The 12-episode Apple tv+ drama series, produced by Paramount Television Studios, was filmed over 120 days at Docklands Studios Melbourne, and at more than 20 locations across Melbourne, with support through the Australian government’s Location Offset and Incentive Program and the Victorian Screen Incentive.
All Quiet on the Western Front, Erich Maria Remarque’s 1929 novel that lays bare the harsh brutality of war through the eyes of a naive youth fighting in the German trenches during WWI, is considered a literary classic. So Frank Kruse admits some hesitation when director Edward Berger told him he was doing a modern retelling. That disappeared after Kruse read the script. Though the challenge would be daunting, he wanted to be the film’s sound designer and supervising sound editor.
Filmmaker Darren Aronofsky often pursues the road less taken in movies like The Wrestler, Black Swan and Requiem for a Dream. He’s done it again in The Whale, which stars Oscar-nominated Brendan Fraser as Charlie, a 600-pound English teacher who conducts classes over Zoom with his screen image hidden so students can’t see his true size. The entire film (now available on demand on Prime Video, Apple TV and elsewhere) takes place inside Charlie’s apartment, where he argues with his caretaker (Oscar-nominated Hong Chau) and tries to reconcile with his estranged daughter (Stranger Things star Sadie Sink) while suffering from a heart condition. Fraser’s transformation into an enormous man makes for riveting spectacle, but, the actor insists, “This not a film about an obese man. It’s about a man in search of redemption and the breathless [suspense] that comes with whether or not he will achieve it.”
In this Industry Spotlight Ashish Kulkarni, Founder of Punnaryug Artvision and AVGC industry veteran joins us for an enlightening conversation on the history and future of animation, visual effects, and gaming in India and abroad.
Christophe Beck is one of the most prominent composers in the Marvel sandbox. He not only scored all three Ant-Man films but co-composed Hawkeye and, to great acclaim, WandaVision. After eight years of collaborating with the Marvel team, Beck is well-versed in the MCU’s sonic landscape. The composer’s first collaboration with director Peyton Reed was years before he composed themes for Ant-Man’s miniaturized adventures. The two first worked together on Bring It On, the quintessential cheerleader film. Even though their stories have grown in scope, most notably in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, the duo stay in good touch with their comedy and electronic roots for their latest Marvel adventure.
Cocaine Bear began snorting up viral eyeballs last fall, boosted by a madcap trailer that racked up 18 million views. Now boasting a $28 million opening weekend, second only to M3GAN as 2023’s biggest non-franchise hit, it’s based on the true story of a black bear who discovered a duffel bag of cocaine in the Georgia woods. Directed by Elizabeth Banks, Cocaine Bear features human stars Keri Russell, Alden Ehrenreich and Isiah Whitlock Jr., but the main attraction, nicknamed “Cokey,” owes its CGI existence to the New Zealand-based Wētā FX team led by visual effects supervisor Robin Hollander.
Hanoi-based piracy ring targeted global audience, especially u.s. users, with english-language programming
In this Industry Spotlight Anuj Gandhi, (Founder, Plug & Play Entertainment), discusses the business and digitalization of distribution.
The British Association for Screen Entertainment (BASE) has articulated this change, the implications for the creative industries, and a collaborative response to combatting it where more invested parties come together to tackle the big issue of infringement, in Piracy: A Problem Shared, a summary of the current state of infringement and how to address it.