Underbelly telemovies funded by Screen Australia
Three telemovies from the Underbelly franchise have received funding from Screen Australia, along with almost $8m in new features, TV drama and documentaries.
Under the Underbelly brand, the telemovies will tell the story of armed robber Russell ‘Mad Dog’ Cox, the Silk & Miller murders and the Lorimer Taskforce, and policeman Colin McLaren’s infiltration of the Calabrian Mafia.
The Screentime projects will be produced by Peter Gawler and Elisa Argenzio, written by Peter Gawler, Graeme Koetsveld and Kris Mrksa, and directed by Shawn Seet, Grant Brown and Cherie Nowlan.The McLaren story might see the franchise return to Melbourne after two Sydney-based series.
The latest funding round saw Stephan Elliott’s Hangover-style outback comedy A Few Best Men (prod. Todd Fellman, Gary Hamilton, Share Stallings, Laurence Malkin) receive financial support.
A nation founded by convicts – has a failed banker robber as an icon – a song about suicidal sheep thief as its unofficial national anthem – its only private university funded by its biggest corporate criminal – people wonder why Underbelly resonates with local audiences?
I think I will pitch a series to Nine as well. It’s about rorting in sport. I’m calling it “Underbellamy”.
Me too – mines about hypocricy in the media sports business – “How David
Galloped Rupert into a Quagmire”.