Author: Meg Kennedy

Christmas comes early as Blade Runner 2049 releases its first teaser trailer

Just in time for the holidays, the announcement trailer for the sequel of the 1982 classic Blade Runner has been released. Titled Blade Runner 2049, the next installment is set 30 years after the original film and will see Harrison Ford reprise one of his defying roles as Rick Decard, with Ryan Gosling join the series as a police officer…

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Justice for Down Under: Aquaman to be filmed in Australia in 2017

Following the ever-expanding DC Extended Universe, the feature film debut of Aquaman, starring Jason Momoa (Game of Thrones, Stargate: Atlantis) is set to be directed by our own James Wan (The Conjuring, Saw, Furious 7) and will be filmed on the Gold Coast. AusFilm reports Aquaman will be filmed at the Village Roadshow Studios during the first…

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Patty Walters of As It Is (UK) talks Okay, forming an identity, and the healing power of music

It’s 10pm in the UK when Patty Walters beamingly greets me on the phone, explaining he’s running on caffeine for a night of press. After cultivating a successful YouTube following by posting covers of emo heavyweights including Fall Out Boy and My Chemical Romance, Walters formed the pop-punk As It Is in 2012. We chatted…

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Monster Fest announces 2017 dates after successful run in Melbourne

After a *monster* year for Australia’s genre film festival Monster Fest, the event is slated to make a bigger and better return to Melbourne next year, making all your gory, scary and eye-opening dreams come true. The festival is to be held on November 22-26, 2017, with the return of The Swinburne University Media and Communication Monster Academy,…

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New ABC iview dramedy series F*cking Adelaide begins shooting

F*cking Adelaide, a new comedy-drama web series by Closer Productions (52 Tuesdays) has commenced shooting in – no surprises here – Adelaide. Starring Australian TV icons including Wentworth star Pamela Rabe, Tilda Cobham-Hervey (The Kettering Incident) and Kate Box (Rake), each episode will look through the eyes of one of three sisters, who reunite to learn their childhood…

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Hacksaw Ridge and Rake among first winners of 6th AACTA Awards

Although the 6th Annual AACTA Awards are to be held on Wednesday, a special luncheon yesterday saw 30 categories release their winners. Mel Gibson‘s acclaimed war biopic Hacksaw Ridge, has 13 nominations across the awards, including Best Film and Best Director, and yesterday took home four: Best Editing, Best Production Design, Best Cinematography and Best…

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West-end star Kit Esuruoso cast as lead in Australian feature film Akoni

From the stage to the screen, Britsh West-End star Kit Esurusoco (Show Boat) is about to debut in the new Australian film Akoni, to be released in next year. Directed by and co-starring Genna Chanelle Hayes (Rake, Wurinyan), Akoni follows the story of a Nigerian refugee who finds his way to Australian shores after a terrorist…

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Denzel Washington’s moving new film Fences gets a trailer

Denzel Washington‘s film adaptation of the critically acclaimed play  Fences, in which he directed, produced and stars, alongside Viola Davis (The Help, Suicide Squad) has just been released. Washington and Davis reprise their Tony Award-winning roles as Troy and Rose, a married couple who face personal and societal struggles in a lower-middle-class black section of Pittsburgh during…

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This changes everything: Netflix now allows you to download anything to watch at anytime

In HUGE news this morning, Netflix has released a download feature that allows you to watch content without internet access. This means catching up with all new Gilmore Girls, rewatching Stranger Things for the millionth time and crying in Orange Is The New Black to your heart’s content. There’s now a Download button on the information page for all…

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TV Review: The Crown delivers what is currently missing from drama in television

It almost seems uncanny that Netflix‘s new royal drama, The Crown, would be released the same time that the drama in the US had been at its peak – and it has absolutely paid off. As I’m sure for many viewers, this series came as a well-received break from the real life drama unfolding on our…

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Interview: YouTube stars Joe Sugg and Caspar Lee talk returning to Australia, live show antics & the impact of YouTube

For Joe Sugg and Caspar Lee, travelling from country to country has become a full-time expedition. The YouTube stars have amassed over 14 million subscribers over the past few years, both beginning YouTube from 20 and 19-years-old. Since then, the boys have become synonymous with popular pranks and funny antics online, and are about to release…

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Dare to feast your eyes on the first look of Netflix’s A Series of Unfortunate Events

The dreadful tale of the Baudelaire children is about to come to life again, this time on the small screen in Netflix‘s Lemony Snicket’s: A Series of Unfortunate Events in 2017. A first look trailer was released earlier today, giving us our first look at Neil Patrick Harris as Count Olaf, who is giving off a MAJOR creep factor vibe….

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Christmas is about to get lit in the new Office Christmas Party trailer

The wildest workplace mixer of the year is about to hit cinemas with the release of Office Christmas Party, featuring an ensemble cast including Jason Bateman, T.J Miller, Kate McKinnon, Jennifer Aniston and Courtney B. Vance, with the release of the official trailer earlier today. From the team behind Blades of Glory and The Switch, Office Christmas Party…

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The official Wonder Woman trailer has been released and it is everything you’ve dreamed of

In the early hours of the morning we woke to the official trailer for next year’s highly anticipated Wonder Woman, and oh boy, is it good. Following the Comic-Con trailer released in July, the new trailer features more of the beautiful island paradise of the Amazon’s home of Themyscira, Steve Trevor and Diana being badasses…

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First Impressions: The Crown (US/UK, 2016) is a captivating look behind the royal curtain

As the most expensive series ever produced, Netflix was sure to have the formula to successful television down pat. With the long-awaited arrival of new royal drama The Crown, created by Peter Morgan (The Queen, Frost/Nixon), this venture has certainly  paid off and done so in sophisticated style. The Crown follows the journey a young and newly…

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Wonder Woman’s 75th anniversary and UN designation to be celebrated with livestream

In case you haven’t heard, the 75th Anniversary of your girl Diana Prince was welcomed with her recent designation as the UN honorary ambassador for the Empowerment of Women and Girls. In celebration of this milestone, Warner Bros. Pictures and DC Comics will give fans a chance to view the UN Ceremony in New York  via…

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Actor and musician J.R. Reyne talks about his role in Channel 7’s new drama The Secret Daughter

Channel 7 brought the goods last Tuesday night, as their Melbourne Docklands studio hosted a late afternoon of food and entertainment. With delicious goods provided by My Kitchen Rules 2016 winners Tasia and Gracia, live music was provided by current X Factor: The Next Generation contestants, brother and sister talent the Brentwood Duo and Timmy…

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Your wildest pop culture dreams are coming true at the Sydney Opera House with Bingefest

The Internet is coming this December. From Harambe (RIP), Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Shia LaBeouf‘s weird but strangely addictive performance art, the Opera House will launch its inaugural BINGEFEST – a place for all meme-lovers, cat video addicts, and binge-watchers alike to celebrate the pop culture world we live in. The two-day event will feature The Internet…

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Pacific Rim: Maelstrom will begin filming in Australia next month

Whether you love it or hate it, 2013’s  Pacific Rim was an absolute spectacle. In news released earlier this week, the sequel to Guillermo del Toro‘s box office hit, entitled Pacific Rim: Maelstrom, will begin shooting at Fox Studios Sydney and later in Queensland by November. Maelstrom will see Star Wars: The Force Awakens breakout star John…

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It’s Finn-ished: Adventure Time to come to an end in 2018

Prepare to say goodbye to the Land of Ooo and all it’s inhabitants – in case you haven’t heard, sad news has emerged over the weekend that beloved cartoon and pop-culture phenomenon Adventure Time will be coming to an end in the near future. Cartoon Network announced Adventure Time will air it’s final season in…

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Live Review: City Calm Down + Middle Kids + Ali Barter – 170 Russell (28.09.16)

Supporting last year’s extremely successful debut LP In A Restless House, City Calm Down seem more at home than ever. Straight off the line up from Splendour in the Grass, the electronic-rock band excitably rounded out their month of touring with a string of homegrown gigs at Melbourne’s own 170 Russell. Although a gradual crowd welcomed City Calm…

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Photography adventure series Tales By Light to return for season 2

Canon Australia and National Geographic‘s partnership photography  docu-series, Tales By Light, will return for Season 2 in next month. A locally developed series, Tales By Light follows four master photographers as they travel around the world, and focuses on some of the humanitarian and moral dilemmas when faced with issues affecting communities from around the globe….

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First look sees Natalie Portman shine as Jackie Kennedy in upcoming biopic

After premiering at this year’s Venice Film Festival, the first look at Jackie, starring Academy Award winner Natalie Portman as the widowed first lady is mesmerizing. Directed by Chilean filmmaker Pablo Larraín (Nasty Baby), the biopic follows both the public and private struggles Kennedy faces in the immediate aftermath of John F. Kennedy’s assassination. The film…

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Dates and locations revealed for Australia’s 15th Annual German Film Festival

Guten Tag! The 15th German Film Festival will be returning to Australia this November, featuring  the most celebrated new and old German films. The opening and closing films will be some of the highlights of the festival, including Goodbye Berlin, the latest film by acclaimed director Fatih Akin (Soul Kitchen), and the recently restored silent film classic Variete (1925)….

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Veteran Director Ted Kotcheff to present masterclass at Melbourne’s 2016 Monster Fest

Ted Kotcheff, director of the Australian classic thriller Wake In Fright (also known as Outback), will be one of the special guests at this year’s Monster Fest in November. Kotcheff will also be a keynote speaker at a three hour masterclass for the Swinburne University Media and Communication Monster Academy, discussing his films including First Blood and Weekend at…

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Disney calls on the musical talents of Alicia Keys for upcoming film Queen of Katwa

Disney‘s new release Queen of Katwa, starring Academy Award winner Lupita Nyong’o and David Oyelowo , has partnered with 15-time Grammy Award winner Alicia Keys, debuting the original song “Back to Life’”. Keys explains “Back to Life” is “about pushing past that little voice of doubt in our heads so we can instead, electrify the world. When…

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TOFF, Australia’s leading deaf and disability film festival, to return to Melbourne in September

The Other Film Festival (TOFF), Australia’s leading deaf and disability film festival, will return next month to Melbourne. Running as part of the Melbourne Fringe Festival with Arts Access Victoria, the festival aims to shed a light on the creativity and diverse storytelling from disabled or deaf creators, including a talk with deaf US filmmaker Jules Dameron…

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Japanese Film Festival announces 2016 dates and program highlights

The 20th Japanese Film Festival will return nationwide later this year, showcasing the latest in Japanese film, alongside a Classics program in Sydney. Highlights include leading Japanese horror director Kiyoshi Kurosawa‘s (Cure) new film Creepy, as well as popular manga adaptation Chihayafura Parts I and II, and seafood documentary Tsukiji Wonderland. The festival will also include a…

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ABC3 to be re-branded as ABC ME in September

Australia’s only free-to-air children’s channel and otherwise guilty pleasure for Degrassi reruns, ABC3, will become ABC ME on September 19. ABC ME will feature an accompanying digital app, and debut new shows including weekly pop culture review show News to Me, sci-fi action animation series Prisoner Zero and short-form documentary series This Is Me. The channel,…

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To see or not to see? Hamlet to show encore screenings in September

National Theatre Live‘s London performance of Hamlet, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, will return to the big screen across Australia in September. Originally recorded in 2015, the Shakespearian classic will show in cinemas for a limited time only. The production was directed by Lyndsey Turner (Posh, Chimerica) and produced by Sonia Friedman Productions. The production also stars  Barry…

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