Stan pushes content credentials and international partnerships in mid-year update
Streaming service Stan has unveiled its content plans for the rest of 2017, and some upcoming projects in early 2018, including a Stan Original film, international partnerships and more exclusive shows.
Stan will be creating more local content
Stan pushed its original content capabilities at a mid-year showcase earlier this week, revealing in summer 2017/2018 it will reboot 1992 Australian drama film starring Russell Crowe Romper Stomper into a six-part series produced by Offspring’s John Edwards. The SVOD service has also partnered with Sony Pictures for a Stan Original Series based on Phillip K. Dick’s short stories, with a cast including Breaking Bad’s Bryan Cranston, True Blood’s Anna Paquin and Essie Davis from Australia’s Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries.
Romper Stomper
Romper Stomper will star Jacqueline McKenzie (from the original film), Dan Wyllie (Puberty Blues), Sophie Lowe (The Slap), David Wenham (Lion), Tony Wallace (Boys in the Trees) and Lachy Hulme (Offspring), and according to Stan will “pick up on the prescient themes and story of Geoffrey Wright’s 1992 classic, following a new generation of the activist right, their anti-fascist counterparts, and the multicultural fabric of a country each of them threatens to tear apart.”
Stan said the new series was the brainchild of original filmmaker Wright, with Stan saying now, more than ever, Romper Stomper will resonate with audiences.
“Mesmerising, confrontational and controversial, the original film’s ideas are more relevant than ever now, 25 years later, as the world confronts the politics of hate and hard-right populism. This bold, new Stan Original Series will be a must-see TV event, and will be available exclusively on Stan,” a release said.
Producer Edwards added: “Romper Stomper is a fantastic chance to break the mould of Australian drama – a contemporary thriller with competing tribes and different points of view battling for power. The series brings together some of our greatest character actors and wonderful new talents as well. Very exciting.”
The original Romper Stomper movie trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YXa-nAYdjrk
Electric Dreams
“Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams is a sci-fi anthology series of 10 epic, ambitious and moving stand-alone episodes, each set in a different and unique world – some of which lie in the far reaches of the universe and time and others which are much, much closer to home. While the stories may be worlds apart, central to each is the poignant and warm exploration of the importance and significance of humanity,” Stan said of its new show created in partnership with Sony Pictures which will stream on Stan in Australia, Amazon in the US and screen on Channel Four in the UK.
Cranston is both a star and executive producer of the show which also stars Greg Kinnear (As Good as it Gets), Steve Buscemi (Reservoir Dogs) and Timothy Spall (Harry Potter).
Each episode is inspired by one of Dick’s stories and “will be a sharp, thrilling, stand-alone drama adapted and contemporised for global audiences”, Stan said.
CEO Mike Sneesvy unveiling Stan’s Electric Dreams
Nick Forward, Stan’s chief content officer, said Sony had been one of Stan’s most important partners since launch and the joint project would be a “truly global television event”.
The Second: A Stan Original Film
Building on its Original Series banner, Stan also revealed it will release an original feature film starring Vince Colosimo.
“The film, titled The Second, follows the celebrated author of an erotic memoir, whose newfound success is threatened when her best friend and muse reveals a dark secret behind the novel’s provenance, igniting an incendiary tale of sex, lies and betrayal,” Stan’s information pack said.
The Second was developed in partnership with Screen Queensland and will have an exclusive two-week run at cinemas before it can be streamed on Stan.
Producer Leanne Tonkes said too many low-budget films never get seen, and this partnership would open The Second up to a more diverse audience.
Stan’s Forward said the distribution method for The Second was an Australian first.
“We believe this is an exciting new opportunity, thanks to Stan’s huge nationwide subscriber base, to bring a premiere drama feature to a wider audience alongside its theatrical content,” he said.
Wolf Creek
Stan also announced the teaser trailer for season two of Wolf Creek will be released on 7 August.
It said of the horror show’s second outing: “A six-part drama series, Wolf Creek season two is a high-end psychological thriller pitting a diverse cast of characters against an inhospitable, remote landscape, whose lethal dangers are personified by the series’ infamous serial killer.
“Mick Taylor sees an opportunity of a lifetime after a chance encounter with a coach full of tourists from around the globe. The unwitting travellers begin an outback adventure none of them could have imagined.”
The Other Guy
In addition, Stan premiered the first two episodes of its six-part local comedy The Other Guy starring comedian Matt Okine, who also created and wrote the series, along with writer Becky Lucas.
Stan also announced two new original music tracks will be released with the premiere of The Other Guy and will be available on iTunes from 17 August.
Okine raps under the name Boilermakers and will release Warning Signs, featuring co-star Amali Golden and new single Elephant (Talk About It).
Stan said of the series: “The six-part half-hour comedy drama series follows a successful radio host, AJ Amon (Okine), who finds himself unexpectedly back in the dating pool for the first time in a decade, after discovering his long-term girlfriend has been having an affair with his best friend.”
topics
Amali Golden
Anna Paquin
Becky Lucas
Bryan Cranston
Dan Wyllie
Electric Dreams
Essie Davis
Geoffrey Wright
Greg Kinnear
Jacqueline McKenzie
John Edwards
Lachy Hulme
Leanne Tonkes
Matt Okine
Nick Forward
Romper Stomper
Russell Crowe
Screen Queensland
Sophie Lowe
Stan
Steve Buscemi
SVOD
The Other Guy
The Second
Tony Wallace
vince colosimo
