Leading New Zealand film executive Jasmine McSweeney is joining Australian producer- distributor -streaming platform Umbrella Entertainment, as its first New Zealand-based head of sales and acquisitions, as part of the company’s ambitious expansion plans.
Umbrella had a hit with its Australian and New Zealand release of local horror title Talk To Me in 2023, released with Maslow Entertainment.
McSweeney has been head of marketing at the New Zealand Film Commission for a decade and oversaw its digitisation program and the launch of a transactional video on demand platform. She will start her new role on February 5.
Umbrella general manager Ari Harrison...
Umbrella had a hit with its Australian and New Zealand release of local horror title Talk To Me in 2023, released with Maslow Entertainment.
McSweeney has been head of marketing at the New Zealand Film Commission for a decade and oversaw its digitisation program and the launch of a transactional video on demand platform. She will start her new role on February 5.
Umbrella general manager Ari Harrison...
- 1/22/2024
- ScreenDaily
Toby Nalbandian and Greg Schmidt.
Financing feature films is going to be even harder after the pandemic, prompting Truant Pictures’ Toby Nalbandian and Greg Schmidt to offer some practical advice to genre filmmakers.
In a nutshell: Come up with compelling ideas for contained films on low budgets without sacrificing quality. Try to stick to a budget of $3 million, which could be scaled up to $8 million if Netflix or other international players come on board.
The founders of Animal Logic’s genre film and TV production arm surveyed the state of the industry yesterday in an Australians in Film webinar moderated by Krista Carpenter.
The La-based firm is developing 10 features and two TV series and is in the process of financing four of those projects, Nalbandian tells If.
Schmidt, who learned his craft from horror-master Wes Craven and filmmaker Lawrence Kasdan, offered this advice: “Make the most contained, low budget, compelling film you can,...
Financing feature films is going to be even harder after the pandemic, prompting Truant Pictures’ Toby Nalbandian and Greg Schmidt to offer some practical advice to genre filmmakers.
In a nutshell: Come up with compelling ideas for contained films on low budgets without sacrificing quality. Try to stick to a budget of $3 million, which could be scaled up to $8 million if Netflix or other international players come on board.
The founders of Animal Logic’s genre film and TV production arm surveyed the state of the industry yesterday in an Australians in Film webinar moderated by Krista Carpenter.
The La-based firm is developing 10 features and two TV series and is in the process of financing four of those projects, Nalbandian tells If.
Schmidt, who learned his craft from horror-master Wes Craven and filmmaker Lawrence Kasdan, offered this advice: “Make the most contained, low budget, compelling film you can,...
- 4/16/2020
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Truant Pictures development and production executives Toby Nalbandian and Greg Schmidt.
Animal Logic Entertainment’s live-action genre arm Truant Pictures has selected three finalists for its screenplay competition, designed to uncover emerging writing talent in the realms of horror, sci-fi and thriller.
The finalists, chosen from hundreds of submissions, are reported by Truant to “exhibit a unique voice, strong craft and a compelling command of their genre.”
The finalists are:
David Willing & Beth King (Vic) – The Surrogate
When single mother Natalia gives birth despite not being pregnant, she discovers the ghost of a missing child is hell-bent on destroying her family.
Jonathon Green & Anthony O’Connor (Nsw) – Emma After
A ghost girl falls in love with the living boy she’s meant to haunt away.
D.J. McPherson (Vic) – His Name Is Jeremiah
A damaged teen girl from a remote Australian town struggles to adjust when her violent mother is released from jail.
Animal Logic Entertainment’s live-action genre arm Truant Pictures has selected three finalists for its screenplay competition, designed to uncover emerging writing talent in the realms of horror, sci-fi and thriller.
The finalists, chosen from hundreds of submissions, are reported by Truant to “exhibit a unique voice, strong craft and a compelling command of their genre.”
The finalists are:
David Willing & Beth King (Vic) – The Surrogate
When single mother Natalia gives birth despite not being pregnant, she discovers the ghost of a missing child is hell-bent on destroying her family.
Jonathon Green & Anthony O’Connor (Nsw) – Emma After
A ghost girl falls in love with the living boy she’s meant to haunt away.
D.J. McPherson (Vic) – His Name Is Jeremiah
A damaged teen girl from a remote Australian town struggles to adjust when her violent mother is released from jail.
- 11/17/2019
- by jkeast
- IF.com.au
Toby Nalbandian and Greg Schmidt.
Animal Logic Entertainment’s live action genre arm Truant Pictures today launched a screenplay competition designed to discover new talent.
The call-out is for any writers who are Australian citizens or permanent residents and who earned no more than $30,000 from fiction screenwriting in the past 12 months.
The scripts must be in the genres of horror, science fiction and/or thriller.
The winner will receive $5,000 cash, a hot desk for one week at Truant Pictures’ Sydney office and mentorship from Truant’s development and production executives Toby Nalbandian and Greg Schmidt.
Two finalists will each receive $1,000 cash and all three will be read and given notes from one of the three judges: Stuart Beattie, Yolanda Ramke (Cargo) and Zak Hilditch, plus written feedback from La-based ex-pat Aussie script consultant Tim Schildberger.
Entries opened today and can be submitted until September 2, with the winners announced in November.
Animal Logic Entertainment’s live action genre arm Truant Pictures today launched a screenplay competition designed to discover new talent.
The call-out is for any writers who are Australian citizens or permanent residents and who earned no more than $30,000 from fiction screenwriting in the past 12 months.
The scripts must be in the genres of horror, science fiction and/or thriller.
The winner will receive $5,000 cash, a hot desk for one week at Truant Pictures’ Sydney office and mentorship from Truant’s development and production executives Toby Nalbandian and Greg Schmidt.
Two finalists will each receive $1,000 cash and all three will be read and given notes from one of the three judges: Stuart Beattie, Yolanda Ramke (Cargo) and Zak Hilditch, plus written feedback from La-based ex-pat Aussie script consultant Tim Schildberger.
Entries opened today and can be submitted until September 2, with the winners announced in November.
- 6/30/2019
- by The IF Team
- IF.com.au
Zak Hilditch and Justin Monjo project “The Haunting of Mary Todd” is among four genre film efforts to be set up at Truant Pictures. Truant is the new genre-specialist production arm of Animal Logic, the Australian digital effects firm.
Truant will “primarily develop and produce the films in collaboration with emerging and established Australian talent. Wherever possible the films will be produced in Australia for a worldwide market,” Animal Logic announced on Tuesday.
Truant Pictures will be headquartered at Animal Logic’s Sydney-based studios and will also operate out of its Los Angeles offices alongside sister company Animal Logic Entertainment, producer of Sony’s recent “Peter Rabbit.” Animal Logic CEO Zareh Nalbandian will produce. Toby Nalbandian and Greg Schmidt will serve as VPs of development and production.
Other projects on Truant’s debut slate include: “Biohackers,” with Stephen McCallum and Michael Kratochvil; “The Galvanist,” with Shayne Armstrong and S.P. Krause; and “The Gooynboon,...
Truant will “primarily develop and produce the films in collaboration with emerging and established Australian talent. Wherever possible the films will be produced in Australia for a worldwide market,” Animal Logic announced on Tuesday.
Truant Pictures will be headquartered at Animal Logic’s Sydney-based studios and will also operate out of its Los Angeles offices alongside sister company Animal Logic Entertainment, producer of Sony’s recent “Peter Rabbit.” Animal Logic CEO Zareh Nalbandian will produce. Toby Nalbandian and Greg Schmidt will serve as VPs of development and production.
Other projects on Truant’s debut slate include: “Biohackers,” with Stephen McCallum and Michael Kratochvil; “The Galvanist,” with Shayne Armstrong and S.P. Krause; and “The Gooynboon,...
- 8/14/2018
- by Patrick Frater
- Variety Film + TV
Animal Logic has launched Truant Pictures, a new production company that will act as a subsidiary of the successful Aussie animation outfit with a focus on live-action genre films for the Australian market. Truant will be headquartered at Animal Logic’s Sydney-based studios and also operate out of its Los Angeles offices alongside Animal Logic Entertainment. The plan is to develop and produce the films in collaboration with emerging and established Australian talent, to be produced wherever possible in Australia for a worldwide market.
It already has projects in development including The Haunting of Mary Todd with Zak Hilditch and Justin Monjo, Biohackers with Stephen McCallum and Michael Kratochvil, The Galvanist with Shayne Armstrong and S.P. Krause, and The Gooynboon with Jub Clerc. It now is looking to boost that slate.
Animal Logic’s animation credits include the Lego movie franchise and this year’s Peter Rabbit. The news comes...
It already has projects in development including The Haunting of Mary Todd with Zak Hilditch and Justin Monjo, Biohackers with Stephen McCallum and Michael Kratochvil, The Galvanist with Shayne Armstrong and S.P. Krause, and The Gooynboon with Jub Clerc. It now is looking to boost that slate.
Animal Logic’s animation credits include the Lego movie franchise and this year’s Peter Rabbit. The news comes...
- 8/14/2018
- by Patrick Hipes
- Deadline Film + TV
Cleverman..
Michael Miller, co-writer of the ABC's Cleverman, has won the $10,000 Australian Writers' Guild's 2016 John Hinde Award for Science Fiction.
The annual award, first presented in 2008, is funded by a bequest from the late film critic John Hinde.
The award has two categories: one for a produced script, won by Miller, and one for an unproduced script, which this year was awarded to Graeme Burfoot for his screenplay, Red to Blue..Both were presented their awards at an industry event held at Brisbane Powerhouse on Wednesday evening..
Miller was awarded the prize for episode five of the Cleverman.s first season, .A Man of Vision.. He said sci-fi is a form that allows a writer to convey things not always so easily said in traditional formats.
.That was definitely part of the logic behind setting Cleverman in the future. It's exciting to think that Cleverman is one of several sci-fi-inspired shows on television at present,...
Michael Miller, co-writer of the ABC's Cleverman, has won the $10,000 Australian Writers' Guild's 2016 John Hinde Award for Science Fiction.
The annual award, first presented in 2008, is funded by a bequest from the late film critic John Hinde.
The award has two categories: one for a produced script, won by Miller, and one for an unproduced script, which this year was awarded to Graeme Burfoot for his screenplay, Red to Blue..Both were presented their awards at an industry event held at Brisbane Powerhouse on Wednesday evening..
Miller was awarded the prize for episode five of the Cleverman.s first season, .A Man of Vision.. He said sci-fi is a form that allows a writer to convey things not always so easily said in traditional formats.
.That was definitely part of the logic behind setting Cleverman in the future. It's exciting to think that Cleverman is one of several sci-fi-inspired shows on television at present,...
- 11/10/2016
- by Staff Writer
- IF.com.au
In 1960s and 1970s Australia, one of the prominemt subcultures of suburban Melbourne were the Sharpies. Also known as Sharps, these were members of violent suburban youth gangs, so named due to their focus on looking and dressing "sharp".Now in this fantastic music video for Jacques Renault's Ladyhawke remix, directed by Michael Kratochvil, we can revisit those times safely as an observer. So often directors trying to capture history on screen tend to fail their ambitions by making everything look brand new, or by mistakenly incorporating anachronisms, but here Kratochvil really succeeds in capturing not only the old look but also the mood and mannerisms of these gangs.Now, whoever is writing a Mods vs Sharpies movie please give the directing reins to this guy. I...
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[Read the whole post on twitchfilm.com...]...
- 4/9/2013
- Screen Anarchy
Obsessed with film at an early age, Melbourne based filmmaker Michael Kratochvil (pictured) would often vividly imagine films in his head without actually seeing them, something which helped him develop the idea for his self-financed short film Eileen Pratt, which is set to have its premiere at the Dungog Film Festival at the end of this month. Inspired by a real woman who would sit on a bench outside a pet shop in a shopping centre vicariously watching people for hours on end, Kratochvil fleshed out the character in his mind, turning her into a bus driver and making the decision to tell her story without dialogue.
- 6/21/2012
- FilmInk.com.au
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