Encore Magazine articles from July 2006

Encore Magazine archives from July 2006

Editor's note.
July 1, 2006... IT'S the dawn of a new financial year and unfortunately, an effort to kick start private sector finance in the local film industry looks all but over before it's even begun. Future Films Australia (FFA) launched in June with a grand plan to...

Flexis lift SFF revenue.(NEWS)(Sydney Film Festival)(flexi-passes)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... PRESIDENT of the Sydney Film Festival(SFF) Jacqui Feeney says the two-year plan to turn around the festival's finances is on track after sales and revenue targets for the 53rd event, which closed on June 25, were exceeded. Total festival...

Windschuttle appointment ruffles feathers.(NEWS)(Keith Windschuttle, Australian Broadcasting Corp.)
July 1, 2006... COMMUNICATIONS Minister Helen Coonan has announced the appointment of right-wing historian and open critic of the ABC, Keith Windschuttle as a non-executive director of the ABC board for a five-year term. Windschuttle joins fellow...

Ztudio launches film comp.(NEWS)
July 1, 2006... ZTUDIO, the production arm of talent management and literary agency Stacey Testro International, has issued a call for entries for its inaugural 3 Minute Opportunity film competition, which will produce a feature film on the strength of a...

Distribs need to shape up: report.(NEWS)(distributors)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... THE exhibition and distribution sector needs to be more proactive about the implementation and enforcement of the Voluntary Code of Conduct if it is to prove effective, according to a yet-to-be-released independent review. The review,...

Holding Redlich paints town red.(NEWS)
July 1, 2006... Law Firm Holding Redlich recently held a party in Sydney's The Rocks precinct to announce the winner of the Salon des Refuses art exhibition. 1. (l-to-r) Omnilab's Lewis Pullen with Tim Mad-docks of Madd Films and Holding Redlich's Sonia...

Nine merges its 'Sunday' affairs programs.(NEWS)(Nine Network Australia Ltd.)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... THE Nine Network will merge its Sunday and Business Sunday programs as part of the ongoing overhaul of its news and current affairs. So far the changes have seen The Bulletin's editor-in-chief Gary Lidell taking the lead of Nine's news team,...

Global does deal with Seven.(NEWS)
July 1, 2006... GLOBAL Television will provide production services and staff to South Melbourne's Coventry Street television studios as part of a joint venture formed with Seven Network, in a move that will see the facility looking to attract independent...

SBS defends in-program ad policy.(NEWS)(S.B.S. Broadcasting S.A. )
July 1, 2006... THERE have been conflicting opinions on SBS' decision to show ads during its programming, with industry divided on the benefits of centre break advertising. A meeting of news and current affairs staff from inside the network condemned the...

Seven's 'Survivor' snatch.(PRODUCTION)(Australian version of reality hit)(Seven Network)(Television program review)
July 1, 2006... The Seven Network has exploited a loophole in the contract between the Nine Network and US broadcaster CBS to make an Australian version of reality TV hit Survivor. Made by Seven Productions from the team behind It Takes Two and The Mole, the...

Jackman replaces Crowe.(PRODUCTION)(Hugh Jackman, Russell Crowe)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Russell Crowe has been dropped from director Baz Luhrmann's new $150 million film epic in favour of Hugh Jackman. The film dogged by delays with both cast and crew availability will start preproduction in the Spring. Jackman will play Nicole...

Instinct goes for thrills.(PRODUCTION)(Instinct Entertainment)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Melbourne's Instinct Entertainment is preparing an untitled thriller penned by US director Eric Manchester for a late 2006 shoot. Australian born, US based actor Costas Mandylor has reportedly been signed to play the lead role of a successful...

Screentime matchmakes.(PRODUCTION)(reality television show, 'Rene is Getting Married')(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... Screentime's new reality series Rene is Getting Married will turn the problem of finding a life partner into a live-to-air series that will take over Network Ten's Big Brother timeslot later this year. Each 30-minute episode will screen...

Aunty's big sister.(PRODUCTION)(The Abbey, television program)(Brief article)
July 1, 2006... A series that acknowledges people's "spiritual thirst" is how director/producer Varcha Sidwell describes the ABC/Screen Tasmania co-production series The Abbey, which is set to go into production from August 29. The series has a budget of...

Independent drama.
July 1, 2006... Cannes was a bumper year for Aussies in 2006--not only the biggest attendance ever, with 280 delegates in various stages of readiness for project financing, but the 30th year of the AFC's presence in Cannes, marked by a cocktail function on...

Mermaids draw Gold Coast shift from Shiff: David Hull visits the Gold Coast set of H20: Just Add Water and finds a producer on the trail of expansion.(ON LOCATION)(Cover story)
July 1, 2006... Prolific children's television producer Jonathan M Shiff has had a lengthy association with his home town in Melbourne, to date having produced all of his trademark series there. However for his latest project, H20: Just Add Water, the producer...

Power of love an antidote to flawed 'code'.(ROUGH CUT)(The Da Vinci Code (book & movie))(Separate Lies)(An Incovenient Truth)(Adam's Apples)(Theater review)(Movie review)(Book review)
July 1, 2006... In Julian Fellowes' Separate Lies--from a (presumably) 1950s novel by Nigel Balchin--a modern morality play unfolds. What, the characters ask, do we owe the dead in a secular age? A vast enlargement of human sorrow if two of us go to gaol? How...

Film Aust sets 10-minute limit for zero-fee licenses: Film Australia's revised stock footage policy includes restrictions on the use of license fee-free material.(DOCUMENTARY)
July 1, 2006... Film Australia has revised the terms of its stock footage policy by placing a time limit on the amount of wholly owned Film Australia footage an independent documentary production can access without paying a license fee. From July 1, 2006,...

Gender imbalance at odds with reality.(LA INSIDER)
July 1, 2006... While most award organisers work hard to keep their honouree's from stealing the stage with their political messages, the Women in Film Awards also known as the Crystal and Lucy Awards encourage their recipients to 'call for action.' ...

AFI hosts 'thank you' drinks.(PEOPLE)
July 1, 2006... THE AUSTRALIAN FILM INSTITUTE HOSTED 'THANK YOU' DRINKS AT THE AFI OFFICE IN MELBOURNE ON FRIDAY JUNE 2. The purpose of the event was to thank Victorian Major Events Company (VMEC) and Buena Vista International (BVI) for all their support...

Indie exhib sector gathers in Sydney.(PEOPLE)
July 1, 2006... THE INDEPENDENT CINEMAS ASSOCIATION OF AUSTRALIA HELD ITS ANNUAL CONFERENCE IN SYDNEY FROM JUNE 5 TO 7. 1. Conference delegates included (l-r): Nielsen EDI's Emma Jukes; Lunar Drive In Cinema's co-owner Anthony Madigan; Atlab...

The top 10 cinematographers: a celebration of the industry's finest.(FEATURE)
July 1, 2006... The outstanding performance of Australian cinematographers on the world stage has long been a source of pride within the screen industry, while at the same time prompting us to wonder why it is that Aussies make such damn good artists with a...

Production report.
July 1, 2006... ENCORE's production report includes all known features and television drama and non-drama television programs which have a network presale. Projects in the planning stage appear once only and the listing ends when a project goes into post...

Cap'n Eddie seeks: Nine News evolution; Well connected industry columnist Harvey Shore keeps his ear close to the ground for the latest gossip doing the rounds at the major broadcasters.(HARVEY'S HEARSAY)
July 1, 2006... The Chinese character for 'crisis' can mean 'danger' or 'opportunity'. Eddie McGuire faced both meanings last month when he boldly made 100 of Nine's crew walk the plank. Newspapers said Nine had sailed into dangerous waters, faced death...