Home-grown talent attracts Hollywood backing

Guy Pearce in the Jack Irish telemovies.

Garry Maddox, The Sydney Morning Herald, reports

Boosted by The Great Gatsby and I, Frankenstein, the value of Australian film and TV drama production jumped 25 per cent last financial year.

According to Screen Australia's annual drama report, a sharp decline in foreign production was more than matched by an increase in big-budget films shot by Australian directors with Hollywood backing.

Drama production rose from $497 million in the previous financial year to $623 million, including 28 films worth $296 million. While a healthy output, it was below the record of $739 million in 2009-10.

On the basis they were driven by local creative teams, the report counts as Australian Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby, shot in and around Sydney starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan, and Stuart Beattie's I, Frankenstein, shot in Melbourne with Yvonne Strahovski, Aaron Eckhart and Bill Nighy.

Other smaller-scale films produced during the year included The Sapphires, Kath & Kimderella, Mental and the British co-production The Railway Man, starring Nicole Kidman and Colin Firth.

''It's been a strong year for feature production with a bigger slate overall, boosted by high-budget Australian titles,'' the chief executive of Screen Australia, Ruth Harley, said. She described the health of the sector as ''pretty robust''.

Luhrmann praised the country's producer offset, a 40 per cent tax rebate, for allowing him to shoot a movie here that was set in 1920s New York: ''To work with Australia's skilled film technicians and facilities and to bring large-scale projects like The Great Gatsby to Australia, we can't have our head in the sand about the fact that the country is a long way away.''

While the quality of recent Australian adult TV drama has been impressive, spending fell 13 per cent to $279 million. As hours also dipped, by 6 per cent, there was a shift from series and serials towards mini-series and telemovies.

The report counts House Husbands, Offspring and Puberty Blues as mini-series alongside Howzat! Kerry Packer's War, Underbelly: Badness and the coming British co-production Mrs Biggs - The Untold Story behind the Great Train Robbery.

There has also been a mini boom in telemovies - from five to 10 - including Underground: The Julian Assange Story, Beaconsfield and the Jack Irish films.

While Australia has often been a popular location for foreign movies, the high value of the dollar meant that only three started shooting last financial year.

And instead of huge Hollywood movies, they were lower-budget productions from Japan (Hayabusa, the Long Journey Home), India (From Sydney with Love) and Nepal (Destination Kathmandu).

But incentives brought Hollywood studios to Australia for post-production and digital effects work worth $38 million on such big movies as The Avengers, Ted, Prometheus, Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol and The Hunger Games.

NSW remained the dominant state for drama with production worth $315 million compared with $212 million in Victoria, $65 million in Queensland and $16 million in South Australia.

Magda juggles stage musical and fillm work

Magda Szubanski describes herself as happy and content. Source: Herald Sun

Joanne Hawkins, the Daily Telegraph, reports

She’s the self-confessed "poster girl for imperfection" but actress Magda Szubanski is still as popular as ever.

The comic and public face of weight loss is currently back as alter ego Sharon in the movie Kath & Kimderella and at 51 is busier than ever.

She's just about to start working alongside Geoffrey Rush in the Sondheim musical A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum and there's also upcoming Film Goddess with Ronan Keating. And, of course, she's back in Sharon's netball kit after a five-year break.

"There's an absolute sense of homecoming when cast and crew get back together as we've all been working together since the dawn of time," she says of working on Kath & Kimderella.

"We're like an old rock'n'roll band. And filming in Italy was fantastic. It was nice to go somewhere other than the Nepean Highway.

"But there is still plenty more to achieve."

Kath and Kim beat The Expendables 2 at the Australian box office

Kath and Kim and the cast from their movie Kath & Kimbrella. Source: Supplied

Vicky Roach, News Limited Network, reports

Who would have thought? Kath and Kim have more box office muscle than Sylvester Stallone and Jason Statham combined.

The long-awaited silver screen debut by those foxy ladies from Fountain Lakes has taken $2.1 million and the No 1 spot in its opening weekend at the Australian box office, ahead of Sly's old school action adventure The Expendables 2.

''I told you I looked great on the big screen mum!'' said Kim.

''Well, I agree with the BIG part of that Kim,'' replied Kath.

But even with a crown prince and a fairytale European holiday at their disposal, TV's favourite comedians couldn't outshine The Sapphires.

The feelgood 60s musical took $2.34 million in its opening weekend, pulling in the biggest crowds for an Australian movie since teen action film Tomorrow When The War Began opened with $3.86 million in September 2010 and beating the $1.78 million debut of last year's success story Red Dog.

And in its fifth week of release, The Sapphires, which tells the story of an indigenous all-girl group that travels to Vietnam to entertain the troops, was holding firm in the No 3 spot at the box office.

A weekend gross of $919,000 took the film’s overall tally to within a whisker of $11 million ($10,952,085.)

Kath & Kim movie nears as Jane Turner and Gina Riley set sights on silver screen

LOOK AT THEM: The poster for the movie Kath & Kimderella, out in September. Source: Supplied

Anooska Tucker-Evans, The Sunday Mail (Qld), reports

A royal wedding, romance, action and adventure are all on the cards when Australia's favourite "foxy ladies" hit the silver screen for the first time later this year.

Jane Turner and Gina Riley - the women behind TV icons Kath & Kim - have just finished editing their highly anticipated new movie, with the ladies from Fountain Lakes saying the flick will have everything.

"It's a thriller, it's a comedy, it's a romance," Turner said.

"We pay homage to many film genres," Riley added. "All the old films we love, we put a little bit of all of those into it."

Shot in Melbourne and Italy in just under three months, Kath & Kimderella is described as a "ritzy fairytale of love, lust and revolution".

Riley and Turner won't reveal the exact plot, but say there will be a royal wedding and plenty of romance.

"There's another Aussie princess - someone to rival (Princess) Mary," Turner said, hinting that her on-screen daughter, Kim (Riley), would be tying the knot in the flick. "The poster sort of says it all."

But Cupid's arrow will not be aimed at just one of the foxy ladies.

"We all get royally romanced - Kath, Kim and Sharon," Riley revealed.

As to whether the romance involving the unlucky-in-love Sharon, played by Magda Szubanski, would be with a man or woman, though, Riley and Turner were keeping mum.

"You'll have to wait and see. It could be with a horse," laughed Riley.

While the comedians joke about the movie's plot, creating the film has been serious business for the pair.

The duo have been involved in every stage of the production from writing the scripts and casting, to acting and editing the final version.

"We were all over every aspect of it," Turner said. "It was fantastic. If we'd known before what we know now, we would have been doing millions of (films) because they're fun, fun, fun." The stars described the project as a labour of love and were thrilled with the experience.

However, they admitted filming in Italy was the highlight.

"It was very exciting travelling to Italy and having a big camera on cranes and lights and night filming at 3am. It felt very glamorous," Turner said.

The movie stars all the original cast including Glenn Robbins, Peter Rowsthorn and Szubanski, as well as special guests such as comedian Rob Sitch and British actor Richard E. Grant.

"I must admit, it is always fun when we get all the cast back together again and this was extra fun because we had a few extra other people to play with as well," Riley said.

And with such a good time had by all, the women say this may not be the last we see of the cardy-drinking mother and daughter duo on the big screen.

Turner joked: "Tom (Cruise) has already signed up for the next one. He's free now."

As for another TV series, the ladies say "not at the moment".

"We only just finished editing the movie last week so we haven't really thought any further ahead than that at this point," Riley said.

Foxy ladies Kath & Kim to hit cinemas in September

The new Kath & Kim film will hit Australian screens in September.

The Sydney Morning Herald reports

They've charmed hearts on the small screen and in a telemovie, but TV's original foxy ladies, Kath & Kim, are set to take the silver screen by storm this year.

Their film, announced today as Kath & Kimderella, was shot in Melbourne and Italy and will be released on Australian screens in September.

"I have been up to pussy's bow working out what to wear for the Oscars next year, do I go ritzy or tizzy, indie ..." Kath bemoaned.

"I was made for the wide screen and like Avatar I will be working blue," Kim said.

Kath & Kimderella brings back the mother-and-daughter duo from Fountain Lakes, played by Jane Turner and Gina Riley, together with their original cast including Glenn Robbins, Peter Rowsthorn and Magda Szubanski, who recently came out as gay.

Roadshow will announce more details of additional cast members and guest stars closer to the release date.

Kath & Kimderella is released nationally on September 6.

AAP