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Showtime exec honoured at ASTRA Conference
Showtime’s Executive Producer Kim Vecera has been awarded the first ASTRA Pioneer Award at the Women in Television Breakfast earlier today.
The award acknowledges contribution through leadership, innovation and creativity and support for the development of subscription television in Australia.
For Showtime Australia, Vecera has executive produced Season 3 of Love My Way, Satisfaction Seasons 1, 2 and 3, and Tangle Seasons 1 and 2 and is currently executive producing Cloudstreet.
Her other credits include Whatever Happened To That Guy?,:30 Seconds, Australia’s Next Top Model, Love Bytes, Dangerous, and Seasons 1 and 2 of …
ASTRA Conference: What about the audience?
Today is the annual conference of the Pay TV industry at the Sydney Convention and Exhibition Centre where executives and decision-makers from across the sector will gather to talk, listen and brainstorm.
It begins with the Women In Television breakfast at 7:15am headed up by Sandra Levy from the Australian Film, Television and Radio School. Former Victorian Premier, and ASTRA Chairman, welcomes the delegates at 9:45, ahead of Liberty Global CEO Mike Fries keynote address. Survivor creator Mark Burnett’s Plenary Address at 11:30am via videolink after he was unable to attend.
Afternoon sessions …
Busy schedules are no Tangle to John Edwards
He is one of the busiest producers in the biz.
John Edwards has four drama projects on the go this year: Tangle (Showtime), Offspring, Rush (both TEN) and Spirited (W Channel). How on earth does he juggle such major work when other producers have their work cut out just staying on top of one?
“My work is based on a couple of significant collaborations,” he told TV Tonight.
“Generally speaking things have actually been fitting on the back of each other in a quite complimentary way.
“Although Spirited has been clashing because it’s in Sydney …
Offspring springs into series
The Australian today notes that TEN has commissioned a 13-part family drama series from its telemovie Offspring.
The telemovie produced by John Edwards (Tangle, Rush, Dangerous, The Secret Life of Us) and Imogen Banks (Tangle) for Southern Star features Asher Keddie in a story of the impossible loves of 30-something obstetrician Nina Proudman, and her fabulously messy family, as they navigate the chaos of modern life. Offspring has been described as a “buoyant romantic comedy.”
It will also feature Don Hany, John Waters, Kat Stewart and Deb Mailman.
Filming on the series starts in …
Cast announced for Cloudstreet
Showtime Australia and Screentime have announced its cast for the Cloudstreet miniseries, to be adapted from Tim Winton’s novel about two Perth working class families from the 1940s – 1960s.
It includes Essie Davis (The Silence, The Girl With The Pearl Earring, After The Deluge, The Matrix) as Dolly Pickles with Stephen Curry (30 Seconds, The King) as her husband Sam Pickles, and Emma Booth (Underbelly 3, Clubland) as their daughter Rose.
They will be joined by Kerry Fox (Bright Star, Shallow Grave, An Angel At My Table) as Oriel Lamb, Geoff Morell …
Tangle adds new cast members
Tangle begins shooting its second season today and announces new cast members in Kick Gurry (Speed Racer, Looking for Alibrandi), Tim Draxl (Red Canyon, Swimming Upstream), Adam Zwar (Wilfred, Underbelly, Rush), Leah Vandenberg (East of Everything, Stupid Stupid Man) and previously announced Don Hany (East West 101, Underbelly).
Justine Clarke, Catherine McClements, Joel Tobeck, Matt Day and Kat Stewart have all been confirmed to return. Due to the plotline nature of the season cliffhanger, so far there is no confirmation on a return by actor Ben Mendelsohn.
Produced by John Edwards and Imogen …
TV Tonight Awards 2009: The year of Shaun Micallef
The votes are in.
Readers have spoken on their best and worst television for 2009 in the third annual TV Tonight Awards.
The winners: Shaun Micallef, MasterChef and Packed to the Rafters.
Over 1000 surveys were completed this year, and there were some definite trends. Some choices were clear decisions, others were tight races.
Several “winners” were also “losers” elsewhere, showing a divided audience, and a number of populist shows proved their mettle by staying ahead of underdogs.
Shaun Micallef won both Favourite Male and Most Underrated Performer, while Talkin’ ‘Bout Your …
Love My Way in replay
Rarely does this site draw attention to a replay series, but Love My Way has proven so popular with viewers, that it’s worth mentioning the series will get a re-screening on the W Channel from its very first episode this Friday night.
The series starring Claudia Karvan first hit our screens in 2004 and has built up a reputation as possibly the finest local drama of the last ten years.
Three series of the Foxtel series were made, leaving devoted fans desperate for more. But it was not to be. While producer John …
November 09: Rove, Roscoe, Rafters and 7TWO
November:
7TWO is on the air
Toby quits Idol
A Prime concern: where is 7TWO?
Gone: The Spearman Experiment
‘Junglist’ ready to move on
Austar offers MyStar HD
SBS: Top Gear loss “not the be-all and end-all”
The Rafters Wedding
2.6m stop for the Cup
Community TV wins digital breakthrough
Murphy Brown reunion
Ally McBeal reunion
PJ sings for Don
Matthew Johns’ contract expires
Matt Passmore lands (another) US lead
NZ axes Dancing with the Stars
‘Roscoe’ calls it quits
Merrick and Rosso ending radio gig
Jonathan Holmes: “Pwned!”…
Critics’ Choice 2009
With the official TV year at an end TV Tonight has turned to those who know it best, Australian TV critics & journalists, to ask them what worked, what failed, what surprised and what annoyed?
Participating in this survey were:
Melinda Houston (Sunday Age), Richard Clune (Sunday Telegraph), James Manning (Mediaweek), Nicole Brady (The Age), Erin McWhirter (Daily Telegraph), Colin Vickery (Herald Sun) and Andrew Mercado (TV Week).
BEST DRAMA
Tangle was a popular choice: “It was new, nasty and unpredictable.”
“It was another standout from the John Edwards stable and showcased the subtle …
Second season for Tangle
It’s official.
Showtime has commissioned a second season of Tangle, the acclaimed Australian drama about two generations of families in suburban Melbourne.
Minor Spoiler: Justine Clarke, Catherine McClements, Joel Tobeck, Matt Day and Kat Stewart are all returning. Due to the plotline nature of the season cliffhanger, so far there is no confirmation on a return by actor Ben Mendelsohn.
As revealed by TV Tonight, Don Hany (East West 101, Dirt Game, Underbelly) is also joining the cast.
The second season has been written by original writers Fiona Seres (Love My Way, Dangerous, The …
The Don’s hit list
In the last two years actor Don Hany has appeared in a string of television’s most credible projects: East West 101, False Witness, Underbelly, Dirt Game, Chandon Pictures, The Last Confession of Alexander Pearce and Rush.
Next up he will appear in both Legend of the Seeker, which begins on FOX8 this Sunday, and TEN’s 2010 telemovie Offpsring.
No less than five projects he has been involved with are up for AFI Awards next month (although Hany appeared in Underbelly’s first season).
Hany is also nominated for a Lead Actor award for East West …