Being named the world's best gin producer for two years running, selling half of its business to beer behemoth Lion and opening a Sydney bar in the middle of the pandemic — they're just some of reasons that Four Pillars has had a big couple of years. The Australian gin company is in for a hefty 2021, too, especially at the Healesville site it calls home. Over the next 12 months, it's undertaking a $6 million redevelopment, which'll enable twice as many juniper spirits-lovers to head to the Yarra Valley and enjoy its tipples. Come December 2021, you'll be able to visit Four Pillars' Lilydale Road address and check out a much larger setup. New hospitality, production and bottling facilities will be part of the revamped site — including the company's sixth German-designed Carl still — as will an events space. The latter will be able to house 250 guests, and there'll also be a retail space and something that Four Pillars is calling 'a special sensory surprise', should you want to do more than just taste its gin. Giving the site an eye-catching new facade designed by Breathe Architecture, the new works are taking place adjacent to Four Pillars' existing distillery, and are designed to blend the two together seamlessly. So, if you're fond of the current setup — as around 100,000 people were in 2019 — it's sticking around. When the new addition opens, however, the Healesville facility will be able to welcome more than 200,000 visitors per year. [caption id="attachment_799170" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] Artist's impression of Four Pillars' distillery redevelopment. Breathe Architecture/Neverstop.[/caption] "When we began making Four Pillars, the Yarra Valley was always intended to be our home — and when we found our original site, we couldn't believe our luck," said Four Pillars co-founder Cameron Mackenzie. "When the opportunity came to buy the land next door, we simply had no choice but to roll the dice and back our Yarra Valley dream to the hilt." Four Pillars' current distillery and hospitality space will continue operating as normal while the new works are taking place, and continue serving up the brand's award-winning range — which includes barrel-aged, bloody shiraz, rare dry, spiced negroni, Christmas, overproof, olive leaf and summer-inspired gins. And, if you've made the visit since the Healesville spot reopened over the summer, only to find queues snaking outside, that's one of the things the big revamp is designed to address. Four Pillars' revamped distillery will open at 2–6 Lilydale Road, Healesville, in December 2021. The company's existing site at the same address is still open as usual during the redevelopment.
In 2013, 300 people danced to Kate Bush's 'Wuthering Heights' in a field — and in 2025, the idea is back and bigger than ever. Yes, The Most Wuthering Heights Day Ever is happening in Brisbane again from 2pm on Saturday, July 19. Yes, everyone should be dressed as Kate Bush, complete with a red dress, red stockings and black belt (men, that means you as well). On the day, a clowder (that's the collective noun for Kate Bushes, just FYI) will descend upon Milton and copy Bush's swaying, kicky dance in unison just for the pure joy of it. Support for this weird and wonderful outing has been widespread, and Kate Bush fans from around the world have been inspired to create events in their home cities. So get your gear together (dressmakers are usually flooded with orders for the day) and ready yourself to roll and fall in green, out on the wily, windy moors of Frew Park. If you need an incentive — other than the event itself, of course — it's now 47 years since the song was first released. Also, this year's celebration of all things Kate Bush is taking place a few days before British musician's birthday. Running up that hill beforehand (whichever hill you like) isn't compulsory, but it feels fitting. And yes, when it comes to Kate Bush worship, she sang it best herself: don't give up. A donation is appreciated to attend, to help cover costs at the fan-run event.
A cast-out-of-time vibe tumbles and rustles through Fallen Leaves. In Aki Kaurismäki's 20th feature, his first since 2017's The Other Side of Hope, a calendar advises that it is 2024 and the radio reports on the war in Ukraine, but the look and mood could've been taken from decades and decades back. An account of two lonely souls in an uncaring world grasping a bond amid the grind that is just endeavouring to get by never dates, after all. Neither do the Finnish filmmaker's movies, with their love of droll humour, understatement and melancholy. Indeed, with tragicomedy Fallen Leaves, Kaurismäki links to the 80s and 90s, and to his Proletariat trilogy. Trust him to add a fourth title to the trio, which previously spanned 1986's Shadows in Paradise, 1988's Ariel and 1990's The Match Factory Girl; his love of absurdity doesn't age, either. Ensuring that Helsinki resembles a relic of the past — even more so at California Bar, which throws back to America in the 60s — keeps a state of arrested development lingering in Fallen Leaves. What makes a place and its people feel as if moving forward is something that only happens elsewhere? In Kaurismäki's hands in a movie that's quintessentially a Kaurismäki movie from start to finish, the answer is as simple as being caught in a monotonous routine, the very reality that the writer/director's features also give audiences a reprieve from. He knows this. On-screen here, he has Holappa (Jussi Vatanen, Koskinen) and Ansa (Alma Pöysti, A Day and a Half) find solace in a cinema themselves. They don't see a Kaurismäki picture. Instead, they catch The Dead Don't Die by Jim Jarmusch, the closest person that he has to an American equivalent. That's Holappa and Ansa's first official date, but not the start of Fallen Leaves' story. Before that, it gets to know him as a metalworker and her as a supermarket employee, methods of receiving a paycheque that neither is overly fussed about. Holappa is also an alcoholic, which eventually costs him his job. Ansa gets fired for trying to take home out-of-date food. The pair cross paths at a karaoke bar, and awkwardly, yet the audience can almost see the string tying them together as soon as they're both sharing a frame. For someone who so regularly processes the world's sadness through deadpan laughs, Kaurismäki isn't averse to kindred spirits — again, see his shoutout to Jarmusch, and also the fact that Fallen Leaves, as many of Kaurismäki's movies do, features a key canine connection. Dialogue doesn't come easily or abundantly in a film by the creative force who clearly didn't retire after The Other Side of Hope, as he said he was going to — and who won the 2023 Cannes Film Festival Jury Prize with Fallen Leaves, the proof that he's still behind the camera. Understanding his characters by being in their presence has always been his approach. Valuing silence and pauses plays like a throwback, too, increasingly so when words being flung about incessantly at literal presses of buttons is life circa 2024. His casting, and also the cinematography that splashes Kaurismäki's movies across the screen, are always pivotal as a result. With Vatanen and Pöysti, the latter collecting a Golden Globe nomination, Fallen Leaves boasts actors who reside fully in Holappa and Ansa's skins and sorrows. With Timo Salminen doing the lensing, as he has since the director's first film four decades ago, Fallen Leaves also knows how to deeply observe everything that its stars bring to their on-screen figures. The plot might be slight — Holappa and Ansa meet, gravitate towards each other, then attempt to clutch what respite they can from the winter that is existence — but that isn't the same as lacking detail. Seeing Ansa need to shop before she can host Holappa at her flat for dinner screams with minutiae about how accustomed she is to being alone, and for how long; she only has one place setting otherwise. While she's still stacking shelves for a gig, watching her employer demand that expired food be thrown out instead of going to those who need it says everything about the cruel corporate attitude that oppresses not just the working class, but 21st-century society at large. It isn't just that Kaurismäki wants his viewers to see Holappa and Ansa's lives, rather than hear them chat about it; to explain who they are, and why, plus the emotions simmering inside each, he also knows exactly what's crucial for audiences to peer at. There's a sensation that springs from Kaurismäki's films: a feeling of stepping into a world so distinctively crafted by the filmmaker while also still spying a poignant reflection of reality. That's why his script for the graceful and gorgeous Fallen Leaves can chart such a familiar scenario — template-like, almost — and yet is anything but a by-the-numbers effort. He lets his characters be who they are, ups, downs, strengths, flaws and all. He perceives them and their plights with such evident empathy, and also with hope. Anyone watching can spot how they could be or have been Holappa and Ansa, including when Kaurismäki frequently finds the hilarity in this cycle that we all call life. Naturalistic, humane, wry, sincere, tender, taking the bad with the good when it comes to each and every day and person: that's his remit, winningly, warmly and meaningfully so. In another of Fallen Leaves' touches that might seem at odds with setting it in 2024, pushing its protagonists together is complicated by the fact that they initially can't contact each other. Their names are hard-earned. Phone numbers are lost. This romance isn't easy to come by, then; for Holappa and Ansa both, and for viewers as well, it's worth striving for. Kaurismäki is a master at mirroring in his style, narrative and themes, such as showing how something that appears standard so rarely is via his plot and imagery, or telling a tale that takes away the always-on nature of modern life to stress what's truly important. He's a filmmaking great in general — and if the sexagenarian is encroaching upon the autumn of his career 41 years after his feature debut, his talents remain as verdant as ever.
Australia's toast game just levelled up with a little help from our neighbours across the ditch. If you're a fan of slathering nut butters across slices of heated bread, then you've likely heard of cult-favourite Wellington brand Fix & Fogg — and instead of stuffing your suitcases with their products when you're coming back from a New Zealand holiday, you can now head to Woolworths to pick up ten different types. Woolies already stocked two Fix & Fogg products: Everything Butter, which combines a bit of everything as the name suggests (aka hemp, chia, sesame, sunflower, flaxseeds, pumpkin seeds, peanuts and almonds), plus granola butter (which is made with toasted South Island oats, cashew nuts, coconut, sunflower seeds, chia seeds and peanuts). Joining them are multiple types and sizes of peanut butter, plus a range of other creative flavours. Peanut butter and jelly in a jar, anyone? If you're all about the OG peanut butter by itself, you can go smooth or crunchy in either 375-gram and 750-gram jars. Or, there's the chilli and paprika-spiced Smoke and Fire peanut butter in 275-gram containers, as well as choc berry and almond-heavy versions of the Everything Butter. In Australia, you'll now find the ten Fix & Fogg varieties at all 990 Woolies locations nationwide from today, Monday, August 15. For folks new to Fix & Fogg, it makes the type of nut butters that you'll easily want to eat by the spoonful, sans toast — which is one of the reasons that the company has evolved from selling its wares at Wellington markets to picking up a huge homegrown and now international following. Fix & Fogg's expanded presence at Woolies comes after the brand hit the US in a big way in 2021, getting stocked at 3500 Whole Foods stores around the country. Find ten of Fix & Fogg's nut butters on Woolworths shelves from Monday, August 15.
As Carmy in The Bear, Jeremy Allen White was born to cook up kitchen chaos. In Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere, he's born to run, slipping into Bruce Springsteen's shoes in the next big music biopic that's on its way to cinemas. Less than 12 months after Bob Dylan scored the same treatment in the Oscar-nominated A Complete Unknown, another icon is getting their filmic time to shine. Deliver Me From Nowhere has a time-specific focus, too, with the making of the rockstar's 1982 Nebraska record in the spotlight. Does the just-dropped first trailer for the film deliver White singing, including belting out 'Born to Run' onstage? Does it also feature Jeremy Strong (The Apprentice) monologuing in the role of Springsteen's manager Jon Landau? Does it head into the Boss' New Jersey bedroom, where the acoustic album that joined his discography immediately before 1984's smash-hit Born in the USA was recorded? The answer to all three: yes. Also seen, alongside Allen swapping The Bear for another real-life tale after The Iron Claw: glimpses of Stephen Graham (Adolescence) plays as Springsteen's father Dutch Springsteen and Gaby Hoffmann (Poker Face) as his mother Adele. The movie's cast spans Odessa Young (The Narrow Road to the Deep North), Marc Maron (Stick), Paul Walter Hauser (Cobra Kai) and David Krumholtz (The Studio) as well. Audiences will be able to check out their efforts Down Under from Thursday, October 23, 2025. Scott Cooper (The Pale Blue Eye) both directs and penned the script, adapting the latter from Warren Zanes' book Deliver Me From Nowhere: The Making of Bruce Springsteen's Nebraska. The last time that the filmmaker focused on a musician was in his 2009 debut Crazy Heart, fictionalising the story of Hank Thompson — and Jeff Bridges (The Old Man) won the Best Actor Oscar for his starring role. "Making Springsteen was deeply moving as it allowed me to step inside the soul of an artist I've long admired — and to witness, up close, the vulnerability and strength behind his music. The experience felt like a journey through memory, myth and truth. And more than anything, it was a privilege to translate that raw emotional honesty to the screen, and in doing so, it changed me. I cannot thank Bruce and Jon Landau enough for allowing me to tell their story," said Cooper about Deliver Me From Nowhere. Check out the first trailer for Springsteen: Deliver Me From Nowhere below: Deliver Me From Nowhere releases in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, October 23, 2025. Images: © 2025 20th Century Studios. All Rights Reserved.
Grief. Asking for forgiveness. Moving forward. Thematically, that's the initial three-season plan for Shrinking, Apple TV+'s Jason Segel (Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty)-, Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny)- and Jessica Williams (Road House)-starring comedy series about therapists endeavouring to help their patients while rarely having all of the answers to their own problems. Audiences will get to see at least that journey from this kind-hearted gem, which was co-created by TV veteran Bill Lawrence fresh off Ted Lasso's success, teaming up with the soccer-themed hit's Brett Goldstein, aka Roy Kent, as well as Segel. Just as Shrinking's second season started airing in mid-October 2024, the show was renewed for a third season. "That is the beginning, middle and end of this story, without a shadow of a doubt. And I think people know from what I do that there has to be an undercurrent of hope and optimism in there," Lawrence tells Concrete Playground. "I'm not going to say everything would be nicely cut and dried, but I'm not sure people would ever watch my shows again if the end of this was 'Jimmy moved into the mountains and decided to be sad and alone forever'. You know what I mean? 'Don't even bother trying!'." Lawrence, who was also behind Spin City in the 90s, Scrubs and Cougar Town in the 00s, plus 2024 newcomer Bad Monkey, isn't saying that's all there'll be to Shrinking's on-screen journey — there's a way forward if, once season three rolls around, it earns another renewal again from there. "We knew that that was the end of this particular story. I think that's what's fun about television now, is you tell stories with a beginning, middle and end. Doesn't mean that the show can't go on, it just means if we go beyond these three seasons, I treat it like a book," he advises. "Bad Monkey, there's another book by Carl Hiaasen with some of the same characters, at least the ones that aren't dead. It's a completely new story, with a completely new inception point, and I love it just as much as the previous one. So I love the idea of doing that with a TV show like this, hopefully." Since its early 2023 debut, Shrinking has spent its time with Segel's Jimmy Laird, Ford and Williams as his colleagues Paul Rhoades and Gaby Evans, plus Jimmy's teenage daughter Alice (Lukita Maxwell, AfrAId), best friend Brian (Michael Urie, Goodrich), patient Sean (Luke Tennie, CSI: Vegas), and neighbours Liz (Christa Miller, Head of the Class) and Derek (Ted McGinley, The Baxters). When the show began its tale, Jimmy was consumed by loss and pain after the death of his wife in a car accident. With Alice, he'd largely been absent since tragedy changed their lives forever, and his friends had been picking up the slack. With the folks paying him for his professional assistance, Jimmy then began trying to push them out of their comfort zones. "I think one of the things that actually was a real breakthrough for me from participating in the show is understanding that one of the real pitfalls of therapy is getting caught in a weekly loop of talking about your problems, but not actually trying to change them. I hadn't really thought of that," Segel explains. "You have people who've been in therapy for years and years and years, but haven't really made any progress. And so I think that that's one of the things that was frustrating Jimmy, is feeling like his patients were caught in a rut — and 'what do I start doing to change your behaviour? What do we do that's actionable today?'. So that's been really cool, and I think it's been cool for the viewers, too, to think about it in that way." Shrinking is another of Lawrence's series with hug-inducing levels of warmth at its core, as Ted Lasso was so welcomely. As with Scrubs, it finds both deep emotion and humour in healthcare's vicinity. And as everything on his resume since Spin City has been, it's about the families that we make not just through the bonds of blood. Vulnerability sits at its heart, too, which Segel appreciates, especially as the Freaks and Geeks, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, How I Met Your Mother star's concept of what that means has evolved over his quarter-century-plus acting career. "I think that my idea of vulnerability has become more sophisticated as I have gotten older," he notes. "When I was a young man, to me the most-vulnerable thing was doing full-frontal nudity during a breakup, and that's just literally vulnerable. But I think that in this show, I've started to realise more and more that real grown-up vulnerability is saying 'I'm afraid' or saying 'I'm struggling and I need help'. Asking for help, what a vulnerable thing. And so I think that you'll see a lot of characters committing real acts of vulnerability and bravery by asking each other for help." Shrinking's 12-episode second season picks up with Jimmy being confronted with consequences from his new strategy for therapy, and Alice — and everyone else — concerned that he'll return to his self-destructive spiral. As it digs into seeking not just assistance but forgiveness, it also brings Goldstein (The Garfield Movie) in front of the camera, and forces its characters to begin reckoning with what it truly means to even think about allowing yourself to forge a path beyond past sorrows, mistakes and fears. How does Lawrence approach his now-trademark mix of emotional complexity and comedy, including while championing kindness? How crucial is Segel's involvement, especially in conveying details that don't need to be written on the page? And how did Ford come to be onboard? What does Segel learn working beside the acting icon — and how does he tackle a project when he's so intricately involved off-screen? We chatted to Lawrence and Segel about all of the above and more. On Making Sitcoms with Emotional Complexity, Including Ted Lasso and Shrinking Both Heroing Kindness, Self-Belief and Asking for Help Bill: "Everybody that you get to talk to that does what I do, they without a doubt had influences and idolised different shows and writers when they grew up. And for me, I grew up on that type of TV. People forget, because they aren't as old as I am, M*A*S*H was this show that was like the biggest show in America — a sitcom that would be broad and silly and goofy, and it would turn on a dime and you would find yourself sobbing about a patient that passes away or a story that you didn't see coming. You'd just get blindsided. And I always gravitated to TV like that. Even The Office, which I think is so brilliant and silly, and Michael Scott is a ridiculous character, they somehow found ways that he could still turn on a switch and hit you emotionally. I like shows like 30 Rock and Veep, which are a testament to amazing joke-writing, and sardonic and satire, and I wish I could do them — I can't. But I got very lucky. I knew with the show Scrubs that I wanted to try and do this, and see if you could do shows with big comedy that then would maybe sometimes have hairpin curves into emotional depth. And I remember when I tried to sell Scrubs, one of the executives that I sell to said 'I'm not sure you can do broad, silly comedies and then make people care — like, a fantasy, and then make people care if a patient lives or dies or not'. And I used to say 'I think you can, if you just turn the lights down and play some indie music'. I was joking, but it turned out to be right. I think there's a lot of people out there that laugh their way through pain, and I think that's why maybe sometimes these shows work, hopefully." On Shrinking's Focus on a Therapist Trying to Help Others While Needing Help Himself Jason: "I think that just on its face, the premise of somebody practising therapy while they themselves are going through a nervous breakdown is an electric idea. That's what comedy is, right? It's setting up these two opposing walls, and comedy is the space in between. Forgetting Sarah Marshall's about a guy trying to get over a breakup and running into his ex and her new boyfriend. It's these things in opposition to each other. So someone trying to help other people get well while they themselves are not well, it's just a great place to start." On the Balancing Act Between Silly Comedic Moments and Deep Emotion That Touches Audiences Bill: "It could be disastrous. I'll tell you right now, the stuff I've done in my career that's failed, have failed because of our inability to navigate those moments, and it just ends up seeming inauthentic. And without patting myself on the back, because I have very little to do with it, there's a chemistry to a TV show. Shows like this work often because the cast, there's actors and actresses top to bottom on Shrinking and on Ted Lasso and on Scrubs that have the ability to be making you laugh and being goofy and silly one second, and then to literally gather themselves and take a breath, and be pulling at your heartstrings the next. It's a special talent for actors and actresses. One of the great gifts of this stage of my career is getting to watch Harrison Ford do that. I knew what a great actor he was. I didn't know how funny he was. And I certainly didn't know how smooth he'd be at making the turn from one spot to another." Jason: "I think that we try to stay, if this makes sense, as true to life as possible, because my experience of life is it's not a whole bunch of hugging and learning. It's clunky and awkward, and the great thing about having friends you really trust and believe in is, yeah, there's some hugging and learning, but there's also a whole lot of 'get off your ass, we're going out to dinner'. There's a lot of 'dump that guy, he's a you-know-what?', as opposed to sitting around moping. 'Let's get revenge on him', you know. This is the way I think we actually behave — we make each other laugh and we hold each other by the hand and drag each other along. And so I actually think it's easier than it might seem, that the more honestly you write, the funnier it is." On Getting Harrison Ford for His First Main Role in a TV Comedy — and Learning From Him Bill: "I gave him my soul. He's a mystical creature and I signed my soul away. No, he's not. It's still crazy. When I was 25, I created the show Spin City with my mentor with Gary Goldberg, and the fact that Michael J Fox was doing it, I couldn't comprehend it. It was the first big job I ever had and he turned out to be exactly the type of person that you would hope he would be being a fan. And I did not expect to have that experience again as a guy in my 50s. And Harrison, to his credit, he's like 'yo, man, I'm trying new stuff. I've never done a TV show. I've never done a comedy'. A couple months ago he's like 'I've never done a Marvel movie'. I'm like 'you work harder than anybody I know, and you're 82'. It makes you almost feel guilty if you're ever complaining about being tired. It's been a career highlight for me that I did not expect to have at this point in my life." Jason: "Harrison and I both want this thing to turn out great, and we both work really hard and do our prep and all that stuff. But one of the things I learned from Harrison is that I really feel a sense of ownership and stress about it turning out well. And I think one of the things that I've learned from Harrison is 'hey kid, you've earned the right to trust knowing that you're good at this, and it's going to be good. You don't have to be scared until it's good. You know it's going to be good. You've done all the work. You know you're good at this. Do your prep. Show up. Nail it. It's going to be good'. That has been really helpful for me, because I'm sort of holding my breath until the finished product comes out and I like it. And I would enjoy myself a lot more in this job and in this life if I just had a little more ease about it always seems to work out. I still haven't bought that lesson yet. 'What if this time it doesn't?', you know." On the Importance of Segel's Casting — and What He Can Convey with His Face That Doesn't Need to Be on the Page Bill: "We talked a little bit about what the prototypes for my shows are. And he's such an inherently likeable actor. I'll tell you something I haven't told everybody. We made it a joke in the writers' room. He's playing some heavy stuff, and the tendency for writers is to overwrite it, to have characters say 'I'm really sad' or to say 'that thing that you did hurt me'. And Jason, one time, one time only, we said 'do we have to write this line or can you do it with your face?' — and he's like 'oh, I can do it with my face'. That has become shorthand in the writers' room. He's so good that we're like 'do we have to, can we go home, or do we have to write something here? It depends whether or not Jason can do it with his face'. But even though it's a joke, I watch some of these stories play out on his face and see what he's doing. Man, he's so good. He's so good and such a talented writer and just a good guy. Don't tell him I said it, but I really like him." On Segel Co-Creating and Co-Writing Shrinking, as Well as Acting Jason: "It's interesting because that's been actually the majority of my career, is writing something and shepherding it from the beginning, and so I'm very comfortable and familiar with that idea. I think that one of the benefits it has, for this show in particular, is that I get to quarterback the scenes when I'm on set that I'm in, knowing what we're trying to accomplish from a more bird's-eye view than you have when you're an actor for hire. I also love just being an actor for hire on projects where I do that. There's something very relaxing about it, because you're like 'most of this is somebody else's problem'. But I think that when I'm on Shrinking, I feel very protective of it. And I want it to be great and I want to help my castmates shine, and I just love it very, very much." On Families of Circumstance Sitting at the Heart of Lawrence's TV Shows, From Spin City and Scrubs to Ted Lasso and Shrinking Bill: "Found family, definitely. Mentorship, definitely. Oh shoot, I just do the same thing over. No, I'm joking. I cherish it in my own life. I was an only child. I built worlds around me of people that I loved and loved spending time with, and a family as well. And I think one of the things that maybe lay people don't know about Hollywood, because Hollywood's got a bad rap — deservedly so in some cases — but the positives are most people got in due to mentorship, and the best experiences people have involved found family and building a community on a show or a play or a movie. I still spend time with the cast and crew of Scrubs, not because we're working together, but because I sincerely love them. And I'm only good at writing what I know. So it's either writing about that or writing about a guy who's deathly afraid of his wife. She's so good. I'm just kidding. I'm just trying to get a laugh. She's awesome, man." On Segel Always Drawing Upon His Personal Life, Whether He's Writing, Acting or Both Jason: "I would say that everything that I participate in the writing process, or act in, is drawn from my personal life. It's the only way I know how to make art. I don't think we manifest it out of nowhere. I think it's more about transmutation. Like, what comes in and then what do you turn it into? I don't think that the kind of grief that we're exploring needs to be specifically about having lost a partner. I think it's the same kind of grief we experience from a big breakup. I think it's the same kind of grief we felt after COVID when there was lost time, when all of a sudden two years of our lives were gone and we'll never get them back. And so, yeah, there are moments in the exploration of Jimmy getting over losing his wife when I think about breakups, or I think about paths of my life that could have been taken that I didn't take, things that will never be that I really believed were going to happen. So I think it's all personal. That's the only way I know how to do it." On Segel's Favourite Shrinking Character Jason: "It may be surprising, but my favourite character is Derek, Ted McGinley's character, because to me, he is the best of us. He represents being unencumbered by doubt. He's just a guy who wants everyone to be having a good time. Don't sweat the small stuff. I wish my life felt more like that. I wish that my life felt more like how Derek feels on a day-to-day basis. Like 'oh hey great, we get to take a drive today? Oh, hot dogs — great!' What a way to live, right?" On What Gets Lawrence Excited About a New Project After Making TV for More Than Three Decades Bill: "I think that the day that I'm not excited to get paid to write stories for a living, I will go teach and hang it up, because I don't need any extra juice to get me going. I'm so lucky to do this. The only other job I ever had was painting the houses, and I wasn't that good at it. And so I hope people know that I'm grateful every day. I think the thing that makes me excited to do it now is I get to work with young people that want to get into this industry. I get to work with people that still show up and are like 'wow, a TV show!', and it's impossible to be cynical and jaded when you get to be around that. I get to talk to people like yourself that, I would argue, would not be doing this unless they grew up as TV and movie nerds like I did, and wanted to talk about all this stuff. I didn't expect to have a career renaissance in my 50s, but I'm going to ride it out as long as I can, and until people realise that they've made a grave mistake, and just keep having fun and working with friends." Shrinking streams via Apple TV+. Read our review of season one.
There's an astonishing story at the heart of I, Daniel Blake, the latest film from veteran director Ken Loach, and the winner of the Palme d'Or at this year's Cannes Film Festival. After suffering a heart attack while standing on scaffolding on a building site, the titular character (Dave Johns) seeks government assistance. Alas, despite his doctor's advice that he needs rest to recover, a series of bureaucrats deem him fit to work, and refuse to listen to his pleas about his health. His situation isn't unique; at the local benefits office, he meets a single mother, Katie (Hayley Squires), similarly battling an uncaring system. Exposing the punitive barriers those in need are forced to face when they're looking for help, the movie has been garnering a strong reaction as it travels around the world. However, there's another incredible tale driving I, Daniel Blake. Lead actor Johns is a stand-up comedian who has appeared on British panel TV shows such as Never Mind the Buzzcocks and 8 Out of Ten Cats, and now makes the leap to film to star in his first feature at the age of 59. His is a devastatingly naturalistic performance in a heartbreaking piece of social realist cinema, and one that lingers long after viewing. With I, Daniel Blake releasing in Australian cinemas after playing at the British Film Festival, we chatted with Johns about making his first movie, receiving the script page-by-page as shooting progressed, and the responsibility of making a film that hits so close to home for so many people. ON MAKING THE JUMP FROM STAND-UP TO STARRING IN A KEN LOACH FILM "I was aware of Ken's work — and just to meet Ken, I said to people, friends of mine, 'If I could just get in and do the improv with him, that'd just be a great experience'. So I never dreamt that I would be offered the part. We shot it for ten weeks up in the northeast of England, around the area where I was brought up as a kid. And I remember the first day, I mean, I'd done plays and stuff like that, but I hadn't walked on set and seen the enormity of what I'd taken on. 'Oh my god, I'm the lead of this film,' I remember thinking. 'Oh, have I bitten off too much?' And now people say to me, 'You know, what's it like, your first film?' — and I go 'Well, if it's my first film and it's won the Palme d'Or, I think I've set my bar a little too high'. Now I'm up for best actor at the European Film Awards this year in Poland. I'm up for best actor and best newcomer and the British Independent Film Awards. Variety magazine in America have tipped me as number 20 to win an Oscar behind Jake Gyllenhaal and Colin Farrell, so it is pretty surreal. I think your career should be a bit of an adventure. And if you do one thing in your life that you can be proud of, to be in a Ken Loach film that has made such an impact and won the Palme d'Or, I'm very proud and very honoured to be in this position." ON DISCOVERING THE STORYLINE AS HE WENT "The thing with the way Ken works is he doesn't tell you much about the film. You don't get the full script, you only get a couple of pages each day — and he shoots chronologically, so basically you are thrown into this life where you're just living this life everyday. And you don't really know what's coming until you get the two or three pages of script in the evening that you go away and learn and bring in the next day. I think that's so you don't have that sort of [situation] where you and the other person you're doing the scene with, you can't look at page 26 of the script, and go, 'Oh look, this is our big scene'. Ken doesn't want you to pre-empt what's going to happen. He wants it all to be in the moment. A lot of people think there's a lot of improvisation in Ken's films — I mean all that script is all scripted, it's just that Paul Laverty [Loach's long-time screenwriter] and Ken, they give you the chance to own the words. That's how it comes across. And because he shoots chronologically, and because he has no closed sets — he puts you in real situations — it has that gritty, real feel about it." ON REACTING TRUTHFULLY RATHER THAN ACTING "I think you rely on truth. You rely on your true emotions, and you actually respond truthfully. You don't have any chance to pre-empt how you're going to feel. The first day, Ken said to me on set, 'When you're in scenes with Hayley, when you're in the scene together, if you just listen to each other and you find the truth, it will look like that on the screen'. So that's the notes I got, so I just took that on board. Just basically, like, he would say to me, 'You're getting a phone call today on set'. And I'd go, 'All right, who's it from?' And he'd go, 'You'll find out when you get the phone call'. It's a very fascinating process. It makes you rely more on your gut reaction rather than any technique you might have as an actor, I would imagine. In any of the scenes I had with the kids or the neighbours or with Hayley, I think I was reacting to and responding to how she was playing it to me, you know. I think it was just being honest if something touched you, and then you brought the honest emotion to it. I think that's the only way you can do it when it's like that." ON FORGETTING THAT HE'S MAKING A MOVIE "The way Ken shoots, he doesn't have loads of people on set. There's no makeup touching you up before the scene, there's no checking your costume before every take, it's basically, you leave the unit and that's it. And basically, if we were in my flat, it'd just be the camera in the corner of the room — he never tells you what lens he's got on the camera, so you don't know how close the shot is. And there were times when in scenes I forgot I was in a film, really. I was just reacting to what Katie, the character, was telling us. And that was a pretty amazing feeling, when there were times when you forgot you were making a film and you were just talking with this person." ON THE REALITY BEHIND THE FILM "The first thing Ken said to me when we did preparations — I had to learn how to carve the wooden fish, did a little woodwork course, just a couple of days — and then he said to me, 'Fill that 52 page assessment form in.' And I was like, 'What?' And I came back and went, 'I can't do this, this is insane'. And then it got me thinking, imagine if you were sick, and you had to fill that in, and if you filled it in wrong. And so it was revealed to me how unjust the system is. And I think it is because it is a system that is spread by this austerity which has been played around the world. I mean, every film festival — I took the summer off to go to film festivals with this — and at every film festival I went, at Locarno in Switzerland, in Spain, in Italy, in Slovakia, everywhere we went with this film, people came up afterwards and said 'This is happening in our country as well'. Because of the big banking crash and because of the finances, the way globalisation is going, you see the poorest and the less able are taking the biggest burden. And that's what's happening with the welfare system. I think they've lost sight of the person and they are just trying to save money, and it is bureaucracy, and it is outsourced to a company, and these questions are insane." ON THE RESPONSIBILITY OF PLAYING A PART THAT HITS SO CLOSE TO HOME FOR SO MANY PEOPLE "You can't just do this film and go, 'Well, that's it, I'm done.' You go on and you do other work, but you still come back to it because you do feel a responsibility to it. I mean, I spoke at the Labor party conference this year — I've never done that in my life before, you know. So I do feel a bit that we have to see this film through, you know, and I don't think it is the sort of film that is going to go away. I think it's going to change things, because people here are angry, and people in America. People have said it will speak to the working poor who're in America. And it has already been mentioned in the House of Commons here by the opposition to Theresa May, so it is having an effect. I'm very pleased for Ken and for Paul, who, you know, thank the heavens that we have people like Paul Laverty and Ken Loach who are still making films that give a voice to people who don't have one." I, Daniel Blake is now screening in Australian cinemas. You can read our review here.
If a certain 70s-made, 50s-set musical rom-com about an Australian transfer student falling in love with an American high schooler in California is the one that you want — always — then you'll know that Grease isn't just about the hit 1978 movie. Before it became a silver-screen classic, it was a popular stage musical. After its movie success, it spawned a 1982 Michelle Pfeiffer-starring sequel, too. And now, in 2023, it'll span a prequel streaming series as well: Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies. Welcome back to Rydell High, but before Danny (John Travolta) and Sandy (Olivia Newton-John) were hopelessly devoted to each other. Rise of the Pink Ladies is set in 1954, four years prior to the events of Grease. Clearly, there's no prizes for guessing which group of students earn the new show's focus. Here, in a ten-episode series set to stream via Paramount+ in Australia on Friday, April 7 — with New Zealand airing details yet to be revealed — the eponymous girl gang gets an origin story. Yes, even Grease is jumping on the bandwagon, with explaining the stories behind already proven hits pop culture's favourite thing of late. In the just-dropped first trailer for the series, the titular young women are given words of warning about appropriate behaviour. "Ladies, you must be careful with whom you associate," Assistant Principal McGee (Jackie Hoffman, Only Murders in the Building) tells them. "A girl's reputation is all that she has." Pink jackets, T-Birds, dance scenes (including while wearing mechanics' overalls), a new take on a familiar track advising that Grease is indeed the word: they're all included in the debut sneak peek, which also promises that "things are about to get wild". Cast-wise, Marisa Davila (Love and Baseball), first-timer Cheyenne Isabel Wells, Ari Notartomaso (Paranormal Activity: Next of Kin) and Tricia Fukuhara (Loot) play the four teens who start the Pink Ladies, and are joined on-screen by Shanel Bailey (The Good Fight), Madison Thompson (Emergency), Johnathan Nieves (Penny Dreadful: City of Angels), Jason Schmidt (FBI: Most Wanted) and Maxwell Whittington-Cooper (The Photograph). This isn't the last time that all things Grease will pop up again, either — not including the stage musical and OG movie's enduring popularity, of course — with a Danny and Sandy-focused prequel flick Summer Lovin' also in the works. Check out the first trailer for Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies below: Grease: Rise of the Pink Ladies starts streaming via Paramount+ in Australia on Friday, April 7. New Zealand release details haven't yet been revealed — we'll update you when further information comes to hand.
UPDATE, Friday, November 10: The Killer screens in select cinemas from Thursday, October 26, and streams via Netflix from Friday, November 10. A methodical opening credits sequence that's all about the finer points, as seen in slivers and snippets, set to industrial strains that can only stem from Trent Reznor, with David Fincher and Andrew Kevin Walker's names adorning the frame, for a film about a murderer being chased. In 1995, Se7en began with that carefully and commandingly spliced-together mix — and magnificently. Fincher and Walker now reteam for the first time since for The Killer, another instantly gripping thriller that starts in the same fashion. It also unfurls as a cat-and-mouse game with a body count, while sporting an exceptional cast and splashing around (exactingly, of course) the full scope of Fincher's filmmaking mastery. This movie's protagonist is detail-obsessive to a calculating degree, and the director bringing him to cinematic life from Matz's graphic novels of the same name also keeps earning that description. The Fight Club, The Social Network and Mank helmer couldn't be more of a perfectionist about assembling The Killer just so, and the feature couldn't be more of a testament to his meticulousness. Fincher's love of crime and mysteries between Se7en and The Killer has gifted audiences The Game, Panic Room, Zodiac, The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, Gone Girl and Mindhunter, which have always felt like different books from a series rather than a director flipping through the same tome over and over. So it is with Michael Fassbender's long-awaited return to the screen after a four-year absence — X-Men: Dark Phoenix was has his last credit before this — which sees Fincher and his star aping each other in an array of ways. As well as being oh-so-drawn to minutiae, as the eponymous character reinforces in his wry narration, this duo of filmmaker and fictional assassin-for-hire are precise and compulsive about refashioning something new with favourite tools. For The Killer, it's fresh avenues to fulfill his deadly occupation. For the man who kicked off his feature career with Alien³ and now collaborates with a Prometheus and Alien: Covenant alum, it's plying his own trade, too. As Le Samouraï and Haywire have before this — Fassbender also appeared in Haywire, aptly — plus the John Wick franchise, The Killer finds someone in a shadowy line of work getting even murkier folks literally gunning for their demise. But first The Killer meets its namesake in Paris, camping out in an abandoned WeWork office, sleeping, people-watching, working through complicated yoga poses and grabbing a meal from McDonalds while dressed to resemble a German tourist, who he's certain that the French will avoid. Also on his to-do list: listening to every well-known song by The Smiths there is throughout the course of the film, because heaven knows he'll be miserable when his City of Light gig goes awry. And, as he waits, he coolly and calmly talks viewers through his highly disciplined, runs-like-clockwork, empathy-free approach to both life and death. It all goes smoothly for the hitman until it doesn't, however. The Killer quotes Popeye to say "I am what I am" about his way of making a living and his penchant for it, but fellow tautophrase "it is what it is" also comes to mind when a painstakingly lined-up shot from afar doesn't hit its target. His reaction: "WWJWBD?" or "what would John Wilkes Booth do?", he opines. Really, the screen's latest contract killer hops continents, countries and cities in an existential and mortal bind not just because he's flubbed a job, but because he's soon tracking down the other villains who've made cleaning up his misfire brutally personal. So, while his first port of call from Paris is the Dominican Republic, New Orleans, Florida and just outside of New York are among the destinations that follow. Most folks that The Killer crosses paths with get a similarly succinct moniker, including The Lawyer (Charles Parnell, Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One), The Brute (Sala Baker, Jungle Cruise), The Expert (Tilda Swinton, Asteroid City) and The Client (Arliss Howard, Mank). When Fassbender was once in everything everywhere for most of a decade, he too tinkered with many of the same traits that he's called upon to roll out in The Killer, from unrelenting in Hunger and single-minded in Shame to literally soulless in his Alien franchise stints and utterly consumed in Macbeth. His portrayal here is all killer, no throwbacks or filler, and it slays. He's as deadpan as he's ever been, as Fincher needs, but he's also exceptional as someone forced to realise that his rigid facade and detached air hides more than an all-business executioner inside. It's a mesmerisingly layered performance with fastidious subtleties, and that says as much without a word as all of those voiceover words. And, crucially, Fassbender knows and owns the tone: sardonic, and gleefully so. It isn't just the mix of Reznor and Atticus Ross' latest ominous Fincher score — their first, for The Social Network, won them an Oscar — with Morrissey, Johnny Marr, Andy Rourke and Mike Joyce's lyrical 80s yearning but anti-yearning that's funny in The Killer. And whether 'How Soon Is Now?', 'Bigmouth Strikes Again' or 'There Is a Light That Never Goes Out' is echoing, there's no doubting the humour behind the movie's main music choice as it helps bring viewers into the mercenary's mind (American Psycho's use of Huey Lewis and the News tapped its toes in the same territory, but The Killer isn't asking anyone if they like The Smiths). Fincher and Walker litter comedic touches everywhere, from aliases straight out of classic sitcoms to pointed statements about well-known brands. It's there in the sly internal monologue that their central figure keeps uttering around "stick to the plain", "anticipate, don't improvise" and other rules; the cycle of repetition that comes with it; altercations and their corresponding commentary; and, unshakeably and purposefully, the bigger picture. In look and efficiency, The Killer is also sharing what Swinton is selling in her scenes; both are icy, particular and sleek, with the film never wasting an emotion or moment. Fincher's frames glean as crisply as Swinton's blonde-topped David Bowie-channelling aesthetic, with help from Mank and Mindhunter cinematographer Erik Messerschmidt. The Killer is unsurprisingly rigorously pieced together as well, aided by the director's now six-time film editor Kirk Baxter (since The Curious Case of Benjamin Button). Welcomely stripped back, this a focused picture that's eager to be as streamlined as possible in a field, aka hired-gun flicks, where it's anything but a lone hand. Standing apart amid the murder-for-money masses is what The Killer wants, too, despite blending in being a professional must. As Fincher hones in on an assassin and the conscience that he says he doesn't have — including when noting that the amount of births and deaths each day means that his contribution to mortality rates barely registers — this riveting, reflective, slinkily engaging, expertly and finely pared thriller hits the bullseye in leaving an impression.
In past years it feels as if there's been a surge in the sub-genre of romantic comedies that revolve around the 20-something commitment-phobes. Generally they feature a host of characters more attractive than you, resisting relationships for the sake of engaging in meaningless sex. Or, the kind of films Natalie Portman and Mila Kunis did to flush the Oscar winning demons of Black Swan out of their psyches in 2011. Are We Officially Dating (released in the US as That Awkward Moment) can be lumped into this category, while also having a stab at bro comedy. The film follows Jason (Zac Efron), Daniel (Miles Teller), and Mikey (Michael B. Jordan), who after the failure of Mikey's marriage, make a pact to stay single as a gesture of solidarity. Unsurprisingly, all three violate the agreement. Whilst first-time filmmaker Tom Gormican has an admirable goal — to depict the clunky transition from dating to relationship from a male perspective — this film's insipid plot and unfunny jokes make it, dare I say, 94 minutes worth of 'awkward moments', It's essentially a male version of Sex in the City; they're snappy dressers and waltz around Manhattan, fuelling their crude humour with chai lattes. This brand of sex-positivism doesn't have the quite same punch when paired with stereotypical 'dudes' and such a flimsy premise. Venturing out of the PG13 paddle pool and into cinematic adolescence, Efron plays Jason, an apparently sharp-minded graphic designer working at a chic New York publishing house. In a feat of Don Draper-esque brilliance, he impresses a client by drawing an impromptu stiletto for a book cover. (Ah, of course. The essence of woman boils down to footwear. It's psychology 101, folks.) It's difficult to shirk the film's reductive and vacuous depiction of women. Aside from the trio 'rostering' girls to bone at appropriate intervals so they don't get attached, the female characters are poorly drawn. They merely function as narrative goalposts, as if to assure us that there is in fact, a point. Imogen Poots plays Ellie, Jason's humble, bookish and bohemian love interest. Whilst instinctively likeable, a scene in which she reveals her deepest desire — a ridiculously big house in the middle of Manhattan — feels like a contradiction of character. There's also a touch too many penis jokes. In fact, it feels as if scenes are set up specifically for the purpose of penis jokes. For example, when Jason misinterprets a dress-up party and arrives with a sex toy hanging from his fly, leading to much 'cock'tail punning. All in all, if you're planning on a Valentine's Day movie with your significant other, you may want to think about spending your money elsewhere. To impart the film's single slice of wisdom, "Relationships are about being there for the other person." https://youtube.com/watch?v=UrdI3zAnzno
Not all that long ago, the idea of getting cosy on your couch, clicking a few buttons, and having thousands of films and television shows at your fingertips seemed like something out of science fiction. Now, it's just an ordinary night — whether you're virtually gathering the gang to text along, cuddling up to your significant other or shutting the world out for some much needed me-time. Of course, given the wealth of options to choose from, there's nothing ordinary about making a date with your chosen streaming platform. The question isn't "should I watch something?" — it's "what on earth should I choose?". Hundreds of titles are added to Australia's online viewing services each and every month, all vying for a spot on your must-see list. And, so you don't spend 45 minutes scrolling and then being too tired to actually commit to watching anything, we're here to help. From the latest and greatest to old favourites, here are our picks for your streaming queue from February's haul of newbies (yes, we're assuming you've already watched News of the World and Malcolm & Marie). BRAND NEW STUFF YOU CAN WATCH IN FULL RIGHT NOW https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZ9cCFrCBxI IT'S A SIN More than two decades after creating Queer as Folk, Russell T Davies gives the television landscape another excellent queer drama. The screenwriter and television producer has been busy over the intervening period thanks to everything from Doctor Who to Years and Years — and he also has 2015's Cucumber to his name, too — but It's a Sin is one of the very best things on his lengthy resume. Stepping back to the AIDS crisis of the 80s and early 90s, the five-part miniseries follows a group of friends chasing their dreams in London. Ritchie (Olly Alexander, Penny Dreadful) heads to the city to become an actor, and to avoid telling his stern parents that he's gay. Roscoe (Omari Douglas) flees his parents' home when they keep threatening to take him back to Nigeria. Colin (Callum Scott Howells) arrives for an apprenticeship at a high-end tailor shop, but soon finds himself seeking an escape from his lecherous boss. Given the era, there's no doubting where the story will head. It's a Sin is as joyous and vibrant as it is soulful and heartbreaking, though. Ritchie, Roscoe and Colin not only cross paths, but form a makeshift family in their modest flat, with the former's college friends Jill (Lydia West, Dracula) and Ash (Nathaniel Curtis) rounding out the quintet. Neil Patrick Harris and Stephen Fry also feature, but they're never It's a Sin's stars — because, in series that looks and sounds the period part at every moment, the show's five main players are simply phenomenal. It's a Sin is available to stream via Stan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lkCCo63nhM I CARE A LOT She may not end up with many shiny statuettes for her efforts, but Rosamund Pike's Golden Globe nomination for I Care a Lot is well-deserved. The Radioactive and Gone Girl star is stellar in a tricky part in a thorny film — because this dark comic-thriller isn't here to play nice. Pike plays Marla Grayson, a legal guardian to as many elderly Americans as she can convince the courts to send her way. She's more interested in the cash that comes with the job, however, rather than actually looking after her charges. Indeed, with her girlfriend and business partner Fran (Eiza González, Bloodshot), plus an unscrupulous doctor on her payroll, she specifically targets wealthy senior citizens with no family, gets them committed to her care, packs them off to retirement facilities and plunders their bank accounts. Then one such ploy catches the attention of gangster Roman Lunyov (Peter Dinklage, Game of Thrones), who dispatches his minions to nudge Marla in a different direction. She isn't willing to acquiesce, though, sparking both a game of cat and mouse and a showdown. Dinklage makes the most of his role, too, but I Care a Lot is always the icy Pike's movie. Well, hers and writer/director J Blakeson's (The Disappearance of Alice Creed), with the latter crafting a takedown of capitalism that's savagely blunt but also blisteringly entertaining. I Care a Lot is available to stream via Amazon Prime Video. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sw_iVa6bZgs WHY ARE YOU LIKE THIS Named after a meme, and focusing on characters that can hardly be described likeable but are nonetheless instantly recognisable, Australian sitcom Why Are You Like This takes aim at 21st century life. Its three main figures are all twentysomethings endeavouring to navigate a never-ending onslaught of personal and professional problems, such as getting fired, battling with colleagues, money troubles, hiding boyfriends, losing moon cups and trying to spark a workplace revolution but ending up getting other people fired — so, yes, they're just like the rest of us. Penny (series co-creator Naomi Higgins, Utopia) wants to be an ally to everyone. Her bestie Mia (Olivia Junkeer, Neighbours) matches that determination with both self-assurance and a self-serving mindset; if she's sticking up for anyone, it's always herself. Rounding out the trio is Penny's housemate and aspiring drag queen Austin (Wil King), whose glittery outfits and super-sized personality can't always hide his internal crumbling. Across the show's six-episode first season, these three friends keep trying to stand out in their own ways. They also keep demonstrating both their best and worst traits. As satirical as it is candid and relatable, Why Are You Like This knows that everyone and everything is awful, and leans in. And, in terms of the series' style of comedy, the fact that Higgins created the show with lawyer and illustrator Humyara Mahbub and Aunty Donna's Mark Samual Bonanno says plenty. Why Are You Like This is available to stream via ABC iView. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CqXhMYjasHM ROCKS Not only thoughtful, empathetic and heartfelt, but also offering a very familiar genre a fresh perspective, coming-of-age drama Rocks explores the life of British Nigerian teenager Olushola Omotoso (engaging debutant Bukky Bakray). She's given the eponymous nickname by her friends, and she's forced to call upon a hardy type of fortitude when her mother (Layo-Christina Akinlude, I May Destroy You) leaves suddenly, entrusting the 15-year-old to care for her her younger brother Emmanuel (D'Angelou Osei Kissiedu). This situation isn't new for the siblings, so they soldier on. But, approaching the film with a tender but also forthright touch, director Sarah Gavron (Suffragette) and screenwriters Theresa Ikoko and Claire Wilson (Gangs of London) don't sugarcoat their story. As Rocks tries to rustle up enough money to by, endeavours to evade social workers chasing her and Emmanuel around town, attempts to maintain a routine for her brother and also deals with her own schoolyard struggles, the film repeatedly demonstrates that a feature can be both honest, unflinching, bittersweet and charming all at once. Indeed, it also illustrates that when a movie manages to be all of those things — as well as immersively shot, superbly performed and keenly showing a far more expansive snapshot of British life than often seen on-screen — it's something special. Rocks is available to stream via Netflix. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbZU_76SPdI CLARICE When The Silence of the Lambs became one of the most talked-about movies of 1991 — and won the 'big five' Oscars: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress and Best Adapted Screenplay — it was always going to earn a follow-up. But, the three films that did just that all cared far more about psychiatrist and serial killer Hannibal Lecter than FBI Agent Clarice Starling, as did the Mads Mikkelsen-starring TV series Hannibal. Accordingly, television crime procedural Clarice feels as if it's righting a three-decade-old wrong. Set a year after the events of The Silence of the Lambs, it follows its eponymous figure (Australian actor Rebecca Breeds, Three Summers) as she returns to the field. She's still shaken by the case that made her famous, and she'd much rather stay behind the scenes than lead the charge, but she's brought to Washington DC to join a high-profile taskforce that hunts down serial killers and other predators. Clarice is made by US network television, not cable, so it happily sticks to an obvious formula; however, case-of-the week programs like this have remained a TV mainstay for a reason. Breeds capably steps into Jodie Foster's shoes, the series as a whole sinks into its unsurprisingly grim mood, and stories about women reclaiming their own space after trauma, as this is, aren't as common as they should be. Clarice is available to stream via Stan. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2B7m-ARHz0c FAKE FAMOUS No one could've known how timely Fake Famous would be, especially in Australia. Arriving in a month where much of the nation's social media usage has pivoted from Facebook to Instagram, it explores influencer culture on the latter platform, all thanks to an experiment by journalist-turned-filmmaking first-timer Nick Bilton. Interested not only in people famous for being famous, but in the way that Instagram in particular has heightened the phenomenon, the writer/director endeavours to create three influencers of his own. He holds auditions, selects candidates, gives them makeovers, sets them up with a crew to snap their photos and shoot their videos, and buys them bots to follow, like and comment on their posts. His aim: to take his three chosen Los Angeles residents from everyday Instagram users with dreams of online stardom to the type of social media celebrities who've turned their virtual existence into a full-time job (and have the statistics and the swag sent to their door to prove it). Mixed in with insights about social media and influencers in general, the result is a fascinating film — especially in seeing how Bilton's three central figures handle the process. That remains true of this slickly made, perkily toned documentary even if there's little that's overly new here for anyone with an ongoing interest in or knowledge of the subject. Fake Famous is available to stream via Binge. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u9XJ1AxrAcs THE VIRTUES Director and screenwriter Shane Meadows has a fantastic track record, spanning everything from Dead Man's Shoes to This Is England — as well as the multiple TV shows inspired by the latter. Fellow screenwriter Jack Thorne is no stranger to working with Meadows, also thanks to the This Is England franchise; however his individual resume includes Dirt Music, Radioactive, The Secret Garden, Enola Holmes, The Eddy and His Dark Materials over just the past couple of years. So, the pair's involvement in The Virtues immediately marks it as a miniseries to watch. So does its star Stephen Graham, yet another veteran of This Is England. Here, all three combine for a four-part drama that's bleak, raw, frank and devastating — and, once you've started watching, it's also impossible to tear your eyes away from until the credits roll on the final episode. After it finishes, it's downright impossible to forget, in fact, a claim that can't be made of most television shows. Graham plays Joseph, a labourer who's barely getting by. When his ex-partner and his young son move to Australia, he hits the bottle, has a big night, and wakes up certain that he has to head back to Ireland and confront his troubled past. So starts an emotional journey that's never easy — not for a single second — but is also never anything less than astounding. The Virtues is available to stream via Stan. RETURNING SHOWS TO CHECK OUT WEEK BY WEEK WELLINGTON PARANORMAL Three of the best comedic actors currently on TV all star in New Zealand-made sitcom Wellington Paranormal. Playing Officer O'Leary, Officer Minogue and Sergeant Maaka, Karen O'Leary, Mike Minogue and Maaka Pohatu spit out devastatingly hilarious deadpan line readings. They need to in this mockumentary series, which follows a squad of Wellington cops who investigate the supernatural — as the show's title so succinctly explains — but every episode of the series so far has demonstrated just how perfect these three actors are for their job. That includes the just-arriving third season of the program, which once again sees the team tackle cases of the paranormal variety (and, yes, of the often silly and always amusing kind as well). This batch of instalments starts with an invisible foe, then ponders what might be lurking in the woods, with laughs heartily ensuing. A spinoff from Taika Waititi and Jemaine Clement's excellent 2014 movie What We Do in the Shadows — well, one of the film's spinoffs, given that a very funny US TV series also called What We Do in the Shadows also exists — Wellington Paranormal aces its concept again and again. This time around, Clement directed half of the season's episodes, while Rhys Darby reprises a familiar role. Wellington Paranormal's third season starts streaming via SBS On Demand from Wednesday, February 24, with new episodes added each week. CULT CLASSICS TO REVISIT AND REDISCOVER https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XhulR_kJf7Y PARKS AND RECREATION She's the government worker we all wish could be in charge of, well, absolutely everything — and she's the Indiana city of Pawnee's most devoted employee and biggest fan. We're talking, of course, about Leslie Knope, Amy Poehler's super passionate waffle-loving character in iconic sitcom Parks and Recreation. Willing to work hard in any situation and always ready to lean upon her friends and co-workers, Leslie knows how to handle almost anything. In one particular fifth-season episode of the Nick Offerman, Rashida Jones, Aziz Ansari, Chris Pratt, Aubrey Plaza, Adam Scott and Rob Lowe-costarring series, that also includes grappling with a pandemic. Created by The Office's Greg Daniels and Brooklyn Nine-Nine's Michael Schur, Parks and Recreation may have only come to the end of its seven-season run back in 2015, but the sitcom has been an instant classic from the get-go for one reason: focusing on relatable characters, the minutiae of their lives and the time working in local government, workplace-based comedy has never felt more kind-hearted, or — thanks to the show's penchant for letting its main players talk directly to the camera — so inclusive. And while Parks has done the rounds of streaming platforms, hopping from one to another over the years, its arrival on Netflix is as good a reason as any for a rewatch (not that anyone ever needs an excuse). All seven seasons of Parks and Recreation are available to stream via Netflix. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5zaQgbACc1E THE MUPPET SHOW Created by Jim Henson, first seen on TV in the 50s and boasting eight movies to their name, The Muppets are easily the most loveable felt and foam creations in pop culture history. They're also the driving force behind the best variety television series that's ever reached the small screen: The Muppet Show, which ran for five seasons between 1976–81. Forget all those other efforts hosted by humans over the years, because nothing is as absurd, surreal and delightful as this puppet-fuelled program. And, whether you grew up watching reruns over and over, have always wanted to check it out or somehow weren't aware that the series even existed, it's now available on Disney+ in full. Yes, it's time to play the music and light the lights — and to revisit this Muppets-starring favourite. You won't just be checking out the comic stylings of Kermit the Frog, Miss Piggy, Fozzie Bear, Gonzo and the Swedish Chef (and their songs and skits, too), of course. The Muppet Show is also famed for its guest appearances, so get set to spy everyone from Elton John and Mark Hamill to Martin, Liza Minnelli, Alice Cooper, Julie Andrews, Diana Ross and Gene Kelly. All five seasons of The Muppet Show are available to stream via Disney+.
Combining traditional Indigenous dance with a contemporary version of Zorba the Greek may sound a little bizarre but believe me, the end product is hilarious. You've probably already heard of The Chooky Dancers who shot to YouTube stardom with their clip that was uploaded in 2007. Today, the clip has been viewed more than 2 million times. The Chooky Dancers presented their unique dance on multiple television segments, including Australia's Got Talent and at the Melbourne Comedy Festival Gala in 2009 to a captivated and giggly audience. This group of talented performers hail from the remote Northern Territory community of Elcho Island (Galiwin'ku community). After managing to make audiences laugh across the world at their surprising fusion of tradition, comedy and contemporary music and dance, the Chooky Dancers are in Brisbane for their latest performance, Djuki Mala. Their performance features splashes of acrobatics, mixed with dance theatre and a sprinkle of comedy. Do check it out.
From holding a bake sale to selling off your bodily organs to teaching your dog to do this, artists, artisans and inventors have always had to be creative when it comes to getting dollars in the bank. If you’re not the baking or self-mutilating or dog-training type, Australia’s top crowdfunding platform Pozible might be up your alley. Pozible is more like a superhighway that started in 2010 and has since grown to support over 4,500 projects in Australia and around the world. It’s not hard to run a campaign, but it can be tough to succeed. We spoke to Pozible co-founder Rick Chen and compiled a hit list of top tips to help you on your way to making that money pool you always dreamed of. The Anything's Pozible pop-up is on in Sydney until March 13. Check it out for more tips and workshops to help you crowdfund your next project. Research ten similar projects First off the bat, do your research. Make sure you know how Pozible works. Search the Pozible website to find out how other similar projects have been funded. Read the FAQ, get in touch with Pozible and ask all the dumb questions. According to Rick, the Pozible team “work with project creators to educate them and let them know what works and what doesn’t work. This face-to-face guidance is a rare thing, and no other platform approaches crowdfunding in this way”, a contributing factor to high success rates. Tell a story “Most of the time it’s not about the project itself, it’s about the person behind it," says Rick. "People want to be part of you and your journey, so you need to be able to open those doors for people to get in.” Keep it simple, keep it personal, and make your crowdfunding supporters feel that they are all just as much a part of the process as you are. Transparency is also key in your storytelling. Tell people exactly what you are going to do with your money if you meet your target. (The more specific you are with this, the more it will feel as if your supporters are making a tangible difference). Include a video of yourself: you'll raise 114 percent more money if you That’s according to American crowdfunding site Indiegogo. And who doesn’t love a selfie? If you star in your own video, people will connect better with your story. The key is to create content that is visually compelling to compete with the visual noise of the internet. Offer a combination of physical goods and experience-based rewards "Physical products give your supporters a tangible sense they are getting something out of their contribution," says Rick. "Experience gives them the sense they are part of something exclusive. These two combined make it personal for people to get behind your project.” And how many rewards should you offer up? The sweet spot is somewhere between three and eight. Get another three people on your team If you have four or more people on your team, you’ll raise 70 percent more money than if you only have one person. That is, use your networks to build your team; it’s not about how many friends you’ve got, it’s about how you use them. Have your family and friends help to get the ball rolling. Don’t be afraid to ask people you know to contribute. In addition, line up a few key influential people to help spread the word. Build your networks before you launch to create hype. Shoot for 25 percent of your overall goal within the first 24 hours Go hard or go home. You are more likely to hit your target if you can reach 25 percent of your overall goal within the first 24 hours. People are more likely to donate to a campaign if other people have already donated. Pozible advises not to run a campaign for less than 20 days unless you have a good reason or are super confident. You need time to disseminate your marketing material. Indiegogo supplements this advice with the fact that on average, successful campaigns will cross their target fundraising goal on Day 36. Don't all-out beg on social media Only directly ask people to pledge to your campaign in 20 percent of your social media posts. The other 80 percent of posts should add meaning to your project, reveal exciting project news and engage people in the story. Plan your social media posts before beginning your campaign. According to Rick, “It is not about the social media platforms that you use, it is about how you use those platforms as a tool to carry out your activity — to tell your story”. Write medium-specific posts. And don’t get too disheartened if things slow down in the middle of your campaign, it happens to everyone. What’s important is you keep communicating during this period. Don’t be shy to post every day. Only ask for the amount you really need Consider the size of your networks and how many people you can realistically reach. Surprisingly, the average contribution size on successful campaigns comes in at around $70, with performance projects the most successful category. According to Rick, this is often because “these campaigners have strong existing followings — sometimes small but strong audiences who come to see shows, hardcore fans who follow these artists”. So it isn’t necessarily how many people you target, it’s who. Be realistic, write a budget. Factor in the cost of delivering your rewards. The more people you have promoting, the more pledges you will receive. Finally we asked Rick the ultimate question: What’s the biggest reason people don’t reach their targets? His response goes right back to point one: “Absolutely no question, it is because people don’t do their research properly and don’t know what they’re doing. We try to educate as much as we can, we run workshops on a monthly basis across cities in Australia. We strongly encourage people to prepare before they launch a campaign. Lack of research is basically what kills campaigns." Roslyn Helper crowdfunded her project zin's PARTY MODE on Pozible. Supplementary information sourced from US crowdfunding site Indiegogo.
Before it was a ten-part Prime Video series, Daisy Jones & The Six was a book. And before Taylor Jenkins Reid's 2019 novel jumped back to the 70s rock scene, Fleetwood Mac lived through, stunned and shaped the era. No matter where or when an adaptation popped up, or who took to the microphone and guitar in it, bringing Daisy Jones & The Six to the screen was always going to involve leaning into Mick Fleetwood, Stevie Nicks, John McVie, Christine McVie and company's story. Reid has said that she took loose inspiration from the band; "it's a Fleetwood Mac vibe," she's also noted. Those parallels are as obvious as a killer lyric in Daisy Jones & The Six. Creators Scott Neustadter and Michael H Weber have a recent history of riffing on true and classic tales, too — their last two projects were The Disaster Artist, which they co-scripted based on Greg Sestero's memoir about making Tommy Wiseau's The Room; and Rosaline, a retelling of William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet from the titular Romeo-spurned character's perspective. With directors James Ponsoldt (The End of the Tour), Nzingha Stewart (Inventing Anna) and Will Graham (A League of Their Own), the duo approach Daisy Jones & The Six exactly as that pedigree brings to mind: it's heightened, impressively cast, and well-versed in what it's tinkering with and recreating; it also isn't afraid of romance and tragedy, or of characters going all-in for what and who they're passionate about. On the page, this melodramatic tale of sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll unspools as an oral history. On streaming, it's framed by two-decades-later documentary interviews where key figures — Daisy Jones (Riley Keough, Zola), members of The Six and other pivotal folks in their careers — share memories to-camera. The eponymous musicians burned bright but flamed out fast together, opening text on-screen informs the audience before anyone gets talking. A huge stadium gig at Chicago's Soldier Field late in 1977 was their last, coming at the height of their popularity after releasing hit Rumours-esque record Aurora. Viewers immediately know the ending, then, but not what leads to that fate. Introduced in the show's flashbacks as the ignored child of wealthy parents, Daisy couldn't be more obsessed with music. A childhood spent internalising her mother's cruel comments that she doesn't have the voice or talent to follow her dreams holds her back in Daisy Jones & The Six's first episode, however, even as she couldn't spend more time hopping between Sunset Strip's venues. Cue another piece of IRL rock history, of course, thanks to Keough's pitch-perfect casting. She doesn't play her part like she's playing Elvis Presley's granddaughter — aka herself — but she makes fantastic use of her rockstar genes, including in her energy, swagger, stare, volatile temperament, and all the ferocious singing that the American Honey, The Girlfriend Experience and The Lodge star does herself. Daisy Jones & The Six takes its time putting the two parts of its moniker together, but follows The Six's origins from the outset as well, when Billy Dunne (Sam Claflin, Book of Love) agrees to front his younger brother Graham's (Will Harrison, Madam Secretary) high-school band. The full group initially spans guitarist Eddie Roundtree (Josh Whitehouse, Valley Girl), drummer Warren Rojas (Sebastian Chacon, Emergency) and bassist Chuck Loving (Jack Romano, Mank). But when dental school and the security it represents beckons the latter, and British keyboardist Karen Sirko (Suki Waterhouse, The Broken Hearts Gallery) joins their number, there's still just five band members moving from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles to make a proper go of it after tour manager Rod Reyes (Timothy Olyphant, Amsterdam) tells them that's where the serious action is at. Aspiring photographer Camila (Camila Morrone, also a Valley Girl alum) is the sixth person with The Six; she's Eddie's crush but Billy's girlfriend, then his wife and the mother of his child. She's also one of the reasons that the love-hate pull he feels towards Daisy earns two oft-used words: it's complicated. As much as Daisy Jones & The Six is a portrait of a band and a snapshot of an era, it's firmly a love triangle, too. Does great art only spring from deep feelings? Does faking it till you make it apply to discovering your artistic groove with someone and selling a bond that'll sell albums? What's the difference between finding a soulmate and seeing your own reflection peering back in another's eyes, struggles and life? They're all queries the series ponders. Fleetwood Mac's tumultuous relationships and breakups are a matter of history, which no one needs to know when sitting down to Daisy Jones & The Six. As Keough twirls onstage, adores shawls and lengthy sleeves, glares pure determination and fire, and self-medicates heavily, though, consider this a condensed fictionalisation. The Buckingham to her Nicks is Claflin, obviously, as duelling lead singer-songwriters Daisy and Billy keep circling around each other from the moment that ace record producer Teddy Price (Tom Wright, True Story) puts them together. She's desperate to make it big and not just be her lyric-stealing ex-boyfriend's, or anyone's, muse, but seeks solace all day with pills and booze. He's sober and trying to get his band another shot after a tussle with drink and drugs derails their first tour, almost ruins his marriage and sees him miss his daughter's birth. No one needs to have seen Almost Famous, either, to know where Daisy Jones & The Six heads. Still, this quickly engrossing series engages in the moment like a catchy refrain. Spinning a familiar but nonetheless involving story of chasing dreams, fame's excesses and troubles, and learning whether someone is a mirror or a kindred spirit, it looks the part in every wardrobe choice — including the disco attire worn by Daisy's pal Simone Jackson (Nabiyah Be, Black Panther), who gets close to her own episode about trying to make it in an industry unwelcoming to Black and queer artists, and the embrace she finds in New York with DJ Bernie (Ayesha Harris, Abbott Elementary) instead. Daisy Jones & The Six's songs are earworms as well, whether the show is giving the suite of 70s-style tunes written by Phoebe Bridgers, Marcus Mumford, Jackson Browne and more a whirl, or dropping a soundtrack of other cuts that, yes, even features Fleetwood Mac. Check out the trailer for Daisy Jones & The Six below: Daisy Jones & The Six streams via Prime Video.
If December approaches and a new festive film isn't hitting cinemas, is it really Christmas? In 2020, as in pretty much every year before it, we won't find out the answer to that question. Heading to the big screen just in time for the merriest portion of this year's calendar is rom-com Happiest Season — the newest addition to the hefty lineup of holiday-themed movies competing for your eyeballs whenever the tinsel, trees and twinkling lights come out. Following in the footsteps of 2019's Last Christmas, 2018's The Grinch, 2017's A Bad Moms Christmas and 2016's Bad Santa 2 and Office Christmas Party — just to name a few recent festive flicks — Happiest Season plunges viewers into one couple's seasonal experience when they decide to meet the parents over the holidays. Abby (Kristen Stewart) heads home with Harper (Mackenzie Davis, Irresistible) to meet the latter's mother (Mary Steenburgen, The Book Club), father (Victor Garber, Dark Waters) and other relatives. The catch: Harper's folks don't know that she's gay, or about her relationship with Abby. Also, Abby was actually planning to propose at Christmas dinner. While Happiest Season is heading to streaming in the US, it'll hit cinemas in Down Under on Thursday, November 26. That's when audiences are in for some heartfelt and amusing holiday antics as Harper and Abby try to navigate their tricky situation — if the film's just-dropped trailer is any indication, that is. Happiest Season's star-studded cast also includes GLOW's Alison Brie, Parks and Recreation's Aubrey Plaza, Schitt's Creek's Dan Levy and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend's Burl Moseley. It's directed and co-written by a familiar face, too: actor-turned-filmmaker Clea DuVall, who has appeared on-screen in everything from The Faculty and Girl, Interrupted to Veep and The Handmaid's Tale. Check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_jjELPpKkk&feature=youtu.be Happiest Season opens in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, November 26.
Something delightful has been happening in cinemas in some parts of the country. After numerous periods spent empty during the pandemic, with projectors silent, theatres bare and the smell of popcorn fading, picture palaces in many Australian regions are back in business — including both big chains and smaller independent sites in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. During COVID-19 lockdowns, no one was short on things to watch, of course. In fact, you probably feel like you've streamed every movie ever made, including new releases, Studio Ghibli's animated fare and Nicolas Cage-starring flicks. But, even if you've spent all your time of late glued to your small screen, we're betting you just can't wait to sit in a darkened room and soak up the splendour of the bigger version. Thankfully, plenty of new films are hitting cinemas so that you can do just that — and we've rounded up, watched and reviewed everything on offer this week. THREE THOUSAND YEARS OF LONGING No one should need to cleanse their palates between Mad Max movies — well, maybe after Mad Max: Beyond Thunderdome, depending on your mileage with it — but if anyone does, George Miller shouldn't be one of them. The Australian auteur gifted the world the hit dystopian franchise, has helmed and penned each and every chapter, and made Mad Max: Fury Road an astonishing piece of cinema that's one of the very best in every filmic category that applies. Still, between that kinetic, frenetic, rightly Oscar-winning movie and upcoming prequel Furiosa, Miller has opted to swish around romantic fantasy Three Thousand Years of Longing. He does love heightened drama and also myths, including in the series he's synonymous with. He adores chronicling yearnings and hearts' desires, too, whether surveying vengeance and survival, the motivations behind farm animals gone a-wandering in Babe: Pig in the City, the dreams of dancing penguins in Happy Feet, or love, happiness and connection here. In other words, although adapted from AS Byatt's short story The Djinn in the Nightingale's Eye, Three Thousand Years of Longing is unshakeably and inescapably a Miller movie — and it's as alive with his flair for the fantastical as most of his resume. It's a wonder for a range of reasons, one of which is simple: the last time that the writer/director made a movie that didn't connect to the Mad Max, Babe or Happy Feet franchises was three decades back. With that in mind, it comes as no surprise that this tale about a narratologist (Tilda Swinton, Memoria) and the Djinn (Idris Elba, Beast) she uncorks from a bottle, and the chats they have about their histories as the latter tries to ensure the former makes her three wishes to truly set him free, is told with playfulness, inventiveness, flamboyance and a deep heart. Much of Miller's filmography is, but there's a sense with Three Thousand Years of Longing that he's been released, too — even if he loves his usual confines, as audiences do as well. "My story is true," Swinton's Alithea Binnie announces at the get-go. "You're more likely to believe me, however, if I tell it as a fairy tale." Cue another Miller trademark, unpacking real emotions and woes within scenarios that are anything but standard — two people talking about their lives in a hotel is hardly fanciful, though. The tales that the Djinn relays, with debts clearly owed to One Thousand and One Nights, also dwell in the everyday; some just happened millennia ago. The Djinn loved the Queen of Sheba (model Aamito Lagum), but lost her to the envious King Solomon (Nicolas Mouawad, Mako). He then languished in the the Ottoman court, after young concubine Gulten (Ece Yüksel, Family Secrets) wished for the heart of Suleiman the Magnificent's (Lachy Hulme, Preacher) son Mustafa (singer Matteo Bocelli). And, in the 19th century, the Djinn fell for Zefir (Burcu Gölgedar, Between Two Dawns), the brilliantly smart but stifled wife of a Turkish merchant. What spirits the Djinn's time-hopping memories beyond the ordinary and into the metaphysical, and Alithea's narrative as well, is the figure first seen billowing out of blue-and-white glass, then filling an entire suite, then slipping into white towelling. Something magical happens when you pop on a hotel bathrobe — that space and that cosy clothing are instantly transporting — and while Alithea resists the very idea of making wishes, she gets swept along by her new companion anyway. As a scholar of stories and the meanings they hold, she knows the warnings surrounding uttering hopes and having them granted. She also says she's content with her intellectual, independent and isolated-by-choice life, travelling the world to conferences like the one that's brought her to Turkey and then to the Istanbul bazaar where she spies the Djinn's misshapen home, even if her own backstory speaks of pain and self-protective mechanisms. And yet, "I want our solitudes to be together", she eventually declares, and with exactly the titular emotion. Read our full review. ORPHAN: FIRST KILL What's more believable — and plot twists follow: a pre-teen playing a 33-year-old woman pretending to be a nine-year-old orphan, with a hormone disorder explaining the character's eerily youthful appearance; or an adult playing a 31-year-old woman pretending to be a lost child returned at age nine, again with that medical condition making everyone else oblivious? For viewers of 2009's Orphan and its 13-years-later follow-up Orphan: First Kill, which is a prequel, neither are particularly credible to witness. But the first film delivered its age trickery as an off-kilter final-act reveal, as paired with a phenomenal performance by then 12-year-old Isabelle Fuhrman in the pivotal role. Audiences bought the big shift — or remembered it, at least — because Fuhrman was so creepy and so committed to the bit, and because it suited the OTT horror-thriller. This time, that wild revelation is old news, but that doesn't stop Orphan: First Kill from leaning on the same two key pillars: an out-there turn of events and fervent portrayals. Fuhrman (The Novice) returns as Esther, the Estonian adult who posed as a parentless Russian girl in the initial feature. In Orphan: First Kill, she's introduced as Leena Klammer, the most dangerous resident at the Saarne Institute mental hospital. The prequel's first sighted kill comes early, as a means of escape. The second follows swiftly, because the film needs to get its central figure to the US. Fans of the previous picture will recall that Esther already had a troubled history when she was adopted and started wreaking the movie's main havoc, involving the family that brought her to America — and her time with that brood, aka wealthy Connecticut-based artist Allen Albright (Rossif Sutherland, Possessor), his gala-hosting wife Tricia (Julia Stiles, Hustlers) and their teen son Gunnar (Matthew Finlan, My Fake Boyfriend), is this flick's focus. Like their counterparts in Orphan, the Albrights have suffered a loss and are struggling to move on. When Leena poses as their missing daughter Esther, Allen especially seems like his old self again. As also happened in Orphan, however, the pigtail- and ribbon-wearing new addition to their home doesn't settle in smoothly. Orphan: First Kill repeats the original movie's greatest hits, including the arty doting dad, the wary brother, taunts labelling Esther a freak and a thorny relationship with her mum. Also covered: suspicious external parties, bathroom tantrums, swearing to get attention and spying on her parents having sex. And yes, anyone who has seen Orphan knows how this all turns out, and that it leads to the above again in Orphan, too. Thankfully, that's only part of Orphan: First Kill's narrative. Twists can be curious narrative tools; sometimes they're inspired, sometimes they're a crutch propping up a flimsy screenplay, and sometimes they seesaw between both. Orphan: First Kill tumbles gleefully into the latter category, thanks to a revelation midway that's patently ridiculous — although no more ridiculous than Orphan earning a follow-up in the first place — and also among the best things about the movie. It's a big risk, making a film that's initially so laughably formulaic that it just seems lazy, then letting a sudden switch completely change the game, the tone and the audience's perception of what's transpired so far. That proved a charm for the thoroughly unrelated Malignant in 2021, and it's a gamble that filmmaker William Brent Bell (The Boy and Brahms: The Boy II) and screenwriter David Coggeshall (Scream: The TV Series) take. Working with a story by David Leslie Johnson-McGoldrick (The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It) and Alex Mace (who earned the same credit on the original), it's one of their savviest choices. Read our full review. If you're wondering what else is currently screening in Australian cinemas — or has been lately — check out our rundown of new films released in Australia on June 2, June 9, June 16, June 23 and June 30; and July 7, July 14, July 21 and July 28; and August 4, August 11, August 18 and August 25. You can also read our full reviews of a heap of recent movies, such as Mothering Sunday, Jurassic World Dominion, A Hero, Benediction, Lightyear, Men, Elvis, Lost Illusions, Nude Tuesday, Ali & Ava, Thor: Love and Thunder, Compartment No. 6, Sundown, The Gray Man, The Phantom of the Open, The Black Phone, Where the Crawdads Sing, Official Competition, The Forgiven, Full Time, Murder Party, Bullet Train, Nope, The Princess, 6 Festivals, Good Luck to You, Leo Grande, Crimes of the Future, Bosch & Rockit, Fire of Love, Beast, Blaze and Hit the Road.
Solar power. Who needs it? Well, we do — and pretty desperately. To generate it though, we need those pesky black solar panels to be fitted to people's roofs and properties and anywhere we can find a space for them. This can be a little hard without overtaking natural environments and farmland. But France have found thousands of kilometres of space perfect for solar panels — their roads. This idea of paving roads with solar panels was first floated by Scott and Julie Brusaw, when they launched a crowdfunding campaign to pave American parking lots with the things in 2014. But this project is a little more legit. Proposed by French transport infrastructure company Colas and France's National Institute for Solar Energy, it's been given the go-ahead by France's Agency of Environment and Energy Management. And if all goes to plan, they're promising to bring solar power to 1000-kilometres of roads in the country over the next five years. Named the Wattway system, the 7mm photovoltaic road surface would be stuck on top of existing road surfaces. Both its thinness and ease of application to existing roads make it the best proposal yet — and seeing as roads are only occupied by vehicles only 10% of the time, they'll be soaking up a lot of sunlight too. Claiming they are "paving the way to tomorrow's energy" (nice one, guys), Colas say that a one-kilometre stretch of Wattway panels would be able to provide the electricity to power public lighting in a city of 5000 inhabitants. According to Global Construction Review, tests on the solar roadway panels will begin this year. Let's hope the French trial is successful, and makes its way over here. As anyone who's stood barefoot on asphalt on a hot day knows, that stuff stores a lethal amount of heat. Via Tree Hugger.
Every couple has in-jokes, a valuable currency in all relationships, but only Jenny Slate and Dean Fleischer-Camp have turned a cute private gag into Marcel the Shell with Shoes On. The Parks and Recreation actor and the Fraud director are no longer together romantically, marrying and divorcing in the 13 years since they first gave the world the cutest talking shell anyone could've imagined; however, they've now reteamed professionally for an adorable film based on their 2010, 2011 and 2014 shorts. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On also gave rise to two best-selling children's picture books, unsurprisingly, following a familiar internet-stardom path from online sensation to print and now the big screen. Neither Slate and Fleischer-Camp's faded love nor their joint project's history are ignored by their footwear-sporting seashell's cinematic debut, either; in fact, acknowledging both, whether subtly or overtly, is one of the things that makes this sweet, endearing, happily silly, often hilarious and deeply insightful movie such an all-round gem. That inside jest? A voice put on by Slate, which became the one-inch-high anthropomorphic Marcel's charming vocals. In Marcel the Shell with Shoes On's initial mockumentary clips, the tiny critter chats to an unseen filmmaker chronicling his life, with earnestness dripping from every word. ("My name is Marcel and I'm partially a shell, as you can see on my body, but I also have shoes and a face. So I like that about myself, and I like myself and I have a lot of other great qualities as well," he advises in his self-introduction.) The same approach, tone and voice sits at the heart of Marcel the Shell with Shoes On's feature-length leap, of course, but so does a touching meditation upon loss, change and valuing what's truly important. Fleischer-Camp plays the movie's documentarian, mostly off-camera, who meets Marcel and his grandmother (voiced by Isabella Rossellini, Julia) after moving into an Airbnb following a relationship breakup — and, yes, their work together becomes a viral phenomenon. With Fleischer-Camp directing IRL, plus co-penning the warmhearted script with Slate and Nick Paley (who has helmed episodes of Broad City and Inside Amy Schumer), Marcel the Shell with Shoes On spends its opening third initiating viewers into its namesake's world. Clever sight gags abound — inventive uses of everyday objects, too, with honey helping Marcel walk on walls, sneakers (not Marcel's) forming part of ziplines and a tennis ball repurposed as a mollusk-appropriate car. As rendered with a combination of stop-motion animation and live-action, the film's central setting is a delight of details, and each item that's essential to Marcel and Nanna Connie's lives says plenty about them. Theirs is a modest but resourceful and curious existence, and Marcel the Shell with Shoes On's production design screams its love for that combination even when no one is speaking. Here, the movie's main figure plays tour guide, as he did in the shorts, outlining how everything operates. Dean records and asks questions, paying Marcel more attention than any of the abode's previous guests ever have. But melancholy underscores the shell's every response, with Marcel and the ageing Connie missing the rest of their family thanks to their home's owners' (Undone's Rosa Salazar and Halloween Kills' Thomas Mann) own split (aka the reason the house is an Airbnb to begin with, bringing Dean to their door). From there, Marcel the Shell with Shoes On sends its characters, human and talking, walking, kicks-adorned shells alike, on a quest to reunite Marcel and Connie with their lost relatives. That's the narrative arc, but Fleischer-Camp, Slate and Paley also keenly understand the need to accept the ebbs and flows that simply living brings everyone's way, even as their film scurries in eager search of a happy ending. The delights are in the details everywhere that Marcel the Shell with Shoes On looks, including in its slicker but still low-key visuals. A handcrafted appearance, from Marcel's single googly eye through to cinematographers Eric Adkins (SpongeBob SquarePants) and Bianca Cline's (Belly of the Beast) keen use of perspective, couldn't be more crucial to the movie's cosy allure — and those careful and caring images do feel lived-in. This is a movie about coping with seismic shifts to one's comfortable status quo, too, so the snug, homely sheen assists in communicating why Marcel isn't so fond of change. He wants to see his family again. He's interested in the world around him. He's set in his busy daily routine. And he's worried about the ailing Nanna Connie, who tends to her window garden, adores the US version of 60 Minutes and its veteran host Lesley Stahl, and has an accent explained by being from the distant location that is the garage. Marcel really just wants what we all yearn for, though: happiness we've known and lost. Ensuring that family-friendly animation is genuinely adult-friendly is a rarer skill than it might seem; just because all-ages-courting flicks reach screens with frequency, that doesn't mean they all keep both older and younger viewers equally engaged. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On has the kid-centric cuteness down pat inherently — just look at Marcel, as millions have since those first shorts — but its mature and layered storyline is just as much of a wonder for everyone else. While the picture's midsection savvily and amusingly skewers internet attention, aka the type that's followed this seashell for more than a decade (and Slate's career as well), getting the room to create something this thoughtful out of a viral hit is one of its spoils in this specific instance. Slate and Fleischer-Camp have channelled their inner Marcel, clearly, making the most of the situation and its ups and downs — and making a soul-refreshing marvel. Don't be suspicious: an online-famous critter that sprang from an in-joke about a funny voice has indeed sparked this sincere and soothing — and impressively, intelligently meta — film. Marcel the Shell with Shoes On's achievements are many, including offering a far cheerier alternative to Barbarian when it comes to folks unexpectedly sharing the same Airbnb, but its biggest might be its deceptive simplicity. Yes, it's a movie about a chattering shell dressed in footwear. Yes, it knows what worked in Marcel's early screen appearances and doesn't shy away from it. Fleshing all of that out to feature length proves just like putting your ear up to a seashell here: you can see and hear the world in this delicate, tender and disarmingly beautiful film. You can also listen to the iconic and inimitable Rossellini serve up a rich, smooth and enchanting vocal effort with an impeccable sense of comic timing, which is exactly the kind of treat that Marcel would want everyone to revel in.
One of the best restaurants in Australia will be immortalised in print, thanks to a new book by chef Dan Hunter. Brae: Recipes and Stories from the Restaurant will showcase the history, philosophy and food of the iconic eatery in country Victoria, and is shaping up as one of the most salivating reads of the year. Due to hit shelves on May 1 thanks to Phaidon Press, the 256-page hardback will explore the early days of Brae, while also charting Hunter's journey from kitchen porter to celebrated chef. Personal essays will explore Hunter's ethical vision and strong preference for local ingredients. It's an approach that saw Brae rewarded with the number two spot on the list of Australia's Best Restaurants last year. Amateur cooks will also be keen to get a glimpse of Hunter's recipes, a number of which will be included in the tome. Finally, the book will feature more than 150 of artist Colin Page's photographs, detailing the food, the kitchen and breathtaking Australian landscape that surrounds the restaurant on all sides. Brae: Recipes and Stories from the Restaurant hits bookshelves and online stores from May 1 with a recommended retail price of $75.
When Michael Crichton put pen to paper and conjured up a modern-day dinosaur-filled amusement park, he couldn't have known exactly what he'd done. The author easily imagined the story making its way to the big screen, because the Jurassic Park novel started out as a screenplay. He could've also perceived that a whole film and TV franchise could follow, and that folks would be quoting the movies for decades. And yet, we're guessing that he didn't predict the latest development: a recreation of the Jurassic World movies, which started with the fourth flick in the series back in 2015, made completely out of Lego. Jurassic World by Brickman first popped up in Melbourne in 2021, then Sydney in 2022. Next, Brisbanites will be able to wander through it, too — and peer at more than 50 dinosaurs, props and scenes from the Jurassic World movies that have all been fashioned out of the popular plastic bricks in the process. That'll all be on display at Queensland Museum from Friday, December 8, 2023–Sunday, July 14, 2024 as the exhibition keeps touring the country. More than six million Lego blocks have been used in Jurassic World by Brickman, each brick stacked together to create the four-metre-tall park gates, the lab where the dinosaurs are genetically engineered, those instantly recognisable jeeps, a heap of creatures and more. Welcome to... your Lego Jurassic World fantasy, basically. Lego dinosaurs are clearly the main attraction and, yes, this event is going big. There'll be a life-sized brachiosaurus that weighs more than two tonnes, a huge tyrannosaurus rex, two life-sized velociraptors (Blue and Delta), and everything from a stegosaurus to a triceratops, too. Plus, you'll see some prehistoric creatures in the baby dinosaur enclosure, encounter more on the loose and learn how to track them over the exhibition's recreation of Isla Nublar (while using your imagination a whole heap, obviously). If it all sounds rather sizeable, that's because Jurassic World by Brickman is the largest Lego exhibition in Australia. And if getting a closer look at Jurassic World sounds a little familiar, you might remember the non-Lego exhibition that hit Melbourne back in 2016 and the current showcase that's on display in Sydney right now. In Brisbane, Lego aficionados will also be able to get building while they're there, with 2.5 million bricks to play with. This'll be a family-friendly affair, so expect to have plenty of small dinosaur fans for company. Queensland Museum is having a dino-filled year given that it just said goodbye to Dinosaurs of Patagonia on Monday, October 2. Featuring fossils from 13 dinosaur species, that exhibition included the patagotitan, which was the largest-known land animal, reaching 37 metres in length and weighing 70 tonnes. It wasn't made out of Lego, though. Jurassic World by Brickman will display at Queensland Museum, corner of Grey and Melbourne Streets, South Bank, South Brisbane, from Friday, December 8, 2023–Sunday, July 14, 2024 — with pre-sale tickets from Monday, October 16 and general sales from Monday, October 23. Head to the venue's website for further details. Images: Anna Kucera.
Sweltering through increasingly toasty temperatures, the Earth keeps breaking and matching records — ones the planet doesn't want to continue. After notching up its hottest year in recorded history back in 2016, this spinning rock we call home equalled it in 2020. The past six years are now the hottest six on record, too, while the past decade is also the warmest ever recorded. The news comes via the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), which tracks data about the climate now and the past to contemplate the future — not just for Europe, but also for the rest of the world. Compared to the period between 1981–2010, which is commonly used as a reference, 2020 was warmer by 0.6 degrees Celsius. In comparison to pre-industrial times, from 1850–1900 specifically, it was hotter by 1.25 degrees Celsius as well. That mightn't sound like a huge amount, but it made a big difference in some parts of the globe. Europe experienced its hottest year ever recorded, even beating 2016 by 0.4 degrees Celsius. And in the Arctic and Siberia, temps reached more than six degrees higher than average. That meant that Arctic sea ice was significantly lower than average in the second half of the year — the lowest sea ice extent on record in July and October, in fact. Announcing the data for the past year, C3S Director Carlo Buontempo said that "2020 stands out for its exceptional warmth in the Arctic and a record number of tropical storms in the north Atlantic. It is no surprise that the last decade was the warmest on record, and is yet another reminder of the urgency of ambitious emissions reductions to prevent adverse climate impacts in the future." https://twitter.com/CopernicusECMWF/status/1347438880551800832 The unwanted milestone also came about as the northern hemisphere mostly experienced higher than average temperatures for the year, while parts of the southern hemisphere had below average temperatures due to cooler La Niña conditions. C3S also advised that 2020 matches the 2016 record despite the cooling effect of La Niña, while 2016 started with a warming El Niño event. With climate change continuing to show its effects, the news shouldn't come as a surprise. It's still a stark reminder of the current state of the planet, however. Locally, the Bureau of Meteorology has already advised that Australia sweltered through its fourth warmest year on record in 2020, and ended its hottest decade ever as well. For more information about the 2020 data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service (C3S), head to the C3S website.
Since Queensland's COVID-19 lockdown began in late March, dreaming of spending a night somewhere other than your own house — on a multi-day hiking adventure or a weekend in a luxe glamping resort, for example — has become a regular part of pandemic life. Thankfully, before the June-July school holidays hit, that dream will become a reality, with Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk confirming that Queenslanders will be able to travel regionally — and stay overnight — from mid-June. At her daily press conference on Thursday, May 21, the Premier advised that increasing the distance Queenslanders can travel within the state, and allowing them to holiday within the state, will indeed happen next month. "The June school holidays will be coming up very shortly, and of course, with our roadmap, it means that Queenslanders can travel up to 250 kilometres — and they can holiday in Queensland in their regional areas," she announced. As the Premier noted, this was already on the cards as part of the state's "step-down approach to COVID-19"; with a date of June 12 set for the next stage of eased restrictions to come into effect. Confirming that the regional travel component of the roadmap will definitely happen means that folks can start making plans, however, which the Premier noted. "I really want to encourage everyone as much as possible to start planning those holidays and really back our tourism industry," she said. The idea is to get Queenslanders travelling in Queensland to support the local tourism industry. As the Premier already revealed earlier this week, the state's border is unlikely to open soon, and possibly not until at least September — a move that's receiving continuing complaints from her New South Wales counterpart Gladys Berejiklian, as well as from members of the Federal Government, but is based on advice from Queensland Chief Medical Officer Dr Jeannette Young. https://twitter.com/AnnastaciaMP/status/1263243047384449025 Discussing the highly publicised border issue today, Premier Palaszczuk noted that "there are 33 times the number of active cases in NSW compared to Queensland" — after after also announcing that Queensland recorded zero new cases of COVID-19 in the past 24 hours. Dr Young explained Queensland's position further, advising that "there is plenty of health advice about the importance of minimising the number of cases coming in to a community". She continued, "we saw how effective it was for Australia when the international borders were closed. And then as we started to see in Queensland, the number of cases acquired interstate and then coming into Queensland, we immediately acted here, the Premier took that advice to act, and close the borders to other states. And, most of the states in our country also did that. So we saw Western Australia, we saw South Australia, Northern Territory, Tasmania and Queensland close their borders to those states that had significantly higher numbers of cases and local transmission." To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website. Top image: Hiking in Canungra Valley, Gold Coast via Matt Harvey for Tourism and Events Queensland
Each of Australia's capital cities has a different shtick. Melbourne's just happens to be a 24-hour culture — or, at least, the closest Australia has to it. It's got all-night public transport on weekends, late-night opening hours for the National Gallery of Victoria's new Triennial and the city's White Night festival will return for its annual all-nighter in 2018. If you haven't been down to White Night before, here's how it works. From 7pm, much of Melbourne's CBD is closed to cars. From then on, the streets give way to pedestrians, who are free to wander between temporary installations, live music and on-street projections — as well as in and out of galleries and cultural institutions — up until the sun comes up at 7am the next day. It's the Australian version of Nuit Blanche, which was founded in France in the 80s. Next year's festival — which will shut down the city for 12 hours on the evening of Saturday, February 17 — features work from a tonne of both local and international artists. Expect to see neon pups, two Burning Man installations and one laneway covered in snow. There are far too many works to list, but here are a few highlights you'll want to look out for. A giant shimming silver net that will hover above Federation Square for White Night (and two weeks afterwards). Drag queens singing from balconies above Collins Street. A laneway filled with virtual neon 'dogs' and another filled with falling 'snow'. A tree that lets you write temporary messages on it with the light from your phone Two installations straight from Burning Man: a fire-breathing serpent outside Melbourne Museum and a giant mechanical insect that doubles at a DJ booth. Mini gigs performed from multiple balconies above Swanston Street. A 360-degree dome in Alexandra Gardens that will feature mesmerising projections. Stories from Australian detention centres projected onto the NGV's façade. White Night will also head out to Victoria's regional centres. It will return to Ballarat on March 17 for a second year, and will take to the streets of Bendigo and Geelong for the first time later in 2018. White Night 2018 will take over Melbourne from 7pm on Saturday, February 17 until 7am on the morning on Sunday, February 18. For more information, visit whitenight.com.au/melbourne.
The Wire isn't an anthology series in the traditional sense. It focuses on the same Baltimore police detectives each season — as led by Dominic West and Wendell Pierce — but sees their investigations overlap with a different element of the city's daily life. In the first season, it peers into illegal drugs. In the second, sea freight and the ports are in the spotlight. Across subsequent seasons, the focus falls on city government, the education system and newspapers. Dense, intricate, devastatingly smart and oh-so-involving, the result is one of the best shows that HBO has ever made — and a series on par with The Sopranos in terms of its influence. It was created and primarily written by former Baltimore police reporter David Simon, so it knows its stuff. Also, among its A+ cast, keep an eye out for particularly exceptional work by Idris Elba and a very young Michael B Jordan (and for Isiah Whitlock Jr's over-extended pronunciation of "sheeeeeeeee-it".
This is one suave-as-all-blazes tour announcement. After the recent announcement of their national tour set for November, Flight Facilities have revealed their perfect sidekicks for the road: Client Liaison. Currently touring the country on a cheeky headline tour of their own, the Melburnian duo are set to play their biggest shows to date with FF. They've recently released their perpetually listenable, essentially '80s-meets'90s debut LP Down to Earth through Dot Dash/Remote Control and now they're one of Australia's most must-see artists. Seriously. Flight Facilities have sold out their first Sydney and Melbourne shows, with extra dates announced all round. This is one show you're going to want to suit up for, lest you feel underdressed by the talent. FLIGHT FACILITIES + CLIENT LIAISON TOUR DATES: Thu 6 November — Adelaide HQ Sat 8 November — Perth CAPITOL Thu 13 November — Melbourne FORUM SOLD OUT Fri 14 November — Melbourne FORUM Sat 15 November — Brisbane TIVOLI Thu 20 November — Sydney ENMORE SOLD OUT Fri 21 November — Sydney ENMORE Tickets available here. https://youtube.com/watch?v=L_7DN_X4zsk
We've said it before and we'll say it again: Nicolas Cage cures all woes. Whether you're having an average 2022 so far, or you're sad that the long weekend is over — or you're in parts of the country that don't get a long weekend mid-June and you're sad about that — watching one of the greatest actors alive make on-screen magic as only he can is always a thrill. Yes, that's true whether he's in an excellent or awful movie, too. Your latest excuse to see Nicolas Cage do his thing comes courtesy of The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, aka a movie that's gotten a fair amount of attention for one huge reason: it stars Cage as Cage. It was first announced back in 2021, then hit Australian cinemas back in April. Now, as a mid-winter gift — and because fast-tracking flicks from cinemas to digital has become the pandemic-era status quo — the film has made the very quick leap to video on demand. That means that you can now spend your next at-home movie night watching Nicolas Cage play Nicolas Cage — and playing a whole lot of different styles of Cage, too. There's serious Cage, comedic Cage, out-there Cage, OTT Cage, short-haired Cage, floppy-haired Cage, slick Cage, gun-toting Cage and every-facial-expression-imaginable Cage. Whichever kind of Cage you can think of, it's accounted for. All your favourite Cage titles also get a nod or mention in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, which sure does love absolutely everything about its leading man. There is a story behind the film's Cage-obsessed premise, of course. The fictionalised Cage is in a career lull, and is thinking about giving up acting, when he accepts an offer to attend a super fan-slash-billionaire's birthday. Getting paid $1 million is just too much to pass up, and he needs the money. But when it turns out that he might now be working for and palling around with one of the most ruthless men on the planet (played by Pedro Pascal, Wonder Woman 1984) — as a couple of intelligence agents (The Afterparty co-stars Tiffany Haddish and Ike Barinholtz) eventually tell him — things get mighty hectic. Also joining Cage playing Cage — not to be confused with his work in Adaptation, where he played two characters — are Sharon Horgan (This Way Up) as his fictional wife and Neil Patrick Harris (The Matrix Resurrections) as his manager. And, Are We Officially Dating? filmmaker Tom Gormican sits in the director's chair, because if there's anything else that this movie also needs, it's the director of a Zac Efron and Michael B Jordan-starring rom-com pivoting to total Cage worship. Yes, we've seen Cage break out of Alcatraz, sing Elvis songs, run around the streets convinced that he's a vampire, let his long hair flap in the wind and swap faces. He's voiced a version of Spider-Man, driven fast cars, fought space ninjas, hunted for his kidnapped truffle pig and stolen babies as well. Staying in his own shoes definitely stands out, though — as Cage himself always does. Check out the trailer for The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent below: The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent is available to stream via Google Play, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review.
What kind of holidaymaker are you? Do you seek sun and sand on your break from the daily grind? Country-hopping and site-seeing? Or just comfortable surroundings and a cold brew or two? Those keen on the latter can now put their feet up at the ultimate accommodation for beer lovers from Monday, August 27. In fact, The DogHouse is so steeped in yeasty tipples, it's attached to and run by a brewery. After a successful crowdfunding campaign, Scottish outfit BrewDog has set up the boozy venture, which lives next to its US facility in Columbus, Ohio. So, what does the world's first craft beer hotel entail? In addition to a sour brewing facility, it includes beverages and lots of them, of course. Visitors sleep in beer-themed rooms, eat craft beer-infused meals with brews tailored to every course, take brewery tours and check out the onsite beer museum. In-room beer taps are also on the agenda, as well as shower beer fridges. And, when you check in, the concierge gives you a beer — naturally. There are 32 rooms in total, including eight deluxe suites and four that are dog-friendly, should you find yourself in America with your pooch in tow. And if you're not going to be in that neck of the woods any time soon, BrewDog is also opening a second hotel at its Scottish headquarters in 2019. The company is also heading to Australia to launch its first $30 million Aussie facility in Brisbane; however that won't have a hotel attached. Images: BrewDog.
For three decades, Hank Azaria's voice has echoed from the TV screen in almost every possible variation imaginable. Being one of The Simpsons' six main cast members will do that. He's gotten gruff as perennially short-tempered bartender Moe Szyslak, especially when answering prank phone calls. He's cheerfully announced "hi, everybody!" as Dr Nick Riviera. He's hardly bothered with police work as Chief Wiggum, oozed beer-loving self-importance as Duffman, been nerdy as Professor Frink and uttered many a stern reprimand as Super Nintendo Superintendent Chalmers. The list goes on, including characters he no longer voices — such as Kwik-E-Mart owner Apu Nahasapeemapetilon — and everyone from Frank Grimes to Disco Stu. Azaria hasn't just been heard, and often, since The Simpsons' debut episode in 1989. He's virtually synonymous with the long-running animated sitcom, but his resume isn't short on other highlights. His first film role came courtesy of Pretty Woman, and he's featured in fellow flicks such as Heat, the 1998 American version of Godzilla, Mystery Men, Shattered Glass and Lovelace from there. On the small screen, he's stepped in front of the camera in Herman's Head, Mad About You, Friends and Ray Donovan, too — and led excellent two-season drama Huff, plus sportscaster comedy Brockmire. Now, he's stealing scenes in Apple TV+'s Hello Tomorrow!, a retrofuturistic sci-fi dramedy set in an alternative version of the 1950s where The Jetsons-style technological advancements are commonplace. Also an ordinary part of life, amid the hovering cars and robot waiters: everyday folks relocating to the moon. A workplace comedy as well, the series focuses on BrightSide Lunar Residences, specifically regional manager Jack Billings (Billy Crudup, The Morning Show) and his door-to-door salesmen crew. They head from town to town on earth selling timeshares on the planet's only natural satellite. Azaria's Eddie doesn't just sling getaways to whichever customers are willing to pay, either; he's desperate to take the trip north himself. Azaria uses his own vocal tones in Hello Tomorrow!, but his acting is just as elastic as his voice has repeatedly proven in his best-known gig. Eddie makes a living selling the American dream and, despite seeing that his customers' launches keep getting pushed back, he's bought into it himself. He's also as cynical as they come, and has the kind of gambling addiction that has physical consequences, yet remains hopeful of saying hello to his own better tomorrow. It's a powerful performance in a show filled with them, including from Crudup — who Azaria has always wanted to work with. "I chased this job down. I've always wanted to work with Billy. I know Billy, I love him as a performer and a person, and I wanted to be a part of this," Azaria tells Concrete Playground. Also part of our chat: what else appealed to him about Hello Tomorrow!, the show's many layers, the kinds of roles he looks for beyond The Simpsons and busting out his voice work on salesmen himself. ON HIS FIRST REACTION TO HELLO TOMORROW! "I imagined a gritty, realistic, Glengarry Glen Ross take on it. I was very surprised by this retrofuturistic element, that to me almost feels like an episode of The Twilight Zone from the 50s that we've expanded into a series. It's this kind of low-tech but high-tech high-concept idea in a morality play playing out in the context of a futuristic sci-fi premise. It reminds me of a Rod Serling-type idea. And then [there's] the heightened language of the thing, the kind of Damon Runyan sort of 1950s heightened speak that we all engage in. So it was more of a stylised thing than I had imagined." ON HELLO TOMORROW!'S EXPLORATION OF THE AMERICAN DREAM "It's this metaphor of the American dream being out of reach. Is it or isn't it? What's hope? What's delusion? What really struck me about Billy's character Jack is he's this really pretty ruthless conman who is believing, I think — it could be hope, it could be delusion on his part. But the hope he's giving people, even though it's an utter lie, [he believes] is good for them. And in many cases, it is. It's kind of what saved his life, and he wants to pass that along. Billy also refers to the pursuit of money as almost religious zealotry in this world we're in. These folks, there's a religious fervour around their pursuit of the American dream and the capitalist vision that these folks have — like even more than our current society has that we live in. So it's making that extreme version of what these ideals were and holding it up as satire." ON PLAYING THE GAMBLING-ADDICTED, LUNAR-DREAMING EDDIE "That's interesting isn't it? He's the most cynical. I think he believes he's bought into what they're selling, but he doesn't need to do that to sell. He's happy to con people — and knowingly con people, if that's what he's doing. But it speaks to, I think, the potency of that dream that Billy's character is selling — if even a cynic like Eddie, a gambling-addicted, negative, maladaptive, self-destructive person like Eddie, buys into this. He doesn't need it to sell. I don't think it affects his selling style at all. But even Eddie sees his dream of love and happiness, [living] happily ever after with his beloved Shirley [BrightSide's office manger Shirley, played by Truth Be Told's Haneefah Wood], as happening up there. It speaks to the power of that delusion, that dream." ON THE RESEARCH THAT GOES INTO PLAYING A LUNAR TIMESHARE SALESMAN "There aren't too many travelling salesmen around these days to talk to. There's a brilliant movie called Salesman, a documentary — I believe from the 60s — about bible salesmen that we all watched, and that really affected me a lot. Just the lives of these guys and their attitudes going door to door. The movie Tin Man is a great other piece of source material, [about] these conmen salesmen who were just that kind of bottomline, have to sell, really living or dying by whether you sell or not types. And then, as an actor, just wrapping your mouth and mind and heart around the language, the way these guys are talking — which is so much fun, but challenging at times. This is more the mind you apply to [Glengarry Glen Ross writer David] Mamet or [The West Wing creator Aaron] Sorkin or Shakespeare, where that's not how I would express myself, and I have to transpose my truth, what's real to me, to how this guy's expressing it. Which takes like a little bit of practice. It's almost like a skill, like a language you learn — or not as hard as that, but related to that. It is a rhythm thing, though. You find that there's a rhythm and a way of speaking that's sells it, but finding what that is takes a little bit of practice at first." ON THE TYPE OF ROLES HE LOOKS FOR BEYOND THE SIMPSONS "It's always different but always the same. Honestly, it's good writing. If I could write, I would. I can write, but I'm sort of a C+ writer. The stuff I write I guess gets made, but I probably would turn it down if I were offered it, if writer me came to me, with rare exception — Brockmire being one that I helped develop, which I loved, it was an idea I'd had since I was a teenager. But it's really writing, whether it's comedy, drama, this role, that role. Once you weed out what you really respond to in writing for whatever reason, there's not all that much left. And if you're fortunate enough to not have to work, then there's not much — to me anyway, there's not that many things that come along that I go 'oh, I could see doing that'. This was one of them." ON HOW HIS PENCHANT FOR VOICES COMES IN HANDY WITH TELEMARKETERS "It's rare that you run into a travelling salesman anymore, let alone one that's offering you up on the moon — you'd be crazy not to be immediately suspicious. But we're all barraged by telemarketers if you still have a home line, or even if you don't! You just get spam calls, and we're all pretty familiar how we usually react to those. I usually adopt a different voice and try to engage, and turn it around on the folks that call me up at dinnertime. It's one of the fun little perks of being a voice guy." Hello Tomorrow! streams via Apple TV+. Read our full review.
Forty years ago, fresh from making one of the greatest sci-fi/horror movies ever made in Alien, Ridley Scott gifted the world another futuristic classic that helped define and reshape science fiction on-screen. It's almost impossible to name a movie or TV series in the genre that's popped up over the past four decades and hasn't owed a huge debt to Blade Runner — and, soon, that list will include a new Blade Runner TV series. Philip K Dick's 1968 novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? has already given rise not just to Scott's iconic Harrison Ford-starring adaptation in 1982, but also to exceptional 2017 sequel Blade Runner 2049 and recent animated series Blade Runner: Black Lotus. Of course, if Ford's other huge sci-fi franchise can just keep popping back up, including on both the big and screens — see: The Force Awakens, Rogue One, The Last Jedi, Solo, The Rise of Skywalker, The Mandalorian and The Book of Boba Fett — then clearly this one can as well. The Blade Runner series obviously has some catching up to do to get to Star Wars-level continuations, and quantity isn't the same as quality, but spending more time in its vision of the future is definitely welcome. The OG film was set in 2019, so we're now well past then — and the new series has been dubbed Blade Runner 2099, which means we'll be jumping quite a ways forward in time. As reported by The Hollywood Reporter, Amazon Studios is behind Blade Runner 2099, once again bringing a small-screen favourite to streaming given that it's doing exactly that in September this year with the eagerly awaited The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. When it leaps forward to 2099, the new Blade Runner show will act as a sequel to both the initial film and Blade Runner 2049 — but who'll be starring and directing hasn't yet been revealed. That said, busy The Last Duel and House of Gucci filmmaker Scott has confirmed his involvement, Variety reports, noting that the pilot for the show has already been written, and that it's envisioned as a ten-hour series. There's obviously no sneak peek at Blade Runner 2099 yet, but you can check out the trailer for the original 1982 Blade Runner below: Blade Runner 2099 doesn't yet have a release date — we'll update you when more news is announced. Via Variety / The Hollywood Reporter.
UPDATE: July 6, 2020: Call Me By Your Name is available to stream via Netflix, Google Play, YouTube and iTunes. With Call Me By Your Name, Italian director Luca Guadagnino spins a tale of first love in all of its stages. The initial sparks of attraction. The jittery excitement of making a connection. The all-consuming passion. With a script by veteran filmmaker James Ivory, as adapted from André Aciman's book of the same name, it's a picture about yearning and desire; a romance that knows the importance of every look and touch. Weaved from quiet, tender, everyday encounters that pepper every love story, it swells and surges, taking both its characters and its viewers on an emotional rollercoaster ride. Think of it as perhaps the greatest example of cinematic show and tell there is: to watch it is to experience the same heady, heated feelings as its central couple. "Call me by your name, and I'll call you by mine," grad student Oliver (Armie Hammer) whispers to 17-year-old Elio (Timothée Chalamet) in the film's most intimate moment. It's this idea — of losing yourself in someone so completely that the lines between you fade away — that provides the movie with its fluttering pulse. The two young men meet during a sweltering Italian summer in 1983, their initial awkwardness slowly blossoming into affection. Oliver's assured swagger seems as foreign to the tentative Elio as the older American's fondness for saying "later", but the teenager is soon ignoring his somewhat girlfriend Marzia (Esther Garrel) to spend as much time with his new companion as possible. Beneath ravishing blue skies, soaked in streaming sunlight, the pair laze around by the pool, stroll through the orchard and cycle through their scenic surroundings. They accompany Elio's professor father (Michael Stuhlbarg, in an astonishingly sensitive and perceptive parental role) to look at archaeological finds, the real reason for Oliver's stay. During sultry nights, they party, drink and dance. It's a seemingly typical narrative, and yet the end result is anything but. Call Me By Your Name paints a detailed, nuanced portrait of Elio's sexual and emotional coming-of-age, and wholeheartedly conveys the uncertainties of a blooming gay romance played out in stolen moments. At the same time, the film speaks to anyone who has ever been overwhelmed by their feelings for someone else. It's a story that feels widely relatable while remaining deeply specific to queer relationships — drawing viewers into the intricacies of Oliver and Elio's dalliance while making everyone feel like, in some way, it's our own. Best known for the grief-tinged I Am Love and the chaotic interpersonal escapes of A Bigger Splash, Guadagnino crafts Call Me By Your Name as if he's sharing memories rather than relaying a fictional narrative. The stunning images lensed by cinematographer Sayombhu Mukdeeprom (Arabian Nights), with their precise, postcard-like composition and radiant warmth, seem as though they were etched into the filmmaker's mind long before the movie ever existed. The same also proves true of the moments between characters, with Guadagnino and his regular editor Walter Fasano giving every glance and spoken exchange the room to breathe and grow in a film where silence says more than even the most heartfelt of words. Still, for all its many charms, casting might be the feature's most crucial element. Call Me By Your Name is a triumph of acting, with Chalamet and Hammer both in sensational, career-best form. Indeed, as a precocious slip of a teen who finds his life forever changed, Chalamet delivers one of the best screen performances of recent years. Meanwhile, despite his lengthier resume, Hammer has never been more charismatic or vulnerable. It's their work, as much as anything around them, that helps immerse audiences in this seductive, sensual, personal and piercing account of romance's ebbs and flows. A film as infectious and intoxicating as the well-deployed strains of the Psychedelic Furs' 'Love My Way', Call Me By Your Name is the story that stories about first love will be judged against for many years to come. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0UgXrhCPHo
UPDATE, MAY 2, 2020: The Australian Lockdown Comedy Festival has announced its full lineup and its premiere date. This article has been updated to reflect these changes. When COVID-19 started having an impact on Australian events, the Melbourne International Comedy Festival was one of the first to scrap its plans for 2020. The Brisbane Comedy Festival, which was already underway, also cancelled its final week — and in New South Wales, the Sydney Comedy Festival completely shuttered its event for this year, too. That means that the country's funniest folks now have some extra time on their hands — indoors, while social distancing, of course. And, they still have plenty of jokes to tell, which is exactly what Stan's new Australian Lockdown Comedy Festival is aiming to capitalise upon. Heading to the platform weekly from 7pm on Saturday, May 9 — dropping four episodes in total — the streaming-only laughfest will feature lockdown sets from comedians such as Wil Anderson, Cal Wilson, Nazeem Hussain, Dave Hughes and Zoe Coombs Marr, who'll all share material from their planned 2020 gigs. Also on the lineup: Tommy Little, Geraldine Hickey, Dilruk Jayasinha, Steph Tisdell, Aaron Chen, Sam Campbell, Michelle Brasier and Nath Valvo, as well as Tom Ballard, Randy Feltface, Claire Hooper, Becky Lucas, Sam Taunton, Nikki Britton, Demi Lardner and Tom Walker. Yes, it's a hefty list, and also features Lauren Bonner, Oliver Twist, Blake Freeman and Bec Charlwood. Each comedian has recorded their set from their homes, so expect jokes told in their kitchens, bedrooms, lounge rooms and even bathrooms. They've also be handled all the tech requirements themselves, such as setting up and operating their own cameras, in order to abide by social-distancing requirements. That said, they did have access to a director via video conferencing. Every Australian Lockdown Comedy Festival episode will feature at least six different comedians performing short standup comedy spots — including one MCing the episode. And if you're looking for some local laughs before the fest starts streaming, Amazon Prime Video has just dropped ten comedy specials from MICF stars, too. The Australian Lockdown Comedy Festival hits Stan weekly for four weeks from 7pm on Saturday, May 9.
Sometime next year, we can expect Marty McFly and Dr. Emmett Brown to cruise in on their DeLorean, looking to save McFly’s future offspring from incarceration, according to the Back to the Future timeline. So, 26 years later, how does Robert Zemeckis’s vision of 2015 shape up? Ubiquitous cameras? Check. Video chat? Check. The explosion of plastic surgery? Check. Flying cars? They’re not exactly part of the furniture, but they're on their way. How about self-tying sneakers? Well, according to Nike designer Tinker Hatfield, their ascent to the market is set to coincide with McFly’s fantastical arrival. “Are we gonna see power laces in 2015? To that, I say YES!” he said during an appearance at Jordan Brand’s Flight Lab Space in New Orleans. On September 8, 2011, Nike unexpectedly released a limited-edition version of McFly’s high-top, named the MAG. Complete with electroluminescent strap and LED panelling, it was a striking replica. It was also Nike's first-ever rechargeable shoe, with every charge providing five hours’ worth of glow. 'Power laces' were, however, conspicuously absent. Still, that didn’t stop all 1,500 pairs of MAGs released on eBay from auctioning to the tune of US$6 million. Footwear fanatics, sci-fi fans and celebrities spent up big, with prices starting at $10,000 and ending at $90,000+. Every cent went to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for research into Parkinson's Disease. We know that Nike bought an auto-lacing patent back in 2010, but we’ve no idea how the next round of Back to the Future-inspired sneakers will look. To find out whether or not they’ll come attached to another edition of MAGs, modelled by McFly as he makes his descent, or built into an altogether new model, you’ll have to keep an eye out for the next instalment. Via SlashFilm.
The cold weather won't stop many from scoring a scoop of ice cream, but sometimes, a warmer bite just feels right. With this in mind, it's a good thing Gelato Messina is back with a new edition of its cult-favourite cookie pie. Made in collaboration with Tony's Chocolonely, this is the ideal chance to discover the brand's mission to end exploitation in the cocoa industry. Designed to be baked fresh at home, this feel-good cookie pie offers the ultimate treat for when you're rugged up on the couch. Plus, this inventive dessert hits all the marks of a winter treat: golden on the outside, gooey on the inside, and loaded with Tony's beloved milk and dark chocolate pieces. Crafted in-house by Messina's pastry team, expect each pie to resonate with the same thought and care as the brand's top-notch gelato. Speaking of, this molten delight is best served with a scoop of your go-to Messina flavour on top, helping to create your dream combination. Available from all Messina stores and for delivery from Monday, July 7, these limited-edition treats are served first-come, first-served. Just don't expect them to last long. Priced at $25 each, you're welcome to bundle with 500ml, 1L or 1.5L tubs of Messina gelato, so you can scoop at home until your heart and tastebuds are content. If you're keen to brave the cold weather, single-serve cookie pies will be served in all Messina stores (except Circular Quay and The Star) from Monday, July 14. Available from 5pm every Monday–Thursday throughout winter, these smaller portions are priced at $12, with your choice of gelato scoop making your after-dark adventure more than worth it. Plus, the team is getting in the mood by launching Brownie Points, a limited-edition flavour created to pair with your pie. Think salted milk chocolate gelato, lashings of caramel and Tony's double-choc brownie rolled into a toothsome scoop. It's available from all Messina stores from Saturday, July 12–Saturday, July 19, or until sold out. Tony's Chocolonely and Gelato Messina's cookie pie is available from all locations and for online delivery from Monday, July 7. Head to the website for more information.
Face it. There's nothing, nothing more heartbreaking than going out for a casual walkie with your beloved dog, grabbing a cheeky gelato cup at the beach and not being able to share it with your pooch. Much whimper. Such fail. Too long, too long have pups been shunned from ice creameries simply because the pockets in their dog hoodies rarely hold money and dairy products make them incredibly ill. Enough! No longer will this integral gelato market and prime branding opportunity be ignored. Gelatissimo are stepping up and doing what should have been done years ago (because trending topics). They're releasing a range of doggie gelato that can be enjoyed by both pets and owners alike — please avoid sharing though. Please. Importantly, the gelato is gluten free and flavoured peanut nougat (which is a dogwide favourite ice cream flavour, apparently) and gentle on puppy tums. From March 26, you can grab a scoop from 18 Gelatissimo stores (including Balmain, Bondi Beach, Central Park, Coogee, Cronulla, Newtown, Watsons Bay, Wagga, Manuka, Lane Cove, Lygon Street, Coolangatta, Mackay, Mooloolaba, Noosa, Toowoomba, Norwood and Surfers Paradise). Alright we so know it's a bit much and most of us don't have a weekly budget for dog iced treats, but think of it more as a treat for yourself that you can share with your pupper (if they whimper at you enough). Image: Mochi and Miranda @justanotherdogblog.
"I think a little bit is that annoying mosquito lead. It gets in your ear and it's hard to get it out." That's why Chris Stracey, one half of Bag Raiders with Jack Glass, thinks that the duo's perennial earworm 'Shooting Stars' not only initially resonated with listeners, but keeps resonating. More than a decade and a half has now passed since the peppy tune first hit airwaves; indeed, 2025 marks exactly 15 years since the track notched up 18th spot in Triple J's Hottest 100. The tune's story didn't end there, though, and not just thanks to that initial wave of love lingering. "Case in point: with the Troye tune, it opens with that and it's just instantly like 'oh okay, yeah, I'm in'. It's just one of those," Stracey tells Concrete Playground. He's referring to fellow Aussie Troye Sivan, who sampled ''Shooting Stars' in his 2023 single 'Got Me Started'. Between Bag Raiders first releasing their song and Sivan's track, the tune also went viral — and global — thanks to a meme that it'll forever be linked to, then rocketed up the Billboard dance charts. "It's been crazy. I mean, it's been good. There's nothing to complain about. But it just feels like it's total dumb luck in a way. The way the Internet works, you can't really engineer things like that. You just let it do its thing. It's surprising to us that it's continuing to do its thing, but I wouldn't say there'd been too many negative things that have come with it," advises Glass. "It's been amazing," pipes in Stracey. "It's been a lucky and crazy and awesome ride," adds Glass again. "It also had a weird arrangement at the time. It's just basically like verse, verse, verse, verse, chorus," explains Stracey. "And breakdown," reminds Glass. "Whereas most songs would go verse, chorus, verse, chorus," continues Stracey. "I remember that being a comment, that a few people were like 'what is that arrangement? I've never heard a song do that'. And we didn't really know much about writing songs at the time. We were just like 'oh, let's just make it chill and then make it big'. So maybe that hasn't to do with it, but I don't know." Bag Raiders will always be known for 'Shooting Stars', but the song that Flume has also covered with Toro y Moi is just the beginning of the duo's journey — well, after going to the same Sydney high school, reconnecting afterwards and teaming up to make music, forming the band in 2006. It also came after 2008's 'Turbo Love' became a radio favourite, and their remix of 'B.T.T.T.T.R.Y.' by K.I.M. (aka The Presets' Kim Moyes) made the Grand Theft Auto IV soundtrack. Jump to 2025 and two studio albums sit on their discography, 2010's self-titled release and 2019's Horizons, as do collaborations with everyone from The Kite String Tangle to Panama, their own record label and status as a music-festival favourite. Bag Raiders' next fest gig is AO LIVE, the music lineup that's been accompanying the Australian Open since 2003. Only one Grand Slam around the world pairs tennis with a music event: Melbourne's annual stint in the sport's spotlight. For 2025's AO LIVE from Thursday, January 23–Saturday, January 25, Bag Raiders sit on a bill filled with big names: Benson Boone headlines the Thursday night, Kaytranada does the honours on the Friday, and Glass and Stracey take to the stage on the final day, as do Kesha and Armand Van Helden. Music lovers who'll be filling the crowd aren't the only ones that are excited. So are Bag Raiders. What gets them pumped about being on any festival bill? "One big thing is who else is on the lineup," says Glass. [caption id="attachment_975224" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ashlea Caygill[/caption] "I would say in this case, it's such a sick lineup. To be on the same bill as Kaytranada and Armand Van Helden, who's a bit of a hero of ours, is pretty exciting. So that's something that I would say I look to. Also just to be in a cool, kind of weird environment — and this certainly fits that bill as well," Glass also advises, calling out how unique it is to be playing a music fest at a major tennis championship. Adds Stracey: "And also we're doing this one live, whereas the last few thing festivals that we've done, I think we were doing DJ sets — which is also really fun, but we've got this new live show that we've been building and it's been really fun to pop that off whenever we can. And doing it at a festival, and the atmosphere is tip top, is definitely going to be really fun." Glass and Stracey are indeed still having fun with Bag Raiders. Chatting through their career — how they started, their early influences, the 'Shooting Stars' experience, the path that's led them to here — they sound as inspired as ever, in fact. As for what the future holds, "I think just keep doing what we've been doing the last couple of years, which is making dance music, and going out and DJing it. I think we're in a good moment. So, more of the same please," notes Glass. Fingers crossed that their current idea of a dream collaboration comes to fruition, too: "We meet so many people along the way and then we just kind of go 'oh, you know what, it'd be fun to do a track with that person'," explains Glass of their process. "Actually, we were hanging out with the guys from ONEFOUR at Ability Fest. That would be quite a good collab. Those guys are cool as hell," adds Stracey. We also spoke with the pair about what they love about playing festivals, what audiences can expect from that aforementioned new live show, what they've learned along their journey, how the Australian dance music scene has changed and plenty more. [caption id="attachment_975226" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ashlea Caygill[/caption] On Bag Raiders' Favourite Part of the Festival Experience as an Artist Jack: "Being outdoors is kind of sick. We're so used to playing in sweaty clubs at like two in the morning. There's something very fresh and nice about being outdoors. And just the energy that people bring to festivals is different to a club. I don't know, it seems to be a bit more ... " Chris: "Like a one-off concert." Jack: "People are just like — the vibes are high." Chris: "Yeah, it's more, more, more, more — more of everything. More fun, more people usually." Jack: "More bands." Chris: "And that's also what's so fun for us, too. We've met a lot of really good friends in music now through playing at the same festivals, and just kicking it side of stage and watching their shows. That's really fun." On What Audiences Can Expect From Bag Raiders' New Live Show Jack: "Our new show is pretty turbo actually. It starts pretty hard and fast, and then continues to get harder and faster for the course of an hour." Chris: "So the journey will be from high energy to higher energy." Jack: "Yeah, kind of a take-no-prisoners live show that we've built." Concrete Playground: "That suits being at a sports event." Jack: "I think so." Chris: "Yeah, high intensity. Those people are used to watching the hectic stuff at the highest level, so we've got to also bring it." Jack: "We're all athletes, you know what I mean?" On How Influential 'Shooting Stars' Has Been in Putting Bag Raiders on the Path to Where They Are Today Chris: "We were just making tracks and putting them out, I guess, and we didn't really think that it would do what it did. We had no expectations of it, really. We were just working on a bunch of music, and then we just kept going and did the album it. It's been something that the outside perception of it is kind of bigger than the importance that we hold on it. We've never tried to do another version of that song or anything like that. It's just one of those funny things where you're making one thing in your bedroom, basically." [to Jack] "It was half in your spare room in your house, and then in our studio, the first studio that we moved into. And it's just incredible that you can do something like that and then it takes off." Jack: "But I think it's only looking back where you realise how weird and crazy that journey was. I think as it's gone, it's all felt pretty natural and normal. And then the internet stuff, like I said, has been kind of wacky but cool. But I don't think there's really ever been a moment where ... " Chris: "That's informed the new music that we've made." Jack: "Yeah, exactly." On the Original Dream When Bag Raiders Formed in 2006 — or Before That, When Glass and Stracey Knew Each Other in High School Jack: "I think just to be able to do that — and do that as a job." Chris: "Yep." Jack: "I didn't really dream much bigger than that." Chris: "Me neither." Jack: "But that's also not that easy to do. We've been lucky and we've worked hard and we've been able to do that. It's still a dream. It's like a good dream that we've kind of reached, I guess. I don't think either of us ever wanted to be global superstar DJs or in the gossip magazines. It wasn't anything like that. It was just to keep being able to make music which we both love, and to do that as much as possible, basically." On the Moment When Glass and Stracey Knew That Bag Raiders Was Their Job Now Chris: "I quit my cafe job, where I had to wake up at 5am and open the cafe. I was like 'I'm not doing this shit anymore'. It's because around when we started getting booked, after we get got some radio play on Triple J and we started getting booked to DJ, we're traveling. So we go to Melbourne and we go to Brisbane and we go to Newcastle, and we're like 'oh, cool, so people are paying for us to go to these other cities and then also paying us fees'. And for the amount of work that you do — I mean, there's a lot of travelling and you're doing work on music behind the scenes — but in terms of hours, a DJ gig is like two hours. And I'd been putting in eight- hours shifts, getting up at 5am or 4.30am or whatever. And I was like 'this has gotta go'." Jack: "Yeah, totally." On Bag Raiders' Diverse Range of Initial Influences That Started Them on Their Music Journey Jack: "I think at that time we were making all kinds of different music. We both had interest in electronic music, but it wasn't necessarily club music and dance music. And then at around the time when we started in Sydney, our friends are throwing these parties and we were attending them, and we were buddies with the DJs. And then I guess slowly the music we were making went from more-ambient stuff into more club-focused things, and then we would turn up at the club and give it to the DJs and they would just play without even … " Chris: " … Listening to it. It's actually insane." Jack: "Yeah, they trusted us enough to press play on CDs, which could've been anything. And I guess it was through the influence of that, the parties were called Bang Gang and the Bang Gang DJs were really big." Chris: "They also played all over the place. You would hear Daft Punk, you would hear kind of techno stuff and then you would hear … " Jack: "Fleetwood Mac." Chris: "Yeah, Fleetwood Mac. Bon Jovi. They were playing all over the place. It was that real anything-goes sort of vibe. And I think, also because we've always been into so much different kind of music — the first thing that we did as Bag Raiders was that mix CD that we called Bag Raiders, which was sort of the same, was all over the place, had a couple of our edits, but it had The Cure, it had 50 Cent, it had dance stuff. It had Cream, like Eric Clapton." Jack: "Outkast." Chris: "Yeah." Jack: "It was wild." Chris: "And I think we've just always tried to have that — we've never really been people that are just into one thing. All of our releases have kind of been all over the place, apart from recently, where they're a bit more geared towards the club world again. But it's definitely been that we've been influenced by loads of different stuff." Jack: "I feel like that's the ethos of Bag Raiders as well, to just raid from all these different genres and just put them all together in a big washing machine and see what comes out." On What Bag Raiders Takes Inspiration From Now, Almost Two Decades On Chris: "Since COVID really, I think both of us have been re-energised in making club music. It's been really fun to, because we had a couple of years and no shows at all, and it seemed like when DJ gigs started happening again, the energy from the people was just way more." Jack: "Yeah." Chris: "It was like a really hardcore kind of thing, like people are way into letting loose, it seems. So it's been really fun to just make the kind of music that we would be putting in our DJ sets anyway." Jack: "Or that we would want to hear if we were out in a club, for sure. And I think that's one thing we've probably gotten better at is understanding how clubs work and how to DJ and stuff. For sure 15 years ago, we had no idea for our first DJ sets — they were like absolute shitshows." Chris: "Train wreck." Jack: "Train wreck after train wreck. So we've finally learned how to DJ, I would say." On Whether the Success of 'Shooting Stars' Came with Pressure — and How Bag Raiders Handled It Chris: "Pressure to make another 'Shooting Stars'? A little. We definitely had a moment where we did an album that we thought was pretty cool and we loved it, and then the label's a little bit like 'oh, we need another 'Shooting Stars'-style thing. Like: 'well we're not – that's not what we do, bro'. It's funny, because labels will sign you because you did something that you liked for yourself that worked. And then as soon as it comes around to the second time around, they suddenly are like 'oh, we know what's going to work — you should do this thing that worked before and keep doing it'. And that's never been in our interest at all. But I mean, we've been out of a label deal for four years now or something like that." Jack: "Yeah, yeah." Chris: "And so for us it's just been so freeing, and you realise you really don't need labels these days. It doesn't take a $1000-a-day studio to make a record anymore. You can do it with a laptop in the library. And then barely anyone does music videos anymore as well. It seems like they just stick it up on social media or something, and that's it. It's kind of been really freeing and really fun to enter that world, too. Because especially in dance music, you do something and you're playing it out as you're working on it. And so as soon as you've gone 'oh, this is finished, it's ready to go, let's just put it out', the fact that there's no red tape anymore, to just be able to do something and then like suddenly it's out in the world, that's ... " Jack: "A good feeling." Chris: "Yeah, very good feeling." On Glass and Stracey Starting Their Own Label Jack: "It's been awesome. So far, I think we've only just put out our own music on it, right? It would be cool in the future to put out music of friends and music that we really like. But it's exactly like what Chris is just talking about. It just feels very freeing. And it's not even that no one's telling us what to do, because even had they done that in the past, we kind of wouldn't listen anyway. But it's more like there's no big machine. There's no bureaucracy. There's no like red tape. There's no waiting around for a label to get its ducks in order before something comes out. It's just all very immediate, and we can move really quickly. That stuff feels really freeing, I think." On What Glass and Stracey Have Learned Over Their Bag Raiders Journey So Far Jack: "I certainly know a lot more about how the music industry works now, and who the evil players are — who to avoid and who to buddy up with. And then in terms of music, I don't think our approach is that different to what it was back then, to be honest." I would like to think that's one of the secrets of our longevity and success. We never try to make music for anyone except ourselves. Whatever makes us feel good or happy in the moment in the studio, that's what we're going to make. Chris: "And I suppose we've been lucky, we haven't had any overbearing labels or managers or whatever forcing us in certain directions, so we've free enough to just do whatever feels good. And I think probably people can sense that or something, like audiences. I think people have much better radars than what some people think. They can tell if something's being forced or tailored, or tried to be created in some direction — and people want to listen to stuff that just makes everyone feel good." On How Glass and Stracey Have Observed the Australian Dance Music Scene Changing Since They Were Starting Out Jack: "When we came up and especially in Sydney, the scene was so strong and there were so many clubs. Right now we're in King's Cross at my studio, on a road where there used to be like six clubs — and there's none here now. So it's a bit sad. I feel like there's maybe less enthusiasm for clubbing from young people, and less people seem less convinced about its importance. You go to Europe and cities like Berlin, and it's such a big part of the fabric there, and it's recognised by everyone as a really important form of expression or art even. And I think we've lost that a bit in Australia. So that's a bummer. Having said that, the amount of good music that still comes out of here is very inspiring and sick, considering the constraints of what I was just saying. There's so much good stuff. A lot of what we DJ is Australian music from friends or people we like here. So yeah, I feel like the scene is really strong kind of against all odds in a way, with lack of support." Bag Raiders play AO LIVE on Saturday, January 25 — with the full event running from Thursday, January 23–Saturday, January 25 at John Cain Arena, Olympic Boulevard, Melbourne. Head to the Australian Open website for more details and tickets. In New Zealand, Bag Raiders are playing Gardens Music Festival on Saturday, March 1 at Auckland Domain, Park Road, Parnell, Auckland. Head to the event website for more details and tickets.
The Kooks were back in Sydney last week at the tail end of their Australian tour. We spoke with band member, Hugh Harris, about bringing in the New Year at Falls, cooking spag bol and retracing his roots in his spiritual homeland, Sydney. Hey Hugh, thanks for chatting with me today. So you have just landed in Sydney ready for the gig tonight? Well, we arrived last night but I have family in Sydney so we had dinner plans and then after dinner plans. Hopefully I will have time to have a rest today before the gig. But it is great to be in Sydney. I was down in Tassie for Falls so I saw you guys ring in the New Year! Oh, that's great, yeah, I think that was one of the best gigs we played, in Tasmania. And we managed to get the countdown right which was a bonus. Yeah, I was speaking to Alex Turner [Arctic Monkeys] the other day and he was a bit miffed that the countdown didn't really work out at Falls in Lorne when they were playing for NYE? Yeah, well I think in Tasmania it was OK because we had the big screen so it was pretty hard to mess up. In Lorne, there was no TV screen so it would've been hard for the Arctic Monkeys to count down. Have you played a summer NYE gig before? No, no summer NYE before, not on stage. I always think it is better just to have a party, then there is no pressure on anyone to provide the fun. But we have always wanted to do it and the opportunity came up so now we have. And did you get to see Pnau come on after you guys? Pnau? No. I stuck around for a bit. I had my cousins there from the countryside. My sheep shearing cousins. But it is hard you know when you are working, it is hard to know when the partying starts, but we just partied afterwards. Do you guys like playing festivals as compared to standard gigs? Yeah, I mean I think we are a festival band in a way. And it is a happier vibe. You get to play to people who aren't necessarily fans and that is an exciting prospect, you know, to gather a larger following. And you get that at festivals, everyone's drunk and they don't have a choice but to listen! You've been to Sydney a lot and having family here is there anything you really look forward to doing whilst you are here? Yeah, I have this nostalgia route that I take. We used to come here for Christmas because my grandmother was here. And one Christmas I got a skateboard and I used to take this route around Rushcutters Bay. So I will do that. On your skateboard? No, those days are past! I just walk it now. So I start at Rushcutters and then walk up the hill and go to No Frills [an offshoot of the supermarket chain Franklins that no longer exists] in the Edgecliff Centre and get a cake. It's where I used to buy my holiday cakes. And then I will head down to the Golden Sheaf and try and get a beer. And then a swim at that harbour pool. Redleaf? Yeah, Redleaf. So I will try and do that today. I think perhaps the Sheaf might have changed a bit since you were last there.. Yeah, I've heard that. What happened? Well, it is pretty much an empire now. When did you last go? Well, my Dad was here in the 1970s. Yeah, well it is not the Sheaf of the '70s! And neither of us was around then! You guys have been playing now for 7 years and you were only 18 when The Kooks signed to Virgin – did you always want to be in a band? No, absolutely not. I actually wanted to be in espionage, I always wanted to be a spy. And then second I wanted to be in a band. Well, maybe you could be a spy in your thirties? No, I think that might be too late. You know you have to do all this training, martial arts training; I think the dream is over. And maybe it will be too hard, you know needing to be inconspicuous and all? No, I'll shave my head that will be fine! And what do you guys get up to in your free time whilst you are on tour? Do you get into sightseeing or art galleries or whatever? Yeah, art galleries for sure. You hit the nail on the head. I love art galleries and try and go as much as possible. Modern art galleries. And cooking. I really love cooking, but mostly when I get home. I find it really relaxing and I cook a mean spaghetti bolognaise. Like all good boys! All boys have the staple spag bol! Yeah, but I would like to say that I think mine is better than anyone else's! You know, I leave it for a really long time, even cooking overnight, and it just comes alive. Well, not with bacteria hopefully. And other stuff? I like tennis. My favourite colour is yellow. And… Ok, just one more question. Your new clip for Is it me is particularly nostalgic with the typewriter and the 1960s primary colours – considering your musical influences how do The Kooks feel about nostalgia and looking back at the past? Yeah, we love the past. I love my past. And yeah, we are influenced by a lot of music from the past. But I think when we were young we used to go through our parents' record collections and just sift through, you know. But also I like that things from the past are spun and renewed and regurgitated. It's a blending of the past. Like with our new album, you know it is a bit of a bridge. It is The Kooks staple sound but then there are all these warm synthesisers in there so it blends the past and the present. That's what we do.
Ever since the days of The Island, Brisbanites have been ditching dry land for partying on the Brisbane River. Sailing where Seadeck, Yot Club and GoBoat's picnic boats have also gone, Oasis is the River City's about-to-open latest floating venue — a 500-person, 35-metre-long, three-level bar on a steel-hull catamaran that'll host DJ-soundtracked shindigs by both day and night when it launches in mid-April. It isn't hard to find something to do near, around, in or on the Old Brown Snake, but this one involves hopping aboard a$10-million vessel at the City Botanic Gardens River Hub. And, it's sticking around permanently, rather than cruising in and out seasonally. Oasis was also custom-designed for Brisbane's windy waterway, with Alex Zabotto-Bentley — who also did the honours for Seadeck and Sydney's Glass Island — taking care of the hues, fixtures and fittings. The aim: to immerse partygoers in a Sicily and Capri vibe. Thanks to The White Lotus' second season, nodding to Italian islands is quite the vibe right now. When it takes to the water from Saturday, April 22, Oasis will let its passengers rove over three levels all decked out in their own way, providing different experiences on each. Each comes with its own bar, sound system, standing areas, and seating including VIP tables; however, the lower floor is going with copper, dark tones and a pressed tin ceiling, and the middle deck with greenery and wood aplenty. Up on top, pink and white stripes are a feature, alongside tropical plants. The vessel will make its maiden voyage with a literally cruisy afternoon session featuring Faint One, Anna Sonnenburg, Apollo, Fig Jam, Geordie and Darren Sommerville on the on-deck decks, then celebrate its launch in a big way the next week with Torren Foot, Airwolf Paradise, Paluma, Kessin and De Saint on Saturday, April 29. The lineup of DJs and artists will rotate weekly, and Oasis will also serve up sips and bites to eat. And, if you want to book the whole place out for your own soirée, that's available Monday–Friday. "Brisbane is famous for its energised spirit, its youthful vitality, its vibrant love of the outdoors and its love of celebration, and Oasis has been designed to amplify this," said Oasis founder Dave Auld. "As we look forward to the Olympics in 2032, Brisbane will become one of the hottest cities in the world, and the Brisbane River one of the hottest pieces of real estate — and that's where Oasis calls home!" Oasis is set to launch on Saturday, April 22, departing from City Botanic Gardens River Hub, 147 Alice Street, Brisbane City. Head to the vessel's website for bookings and further details. Images: renders of Oasis.
If your daily life consists of more screen time than time spent outdoors, you're probably itching for a next-level escape — somewhere you can truly disconnect. With such a diverse and lush landscape right at our fingertips in NSW, why not switch up your daily routine, switch off your devices and get off the grid in the great outdoors? We've highlighted some top-notch experiences across the state where you can achieve a true sense of freedom. We're talking floating high above the Byron Bay hinterland as day breaks and hanging out with sea life on the far south coast. Your digital detox starts here.
Taylor Swift is inviting fans around the world to step inside her new era with Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl, an 89-minute cinematic event celebrating the launch of her 12th studio album The Life of a Showgirl. The feature offers a mix of firsts — including the debut of the 'The Fate of Ophelia' music video, new lyric videos, behind-the-scenes footage and personal reflections from Swift herself. The global release kicks off at 3pm US time on Friday, October 3, which translates to early morning on Saturday, October 4 in Australia. Screenings will run nationwide across the long weekend, from Saturday through Monday, October 6. Australian Swifties can catch the film at Event Cinemas, Hoyts, Dendy, Village Cinemas and Palace Cinemas, with both city and regional locations taking part. Demand has been so high that Event Cinemas has already added extra sessions. "We've got our Swifties covered with screenings of Taylor Swift: The Life of a Showgirl across our Event Cinemas in both Australia and New Zealand this coming weekend," a spokesperson said. "Tickets are flying faster than a Reputation track drop, with presale numbers already at number one for the upcoming long weekend." It follows the blockbuster success of The Eras Tour film, which became the highest-grossing concert film of all time after earning more than £260 million globally. Find your nearest screening and tickets to Taylor Swift: The Official Release Party of a Showgirl Images: Getty Images
Eco-warrior Joost Bakker (Greenhouse by Joost, Brothl) is at it again, acting as creative consultant for what may become the world's most sustainable shopping centre. Teaming up with Frasers Property Australia, Bakker will design a 2000-square-metre rooftop farm and restaurant at the heart of the new Burwood Brickworks development — set to begin construction in mid 2018, just 15 kilometres south of the Melbourne CBD. The rooftop's massive agricultural hub will sit within the complex's 12,700-square-metres of retail and hospitality space, with the urban farm split between greenhouse, external planter box and landscaped growing areas. Some of the sustainable elements Bakker plans to implement include a closed-loop water system, composting capability, and minimal transportation of food and waste. It has yet to be decided which restaurateur will run the space, with Frasers currently seeking expression of interest from established food and drink providores. The rooftop is already sounding like an inner-city gem and we are eager to see which tenant takes this massive project on. "There is such a hunger for this kind of development throughout the world," says Bakker. It really fills a gap in the market to feed and nurture conscious consumers... [that] want to shop, eat and relax in environments that truly support a sustainable world." The design of the wider mixed-use development will also focus on sustainability, using a large solar PV system and an embedded electricity network to target a minimum five-star green rating, with the aim of becoming Australia's first six-star Green Star Design — and to achieve Living Building Challenge accreditation. This accreditation is seriously hard to obtain and means the building must have a net zero carbon footprint, produce more electricity than it consumes, grow agriculture on 20 percent of the site, and prove net water and waste positive. It must also be constructed using non-toxic and recycled materials, and have other social benefits like access to natural daylight and indoor air quality. Once completed in October 2019, the Burwood Brickworks development will join the challenge to determine if they meet the criteria to be considered the world's most sustainable shopping centre. Here's hoping Frasers puts their money where their mouth is.
First, her milkshake brought all the boys to the yard. Now, a couple of Brisbane events — BIGSOUND and Sweet Relief! — are bringing Kelis to Brisbane in 2024. The thinking: why get the R&B talent to hit up one festival in the Sunshine State capital when she can take to the stage at two? Damn right, this plan is better than yours. At BIGSOUND, Kelis joins the conference lineup at the huge music event, which combines plenty of discussions with live gigs in Fortitude Valley, and returns to Brisbane from Tuesday, September 3–Friday, September 6 for its 23rd year. Then, on Saturday, September 7, Kelis will be part of Sweet Relief!'s 2024 bill. Accordingly, BIGSOUND attendees can expect to hear about her experiences in music — and maybe as a fashion icon, muse for designers, and a Le Cordon Bleu-trained chef with her own Netflix several cooking specials and cookbook My Life on a Plate to her name. At Sweet Relief!, in an exclusive show, Kelis will bust out not just 'Milkshake' and 'Bossy' but more tunes from her catalogue at the fest's second year. For company at the event, which moves to Ballymore Stadium for 2024 after debuting at Northshore Brisbane in 2023, she'll be joined by The Presets, 2024 Eurovision contestants Electric Fields, Haiku Hands, Dameeeela and Juno so far, with more to be announced. 2024 marks a quarter century since Kelis' first record Kaleidoscope and also 21 years since Tasty — featuring 'Milkshake', 'Trick Me' and 'Millionaire' — became such a hit. The singer's spot on both the BIGSOUND and Sweet Relief! is the result of a partnership between BIGSOUND and QLD Music Trails, the latter of which Sweet Relief! forms part of. [caption id="attachment_959285" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The James Adams[/caption] [caption id="attachment_861894" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lachlan Douglas[/caption] [caption id="attachment_959282" align="alignnone" width="1920"] The James Adams[/caption] [caption id="attachment_851424" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lachlan Douglas[/caption] BIGSOUND 2024 will take place between Tuesday, September 3–Friday, September 6 in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane. For more information, visit the event's website. Sweet Relief! 2024 will take place at Ballymore Stadium, 91 Clyde Road, Herston, on Saturday, September 7, with presales from 11am local time on Tuesday, June 4 and general sales from 11am local time on Friday, June 7 — head to the event's website for more details.
Australians, it's finally time to drop it like it's hot again — because Snoop Dogg is coming back to our shores. For the first time since 2014, the rapper is hitting stages Down Under as part of this new 'I Wanna Thank Me' tour, which'll be playing arenas in Perth, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide in February and March 2023. If this sounds familiar, that's because this tour was initially due to happen in 2022, only to be postponed. Now, Snoop Dogg has locked in the rescheduled dates, complete with extra shows in both Sydney and Melbourne — and adding Adelaide to his tour itinerary. Clearly, fans of the musician/actor/cook book author/wrestling MC/wine brand owner will be breaking out the gin and juice as he raps his way through the RAC Arena, Qudos Bank Arena, Rod Laver Arena, Brisbane Entertainment Centre and Adelaide Entertainment Centre. Snoop will also be inspiring hip hop aficionados to be the life of the party and, if you can remember his time as Snoop Doggy Dog and Snoop Lion across his career, to ask about his name as well. Yes, you can expect to hear singles such as 'What's My Name?', 'Gin and Juice', 'Drop It Like It's Hot' and 'Snoop's Upside Ya Head', as well as tracks from his last few albums — with his 17th record from 2019, I Wanna Thank Me, sharing its moniker with the tour. Since then, he's also dropped two more albums: From tha Streets 2 tha Suites in 2021 and BODR in 2022, with another, Missionary, also in the works. SNOOP DOGG 'I WANNA THANK ME' 2023 AUSTRALIAN TOUR DATES Monday, February 27 — RAC Arena, Perth Wednesday, March 1–Thursday, March 2 — Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Saturday, March 4–Sunday, March 5 — Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Tuesday, March 7 — Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane Wednesday, March 8 — Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide Snoop Dogg is touring Australia in February and March 2023 — visit the tour website for tickets and further details.
No matter how gorgeous the surroundings, how lavish the place you're staying and how blissful everyone wants things to be, life's chaos doesn't magically disappear just because you're on holidays. That's one of The White Lotus' key ideas, which it played out to spectacular results in the show's Hawaii-set first season — making it the best new show on TV in 2021, in fact — and which it is currently unpacking again in its Sicily-set second season. Get ready for that concept to get a third go-around as well. In unsurprising but still extremely welcome news, HBO has just announced that it is bringing The White Lotus back for season three — news it revealed just three episodes into season two. Once again, it'll be a case of new year, new vacation season, new gorgeous destination, new cast, keeping the series' anthology format. "Reflecting on The White Lotus' humble, run-and-gun origin as a contained pandemic production, it's impossible not to be awestruck by how Mike [White, the series' creator] orchestrated one of the buzziest and most critically acclaimed shows," said Francesca Orsi, Executive Vice President, HBO Programming, Head of HBO Drama Series and Films, announcing the series' season-three renewal. "And yet, he's only continued to reach new heights in season two, which is the ultimate testament to Mike's raw, unparalleled vision. His courage to explore the uncharted waters of the human psyche, paired with his signature irreverent humor and buoyant directing style, have us all dreaming of more vacation days at the resort we've come to adore. We couldn't be more thrilled to get the chance to collaborate on a third season together." The news comes after The White Lotus hit an all-time ratings high in the US with its third episode of season three — although, given how ace the series is, and how widely loved by both viewers and critics (season one picked up a swag of Emmys just a month before season two premiered), bringing it back for more was always highly likely. HBO and creator/writer/director Mike White (Brad's Status) haven't announced if any of the current characters — or season one's — might return in season three, as Jennifer Coolidge's Tanya McQuoid-Hunt has across its first two batches of episodes. Obviously, before any familiar faces can check into another White Lotus property somewhere else in the world (the location of which also hasn't yet been unveiled), we'll need to see who survives season two first. The show's second season is currently diving into plenty of drama in a stunning setting, with Tanya travelling to the White Lotus hotel in Sicily with her husband Greg (Jon Gries, Dream Corp LLC) and assistant Portia (Haley Lu Richardson, After Yang) — however the former isn't happy that the latter is with them. Plus, Tanya thinks that Greg might be cheating. Also checking in for season two's biting satire of the one percent and class divides: F Murray Abraham (Guillermo del Toro's Cabinet of Curiosities), Michael Imperioli (The Many Saints of Newark) and Adam DiMarco (The Order) as three generations of Di Grasso men, who are on a family holiday to connect with their roots; Aubrey Plaza (Best Sellers) and Will Sharpe (Defending the Guilty) as newly wealthy couple Harper and Ethan, who are vacationing with pals Cameron (Theo James, The Time Traveller's Wife) and Daphne (Meghann Fahy, The Bold Type); and Tom Hollander (The King's Man) as English expat Quentin, who's away with his nephew Jack (Leo Woodall, Cherry). And, there's also Beatrice Grannò (Security) and Simona Tabasco (The Ties) as locals Mia and Lucia; plus Sabrina Impacciatore (Across the River and Into the Trees) as this White Lotus' manager Valentina. There's obviously no trailer yet for The White Lotus season three, but you can check out the trailer for season two below: The White Lotus' third season doesn't yet have a release date — we'll update you when one is announced. The second season of The White Lotus is currently streaming via Binge in Australia and Neon in New Zealand, dropping new episodes weekly. Read our full review.
A boat sails across the ceiling, down the wall and across the crisp white hotel bed, into the carpet. This is no projection, no Photoshop and no witchcraft, but the aquarium-like effect of acclaimed photographer Robyn Stacey's recent experiments with a 5th-century BC technology: camera obscura. During a residency at Melbourne's Sofitel on Collins Street and visits to hotels in other cities, Stacey photographed scenes of exterior cityscapes imposed onto hotel interiors using tools from opposite ends of the technological spectrum, a simple camera obscura and a high-tech Hasselblad DSLR. The result is Guest Relations, a new series on show now at Sydney's Stills Gallery. What can you expect to see? Mysterious people, supposedly guests of the hotel, caught in moments of contemplation while the city hangs suspended above their heads or washes over the walls around them in startlingly sharp definition, suggesting a collision of public and private life. During her residency, Stacey recognised that just a photo of the hotel's famous views would constitute nothing more than a postcard. So she turned to camera obscura to solve the creative problem. "I like layers in work," she says. "The room sort of reveals itself to you." Because of the technical constraints of camera obscura — sometimes there'd only be a 40-minute window to shoot a long exposure of a motionless, torch-lit human subject while the sun was in the right spot — surprises would emerge. For example, in one image, there's "the way the war memorial comes in, the angle it comes in, and how [the female subject] is lying under it. So there's all that thing about, what does a war memorial signify, and what about the fact that she's female? It's open then, for people to read into it how they might." Stacey likes the film-still sense of narrative in the tableaux, raising questions of "What's happened in that room, or why are [these people] there?" The beauty of camera obscura, which she's only been working with since February this year, is that "it's magical. Turn on the light and it’s not there. It only happens in the dark." While hers required a laser-cut hole and a diopter lens, she points out that anyone could make one with black cardboard and a pen to punch the hole through it. She hopes to progress to filming these interiorscapes. "What you get in the room that you don’t get in a still image is movement. Sometimes you get these fantastic cloudscapes. They’re just rolling toward you, and they go all over the bed and the floor. It's like you're in the clouds." Stacey's advice to aspiring artists? She cites the quote often attributed to Goethe: Whatever you can do, or dream you can do, begin it. "[There can be] too much thinking and not enough doing. But they have to come together. If you have an idea, don't wait, do it now. It might not come out how you wanted, but it will open into something else. The work will lead you, but you've gotta go into it. You can't stand back from it." Robyn Stacey's Guest Relations is on at the Stills Gallery in Sydney until November 9. See more of her photography in her online portfolio.
Working from home has its perks, like more snacks on-hand and wearing your comfy clothes. By now though, wearing the same baggy tee and pyjama pants day-in, day-out might be growing a little old. Plus, as we move into cooler autumn days, a new cosy jumper and some non-threadbare trackies are pretty much essentials. Online shopping go-to The Iconic has put together a collection of its best loungewear and accessories, so you can upgrade your wardrobe without leaving the house. Because dressing up with nowhere to go is the new norm — and you might as well be comfy. For clothes, you'll find a bunch of Aussie labels all known for their super-comfy athleisure and loungewear. Camilla and Marc and its elevated streetwear label C&M currently have some super-warm knitwear and pullovers available via The Iconic, alongside wardrobe staples such as t-shirts, denim and tailored pants. Sustainable brand AERE has a bunch of flowy linen items for both men and women, including shorts, shirts and dresses. And menswear labels Staple Superior and Academy Brand have a range of hoodies, tees, chinos and track pants. If you're wanting to stock up your own balcony-gym or living room-yoga wardrobe (or another WFH outfit, if we're totally honest), you'll also find a bunch of fashionable activewear. Expect leggings, shorts, crops and more from local labels such as P.E. Nation, eco-conscious label Nimble, Jaggad and Cotton On Body, plus international brands Champion and Puma. And, if you've recently taken up running (or plan to), you can buy some running shoes here. You'll also find everything from slippers to sleek sneakers. Ultimate cosy shoe brand UGG has several styles of slippers, including some extra-fluffy yellow ones, as does Birkenstock. Sneaker-wise, there's an extensive selection of Veja and Puma designs, from simple white leather to multicoloured ones. Or, if you feel like walking around in a pair of stilletos for whatever reason, there are those, too. Best of all, The Iconic is giving Concrete Playground readers $30 off on all orders of $120 or more. All you have to do is head here then enter CPLOUNGE at checkout. The Iconic's loungewear range can be found here. For $30 off your order, enter CPLOUNGE at checkout (offer available until Sunday, April 26). FYI, this story includes some affiliate links. These don't influence any of our recommendations or content, but they may make us a small commission. For more info, see Concrete Playground's editorial policy.
Normally ugliness is relative and objective, but not if you’re at one of the stranger events taking place during the Basque city of Bilbao’s annual cultural festival Aste Nagusia or ‘Big Week’. Somewhere in between the comparatively commonplace displays of music, art, fireworks and bullfights taking place over the nine-day celebration falls the bewildering Concurso de Feos, which literally translates to ‘The Ugly Competition’. Concurso de Feos was apparently initiated as a spin on the controversial and outdated beauty pageant. Though it is also a great alternative for those not endowed with the skills required to perform the spectacular facial feat known as a gurn (perhaps due to still having at least six teeth) but who continue to dream of having their ugliest mug immortalised on the Internet. The Spanish competition apparently encourages the use of fingers to assist with the distorting process, with entrants stuffing digits into their nostrils, eyeballs and inner cheeks in their quest to perform the most unsightly sneer in all the land. There appears to be no age restrictions on competing, with the event popular amongst both old and young alike. And, obligatory jokes aside, Concurso de Feos can claim the dual merits of providing locals with a comical distraction from the Basque County’s economic woes and the rest of the world with a good boost of self-confidence. via Geekologie
In normal circumstances, Brisbane is home to a bustling nightlife scene every evening of the week. You can fill your calendar with a hefty array of fun activities — see a gig one night, party to retro tunes the next and get kidulting over a few brews the evening afterwards. That isn't the case at present, though, with the city still slowing awakening from Queensland's COVID-19 lockdown. But, fingers crossed, this town of ours will be thriving after dark once again — and hopefully soon. If you've spent much of your time at home dreaming of all the things you'd rather be doing, don't stress — we know the feeling. So, we've teamed up with Miller Genuine Draft, as part of this year's Miller Design Lab, to plan an itinerary for when life starts to resemble its former self. Miller Design Lab is the home of creativity and self-expression built by Australia's leading minds in design, art, technology and fashion. Together, we're celebrating what our nightlife was — and will be again — and its impact on culture. Here are five businesses to put on your must-visit list to visit and support as normality returns. [caption id="attachment_734386" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Vincent Shaw[/caption] GOING TO GIGS AT THE FORTITUDE MUSIC HALL It's been less than a year since Brisbane's newest music venue opened its doors, and it has played host to a sizeable lineup of talent in that time. Sat smack-bang in the middle of Brunswick Street Mall, the Fortitude Music Hall also instantly became one of the nicest places in the city to see a gig, because making shapes on a dance floor beneath glittering chandeliers will have that effect. The venue's 3300-person capacity means that it's unlikely to reopen at full steam anytime soon, but when it does, you'll want to nab tickets. If it wasn't the case already, the idea of having a communal experience with that many fellow music lovers — when it's safe to do so again, of course — definitely sounds like bliss. ATTENDING POOL PARTIES AT W HOTEL'S WET DECK You don't need to book yourself a staycation to splash around at W Hotel in the CBD. But you could if you feel like really treating yourself (and you're sick of the sight of your own four walls). If you'd be happy with a dip, some drinks and hanging out on a scenic deck — and taking in views across the city, too — you can simply look forward to one of the venue's Wet Deck pool parties instead. They happen regularly, and combine beverages, tasty bites to eat and a zebra-striped body of water that screams decadence. Sip cocktails, dance to DJs and pretend you're on holiday, which is a feeling we could definitely all use after this hectic year so far. DANCING THE NIGHT AWAY AT THE ELEPHANT'S 90s AND 00s PARTIES Sorry, 70s disco track 'Love Is in the Air'; in 2020, nostalgia is in the air instead. That Aussie hit actually made a comeback in the 90s thanks to Baz Luhrmann's Strictly Ballroom — and if getting retro to tunes from three decades ago is your idea of a good night out, then you might find yourself dancing to it at The Elephant's regular No Scrubs 90s and early-00s parties. The concept is self-explanatory, really. You'll cut a rug to songs you grew up with, whether you're fond of boy bands, thumping beats or pop divas. The shindig itself takes care of the old-school music. However, you have an important task, too. Sure, you don't have to dress up in era-appropriate outfits, but it's so much more fun if you do. FEELING LIKE YOU'RE IN 'THE GREAT GATSBY' AT CLOUDLAND Every Brisbanite remembers the first time they walked into Cloudland. It's a space that makes a statement, and that keeps your eyes busy — because, when you're not checking out the thousands of plants and the waterfall, you're peering up at the shimmering light fixtures. And, it sports an old-meets-new kind of vibe, which is probably why the Fortitude Valley spot frequently hosts luxe cabaret dinners complete with plenty of beverages and a big band show. It's your excuse to channel your inner flapper, dress up like it's a century ago and enjoy a mighty fine (and mighty luxe) night. You'll also eat your way through a three-course meal, and be entertained by burlesque performers as well. HAVING A LITTLE KIDULT FUN AT SEMI-PRO BREWING Don't let anyone tell you that Lego is just for kids. If you can remember needing your parents' help with a particularly tricky kit way back in the day — and can remember that they enjoyed it, too — you'll know that those beloved plastic building blocks really do deliver fun for all ages. At East Brisbane's Semi-Pro Brewing, they're also the focus of a monthly 'bricks and beer' night, where the brews flow, everyone gets creative and a good nostalgic time is had by all. It's free to attend, each session is themed and there are prizes. You're also playing with toys in an inner-city brewery, which is the type of activity your younger self probably didn't even know that they wanted. For more ways to celebrate your city's nightlife and recreate its energy in your own space, head this way.
Good energy is meant to be shared — and this month, Teremana Tequila is taking that spirit on the road. Founded by Dwayne Johnson, the premium small-batch tequila, which is built on the belief that true mana comes from showing up with purpose, is bringing its feel-good ethos to two community pop-ups, celebrating the unsung heroes who make a difference every day. Head to Bluff Bar at the Alex Surf Club on the Sunshine Coast on Saturday, October 11, or Felons Brewing Co at Howard Smith Wharves (pictured below) in Brisbane on Sunday, October 12, to find the Mana Mobile, a Teremana-branded food truck rolling into town with margaritas, live music and backyard-style games. It's also where you'll find the Mana Mailbox, inviting you to take a moment to express gratitude to someone who brings positivity into your life. You'll be encouraged to craft a handwritten postcard of thanks to an everyday hero who shows up, lifts others up and quietly keeps things running. Once complete, each message is sealed and placed in the Mana Mailbox before being mailed directly to its recipient. There'll be plenty of good vibes across both stops. You can nominate unsung heroes either on the night or online ahead of time via the Mana on the Road website, with all nominees going in the running to score one of 50 exclusive Teremana Añejo bottles tucked inside special gift bags, plus more surprises revealed throughout the evening. Pop in between 4–7pm on the Sunshine Coast or 3–9pm in Brisbane to be part of this moving celebration of gratitude. Good mana starts in the spaces we share — and good energy is best enjoyed together with good people and good tequila. Bring your mates, raise a glass and celebrate the everyday heroes who make a difference with Teremana.
South Bank's Stoke Bar may be gone, but a new bar has taken its place: Stokebar Q. Originally named just Q and still housed in the space beside Stokehouse Q, it's the result of a million-dollar makeover — and yes, it's still all about that stellar riverside view. Redesigned by Alexander Lotersztain of Derlot, the rebadged, renovated watering hole combines the old and the new. In the former camp, it has the same gorgeous vantage, a similar weekend lineup of DJ-fuelled hangout sessions, and the same chef, Richard Ousby. In the latter category, Brisbanites will find changes of the fitout, cuisine and beverage kind. In good news for everyone fond of hanging out by the water — which, let's face it, is why people head to South Bank to begin with — Stokebar Q boasts a larger space that gets patrons even closer to the river's edge. That includes more water-adjacent seating, including booths, a wrap-around lounge on the boardwalk, and an additional private lounge area, all decked out in warm grey, blue, pastel green and orange hues. Food-wise, Ousby's menu features a range of small plates, as split into one-handed snacks and knife-and-fork dishes. Grilled haloumi with burnt honey, mozzarella and bolognese jaffles, fried chicken bites and spanner crab with buckwheat noodles rank among the options. And as far as the drinks list is concerned, ex-Nant Whisky Bar, Cuvee Lounge and Soleil Pool Bar bartender Becki Parker is overseeing the beverages, with four new cocktails on offer. The standout: the aptly named Goodwill Rising, which blends tequila, fig jam, ginger, pineapple shrub, vanilla syrup, lemon juice, lemon and vanilla sugar crisp, and is probably best sipped while you're looking out over the bridge that gives it its moniker. Find Stokebar Q on Sidon Street, South Bank. For more information, visit the bar's website.
