Red Dog director Stenders gets funding for Vietnam War drama Long Tan
Kriv Stenders, the director of 2011 box-office hit Red Dog, and Oscar winner Emile Sherman are among 15 feature projects selected for financial support in the latest $360,000 round of Screen Australia funding.
Red Dog was named Australia’s favourite film at last year’s Mumbrella Awards.
Long Tan producer Walsh
Stenders will direct Long Tan, the long term project of producer and former special forces soldier Martin Walsh. Actor Sam Worthington’s name has previously been attached to the project,which focuses on the battle of Long Tan in the Vietnam War.
This version of the script was written by Jack Brislee, James Nicholas, Karel Segers and Paul Sullivan.
Sherman – who won an Oscar for The King’s Speech, is producing action adventure film Mulan.
Eight of the projects on the list are new and seven were already in development. Other new projects to receive support include schoolyard drama I Am Jack, based on Susanne Gervay’s novel, and directed by Nadia Tass. Horror/drama Confessions of a Super Man, to be developed by writer/director Angela How and producer Marian Macgowan, will focus on a teenage sociopath.
Writers Josh Reed and Rob Gibson will also be supported to develop their action script Common Foe, with Josh Reed set to direct, and Stephen Chamberlin will be supported to develop his musical feature script Soundtrack with executive producer Michael Birnbaum.
Screen Australia also announced three new internships through its Talent Escalator Program.
The full list of projects receiving funding are:
SINGLE-PROJECT DEVELOPMENT: FEATURE DEVELOPMENT
BAD ANGEL
Genre Comedy
Producers Antonia Barnard, Nicholas Cole
Director Kriv Stenders
Writer Shaun Grant
Synopsis The transformation of Angelo d’Angelo, a New York hit man who is unwittingly embraced into the bosom of a simple, rural Australian community. For the first time, Angelo learns that love and family are just as effective as any weapon he’s ever known.
COMMON FOE
Genre Action
Producer/Writer Rob Gibson
Writer/Director Josh Reed
CONFESSIONS OF A SUPER MAN
Genre Horror Drama
Producer Marian Macgowan
Writer/Director Angela How
Synopsis Brian, an indulged Australian Chinese teenage sociopath, records his violent life via a superhero comic strip of his own creation. When Brian’s desire for his father’s mistress ends in their death, his mother acts to finally stop her son.
DOWNRIVER (AKA SCRATCH THE SURFACE)
Genre Thriller Drama
Producer Jannine Barnes
Writer/Director Grant Scicluna
Synopsis Seventeen-year-old James is released from juvenile detention and travels back to the scene of his crime to find the body of the young boy he killed when he was 10.
HALFWAY MOTEL
Genre Psychological Drama
Producer Lyn Norfor
Writer/Director Miranda Nation
I AM JACK
Genre Drama
Producer Stephan Wellink
Executive Producer David Whealy
Writer Susanne Gervay
Director Nadia Tass
Synopsis Jack’s a great guy, but school bullying is insidious, taking Jack and everyone around him to the edge.
LONG TAN
Genre Drama
Producers Charles Hannah, Martin Walsh
Executive Producers Meyer Shwarzstein, Peter Wetherell
Writers Jack Brislee, James Nicholas, Karel Segers, Paul Sullivan
Director Kriv Stenders
Synopsis Major Harry Smith and his company of 108 young and mostly inexperienced Australian and New Zealand soldiers hold off an overwhelming enemy force of 2,500 battle-hardened Viet Cong and North Vietnamese soldiers in the Battle of Long Tan.
LOS ALAMOS
Genre Thriller
Producers Iain Canning, Emile Sherman
Writer Luke Davies
Synopsis Michael Connolly, a disgraced intelligence operative, enters a labyrinth of secrets and espionage when he arrives at the high-security military base of Los Alamos in Spring, 1945. Sent to investigate a seemingly open-and-shut murder case, Connolly is thrown into the heart of the Manhattan Project and must navigate a path through military protocol, political intrigue and personal agendas in order to uncover the truth in the most secretive place in the world.
MICHAEL
Genre Biopic
Producers Richard Lowenstein, Sue Murray
Executive Producer Domenico Procacci
Writer/Director Richard Lowenstein
Synopsis At the height of his internationally renowned career, a sudden blow to the head robs the famously sensual rock star of two of his most cherished senses. A series of personal battles follows, ending tragically with his death at the age of 37, the night before embarking on a world tour.
MULAN
Genre Action Adventure
Producer Emile Sherman
Writer Jan Sardi
ONE CROWDED HOUR
Genre Biopic
Producer Todd Fellman
Writer Andy Cox
Director Lance Kelleher
Synopsis Legendary combat cameraman Neil Davis spent over 20 years from the early 60s risking his life on the frontlines of Indo-China to capture some of the most powerful and influential images of war in an effort to save the people and culture he had grown to love.
SOUNDTRACK
Genre Musical
Executive Producer Michael Birnbaum
Writer Stephen Chamberlin
TALENT ESCALATOR PROGRAMS: INTERNATIONAL WORKSHOPS
JULIETTA BOSCOLO – CATCHING SIGHT – BINGER DIRECTOR LAB
Genre Drama/Comedy
Producer Linda Micsko
Writer/Director Julietta Boscolo
Synopsis A 30-year-old blind woman regains her sight; but will she be able to accept the flaws she sees in her past and find love?
CRIS JONES – BYZANTIUM – BINGER DIRECTOR LAB
Genre Drama
Producers Melanie Coombs, Mish Armstrong, Alicia Brown
Writer/Director Cris Jones
Synopsis After a road accident on the highway, a young man finds himself trapped in a strange, remote town, where nothing – and no one – is as it seems.
VICKI SUGARS – U-TURN – BINGER DIRECTOR LAB
Genre Drama
Producers Julie Byrne, Vicki Sugars
Director Vicki Sugars
Synopsis Fifteen-year-old Babe learns how to turn her family’s grief around when her sister is killed in a car accident.
TALENT ESCALATOR PROGRAMS: INDUSTRY INTERNSHIPS
RAQUELLE DAVID INTERNSHIP
Producer Raquelle David will spend six months in Toronto, Canada, working directly with producer Niv Fichman across the development and production slate at Rhombus Media (Blindness, The Red Violin, Antiviral).
NATALIE LINDWALL INTERNSHIP
Natalie Lindwall will spend six months as a Development Producer across film and television with the award-winning London-based company, Ecosse Films (Diana, Wuthering Heights).
ALEX MURAWSKI INTERNSHIP
Writer/director Alex Murawski will spend three months in Los Angeles working with director Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy, Black Robe, Mao’s Last Dancer) on his new production of Bonnie & Clyde.
Eh? Has someone posted an old article in error? The Battle of Long Tan (narrated by Sam Worthington) already exists, and has for some time.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8gUSq7pxux4
And it’s already excellent, FWIW.
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Hi Circling Sharks,
The Long Tan documentary was a previous project worked on by Martin Walsh.
Cheers,
Tim – Mumbrella
Oh, sorry. It just seemed to make little sense that you’d make a documentary about the exact same topic as a recent (and very good) documentary, and also have it narrated by the same guy. Good luck to him I guess, although unless the ending changes and the NVA win that battle, I’m struggling to see what’s being added. Of course, I’ve not seen a script, but it does feel a bit like tap dancing on the head of pin, doesn’t it? Or is that just me?
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Circling Sharks – yes it’s just you. This film is a fact-based drama, no a documentary, and SW is attached to star in it. The clue is that it’s to be directed by Kriv Stenders, a drama director
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Thanks for your kind feedback on my doco ‘circling sharks’ and for the clarification Tim.
Yes, I made the Battle of Long Tan documentary but it has always been part of a broader plan to generate awareness of the story among newer generations and reinvigorate the older generations as a foundation for our full length feature film. Marketing of Australian films usually leaves something to be desired and we’ve spent the past 6 years building awareness and interest – something which didn’t exist prior to 2006.
The doco was timed for the 40th Anniversary of the Battle of Long Tan and to help get the veterans medals upgraded to their original citations.
We made it for The History Channel which does have a very limited audience in Australia and New Zealand and I’ve also been gradually growing the audience internationally via YouTube. Every person I meet professionally or privately has still not seen the documentary and almost everyone who has seen it says they want to see a movie version of the story.
A movie is a very different beast to a documentary and with the creative team and ensemble cast we are assembling along with a brilliant script, it is going to be something very special – something we haven’t seen in over 30 years!
More news soon…..
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thanks Martin… it was a great documentary…. so really looking forward to seeing a dramatic telling of the story on the big screen… hopefully it will be spectacular…
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Congrats martin – i know its been a long journey – looking forward to it!
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