Haven't we all at some point in time fantasized about stepping through a cinema/TV screen and into the world of our favourite movies and television shows? I certainly have!

With its modern, urban setting and stunning harbour, it is easy to see why Sydney leads the way as an ideal and versatile shooting destination. Movies shot here have been set in New York (Godzilla: Final Wars, Kangaroo Jack), Chicago (The Matrix and sequels), London (Birthday Girl), Seville (Mission Impossible 2), Bombay (Holy Smoke), Darwin (Australia), Myanmar (Stealth), Mars (Red Planet) and the fictitious city of Metropolis (Superman Returns, Babe: Pig in the City).

Whether popular landmarks or off the beaten track locations that are often hard to find, you can now explore Sydney in a fun and unique way with the SYDNEY ON SCREEN walking guides. Catering to Sydneysiders as much as visitors, the guides have something to offer everyone, from history, architecture and movie buffs to nature lovers.

See where productions such as Superman Returns, The Matrix and sequels, X-Men Origins: Wolverine, Candy, Mission Impossible 2, Mao's Last Dancer, Babe: Pig in the City, Kangaroo Jack, The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, Muriel's Wedding, The Bold and the Beautiful, Oprah's Ultimate Australian Adventure and many more were filmed.

Maps and up-to-date information on Sydney's attractions are provided to help you plan your walk. Pick and choose from the suggested itinerary to see as little or as much of the city as you like.

So, come and discover the landscapes and locations that draw filmmakers to magical Sydney, and walk in the footsteps of the stars!

A GREAT ALTERNATIVE TO EXPENSIVE TOURS, YOU CAN NOW ENJOY EXPLORING SYDNEY FOR UNDER $10 WITH THE SYDNEY ON SCREEN WALKING GUIDES. FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT US AT SYDNEYONSCREEN@HOTMAIL.COM

Subscribe to the blog and keep up with all the latest Aussie film and entertainment news. Read about what the stars are up to, who's in town, what movies are currently filming or being promoted. Locate us on Facebook at www.facebook.com/sydneyonscreen and "like" our page!

Sydney on Screen walking guides now on sale!

Click on the picture above to see a preview of all four walking guides and on the picture below to see larger stills of Sydney movie and television locations featured in the slideshow!

Copyright © 2011 by Luke Brighty / Unless otherwise specified, all photographs on this blog copyright © 2011 by Luke Brighty


Sydney on Screen guides are now available for purchase at the following outlets:

Travel Concierge, Sydney International Airport, Terminal 1 Arrivals Hall (between gates A/B and C/D), Mascot - Ph: 1300 40 20 60

The Museum of Sydney shop, corner of Bridge & Phillip Streets, Sydney - Ph: (02) 9251 4678

The Justice & Police Museum shop, corner of Albert & Phillip Streets, Sydney - Ph: (02) 9252 1144

The Mint shop, 10 Macquarie Street, Sydney - Ph: (02) 8239 2416

Hyde Park Barracks shop, Queen Square, Sydney - Ph: (02) 8239 2311

Travel Up! (travel counter) c/o Wake Up Sydney Central, 509 Pitt Street, Sydney - Ph (02) 9288 7888

The Shangri-La Hotel (concierge desk), 176 Cumberland Street, The Rocks, Sydney - Ph: (02) 9250 6018

The Sebel Pier One (concierge desk), 11 Hickson Road, Walsh Bay, Sydney - Ph: (02) 8298 9901

The Radisson Plaza Hotel Sydney (concierge desk), 27 O'Connell Street, Sydney - Ph: (02) 8214 0000

The Sydney Marriott Circular Quay (concierge desk), 30 Pitt Street, Sydney - Ph: (02) 9259 7000

Boobook on Owen, 1/68 Owen Street, Huskisson - Ph: (02) 4441 8585


NSW, interstate and international customers can order copies of Sydney on Screen using PayPal. Contact us at sydneyonscreen@hotmail.com to inquire about cost and shipping fees.


All four volumes of Sydney on Screen are available to download onto your PC or Kindle at:
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Rachel Griffiths lands lead role in Paper Giants sequel, Magazine Wars

griffiths
Rachel Griffiths stars in the new series of Paper Giants. Picture: AP Source: news.com.au


News.com.au reports

Oscar-nominee and Golden Globe winner Rachel Griffiths will front the highly-anticipated sequel to ABC mini-series, Paper Giants.

Griffiths will be joined by Mandy McElhinney, who viewers will know as "Rhonda" from AAMI's Safe Driver rewards commercials as well as Rob Carlton who will reprise his role as the media mogul Kerry Packer in the latest installment, Magazine Wars.

Set in 1987, the follow-up series tells the story of Nene King and Dulcie Boling, who started a circulation war that totally rewrote the rules of journalism in Australia.

Their rivalry transformed publishing and "created a monster" - paving the way for a potent magazine mix of celebrities, gossip, clairvoyants, paparazzi which gave rise to chequebook journalism in Australia.

Griffiths (Brothers & Sisters, Six Feet Under) plays Boling, the regal New Idea editor who broke the glass ceiling in Rupert Murdoch's corporate empire, while McElhinney (Howzat: Kerry Packer’s War, At Home With Julia) plays Nene King, the fiery former deputy who fought her own personal demons to take Woman's Day to the top.

Griffiths returned home with her husband and three young children after Brothers & Sisters was canned in the US.

Producer, Mimi Butler of Southern Star said, “We're very excited to have Rachel and Mandy playing these formidable women, Dulcie Boling and Nene King. It's been a dream story to work on, the drama's all there - it's quite Shakespearian. Set in the kingdoms of Packer and Murdoch; there's rivalry and rebellion, love and tragedy, and great victories along the way - all taking place amid the decadence and rock and roll of the 80s and 90s.”

The series goes into production on goes into production in Melbourne on Monday August 13.

The Circle hosts speak out about axing of the show

The Circle
Yumi Stynes, former host Chrissie Swan, Gorgi Coghlan have spoken of their sadness at The Circle being axed. Picture: Network Ten


Alice Coster, Emily Portelli and Christopher Gillett, The Herald Sun, report

The hosts from axed chat show The Circle have spoken out about their sadness with the demise of the Logie-winning program.

Co-host Gorgi Coghlan told viewers it was a day of “mixed emotions” .

“We’re obviously very sad, if you haven’t heard the news, The Circle is finishing at the end of the week,” Coghlan said.

“We have all felt, every member of the team here at The Circle , extremely privileged to do this show for the past two-and-a-half years and to have changed a lot of lives in a positive way.”

Yumi Stynes, the other co-host on the show who came under fire when she made demeaning comments in February about SAS Cpl Roberts-Smith, joked about coincidences.

“On Sunday, I was looking for income protection insurance and then on Monday I got told I don’t have a job,” Stynes said.

 “The unfortunate thing is I didn’t end up buying the income protection insurance.”

The Circle cast and about 25 staff were told yesterday the show had been axed and the final episode would be shown on Friday.

Former host, Chrissie Swan, who departed from the show in December last year also said she felt incredibly sad about The Circle being axed.

The mother-of-two told her Mix FM listeners this morning, she thought the Channel 10 show would air forever.

"It's really sad news for me,’’ Swan said. "Obviously it's where I had my break on television. I did two beautiful years on there which I enjoyed every second of.

"The Circle was incredibly special and really beautiful. And I for one, thought it would always be there.

"I would pop back into The Circle office now and then and everything was exactly as I left it. I just liked knowing that was going on in the Como building.

"So on a personal note, it's really sad that it's finished but let's just appreciate it for what it was; which was an incredible, beautiful, funny, warm TV show that did a whole lot of good."

Channel Ten yesterday told cast and about 25 staff the show would be axed and the final episode would be shown on Friday.

"The saddest thing is there's about 25 or 30 people that work behind the scenes ... they are the most warm, funny, beautiful people, and super hard-working,’’ Swan said.

"The Circle looked effortless and that was because of all the amazing people and Pam Barnes, the EP who was incredible. I just feel really sad for them.’’

Herald Sun columnist and regular Circle guest Mia Freedman said it was disappointing the female-centric show was canned.

“I think that the more female voices that are out there in the media, the better,” Freedman said.

Swan was recently announced as Ian "Dicko" Dickson’s replacement to front Channel Ten’s topical panel show Can of Worms.

Ten said it would be looking for other opportunities within the network for co-host Coghlan, while Stynes will finish with Ten after Friday's show.

Hugh Jackman 'pumped' on day one of Wolverine filming

Hugh Jackman
Gym sesh: Hugh Jackman in Bondi before the filming of The Wolverine starts. Picture: John Grainger Source: Supplied


News.com.au reports

Hugh Jackman is feeling "so pumped" on the first day of shooting the new Wolverine film.

The Aussie actor informed his Twitter followers late yesterday that filming for The Wolverine has kicked off in Sydney.

"we're on day 1 of shooting…..wolverine is back…feel so pumped about this one……never felt so ready!!!! will keep y'all posted!!! (sic)," he shared on the social networking site.

Jackman is reprising his role as the iconic Marvel comic superhero for the upcoming sequel to 2009's much-loved X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

The 43-year-old star is famed for his muscular physique and trains hard to bulk up to portray the mutant with enhanced physical capabilities.

He shared his new diet on his Twitter page - posting a picture of green beans and plain cooked chicken.

"and you know what that means.... the wolverine diet!! this was meal 2 at 9am this morning (sic)," he wrote.

Hugh is on a mission to look even bigger than he did in 2009’s X-Men Origins: Wolverine this time round. He has been eating 6,000 calories a day after he was asked to bulk up for the role.



The Wolverine
Production got underway for The Wolverine starring Hugh Jackman at Kurnell on the shores of Botany Bay yesterday. Picture: Adam Taylor Source: Supplied

Neighbours star Dean Geyer joins Glee

<i>Neighbours</i> star Dean Geyer joins <i>Glee</i>
Glee guy-er: Dean's big all-singing, all-dancing role.



Adam Bub, The Fix, reports

Former Neighbours heart-throb and Australian Idol finalist Dean Geyer has scored his big break in Hollywood with a role in season four of Glee.

The 26-year-old South African-born actor-singer will play Brody Weston, "a handsome upperclassman" who shows an interest in Rachel Berry (Lea Michele) at their New York drama school.

"WOW!! I feel absolutely speechless, and so honoured to be joining the undeniably talented team of @GLEEonFOX!! :)," he tweeted.

"I'm very excited for the journey, and I'm warming my voice up as we speak."

While you could say his Chace Crawford good looks got him the part, it's true that he has the acting and singing experience you'd expect of a Glee cast member. Plus, he is the first Aussie actor on Glee (that we know of).

It's a lucky break for the young star who last appeared in Steven Spielberg's dinosaur drama Terra Nova, which was recently cancelled after just one season.

While he was once engaged to The Veronicas' Lisa Origliasso in 2008, Dean met current girlfriend Jillian Murray on the set of the 2011 straight-to-DVD flick Never Back Down 2: The Beatdown.

The fourth season of Glee will follow both McKinley High students and graduates, keeping all of the key members of the show, like Rachel and Finn (Cory Monteith), while introducing new, younger cast members.

Blue Lagoon: The Awakening telemovie actor Jacob Artist joins the cast as Puck's (Mark Salling) half-brother, while Kate Hudson and Sarah Jessica Parker will guest star in multiple episodes.

Down Under loses its infringing flute

Men in white … a still shot during the making of the 1982 film clip for "Down Under".
Men in white … a still shot during the making of the 1982 film clip for "Down Under". Photo: Bob King collection



Giles Hardie, The Sydney Morning Herald, reports

Down Under is back for the Olympics, without the Kookaburra.

Thirty years after it was released, and not accidentally, on the day the Olympics begin, Colin Hay of Men At Work has released a newly recorded version of their classic (and recently controversial) song Down Under.

The Down Under 2012 EP, which will only be available on iTunes, will include three new versions of the song – but not the all important flute riff that was ruled in 2009 by Justice Jacobson in the Federal Court to reproduce “a substantial part of Kookaburra” the children’s choral tune owned by Larrikin Music, a suggestion that first emerged out of a 2008 episode of the ABC TV show Spicks and Specks.

The new version of the song does contain a flute line, however the key riff has been altered from the version that appeared on the 1982 album Business As Usual.

Hay feels the new version will “highlight that the power and strength of the song, lies in its original words and music. It speaks for itself.”

Men at Work flautist Greg Ham, who Hay insists improvised the riff, died in April this year.

Hay said in a statement: “People kept mentioning to me, that it's the 30-year anniversary of the release of Business As Usual, and Down Under as a single around the world. I didn’t much feel like celebrating, because when I ponder 30 years ago, Greg was alive and well, more than well, was thriving.

“So, regarding the 30th anniversary of our first and fabulously successful first disc, if I were to celebrate with anyone, it would have been with him, and he has gone. I wish he was still here. Cheers!”

The new recording has come about after Telstra approached Hay about using the song in a commercial campaign over the Olympics period.

“I was happy to help and along with my friend Dorian West, created a suitable version of the song, featuring footballers, pubgoers, sailors on the Thames, school kids in Sydney, and, well you get the idea,” said Hay.

“The song is ultimately about celebration, what you feel inside, what has a ring of truth to it. I am proud to have co-written this song, happy that people still like singing along to it, and that they will continue to, long after I'm gone. I am also proud of Greg Ham, he was my friend, and in the end, that's all that really matters. Enjoy!”

Should be so lucky

Kylie performs during her Anti Touir in Melbourne, March 2012.
Kylie performs during her Anti Tour, March 2012. Photo: Jason South


Dino Scatena, The Age, reports

It's been 25 years since Kylie Minogue made her first appearance on the music charts and, rocky start aside, set a course for global stardom.

A quarter of a century ago, a sequence of symbiotic events altered the fabric of Australian popular culture and set in motion the transformation of a 19-year-old soap actor from Melbourne into an international pop icon.

It was 25 years ago this week that the name Kylie Minogue appeared on the music charts for the first time. The teenager's dinky electro-dance remake of 1960s classic The Loco-Motion made its debut at No.10 on the Australian Music Report (pre-ARIA charts) and within two weeks nabbed the top spot, staying there for seven weeks and becoming the biggest-selling single by an Australian artist in the 1980s.

Who could have imagined this tiny, unsophisticated star of Neighbours, with the bad '80s perm and questionable vocal ability, would go on to become Australia's single most successful entertainer and a world-renowned style idol?

It was no great surprise to Amanda Pelman, the woman who guided the launch of Minogue's music career. ''I don't think she was ever professionally naive,'' says Pelman, who signed Minogue to Mushroom Records.

''She always knew where she wanted to end up. She had a total vision. I'm not sure she knew how she was going to get there but she figured it out.''

Pelman was tossed a demo cassette of Minogue singing The Loco-Motion by Mushroom boss Michael Gudinski after every other label in the country had passed on the chance to sign her.

Pelman knew nothing of Minogue's work on Neighbours or the fan base it brought her. The idea of a TV star releasing a successful record was virtually unheard of at the time, but not entirely unique - actor Mark Holden had a string of minor hits in the late 1970s while starring on The Young Doctors.

Pelman decided to do some research on Minogue. She called Jan Russ, the casting director from Neighbours. ''And she was falling over backwards with praise,'' Pelman says. ''She said, 'Oh look, she's much more talented than her sister [Dannii Minogue, star of Young Talent Time].'''

Pelman convinced Gudinski to sign her. Gudinski had already received some encouraging support from his tween niece and nephew in Britain, where Neighbours was quickly becoming a phenomenon. ''I played them the song and told them it was Kylie from Neighbours,'' Gudinski says. ''They said, 'There's no Kylie in Neighbours.' So I phoned Australia that night to find out the name of her character and the next morning I told them, 'It's Charlene,' and they went absolutely nuts: 'We love Charlene - she's our favourite!'''

In Australia, Minogue's chart debut was the culmination of a month of unprecedented media saturation focusing on the soap starlet.

On July 1, 1987, her character, Charlene, married her boyfriend, Scott, played by Minogue's real-life beau, Jason Donovan. It was the highest-rating episode ever of a local soap and landed the couple on the cover of Time magazine Australia. The following day, a shopping centre appearance in Sydney caused One Direction-esque mass hysteria. On July 12, the eve of her single release, Minogue was given the honour of hosting the final weekly episode of the ABC's long-running Countdown music show. A week later, she and Donovan were presenters at the last Countdown Music Awards. It was at the event's after party that Minogue met her future mentor and lover, INXS singer Michael Hutchence.

At first, Minogue's foray into music was met with widespread derision from critics, the music establishment, her co-stars on Neighbours (many of whom would go on to release singles of their own) and even employees of her record label. ''There were people at the time saying, 'This is the end of Mushroom. How can you be doing this?''' Gudinski says. ''It didn't faze me.''

The negativity quickly turned into revolt. Radio stations proclaimed themselves Kylie-free zones; the media labelled her ''the Singing Budgie''; one backyard entrepreneur in Melbourne turned a tidy profit printing ''I Hate Kylie'' T-shirts.

''I got really pissed off at times where people were trying to put her down and call her a one-hit wonder. It was just ridiculous,'' says Ian ''Molly'' Meldrum, the former Countdown guru and one of Minogue's most vocal supporters from the outset.

''It was hurtful for her, people knocking her all the time. But she had such a strong, devoted fan base already in Australia that [she] just got bigger and bigger, so it didn't matter what those people said.''

With a massive hit single on her hands but no manager, Minogue was in need of someone to look after her affairs. Gudinski considered taking the job but Pelman talked him out of it.

''Michael had said to me, 'Maybe we should do a management company and manage her,' and I reminded him that he had vowed to his wife, Sue, that he was never going to manage anyone ever again,'' Pelman says.

So Terry Blamey, who was running his Pace Entertainment talent-booking agency out of the Mushroom offices in Melbourne, asked Gudinski if he might offer himself as a potential manager.

Gudinski figured the clean-cut family man Blamey would appeal to Minogue's accountant father, Ron, who remained dubious about anything to do with the music business.

''I made the introduction between Terry and the parents,'' Pelman says. ''And it was a beautiful marriage and still is. I have to say, as much as I will always maintain that she is 99 per cent driving the car, he's remarkable for what he's done. Every time I walk into [the Mushroom] building and look at the bottom of that staircase, I can see Terry and I standing there and me going, 'Yeah, sure, I'll give you the phone number.'''

Does Pelman regret passing on the opportunity to manage one of the world's biggest stars?

''Absolutely not,'' she says. ''Not a day, not a moment. I don't think we would ever have made a great team as an artist-management. And as much as I loved our early days of working together and [I'm] proud of what we did and what we created, it would never have worked.''

Pelman went on to executive-produce Minogue's next two hit singles, I Should Be So Lucky and Got to Be Certain, along with her debut album, 1988's Kylie, and its associated video clips, before going on to pursue a successful career as an event producer and theatrical casting agent. To this day, Gudinski handles Minogue's music publishing and Australian tours.

''She's reinvented, she's outlasted, she's shown more nous than anyone,'' Gudinski says. ''I would never underestimate Kylie Minogue and whatever she attempts. I think there are a lot more interesting things than just music coming from Kylie in the near future. It's amazing how time flies but it's certainly one of the most lasting careers in the Australian music industry and you'd have to say she's one of the greatest ambassadors Australia has ever had.''

Dino Scatena is the author of Kylie: An Unauthorised Biography (Penguin, 1997).

Weaver in fast lane with Lois short film

Jacki Weaver.
Jacki Weaver. Photo: Getty Images



Suzanne Carbone, The Age, reports

Jacki Weaver, the actor who proves that being a mature-age woman isn't a hindrance to Hollywood acclaim, can't put a foot wrong. She is starring in the Sydney Theatre Company's production of Uncle Vanya in New York with Cate Blanchett, Hugo Weaving and Richard Roxburgh, with critics hailing the cast as ''uniformly brilliant''.

Far from turning up her nose at smaller projects after winning international acclaim for her role in Animal Kingdom, Weaver plays the lead role in a short film called Lois - and, to be precise, it's eight minutes long. Written, produced and directed by Alexandra Schepisi, daughter of Fred Schepisi, the film is the shortest of the shorts screening at the Melbourne International Film Festival's ''Australian Shorts'' program.

With runny mascara smudged under Weaver's eyes for the film's poster, the scene is set for Lois to be ''tipped over the edge'' after receiving a letter. Weaver won't be at Russell Street's Greater Union cinema on August 11 for the screening because she will be in the US filming Labor Day, a drama starring luminaries Tobey Maguire, Kate Winslet and Josh Brolin. Schepisi will have her day of labour because she's expecting her first child with husband Jeremy Rouse.

Hugo Weaving opens up about epilepsy

Actor Hugo Weaving
Had epilepsy as a teen ... Actor Hugo Weaving attends the Uncle Vanya cast photocall in New York City. Picture: Getty Images Source: Getty Images


The Daily Telegraph reports

Australian actor Hugo Weaving has revealed he suffered from epilepsy during his teen years.

The star of movies such as The Matrix and the Lord of the Rings trilogy, told the New York Post that it started when he was 13.

"I probably had one major seizure a year. Every now and then I'd fall down and wake up to someone saying, 'Are you OK?', but it never affected any jobs I was doing.

"It started at 13, and I figured if I grew into it, I could grow out of it. I don't drive as a result, because I couldn't get my licence," said the 52-year-old actor.

Although Weaving has not had a seizure in 18 years, he says he couldn't be bothered getting his licence.

"Now I could, but I can't be bothered. It's easier to walk. At least, that's my excuse, anyway."

Weaving and fellow Aussie Cate Blanchett are taking New York by storm with the Sydney Theatre Company's production of the much-praised Uncle Vanya, which is running through to Saturday at the Lincoln Center Festival.

Epilepsy is a disorder of brain function that takes the form of recurring convulsive or non -convulsive seizures, according to the Epilepsy Australia website.

My life changed as Glenn's close friend

Rose Byrne
Australian actress Rose Byrne. Source: HWT Image Library


Tiffany Bakker, The Sunday Telegraph, reports

When Rose Byrne first met six-time Academy Award-nominee Glenn Close, her co-star in the acclaimed TV series Damages, she was, to put it mildly, scared.

"Glenn is such an icon, so it was hard, initially, to separate that in my mind," Byrne says with a smile.

"I was pretty scared and nervous but that's what my character was feeling as well, so it worked well."

(Later, when I speak to Close, she gleefully sprouts: "I still kind of try to freak Rose out. I try to scare her.") Five years on, though, the women are mates, with Byrne a regular visitor to Close's upstate New York home.

"We get along well and that's not always the case when you do a job, that you become friends as well as colleagues," Byrne says.

Indeed, there's a genuine affection between the pair. Byrne calls Close "Glenny", Close returns the favour, anointing Byrne "Rosie".

When we meet at the luxurious Plaza Hotel on a suffocatingly hot New York day, Byrne is feeling wistful. Damages, where she stars as ambitious lawyer Ellen Parsons, has just wrapped up its fifth and final season.

"It's always bittersweet, you know," Byrne says of the series' end.

"It changed my life completely - professionally and personally."

She's certainly right. Since coming to notice internationally in Damages, Byrne's star has risen exponentially outside of her home country.

She has been nominated for multiple Emmys and a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Ellen, while on the big screen she's starred in the blockbuster X-Men: First Class, the indie hit Adam and the horror flick Insidious.

But it was her unexpected star turns in the comedies Get Him To The Greek and last year's smash Bridesmaids that showcased her impressive comedic talents.

Coming up, she's starring in The Place Beyond The Pines opposite heart-throb Ryan Gosling and the romantic comedy I Give It A Year.

"I think people got used to me in these doomed end-of-the-world roles," says Byrne, who returns home to Sydney this week to be bridesmaid for her best friend.

"I always seem so serious onscreen. It's been nice to have been able to show a different side."

Close adds: "Rosie is just supremely talented.

"She's funny, she's smart, she's beautiful, and she can play anything."

Byrne, who's just turned 33, says: "I've gotten more confidence as I've gotten older. You know you're a hard worker and you can do the best job you can." But in the next breath, she says she still worries about where the next role is coming from.

"I feel like that doesn't really ever leave you. It's just being a freelancer. You're always like, well, OK, that's it. "There are no more jobs. I think it just comes with the territory," she says.

"There's always people coming up behind you. You can count on one hand the number of actresses regularly working over the age of 45."

Byrne says the pressure on women in Hollywood is immense. She says she's not against plastic surgery but hasn't felt the need to go down that path.

"You can understand why women do do it, though," Byrne says.

"There is such a pressure in this industry to look a certain way. It's unfortunate."

Byrne, who is single (she split with Australian actor/writer Brendan Cowell in 2010 after a seven-year relationship), says she intends to stay in New York, the city that's been her home for the past five years.

"I've really enjoyed living in the city because it feels like there's a little more diversity in terms of the people in my life. I've got friends from all walks of life," she says.

"Los Angeles is beautiful, but I suppose, being an actor you just feel that industry presence a little bit more, whereas in New York, I can feel a little bit less involved in 'Hollywood'."

Byrne says she still misses Australia (she grew up in Balmain) but not like she did.

"I miss my friends and family, and I miss just being able to have lunch with my mother, or coffee with my best friend," she says.

"I miss the people more than anything else. I used to be really homesick for more material things like coffee or food, or streets or smells but there comes a point where you just can't be homesick anymore."

For now, though, she's staring at a blank diary and she's excited.

"I've been working non-stop for the past few years, and I'm looking forward

to taking a bit of a break," Byrne says. "Just see what happens next."

She will miss Damages, the show that has helped define her career.

"It's been a big part of my life and I've loved it," Byrne says. "I'm waiting for the post-traumatic stress disorder to set in. I'm sure it will."

Damages airs on Foxtel's new Soho channel from August 23

Horror romance: Tattooed Kylie's lesbian kiss

Jack & Diane
Kylie Minogue and Riley Keogh kiss passionately in a scene from Jack & Diane. Picture: Pictures Magnolia Source: Supplied


News.com.au reports

Kylie Minogue has landed a role as a tattooed lesbian who seduces a teen played by Elvis Presley's granddaughter Riley Keogh.

The 44-year-old star plays Tara, who appears to be seducing teenager Jack, played by Elvis Presley's granddaughter Riley Keough, upcoming horror romance Jack &.Diane.

Minogue looks almost unrecognisable in the role, which called for her arms to be covered in tattoos and a wardrobe that couldn't be further from the pop princess' usual attire.

In the film's trailer, Minogue walks over to a bruised Jack (Keough) and asks her: 'Why did you come here tonight?'

Leaning in to kiss her, Jack replies: 'I don't know.'

In the movie, Keogh and English actress Juno Temple,23, play New York-based teenagers Jack and Diane who fall in love.

Twilight star Robert Pattinson is to team up with Animal Kingdom director David Michod

Robert Pattinson Edward Twilight
Robert Pattinson as the vampire Edward in The Twilight Saga series. Source: Supplied


Vicky Roach, The Daily Telegraph, reports

Twilight star Robert Pattinson is to team up with Animal Kingdom director David Michod on a futuristic Western called The Rover.

Guy Pearce will also star in the film, set in the Australian desert in the near future, approved in the latest round of Screen Australia funding.

Most recently "seen'' in Ridley Scott's Prometheus (he was buried under a skinful of wrinkled latex), Pearce plays a man who hunts down a gang of thieves that stole his car as they venture across the Australian outback.

Pattinson will play the brother of one of the thieves who is left behind when a police encounter goes wrong.

Also given the nod is a thriller written by and starring Joel Edgerton. Directed by Matthew Saville (Noise), Felony tells the story of three detectives who become embroiled in a tense struggle after a tragic accident which leaves a small child in a coma. Sapphires' Rosemary Blight will produce the film with Edgerton.

"Felony has international breakout potential,'' said Screen Australia's chief executive Ruth Harley.

Screen Australia investment triggers $100 million in production


Screen Australia reports

It has announced almost $20 million investment in a diverse slate of feature films, adult television drama projects and children’s television series. The investment in 12 projects will trigger $100 million in production.

Features approved include The Rover, a futuristic Western from the producer and writer/director of Animal Kingdom, Liz Watts and David Michôd. Michôd will join Watts and David Linde (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) as a producer. The film’s cast includes world-class acting talents Robert Pattinson and Guy Pearce.

Felony is a contemporary drama from producer Rosemary Blight (The Sapphires), producer/writer/actor Joel Edgerton and director Matthew Saville (Noise). Aim High in Creation is a hybrid documentary drama celebrating ‘the cinematic genius’ of the late Kim Jong-il from writer/director Anna Broinowski (Forbidden Lie$) and producer Lizzette Atkins.

Healing, a redemptive prison drama from producer/writer/director Craig Monahan with producer Tait Brady and writer Alison Nisselle, will also receive production investment. The cast includes Don Hany (East West 101) and Hugo Weaving.

Screen Australia’s Chief Executive Ruth Harley said, “These four highly engaging and diverse Australian stories have huge potential. The Rover is a powerful well-crafted script from a talented team with an impressive cast. Anna Broinowski’s Aim High in Creation is a distinctive, ambitious film with a humorous and entertaining story. Felony has international breakout potential and Healing promises to be a highly emotional and moving story on screen.”

Adult television drama investments include Wentworth (p: Amanda Crittenden, ep: Jo Porter, sp: Lara Radulovich, d: Kevin Carlin) for FOXTEL, a modern re-imagination of the popular Prisoner series, and Gallipoli (p: John Edwards, Imogen Banks, Robert Connelly, w: Christopher Lee), a four-part Nine Network mini-series based on the book by Les Carlyon.

Better Man (p: Stephen Corvini, ep: Jason Stephens, w/d: Khoa Do) is a four-part true-crime drama for SBS about the devastating consequences of Van Nguyen’s attempt to traffic heroin from Cambodia to Australia. Parer’s War (p: Andrew Wiseman, w: Alison Nisselle, d: Matthew Saville) is an ABC telemovie biopic about World War II frontline cameraman Damien Parer and his efforts to reveal the truth.

A second series of the ABC’s successful Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries (p: Fiona Eagger, Deb Cox, w: Deb Cox, John Banas, Kristen Dunphy, d: Tony Tilse) was also approved for investment.

Children’s television investments include three live-action series: the Network Ten adventure series Sam Fox: Extreme Adventures (p/ep: Suzanne Ryan, w: Keith Thompson) based on the thrilling action adventure books by popular children’s author Justin D’Ath; The Lost Boys (p: Michael McMahon, Tony Ayres, w: Craig Irvin, Rhys Graham, Roger Monk, Elise McCredie, Polly Staniford, Shanti Gudgeon, d: Peter Carstairs, Robert Connelly), a drama series with an online extension for Network Nine; and The Worst Year of My Life – Again! (p: Ross Allsop, Bernadette O’Mahony, w: Mark Brotherhood, Brendan Luno, Sam Carroll and others, d: Pino Amenta and others), a comedy-drama series for the ABC.

Dr Harley said, “It’s great to support such a substantial slate of distinctive and compelling adult drama and children’s programs, delivering unique Australian storytelling at its best. Across both adult and children’s television, Screen Australia’s investment commitment will produce 66 hours of television and generate budgets of $73.6 million.”

“Screen Australia is committed to investing in a production slate that encourages new talent, develops successful screen practitioners and promotes ongoing achievement,” concluded Dr Harley.

Sapphires prove our Jess is a diamond

Jessica Mauboy
Jessica Mauboy sings on no less than 10 of the 17 songs on The Sapphires soundtrack. Picture: Alberto Pizzoli Source: The Sunday Telegraph


The Daily Telegraph reports

Jessica Mauboy can't put a foot wrong. The Aussie pop singer's second movie The Sapphires has put her on the radar in LA and now she's scored a plum gig at one of Britain's celeb weddings of the year.

And earlier this week she was spotted hanging out at Simon Cowell's house in Beverly Hills.

Mauboy's The Sapphires co-star Chris O'Dowd - the Irish funnyman and unlikely sex symbol from Bridesmaids and The IT Crowd - is making good use of his connection to the singer, especially in relation to his wedding late next month to UK TV presenter Dawn Porter.

"I'm very excited about the wedding and very excited about The Sapphires involvement in it - we're going to have the lovely Jess sing at the ceremony," O'Dowd said.

O'Dowd has joked that Porter, former co-host of stylist Gok Wan's series How to Look Good Naked, "chased me around the world". Mauboy yesterday said Hollywood had already been calling - even before The Sapphires opens locally on August 9.

"We're in a lot of auditions now. It's a great place to be. I love to be on a buzz, on a roll," Mauboy said.

"It's not top secret it ... oh, it kind of is!

"We're waiting for call-backs. And amongst all that, trying to push my music at the same time."

Ted's unreal adventure, from Melbourne to Hollywood

Iloura, is an advertising company that's now doing visual effects for major Hollywood films such as TED, Ghost Rider, The Bank Job. Left to right, Glenn Melenhorst VFX Supervisor, Ari Goodmsn CG Supervisor, Simon Rosenthal General Manager, Ineke Majoor Head of VFX, Caroline Pitcher Director Business Development.
Iloura's Glenn Melenhorst, Avi Goodman, Simon Rosenthal, Ineke Majoor and Caroline Pitcher. Photo: Craig Sillitoe


Michael Lallo, The Sydney Morning Herald, reports

Melbourne’s contribution to Hollywood has been great in recent years: Guy Pearce, Cate Blanchett and Geoffrey Rush spring to mind. So too - albeit in a slightly different way - has Ted, the pot-smoking bear with a penchant for prostitutes, who has hit the big time in his eponymous film Ted.

Ted is a Melburnian, the animated creation of the South Melbourne production studio Iloura.

In 2010, Family Guy creator Seth MacFarlane received an email with a clip of the animated teddy attached, rang the Melbourne office and said that was how he would like his bear to look. And so Ted's star was born: for eight months, 70 artists toiled full-time to bring him to life.

When it opened in the US last month, it grossed $US54 million ($A52 million) in its first weekend: a record for an original R-rated comedy. The company is now working on I, Frankenstein and the Will Smith blockbuster 1000 A.E. It also has several other Hollywood films to its name, including Where the Wild Things Are, The Bank Job, Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance, Don't Be Afraid of the Dark and the Steven Spielberg mini-series The Pacific.

It's a long way from the mid-noughties, when Iloura was a boutique post-production company specialising in TV commercials. Lured by government incentives, Paramount Pictures came to Melbourne in 2004 to shoot Charlotte's Web - and Iloura got the animation contract.

''John Berton, the film's visual effects supervisor, took a huge leap of faith on us,'' says Iloura's executive film producer, Simon Rosenthal. ''We were in our infancy when it came to film.'' Berton's gamble paid off: Iloura's animated pigs were indistinguishable from the real ones used in some scenes.

While Iloura does standard visual effects such as backgrounds, it forged its reputation with lifelike character animations.

''We got Ted because we don't overanimate like a lot of studios do,'' says visual effects supervisor Glenn Melenhorst. ''We didn't make a wide-eyed, Pixar-style, overly expressive bear. Seth wanted a 'real' aesthetic.''

Over the past decade, Iloura's staff has tripled to 90. ''We had 500 shots for Ted and each one required separate tasks,'' explains Iloura's head of visual effects, Ineke Majoor. Her 70 artists were assigned painstakingly specialised jobs. One created the glass Ted drinks from, another the beer inside and someone else did the foam.

To viewers, it appears Ted is the only animated component of the live action film. But the scene in which he climbs a stadium tower is entirely fake. ''You should not be able to detect what's real and what's animated,'' Melenhorst says.

Rosenthal is confident Ted will lead to bigger projects. ''The industry is now geographically agnostic,'' he says. ''We've been around for 30 years,'' adds business development director Caroline Pitcher. ''It feels like we've only just begun. We're hungry for the next challenge.''

Hollywood and Australian politics collide on Wolverine set

Julia Gillard and Hugh Jackman.
Julia Gillard and Hugh Jackman this morning.



Garry Maddox, The Sydney Morning Herald, reports

As he prepares to shoot a new comic book movie in Sydney, Hugh Jackman has joined the movie world's dismay over the Colorado shootings during a screening of The Dark Knight Rises.

"All I can echo is just the sorrow I feel for the families, for the community, for everybody," he said from the set of The Wolverine. "It's an issue that goes obviously way beyond acting, beyond film, beyond anything like that.

"This is just a tragedy on a level that we have experienced in Australia many years ago, in Tasmania, and it's just devestating."

Jackman was talking at Fox Studios during a visit by the prime minister, Julia Gillard, to the set of the superhero movie that starts shooting in a week.

Ms Gillard said the federal government had contributed $12.8 million to secure the shoot for Australia and create more than 2000 jobs. The movie had been scheduled to shoot in Japan until last year's earthquake and tsunami.

Jackman, who previously shot X-Men Origins: Wolverine in Sydney, said the new movie would bring more than $80 million to the country and keep industry skills at a world class level.

He described Wolverine, the character he first played in 2000's X-Men as a late replacement for Dougray Scott, as the backbone of his career.

"I still love the character," he said. "I had no choice at the time - I was going to take anything that came along - but I happen to have walked into probably the most interesting and complex of the superhero characters."

Director James Mangold, whose movies have included Kate & Leopold with Jackman and Walk The Line, said the movie was based on a series of comic books about Wolverine's journey to Japan.

"It speaks to the incredible craftsmanship [here] that we can make so much of Japan - feudal Japan, urban Japan, sets - all here on our soundstages in Australia," he said.