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Ashleigh Cummings (Citadel), Callum Vinson (Chucky), and John Doman (The Wire) have landed roles on Long Bright River, Peacock’s limited suspense thriller led by Amanda Seyfried and Nicholas Pinnock. No word yet on the characters they’ll be playing in this adaptation of Liz Moore’s same-name New York Times bestseller.

The show follows Mickey (Seyfried), a police officer who patrols a Philadelphia neighborhood hard-hit by the opioid crisis. When a series of murders begins in the neighborhood, Mickey realizes that her personal history might be related to the case.

Nikki Toscano and Liz Moore are writing and exec producing, with Toscano serving as showrunner. Neal H. Moritz, Pavun Shetty and Amanda Lewis exec produce for Original Film, along with Amy Pascal for Pascal Pictures, Seyfried, and Russell Rothberg. Hagar Ben-Asher is directing and exec producing the first episode of the show which hails from Sony Pictures Television and UCP,...

Martyn Ford, Desmond Chiam, Ana Thu Nguyen and Damon Herriman have stepped into the ring for New Line’s face-crunching sequel to 2021’s Mortal Kombat.

At the same time, New Line has closed a slew of deals bringing back members of that first installment, including Lewis Tan as Cole Young, Jessica McNamee as Sonya Blade and Josh Lawson as Kano.

Also returning are Tadanobu Asano as Lord Raiden, Mehcad Brooks as Jax, Ludi Lin as Liu Kang, Chin Han as Shang Tsung, Joe Taslim as Bi-Han and Sub-Zero, Hiroyuki Sanada as Hanzo Hasashi and Scorpion, and Max Huang as Kung Lao.

The actors join Karl Urban, Adeline Rudolph, and Tati Gabrielle, who have marquee roles in the sequel that is being helmed by Simon McQuoid, who directed the previous movie based on the video game franchise.

Written by Jeremy Slater, the sequel continues the story of a group of ragtag fighters,...

Exclusive: Luke Arnold, Bella Heathcote and Jay Ryan are set to lead Scrublands, a TV adaptation of Chris Hammer’s novel for Australian streamer Stan.

We’ve learned production in underway in Victoria, Australia on the crime series, which is a co-commission of the Nine Network and its streamer Stan. Easy Tiger, which optioned rights to the story back in 2018, is producing in association with VicScreen.

Scrublands is set in isolated country town Riversend brought to its knees by endless drought, where a charismatic and dedicated young priest (Jay Ryan) calmly opens fire on his congregation, killing five parishioners. A year later, investigative journalist Martin Scarsden (Luke Arnold) arrives to write what should be a simple feature story on the anniversary of the tragedy but when his instincts kick in and he digs beneath the surface, the previously accepted narrative begins to fall apart and he finds himself in a...

Exclusive: Succession and The Lost Symbol actor Ashley Zukerman leads the sci-fi thriller feature In Vitro, which has just wrapped filming in regional New South Wales, Australia.

In the lead opposite Zukerman is Talia Zucker (Lake Mungo) alongside Will Howarth (Beast).

Set on a remote cattle property in the near future, the film follows Layla (Zucker) and her husband Jack (Zukerman), who have been experimenting with biotechnology and developing new farming methods. It’s a mostly isolated existence for the couple, but when a series of unsettling occurrences take place, they soon discover a disturbing presence on the farm that threatens to upend their lives.

In Vitro marks writer-directors Tom McKeith and Will Howarth’s follow-up to their debut feature Beast, which was nominated for Best First Feature at TIFF 2015. They co-wrote the script with Zucker.

Producers are Arcadia, the Australian production and distribution company behind Kodi Smit-McPhee sci-fi starrer 2067 and horror comedy Sissy,...

Australian comedian Celeste Barber is returning to her acting roots, making her debut as the lead in Wellmania, a new comedic drama series which has received an eight-episode order by Netflix. Barber also will serve as executive producer on the series inspired by Brigid Delaney’s novel Wellmania: Misadventures in the Search for Wellness. The half-hour Wellmania will be produced by Fremantle Australia with principal photography in Gadigal Country, Eora Nation in Sydney, Australia.

Co-created by Delaney and Benjamin Law (The Family Law), in Wellmania, when human tornado Liv (Barber) has a major health crisis, she is forced to rethink her ‘live fast die young’ attitude. Throwing herself body-first into a wellness journey, she tries everything from the benign to the bizarre in an attempt to get well quick, and reclaim her old life.

“Celeste embodies exactly what Netflix Anz is striving for – sparking global love for being our quintessentially Australian and funny selves,...

Special effects maestro Brian Cox and producer and costume designer Catherine Martin were both honoured at the Australian Production Design Guild Awards on Sunday.

Cox, whose 40-year career has included credits such as The Matrix and Moulin Rouge, was awarded the Canal Road Artisan Lifetime Achievement Award, while Martin -Australia’s most prolific Academy Award winner – was recognised with the Cameron Creswell Outstanding Contribution to Design Award.

The awards, which celebrated their 10th anniversary, also marked the end of an era as Apdg president and founder George Liddle announced he was stepping down after more than a decade at the helm.

Speaking at the virtual event, he said the future looked positive for the guild.

“Technological advances change the way we work, but they are mere tools,” he said.

“The creative design mind remains. That means design practitioners will remain an essential part of all successful productions in the live performance,...

Yael Stone (Orange is the New Black), Rob Collins (Cleverman), Callan Mulvey (Avengers: Endgame) and Shantae Barnes-Cowan (Operation Buffalo) will star in Firebite for AMC+.

The original series just entered production in South Australia, and has also added Tony Kravitz (The Tall Man) as director.

A co-production between AMC Studios and See-Saw Films, Firebite is a fantasy series that follows two Indigenous Australian hunters, Tyson (Collins) and Shanika (Barnes-Cowan), on their quest to battle the last colony of vampires in the middle of the South Australian desert. The series is comprised of eight, one-hour episodes set to debut on AMC+ this winter.

Warwick Thorton created and wrote the series—also directing, along with Kravitz and Brendan Fletcher (Mad Bastards).

Paul Ranford is producing, with Dena Curtis and Libby Sharpe serving as co-producers, and Billy Bowring as associate producer.

Emile Sherman and Iain Canning are exec producing for See-Saw Films,...

High Ground, The Invisible Man and 2067 lead the feature film nominees and Hungry Ghosts, Stateless and Bump television for the upcoming Australian Production Design Guild (Apdg) Awards.

Production designer for High Ground Ross Wallace and The Invisible Man’s Alex Holmes will compete for the night’s top gong against Relic‘s Steven Jones-Evans and True History of the Kelly Gang‘s Karen Murphy.

In television, battling for the production designer award are Hungry Ghost‘s Carrie Kennedy, On Becoming A God In Central Florida‘s Annie Beauchamp, Stateless’ Melinda Doring and The Luminaries‘ Felicity Abbott.

There are 23 categories for this year’s awards, including the traditional live performance, film, television, event, animation and costume design awards, in addition to new categories that include set decorators, screen graphic designers and live performance video designers.

“Over the past 10 years our young emerging designers have flourished,” production designer and Apdg president George Liddle said.

The NBC drama pilot about a young Robert Langdon has found its lead actor.

Ashley Zukerman has been cast in “Langdon,” which is based on Dan Brown’s best-selling book “The Lost Symbol.” The series follows the early adventures of famed Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon (Zukerman), who must solve a series of deadly puzzles to save his kidnapped mentor and thwart a global conspiracy.

Zukerman recently appeared as Nate Sofrelli on the Emmy- and Golden Globe Award-winning HBO series “Succession.” He is also known for starring in the Emmy-winning Wgn America series “Manhattan,” which dramatized the creation of the atomic bomb during the Manhattan Project. His other American TV credits include shows such as “Designated Survivor,” “Masters of Sex,” and “Fear the Walking Dead.” He has starred in Australian shows such as “The Code,” “Rush,” and “Underbelly.” He will next be seen starring opposite Kate Mara in the FX limited series “A Teacher.

Succession standout Ashley Zukerman has been tapped for the title role in Langdon, NBC’s drama pilot based on Dan Brown’s best-selling thriller novel The Lost Symbol. In the project, from Imagine Television, CBS TV Studios and Universal Television, he takes on the character played by Tom Hanks in the movie trilogy The Da Vinci Code, Angels & Demons and Inferno.

Written by Dan Dworkin and Jay Beattie, Langdon follows the early adventures of famed Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon (Zukerman), who must solve a series of deadly puzzles to save his kidnapped mentor and thwart a chilling global conspiracy.

Dworkin and Beattie executive produce with Brown and Imagine’s Brian Grazer, Ron Howard, Samie Falvey and Anna Culp. CBS TV Studios, where Imagine TV has a first-look deal, and Universal TV co-produce.

The Last Symbol is the third Brown novel featuring the character of Langdon, following Angels & Demons and The Da Vinci Code,...

Steven Jones-Evans with Rod Allan, CEO Docklands Studios.

Hotel Mumbai received the accolade for best feature film production design at the 2019 Australian Production Design Guild Awards held at Melba Spiegeltent, Collingwood, on Sunday night.

The other feature film honorees were Judy & Punch, Danger Close: The Battle of Long Tan, Aquaman and Ladies in Black.

The winners in the TV categories were Tidelands, A Place to Call Home season 6 and Ms Fisher’s Modern Murder Mysteries.

The Twist won the screen animation design prize at the show compered by Adam Elliot, the Academy Award winning creator of Harvie Krumpet.

Grant Slotboom, construction manager of Illusions, was presented with the Canal Road Film Centre Artisan Award for Lifetime Achievement for Screen.

The 2019 Apdg Award winners in the screen categories:

Aftrs Award for Student and Emerging Designer for Screen

Sweet Tooth

Emma Bourke, Production Designer

Sabina Myers, Costume Designer

Barry Jarrot, Art Director

Title...

Exclusive: FX is rounding out the cast for A Teacher. Manhattan alum Ashley Zukerman, Marielle Scott (Lady Bird), Shane Harper (Awkward) and Adam David Thompson (Godless) are set as series regulars, and Rya Kihlstedt (Yellowstone), Camila Perez (Gotham), Cameron Moulène (Foursome) and Ciara Bravo (Wayne) will recur opposite Kate Mara and Nick Robinson in FX’s 10-episode limited series based on Hannah Fidell’s buzzy 2013 Sundance feature, starring and executive produced by Mara.

A Teacher explores the story behind the mugshot of a female high school teacher (Mara) caught in an affair with her male student (Robinson), revealing the complexities and consequences of these illegal relationships.

Fidell, who wrote, directed and produced the film, will pen the adaptation, direct and executive produce the limited series.

Zukerman will play Matt, Claire’s (Mara) supportive and loving husband with a boyish charm and a creative side that he’s been repressing for years.

‘Winchester’. (Photo: Ben King)

Matthew Putland took home the award for Best Production Design for a Feature Film for his work on Winchester at the Australian Production Design Guild (Apdg) Awards over the weekend.

The equivalent television award went to Tim Ferrier for ABC series Friday On My Mind.

The awards were held on Sunday evening at the Eternity Theatre in Sydney, with prizes given out in 26 categories spanning VFX, costume, hair and makeup, and production design across film, television, games and live performance.

On the evening, Ian Richter, Bill Undery and Ross Turner were all presented with Artisan Awards for Lifetime Achievement, while production and costume Stephen Curtis, acclaimed screen and live performance production and costume designer, was the recipient of the Cameron Creswell Award for Outstanding Contribution to Design. Caitlin Murray was the recipent of the Thelma Afford Award.

The full list of winners:

Aftrs Award For Student...

‘Upgrade’.

The nominees for this year’s Australian Production Design Guild Awards have been unveiled, with 106 nominees across 27 categories – six of which are new.

The production designers behind Winchester, Upgrade, Peter Rabbit and The Lego Ninjago Movie are in contention for the best production on a feature film award, while those who helped to put together Harrow, Top of the Lake: China Girl, Friday On My Mind and Picnic at Hanging Rock will vie for the equivalent award in TV.

Apdg president George Liddle said: “The Guild is thrilled to represent all the talent from the diverse areas of design and to highlight and award the outstanding work produced over the last year in our annual awards.

With a growing membership from screen and live performance design practitioners, and the inclusion of the six new categories, we can also highlight the achievements of designers working on international productions, web series and in the game industry.

Quentin Tarantino is filling out the cast of his 1969-set “Once Upon a Time in Hollywood” with rising stars Rumer Willis, Dreama Walker, Margaret Qualley, Costa Ronin, Damon Herriman, Victoria Pedretti and Madisen Beaty, TheWrap has learned.

Herriman, an Australian actor best known to American audiences for a recurring role on “Justified,” has been cast as Charles Manson — the notorious cult leader whose self-styled “family” committed multiple murders in the year when the movie takes place.

In addition, “Empire” star Rumer Willis plays British actress Joanna Pettet; Walker plays actress and singer Connie Stevens and Ronin (“The Americans”) portrays Polish actor Voytek Frykowski, who was one of the victims of the Manson Family’s murder spree at Roman Polanski’s home on Cielo Drive.

Also Read: Quentin Tarantino's Charles Manson Movie: How the Stars Compare to Real-Life Characters (Photos)

Qualley plays a character named Kitty Kat, Beaty portrays Katie and Pedretti is Lulu.

Women In Animation (Wia) has partnered with USC, UCLA, and CalArts to create “Breaking the Glass Frame: Women and Animation, Past, Present, Future,” a symposium designed to empower women and Lgbtq+ people by spotlighting female contributions to animation and exploring solutions to sexual harassment, bias, and lack of diversity within the industry and academia. The symposium will take place October 5 – 7 at USC.

The symposium seizes momentum after the John Lasseter debacle (he will leave Disney and Pixar at year’s end after allegations of workplace sexual harassment), and the promotion of Jennifer Lee as chief creative officer at Disney.

The symposium also follows on the heels of Wia’s “Women in Animation World Summit” at the Annecy Animation Festival in June, and Wia’s announcement of a “Women in Animation Vancouver Summit,” ahead of Siggraph 2018 on August 11.

“We believe strongly in the next generation of artists and filmmakers and are...

A three-day symposium spotlighting female contributions in the field of animation and exploring solutions to sexual harassment, bias and the lack of diversity in the industry will be held Oct. 5-7 at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts. The event – called “Breaking the Glass Frame: Women and Animation, Past, Present, Future” – is being organized by Women in Animation, USC, UCLA and CalArts. Organizers say it’s designed “to empower women and Lgbtq+ people.”

Oscar-winner Brenda Chapman will be one of the keynote speakers. In 1998, she became the first woman to direct an animated feature (The Prince of Egypt) for a major studio and went on to win an Academy Award for co-directing Brave. She also wrote the story for Beauty and the Beast and was story supervisor for The Lion King.

Brown Johnson, executive vice president and creative director at Sesame Workshop, will also give a keynote address. “We’re at...

Women in Animation has joined forces with USC, UCLA and CalArts to present the symposium “Breaking the Glass Frame: Women and Animation, Past, Present, Future” Oct. 5-7 at USC’s School of Cinematic Arts.

“This is the first collaborative event between three of the world’s most prestigious animation programs: USC’s John C. Hench Division of Animation & Digital Arts, the UCLA School of Theater Film and Television’s Animation Workshop, and CalArts’ Character and Experimental Animation Programs. We hope this gathering of incredible women will inspire the next generation to break through the glass frame,” said USC’s Lisa Mann, associate professor of practice of Cinematic Arts and an event organizer.

The symposium is designed to empower women and Lgbtq+ people by shining a light on the contributions women have made in the animation industry and by seeking solutions to such issues as sexual harassment, bias and lack of...

Australian soap opera actress Jessica Falkholt died Wednesday at age 29, six days after being taken off life support following a devastating crash that killed three of her family members.

Falkholt, who starred as Hope Morrison on Home and Away, died in a Sydney hospital three weeks after a two-car collision that killed her sister, Annabelle, and her parents, Lars and Vivian Falkholt. The driver of the other vehicle, Craig Whitall, 50,was killed instantly in the crash the day after Christmas.

News.com.au reported that Whitall was banned from driving for nine years and had "at least 10 convictions for driving while disqualified."

Falkholt’s parents died instantly in the crash but Annabelle, 21, died in the hospital three days later. Jessica underwent a few surgeries, including one to remove her kidney and a portion of her skull. However, the actress was in a coma until she was taken off life support...

Australian actress Jessica Falkholt has died weeks after she was involved in a horrific car crash that killed three members of her family. She was 29.

Falkholt passed away on Wednesday Jan. 17 (Australian time), the hospital – where she had been in a coma since the accident – confirmed on behalf of the surviving members of her family.

“On behalf of the family of Jessica Falkholt, St. George Hospital has been asked to advise the media and the community of Jessica’s passing today at 10.20am,” a spokesperson for the hospital said in a statement, obtained by People.

“Jessica passed away from serious...