"Anyone Using That Paddock?": Australia's Studio Construction Boom.
PLUS The DUNE: PART THREE teaser; Vale Matt Clark; Reviews of READY OR NOT 2, REMINDERS OF HIM and THE MOMENT; Filmart trailers; Cannes wannabes begin jostling; Cinema of Transgression; and, PCU.
Growing up on the New South Wales’ Central Coast in the 1980s, the main ‘city’ of Gosford was a summer evening utopia. It had the Village Twin Cinema, a dual-screen multiplex where I saw E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL, and Monti’s Ashore, an iconic fish & chip shop where I saw Dolph Lundgren (true story). Despite this rich film history, few were prepared for this week’s announcement that Gosford (more precisely, the outer suburb of Calga) will be home to a 70 acre, A$260million digital filmmaking precinct, featuring integrated virtual production, motion capture and esports facilities.
Boasting Luke Hemsworth and Ana Thu Nguyen as ambassadors, Central Coast Studios (CCS) is the latest production industry initiative that suggests big investment - both government and private - is looking to the Australian film and television sector as a growth opportunity. In early March, the Labor-led New South Wales government launched an expression-of-interest campaign for Sydney’s second major film studio, to be located in the sprawling western suburbs and in line with their three-year NSW Screen & Digital Games Strategy.
On the other side of the nation, the state-of-the-art Perth Film Studios (pictured, above) just opened for business in the north-eastern suburb of Malaga. Backed by the W.A. Department of Creative Industries, Tourism and Sport, the full-service facility offers 90k sq ft across four sound stages, a backlot, workshops - all just 30 minutes from the capital city in one direction, bushland and coastline in the other. And it went up fast; after 18 months of bureaucratic box-ticking, they only broke ground in November 2023.
An hour from Melbourne’s Dockland Studios, the city of Geelong has advanced plans for a major production facility in partnership with private investors, government agencies and educational facilities. The resort town of Coffs Harbour on the N.S.W. far north coast just got an extra A$5.5million from the state government to address noise issues that are holding up a A$600million studio development (announced by locals Jack Thompson and Russell Crowe in 2021). And close to 250,000 sq ft of Queensland hinterland is set to become new sound stages in 2028, backed by international outfit Shadowbox Studios.
Building these mighty sites at all is an achievement. In 2003, Serenity Cove Studios launched in Sydney’s south promising a complex with eight film and television studios. By 2005, developer Paul Williams and CEO Kingston Anderson, one of the sector’s most respected execs (and on the CCS Advisory Board; pictured, above) were clashing over monies owed and stalled construction. Serenity Cove never recovered; neither did Sunrise Studios in Sydney’s northwest, which promised a cutting-edge wet stage for ocean scenes, nor Saltwater Studios, a A$90 million, seven-studio complex once planned for Queensland’s Sunshine Coast.
Simon Foster, Editor: SCREEN-SPACE
STOP THE PRESSES: Just about to hit publish, and the latest Variety e-newsletter arrives bearing the headline, L.A. Soundstages Remain One-Third Empty Even as New Facilities Open. Oh my…
TRAILER DROP | Denis Villeuneuve’s DUNE 3
The third and final chapter in the sci-fi saga is based on Frank Herbert’s 1969 novel Dune Messiah, and will continue the story of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) following the start of the holy war that began at the end of 2024’s DUNE: PART TWO.
Villeneuve has confirmed that the story jumps forward 17 years, with Paul being the Padishah Emperor following his marriage to Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh). “If the first movie was more of a contemplation, like a boy exploring a new world, and the second one being a war movie, this one is more action-packed and tense,” explained Villeneuve, at an event to launch the trailer overnight.
DUNE: PART THREE is scheduled to be released in cinemas on 18 December.
R.I.P. MATT CLARK, 89, The Ultimate “HEY, IT’S THAT GUY!” Character Actor.
Despite an unforgettable face known by six decades of moviegoers, the name ‘Matt Clark’ does not instantly come to mind when you think of actors who have shared scenes with Robert Redford, Clint Eastwood, Michael J. Fox, Jessica Lange, Harrison Ford, Burt Reynolds, Robert Duvall, Gene Hackman, Paul Newman, Chuck Norris, Sidney Poitier and John Wayne.
Clark, who passed this week after back surgery complications, has been a memorable presence in Hollywood films and television since his debut in Carl Lerner’s 1964 drama BLACK LIKE ME. Among his 120 credits are such films as IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT, THE BRIDGE AT REMAGEN, THE BEGUILED, THE COWBOYS, JEREMIAH JOHNSON, PAT GARRETT & BILLY THE KID, BACK TO THE FUTURE III, COUNTRY and 42. His final film was Seth MacFarlane’s 2014 comedy A MILLION WAYS TO DIE IN THE WEST.
FOSTER’S FILM REVIEWS
FOLLOW US ON LETTERBOXD FOR ALL OUR STAR RATINGS
READY OR NOT 2: HERE I COME (Dirs: Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett; starring Samara Weaving, Nestor Carbonell, David Cronenberg, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shawn Hatosy, Kathryn Newton and Elijah Wood). Pinching its premise from the conspiracy theorist’s playbook, a cabal of global satanists led (briefly, and hilariously) by David Cronenberg convene to finish off heroine-survivor Grace (Samara Weaving). Having dodged her pre-ordained murder back in 2019, Grace has sent the international Luciferian underworld into a free-for-all grab for power, pitting her and her estranged sibling Faith (Katherine Newton) against more murderous maniacs. Which sounds like a good time, and it is for a while, but returning directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett allow the narrative energy to get bogged in JOHN WICK-style secret-society world-building. By the third time Satan’s attorney Elijah Wood quotes the group’s by-laws, my attention had waned. When handed over to forces-of-nature Weaving and Newton to do the sisterhood slaying, the sequel is a bloody blast; without them, it plays ugly, gratuitous and a lot less fun. ⭐️⭐️⭐️
REMINDERS OF HIM (Dir: Vanessa Caswill; starring Lauren Graham, Maika Monroe, Rudy Pankow, Bradley Whitford, Lainey Wilson and Tyriq Withers). As the heroine at the heart of the latest Colleen Hoover book-to-pic, Maika Monroe finds the real-world depth of emotion not always present in the author’s text (that said, the 2022 book earned Hoover some of her best reviews) or past adaptations (THE LAST OF US, good; REGRETTING YOU, not so much). The IT FOLLOWS actress plays Kenna, a young mum with no access to her daughter (Zoe Kosovic) after a jail stint following the death of her child’s father, Scotty (Rudy Pankow). Upon her release, she returns to her hometown to rebuild and reconnect, but the guardian-grandparents (Bradley Whitford, Lauren Graham) aren’t ready for that level of forgiveness. Caught in the middle is Ledger (Tyriq Withers), Scotty’s best friend and father figure to the tyke, who develops some feelin’ for Kenna. Sure, it’s a tad melodramatic, but grounded by Monroe, deftly pitched by director Vanessa Caswill (from Hoover’s script) and rendered lovingly cinematic by DOP Tim Ives, REMINDERS OF HIM is a top-tier tearjerker. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
THE MOMENT (Dir: Aidan Zamiri; starring Charli XCX, Alexander Skarsgård, Rachel Sennott, Kylie Jenner, Jamie Demetriou and Rosanna Arquette). The titular ‘moment’ has a double-meaning that clarifies what singer Charli XCX and her collaborator Aidan Zamiri have in mind. The first moment was ‘Brat Summer’, the pop culture phenomenon that exploded in the wake of XCX’s Brat album launch on June 7, 2024; the second, the here-and-now, when the singer wants all the Brat baggage - the industry bloodsuckers, sycophants, affectation and expectation - to just f**k off. When celebrities deconstruct their own fame and influence in this self-reflective way, they can seem a bit ungrateful, like when Bowie did his bi/not-bi interviews. But Charli, in a winning star-turn as a version of herself, fearlessly parodies her own image and integrity as savagely as she does everything else that continues to linger from the Bratosphere. As the concert-film director who meal-tickets the singer’s fame with scant regard for her sanity, Alexander Skarsgård is cringe…in a good way. ⭐️⭐️⭐️½
WORLD WATCH
GREECE TO HOST 37TH EUROPEAN SCREEN AWARDS: In January 2027, the prestigious ESA Ceremony will land in Athens, backed by the Hellenic Film and Audiovisual Centre (READ: Greek Times)
INTL TITLES BEGIN THE CANNES LINEUP JOSTLING: New pics from Penélope Cruz, Léa Seydoux, Keanu Reeves and Gael García Bernal’s third directorial feature HOMBRE AL AGUA (pictured, below) are all being mentioned for The Croisette (READ: Deadline)
CARAVAN WINS BEST CZECH FILM AT PRAGUE CEREMONY: Director Zuzana Kirchnerova’s exploration of the lives of people with intellectual disabilities won the Best Czech Film Lion award on Saturday (READ: BRNO Daily)
TURKISH FILMMAKERS BOLDLY FACE AUTOCRATIC RULE: New works from İlker Çatak and Emin Alper are at the forefront of fearless works, defying Erdoğan’s rule (READ: The Guardian)
LATEST TRAILERS - Our Favourites from FILMART
Hong Kong’s largest content market turns 30 this year, so we’re checking out some of the buzziest trailers being pitched to buyers in 2026.
WE’RE NOTHING AT ALL (Dir: Herman Yau; starring Patrick Tam Yiu-man, Anson Kong and Ansonbean). A retired forensic investigator uncovers the tragic romance of a marginalised gay couple while determining the cause of a fatal bus explosion.
HUMAN RESOURCE (Dir: Nawapol Thamrongrattanarit; starring Prapamonton Eiamchan, Paopetch Charoensook, Chanakan Rattana-udom and Pimmada Chaisaksoen). One month pregnant, a HR Executive wrestles with a life-changing decision, all the while gaining deeper insights into people’s lives through her interviews.
THE DE4D ECHOES (Dirs: Chawalit Pongchaiyong, Anwardi Jamil, Saqina Latif and Karun Komanuwong). This Thai/Malaysian omnibus horror feature weaves together various forms of karma into stories of people who cannot escape their past, guilt, and the consequences of their actions.
WHY WE LOVE MOVIES
Cinema of Transgression - In 1985, a manifesto written by underground filmmaker Nick Zedd (THEY EAT SCUM; GEEK MAGGOT BINGO; WAR IS MENSTRUAL ENVY; below) introduced the term to describe works of film art that shocked and satirised. In his landmark book Deathtripping, author Jack Sargeant identified the movement as one of, “negated borders and the breaking of boundaries. The Cinema of Transgression sought a state of ‘awareness,’ where even to feel pain and risk everything becomes valid when faced with the alternative.”
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“These, Tom, are the Causeheads. They find a world-threatening issue and stick with it for about a week.” - James ‘Droz’ Andrews (Jeremy Piven), PCU (Dir: Hart Bochner; 1994)
And if SCREEN-SPACE isn’t enough Simon for you…:
LISTEN to me co-host the weekly film and TV podcast SCREEN WATCHING with Dan Barrett, of Always Be Watching notoriety;
WATCH/LISTEN Dan and I reflect on the films of 1987 in our fun retro-podcast, BEST MOVIE YEAR (available to watch on our YouTube channel)
FOLLOW my curatorial efforts as Festival Director of the SYDNEY SCIENCE FICTION FILM FESTIVAL.
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