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Today, Prime Video and Amazon Freevee announced the second season of the gripping Australian crime series Troppo will premiere on July 25.

Stars Thomas Jane (Boogie Nights) and Nicole Chamoun (Safe Harbour) are back in the fictional rural town of Crimson Lake, in the tropical North of Australia, where another bizarre murder has taken place.

All eight episodes will be available on July 25, 2024, exclusively on Prime Video and Amazon Freevee in the U.S., UK, Germany, and Austria.

Six months after Ted Conkaffey (Thomas Jane) and Amanda Pharrell (Nicole Chamoun) solved their first murder case, the unlikely duo is now investigating the bizarre local murder of a healing retreat leader with connections to an exotic drug ring and a ‘bikie’ gang. While Amanda tangles with an old enemy and finds a new love interest, Ted’s past stalks him and his family to Crimson Lake — with deadly consequences.

Adapted for television by Yolanda Ramke,...

Welcome to Global Breakouts, Deadline’s fortnightly strand in which we shine a spotlight on the TV shows and films killing it in their local territories. The industry is as globalized as it’s ever been, but breakout hits are appearing in pockets of the world all the time and it can be hard to keep track… So we’re going to do the hard work for you.

This week we head down under to Australia, where Paramount+ original Last King of the Cross has been making a serious racket. Telling the true story of gang warfare in the notorious Sydney Kings Cross district, the 10-part crime thriller harks back to classics such as The Godfather. Its journey to screen has been a lengthy but enjoyable one, say producers.

Name: Last King of the Cross

Country: Australia

Network: Paramount+ Australia

Producer: Helium Pictures

International sales: Cineflix Rights

For fans of: Godfather,...

Click here to read the full article.

Nordic streamer Viaplay and Amazon’s ad-supported service Freevee have scored online rights to the Australian crime drama Troppo from German group Leonine Studios.

Viaplay picked up SVOD rights to the series, based on Candice Fox’s best-selling Crimson Lake novels, for the Nordics, the Netherlands, Poland and the Baltic region. Amazon Freevee scored AVOD rights for Germany and the U.K.

In Troppo, Thomas Jane plays Ted Conkaffey, a down-and-out ex-cop living in tropical Far North Queensland, Australia, who is recruited by Amanda Pharell (Nicole Chamoun), an eccentric small town private investigator, to investigate the murder of a brilliant tech pioneer. Created and written by Yolanda Ramke (Cargo) and co-directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse (Wakefield), Troppo premiered on Australian’s ABC and debuted in the U.S. on Freevee in May.

Radha Mitchell (Olympus Has Fallen), David Lyons (Eat Pray Love) and Yerin Ha (Halo) co-star.

Tim Roth-starring Australian drama Last King of the Cross has been picked up by Sky in Europe, marking the first major sale of the Paramount+ series as it heads to Mipcom Cannes.

Sky has picked up the show for its UK, Ireland, Italy and Germany service, striking the deal with distributor Cineflix Rights.

Inspired by John Ibrahim’s best-selling autobiography, Helium’s 10-parter stars Academy Award-nominee Roth as Ezra Shipman, a kingpin in Sydney’s Kings Cross nightclub district in the 1980s and 1990s. Roth replaced Ian McShane in one of the lead roles earlier this year.

Lincoln Younes and Claude Jabbour also lead as two Lebanese teenagers who arrive in Australia and quickly enter an underworld, making a name for themselves as the cocaine wave hits Kings Cross.

Paramount+ Australia greenlit the show and Cineflix Rights is exclusive international distributor. Produced by Mark Fennessy and Karl Zwicky, and...

Click here to read the full article.

Comcast-owned pay-tv group Sky has snatched up rights across its European footprint for the upcoming Australian crime drama Last King of the Cross.

In a deal announced on the eve of international television market MIPCOM Cannes, Sky took exclusive rights across the UK, Ireland, Italy and Germany for the 10-part series starring Tim Roth and inspired by John Ibrahim’s best-selling autobiography about his rise from a poverty-stricken immigrant to Australia’s most infamous nightclub mogul. Set in the 1980s and ’90s in Australia’s mini-Atlantic City — the decadent half-mile strip along Sydney’s Kings Cross where every form of vice is on offer — the series co-stars Lincoln Younes, Claude Jabbour, Callan Mulvey, Tess Haubrich, Maria Tran and Matt Nable.

Helium Pictures produced Last King of the Cross for Paramount+ Australia with Cineflix Rights handling international sales. Mark Fennessy and Karl Zwicky produced,...

Ian McShane has been cast in Paramount+ Australia’s drama Last King Of The Cross and will take on a major role. He will appear opposite star Lincoln Younes.

Last King of The Cross, which will begin filming in Sydney in May, is a Helium Pictures production for Paramount+ Australia with Cineflix Rights as the international distributor. Produced by Mark Fennessy and Karl Zwicky, the drama is by writer/director Kieran Darcy-Smith who will direct.

Inspired by John Ibrahim’s best-selling autobiography, Last King of The Cross is an operatic story of two brothers, Sam and John Ibrahim who organize the street but lose each other in their ascent to power. The drama tracks John Ibrahim’s rise from a poverty-stricken immigrant with no education, no money, and no prospects, to Australia’s most infamous nightclub mogul in Sydney’s Kings Cross – a mini-Atlantic City, barely half a mile long...

Rising Australian star Lincoln Younes has been cast as the lead of “Last King of the Cross,” a biographical series about a notorious night club owner and gangster being produced for Paramount Plus.

Told in ten episodes, the series is an operatic story of two brothers, Sam and John Ibrahim who organize the street but lose each other in their ascent to power.

Kieran Darcy-Smith has writing credits and is set as the director. Production in Sydney, New South Wales, is due to begin at the weekend, according to local reports.

Based on John Ibrahim’s autobiography of the same name, the series tracks Ibrahim’s rise from a poverty-stricken Lebanese immigrant with no education, no money, and no prospects, to Australia’s most infamous nightclub mogul in Sydney’s Kings Cross. The district is a mini-Atlantic City, barely half a mile long with every form of criminality on display.

Nicole Chamoun will star opposite US actor Thomas Jane in ABC crime drama Troppo, with cameras now rolling in Queensland.

Produced by Beyond Entertainment and Eq Media Group in association with Jane’s production company Renegade Entertainment, the Fnq-set series is created by Yolanda Ramke and based on the novel Crimson Lake by Candice Fox.

Chamoun, best known for her roles in On The Ropes, The Gloaming, Safe Harbour and Romper Stomper, plays Amanda Pharrell, an eccentric Pi with a disturbing criminal past. She begrudgingly recruits disgraced ex-cop Ted Conkaffey (Jane) to investigate the murder of a brilliant research scientist.

As they battle to uncover the truth, and the tightly held secrets of Crimson Lake, their own traumatic pasts are dragged painfully into the present – tearing them apart, as each of them faces their own fight for sanity and survival.

The supporting cast includes David Lyons, Sun Park, Simon Lyndon,...

IMDb TV has picked up the first season of Australian drama series Troppo, based on Candice Fox’s bestselling novel Crimson Lake, starring and executive produced by Thomas Jane (The Expanse The Vanished) via his Renegade Entertainment. The upcoming series comes from Eq Media Group, Beyond Entertainment and AGC Television, the television production and distribution division of Stuart Ford’s AGC Studios. Production is currently underway in Australia.

Adapted for television by Yolanda Ramke, Troppo is the story of Ted Conkaffey (Jane), an ex-cop falsely accused of committing a disturbing crime, who has escaped to hide away in the tropics of Far North Queensland. As he tries to avoid discovery, he’s drawn into investigating a wild murder and a missing person, alongside a complicated woman, with dark secrets of her own.

Troppo is based on Fox’s book Crimson Lake, the first novel of a gripping contemporary crime series set in Queensland,...

US star Thomas Jane has been announced as the lead for ABC crime series Troppo, due to shoot on the Gold Coast and Far North Queensland mid-year.

Based on Candice Fox’s bestselling novel Crimson Lake, the eight-part series centres on disgraced ex-cop Ted Conkaffey (Jane), who is mismatched with eccentric private investigator Amanda Pharrell to help uncover the whereabouts of a missing Korean family man and tech pioneer.

As they begin to uncover a string of bizarre deaths, the unlikely duo is thrust into a mutual fight for survival and sanity in the wilds of Far North Queensland.

Produced by Eq Media and Beyond Entertainment, with AGC Television onboard as co-financier and co-producer, Troppo is created by Yolanda Ramke, with Jocelyn Moorhouse the set-up director.

The series producer is Karl Zwicky, with executive producers including Quail, Lisa Duff and Simonne Overend (Eq Media Group), Mikael Borglund and David Ogilvy...

A television adaptation of 2018’s Ladies in Black, a feature film from Bryan Brown, and a television drama from one of the creators of Offspring are among the 21 projects to share in more than $730,000 in development funding from Screen Australia.

Of the projects to receive funding, 10 have been supported through the Generate fund and 11 through the Premium fund.

Screen Australia’s head of content Sally Caplan said the agency was impressed by the “rigorous creativity” of Australian creators as the industry continued to rebound from Covid-19.

“It’s great to see a number of engaging stories set around iconic milestones in Australian history, from the building of the Sydney Harbour Bridge, to the social change that took place in the 60s or the recession in the 80s, and I look forward to seeing these projects develop further,” she said.

Features:

Premium:

1989

Sewing Pictures Pty Ltd

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Family

Writer...

Netflix has commissioned a reboot of beloved ’90s teen drama Heartbreak High, to be produced by Fremantle Australia and Dutch production company NewBe.

The eight-part series, to shoot in Sydney with the support of Screen Nsw, will be inspired by the original but reimagined for today.

NewBe started shopping a contemporary remake at MIPCOM last year, after acquiring the rights from Brian Abel, partner of the late Ben Gannon, who created and produced the original. Fremantle was understood to be involved in March.

Production is expected to begin next year, with the show to premiere globally on the streamer in 2022. Fremantle Asia Pacific CEO Chris Oliver-Taylor and creative director, scripted content Carly Heaton will be the EPs, together with NewBe founder and CEO Jeroen Koopman and Tarik Traidia. Abel and Michael Jenkins, one of the original EPs, will be consultants on the series.

Set in Sydney’s fictional Hartley High School,...

‘Heartbreak High.’

Some 20 years after Heartbreak High ended, a contemporary remake of the popular Australian high school series is being shopped at Mipcom.

Dutch production company NewBe, which secured worldwide English-language rights to the show created by the late Ben Gannon, is seeking to partner with streaming companies on new series.

Following students at a fictional school in a tough Sydney neighbourhood, the drama launched on Network Ten in 1994 and moved to the ABC three years later, ending in 1999. More than 200 episodes were produced.

The show introduced many new or relatively fresh faces including Alex Dimitriades, Callan Mulvey, Ada Nicodemu, Doris Younane, Rebecca Smart, Tony Martin, Abi Tucker, Salvatore Coco, Kym Wilson, Scott Major and Emma Roche.

Gannon died in 2007 and rights to the series reverted to his partner Brian Abel, who will serve as a consultant on the remake alongside Michael Jenkins, who was the executive producer.

Jenkins was...

The cast of ‘The Heights’ season 2 (Photo credit: Ben King).

Backed by Screen Australia, the second season of the ABC’s ground-breaking drama serial The Heights will start shooting in Perth on August 26, providing more opportunities for emerging directors, writers and actors.

Jub Clerc, whose short Storytime is featured in the horror anthology Dark Whispers – Volume 1 curated by Megan Riakos and Leonie Marsh, and Kelli Cross (Aussie Rangers) are joining the cohort of directors under the production’s mentorship program.

They will be mentored by Karl Zwicky, alongside another addition in Tenika Smith (Neighbours) and Renée Webster, who made her TV drama directing debut on the first season.

Season one writers Romina Accurso, Hannah Carroll Chapman, Megan Palinkas, Peter Mattessi, Dot West, Magda Wozniak, the showrunner/co-creator Warren Clarke and Katie Beckett return.

They are joined by recruits Tim Williams, Nora Niasari, Nayuka Gorrie, Cassandra Nguyen, Jane Allen, Alex Cullen,...

Marta Dusseldorp as Janet King..

The third season of Screentime.s ABC drama Janet King, starring Marta Dusseldorp, goes into production this week.

Joining the established cast of Damian Walshe-Howling, Peter Kowitz, Christopher Morris, Andrea Demetriades, Anita Hegh and Hamish Michael for the third instalment will be Don Hany, Robert Mammone, Susie Porter, Andrew Ryan, Huw Higginson, John Bach, Steve Le Marquand, Arka Das and Adam Demos.

This season, Janet will confront .a hornet.s nest of illegal gambling, organised crime and money laundering, while investigating the tragic death of a young sports star..

Written by Greg Haddrick, Felicity Packard, and Niki Aken with Alexa Wyatt as writer/script producer, the season will be directed by Peter Andrikidis, Grant Brown and Catherine Millar.

Janet King is produced by Karl Zwicky and Lisa Scott with Hilary Bonney and Marta Dusseldrop as associate producers. Screentime.s Haddrick, ABC.s Sally Riley and Kym Goldsworthy are executive producers.

Marta Dusseldorp as Janet King.

The ABC has given the greenlight to a third season of Janet King, with shooting expected to begin in the second half of this year..

The show stars Marta Dusseldorp and is produced by Karl Zwicky, and is made with the financial assistance of Screen Nsw, with Dcd Rights handling international sales. . .

Screentime.s Greg Haddrick and the ABC.s Kym Goldsworthy and Alastair McKinnon are executive producers, with Hilary Bonney and Dusseldorp as associate producers.

.We are delighted to have audience favourite Marta Dusseldorp bring her immense talents back for a third season of thrilling drama in Janet King", ABC TV.s Acting Head of Fiction Alastair McKinnon said.

Screentime.s Head of Drama Greg Haddrick commented that .Janet King has been embraced by audiences and critics alike, and we look forward to her continued quest for justice with an innate ability to unravel...

Janet King season 2 begins production this week with Marta Dusseldorp reprising her lead role.

In the second series, King is seconded from the Dpp to lead a Royal Commission into a deadly upsurge in gun crime..

King is joined by conscripting solicitors Richard Stirling (Hamish Michael) and Lina Badir (Andrea Demetriades), and the ambitious Owen Mitchell (Damian Walshe-Howling) as Counsel Assisting.

With coercive powers Detective Andy Campbell (Christopher Morris) can only dream of, King and her team peel back the complex layers of intrigue underpinning the illicit trade in weapons..

Completing the cast are Peter Kowitz, Leah Purcell, Terry Serio, Philip Quast, Anita Hegh, Aaron Jeffrey, Genevieve Hegney, Nicholas Hope and Ewen Leslie.

The series is produced by Screentime, a Banijay Group company, and series produced by Karl Zwicky, produced by Lisa Scott, with Hilary Bonney and Marta Dusseldorp as associate producers, and Greg Haddrick as executive producer..

It is written by Haddrick,...

Network Ten has commissioned a comedy/drama which follows six teenagers at a remote research station on Aboriginal land who investigate the apparent disappearance of a leading scientist.

The Timeshifters (26×24′) is a co-production between Essential Media and Entertainment and Brisbane-based Carbon Media, budgeted at $15.4 million.

Formerly known as Camp Crazy, the series is described as journey of discovery that blurs reality, mythology and time. Each episode works independently within an over-arching story.

The narrative posits that a powerful Black Opal talisman was stolen from a secret cave hidden deep in the rainforest 10 years earlier, shiftng the delicate balance of power within the spirit world.

The teens are forced to become Timeshifters, connect with the land, uncover the dark secret of the research facility and find a way to travel back in time to make sure the Black Opal is never disturbed again..

The series creator, Essential partner/head of kids Carmel Travers,...

ABC TV has confirmed new series of. Janet King, Rake, Jack Irish, The Code and The Doctor Blake Mysteries.

Marta Dusseldorp will star in the second series of Janet King, Richard Roxburgh returns as Cleaver Greene in the fourth series of Rake and Guy Pearce stars in a six-part series based on the crime novels by Peter Temple in Jack Irish: The Series, a spin-off of the three telepics. Craig McLachlan returns as. Dr Lucien Blake in the fourth outing of The Doctor Blake Mysteries, together with Nadine Garner as his housekeeper Jean Beazley. Dan Spielman and Ashley Zuckerman are back for the second season of The Code. ABC Head of Fiction Carole Sklan said: .ABC TV is very happy to be able to bring back this collection of hugely entertaining, favourite dramas. They feature such a wonderful, eclectic mix of indelible characters.. Head of Programming Brendan Dahill said: .This...

Director Russell Crowe Movie up for Best Film: Australian Academy Awards 2015 nominations (photo: Actor-director Russell Crowe in 'The Water Diviner') Aacta Awards: Feature Film Categories Best Film The Babadook Kristina Ceyton and Kristian Moliere Charlie's Country Nils Erik Nielsen, Peter Djigirr and Rolf de Heer Predestination Paddy McDonald, Tim McGahan, Peter Spierig and Michael Spierig The Railway Man Chris Brown, Andy Paterson and Bill Curbishley Tracks Emile Sherman and Iain Canning The Water Diviner Andrew Mason, Keith Rodger and Troy Lum Best Director The Babadook Jennifer Kent Charlie's Country Rolf de Heer Predestination Peter Spierig and Michael Spierig The Rover David Michôd Best Actress Kate Box The Little Death Essie Davis The Babadook Sarah Snook Predestination Mia Wasikowska Tracks Best Actor Russell Crowe The Water Diviner David Gulpilil Charlie's Country Damon Herriman The Little Death Guy Pearce The Rover Best Supporting Actor Patrick Brammall The Little Death Yilmaz Erdogan...

New South Wales actor Remy Brand has been cast as the lead in the upcoming Slr Productions series Sam Fox: Extreme Adventures. The 22-year-old has appeared in a number of television commercials before as well as holding a guest role in Seven Network.s iconic series Home and Away. However, the part of Sam Fox is his first major acting role. Executive Producer and CEO of Slr Productions, Suzanne Ryan, says, .I am thrilled to have Remy Brand cast as Sam Fox, he absolutely captures the complete character of Sam Fox. His rugged good-looks, boyish charm and action-adventure spirit means he will strongly translate the character from Justin D.Ath.s books into an on-screen hero. We also have the cream of Australia.s producing talent on board for Sam Fox: Extreme Adventures . each bringing their own individual experience and knowledge to collaborate on a project that will...

The ABC has begun production of a new legal series which will showcase the talent of Australia’s acting talent pool.

The announcement:

Marta Dusseldorp (A Place to Call Home, Jack Irish, Crownies) returns as Senior Crown Prosecutor Janet King in the title role of the powerful new eight hour mini-series for ABC1, which begins production today.

Joining the cast are Vince Colosimo (Underbelly, The Great Gatsby) as Chief Superintendent Jack Rizzoli, and Damian Walshe-Howling (Underbelly, Brothers In Arms, The Time of Our Lives) as Owen Mitchell, a rising star prosecutor – each crucial in Janet’s campaign to expose the truth behind a shocking murder that strikes at the very heart of the justice system.

Also appearing in the compelling high stakes legal thriller are John Howard (Fury Road, Packed to the Rafters, All Saints), Sonia Todd (Rake, Home and Away, McLeod’s Daughters), Jessica Napier (Sea Patrol, McLeod’s Daughters), Deborah Kennedy (Rake,...

The sixth installment in the iconic Underbelly crime series is set to begin filming in Melbourne.

Underbelly: Squizzy will chronicle the the exploits of gangster Joseph Theodore Leslie Taylor - better known as .Squizzy. - and his quest for power from 1915 to 1927.

Squizzy will be played by rising actor Jared Daperis, while other cast will include Susie Porter (as matriarch Rosie Taylor), Luke Ford, Dan Wyllie, Nathan Page, Richard Cawthorne, Ashley Zukerman, Matt Boesenberg, Diana Glenn, Ken Radley, Andrew Ryan, Fletcher Humphrys and Peter Moon. Camille Keenan, Elise Jansen and Gracie Gilbert will play the three women who loved Squizzy.

The latest Underbelly series is being produced by production company Screentime for the Nine Network, which will broadcast the series next year. Screentime executive chairman Des Monaghan said Squizzy was to the 20th century what Ned Kelly was to the 19th century.

.Squizzy loved women and they loved him...

Screentime has begun production on the latest instalment of Underbelly for Nine.

The announcement:

Australia’s most colourful crime tsar is set to reclaim his throne when Underbelly: Squizzy commences filming on location in Melbourne this week.

A Screentime production for the Nine Network, the sixth instalment in this iconic series will chronicle the exploits of Joseph Theodore Leslie Taylor, known to all as “Squizzy” – the celebrity gangster whose ego and ambition knew no boundaries.

Spanning the years from 1915 to 1927, Underbelly: Squizzy tells the epic story of Squizzy’s relentless quest for power, ultimately creating a public persona that made him the first superstar gangster of the 20th Century.

With rising star, Jared Daperis, in the titular role, the dynamic cast will include Susie Porter, as matriarch “Rosie Taylor”, alongside Luke Ford, Dan Wyllie, Nathan Page, Richard Cawthorne, Ashley Zukerman, Matt Boesenberg, Diana Glenn, Ken Radley, Andrew Ryan,...

Marta Dusseldorp.s Crownies character, senior crown prosecutor Janet King, will star in her own self-titled eight-hour drama series.

Janet King will be a departure from its parent show - while both shows are legal dramas, the new series will lean more towards a political-thriller than drama.

Despite heavy promotion, the Screentime-produced Crownies was not a ratings winner and was quickly pushed to a later timeslot by the ABC last year.

Screentime.s Des Monaghan said: .It was apparent to us at Screentime and to the ABC, that the audience had a great deal of affection for Janet King. In conjunction with ABC TV, we have developed an exciting legal political-thriller which allows us to welcome back the brilliant Marta Dusseldorp as crown prosecutor Janet King..

Janet King was last seen in Crownies as she went into labour, giving birth to twins - the new series will pick up as...

Movie Review: 'Mummy v/s Sinbad'; Star Cast: Manu Bennett, Holly Brisley and Steven Grives; Director: Karl Zwicky; Rating: 1/2* - a failure in all areas.

Sometimes what you see on screen is so bad you are left speechless. 'Mummy v/s Sinbad' is one such film. It is so bad that the Indian distributors even changed its original Australian name of 'Sinbad and the Minotaur' to prevent cinegoers from finding out its true worth. But you definitely do find out, especially that there is indeed no 'mummy' in the film.

After stealing a 1,000-year-old scroll from the desert camp of the evil sorcerer Al-Jibar (Steven Grives),.

SyFy’s latest Original Movie Sinbad and the Minotaur, which premiered last week as part of SyFy’s “Saturday Night Creature Feature” series, will arrive on DVD on Aug. 30 from Entertainment One.

The fantasy adventure TV movie received pretty dismal reviews from critics (see the trailer below to judge for yourself).

Produced in Australia, the film has only one face that’ll really standout to audiences in the U.S., Manu Bennett of Spartacus: Blood and Sand, and he will only be recognized by fans of the HBO show.

Bennett plays Sinbad, sailor, adventurer and all-around ass-kicker, who is hot on the trail of a priceless treasure that he learned about from an ancient scroll chronicling the exploits of the pirate captain Minos from many years past. Battling the evil sorcerer Al-Jibar (Steven Grives, Scooby Doo) and getting a helping hand from the recently freed, scantily clad slave girl Tara (Holly Brisley,...

Eternally popular rogue sailor Sinbad returns yet again with “Sinbad and the Minotaur”, a mythological mash up that sees him searching for treasure and pitted against the fearsome bull beast. Mixing Greek myth and Arabic folk tales with a comic touch, the film was directed by Karl Zwicky (“Farscape”) and stars Manu Bennett (“Spartacus: Blood and Sand”, “30 Days of Night”) in the lead, with Steven Grives (“Mission: Impossible”) as his evil foe. The film is now available on region 2 DVD via Chelsea Films, with no extra features to speak of other than a basic trailer. The film kicks off with Sinbad (Bennett) sneaking into the camp of sinister sorcerer Al-Jibar (Grives), hoping to steal a map which will reveal the location of the head of the legendary golden Colossus of Rhodes. Sinbad being Sinbad, at the same time he also manages to snatch a kidnapped princess called Tara (Holly Brisley...

Sinbad And The Minotaur

Stars: Manu Bennett, Steven Grives, Pacharo Mzembe, Holly Brisley, Jared Robinson | Written by Jim Noble | Directed by Karl Zwicky

Intrigued by rumours of the existence of ancient hidden treasure concealed on an island once ruled by King Minos, Sinbad infiltrates the camp of the evil sorcerer Al-Jibar to steal an ancient relic, the “King Minos Chronicles”, that will lead him to the location of the golden head of the Colossus of Rhodes. During the raid, the alarm is raised and Sinbad escapes not only with the the treasure he desires but also with a kidnapped princess, Tara.

Rounding up his crew, and with Tara in tow, Sinbad sets sail for the island unaware that Al-Jibar and his henchman are hot on his tail. Arriving at the island, Sinbad and his crew make their way to the location of the treasure – a vast, booby-trapped labyrinth guarded by the mythical Minotaur…...

K-9: Series 1, Vol.1

Stars: John Leeson, Robert Moloney, Philippa Coulthard, Keegan Joyce, Daniel Webber| Directed by David Caesar, Karl Zwicky, Daniel Nettheim

Doctor Who’s faithful companion K-9 is back in the eponymously titled brand new Aussie-filmed series that takes place in the year 2059, where the UK (actually a studio hangar in Brisbane) is under totalitarian control, with a cybernetic police force controlled by the sinister “the department” and Blade Runner style floating billboards.

Following a group of rogue aliens, Jixen Warriors, who arrive at the home of Professor Gryffen through a space/time portal, K-9 sacrifices himself to save the Professor and a couple of teenagers; Starkey a homeless rebel and Jorjie, a wannabe freedom fighter. Undergoing a Who-style regeneration thanks to a new “regeneration device” implanted in his mainframe, the new look regenerated K-9 can now hover and fly and has more capabilities than ever before, only...

Syfy has picked up TV rights to air "Sinbad And The Minotaur", a sword 'n sorcery feature starring Manu Bennett ("Spartacus: Blood And Sand") in 2011 as part of Syfy's 'Saturday Original Movies' series.

The action fantasy follows 'Sinbad' and his shipmates as they battle against the vicious 'minotaur' of Greek mythology, a hybrid of man and bull that stalks a labyrinth on the isle of Minos.

"...'Sinbad', armed with rumors of ancient gold, finds himself sneaking into the desert camp of the evil sorcerer 'Al-Jibar'. Hidden among the many relics is an ivory scroll case containing the logs of the pirate 'Captain Minos', which will lead Sinbad to the golden head of the 'Colossus of Rhodes'..."

American World Pictures, producers of Syfy's "Pterodactyl" and "Yeti", is producing "Sinbad," with Karl Zwicky directing from a screenplay by Jim Noble.

Australian actress Holly Brisley co-stars in "Minotaur" as 'Tara'.

The film's action involves sword fighting for Bennett,...

Remember that one year (2001) when the list-happy AFI (American Film Institute) decided to compete with the Globes and the Oscars in year end prizes? No, that didn't last long. But there's another AFI, The Australian Film Institute, that has been around for a long time and is in no such danger of being a one-off. This year, they're all about the amazing family crime drama Animal Kingdom which they awarded with a record breaking 18 nominations. Sure, the film is in danger of being way overhyped for people who are coming to it late (which is just about everyone given the sorry state of international distribution for dramas of virtually any kind) but for those who can slough off the "omg" raves, I guarantee you'll think it at least an insinuating and well executed crime drama.

AFI Favorites with multiple nominations

Its main competition for the coveted prizes, if you go by nomination counts,...

Animal Kingdom received 18 nominations for this year’s Australian Film Institute Awards, followed by Beneath Hill 60 (12), Bright Star (11), Tomorrow, When the War Began (8), The Tree, Bran Nue Dae (7 each) and The Boys Are Back (4)

The Best Film category will see Animal Kingdom competing against Beneath Hill 60, Bright Star, Bran Nue Dae, The Tree and Tomorrow, When the War Began.

Australia’s top rated drama productions – Packed to the Rafters and Underbellly: The Golden Mile – were both absent from the main Television categories (except for Underbelly‘s two acting nods).

The winners will be revealed on December 10 (Industry Awards) and 11 (main Awards Ceremony) in Melbourne.

This is the full list of nominees:

AFI Members’ Choice Award

Animal Kingdom. Liz Watts. Beneath Hill 60. Bill Leimbach. Bran Nue Dae. Robyn Kershaw, Graeme Isaac. Bright Star. Jan Chapman, Caroline Hewitt. The Boys Are Back. Greg Brenman, Tim White. Tomorrow When The War Began.