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Wizards From Oz: What’s Up With Aussie Actors’ Proliferation Of Pilot Season?

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Wednesday April 10, 2013 @ 3:24pm PDTTags: Australia, TV Pilots

Don Groves is a Deadline contributor based in Sydney

Yesterday, Deadline posted a Funny Or Die video made by American actor Brian Guest in response to the proliferation of Australian actors being cast in broadcast pilots this season. His “agent” tells him at one point in the video, “You’re doing great work, you’re just not Australian.” As Deadline’s Nellie Andreeva pointed out, this has been a sore topic for Hollywood talent agents and their American-born clients this season as the nets bet heavily on actors from Down Under. So what’s all the hubbub about?

At least 23 Aussies have been cast in pilots this season, an unprecedented number. Some are unfamiliar commodoties Stateside like Luke Mitchell, Bob Morley, Chris Egan, Lincoln Lewis, Rick Donald and Luke Bracey, who were all regulars on the Seven network’s long-running TV soap Home And Away. Others are established names like Miranda Otto, Jacki Weaver, Toni Collette, Melissa George, Rachael Taylor and Anthony LaPaglia.

One factor driving the upsurge is that U.S. producers are tapping Australian-based casting agents to source talent. Kirsty McGregor, hired this year by 20th Century Fox TV to work on all its drama pilots, was instrumental in casting Donald in Fox’s CBS comedy pilot Friends With Better Lives. Another is the growing trend of Aussies to submit audition tapes online without the need to go to Los Angeles to try out in person. “Technology allows Australian actors to self-test and be seen by American casting directors with little time delay, so they can be considered for projects whilst often being in Australia or another country,” says Morrissey and Associates’ Mark Morrissey, whose clients include Bracey, Lewis, Morley and film actors Jai Courtney and Chris and Liam Hemsworth. READ MORE »

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Oz Government Gives Disney $22.5M To Lure ’20,000 Leagues’ Shoot To Australia

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday April 2, 2013 @ 2:38am PDTTags: 20000 Leagues Under the Sea, Australia, Disney

In the largest inducement it’s ever offered to a Hollywood production, the Australian government has confirmed it will give Disney a one-off payment of $22.5M to shoot 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea: Captain Nemo in … Read More »

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Global Showbiz Briefs: Bollywood Star Prison Term; Stone Roses Documentary; Greg Dyke & English Soccer; Oz Media Reforms; ‘Jews In Egypt’

By NANCY TARTAGLIONE, International Editor | Thursday March 21, 2013 @ 10:26pm PDTTags: 'Jews Of Egypt', Australia, Football Association, Greg Dyke, Sanjay Dutt, Stone Roses

Bollywood Actor Ordered To Prison For Role In Mumbai Attacks
India’s Supreme Court has ruled that Bollywood actor Sanjay Dutt must return to prison for his connection with the 1993 Mumbai blasts. The actor has been on bail since 2007 when he appealed his sentence of 6 years. Today the Supreme Court reduced it to 5 years. Dutt was convicted in 2006 of buying weapons from bombers who attacked Mumbai. He spent 20 months in jail. The serial bombings killed 257 people and wounded 713 others. The actor and producer has figured in some of the biggest Hindi-language films of the past three decades and the sentence comes as there are reportedly anywhere from $37M-$65M at stake on projects in which he is involved. Among them are understood to be Peekay, Policegiri, Ungli, Zanjeer – a remake of the 1970s blockbuster that starred Amitabh Bachchan — and the latest in the popular Munnabhai crime caper franchise, although some are said to be near completion. Dutt is best known for playing gangsters, thugs and police officers in action movies. He was also the host of the fifth season of Bigg Boss, the Indian version of Big Brother, in 2011. He has 3½ years remaining to serve on today’s sentence and four weeks to surrender. He is expected to file to have the verdict reviewed. Read More »

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Australian Government Finds An Extra $20M To Attract Offshore Production

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Wednesday March 13, 2013 @ 1:42am PDTTags: Australia, Simon Crean

Don Groves is a Deadline contributor based in Sydney.

Unveiling the government’s National Cultural Policy on Wednesday, Oz arts minister Simon Crean disappointed the industry with the news that Australia will not be raising its location rebate from 16.5% to 30% for foreign films wanting to shoot locally. However, he did announce one measure which was unexpected: new funding of $A20M ($20.6M), which will be used to attract productions to Australia. Crean said the new money is separate from ongoing negotiations with the Disney to persuade the studio to shoot David Fincher’s 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea: Captain Nemo Down Under. Last month, Crean said the government would give Disney $12.2M as a one-off payment that would boost its rebate to 30%. Disney has signaled it needs the support of the Queensland and New South Wales governments before committing to shoot in Oz. Last year the government gave Fox $12.8M to secure The Wolverine for Sydney’s Fox Studios. Crean said the $20M in new funding is a precursor to raising the location rebate “should the (local) dollar remain high” but did not specify when that would happen, evidently because he hasn’t yet secured the approval of the Treasury. Read More »

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‘King’s Speech’ Producers & Sunstar To Film Man’s Quest To Find His Mother

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Wednesday February 6, 2013 @ 9:30pm PSTTags: Australia

Don Groves is a Deadline contributor based in Sydney.

Indian-born Saroo Brierley spent 25 years searching for his birth mother, from whom he was separated at age 5. He found her last year and has penned an autobiography to … Read More »

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Aussie Producer Options U.S. Author Jessica Brody’s ‘The Fidelity Files’

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday January 7, 2013 @ 10:49am PSTTags: Australia

Don Groves is a Deadline contributor based in Sydney

EXCLUSIVE: Neophyte Australian producer Bella Le spotted The Fidelity Files in a bookshop during the Melbourne International Festival and closed a deal late last week for the book and its … Read More »

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Spate Of U.S. Remake Deals Leaves Oz Producers Mulling Future Of TV Format Sales

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Wednesday December 12, 2012 @ 3:22am PSTTags: Australia, Big Deals TV, Comedy Central, NBC, The Slap

Don Groves is a Deadline contributor based in Sydney

A significant group of Australian TV dramas and comedies, plus the film Animal Kingdom, have been the subject of U.S. remake deals in the past year. There are more in the offing and the growing trend has Oz producers considering strategies for the future of format sales. “Format deals deliver longer term, and less certain returns,” notes Nicky Davies Williams, CEO of DCD Rights, which handled global sales of The Slap, an Oz drama that NBC is prepping for an eight-episode limited series. Producers usually can’t sell remake rights up front because they need the higher license fees from local and international broadcasters to finance their productions. “You hope that everything you do is remakeable, but ultimately what you’re aiming for is that the original version gets screened in other territories,” says Matchbox Pictures’ Tony Ayres who’ll be an exec producer on the remade Slap. The original was an award-winning success at home in 2011 and also went out in such territories as the U.S., the UK and Israel. Read More »

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Australian Producers Angry Over New Broadcast Content Quota

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Friday November 30, 2012 @ 1:08am PSTTags: Australia

Don Groves is a Deadline contributor based in Sydney

Australia’s free-to-air TV networks will get a permanent 50% reduction in the license fees they pay to the government in return for a local content quota imposed on their multi-channels. While that may be welcome news for broadcasters, Australian producers have reacted angrily to today’s announcement. “There is little incentive to encourage new Australian content on the multi-channels under the new rules…which fail to address the increasing amount of foreign content on our screens,” says Screen Producers Association of Australia executive director Mathew Deaner. Deaner contends the networks can now meet their obligations by showing repeated Australian content on their multi-channels and that there is no imperative to create new Australian content. Read More »

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Australian Government Stalls On Increasing Film Location Rebate And TV Offset

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Thursday November 15, 2012 @ 2:17am PSTTags: Australia

Don Groves is a Deadline contributor based in Sydney

Australia’s Arts Minister Simon Crean hoped to curry favor with screen producers when he announced a new $A20M ($20.7M) interactive games fund to support global development over the next three years. But attendees at the annual Screen Producers Association of Australia conference were disappointed that Crean gave no commitment to raise the location incentive for big budget film and TV productions from 16.5% to 30%. That’s despite his comment earlier this week that he’d look at hiking the rebate. Execs at major Oz studios including Fox Australia recently warned that Oz won’t attract large-scale international productions unless the credit is lifted to 30%. Crean acknowledged the Oz dollar has appreciated against the greenback by 60% in the past four years but said, “We’re not in a position to change the location offset just yet.” The government is reviewing the incentive as part of a new national cultural policy. Read More »

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VOD Vs. DVD Battle Goes Day-And-Date In Australia

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday September 4, 2012 @ 1:15am PDTTags: Australia, Big Deals Film, Men In Black 3, Sony Pictures Entertainment

Don Groves is a Deadline contributor based in Sydney

September marks a new watershed in the fight for home entertainment dollars in Oz. Nearly every Hollywood film, including new releases The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, Men In Black 3 and The Five-Year Engagement, and most indie titles, will be available simultaneously on VOD and DVD. The collapsing of windows has been driven by the U.S. majors looking to boost VOD revenues to help compensate for the contracting DVD business. The strategy has been welcomed by Oz’s many VOD services who say it’s resulting in a lift in buy-rates. Brendon Moo, general manager of Foxtel On Demand and Pay Per View, says subscribers per capita buy four times as many movies as those who subscribe to Britain’s BSkyB.

The gap between DVD and VOD releases was originally 90 days. In the past few years that was shortened to 60 days and progressively to 45 and 30; now it’s zero except for independent distributors like Anchor Bay and Eagle Entertainment. The first simultaneous DVD/VOD release was The Curious Case Of Benjamin Button in 2010. Sony Pictures began releasing its films day-and-date earlier this year and Tim Harris, director digital & acquisitions, says, “We expect revenue to grow as the consumer embraces the convenience and quality of the format.” Home entertainment retailers are keen Read More »

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Frank Cox Exits Hopscotch/Entertainment One

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday September 3, 2012 @ 4:52pm PDTTags: Australia, Entertainment One

Don Groves is a Deadline contributor based in Sydney

Nearly 18 months after selling the Australian distribution company he co-founded to Entertainment One for more than $A20 million ($20.5 million) Frank Cox has stepped down as president of Hopscotch/Entertainment One. Cox leaves on a high as Hopscotch/eOne’s Australian hit The Sapphires has raked in nearly $10 million after its fourth weekend in Oz and seems headed for $15 million-plus. Hopscotch/eOne will continue under managing director Troy Lum and marketing and acquisition director Sandie Don, who co-founded Hopscotch Films with Cox in 2002. A 33-year veteran of the distribution business, Cox launched New Vision Films in 1983 and its library was later folded into Hopscotch. Cox said his decision to leave is “bittersweet”, adding, “I’m very proud of the Hopscotch team and grateful for the truly amazing work they’ve done to attract and showcase Australian talent over the past 10 years”. Read More »

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Bullish Outlook For Entertainment And Media In Australia As IPTV Takes Off

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Monday July 30, 2012 @ 1:41pm PDTTags: Australia

Don Groves is a Deadline contributor based in Sydney.

Australian entertainment and media revenues will grow by 22% during the next five years, fractionally ahead of the U.S., UK, France, Germany and Japan which will see a 21% rise. But overall, today’s PwC Entertainment and Media Outlook 2011-2015 finds the Asia-Pacific group of economies, which includes Australia, are projected to leap by 38.6%. “If we are to draw any conclusions from this it is that Australian entertainment and media companies are slow to leverage our geographic advantages,” says David Wiadrowski, PwC head of technology, information, communications and entertainment. “Consumer spending on entertainment and media products and services will reach $248B by 2015 in the Asia-Pacific region. It is time for Australian businesses to think about how best to share in the boom taking place on our doorstep.” PwC forecasts Australian entertainment and media revenues will hit $37.2B by 2015, averaging an annual compoundgr owth rate of 4.1%, despite continuing declines in print circulation and advertising. Total Australian entertainment and media spending grew by 6.5% in 2010, faster than the global average of 5.3% and significantly higher than 2009’s 1.3%. The report suggests Foxtel’s stranglehold on the subscription TV market could be threatened by the rapid expansion of IPTV subscription services, which it predicts will achieve a market share of 27% of homes by 2017, close to the current 30% penetration of pay TV. Read More »

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Agencies Get Leg Up On Talent Down Under As Oz Wave Builds

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Friday June 15, 2012 @ 11:21am PDTTags: Animal Kingdom, Australia, Chris Hemsworth, Snowtown

Freelance journalist Don Groves is a Deadline contributor based in Sydney

Australian Actors AgentsThere’s a record number of Aussie actors and directors toiling in Hollywood — and more on deck. One of the reasons: US and Oz agents are networking more … Read More »

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Lachlan Murdoch Accused Of Possible Breach Of Oz Broadcasting Laws

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday May 15, 2012 @ 5:50pm PDTTags: Australia, Lachlan Murdoch

Freelance journalist Don Groves is a Deadline contributor, based in Sydney.

Another day, another media controversy for the Murdoch clan. Rupert Murdoch’s eldest son Lachlan has been accused of a possible breach of Australian broadcasting laws. Avaaz, a New York-based global campaign organization that boasts more than 14 million members, today called on the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA) to launch an investigation into Lachlan’s Australian media holdings. Avaaz claims more than 300,000 members in Australia. It wants ACMA to determine whether the Murdoch scion is in a position to  exercise control of News Corp.’s Australian arm News Limited,  as he is a director of News Corp. The group contends that it would create an “unacceptable three way control situation” in breach of the Broadcasting Services Act 1992, which forbids anyone from controlling a commercial radio licence, a commercial TV licence, and a newspaper  in the same licence area (in this case, Sydney). Murdoch is the chairman and a major shareholder in Network Ten and in the DMG Radio Australia network. News Limited controls 70% of Australia’s newspapers including the Sydney Daily Telegraph and the national broadsheet The Australian and owns 25% of the dominant pay-TV provider Foxtel.
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Australian Federal Budget Is Good To TV, Leaves Film At Status Quo

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Wednesday May 9, 2012 @ 3:16am PDTTags: Australia, The Wolverine

Freelance journalist Don Groves is a Deadline contributor, based in Sydney.

Australia’s free-to-air commercial broadcasters and the Special Broadcasting Service were among the few entertainment sector winners in the government’s budget delivered Tuesday night. Film producers hoping for a hike in federal funding and an increased tax credit scheme, however, were left empty-handed. The budget did confirm the $A12.8M grant to persuade the producers of 20th Century Fox’s The Wolverine, starring Hugh Jackman, to shoot at the Fox Studios in Sydney. That’s on top of the 16.5% refundable tax offset for the production of big‑budget international films. But, Screen Producers Association of Australia president  Brian Rosen argues the offset must be raised  to 30% if “Australia is to be competitive with other jurisdictions.” Read More »

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‘Wolverine’ Lured To Australia By $12.8M

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Sunday April 22, 2012 @ 4:55pm PDTTags: Australia, The Wolverine

Fox’s X-Men spinoff The Wolverine will be shooting in Sydney come August instead of Japan or Canada, industry trade site IF.com reports. Thanks to a $12.8 million Australian government payment and other incentives, location offset and payroll tax relief helped … Read More »

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Cinedigm Seals Digital Cinema Deal For Australia, New Zealand

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday January 17, 2012 @ 10:42am PSTTags: Australia, Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp, New Zealand

Woodland Hills, CA, January 17, 2012 Cinedigm Digital Cinema Corp. (NASDAQ: CIDM) and ICAA, the Independent Cinemas Association of Australia, jointly announced today an agreement for Cinedigm to become the digital cinema integrator for independent cinemas in Australia and New Zealand.

ICAA signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Cinedigm to provide Virtual Print Fee (“VPF”) Contracts, VPF Administration, Theatre Management Systems (TMS) and other support resources, as well as assist ICAA and its members with the deployment of digital systems and service and compliance support services. ICAA will take on a number of local functions as regards the coordination of deployment and service, working with local installers and technical personnel. The arrangement is subject to the negotiation and execution of a definitive agreement between Cinedigm and ICAA and its members.

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Brad Pitt Gives Acting Career 3 More Years

By THE DEADLINE TEAM | Tuesday November 15, 2011 @ 12:23am PSTTags: 60 Minutes, Australia, Brad Pitt, Moneyball, World War Z

Brad Pitt dropped a bombshell in a Tokyo interview for the Australian 60 Minutes. When interviewer Tara Brown asked the 47-year-old, “How much longer would you like to do your business for?” Pitt answered, “Three years.” She followed up with “Three … Read More »

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‘Thor’ Or ‘Fast Five’ #1 In Foreign Markets While Studios Wage Global War Of Words

By NIKKI FINKE, Editor in Chief | Sunday May 1, 2011 @ 2:29pm PDTTags: Australia, Disney, International Box Office, Marvel Entertainment, Paramount, Thor, Universal Pictures

I’ve had a front-row seat on a fascinating drama unfolding behind the international grosses for Universal’s Fast Five and Paramount’s distribution of Marvel /Disney’s Thor over the past 10 days. This weekend they went head to head in more than a dozen countries. The feud started because of Paramount’s decision to move onto Fast Five‘s Easter weekend Down Under. That created ill will, so Universal has been crowing about how much its street racing fivequel has been beating the Norse god pic overseas. Now Thor insiders are nervous that the lopsided victory of Fast Five internationally will hurt the Disney/Marvel’s domestic box office when it opens in the U.S. and Canada this coming Friday. Rarely have I seen studios bicker back and forth about box office as intensely as during this matchup. Especially when Paramount is only distributing Thor for its standard fee from Marvel. But it’s all about market share and just plain pride. Universal has been hit starved in the live action arena for so long that it’s releasing foreign numbers almost hour by hour, to the great consternation of Paramount which is pointing out that sequels always do better overseas. Paramount also is claiming that this may be Universal’s only really big hit of the summer. Strange thing to say, since Paramount is distributing foreign for DreamWorks/Universal’s Cowboys & Aliens. But, hey, all is fair in love and war and grosses, and I’m enjoying the heck out of this box office throwdown.

Universal preened about Fast Five results in Russia (where FF 68% ahead of Thor), Germany (FF 86% ahead of Thor), Spain (FF 30% ahead of Thor), Austria (FF 202% ahead of Thor), Switzerland (German-speaking area), Lithuania, Romania, Slovenia, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Turkey, and Korea. But Paramount boasted that Thor recorded the highest opening weekend gross at the international box office this year and had big No. 1 openings this weekend in the UK, Ireland, France, Korea, New Zealand, Mexico, and Italy. Read More »

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