine Network’s The Voice has been postponed.

Daniel Henshall (Photo credit: Alex Vaughan).

Daniel Henshall and Ian Meadows have joined the cast of Clickbait, the Netflix-commissioned eight-part thriller shooting in Melbourne.

Co-created by Tony Ayres and Christian White, the Us-set series explores the ways in which dangerous and uncontrolled impulses are fueled in the age of social media and the ever widening fractures between virtual and real-life personas.

As If reported, Zoe Kazan stars as Pia Brewer, a young woman who is desperate for answers in the search for her missing brother in a case that has become a media sensation.

Betty Gabriel and Adrian Grenier play Sophie and Nick Brewer, a couple in Oakland who get caught up in a bizarre crime, with Phoenix Raie as Roshan Amir, an Oakland detective who investigates the case.

Henshall portrays Simon Oxley, a traumatized social media moderator who is looking for a way to gain some control over the situation.

(L-r) Dop Ben Nott, Kriv Stenders and Jamie Leslie.

Friends and colleagues have paid tribute to film and TV first assistant director Jamie Leslie, who died on Friday from cancer. He was 62.

His final film in a distinguished 38-year career was Kriv Stenders’ Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan.

“Not only was he an industry legend but he was an incredible mentor for me and a huge reason that film came to be,” Stenders says.

“Jamie came on early in pre-production when the film was teetering on the edge of an abyss. We weren’t bonded, we lost $2 million two weeks before shooting, we had no tanks, choppers or guns and we were running on fumes longer than I ever thought was humanly possible.

“But never once did he waver. He was my rock and every hour, every day we just worked the problem, until there was the next one.

When Netflix announced it had commissioned Clickbait last year, director Matt Richards began lobbying co-creator Tony Ayres, Matchbox Pictures and Film Victoria to seek a director’s attachment.

That persistence paid off and the filmmaker started work on the Melbourne-based production two weeks ago, shadowing Ben Young, who is directing two episodes of the eight-part, Us-set thriller.

Richards will work on the show on-and-off until early April, fitting around his day job as a moving image designer at the National Gallery of Victoria.

“I really wanted the opportunity to work on a high stakes adult drama and pushed hard to get the attachment,â€. says Richards, who had an attachment on the ABC’s children’s series Tomorrow, When the War Began and has directed the short dramas First Contact, Rabbit and the Screen Australia Hot Shots-funded The Disappearance of Willie Bingham.

“Ben and the Clickbait team have been incredibly open and welcoming.

Hallie McKeig. (Photo: Penny Lane)

Phoenix Raei, Shannon Berry, Cooper Van Grootel, Kate Lister and Daisy Axon are among the first actors on the roster of Creative Soul Management, a new talent management company just launched by Hallie McKeig.

The Perth-based McKeig has spent the last decade at the helm of Filmbites Talent Agency, but has decided to launch a more individualised management company given many of her actors are landing major roles in Australia and overseas.

“Creative Soul Management feels like the natural next step as we work more closely with actors on building rewarding international careers and lives in the film and television industry. We have a long term, comprehensive view towards working with great people, characters and stories,” she said.

McKeig will continue to run Filmbites, continuing its youth focus, while Creative Soul Management will specialise in national and international opportunities for breakout emerging and established talent.

The Magicians is facing “the literal end of the actual world” in the first full trailer for Season 5, which will premiere on Wednesday, Jan. 15 at 10/9c on Syfy, it was announced on Monday.

Following Quentin’s heroic sacrifice last season, his friends are struggling with not only the loss of Q, but also an overabundance of magic. But castings and enchantments going wonky are just the start of the gang’s problems. “In freeing magic, the balance tipped the other way and there’s too damn much of it, and as the excess builds, an apocalypse looms,” the official synopsis reads.

The long journey to adapt Australian author Melina Marchetta’s 2006 young adult novel On the Jellicoe Road into a TV series looks like paying off.

Werner Film Productions’ Joanna Werner has teamed up with Germany’s Zdf Enterprises and Wild Sheep Content, the fledgling production outfit formed by Erik Barmack, Netflix’s former head of international originals, on the eight-part series.

Marchetta will write the pilot and is working on development with Samantha Strauss, Sarah Walker and Angela Betzien.

The mystery romance by the Looking for Alibrandi author follows 17-year-old Taylor Markham, who was abandoned by her mother at a roadside deli on the outskirts of Jellicoe when she was 11.

After her mentor and guardian Hannah vanishes she meets a mysterious hermit who provides a clue to her identity. This happens amid a territory war between the boarders at her school, kids from the local town and a group of cadets.

Adrian Grenier, Betty Gabriel, Phoenix Raei and Zoe Kazan.

Zoe Kazan, Adrian Grenier, Betty Gabriel and Phoenix Raei are starring in Clickbait, the Us-set, Netflix-commissioned thriller now shooting in Melbourne.

Tony Ayres and Christian White co-created the eight-part series which explores the ways in which dangerous and uncontrolled impulses are fueled by social media and the fractures between virtual and real-life personas.

Scripted by White with Ayres as the showrunner, the series is produced by Tom Hoffie and Joanna Werner for NBCUniversal International Studios, Tony Ayres Productions, Matchbox Pictures and Heyday Television.

The lead director, American Brad Anderson (The Sinner) and Emma Freeman are each directing two episodes; two directors for the remaining four episodes are yet to be confirmed.

Kazan is playing Pia Brewer, a young woman who is desperate for answers in the search for her missing brother in a case that has become a media sensation.

Netflix has announced the main cast of its upcoming thriller series “Clickbait.”

Zoe Kazan, Adrian Grenier, Betty Gabriel, and Phoenix Raei will all star in the eight-episode series. It is said to explore the ways in which our most dangerous and uncontrolled impulses are fueled in the age of social media and reveals the ever-widening fractures we find between our virtual and real-life personas. Production has commenced on the series, which is shooting in Melbourne, Australia.

Kazan will play Pia Brewer, described as a young woman desperate for answers in the search for her missing brother in a case that has become a media sensation. Kazan is known for her starring role in the Oscar-nominated film “The Big Sick” as well as the feature “Ruby Sparks,” the latter of which she also wrote. She will also star in the upcoming HBO series adaptation of “The Plot Against America.” She is repped by UTA,...

Netflix is diving into the realm of social media for its latest thriller.

The streamer has begun production on Clickbait, an eight-episode series that will star Zoe Kazan, Betty Gabriel, Adrian Grenier and Phoenix Raei. A premiere date for the project, which is currently filming in Melbourne, Australia, hasn't been set.

Clickbait, created by Tony Ayres (The Slap) and Christian White, explores the ways in which people's most dangerous and uncontrolled impulses are fueled in the age of social media and reveals the ever-widening fractures between virtual and real-life personas.

Kazan (The Deuce, The Big Sick) will play Pia Brewer,...

Stan Original ‘Bloom’.

Marcus Gillezeau, an International Digital Emmy and Aacta Award-winning independent producer, writer and Ep, suggests Australia needs a ‘whole-of-country’ approach to reap the benefits of the streaming age.

The launch of Disney + and Apple TV+ this month have landed bang in the middle of the annual Screen Producers Australia (Spa) conference, Screen Forever. Independent producers attending will undoubtedly be keen to know if Disney and Apple, along with the other major studio streamers, are likely to increase production expenditure in Australia.

The back-to-back announcements of AppleTV+’s Shantaram , Netflix’s Clickbait, Amazon’s comedy series Lol: Last One Laughing and 10-part stand-up special certainly point to significant opportunity. However, some are asking whether these productions are a genuine sign of things to come or just a handful of ad-hoc one-offs.

The existing streaming landscape in Australia provides a staggering array of choice, both free and paid.

‘Thor’

The Federal Government is keen to stress that applications for the $140 million Location Incentive Program are still being accepted – although only $18 million remains to be allocated.

That figure was revealed by Dr Stephen Arnott, First Assistant Secretary, Arts, at a Senate estimates hearing, raising concerns among facilities houses and other stakeholders who benefit from international productions that shoot here.

The fund runs until June 30 2023 and unless there is a government top-up there are fears the Hollywood studios and other international producers will look elsewhere and the flow of offshore production will slow to a trickle.

Ausfilm CEO Kate Marks welcomed Screen Australia’s annual Drama Report which showed the foreign production spend in Australia in 2018/19 was $411 million, three times bigger than the previous year and the second highest on record.

Marks said: “Whilst the Location Incentive has been delivering significant work for Australia’s film and TV industry, it is not a long-term solution.

‘Lunatics’. (Photo: Amelia Entertainment)

Since 2017, we have been studying the availability of local content on the major subscription streaming services operating in Australia. Our latest report, which examines Netflix, Stan and for the first time, Amazon Prime Video, confirms that the level of local content on these services remains modest, although the number of original productions is growing.

There is also increasing variation between the three services in terms of the kind, age, and genre mix of Australian-made material they carry. The entry of Disney+ and Apple TV+ next month will add new complexity to this rapidly changing market.

We were surprised to learn how much Australian content Amazon Prime Video offers (over 400 Australian titles). However, Amazon is significantly different from Stan and Netflix for several reasons, which make direct comparisons between these services misleading.

Netflix: few local titles, but increasing investment

With an estimated audience of 11 million Australians, Netflix is the clear market leader.

Ranger’s Apprentice, The Alchemyst based on books.

Dick Cook, the former chairman of Walt Disney Studios, has struck a deal to establish the Asia Pacific headquarters of Dick Cook Studios at Melbourne and announced two projects that authorities said would inject A$200m (Usd $137m) into the state of Victoria.

At the same time it emerged that Docklands Studios Melbourne is to build a new “super stage” at its facility that is expected to be ready by late 2021. Construction will not affect work at the other five sound stages and filming will continue into 2020 on Apple TV+ show Shantaram,...

Your next four months of movie watching on Netflix has been mapped out. The biopic “Dolemite Is My Name” starring Eddie Murphy, Steven Soderbergh’s “The Laundromat” starring Meryl Streep and Noah Baumbach’s “Marriage Story” with Scarlett Johansson and Adam Driver have all scored fall 2019 release dates from Netflix, the company announced Tuesday.

Netflix laid out their schedule for 10 feature films in all, including Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman,” which announced its November debut earlier Tuesday. Others that squeaked into the tail end of 2019 included Netflix’s Cannes acquisitions “I Lost My Body” and “Atlantics,” as well as Fernando Meirelles’ “The Two Popes” and the Timothée Chalamet film “The King.” Both of those films will play at Toronto in September.

All 10 of the films are receiving brief, limited theatrical releases ahead of their debut on Netflix, some with a window of just one week, while others will remain in...

Netflix has announced the theatrical release date and streaming launch for Martin Scorsese’s “The Irishman.” The historical crime epic starring Robert De Niro, Al Pacino and Joe Pesci will kick off its Oscars qualifying run in Los Angeles and New York movie theaters beginning Nov. 1, and four weeks later will launch globally on Netflix on Nov. 27, the day before Thanksgiving.

Netflix will also expand theatrical release in to-be-announced U.S. and in U.K. cities beginning Nov. 8, with additional U.S. and international cities to follow on Nov. 15 and Nov. 22.

“The Irishman” will hold its world premiere on the first night of the New York Film Festival on Friday, Sept. 27.

Also Read: 26 Stars Who Only Need a Grammy to Egot, From Liza Minnelli to Al Pacino (Photos)

Netflix’s true-crime story, stars De Niro as a World War II veteran turned mafia hitman named Frank Sheeran. Pacino plays Jimmy Hoffa,...

What's new at Netflix? According to The Hollywood Reporter, the streaming service just ordered a new TV show called Clickbait.

From Tony Ayres and David Heyman, the thriller drama "explores the ways in which our most dangerous and uncontrolled impulses are fueled in the age of social media and reveals the ever-widening fractures found between virtual and real-life personas."

Read More…...

Netflix announced Sunday that they are partnering with Tony Ayres, Christian White and “Harry Potter” producer David Heyman to create “Clickbait,” a new thriller series which explores the ways in which our most dangerous and uncontrolled impulses are fueled in the age of social media, and reveals the ever widening fractures we find between our virtual and real life personas.

Ayres, the Australian filmmaker who produced “The Slap,” will serve as showrunner and executive producer through Matchbox Pictures and Tony Ayres Productions. White will serve as co-producer and writer while Heyman will produce through Heyday Television with Tom Winchester.

Also Read: Netflix in September: Here's Everything Coming and Going

Brad Anderson (“The Sinner”) will serve as lead director on the series, with filming taking place in Melbourne. “Clickbait” is the first Netflix series to be filmed in Victoria and is receiving funding through state and federal incentive programs.

“Christian and...

Christian White.

Tony Ayres and Christian White are co-creating Clickbait, an eight-episode thriller for Netflix, the streaming giant’s first original series to be produced in Melbourne.

Tony Ayres Productions (Tap), Matchbox Pictures and the UK’s Heyday Television will produce the series scripted by White with funding from the Federal Government’s Location Incentive program and Film Victoria’s Production Incentive Attraction Fund.

American Brad Anderson, whose credits include the USA Network’s The Sinner, ABC’s Forever and the movies The Machinist and Beirut, will direct the first two episodes.

Due to shoot in November at Docklands Studios, the production will bring in more than $36 million of international investment, employ about 540 cast, crew and extras and use the services of 290 local businesses, according to Paul Fletcher, Minister for Communications, Cyber Safety and the Arts.

That implies a production budget of around $5 million an hour. The cast is expected...

Netflix is teaming with The Slap and Glitch’s Tony Ayres and super-producer David Heyman on thriller Clickbait. The eight-episode series is created by Ayres and is an NBCUniversal International Studios production. Shooting will take place in Melbourne.

Ayres will also showrun and executive produce the character-based drama via his Tony Ayres Productions, which is backed by Oz’s Matchbox Pictures (of which Ayres is co-founder) and NBCU International Studios. Matchbox and Tap are producing with Heyman’s Heyday Television for Netflix.

Clickbait explores the ways in which our most dangerous and uncontrolled impulses are fueled in the age of social media, and reveals the ever widening fractures we find between our virtual and real life personas.

Christian White is co-creator, co-producer and writer. Brad Anderson (The Sinner) is lead director.

Heyman, whose Once Upon A Time… In Hollywood is currently enjoying hot August nights at the global box office,...