News

Jessica Mauboy.

Channel Seven's The Secret Daughter, starring Jessica Mauboy, has begun filming in Sydney and country Nsw.

Mauboy leads the cast as Billie Carter, a part-time country pub singer whose life changes forever after a chance meeting with wealthy city hotelier Jack Norton, played by Colin Friels.

The drama will also star Bonnie Sveen (Home and Away), Matthew Levett (A Place To Call Home, Devil.s Playground), David Field (Catching Milat, No Activity), Rachel Gordon (Winter, The Moodys, Blue Heelers), Salvatore Coco (The Principal, Catching Milat) and Jared Turner (The Almighty Johnsons, The Shannara Chronicles).

Supporting cast members include former Miss World Australia Erin Holland, Jr Reyne (Neighbours), Libby Asciak (Here Come The Habibs), Johnny Boxer (Fat Pizza vs Housos), Terry Serio (Janet King), Waapa graduate Harriet Gordon-Anderson, Jeremy Ambrum (Cleverman, Mabo) and Amanda Muggleton (City Homicide, Prisoner).

.Seven is the home of Australian drama and we.re immensely...

Son Of A Gun director Julius Avery: "For me, it was all about showing that there's an honor code." Photo: Anne-Katrin Titze

Julius Avery's fired-up on the run Son Of A Gun stars Ewan McGregor, Brenton Thwaites and Alicia Vikander with Nash Edgerton, Matt Nable, Eddie Baroo, Jacek Koman, Tom Budge, Damon Herriman and Johnny Boxer forming a remarkable ensemble.

At the Bowery Hotel, during my conversation with the director, a long line of fathers-in-crime came to mind: James Caan in Michael Mann's Thief, Billy Wilder's Double Indemnity, Jack Nicholson in Roman Polanski's Chinatown, Alain Delon in Jean-Pierre Melville's Le Samouraï and Le Cercle Rouge. David Mackenzie's Starred Up with Jack O'Connell and Ben Mendelsohn carry on familial ties.

Brenton Thwaites as J.R. and Ewan McGregor as Brendan Lynch: "He comes in with scratches on his face. I wanted it to...

Paul Fenech has built up quite a cult following with his movies and TV series in the past 14 years but Fenech fans must have had other distractions last weekend.

How else to explain the relatively tame opening of the director-actor-writer.s latest opus, Fat Pizza vs Housos?

The comedic battle of thongs, chainsaws, bikies and pizzas, which stars Fenech, Johnny Boxer, Maria Venuti and Elle Dawe, with cameos from Nick Giannopoulos, Kyle Sandilands and Angry Anderson, rang up $280,000 on 121 screens and $296,000 with previews.

Minus previews, that.s 46% below the 2012 debut of Housos vs Authority, which grabbed $526,000 on 151 screens and wound up earning $1.35 million.

It.s dubious whether anyone chose to go to the second weekend of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay- Part 1, rather than the caper set in the infamous housing commission suburb of Sunnyvale.

But Transmission Films. Andrew Mackie tells If, .We were on fewer screens this time and...

Hitting movie theaters this weekend:

Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer – Jordana Beatty, Heather Graham, Parris Mosteller

Super 8 - Elle Fanning, Amanda Michalka, Kyle Chandler

Movie of the Week

Super 8

The Stars: Elle Fanning, Amanda Michalka, Kyle Chandler

The Plot: After witnessing a mysterious train crash, a group of friends in the summer of 1979 begin noticing strange happenings going around in their small town, and begin to investigate into the creepy phenomenon.

The Buzz: The trailer for Super 8 sent shivers down my spine — good shivers. This film looks to be a beautifully crafted Spielbergian throwback. I’m pleased with the lack of A-list actors too. There’s been an air of mystery around this whole production, as J.J.Abrams and company did their best at keeping everything about this film on the hush-hush. I’ll be checking it out as soon as humanly possible...

Nikki Webster has been cast in a new Australian television drama. The 23-year-old entertainer, who shot to fame performing at the Sydney Olympic Games opening ceremony, will play schoolgirl V in "teen beach movie" Short Beach, alongside Johnny Boxer and Matt Zeremes. Webster told The Sunday Telegraph: "This role is fun because I wasn't at school a lot in years 11 and 12, so I never got to be that girly girl. I missed that - I was too busy designing a clothing range and releasing music." The star recently set up her own performance (more)...

Dark Horse is a dramatic short which will show at Seattle's True Independent Film Festival beginning June 4th. This twenty-eight minute film has already won Best Short at the Byron Bay Film Fest and was nominated for Best Short at Method Fest in 2010. In the film a "lonely taxi driver" befriends a traumatized prostitute and through friendship each shares the other's pain (Dark). This is director Marc Furmie's second production and those with an interest in the offbeat can check out Dark Horse and many other indie' films at the Stiff website below.

The synopsis for Dark Horse here:

"Minh Tran is a lonely taxi driver whse relationship with his wife has disintegrated following a miscarriage. One night, his path crosses taht of Isabella Fortino, a girl forced into prostitution by her boyfriend. Minh's show of kindness to Isabella leads to an unlikely connection as they lose themselves in...