Filming begins on third Underbelly Files telemovie
The Man That Got Away – the third telemovie in the Underbelly Files trilogy will commence filming today.
The announcement:
Hot on the heels of the successful completion of Tell Them Lucifer Was Here and Infiltration, the first two telemovies from the Underbelly Files, the Nine Network and production company Screentime announced that filming commenced today on The Man Who Got Away, the third and final telemovie in the trilogy.
Proving once again that real-life can be stranger than fiction, The Man Who Got Away, to be directed by acclaimed filmmaker Cherie Nowlan from a screenplay by Kris Mrksa, tells the amazing story of David McMillan, a Melbourne man from a privileged background, of immense charm and intelligence, who could have been anything, but instead chose a life of crime.
While still in his early 20s McMillan’s exploits earned him a place on Interpol’s Ten Most Wanted list, but he proved an elusive figure. Aided and abetted by his lover Clelia Vigano, the daughter of respectable Melbourne restaurateurs, McMillan’s ambitions, and ego, were boundless – until the day ‘Lady Luck’ found a new paramour and he found himself a guest of Thailand’s notorious ‘Bangkok Hilton’ facing a death sentence. But McMillan was no ordinary inmate and became the first Westerner to escape Klong Prem Prison.
With an A-List cast including rising star Toby Schmitz as David McMillan, Claire van der Boom as Clelia Vigano, plus Jeremy Sims, Aaron Jeffery, Nicholas Eadie, Brendan Cowell, Freya Stafford, Josh Lawson, John Orcisk, William Zappa, Heather Mitchell and Deirdre Rubenstein, The Man Who Got Away promises to be enthralling entertainment and a proud addition to the Underbelly franchise.
“We’re all delighted with the way that filming has progressed on the Underbelly Files,” said Des Monaghan, Executive Director of Screentime.
“With The Man Who Got Away, we have an incredible, real-life tale of a man who chose to live life on his own terms, despite the often dire consequences.”
Nine Network Head of Drama, Jo Horsburgh, is equally pleased with the progress of the latest installments in the hugely successful Underbelly franchise.
“I never fail to be impressed by the depth of talent this country continues to deliver, whether it be in front of or behind the camera, and I am confident that The Man Who Got Away will introduce Australian households to yet another crop of up-and-coming stars,” said Horsburgh.
A Screentime production in association with the Nine Network, The Man Who Got Away will be filmed on location in Melbourne and produced by Peter Gawler and Elisa Argenzio. Des Monaghan, Jo Horsburgh and Screentime’s Head of Drama, Greg Haddrick, will be the executive producers.
Source: Nine Network press release
