Fnuky founders begin filming on debut feature Lemon Tree Passage
Creative director turned film director David Campbell
Strategist turned producer Jeremy Ervine
Jeremy Ervine and David Campbell, who recently sold their ad agency to move into the movie business, are in the pre-production stage of their first feature film.
The Fnuky founders have formed a director/producer partnership, with Campbell behind the camera for a feature with a cast that includes Animal Kingdom star Tim Phillips and Jessica Covey, who starred in Underbelly and Paper Giants.
Titled Lemon Tree Passage, the film is about the ghost of a dead motorcyclist who haunts a group of American backpackers in a remote part of New South Wales.
It is being funded entirely by private capital, shot in the Adelaide Hills and uses an all-Aussie cast and crew.
Also among the cast is LA-based former Neighbours actor Pippa Black, Andrew Ryan from Aussie film Tomorrow, When the War Began, Tim Pocock, who starred in X-Men Origins: Wolverine and Nicholas Gunn, who appeared in Canal Road, Satisfaction, Underbelly, Neighbours and Offspring.
Ervine said: “Our aim is to get international distribution. Most Australian films do not get viewed outside of Australia. Some don’t get viewed much inside Australia either. We want to produce something that will build an audience beyond this country.”
A summary of the film reads: “This project is setting out to reignite the entrepreneurial spirit that once drove Australia’s film industry. Proving that world-class feature films tailored to an international audience can be produced in South Australia. Proving that young talent should be encouraged and recognised.”
Ervine said that the cross over from advertising to the film business has brought interesting challenges.
“There are lots of similarities between the two industries. But the main difference is that when you are making a film, you have creative control. When you’re making an ad, the client has control over your creativity,” he said.
“Good marketing people trust their agency. But some marketers seem to think they can do a better job,” he said.
I hope they do well. It’ll be great to see some more local success stories.
It’s a bit worrying to hear people talk about films being ‘profitable’ by comparing the box office receipts to production costs – it’s a fairly meaningless comparison. When people use meaningless comparisons you don’t know if they actually believe what they say or if they are just tailoring their words to an audience that doesn’t know any better.
‘Open Water’ should still be regarded as a big hit – but a better comparison might be their $130k spend to get their big sale .v. their $2.5 million international rights sale to Lionsgate. (Lionsgate then spent another $8 million on P&A)
It’s a well deserved success story, though – I hope this can emulate their success.
Good luck!
Mac
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Another Aussie horror film… really?
Sounds like it could be another Nullarbor Nymph.
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You’d think they would think of their own story line, not pick one up from our hometown!
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It haunts a group of American backpackers…. to find distribution in the States.
Please. If your aim is just to get international distribution please don’t call yourself filmmakers. It’s a very parasitic, with SA playing the role of host.
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Basing a horror movie on a real persons death and naming the movie after his home town is very distasteful. Did anyone ask his parents how they feel about it?
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