Dix climbs into Crawlspace

Production is underway on Crawlspace, a sci-fi thriller which marks the directorial debut of Justin Dix, head of Australian make up studio Wicked of Oz.

The story sees a group of elite soldiers break into a secret science research facility where they discover a woman who has had her memory wiped. It stars by Ditch Davey (TV's Underbelly Files) and Amber Clayton (TV's Three Rivers and Rush).

Production through Wicked of Oz, Maker Films and Wolf Creek Pictures sees Greg Mclean (Red Hill, Rogue, Wolf Creek), James Hoppe (Shadow Play, Blind Company, Summer Coda), Craig McMahon (Red Hill), Pete Ford (Storm Warning), Silvio Salom and Stephen Wools as executive producers and John Finemore (Shadow Play) and Nicholas Sherry as producers, with Steve Topic as co-producer.

Dix has various design, creature effects, make-up credits on Star Wars episodes 2 and 3, Red Hill and Rogue.

Filming of Crawlspace will take place at the Docklands Studios Melbourne (pictured) until the end of May.

Source http://www.filmbiz.asia/news/dix-climbs-into-crawlspace

1.3m watch Tassie Tiger eliminated

More than 1 million people tuned in to watch a contestant nicknamed the Tassie Tiger eliminated from reality cooking show My Kitchen Rules.

A panel of celebrity chefs voted Melanie and James Maddock, from Hobart, off the show on Wednesday night after their three-course meal was deemed inferior to that of fellow contestants Kane Lillywhite and Lee-Ying Chan, from Melbourne.

Viewers had dubbed Melanie Maddock the Tassie Tiger because of her catty critiques of other competitors' food.

The Seven show attracted an audience of 1.333 million viewers, making it the most-watched program on Wednesday night.

Seven had the four most-watched shows on Wednesday and had five of the top 10.

Seven News was in second place (1.190 million), Criminal Minds third (1.170 million) and Today Tonight fourth (1.144 million).

Long-running Seven soap Home and Away had 940,000 viewers and was in eighth place.

Nine had three shows in the top 10. Its news was the sixth most-watched show with 974,000 viewers.

A Current Affair was in ninth spot with 921,000 and matchmaking reality show The Farmer Wants a Wife just scraped into 10th with 919,000.

Ten and the ABC had one show each in the top 10.

Reality weight loss program The Biggest Loser attracted an audience of 978,000 putting it in fifth place and ABC News was in seventh spot with 945,000.

Source http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/24/3172723.htm?section=entertainment

Aussie starlet joins Silent Hill: Revelation 3D

Rising Australian star Adelaide Clemens has been cast in the lead role of Silent Hill: Revelation 3D, the sequel to the 2006 video game adaptation.

Clemens will star as a young woman on the eve of her 18th birthday who is plagued by the nightmares of her father's disappearance and is slowly beginning to realise that she may not be who she thought she was.

The film, which also stars American newcomer Kit Harington, began shooting in Toronto on Monday.

Fellow Australian Radha Mitchell starred alongside Sean Bean in the original film, which was based on the bestselling Konami video game franchise.

Clemens' profile has been on the rise in the US since she appeared in X-Men Origins: Wolverine.

She recently appeared in local indie flick Wasted On The Young by first-time director Ben C Lucas, and is slated to star in the upcoming George Miller movie Mad Max: Fury Road.

"Adelaide is breaking out of the indie world with commercial features such as X-Men and the upcoming Mad Max: Fury Road," producer Don Carmody said in a statement.

"She and Kit are emerging young talent and their chemistry and dynamics make them a brilliant addition to the Silent Hill team."

Source http://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2011/03/09/3159342.htm?section=entertainment

The truth about Hamish and Andy's TV deal

Reports that Hamish Blake and Andy Lee will earn a "fee" of between $15 million and $17 million for their rumoured television series for Nine are somewhat misleading.

The full details of the still-unconfirmed deal are unlikely ever to be made public. But whatever the amount they are to be paid, it will cover the cost of making the show as well as the fee the pair can expect to earn directly for their involvement.

Their personal cut ultimately will depend on the type of show they produce, and the number of episodes they make.

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Although Nine is rumoured to have signed the comedy duo to a two-year deal, for what is variously said to be 15 episodes or two batches of 10 hours, the network has refused to offer any details or even confirmation of a deal. Any news about what viewers can expect is likely to come via the pair’s Facebook page, which has nearly 1.24 million fans, or on their radio show, which is next on air on Friday.

Assuming there really is a deal, the boys could still do very handsomely out of it despite not earning anything like the "fee" that has been quoted.

Typically, a comedy show that is made using a mix of studio and location settings could be expected to cost between $400,000 and $500,000 an hour to produce.

Based on those figures, the costs of making the show would range from $6 million (for 15 episodes at $400,000 each) to $10 million (for two lots of 10 episodes at $500,000 each).

That would leave Blake and Lee with a fee somewhere between a low of $5 million and a high of $11 million.

At the higher end of the scale, the total cost per episode (based on 15 episodes at $17 million) would be slightly more than $1.13 million.

That is high by Australian standards, but not without precedent: Channel Seven is rumoured to have paid in the region of $1.3 million an episode to lure the Working Dog crew's show Thank God You're Here away from Ten.

As one industry figure points out, given the show rated around the 1.5 million viewer mark in its 2009 season on Seven, that equated to almost a dollar per viewer.

At the lower end of the scale, 20 episodes at $15 million would equate to $750,000 per episode, which is high for a comedy show but about the same as an hour of short-run quality drama.

These are, however, no more than very rough estimates. Depending on the number, nature and location of the shows, the cost per episode could be much higher or slightly lower.

And depending on the deal struck between the pair and Nine Lee and Blake will be smiling quite broadly or extremely broadly. Either way, they’re highly likely to be happy little campers.

Blake and Lee had parlayed their incredibly successful Austereo radio program into a burgeoning television career, with one-off specials and appearances on Ten’s Rove variety program, before last year announcing they would cut back their daily radio commitment to a single weekly show in order to further explore film and TV opportunities.

Blake is currently filming the low-budget comedy Two Little Boys on the south island of New Zealand, with Flight of the Conchords star Bret McKenzie.

In response to queries about his well-being in the wake of yesterday’s earthquake, which has devastated Christchurch, Lee posted the following comment on Facebook last night: "Thanks for concerns, Ham is much further south than where the earthquake is. Our thoughts are with those in effected areas. I’m also fine."

Source http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/tv-and-radio/the-truth-about-hamish-and-andys-tv-deal-20110223-1b4sn.html

Grammy awards watched by more than 26 million in US

This year's Grammy awards were watched by 26.66 million TV viewers in the US, its biggest audience for 11 years.

Viewing figures were up around 3% from last year's audience of 25.87m, broadcaster CBS said.

The show saw Lady Gaga emerging from a giant egg and an all-star tribute to soul queen Aretha Franklin.

Reviews for Sunday's show have been mixed, with the Hollywood Reporter's critic calling it "lousy" and "badly paced".

"The 53rd annual Grammy awards went on longer than a Bruce Springsteen concert," wrote Tim Goodman. "And not in a good way."

Yet the Los Angeles Times was more positive, saying "the line-up's generational range was impressive".

"In the end the spirit belonged to the future, as unpredictable and fragmented as it may be," wrote Ann Powers.

Country trio Lady Antebellum won five prizes, including song of the year and record of the year for their hit Need You Now.

Lady Gaga went home with three awards, as did rapper Jay-Z and soul star John Legend.

Source http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-12462960

Two badly beaten in Cronulla gang attack

THE violent attack on two teens by a gang armed with baseball bats and metal pipes at Cronulla beach last night was a pre-planned fight over a girl, police say.

The 18-year-old man and 17-year-old boy were at South Cronulla beach about 8.30pm on Monday when they were approached by a group of up to 12 armed teenagers.

An argument broke out, with members of the gang producing baseball bats and metal pipes.

The man was struck a number of times, suffering suspected fractured eye sockets and a broken jaw.

He was taken to St George Hospital in a stable condition.

Miranda Local Area Commander Detective Superintendent Jenny Hayes said inquiries have revealed the pre-planned fight was over a girl.

“The 18-year-old discharged himself from hospital and has told us he plans to seek treatment from his family doctor,” Detective Superintendent Hayes said.

The 17-year-old was severely bruised in the attack but didn't require hospital treatment.

The gang ran from the area immediately after the attack.

Police are hoping to speak with a number of witnesses who were in the area at the time.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Crime Stoppers on 1800 333 000.

Source http://www.news.com.au/national/two-badly-beaten-in-cronulla-gang-attack/story-e6frfkvr-1226002212408

Jamie Oliver offers free meals in Ipswich

CELEBRITY chef Jamie Oliver has sped up his arrival in the flood-ravaged city of Ipswich, offering free meals to 250 people a day.

Oliver's Ministry of Food kitchen in Ipswich, his first such centre in Australia, was due to open around March.

"Construction for the new Ministry of Food Ipswich was due to commence this week. However given the devastation to the local area, we've put those plans on hold for now to help get the community back on its feet," said program manager for the Ministry of Food Australia, Alicia Peardon.

The centre will be open for two weeks as a drop-in centre for the Ipswich community.

Jamie's Ministry of Food Flood Relief Program, funded by electrical goods retailer The Good Guys, will provide free meals to 250 people per day from Wednesday at the Ministry of Food Centre Ipswich in d'Arcy Doyle Place.

"I've been as shocked as anyone by the scenes of devastation in Queensland and the tragic stories to go with them," Oliver said in a statement.

"It's only right that the Ministry of Food Centre in Ipswich plays its part in helping the community, so I hope that providing free freshly cooked meals for those who need them most will go some way to helping the local community and relief workers in the coming days and weeks.

"The people of Queensland are always in my thoughts at the moment," the British chef said.

Residents and volunteers have been invited to drop in throughout the day for tea and coffee and to collect a meal voucher for a nutritious dinner served between 6pm and 7.30pm (AEST) daily.

Boystown Counselling service will move into the venue in the Ipswich CBD as it becomes a community hub where people can come and get information, support services and a meal for no cost.

Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale said he was delighted to hear of the support being offered by the service.

Source http://www.news.com.au/entertainment/celebrity/jamie-oliver-offers-free-meals-in-ipswich/story-e6frfmqi-1225991171970