Each February, there's an easy way to find out what's hitting cinemas in the months ahead. When American football's biggest event of the year arrives, so does a heap of big-name movie trailers. In 2025, the week leading up to the Super Bowl has seen everything from Fantastic Four: First Steps to Jurassic World Rebirth debut sneak peeks. Also capitalising on prime timing: F1. The Formula 1 racing thriller already unveiled a sneak peek in 2024, but now another look has dropped linked to the Super Bowl. In it, Brad Pitt (Wolfs) feels the need for speed as a former driver who returns to the track. Filmmaker Joseph Kosinski clearly experiences the same sensation, too, given that this is his latest flick heading to cinemas after 2022 smash Top Gun: Maverick. "Red Bull, Ferrari, Mercedes, Aston and now McLaren all have a speed on the straights. Our shot is battling in the turns. We need to build our car for combat," said Pitt as Hayes in 2024's teaser trailer — if you're wondering how competitive the storyline will get. Zooming onto the silver screen at the end of June 2025, F1 focuses on fictional team APXGP, with Pitt as Sonny Hayes and Damson Idris (Snowfall) as his colleague Joshua Pearce. Also featuring on-screen: Kerry Condon (Skeleton Crew) and Javier Bardem (Dune: Part Two), giving the movie a recent Oscar-nominee (for The Banshees of Inisherin), plus another winner (for No Country for Old Men) alongside Pitt — and also Tobias Menzies (Manhunt), Sarah Niles (Fallen), Kim Bodnia (Nefarious) and Samson Kayo (House of the Dragon). If Kosinski's feats with his Top Gun sequel didn't already bode well for F1's racetrack action — and they do, and Top Gun: Maverick screenwriter Ehren Kruger (Dumbo) is also onboard here as well — then the fact that the movie shot during actual Grand Prix weekends should, too. F1's racing pedigree includes seven-time Formula One world champion Lewis Hamilton's involvement, courtesy of his Dawn Apollo Films production company. The feature is also being badged as a collaboration with the Formula 1 community, spanning its teams, drivers and promoters. Check out the trailers for F1 below: F1 releases in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, June 26, 2025.
First, Trent Dalton's Brisbane-set Boy Swallows Universe earned love on the page. Then, it became a stage hit. Next, it wowed audiences as a streaming miniseries — and from 22 nominations, now that show is a 12-time AACTA winner. Across two ceremonies on Wednesday, February 5, 2025 and Friday, February 7, 2025, the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts crowned its picks of the past year. Among its accolades, Boy Swallows Universe picked up Best Miniseries, Best Screenplay in Television, and every TV acting gong it could, with Felix Cameron, Phoebe Tonkin, Lee Tiger Halley and Deborah Mailman all collecting trophies. The AACTAs award both small- and big-screen excellence, with more multiple winners coming from the cinema side of the ceremony. After making history with 16 nominations, the most of any movie ever, unconventional Robbie Williams biopic Better Man — which portrays the British singer as a chimpanzee — nabbed nine prizes. Among them: Best Film, Best Lead Actor for Jonno Davies and Best Director for Michael Gracey. From 15 nominations, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga went home with five awards — with George Miller's fifth film in the iconic dystopian franchise rewarded for its cinematography, costume design, hair and makeup, production design and sound. Adam Elliot's gorgeous and heartfelt (and Oscar-nominated) Memoir of a Snail earned two awards, both for its voice acting, for Sarah Snook and Jacki Weaver. Other titles to emerge victorious include Best Drama and Best Soundtrack recipient Heartbreak High; music-to-screen production How to Make Gravy, which aptly earned the Best Original Song prize; Birdeater, anointed Best Indie Film; TV's Fisk, winning for Best Narrative Comedy Series and Best Acting in a Comedy for Kitty Flanagan; Bluey, taking home Best Children's Program and Best Original Score in Television; and Hard Quiz for Best Comedy Entertainment Program and Best Comedy Performer for Tom Gleeson. Also, Otto by Otto won Best Documentary, Anne Edmonds: Why Is My Bag All Wet? collected Best Stand-Up Special and Ladies in Black was awarded Best Costume Design in Television — and the list of winners goes on, spanning Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line, Mozart's Sister, The Musical Mind: A Portrait in Process, Spicks and Specks, Muster Dogs, Miriam Margolyes Impossibly Australian, Grand Designs Australia and MasterChef Australia as well. As always, not everything deserving of love went home with a trophy — but that doesn't mean that Thou Shalt Not Steal, Colin From Accounts and The Artful Dodger, or Audrey, High Country, Christmess, You'll Never Find Me or Territory aren't all great. Here's everything that won — and was nominated: 2025 AACTA Award Winners and Nominees Film Awards Best Film Better Man — WINNER Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga How to Make Gravy Late Night with the Devil Memoir of a Snail Runt Best Indie Film Before Dawn Birdeater — WINNER Christmess Just a Farmer The Emu War You'll Never Find Me Best Direction in Film Better Man, Michael Gracey — WINNER Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, George Miller How to Make Gravy, Nick Waterman Late Night with the Devil, Colin Cairnes, Cameron Cairnes Memoir of a Snail, Adam Elliot Best Lead Actress in Film Laura Gordon, Late Night with the Devil Sarah Snook, Memoir of a Snail — WINNER Jackie van Beek, Audrey Anya Taylor-Joy, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Anna Torv, Force of Nature: The Dry 2 Phoebe Tonkin, Kid Snow Best Lead Actor in Film Eric Bana, Force of Nature: The Dry 2 David Dastmalchian, Late Night with the Devil Jonno Davies, Better Man — WINNER Daniel Henshall, How to Make Gravy Guy Pearce, The Convert Kodi Smit-McPhee, Memoir of a Snail Best Supporting Actress in Film Alyla Browne, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Hannah Diviney, Audrey Kate Mulvany, Better Man Kate Mulvany, How to Make Gravy Ingrid Torelli, Late Night with the Devil Jacki Weaver, Memoir of a Snail — WINNER Best Supporting Actor in Film Fayssal Bazzi, Late Night with the Devil Chris Hemsworth, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga Damon Herriman, Better Man — WINNER Damon Herriman, How to Make Gravy Richard Roxburgh, Force of Nature: The Dry 2 Hugo Weaving, How to Make Gravy Best Screenplay in Film Better Man, Simon Gleeson, Oliver Cole, Michael Gracey — WINNER Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, George Miller, Nico Lathouris How to Make Gravy, Meg Washington, Nick Waterman Late Night with the Devil, Colin Cairnes, Cameron Cairnes Memoir of a Snail, Adam Elliot Best Cinematography in Film Better Man, Erik A. Wilson, Matt Toll, Ashley Wallen Force of Nature: The Dry 2, Andrew Commis Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Simon Duggan — WINNER Late Night with the Devil, Matthew Temple Memoir of a Snail, Gerald Thompson Best Editing in Film Better Man, Martin Connor, Lee Smith, Spencer Susser, Jeff Groth, Patrick Correll — WINNER Force of Nature: The Dry 2, Alexandre de Franceschi, Maria Papoutsis Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Eliot Knapman, Margaret Sixel Late Night with the Devil, Cameron Cairnes, Colin Cairnes Memoir of a Snail, Bill Murphy Best Casting in Film Better Man, Alison Telford, Kate Leonard, Kate Dowd — WINNER Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Nikki Barrett How to Make Gravy, Nikki Barrett Late Night with the Devil, Leigh Pickford Runt, Kirsty McGregor, Annie Murtagh-Monks Best Costume Design in Film Better Man, Cappi Ireland Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Jenny Beavan — WINNER How to Make Gravy, Christina Validakis Late Night with the Devil, Steph Hooke Runt, Terri Lamera Best Original Score in Film Better Man, Batu Sener — WINNER Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Tom Holkenborg How to Make Gravy, Sam Dixon Late Night with the Devil, Roscoe James Irwin, Glenn Richards Memoir of a Snail, Elena Kats-Chernin Best Production Design in Film Better Man, Joel Chang, Lisa Brennan Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Colin Gibson, Katie Sharrock — WINNER How to Make Gravy, Benjamin Fountain, Peter Kodicek Late Night with the Devil, Otello Stolfo Memoir of a Snail, Adam Elliot Best Sound in Film Better Man, Paul Pirola, Guntis Sics, Greg P. Russell, Tom Marks, Andy Nelson, Tim Ryan Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Robert Mackenzie, Ben Osmo, James Ashton, Yulia Akerholt, Jessica Meier, Tom Holkenborg — WINNER How to Make Gravy, Craig Walmsley, Stuart Morton, Diego Ruiz, Sam Hayward, Evan McHugh Late Night with the Devil, Emma Bortignon, Manel Lopez, Pete Smith, Cameron Grant Memoir of a Snail, David Williams, Andy Wright, Lee Yee, Dylan Burgess Documentary Awards Best Documentary A Horse Named Winx Every Little Thing Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line Otto by Otto — WINNER Porcelain War The Musical Mind: A Portrait in Process Best Cinematography in a Documentary Megafauna: What Killed Australia's Giants?, Jeff Siberry Skategoat, Dan Freene, Jordan Ritz The Mission, Dean Brosche The Musical Mind: A Portrait in Process, Geoffrey Hall, Emerson Hoskin — WINNER The Speedway Murders, Maxx Corkindale Best Editing in a Documentary Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line, Gretchen Peterson — WINNER ONEFOUR: Against All Odds, Johanna Scott Revealed: Ben Roberts Smith Truth on Trial, Orly Danon The Speedway Murders, Sean Lahiff Welcome to Babel, Karen Johnson Best Original Score in a Documentary Aquarius, Damien Lane Brand Bollywood Downunder, Dmitri Golovko, Burkhard Dallwitz, Brett Aplin Mozart's Sister, Jessica Wells — WINNER Otto by Otto, Stefan Gregory The Speedway Murders, Antony Partos, Jackson Milas, Josh Pearson, Josie Mann Best Sound in a Documentary A Horse Named Winx, Abigail Sie Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line, Wayne Pashley, Travis Handley, Stephen Hopes, Jason King Mozart's Sister, Damian Jory — WINNER The Musical Mind: A Portrait in Process, Pete Smith, Tom Heuzenroeder The Speedway Murders, Michael Darren, Pete Smith, Des Kenneally, Hamish Keen Short Film Awards Best Short Film And the Ocean Agreed Before We Sleep Die Bully Die Favourites Gorgo — WINNER Why We Fight Television Awards Best Drama Series Fake Heartbreak High — WINNER The Artful Dodger The Twelve Thou Shalt Not Steal Total Control Best Narrative Comedy Series Austin Bump Colin From Accounts Fisk — WINNER Strife The Office Best Miniseries Boy Swallows Universe — WINNER Exposure Four Years Later House of Gods Human Error Last Days of the Space Age Best Lead Actor in a Drama Zac Burgess, Boy Swallows Universe Felix Cameron, Boy Swallows Universe — WINNER Rob Collins, Total Control Brendan Cowell, Plum Sam Neill, The Twelve Noah Taylor, Thou Shalt Not Steal Best Lead Actress in a Drama Asher Keddie, Fake Deborah Mailman, Total Control Leah Purcell, High Country Anna Torv, Territory Phoebe Tonkin, Boy Swallows Universe — WINNER Sherry-Lee Watson, Thou Shalt Not Steal Best Acting in a Comedy Patrick Brammall, Colin From Accounts Aaron Chen, Fisk Harriet Dyer, Colin From Accounts Kitty Flanagan, Fisk — WINNER Genevieve Hegney, Colin From Accounts Asher Keddie, Strife Michael Theo, Austin Felicity Ward, The Office Best Comedy Performer Wil Anderson, Taskmaster Australia Aaron Chen, Guy Montgomery's Guy-Mont Spelling Bee Anne Edmonds, Taskmaster Australia Tom Gleeson, Hard Quiz — WINNER Guy Montgomery, Guy Montgomery's Guy-Mont Spelling Bee Charlie Pickering, The Weekly with Charlie Pickering Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Essie Davis, Exposure Rachel Griffiths, Total Control Heather Mitchell, Fake Deborah Mailman, Boy Swallows Universe — WINNER Sophie Wilde, Boy Swallows Universe Asher Yasbincek, Heartbreak High Best Supporting Actor in a Drama Simon Baker, Boy Swallows Universe Wayne Blair, Total Control Bryan Brown, Boy Swallows Universe Travis Fimmel, Boy Swallows Universe Lee Tiger Halley, Boy Swallows Universe — WINNER Ewen Leslie, Prosper Best Direction in Drama or Comedy Boy Swallows Universe, Bharat Nalluri — WINNER Colin From Accounts, Trent O'Donnell Colin From Accounts, Madeline Dyer Fake, Emma Freeman Thou Shalt Not Steal, Dylan River Best Direction in Nonfiction Television Anne Edmonds: Why Is My Bag All Wet?, Simon Francis Better Date Than Never, Mariel Thomas Muster Dogs, Sally Browning — WINNER Stuff the British Stole, Marc Fennell The Jury: Death on the Staircase, Tosca Looby, Ben Lawrence Best Screenplay in Television Boy Swallows Universe, John Collee — WINNER Colin From Accounts, Patrick Brammall, Harriet Dyer Fake, Anya Beyersdorf Fisk, Penny Flanagan, Kitty Flanagan Thou Shalt Not Steal, Tanith Glynn-Maloney, Sophie Miller, Dylan River Best Cinematography in Television Boy Swallows Universe, Shelley Farthing-Dawe — WINNER Boy Swallows Universe, Mark Wareham Exposure, Aaron McLisky Territory, Simon Duggan Thou Shalt Not Steal, Tyson Perkins Best Editing in Television Boy Swallows Universe, Mark Perry — WINNER Colin From Accounts, Danielle Boesenberg Exposure, Leila Gaabi Fisk, Katie Flaxman The Artful Dodger, Rodrigo Balart Best Entertainment Program Dancing with the Stars LEGO® Masters Australia vs The World Mastermind Spicks and Specks — WINNER The 1% Club Tipping Point Australia Best Comedy Entertainment Program Guy Montgomery's Guy-Mont Spelling Bee Hard Quiz — WINNER Have You Been Paying Attention? Thank God You're Here The Cheap Seats The Weekly with Charlie Pickering Best Factual Entertainment Program Alone Australia Gogglebox Australia Muster Dogs — WINNER Stuff the British Stole Take 5 with Zan Rowe The Assembly Best Documentary or Factual Program Australia's Sleep Revolution with Dr Michael Mosley I Was Actually There Maggie Beer's Big Mission Miriam Margolyes Impossibly Australian — WINNER Ray Martin: The Last Goodbye Who Do You Think You Are? Best Children's Program Bluey — WINNER Eddie's Lil Homies Hard Quiz Kids Little J & Big Cuz Play School: Big Ted's Time Machine Spooky Files Best Stand-Up Special Anne Edmonds: Why Is My Bag All Wet? — WINNER Lloyd Langford: Current Mood Mel Buttle: Let Me Know Either Way? Melbourne International Comedy Festival — The Allstars Supershow Melbourne International Comedy Festival — The Gala Rove McManus: Loosey Goosey Best Lifestyle Program Dogs Behaving (Very) Badly Australia Gardening Australia Grand Designs Australia — WINNER Grand Designs Transformations Restoration Australia Selling Houses Australia Best Reality Program Australian Idol Australian Survivor: Titans V Rebels MasterChef Australia — WINNER Shark Tank Australia The Amazing Race The Great Australian Bake Off Best Casting in Television Boy Swallows Universe, Nikki Barrett — WINNER Colin From Accounts, Kirsty McGregor, Stevie Ray Fake, Nathan Lloyd The Artful Dodger, Leigh Pickford The Twelve, Kirsty McGregor Best Costume Design in Television Boy Swallows Universe, Kerry Thompson Heartbreak High, Rita Carmody Ladies in Black, Marion Boyce — WINNER Swift Street, Ntombi Moyo The Artful Dodger, Xanthe Heubel Best Original Score in Television Bluey, Joff Bush, Daniel O'Brien, Jazz Darcy, Joseph Twist — WINNER Boy Swallows Universe, Johnny Klimek, Gabriel Isaac Mounsey Exposure, Mikey Young The Artful Dodger, Antony Partos Thou Shalt Not Steal, Vincent Goodyer Best Sound in Television Bluey, Dan Brumm Boy Swallows Universe, Sam Hayward, Scott Mulready, Danielle Wiessner, Nigel Christensen — WINNER Exposure, Paul Finlay, Andrew Miller, Joe Mount, Jared Dwyer Territory, Josh Williams, Pete Smith, Duncan Campbell, Tom Heuzenroeder Thou Shalt Not Steal, Dylan Barfield, Gavin Marsh, Luke Mynott, Tania Vlassova Online Awards Best Online Drama or Comedy Bad Ancestors Buried — WINNER Descent Girl Crush Urvi Went to an All Girls School Videoland Other Awards Best Hair and Makeup Boy Swallows Universe, Angela Conte, Karen Kelly, Anna Gray, Rachel Murphy Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Lesley Vanderwalt, Larry Van Duynhoven, Matteo Silvi, Luca Vannella — WINNER Ladies in Black, John Logue The Artful Dodger, Lynne O'Brien The Moogai, Nick Nicolaou, Paul Katte, Carol Cameron Best Original Song 'Dream On' by Meg Washington, Electric Fields and The Prison Choir, How to Make Gravy 'Fine' by Meg Washington, Electric Fields and The Prison Choir, How to Make Gravy — WINNER 'Forbidden Road' by Robbie Williams, Freddy Wexler and Sacha Skarbek, Better Man 'Side By Side' by Paul Kelly, Runt 'Streetlights' by Jacob Harvey, Under Streetlights Best Soundtrack Better Man, Jordan Carroll Boy Swallows Universe, Jemma Burns Heartbreak High, Jemma Burns — WINNER How to Make Gravy, Meg Washington Last Days of the Space Age, Allegra Caldwell Best Visual Effects or Animation Alien: Romulus, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser, Jhon Alvarado, Alé Melendez, Sebastian Ravagnani, Nicolas Caillier – Industrial Light & Magic Better Man, Luke Millar, Andy Taylor, Craig Young, Tim Walker – Wētā — WINNER Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, Andrew Jackson, Jason Bath, Guido Wolter, Rachel Copp, Andy Williams, Lloyd Finnemore – Rising Sun Pictures The Fall Guy, Matt Sloan, Chris McClintock, Matt Greig, Rachel Copp, Dan Oliver – Rising Sun Pictures Transformers One, Frazer Churchill, Fiona Chilton, Stephen King, Feargal Stewart, Alex Popescu – Industrial Light & Magic The 2025 AACTAs took place on Wednesday, February 5, 2025 and Friday, February 7, 2025 at HOTA, Home of the Arts on the Gold Coast — and you can check out the full list of nominees and winners on AACTA's website.
When Steven Soderbergh (Magic Mike's Last Dance) and David Koepp (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny) work together, someone on-screen is watching on, listening in or both. With the former helming and the latter penning the screenplays, the veteran filmmakers have joined forces on three features so far: 2022's Kimi, as well as the 2025 duo of Presence and Black Bag. Surveillance plays a pivotal part in each. The first of their collaborations focused on an always-eavesdropping smart speaker, plus the company employee who hears something sinister in its audio streams. The third of their shared projects is a spy thriller that hits cinemas in March 2025. Then there's the duo's ghost story, about a family who moves into a home with an otherworldly existing resident. In Presence, the titular entity is indeed peering on and pricking up its ears. How does this ever-prolific pair, whose careers both date back to separate debut movies that screened at the 1989 Sundance Film Festival — Soderbergh's Sex, Lies, and Videotape and the Koepp-scripted Apartment Zero — not only take on the horror-genre staple that is haunted houses, but give it a new perspective? The answer is that very perspective. Presence adopts the viewpoint of the body doing the spooking, which means that the picture's sound and vision presents what its ghost sees and hears. For viewers, there's no question whether there's a spirit lingering about; that's clear immediately. The film's four key humans — matriarch Rebekah (Lucy Liu, Red One), her husband Chris (Chris Sullivan, a veteran of Soderbergh's excellent TV series The Knick), and their teenage children Chloe (Callina Liang, Foundation) and Tyler (debutant Eddy Maday) — aren't as clued in as the audience when Presence begins. They've simply relocated to a new house in the suburbs and are endeavouring to go about their daily lives. The ghost is there before them. It watches on as they navigate dinners, fights, secrets, romances and everything in-between. It spots how Rebekah favours Tyler, and only Chris treats Chloe with kindness. And soon, it starts to make its presence known. Soderbergh came to Koepp about Presence with the basics: "a handful of pages and a strong aesthetic concept," Koepp tells Concrete Playground. From there, for a director who also lensed and edited the film himself — and therefore, as the cinematographer, basically plays the ghost himself — the screenwriter fleshed out a narrative that's as much as family drama as a haunted-house flick. He's working with elements that he loves, and it both shows and pays off, as does the immersive, patient, long-take ghost's-eye camerawork. Koepp has both Stir of Echoes and Ghost Town on his resume, two other tales of haunting entities that he directed. He's no stranger to one-location setups, either, writing David Fincher's Panic Room. Real life was partly an inspiration for Presence, after strange things started happening in Soderbergh's own Los Angeles home, where he knew that someone had died before he moved in. Koepp has had his own encounter with odd occurrences that could possibly be chalked up to the supernatural — but he also knows the thrill that can and does spring from choosing to believe that something ghostly has happened. Building that feeling in, and also the 'has it/hasn't it?' sensation that everyone has had at least when a door swings open or an item has moved unexpectedly, is also one of his Presence feats. Koepp might find excitement and even a dash of optimism in Presence's concept, but that isn't the case with his other surveillance-heavy films with Soderbergh. "I think with a ghost story, yes," he advises. "But I don't find the idea that someone's watching or listening to be hopeful. I find it to be creepy." He continues: "And it's that sense of paranoia is what we're very consciously playing on. Certainly in Kimi. We're right. We've given permission to these devices to just listen to everything we say and do. Everybody's had the feeling of 'hey, I was just talking about Philadelphia, and now my phone is suggesting hotels in Philadelphia'. Well, there's a reason for that. You're not crazy." "And in this, those same feelings of unease — maybe even in this case dread — were things we wanted to play with." Two movies hitting cinemas within two months would be huge for most screenwriters. Koepp also has a third film on its way to picture palaces mid-2025: Jurassic World Rebirth, which sees him return to the franchise after co-penning the OG Jurassic Park script and The Lost World: Jurassic Park, both for Steven Spielberg. His resume highlights go on; Carlito's Way, the first Mission: Impossible, 2002's Spider-Man and Spielberg's War of the Worlds are all on Koepp's filmography, too, and represent just a selection of his wide-ranging array of projects. We also chatted with the Presence scribe about the intimacy of ghost stories, wanting to believe, working with a director who shoots and edits his pictures himself, the variety of films across his busy career and more. On the Intimacy of Ghost Stories — Including When a Haunted-House Film Is a Family Drama Shot From the Ghost's Perspective "Yes, as you point out, ghost stories are really intimate. I've done other ghost stories. I've done one that's meant to be scary, a comedy and this, and I often notice that in most stories, the person who is able to perceive the ghost is usually in some kind of difficult situation in their home life. And that's probably just because that's what makes for drama. You don't want to pick somebody who has everything going well. But I had this theory that perhaps that's also because having experienced a trauma opens you up to be more sensitive to things you couldn't perceive before. I know that there have been periods in my own life when I've gone through things I'd describe now as traumatic, and I felt much more in tune with the emotions of the people around me, because you're just opened up to the world in that way. And I thought 'if you're opened up to the world, why not the other world?'." On Using Real Life as a Starting Point — and Toying with the Excitement of Wanting to Believe "I think that with all of us personally — I can't speak to Steven's experience, but I know in my own, it's something that may or may not have happened, but I really wanted it to have happened. Because who doesn't want to believe these things? And because the very notion of believing in a ghost is optimistic, in that you believe there's something after we die. Who doesn't want to believe that? In Chloe's case, it quickly becomes pretty inarguable. The books were on the bed. The books are now not on the bed. And I guess she can question herself a little bit, but she's not an older person who can say 'oh, I forgot' — she is 16 years old. She knows very well where she left the books. But I do think that most of us who think something like that happened, it's terribly exciting and interesting. Why wouldn't we want it to have happened? And Chloe even says it to her brother later, she says 'can't part of you admit that this is the most-interesting thing that's ever happened in your life? Are you that scared of it that you can't admit that?'." On Writing for a Ghost — and, for a Ghost Basically Played by Steven Soderbergh as Presence's Cameraman "When I first said 'okay, let's do this' and I laid out the story, and then when I started writing it, at first I thought 'oh, this is going to be terribly limiting' — because I'm writing a four-character piece, but I can't ever cut. I can't, if I need a close-up of something, I can't. If I need a reverse, I can't. If I want to suddenly see another character's face for impact, I can't. I can't intercut between locations for suspense. All these tools that are usually available in writing for cinema were now off limits, and I thought 'how limiting'. Then I realised just a few pages into the writing 'no, no, no, you're not writing a four-character piece — you're writing a five-character piece. The fifth character is the presence, and it's played by the camera'. So when I embraced the presence as a character, it could then have feelings and that dictated what happened. It's anxious. It's restless. We know it's kind of fearful because it retreats into the closet frequently. So that made everything much easier, because now I'm writing for a character and I know how to do that." On Penning a Screenplay for a Film That Audiences Will See Differently the Second Time Around "I know everything before I go in, because I've outlined and I've written a summary of it, so I have a good idea who it is and what they're doing. So I'm dropping clues throughout — and there are a number of clues in the body of the film. From a character standpoint, knowing who the presence is and knowing some specifics about them tells me how they would behave. So I think I'm gratified by how many people fully understood it the first time. And I think it does reward a second viewing in that you see all the signposts that were there for you along the way." On the Importance of Presence Being a Film About a Family Struggling as Much as It Is a Haunted-House Film "That was what made it fun. When Steven told me the idea, he said it all needs to be in one house — I mean the aesthetic idea — he said it all needs to be in one house, and I'd like it to be a family. And it hit three of my top boxes for things that I'm interested in writing. It had a strong concept behind it that limited us in some way, and therefore freed us up or forced us into creative solutions. It was all set in a house. I like stories like that. I've done a few of them. Panic Room some years ago, all in one house. And it was a family drama. And one of the things that I like about the big resurgence in horror films in the last ten or 15 or 20 years, I don't know how long it's been now, is that you can you can smuggle in other kinds of stories in the box of a spooky movie. And so I love writing families. I have four kids, I've known a lot of families. We all have our birth families, and if we're lucky enough to have kids, we know that family — and they're very dynamic groups. And it was great fun to be able to write a family drama." On What Keeps Drawing Koepp to Two of Presence's Key Elements: Ghost Stories and One-Location Films "I don't know psychologically, but I do know practically. I call them bottles, in that there's a container for your wine — and much like the Hays Code of the Hollywood in the 30s, 40s and 50s had very strict rules about what you could do and what you couldn't do in terms of sex and innuendo, so the filmmakers were left to think of ways around it and clever ways to insinuate. And I think when you say 'okay, we can't leave the house', then you're compelled to think of creative solutions to your problems. And 'how do I make this interesting even though I'm stuck in this house for the whole movie?'. And 'how do I make that an advantage instead of a disadvantage?'. For me, when you sit down to write something, there's a sense that the world is too big. If you can go anywhere and have them do anything and have absolutely anyone be in it, where do you even begin? It just makes me want to take a nap. But when I'm limited in terms of who can be in it and where they can be, now suddenly I feel like I'm starting to have ideas. I think da Vinci — I don't want to be too highfalutin, but I think Leonardo da Vinci said that all great art is born out of limitation. I'm not saying we're great art, but I think he's right about that." On the Collaborative Process When Working with a Filmmaker Who Directs, Shoots and Edits — as Soderbergh Does on Kimi and Presence "Well, it's particular to the person. All the great directors I've worked with are very hands-on. They don't all do as many jobs as Steven does, shooting it and editing it. Confident people are easier to work with than people who lack confidence. And Steven is extremely confident and extremely decisive. And therefore, he lets other people do their jobs. I know he can do my job. He's an accomplished writer. So I assume if he wanted to, he'd be doing it. He would write it himself — the way he wants to shoot and he wants to edit, so he takes those jobs himself. So I think I appreciate that he guides me, but doesn't try to do it for me." On Jumping Between Indie Films and Blockbusters, Movies and TV, and Screenwriting and Directing Across Koepp's Career "It's what keeps it interesting. I continue to like all kinds of movies. I'll see pretty much anything in the cinema. So I like to try my hand at writing them. And I have this theory that it's like lifting weights. You're supposed to exercise your muscles to the point of failure. I feel like I've tried to exercise my creative muscles across genres to the point of failure — and I have failed. So you find 'oh, I wish I could do that particular type of movie' — turns out I'm not that great at it. But that's what keeps it interesting. You have to continually try different things. And you have to stay in service to the idea. If you have an idea, you can't try to bend it into the kind of film you're comfortable with. You need to become comfortable with the kind of film that the idea demands." Presence opened in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, February 6, 2025.
Plenty can happen in six years. Since the last time that Hans Zimmer performed in Australia, his score for Dune won him his second Academy Award and his work on Dune: Part Two earned him his fifth Grammy, for instance. Over that period, the iconic composer has also given everything from No Time to Die, Wonder Woman 1984, Top Gun: Maverick and The Creator to Prehistoric Planet and Planet Earth III their tunes. One of the biggest names in big-screen music, he's clearly been busy — but he's not too busy to add a three-city Aussie tour to his 2025 calendar. Zimmer will head Down Under for the first time since 2019, again taking to the stage in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. If you've seen him live before, you'll know that this is quite the sonic experience, especially for movie lovers. And if you haven't caught him yet, you'll want to fix that at his April gigs at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Qudos Bank Arena in Sydney and Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena. [caption id="attachment_990222" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lee Kirby[/caption] For more than four decades now, Zimmer has given screens big and small a distinctive sound. The German composer helped put the bounce in The Lion King's score and the droning in Inception's memorable tunes, and has loaned his talents to everything from Thelma & Louise to Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy to Blade Runner 2049. It's an impressive list that just keeps going and growing — see: above — and it sounds even more impressive when played live and accompanied by an orchestra. The latest trip Down Under for the man who has worked his music magic on a wealth of titles — Hidden Figures, The Boss Baby, Dunkirk, Widows, X-Men: Dark Phoenix, The Lion King remake and The Crown are just a few more of his recent-ish credits — comes not only after his 2019 visit, but after he toured his Hans Zimmer Revealed concert series in 2017, including to Australia. His 2025 shows see the return of his Hans Zimmer Live gigs, complete with a 19-piece live band and full orchestra, as well as a huge stage production that features a luminous light show and other eye-catching visuals. [caption id="attachment_990219" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Suzanne Teresa[/caption] While the Oscar, Golden Globe, Grammy and Tony-winner obviously isn't going to perform every single one of his iconic film scores, expect to hear plenty of your favourites from a newly arranged lineup of tunes that includes Dune, Gladiator, Interstellar, The Dark Knight, The Lion King, The Last Samurai and Pirates of the Caribbean. Onstage, Zimmer will have Australian singer Lisa Gerrard for company, with some of the songs that she co-penned with him featuring in the set — so, tracks from Mission: Impossible, King Arthur, Black Hawk Down, Tears of the Sun and more. "I'm thrilled to return to Australia with my wonderful band and excited to share this phenomenal show. I love this feeling of uniting my family of extraordinary musicians with you, the audience. Just an unbelievable family of talents that — to me — makes them the best supergroup of musicians in the world," said Zimmer, announcing his new Aussie tour. "But nothing would have meaning without the good grace and support of you, the other part of the family — the audience. Ultimately, the music connects us all, and I promise you this: we will always play our best, straight from the heart." [caption id="attachment_990220" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Suzanne Teresa[/caption] Hans Zimmer Live Australian 2025 Dates Thursday, April 24 — Brisbane Entertainment Centre Saturday, April 26 — Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Tuesday, April 29 — Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne [caption id="attachment_724856" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Frank Embacher Photography[/caption] Hans Zimmer Live is touring Australia's east coast in April 2025. For more information, and for tickets — with presales from 11am local time on Tuesday, February 11 and general sales from 12pm local time on Wednesday, February 12 — head to the event's website. Top image: Suzanne Teresa.
Just can't wait for another date with The Lion King in one of its many guises? For more than three decades now, since the original animated flick first arrived and became a beloved favourite — as well as a box-office smash and an Oscar-winner — no one has had to. Movie sequels followed, as well as a photorealistic remake with its own prequel. Spinoffs and TV shows have popped up, too. For almost 30 years, The Lion King has also taken to the stage. No stranger to Australia, the film-to-theatre musical has just announced a new date Down Under in 2026. Let's call it the circle of stage productions: a local version of The Lion King initially trod the Aussie boards in 2003, then a second take arrived in 2013. Just as both of those two tours did, the new production will open in Sydney. In fact, it's playing at the same venue, the Capitol Theatre, that The Lion King first roared into when it made its Australian theatre debut. So far, only a month has been announced in terms of timing, with The Lion King set to open in April 2026. No other cities or dates have been revealed as yet, but prior productions have taken the story of Simba, Mufasa and Scar beyond the Harbour City. In the past, almost four-million audience members have enjoyed the show Down Under. Worldwide, that number is more than 120 million, all watching a performance that's played more than 100 cities in 24 countries, and is the biggest-grossing title in history. On the stage, The Lion King is as acclaimed as it is popular, including collecting six Tony Awards in 1998, Best Musical among them — and making its OG director Julie Taymor the first woman to receive a Tony for Direction of a Musical. Can you feel the love tonight? This theatre hit has, repeatedly. [caption id="attachment_990210" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Deen van Meer, Disney[/caption] "Every time we return to Australia, we are reminded of the region's considerable talent pool, both onstage and off, and we can't wait to gather a talented and exciting company for The Lion King," said Disney Theatrical Group Executive Producer Anne Quart and Managing Director Andrew Flatt, who have been with The Lion King onstage since its 1997 US premiere. "We are thrilled to welcome The Lion King back to Sydney, the place where it all began in Australia over 20 years ago. The Walt Disney Company ANZ is proud to be one of only three places in the world where, alongside Broadway and the West End, we self-produce musicals, directly employing hundreds of Australian theatre professionals," added The Walt Disney Company Australia and New Zealand Senior Vice President and Managing Director Kylie Watson-Wheeler. [caption id="attachment_803460" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Matthew Murphy, Disney[/caption] [caption id="attachment_803461" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Joan Marcus, Disney[/caption] The Lion King will open at the Capitol Theatre, 13 Campbell St, Haymarket, Sydney, from April 2026. For more details, and to join the ticket waitlist, head to the production's website. Top image: Matthew Murphy, Disney.
Life keeps finding a way to bring new movies in the Jurassic franchise to cinemas — and its characters keep finding a way to come face to face with prehistoric creatures. Three years after Jurassic World Dominion, the saga's latest instalment will stomp into picture palaces come winter Down Under. Welcome to ... Jurassic World Rebirth. Also, welcome to a cast featuring Scarlett Johansson (Fly Me to the Moon), Jonathan Bailey (Wicked) and Mahershala Ali (Leave the World Behind) embarking upon a clandestine mission to a secret island that was home to the research facility for Jurassic Park's original dino sanctuary. The date for your diary to discover how that turns out (which, for the human characters involved, will be badly): Thursday, July 3, 2025. The idea at the heart of the series' seventh entry, as the just-dropped first trailer for the flick shows: on the landmass at the centre of the new movie, different species of dinosaurs to those that the films have featured before roam — species that were considered too dangerous for the park. Johannson plays covert operations expert Zora Bennett, who heads there with Bailey's palaeontologist Dr Henry Loomis and Ali as her righthand man Duncan Kincaid — and company — to obtain genetic material that could help develop drugs to save human lives. Accordingly, Rebirth turns a Jurassic World movie into a heist film — with pesky rampaging ancient beasts. As well Johansson, Bailey, and Moonlight and Green Book Oscar-winner Ali, the movie's lineup of on-screen talent also spans Rupert Friend (Companion) as a pharmaceutical executive; Manuel Garcia-Rulfo (The Lincoln Lawyer) as a civilian who gets dragged into the mission after becoming shipwrecked; Luna Blaise (Manifest), David Iacono (The Summer I Turned Pretty) and Audrina Miranda (Lopez vs Lopez) as the latter's family members; and Philippine Velge (The Serpent Queen), Bechir Sylvain (Black Mafia Family) and Ed Skrein (Rebel Moon) among Zora and Krebs' crew. In the feature's storyline, five years have passed since the events of Jurassic World Dominion — which, for audiences, followed 2015's Jurassic World and 2018's Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom in the Jurassic World saga, plus 1993's Jurassic Park, 1997's The Lost World: Jurassic Park and 2001's Jurassic Park III in the OG Jurassic Park trilogy. Jurassic World Rebirth director Gareth Evans (The Creator) is new to the franchise, but knows a thing or two about flicks about fighting giant creatures courtesy of 2010's Monsters and 2014's Godzilla. Rebirth does have a key link back to the debut Jurassic Park movie, however, with screenwriter David Koepp returning after co-penning the initial film and scripting the second solo. (Koepp also returns to grappling with dinosaurs after a three-movie run writing screenplays for Steven Soderbergh with Kimi, Presence and Black Bag.) Check out the first trailer for Jurassic World Rebirth below: Jurassic World Rebirth releases in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, July 3, 2025.
Before getting a glimpse into everyone else's lives was as simple as logging into your social-media platform of choice, a game arrived that let its players do something similar with computerised characters. A spinoff from SimCity and its city-building follow-ups, The Sims allows whoever is mashing buttons to create and control virtual people, then step through their existence. First hitting in February 2000, it has spawned three sequels, plus a whole heap of expansion and compilation packs for each — and online, console and mobile versions as well. A quarter of a century since its debut, The Sims still keeps dropping new releases. To mark its 25th birthday, there's now The Sims: Birthday Bundle. That's one way to celebrate the game's latest anniversary. Here's another: stepping inside a three-day Australian pop-up dedicated to the beloved life simulator, which is heading to Melbourne's Australian Centre for the Moving Image from Friday, February 21–Sunday, February 23, 2025. Despite The Sims' more-recent titles, thinking about the game usually means thinking about the 2000s. So, this pop-up is taking that truth to heart by celebrating the Y2K era, too. Going along involves entering inside a 2000s-era pre-teen bedroom that's been decked out by Josh & Matt Design with all of the appropriate touches. Yes, it'll be nostalgic. Yes, there'll be CD towers and blow-up couches, just to name a few decor choices. The pop-up will also feature free stations where you can play The Sims: Birthday Bundle, if the best way for you to commeroate the occasion is by diving into the franchise virtually. In addition, there'll also be a free panel about the game on the Saturday, with speakers including Josh & Matt Design's Josh Jessup and Matt Moss — who are big The Sims fans — and EA/Firemonkeys' Simulation Division General Manager Mavis Chan. "As Australia's home of videogames, ACMI is so chuffed to be celebrating the 25th anniversary of The Sims! For 25 years, The Sims has provided a platform for so many kinds of imaginative play for multiple generations, allowing them to achieve great feats of digital architecture, guide their Sims to dizzying success — or cruelly remove their pool ladders. With each new expansion and sequel, The Sims has expanded its complex social world, reflecting changes to real-life society, and facilitating even more forms of self-expression in its passionate player base," said ACMI Curator Jini Maxwell, announcing the pop-up. "As a long-term Sims player myself, I'm so thrilled to celebrate the game's cultural legacy and personal significance in this event and free talk hosted by ACMI." EA Presents The Sims 25 is popping up from Friday, February 21–Sunday, February 23 at ACMI, Federation Square, Melbourne — head to the venue's website for more details.
Each autumn, Australian movie lovers score a super-sized French treat: a feast of flicks hitting the big screen in cinemas around the country, all thanks to the Alliance Française French Film Festival. In 2025, the fest marks its 36th year. On the lineup: 42 pictures that span the breadth and depth of Gallic filmmaking. So, when you're not enjoying the latest version of the The Count of Monte Cristo, you'll be diving into France's newest black comedies, then plunging into French drama and seeing a restored masterpiece. AFFFF revealed eight of 2025's films late in 2024; now, however, arrives the full 42-title program. To venture to Paris and beyond from your cinema seat, you'll be heading along in March and April around Australia. Kicking off the fest: opening night's Tahar Rahim (Madame Web)-starring Monsieur Aznavour, about singer-songwriter Charles Aznavour — which has been doing big business in France, selling 1.8-million-plus tickets. If you're in Sydney, the fun starts on Tuesday, March 4. Melbourne's season launches the following day, then Brisbane and Canberra the day after that — and Byron Bay the day following. Perth's stint arrives the next week, while Adelaide gets into the action the week afterwards and the Gold Coast joins in another week later. There's more locations on the roster, too. Already the largest celebration of French cinema outside of France itself, AFFFF is even bigger in 2025, hitting up 18 cities — and adding five new locations, in Darwin, Ballina, Ballarat, Warriewood and Warrawong, to its slate. Across its full run, the festival is set to host 5500-plus screenings. After Monsieur Aznavour gets the 2025 event started, the highlights keep coming, right through to closing night's rom-com In the Sub for Love. The aforementioned The Count of Monte Cristo features Pierre Niney (The Book of Solutions) in the lead and takes AFFFF's centrepiece slot, while Jean-Pierre Melville's 1969 great Army of Shadows arrives in 4K Down Under after premiering its restored version at Cannes 2024. Or, catch a 50-years-later remake of Emmanuelle, this time starring Noémie Merlant (Lee) and Naomi Watts (Feud), with Audrey Diwan (Happening) directing — or see Mélanie Laurent (Freedom) and Guillaume Canet (All-Time High) portraying Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI in their final days in The Deluge. Plus, Meet the Leroys is a road-trip dramedy that marks Charlotte Gainsbourg's (Alphonse) latest film, while Prodigies delivers a tale of sibling rivalry with Emily in Paris' Camille Razat. Viewers can also look forward to The Divine Sarah Bernhardt, with Sandrine Kiberlain (Meet the Barbarians) as the eponymous actor; All Stirred Up, a comedy focusing on a customs officer on the border between Quebec and the United States, plus her daughter's attempts to win a cooking contest; and Riviera Revenge, where an affair almost four decade prior sparks a quest for vengeance in the French Riviera. Elsewhere, How to Make a Killing features regular AFFFF face and Call My Agent favourite Laure Calamy (The Origin of Evil), as does My Everything; Louis Garrel and Vincent Cassel (co-stars in the 2024 festival's The Three Musketeers: D'Artagnan and The Three Musketeers: Milady) team up in Saint-Ex, about Argentinian pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry; When Fall Is Coming is the latest from acclaimed director François Ozon (The Crime Is Mine); and nonagenarian filmmaker Costa-Gavras (Adults in the Room) delivers the personal Before What Comes After. Or, get excited Beating Hearts, which is helmed by Gilles Lellouche (Sink or Swim), stars Adèle Exarchopoulos (Inside Out 2) and François Civil (The Three Musketeers), and played at Cannes International Film Festival 2024 — as did the music-loving My Brother's Band from The Big Hit writer/director Emmanuel Courcol. Also in the Cannes contingent are a range of movies exploring the stories of a courier facing a interview to obtain residency, plus artist Niki de Saint-Phalle, a midlife crisis, pastoral France and being a teenager amid Corsican gang politics, aka The Story of Souleymane, Niki, This Life of Mine, Holy Cow and The Kingdom. The lineup goes on — and so do your reasons to lock in more than a few French movie dates. Alliance Française French Film Festival 2025 Dates Tuesday, March 4–Wednesday, April 9 — Palace Central, Palace Norton Street, Chauvel Cinema, Palace Moore Park, Hayden Orpheum Cremorne, Roseville Cinemas, Warriewood, Sydney Wednesday, March 5–Wednesday, April 9 — Palace Cinema Como, The Kino, Palace Balwyn, Palace Brighton Bay, Palace Westgarth, Pentridge Cinema,The Astor Theatre, Palace Penny Lane, Palace Regent Ballarat, Melbourne Thursday, March 6–Tuesday, April 8 — Palace Cinema James Street, Palace Cinema Barracks, Brisbane Thursday, March 6–Wednesday, April 9 — Palace Electric Cinemas, Canberra Friday, March 7–Wednesday, April 2 — Palace Byron Bay, Byron Bay Thursday, March 13–Wednesday, April 16 — Palace Raine Square, Luna on SX, Luna Leedeerville, Windsor Cinema, Perth Wednesday, March 19–Wednesday, April 23 — Palace Nova Prospect Cinemas, Palace Nova Eastend Cinemas, Adelaide Tuesday, March 25–Tuesday, April 15 — Dendy Southport, Gold Coast The Alliance Française French Film Festival tours Australia in March and April 2025. For more information and tickets, visit the AFFFF website.
As it speeds towards notching up two decades of superhero movies and TV shows, the Marvel Cinematic Universe has experienced both ups and downs — but in 2025, it's finally getting fantastic. This is the year that the Fantastic Four joins the franchise, stepping back to Mister Fantastic, The Invisible Woman, The Thing and The Human Torch's beginnings in the 1960s in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The movie hits cinemas in July; however, you can get your first sneak peek now courtesy of the just-dropped teaser trailer. Before there was a MCU, there were Fantastic Four movies. The initial two to earn a big-screen release arrived in 2005 and 2007, with the latter hitting the year before Iron Man kicked off the Marvel Cinematic Universe. As Deadpool and Wolverine did 2024's Deadpool and Wolverine, the Stan Lee- and Jack Kirby-created superhero quartet now join the list of characters who are being brought into the MCU fold, as has been on the cards ever since Disney bought 20th Century Fox. Stepping into Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm's shoes this time, as first revealed for Valentine's Day 2024 in the US: Pedro Pascal, who adds the MCU to his resume alongside the Star Wars realm (thanks to The Mandalorian) and page-to-TV smash The Last of Us, as stretchy group leader Richards; Vanessa Kirby (Napoleon), who is bending light as one of the Storm siblings; Joseph Quinn (Gladiator II) proving fiery as the other; and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear), who is no one's cousin here, instead getting huge, rocky and super strong. In The Fantastic Four: First Steps' debut sneak peek, the focus is on family: family dinners, as cooked by Grimm; family connections and quirks; and the strength of family helping the titular crew with existence's challenges. "Whatever life throws at us, we'll face it together — as a family," Sue notes in the trailer. Pascal and company are taking over from two batches of past movie takes on the superhero team. In the 2005 and 2007 movies, Ioan Gruffudd (Bad Boys: Ride or Die), Jessica Alba (Trigger Warning), a pre-Captain America Chris Evans (Red One) and Michael Chiklis (Accused) starred. Then, in 2015, Chronicle filmmaker Josh Trank gave the group a spin — still outside of the MCU — with Miles Teller (Top Gun: Maverick), Kate Mara (Friendship), a pre-Black Panther Michael B Jordan (Creed III) and Jamie Bell (All of Us Strangers). Directed by WandaVision, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters and Succession's Matt Shakman, The Fantastic Four: First Steps pits Pascal, Kirby, Quinn and Moss-Bachrach against Ralph Ineson (Nosferatu) as space god Galactus and Julia Garner (Wolf Man) as the Silver Surfer. Also co-starring: Paul Walter Hauser (Cobra Kai), John Malkovich (Ripley), Natasha Lyonne (Fantasmas) and Sarah Niles (Fallen). Check out the first teaser trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps below: The Fantastic Four: First Steps releases in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, July 24, 2025. Images: courtesy of 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios. © 2025 20th Century Studios / © and 2025 MARVEL.
Stakes at the ready: more than three decades after Buffy the Vampire Slayer first hit the big screen, and nearing the same span since the undead-vanquishing character first made the leap to television, another TV series looks set to continue the story. Into every generation a new slayer is born, after all. And if this new small-screen effort comes to fruition, it will indeed focus on a new character — but Sarah Michelle Gellar (Dexter: Original Sin) is also set to co-star. As per both Variety and The Hollywood Reporter, a sequel series to Buffy the Vampire Slayer is expected to receive a pilot order from US streamer Hulu, with Gellar in talks to reprise her performance as the Sunnydale resident who spent her nights dispensing with bloodsuckers. Narrative-wise, details from there are scarce, but a fresh face will take the spotlight, with Gellar featured in a recurring role. Behind the scenes, another big name is attached to the new Buffy: Oscar-winning Nomadland director Chloé Zhao, who is set to helm the pilot if it gets the greenlight, and also executive produce. If you're choosing not to get too excited until everything is official, however, that's understandable. Into every few years, reports of a Buffy the Vampire Slayer comeback are born, too. Back in 2018, a Buffy spinoff was in the works, for instance. Alas, like vamps and making daytime plans, nothing happened. Thanks to Audible, though, Slayers: A Buffyverse Story did continue the tale with a heap of the show's original cast, focusing on bleached-blonde vampire Spike (James Marsters, Isla Monstro). Until confirmation that Buffy really is rising again like the creatures its namesake has spent so long battling, it's time to start hoping that other cast members will return to the TV sequel. Among the show's lineup of talent during its 1997–2003 run, and spinoff Angel's span from 1999–2004: everyone from Alyson Hannigan (Office Race), David Boreanaz (SEAL Team), Michelle Trachtenberg (Gossip Girl) and Alexis Denisof (How I Met Your Father) to Charisma Carpenter (Going Home), Anthony Head (Ted Lasso), Juliet Landau (Claws), Emma Caulfield Ford (Agatha All Along) and Amber Benson (I Saw the TV Glow). If it goes ahead, the new Buffy will boast Nora Zuckerman and Lila Zuckerman (Poker Face) as writers, showrunners and executive producers, while Gellar would executive produce as well. There's obviously no trailer for the latest take on Buffy yet, but you can get a blast from the past with trailers from the OG TV series below: The new Buffy the Vampire Slayer doesn't yet have a release date — we'll update you with more details when they're announced. Via Variety / The Hollywood Reporter.
It could've been stickier than a marmalade sandwich. After directing the first two Paddington movies so delightfully, and either writing or co-writing both 2014's Paddington and 2017's Paddington 2 as well, filmmaker Paul King opted to dance with another beloved pop-culture character instead of making a third date with a certain adored Peruvian-in-Britain bear. Wonka, starring Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown), as the chocolatier, was also a gem. With Dougal Wilson making his feature helming debut, Paddington in Peru has turned out charmingly as well. Wilson has been behind the lens for decades on music videos, short films and advertisements. If you've seen the clips for 'Fit But You Know It' by The Streets, 'Take Me Back to Your House' by Basement Jaxx, Dizzee Rascal's 'Dream', Jarvis Cocker's 'Don't Let Him Waste Your Time', 'Psyche' by Massive Attack, Goldfrapp's 'Happiness' and 'Life in Technicolor II' from Coldplay — among other vids — then you've seen his work. He's received Grammy, MTV Europe Music Awards and UK Music Video Awards nominations for his efforts, but taking over a big bear hug of a cinema franchise that's adored by audiences of all ages (and, in The Unbearable Weight of Massive Talent, by the one and only Nicolas Cage) is quite a task. Was it daunting? How did Wilson approach it, knowing how much viewers have warmed to all things Paddington on the silver screen over the last decade — and knowing, of course, the character's history on the page, where the Michael Bond-created critter first popped up in 1958, too? "You try not to make the pressure make you have a nervous breakdown, really," he tells Concrete Playground with a laugh. While he was new to the series, he was "surrounded by a very good team who all worked on the previous films", which assisted. "I had the same cinematographer, Erik Wilson [who also lensed Better Man], as the first two films. Same producer, Rosie Alison [Wonka], who is fantastic. Mark Burton [an Aardman Animations veteran, including Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl] was one of the writers who worked on the first two films. And James and Jon, two of the other writers, Jon Foster and James Lamont [the creators of animated series The Adventures of Paddington], they'd also contributed to some of the writers' rooms on the first two films. Then I had the director of animation Pablo Grillo [The Little Mermaid], who was a huge part the first two films." "So I had a really good team to help me, who could, if not reassure me — because it's not something you should be reassuring yourself, but it's hard to work on that, and you just have to chip away and keep working and craft it as best you can — but they had been there before, so they were a great team to work with," Wilson continues. For the franchise's third instalment, Wilson, his veteran Paddington colleagues, plus a cast still led by Ben Whishaw (Black Doves) turning in a lovely and lively vocal performance, all have new terrain to traverse. Although Paddington hails from Peru, he's one of London's most-famous animal residents, and so the first two movies largely set their narratives in the UK. With a roster of actors that's added Emily Mortimer (The New Look) as Mrs Brown, taking over from Sally Hawkins (The Lost King) in the first two pictures, and also enlisted Olivia Colman (Wicked Little Letters) as the singing Reverend Mother at the Home for Retired Bears and Antonio Banderas (Babygirl) as riverboat captain Hunter Cabot, the third film unfurls as an adventure in the South American jungle. Paddington and the Browns (including The Agency's Hugh Bonneville, Houdini and Doyle's Samuel Joslin and Man Down's Madeleine Harris) arrive to visit Aunt Lucy (Imelda Staunton, Chicken Run: Dawn of the Nugget), then find themselves searching for her — and El Dorado. The job for Wilson, then, wasn't just stepping into a heartwarming saga that King had established and then furthered so wonderfully — it was also upping the stakes, playing with a new location, taking inspiration from Buster Keaton and Werner Herzog, and more. We also chatted with the filmmaker about how he came to make his feature directorial debut with a Paddington flick, what excited him most about the job, balancing the slapstick and emotionally resonant elements of the movie (and others), the importance of Whishaw's voicework, the cast's new big names, how his music-video background assisted and more. On How Wilson Came to Make His Feature Directorial Debut with a Paddington Movie "Well, I was quite happy doing short things. They're great fun and they're very distracting. I had made various attempts to start on a longer-form thing, but I'd always haver about whether I got the story right or get paranoid that it wasn't. And then another short thing would come along and it would be more of a delay before the long thing ever got made. But I was working on another thing — a much-smaller long thing. Then this opportunity came up and I thought 'well, unlike other attempts I was making with features, I knew this would definitely happen' — because they really wanted to make a third film. And while it wasn't what I anticipated the first thing I would maybe try to do in long-form, I realised it was a great opportunity, and as did lots of my friends. They said 'oh, it's Paddington, you've got to do that'. Also I really admired what Paul had done on the first two films. Paul was off doing Wonka, so wasn't going to do the third one. And I really admired the style. I thought the way he told those stories, the way he coordinated the world and created the character Paddington himself, and the tone of the scriptwriting was so good. And that the humour was great. It had this lovely, quite unique modern-British comedic sense. And, despite being a family franchise, he'd really made it quite smart, and you could be any age to enjoy it. So I admired all these things and I thought 'well, I should probably take this opportunity'. But I was really scared because the first two films are really cherished and really good — and very well done. And I was under no illusion that this would be easy. We had to work on the script quite a lot with the writers as well, and develop that. And then it's a real technical challenge — and we were taking Paddington out of the environment in the first two films and taking him somewhere completely new, where he'd only been fleetingly in the first two films. So yeah, it was terrifying. But I felt I had to try." On What Excited Wilson the Most About Diving Into Paddington's World "I find the first two films really funny, but also quite emotionally powerful, and I was excited to try — I guess, as well as being terrified, I was excited to try to create something that if it was at least half as good as those two films, then I felt like I would have been really happy. So that was exciting knowing that we were aspiring to make something that could be good. Specifically, I was very excited by the mixed-media approach that Paul had started in the first two films. Using animation for some parts, I loved that in my short-form work. I was really excited about how intricately and brilliantly the action sequences were done in the first two films. I was keen to get my teeth into the slapstick sequences in this film. I was very excited by the approach to the design of the cinematography and the heightened style which we were going to try to continue. It's challenging because we were in London, and London is a big character in those first two films. And it does really, the locations and buildings in London really contribute to the style. But we are obviously in a natural environment in Peru. So it was a challenge, but I was also excited to try to continue the style of the first two films in an environment that was novel to them. We tried to that by setting it within an Incan labyrinth that sort of became our stand-in for how the National History Museum works in the first film, or Hunter's riverboat becomes the same as the train in the second film. It was just trying to find proscenium arches for certain scenes that continued he style of the first two films in a way that was as fun and as intricate as they did." On the Juggling Required to Make a Warmhearted, Globe-Crossing, Treasure-Hunting Mystery Adventure That's Also About Identity, Acceptance and Kindness "If you don't have both, then it will feel quite one-dimensional. So while Paddington will always mess things up or get himself in quite serious spots of bother, it's all because he means well and it's all because he's trying to do the right thing. So that does guide you in the script-development process. Also, we were completing the circle of the trilogy, which was basically the story of an immigrant who's looking for a home, who's trying to find their home — and then in the second film, someone who becomes part of a wider community but loses that place and has to fight to get it again, and in doing so finds out finds out a bit more about himself. And in the third film, it's about the experience of an immigrant who has to ask themselves where their home really is and what home means. So there was a deeper theme lying behind all the fun and the action, and we had to bear that in mind the whole time. And it obviously comes into focus towards the end of the film where Paddington finds out something about how he ended up in that river in Paddington 2 and where he might really be from. So there was always the undercurrent of that guiding us, and Paddington's outlook on life guides us. Even in the smallest details, like there's a scene where he tries to drive the boat and ends up — spoiler alert — ends up sinking the boat by accident, and that's all just because he wants to help. He wants to do the right thing. And so it often steers you, his outlook on life. It's not gags for the sake of gags. It's gags because he's trying to do the right thing at that moment." On the Scene in Paddington in Peru, Amid the Film's Many Visually Imaginative Sequences, That Wilson Is Most Pleased About "There's a few, but the one I thought was very ambitious but hopefully we carried it off was the finale chase at the end of act three — where Paddington's being pursued by the character Hunter, played by Antonio Banderas, around an Incan labyrinth by an Incan citadel, which is very inspired by Machu Picchu. During the research and location-scouting phase of the project, I went to South America for two months and I saw a lot of Incan architecture. And I went to Machu Picchu twice and explored those ruins, and I realised that would be a great place for a chase and for all sorts of interesting physical comedic moments to develop. In the same way as Paul drew on Chaplin in Paddington 2, I'm an enormous fan of Buster Keaton, and we worked in some Buster Keaton — there's a literal homage to the famous moment where the wall falls on Buster Keaton in Steamboat Bill, Jr within this chase. Then there's references to Raiders of the Lost of the Ark. There's nods to Aguirre, Wrath of God and Fitzcarraldo. But that particular chase around the Incan ruins, that was really fun to do because we had to work out a sequence of comedic moments within a chase that we could then apply to an Incan citadel, and it just felt like a very good expression and condensation of the idea of Paddington in Peru. It's like, let's take Peru and put Paddington inside and hopefully fun will ensue." On Not Really Needing to Guide Ben Whishaw's Vocal Performance — or Imelda Staunton's as Aunt Lucy "They're somewhat old hands at this now, because they've both done two films already. And they're also just brilliant actors. So I often don't really have to tell them really much to do. I just, we get the first few performances, we might develop it, get some options — because sometimes you also don't quite know in the recording session with them exactly what will feel right within the edit, until you get the recordings back to the edit suites and then play those performances off against the other cast or the particular cut you have. But no, they really inhabit those characters. Ben is the heart and soul of Paddington. And when you hear his voice — because we didn't have his voice right at the start, we started just with scratch dialogue. You do a read-through with stand-ins. And often in the edit, it's sometimes my voice doing Paddington's voice, just because we needed Paddington to say something in particular we don't happen to have as a recording. So in the later stages of the edit, we start doing the voice sessions with Ben and with Imelda, and then those voices go in. And also, you don't have Paddington's animation to begin with. You just might have some — again, sometimes it's my incredibly crude drawings, which my editor Úna Ní Dhonghaíle [Young Woman and the Sea] had to up with. She had to do chase sequences where it's just this frozen awful drawing of Paddington. But then when you put Ben's voice on it, somehow it absolutely comes alive and the emotion sings through. And the same with Imelda. I think we got her voice quite late in the day and suddenly the scene just came alive when we put it on. I don't have to tell them to do very much. It's very, very easy with those actors because they are just so expert." On How Crucial Whishaw's Voice Is as Paddington, Especially Given That Colin Firth Was Initially Cast for the First Film "There's a magic to Ben's performance and it just shows you that it's very difficult to put your finger exactly on what it is that that really works when you see that animation combined with that voice. And I think it was very hard thing to predict. He wasn't originally the voice of Paddington, and it was switched during the editing of the first film, I believe — and then once you hear it, you think 'well, how could that ever have been a different choice?'. I think the fact that it maybe wasn't obvious when Paul and his team were making the first film, who Paddington's voice should be, is part of the magic of why Ben works. And it's quite hard to articulate why he works. He just has this — there's an element of wisdom to his voice, but there's also an element of childish innocence to his voice. It's a lovely, subtle, slightly contradictory combination. And there's a real intimacy to his performance. And also you really believe the character and you believe he cares. That's just something interwoven in the fabric of Ben's performance. What exactly, how exactly he does that, I don't know. That's the magic." On Adding Olivia Colman and Antonio Banderas to the Cast "We needed an amusing British nun who just felt like she was in a Paddington film. And as soon as someone mentioned Olivia Colman, we couldn't really think of anyone else, so that just seemed to click together. Then we sent her the script and asked if she wanted to do it, and within the same day we got a response: 'love to, I'm already learning the guitar'. So that was it. It was pretty simple. Antonio was equally keen on the project. We needed a charming Spanish riverboat captain who was quite swashbuckling, and of course your mind immediately turns to Antonio Banderas. So they just seemed the right, obvious choices for two archetypal roles. And luckily, they were very, very into it." On the Sense of Responsibility That Comes with Making a Heartwarming, Joyous Film That Offers Viewers an Escape — But Also Have Some Darkness in It "It's a big responsibility. And it's lovely to see the reactions of people who've seen the film and have found joy in it and found their spirits lifted by it. That's a wonderful thing to do. Obviously they're joyful, but you have to have the dark moments as well in order for the joy to work. And also you can't slap the joy on in too saccharine a manner, otherwise they won't feel authentic. But yes, they have a very positive outlook on the world and that all just emanates from Paddington's character, which he has an optimistic view of the world. He always looks for the good in people, and he always believes that if we are kind and polite, the world will be right. So the joy from the films, I think it all emanates from Paddington's worldview and his ability to change people. He often doesn't change that much himself, but he can change other people for the better. He'll find the good in people and change them." On Why the Paddington Films Have Struck Such a Chord with Audiences "I think basically because Paul got it right. He managed to get the character right, managed to get the tone of the humour right and managed to get the execution right. It could have been done differently, but it was just very, very smartly done. And again, you mentioned Ben Whishaw — Ben Whishaw just inhabits Paddington. And then the animation, the director of animation on all the films has been a brilliant guy called Pablo Grillo, and the combination of the way Paddington is designed and moves and animates and emotes with Ben's voice is just something, there's something magical there, and it was to the credit of all the team on the first two films that they just managed to make that resonate. So, I can't take the credit for that myself. I think that's just something that I inherited and I did my best to continue." On How Wilson's Background in Music Videos Helped with Directing His First Feature "That format of filmmaking, short-form, especially short-form set to music, is — well, the way I've done it, is there's a lot of attention to detail because you only get a short amount of time to show stuff. I also try to put stories into these pieces of videos. And I love it when the pieces are as packed as possible and as intricate as possible. So I really enjoyed applying that to the sequences in Paddington. I also thought, for the first two films, they do feel very carefully crafted and every moment seems to count. So it didn't seem too different a style for this film. Although, story is king and the story comes from the script, so I very much had to respect the scenes where the actors have to deliver a story — but I love trying to entwine that with style and design, and how it was directed and how the shots slotted together. Then it really came into its own when I was doing an action sequence or a slapstick sequence, or even a musical sequence, obviously when the Reverend Mother sings a song. So it really helped, but it was also a good new experience to do long scenes with actors performing and delivering great performances. That was maybe something that I hadn't experienced as much when I did short-form of stuff, but I really enjoyed it. I really enjoyed attacking that sort of scene as well." Paddington in Peru released in Australian and New Zealand cinemas on Wednesday, January 1, 2025.
Melbourne, it's time to get the word "Jellicle" stuck in your head — again. To mark 40 years since it first hit the stage in Australia, Cats announced in 2024 that it would perform a new season Down Under in 2025. Originally the show was just headed to Sydney, but now the Victorian capital will also get the feline-fancying experience, as will Adelaide. Back in July 1985, Aussie audiences initially experienced Andrew Lloyd Webber's acclaimed production, which turned a tale inspired by poems from TS Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats into an award-winning theatre hit. The place: Sydney, aka where Cats is heading again from June 2025. After that, however, it'll play Adelaide's Her Majesty's Theatre from September, then Hamer Hall at Arts Centre Melbourne from December. Four decades ago, the show pranced and prowled through Theatre Royal Sydney — so it's fitting that the new season will premiere there, scampering across the venue's boards again, too. "Cats is a legendary show that I've admired for over 40 years. A sparkling fusion of music, dance and verse, it was revolutionary when it first opened and enticed new audiences into the world of musical theatre," said producer John Frost for Crossroads Live about the new Aussie performances. "I can't wait to bring the original production of Cats back to Australia to celebrate its 40th anniversary, not only to Theatre Royal Sydney where it all began, but also to Adelaide and Melbourne. Australia has an enduring love for Cats and it's time to let the memory live again." If you're new to Cats, it spends its time with the Jellicle cat tribe on the night of the Jellicle Ball. That's the evening each year when their leader Old Deuteronomy picks who'll be reborn into a new Jellicle life by making the Jellicle choice. And yes, "Jellicle" is uttered frequently. Of late, audiences might be more familiar with Cats as a movie. In 2019, the musical made the leap from stage to screen with a star-studded cast including Idris Elba (Hijack), Taylor Swift (Amsterdam), Judi Dench (Belfast), Ian McKellen, (The Critic) James Corden, (Mammals) Jennifer Hudson (Respect), Jason Derulo (Lethal Weapon), Ray Winstone (Damsel) and Rebel Wilson (The Almond and the Seahorse) playing singing, scurrying street mousers. If you ever wanted to see Swift pouring cat nip on a crowd of cats from a suspended gold moon, or were keen to soothe your disappointment over the fact that Elba hasn't yet been James Bond by spotting him with whiskers, fur and a tail, this was your chance. For its efforts, the Tom Hooper (The Danish Girl)-directed film picked up six Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Picture. But while the movie clearly didn't hit the mark, you can see why this feline-fancying musical has been such a huge theatre hit when it makes its Aussie stage comeback. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Cats Australia (@catsthemusicalau) Cats 2025 Australian Tour From Tuesday, June 17, 2025 — Theatre Royal Sydney From September 2025 — Her Majesty's Theatre, Adelaide From December 2025 — Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne Cats will tour Australia from June 2025. Head to the musical's website to further details and to sign up for the Melbourne ticket waitlist. Images: Alessandro Pinna.
Back in January, you should've already marked your diary for one of the dance-music highlights of 2025: The Warehouse Project making its second trip to Australia. Now, it's time to discover who'll be spinning tunes while you make shapes. Partiboi69, Hector Oaks, X-Coast, Miss Bashful, Carla Martinez: they're all on the just-dropped lineup. If you went to The Warehouse Project's first-ever Australian dates in 2024, then you experienced a slice of history, as this Manchester-born rave-scene mainstay finally made the leap Down Under. The event's Aussie debut clearly went well, hence the return for a second year running. The Warehouse Project is again hitting up Sydney and Melbourne, this time across Thursday, April 24–Friday, April 25. The Prodigy, Basement Jaxx, Fred again.., Skrillex and Happy Mondays have played it overseas. De La Soul, Aphex Twin, Carl Cox and deadmau5, too. For fans of dance music, and just music fans in general, The Warehouse Project's fame extends far past its UK home. For its second Australian trip, Melbourne's PICA will welcome The Warehouse Project for the second time; however, Sydney's event is taking place at Hordern Pavilion in 2025, after setting up shop at Munro Warehouse in Sydney Olympic Park in 2024. This year's events are one-day affairs in each city, too, rather than two nights apiece as happened last year. This remains a two-city tour, though, so if you're keen on hitting up The Warehouse Project in Australia and you live somewhere other than Sydney or Melbourne, you'll need to plan an interstate trip. The Manchester institution's Aussie debut in 2024 came after initially going international in 2023 in Rotterdam and Antwerp. It was back in 2006 that The Warehouse Project first unleashed its club nights on its birthplace, kicking off in a disused brewery and then moving underneath Manchester's Piccadilly station, in a space that's also been an air-raid shelter — and also to a warehouse that dates back to the 1920s. Now, it calls former railway station Depot Mayfield home when it's on in its home city. "After the incredible success of last year's debut, we're excited to revisit Sydney and Melbourne to build on the magic we created. Once again, we'll be pulling out all the stops in production and bringing a mix of both international and domestic artists to two special venues," said The Warehouse Project Co-Founder Sam Kandel about the event's Aussie comeback. "With the special atmosphere the Australian crowd creates, we know this will be an experience that resonates long after the music stops." The Warehouse Project Australia 2025 Dates Thursday, April 24 — Hordern Pavilion, Sydney Friday, April 25 — PICA, Melbourne The Warehouse Project Australia 2025 Lineup Partiboi69 Hector Oaks X-Coast Miss Bashful Carla Martinez The Warehouse Project returns to Australia across Thursday, April 24–Friday, April 25, 2025, with general ticket sales from 11am AEDT on Wednesday, February 5. Head to the event's website for further details. Images: Duncographic / Jordan Munns.
Since it premiered at the 2024 Venice International Film Festival, earning Nicole Kidman the event's Best Actress prize in the process, two scenes from Babygirl have received the internet's ample and avid attention. In one, intern Samuel (Harris Dickinson, The Iron Claw) orders CEO Romy Mathis (Kidman, The Perfect Couple) a glass of milk, unprompted on her part, in a public bar at after-work drinks with their colleagues, keeping his eyes affixed in her direction from across the room as she sips it. In another, George Michael's 'Father Figure' soundtracks a slinky hotel-suite dance — a romp that's equal parts seductive and awkward — that's given by Samuel as Romy watches on. As it charts the duo's heated affair, and the yearning for satisfaction that's driving it so deeply, Babygirl is filled with moments that linger. It's teeming with sequences that other movies to follow are bound to nod to, remake, covet and wish that they had conjured up first, too. It starts with one, with Romy and her theatre-director husband Jacob (Antonio Banderas, Paddington in Peru) getting intimate at home in bed, then Romy rushing to another room to finish the job alone. Another pivotal scene arrives early, as the picture's central pair initially meet on a New York City street. They're both headed to the same place — it's Samuel's first day at Romy's robotics automation company, in fact — but before she knows who he is or that he's working for her, she's spellbound by how he calms down a dog that lunges her way. With her third feature behind the lens — her debut, 2019 Dutch drama Instinct, inspired Kidman to get in touch; 2022's Bodies Bodies Bodies, her second, saw the filmmaker give horror-comedy a delightfully entertaining spin — writer/director Halina Reijn clearly knows how to get viewers to submit. Watching Babygirl means surrendering swiftly to a smart and savvy exploration of desire, identity, control and vulnerability. It means being plunged into Romy and Samuel's thorny relationship, and all of the emotions that it swirls up, as Kidman and Dickinson turn in magnetic, raw and fearless performances. It also means being taken in by a reimagining of the erotic thriller with an unyielding female gaze. And yes, Reijn is well-aware, as viewers also should be, that a film like this, that addresses the orgasm gap and follows a woman seeking sexual fulfilment, mightn't feel so bold and rare in a perfect world where more such movies existed. Part of Babygirl's complexity is the dynamic of submission and domination between Romy and Samuel. Often daring, confident, assertive and brazen, he's largely in the latter role, but he can also be vulnerable and uncertain. At the office, in their professional realm, at the business that she founded and now leads, she has the power. One thing is certain chatting with Reijn and Dickinson, however: making a picture that's not just an erotic thriller, but a comedy of manners in its own way, a clear fantasy, a relationship drama, a kinky romance and a workplace thriller as well, they both happily submit to Kidman worship. When he chats with Concrete Playground, Dickinson has his pile of discs from the Criterion Closet, aka every cinephile's dream location, within reach. Taking us through his picks, he holds each DVD up: "one of them is our dearest Nicole," he beams with To Die For in his hand. Reijn's admiration for Kidman started as an actor herself, with her performing career dating back to the 90s. For challenging theatre parts, the Black Book and Valkyrie star would think about the Aussie talent, and attempt to channel her bravery. "She's god," Reijn tells us. Dickinson's role in Babygirl joins a resume that features one of the all-time great big-screen debuts, with his also-hypnotic turn in 2017's Beach Rats instantly marking him as a certain star. His filmography since constantly proves that true; after parts in TV's Trust and as a Disney prince in Maleficent: Mistress of Evil, the 2020s have kept him busy. See: everything from franchise entry The King's Man and the page-to-screen Where the Crawdads Sing to whodunnit See How They Run, Palme d'Or-winner Triangle of Sadness, Emma Corrin (Nosferatu)-led TV must-see A Murder at the End of the World and the World War II-set Blitz. With Beach Rats, The Souvenir: Part II, Scrapper and now Babygirl, he's also enjoyed a stellar run working with female filmmakers. "I've always been really lucky with the films that have come my way and the directors that have come my way, and a lot of them being women, and I've just been grateful for that," Dickinson advises. "Whether it's coincidence or not, I think that a lot of these women you're talking about have a deep access to a certain sensitivity, and an understanding and a humour, that maybe other people don't have. I guess I'll go where they go — and I'll go where they lead me." A couple of trends pop up with Babygirl for Reijn as well. Kidman sits at the heart of them. Casting her female lead in a New York-set, and Christmas-set, erotic thriller about a complicated marriage, Reijn sees the film as a female-skewed response to Eyes Wide Shut, which ticks all of the same boxes. As Australian viewers can't avoid noticing, there's more than just one Aussie touch to Babygirl, too, with Talk to Me's Sophie Wilde playing Romy's assistant Esme and 'Never Tear Us Apart' by INXS on the movie's soundtrack. "It is coincidental, but I don't think it is coincidental," Reijn notes. How did the writer/director shape Babygirl from hearing from a story about another woman from a friend? How did she purposely invert the status quo of 80s and 90s erotic thrillers — and also approach juggling her movie's eager mix of tones? Why was Dickinson initially a little reluctant to sign on, and what did he tap into as Samuel? What goes into a great dance scene for him? We also spoke with Reijn and Dickinson about all of the above, plus much more. On How Babygirl Evolved From Reijn Hearing From a Friend About a Woman Who Had Been Married for 25 Years Without Orgasming with Her Husband Halina: "Honestly, what happened was my response to it. Which was 'what, that's insane!' — something like that. And I went home and I was like 'wait, why did I react like that?'. It was almost like I was judging it. I was like 'no, that can't be true'. Then I started to think about my own experiences that I often had thought about in the past, that it took too long for me to orgasm at the hands of a man — and that I was very insecure, and that I had faked it on occasion just to make him feel better or to just get it over with, or because I was so ashamed and I didn't dare to really ask for him to change the way he was doing it or whatever. Then I started to talk to other women. I was losing it because I was so afraid to do it, but I just forced myself to talk to my girlfriends, to ask them like this, like 'can I ask you something?'. And then it turned out that a lot of my friends had similar stories. Then I started going online to research it, and then I just found out there's a huge orgasm gap. And we're not talking about it. Not enough, not in Hollywood movies. And part of the problem is that the stories that we see, for all the pornography that we see, but also the Hollywood movies — TV is a little bit ahead of us — Hollywood movies are letting women have orgasms in ways that are not possible physically. Even movies that are arthouse, even movies that are supposed to be half produced by women. So I felt it was time to really talk about that — and as a symbol for women in general, for women not orgasming or women not daring to ask for what they want on a deeper existential level, and women not having space enough to even explore themselves." On the Run of Projects That's Led Dickinson to Babygirl — and What It Means to Enjoy Such a Diverse Range of Work Harris: "It's been just a dream, and I've been so lucky that people have let me do this as a job still. I pinch myself every day with the realisation that I get to act and play all these different people, and get to do it with people that I admire. Triangle of Sadness was a huge thing for me. Being part of that was a real turning point. And same with Scrapper and The Iron Claw — all of those things you mentioned are just all in such different worlds. That's the goal for me, is to step into really different, unusual worlds that challenge me as a performer and force me into new versions of myself as well — new skins. Not to sound pretentious, but that's all I ever wished for, is just to have a versatile set of experiences and roles. And I've really been able to, I've been offered that, so I'm grateful." On How Reijn Fleshed Out Babygirl's Narrative Around a Woman in a Sexually Unfulfilling Long-Term Marriage Halina: "I think it all came from the question that I had, because I felt as women, we are so conditioned to become what others — or what we think others — want, and want us to be. So what society expects of us: that we should be perfect mothers and perfect career women and perfect daughters and perfect lovers, and have a perfect vagina and a perfect face. And look young. I felt that all of that, and the idea that we're playing all these different roles and that we're performing all of these different roles and forget to be our authentic self, that made me ask the question: is it possible to love all the different layers of myself? Because if I would accept the darker sides of myself, I would maybe be able to be more my authentic self and let go of all these ideas of perfection. So that is where all the ideas came from. I just thought 'what is the best profession, then, for her to have?'. It's all about chaos and control, really, and so I thought it would be very appropriate for her to be a CEO of a robotics company. Because she's a product of the sexual revolution, she grew up in cults and communes, she was named by a guru — and her whole life is an answer to that, which is the white picket fence, total control. And I thought it's kind of like the beast against machine, if you want to exaggerate it. And the whole movie is informed by that contradiction between control, surrender — the beasts, the civilised layer of ourselves." On What Dickinson Drew Upon to Play a Character Swinging Between Control and Surrender Harris: "Everything. Insecurity and pain and anger and love, it's all part of it, isn't it. It all boils down to what it means to be a human — and I think just normal everyday stuff as well. But the stakes for them, the stakes for them were higher. The stakes of the relationship and the affair, they were high. Confusion as well. Navigating something that you don't understand. Navigating feelings of your own that you don't understand." On How Reijn Knew That Dickinson Was Babygirl's Samuel Halina: "The moment that Nicole said 'I want to do this', first I couldn't sleep for joy and I was overexcited and full of adrenaline. But the next thing is, of course, who's going to play that young man opposite her? Who's going to be able to not only be challenging her as an actor, but be dominating her in these scenes? Someone like her, a total icon and one of the best actors on the planet, how are you going to find a young person to be able to match that? And then, weirdly, during that time I saw Triangle of Sadness. And I had never seen him before. I was so intrigued. And then I went home, and that night I saw Beach Rats, and I was mesmerised. Already Triangle of Sadness had me completely intrigued. But Beach Rats — and then I just saw all of his work, anything he did, the shortest movies, the old movies, everything. I a) got obsessed — and then I also found out that he was very tall, which might sound weird, but it is very important me. As an actress, I've had so many scene partners where I didn't feel that I could show my full strength because I was afraid that they couldn't hold it, not only physically but also emotionally. And so I felt 'this is just a perfect guy, he is the perfect age'. I was lucky enough to get a Zoom with him after he read the script, and and that only made me more confident that I had to have him. But it took me a couple of conversations with him because he was quite — he's very British, he's a very strong-willed person, and I really had to convince him that my movie would be an exploration of consent and power and surrendering control in a layered, complex way, and it was not going to be 50 Shades of Grey. And then he said 'yes', and both me and Nicole knew, even without — she didn't even meet him — we both knew it was going to work out. They met at the most-crazy place, they met at the Met Gala, because they were both there. I texted them both, I was like 'try to find each other'. And I was like a mother sitting here in my apartment — 'aaah, I hope it's going to work out'. Then they both texted me that they felt the other person was amazing, and then we were off to the races." On What Convinced Dickinson After His Initial Reluctance — and What He Was Keen to Explore Harris: "I think it was that initial fear that made me want to do it. And Halina, Halina, I trusted Halina, talking to her and understanding her vision for it and her approach. It made me trust her. It made me intrigued. I wanted to be in her world. I think the character itself was really complex. The opportunity to play someone that was kind of unreliable in their approach, they share information that is unreliable, I liked that. I liked that there was unanswered questions around who he was and where he came from and how he got there. I enjoyed those ambiguities. Also his manner and his directness, and his chameleon-like capabilities. They were all qualities that intrigued me about him. And getting to have fun within those scenes, play the humour and play the embarrassment, I thought it was all very nuanced and human stuff — so always exciting for an actor to jump into." On Reijn Casting Her Long-Held Source of Inspiration in Kidman Halina: "She contacted me after my first movie and that was, of course, a moment of total insanity for me. I thought I was having a psychosis when she contacted me, because I literally carried her around in my heart for so long as a torch against fear. Because I was part of a theatre group that made very, very radical theatre, so I had to do very scary things and I would always channel her. So it was insane to me when she called me. And then we just immediately hit it off, because I think what really connects us — and I mean, for me she's god, so I would never compare myself to her — but what is similar is that we both, however, in life we all have ego, we all have fear, we all have vanity, we all have all these worries about small things, but when she starts to act, or when she embarks on a creative journey, her vanity and ego is at the door; I think that is for me exactly the same. So whatever I am in my daily life, which is a totally a flawed, weird clown, when I start to be creative, there's ego death. There's complete ego death. And that is what connects us and makes — it's almost like a twin soulmate feeling. She calls it sometimes that we communicate through telepathy. And so working together became this really strange, almost-spiritual experience, in which we both just felt such an urgency to tell this story, and such dedication — and also to the humour of it and the playfulness of it and the lightness of it. And to bring warmth to this story, and to hopefully inspire women to liberate themselves a little bit more. That's what I think connects us." On What Excited Dickinson About Collaborating with Kidman Harris: "She's just got such an incredible body of work. She's so impressive. And everything that she's done, she's worked with some of our finest directors. I just was massively excited to get to watch her work, but also work alongside her and really get a chance to be close to that as a performer. But separate to that, she's just a lovely person. She makes everyone around her feel very encouraged and collaborative and creative, and that's just all you could ever ask for in this scenario. It's a difficult subject and it's some vulnerable stuff, and you want someone that's going to go there all the way with you." On Reijn's Embrace of the Eyes Wide Shut Connection, Knowing That Audiences Would Bring Their Knowledge of Kidman's Filmography to the Movie Halina: "When she came onboard, when she said 'I want to play this character' — and what also happened, so first of all, that, of course that it was going to be her, but then the strike happened. And I wrote the whole movie for summer, so I wrote that the second home is going be in The Hamptons, and they were going to be swimming in the ocean. It was completely, in that sense, a very different energy field. Then, because of the strike, we had to reschedule to Christmas. And A24 called me and said 'after the strike, the moment the strike ends, you need to rewrite, you need to rewrite the whole thing. It needs to be Christmas'. And then, of course, I thought Eyes Wide Shut, because it's the best Christmas movie ever. [caption id="attachment_652177" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Eyes Wide Shut[/caption] But I also thought about Eyes Wide Shut that it was funny that, if you look at Eyes Wide Shut, of course it has a lot of similar themes about midlife crisis, about sexual exploration, about monogamy versus polygamy, and all of these things — but she only tells him her fantasy, then we go on the whole journey with him, almost as a revenge, as a kind of Pandora's box is opened and now he has to go on this journey. It's an amazing journey but what is her journey? We don't know. We don't go there. We just hear her talk about it. We get some flashes. So I thought it is actually an answer in a way, but I only thought this after the fact, to be honest with you — it's an answer to Eyes Wide Shut. It is a female's journey into what is sexuality, what is monogamy, what do I really want and how hard is it to talk about that in an intimate, very long-term relationship, and how easy, weirdly, is it to be with a stranger and to reinvent myself with this young, strange man? That paradox is amazing to me. I am very grateful that there is some sort of strange magical connection between those movies." On How Dickinson and Kidman Brought Both Chemistry and Awkwardness — and Attraction and Uncertainty — to Romy and Samuel Harris: "Well, we didn't do loads of work. We had some rehearsals, but we really tried to focus on just getting the reality there and finding the nuance. But mostly it just came from not discussing stuff and just trying it. And we didn't talk a bunch. We didn't get to know each other loads. We just did it and tried it and didn't get in the way of ourselves too much, and I think that ended up working out for the best." On the Babygirl's Tonal Balancing Act Harris: "It's always tricky figuring out the tone, what kind of thing you're in. But it starts to fall into place, especially when you have a very strong, assertive voice with a director like Halina — you end up just trusting them and trusting their vision for it, and you fall into place. And it becomes the film it's supposed to be. All of that stuff that you try, it gets mixed up into the pot and then the dish gets made. You throw it all in, you throw the ingredients and you see which ones come out the other side." Halina: "I thought it was incredibly hard to — I really, as an actress, I'm retired now, but I got so many scripts in my life that I didn't understand the tone. It was like 'what do they want?'. So I felt it was my duty to make it very clear, especially because I take this challenge of 'oh, I'm going to make my own genre' —well, then you better know what you put on the page. So I really try to capture the tone in my writing — and on purpose, because this is how I feel. This is where we stand, I feel, as women. We just got the right to vote. Until 1987, we had to have a male guardian with us to get a business loan. It's still proven that if we lose ten pounds of weight, that we get a promotion in our work easier than if we get a master's degree. We're nowhere. So I wanted to show that in how I use genres. So I start out with these very masculine sexual thriller references,of the 90s. And then I venture into a world where everybody turns out to be ambiguous, and it's way more relatable and human and complex and nuanced. I'm using, on purpose, I'm swapping gender — like the scene in 9 1/2 Weeks where Kim Basinger is stripping to a Joe Cocker song and Mickey Rourke is sitting there watching her, I wanted to really copy that scene, but then reverse the gender, swap the gender, where Nicole is sitting there and he's dancing to 'Father Figure'. And all these little Easter eggs, so that you can continually be confused about who has the power, who's chasing who, who's blackmailing who — and is the woman in control, or is she the mascochist, or is her masochism super dominant? And that is where the comedy of manners element steps in and it becomes more of a fable and a fairy tale. And yes, what was hard about it is that I wanted it to be funny. And sex and humour is not always easy to connect, just like horror and humor in Bodies Bodies Bodies was a hard balancing act. But I just love that kind of challenge. Not everybody gets it, because some people feel that when people are laughing in the audience at Babygirl, they feel they don't want that. They want people to not laugh about it because they take it so seriously. But it's meant to make you laugh. It's meant to show you how we're all helpless as humans. We're just trying to control the chaos, but we can't. And that's what my movie is about, it's about pure vulnerability. So it was a balancing act, but I really enjoyed it." On What Goes Into a Memorable Dance Scene, Such as Babygirl's Seductive-Yet-Awkward Hotel Moment, for Dickinson Harris: "Well, I think you said it: seductive, awkward. You don't want it to be too rehearsed. You want it to be silly. You want it to be meaningful. You want it to be awkward. You don't want to be like some Magic Mike planned thing — it's got to feel authentic to the character. But also, I think in that particular scene – well, there's the two dance scenes. There's the rave, which is something different, that's just total hedonism. And then in the hotel, it's almost like a little mating call. He's feeling it out. He's performing to her a little. He's embarrassed. But he's also kind of enjoying the freedom of it. It's like a little bit of liberation for him as well. So there was a lot a lot going on in that scene." Babygirl opened in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, January 30, 2025.
If you're a fan of Australian music festivals, a feeling of déjà vu might be sinking in right now. In 2024, both Groovin the Moo and Splendour in the Grass announced dates and big lineups, then scrapped their festivals mere weeks afterwards. In 2025, one week after another, both fests have now cancelled their 2025 plans as well. After Splendour confirmed that it wouldn't be back this year, Groovin the Moo has done the same. The latter hasn't advised that it will definitely will return in 2026, either — but the team behind it are asking for lineup suggestions for future fests. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Groovin the Moo (@groovinthemoo) "Groovin the Moo won't be happening in 2025, while we work on finding the most-sustainable model for Australia's most-loved regional touring festival," the event's organisers said via social media. "We will really miss seeing the smiling faces of all our beloved Moo crew — and that means you! In the meantime, which artist would you most like to see on a GTM lineup?" In 2024, the long-running regional music event was due to play six stops: Adelaide, Canberra, Bendigo, the Sunshine Coast, Bunbury and Newcastle, with the latter marking its debut in the New South Wales city. Wu-Tang Clan's GZA, Spice Girl Melanie C doing a DJ set, The Kooks, The Beaches and Alison Wonderland were among the talents on the bill, alongside Stephen Sanchez, Armani White, Kenya Grace, King Stingray, DMA's, Jet, The Jungle Giants, Mallrat and San Cisco, plus Hot Dub Time Machine, Mura Masa, Claire Rosinkranz, Jessie Reyez, Meduza and The Rions — and others. When Groovin the Moo pulled the plug last year, it named poor ticket sales as the reason. "We are extremely disappointed to announce that the Groovin the Moo 2024 tour has been forced to cancel," advised the statement at the time. "Ticket sales have not been sufficient to deliver a regional festival of this kind." "We hope to be able to bring Groovin the Moo back to regional communities in the future." Groovin the Moo won't be taking place in 2025. For more information, head to the festival's Instagram. Images: Jordan Munns.
When you get cosy on the couch with Netflix for entertainment in 2025, you'll be getting sleuthing and tap, tap, tapping; returning to the Upside Down and Nevermore Academy; seeing Oscar Isaac bring Jacob Elordi to life; and discovering which new twisted visions of humanity's use of technology that Charlie Brooker has dreamed up now. They're just some of the movies and TV shows that are set to join your streaming queue this year, with the platform unveiling its annual overview (see also: 2022, 2023 and 2024) of what's hitting its catalogue. 2025's slate also boasts Squid Game's final season, a sequel to The Old Guard, a new Fear Street flick and more Nobody Wants This. From the above, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery marks the third film in the Benoit Blanc franchise, this time with Daniel Craig (Queer) joined by Josh O'Connor (Challengers), Glenn Close (Back in Action), Josh Brolin (Outer Range), Mila Kunis (Goodrich), Jeremy Renner (Mayor of Kingstown), Kerry Washington (The Six Triple Eight), Andrew Scott (Ripley), Cailee Spaeny (Civil War), Daryl McCormack (Bad Sisters) and Thomas Haden Church (Twisted Metal). Adam Sandler (Spaceman) is back on the green in Happy Gilmore 2, which arrives almost three decades after the franchise's first golfing comedy. And, after riffing on Frankenstein in various ways for much of his career, Guillermo del Toro (Guillermo del Toro's Pinocchio) has finally officially adapted Mary Shelley's novel — with Isaac (Moon Knight) as its namesake and Elordi (Priscilla) as his creature. As well as more of Charlize Theron (Fast X) in action mode and more RL Stine-based horror, Netflix's list of upcoming movies also sports more Sandler — this time with George Clooney (Wolfs) and Laura Dern (Lonely Planet) in Noah Baumbach's (White Noise) comedy Jay Kelly. Netflix's roster also features Conclave director Edward Berger's The Ballad of a Small Player, a gambling drama with Colin Farrell (The Penguin) and Tilda Swinton (The Room Next Door); Vanessa Kirby (Napoleon)-led page-to-screen thriller Night Always Comes; and Matt Damon (The Instigators) and Ben Affleck (The Flash) sharing the screen again in the Miami-set RIP, which co-stars Steven Yeun (Beef). Or, there's Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer) portraying a fraying teacher in Steve — and Oscar-winning director Kathryn Bigelow making her first film since 2017's Detroit, with Idris Elba (Sonic the Hedgehog 3), Rebecca Ferguson (Silo), Anthony Ramos (Twisters) and Greta Lee (Past Lives) among the cast. Australian filmmaker Simon Stone (The Dig) adapts The Woman in Cabin 10 into a movie, starring Keira Knightley (Black Doves), Guy Pearce (The Brutalist) and Hannah Waddingham (The Fall Guy). Richard Osman's The Thursday Murder Club is hitting the screen with Helen Mirren (1923), Pierce Brosnan (Four Letters of Love) and Ben Kingsley (The Killer's Game); Roald Dahl's The Twits is getting the animated treatment; and documentaries on Eddie Murphy, the Manson murders and the Titan submersible are on the way. Even just among the movie options, the lineup goes on. So, a reboot of 1975 Japanese thriller The Bullet Train, this time called Bullet Train Explosion, sits alongside the Omar Sy (The Killer)-led French Lover, South Korean missing-person flick Revelations and Troll sequel Troll 2 — and plenty more. TV fans can get excited about the returns of Stranger Things and Wednesday, with the former saying farewell — but the Duffer brothers have advised that they're executive producing two new shows, The Boroughs and Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, that'll debut in 2026. Back on 2025, the television comebacks also span Black Mirror, A Man on the Inside, The Vince Staples Show, Alice in Borderland, The Sandman, The Witcher, Cobra Kai, You, Big Mouth, Emily in Paris, The Diplomat and MONSTER. There's much to look forward to among Netflix's new TV shows for the year as well, such as heading back to 1850s Oregon with Lena Headey (Beacon 23) and Gillian Anderson (Scoop) in The Abandons, Claire Danes (Full Circle) playing a writer facing grief in The Beast in Me, Jude Law (Skeleton Crew) and Jason Bateman (Carry-On) starring in Black Rabbit, and the Danish Department Q novels receiving an English-language adaptation led by Matthew Goode (Abigail). Tina Fey (Mean Girls), Steve Carell (Despicable Me 4), Will Forte (Bodkin) and Colman Domingo (Sing Sing) team up for The Four Seasons, playing friends going away for a weekend; The Residence sets a whodunnit in the White House; Last Samurai Standing journeys back to 19th-century Japan; and Italian historical drama The Leopard, which already jumped from a novel to cinemas in the 60s, is now headed to television. Plus, you can also make a date with Agatha Christie adaptation The Seven Dials Mystery, with Helena Bonham Carter (One Life) and Martin Freeman (The Responder) featuring — plus Sirens with Julianne Moore (May December), Meghann Fahy (The Perfect Couple), Milly Alcock (House of the Dragon), Kevin Bacon (MaXXXine), Glenn Howerton (It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia) and Josh Segarra (The Big Door Prize). Conspiracy thriller Zero Day boasts Robert De Niro (Killers of the Flower Moon), Angela Bassett (9-1-1), Lizzy Caplan (Fatal Attraction) and Jesse Plemons (Kinds of Kindness) among its stars; Victoria Beckham gets her own documentary to match her husband's; Eric Bana (Force of Nature: The Dry 2) plays a special agent for the National Parks Service in Untamed; and Hacks' Megan Stalter leads Lena Dunham's Too Much. Apple Cider Vinegar and The Survivors are among the new shows made in Australia, the first ripped from the headlines and led by Kaitlyn Dever (Good Grief), and the second adapting The Dry author Jane Harper's Tasmania-set novel. Check out Netflix's ads and teasers for its 2025 slate below: New movies and TV shows will hit Netflix throughout 2025 — head to the streaming platform for its current catalogue. Top image:
The game is ending. That the deadly contest at the heart of Squid Game just keeps going, continuing to pit new batches of 456 players against each other in a battle to the death to win 45.6 billion won, sits at the heart of the award-winning Netflix hit — but the show itself is wrapping up. That the series will say goodbye with its third season was announced in 2024, as was the fact that its final run will arrive in 2025. The streaming platform has now confirmed exactly when: Friday, June 27. Mark your diaries — and get ready to see what happens next in Seong Gi-hun's (Lee Jung-jae, The Acolyte) quest to bring down those responsible for the killer contest. If you've watched season two, which dropped on Boxing Day 2024, then you'll know that Player 456 went back in the game with new fellow competitors for company, and also found himself closer to the person pulling the strings than he knew. Season three will see Gi-hun keep at his pursuit to stop the game. It'll also feature more of his nemesis Front Man's (Lee Byung-hun, The Magnificent Seven) attempts to thwart his plan. However their respective efforts pan out, the show's last run is also set to feature a finale written and directed by series creator Hwang Dong-hyuk. Squid Game is now Netflix's most-popular non-English show of all time; in fact, it holds both the first and second spots on the list, for its first and second seasons respectively. Money Heist season four is third, Lupin season one is fourth, while La Palma, Who Killed Sara? and Berlin are also in the top ten. That Squid Game is a smash isn't new news, of course. It proved such a huge success in its first season that Netflix was quick to confirm that more was on the way — even if season two arrived after a three-year gap. In the show's second season, Gong Yoo (Train to Busan) returned as the man in the suit who got Gi-hun into the game in the first place, as did Wi Ha-joon (Little Women) as detective Hwang Jun-ho, but a series about a deadly contest comes with a hefty bodycount. Accordingly, new faces were always going to be essential — which is where Yim Si-wan (Emergency Declaration), Kang Ha-neul (Insider), Park Sung-hoon (The Glory) and Yang Dong-geun (Yaksha: Ruthless Operations) all came in. If you've somehow missed all things Squid Game until now, even after it became bigger than everything from Stranger Things to Bridgerton, the Golden Globe- and Emmy-winning series serves up a puzzle-like storyline and unflinching savagery, which unsurprisingly makes quite the combination. It also steps into societal divides within South Korea, a topic that wasn't invented by Parasite, Bong Joon-ho's excellent Oscar-winning 2019 thriller, but has been given a boost after that stellar flick's success. As a result, it's easy to see thematic and narrative parallels between Parasite and Squid Game, although Netflix's highly addictive series goes with a Battle Royale and Hunger Games-style setup. Netflix turned the show's whole premise into an IRL competition series as well, which debuted in 2023 — without any murders, of course. Squid Game: The Challenge has already been picked up for a second season. There's no dedicated trailer for Squid Game season three yet, but you can watch a teaser Netflix's big returning 2025 shows below — and revisit the trailer from Squid Game season two: Squid Game season three streams via Netflix from Friday, June 27, 2025. Season one and two are available to stream now. Images: Netflix.
First, the bad news: if you don't already have a ticket to Laneway Festival 2025 in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane to see Charli XCX, Djo, Beabadoobee, Clairo, Barry Can't Swim, Remi Wolf and more, they've completely soldout. Now, some good news: in each of the three east coast cities, Laneway has just announced official afterparties. The small club shows will feature STÜM, RONA. and Fcukers, plus others, with the lineup varying per location — and it's your next chance to get in on the Laneway action. The dates for the three shindigs are obviously the same as the Laneway dates in each destination. Accordingly, Brisbane's turn comes on Saturday, February 8, then Sydney's on Sunday, February 9 and Melbourne's on Friday, February 14. As for venues, River City revellers are headed to The Brightside, Harbour City residents to Oxford Art Factory and folks in the Victorian capital have a date with The Night Cat. In Brissie, STÜM, DJ Ivan Berko, nate sib and Cyber DJs will be taking to the stage. Sydney's gig features RONA., Fcukers doing a DJ set, DJ Ivan Berko popping up again, and both Loosie Grind and BEMAN. And in Melbourne, RONA. and DJ Ivan Berko are back, as is nate sib, alongside Laneway Festival's own DJs. Tickets are limited — so, like all things Laneway, getting in fast is recommended. As for the festival itself, if you've been lucky enough to nab tix, its lineup also features BICEP doing their CHROMA AV DJ set, Olivia Dean, Eyedress, Skegss, Hamdi, Joey Valence & Brae, 2hollis, Ninajirachi, Julie, Girl and Girl, and more. For its 2025 season, the event started by Danny Rogers and Jerome Borazio in the mid-00s is also headed to Bonython Park in Adelaide and Wellington Square in Perth in Australia — but without afterparties. Laneway Festival 2025 Afterparties Saturday, February 8 — The Brightside, Brisbane, with STÜM, DJ Ivan Berko, nate sib and Cyber DJs Sunday, February 9 — Oxford Art Factory, Sydney, with RONA., Fcukers, DJ Ivan Berko, Loosie Grind and BEMAN Friday, February 14 — The Night Cat, Melbourne, with RONA., DJ Ivan Berko, nate sib and Laneway Festival's DJs Laneway Festival 2025 Dates and Venues Thursday, February 6 – Western Springs, Auckland / Tāmaki Makaurau Saturday, February 8 — Brisbane Showgrounds, Brisbane / Turrbal Targun Sunday, February 9 — Centennial Park, Sydney / Burramattagal Land & Wangal Land Friday, February 14 — Flemington Park, Melbourne / Wurundjeri Biik Saturday, February 15 — Bonython Park, Adelaide / Kaurna Yerta Sunday, February 16 — Wellington Square, Perth / Whadjuk Boodjar [caption id="attachment_975321" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Harley Weir[/caption] Laneway Festival 2025 Lineup Charli XCX Beabadoobee Clairo Barry Can't Swim BICEP present CHROMA (AV DJ set) Djo Remi Wolf Olivia Dean Eyedress Skegss STÜM RONA Hamdi Joey Valence & Brae 2hollis Fcukers Ninajirachi Julie Girl and Girl + Triple J unearthed winners [caption id="attachment_975961" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Guido Gazzilli[/caption] St Jerome's Laneway Festival is touring Australia in February 2025. Head to the festival's website for further details and tickets. Afterparties are being held at the fest's east coast stops — with tickets on sale for Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane's events now. Laneway festival images: Charlie Hardy / Daniel Boud / Maclay Heriot / Cedric Tang.
Among the many great filmmaker-actor pairings that cinema has gifted the world, Ryan Coogler and Michael B Jordan have spent more than a decade cementing their spot on the list. It was back in 2013 that the two first joined forces, one for his feature directorial debut and the other for his first lead film role, on Fruitvale Station. Each time that a new Coogler movie has arrived since, including 2015's Creed, then 2018's Black Panther and its 2022 sequel Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Jordan (Creed III) has been a key part — and after playing Oscar Grant, Adonis Johnson and Killmonger for his go-to helmer, Jordan is at the heart of 2025's Sinners, too. Five pictures into their collaboration now, how does Coogler manage to double down on working with Jordan? Literally, actually. This time, in the director's first horror film, he has cast his favourite actor in two roles. Sinners focuses on brothers — twins, in fact, called Elijah and Elias — who find more than familiar faces awaiting when they try to start afresh upon returning to their home town. They also find much greater troubles than have been haunting them in their lives elsewhere. This is a movie set in America's south in the Jim Crow-era, as well as a film where being able to enjoy blues music at their local bar is a welcome escape for Sinners' Black characters. But as the just-released second trailer for the feature makes clear, there's more than a touch of the supernatural to Coogler's new flick. Yes, things get bloody. Cast-wise, the movie also gets stacked, with Hailee Steinfeld (The Marvels), Wunmi Mosaku (Loki), Delroy Lindo (Unprisoned), Jack O'Connell (Back to Black), Jayme Lawson (The Penguin) and Omar Benson Miller (True Lies) co-starring. Sinners marks the first time that Coogler hasn't either explored a true story, jumped into an existing franchise or brought an already-known character to the screen — and alongside him working with an original tale, he's also telling a personal one. Inspiration came from members of his family, including for the film's setting and pivotal use of music. But Coogler also considers every feature that he's made to be personal. Asked at a press Q&A about the movie and its new trailer if this tops the list in that regard, he advises that "it's interesting because at each point in my life, that statement has been correct — but never like this one". [caption id="attachment_988567" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Gage Skidmore via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] "I don't want to give all of this away, but each time I make something — and none of the films that I worked on have had the horror or the thriller element like this one has — but each time I'm conquering a fear, a personal fear of mine, and this one is no different," Coogler also shared. For Sinners, Jordan isn't the writer/director's only returning collaborator. For a picture that's partly shot on IMAX — "I got to get some advice from Chris and Emma, who are masters of the form," Coogler offered, speaking about Christopher Nolan and his producer and wife Emma Thomas — he also reteamed with pivotal talents behind the lens. Cinematographer Autumn Durald Arkapaw (The Last Showgirl), production designer Hannah Beachler (Renaissance: A Film by Beyoncé), editor Michael P Shawver (Abigail), composer Ludwig Göransson (Oppenheimer) and costume designer Ruth E Carter (Coming 2 America) each return from either Black Panther, Black Panther: Wakanda Forever or both — some, such as Göransson and Carter, with Oscars for their past efforts working with Coogler. The filmmaker also chatted about his clearly rewarding creative partnership with Jordan, Sinners' origins, its mix of genres and supernatural elements, and his aim with using large-format visuals — plus how Stephen King's Salem's Lot proved pivotal, the eeriness of twins, why making movies is a form of catharsis for him and more. On Making Five Films Now with Michael B Jordan — and How Their Collaboration Pushes Coogler Creatively "It's incredible. With Mike, he was a working actor when I met him. He had been on some incredible television shows, basically been a professional actor since he was a school-aged kid, but he hadn't had a feature-length role where he was the lead just yet. So when we worked together on Fruitvale, that was his first time in a lead role in a movie, and it was my first time making a movie — so in many ways, we've grown up together in the industry, in these situations. I've definitely found a kindred spirit in him. He's somebody who's incredibly gifted. In some ways, it's god-given: his charisma, his ability to channel empathy without even trying. But the other facets are the things under his control: his work ethic, his dedication to the craft. And the other thing is his constant desire to want to push himself, to increase his capacity, to continue to stretch. Having both those things rolled up into one, and being somebody who's around the same age, we became work friends and eventually have become like family since. It's an incredible gift to have somebody like that, who you can call up and say 'hey, I've got a new one for you, what do you think?'. And I know he is always trying to look for new challenges constantly. He doesn't want to rest on his on his laurels. And I thought that this role would be something where we could challenge each other." On Injecting Personal Elements Into Coogler's First Horror Film "Each time I've made a film, it's become more and more personal. With this one, I was really digging into two relationships. One with my maternal grandfather, who I never met, he died about a year before I was born — but he was from Merrill, Mississippi, and eventually moved to Oakland, married my grandmother, and actually built the house that our whole family was based out of in Oakland. And I had an uncle named Uncle James who I came up with my whole life, he actually passed away while I was in post-production on Creed, and he was from another town in Mississippi — and he wouldn't really talk about Mississippi unless he was listening to the blues, unless he had a little sip of old Italian whisky, then he would reminisce. And I miss him profoundly. With this film, I got a chance to dig into my own ancestral history here in the States — not dissimilar to what I was doing with the Panther films, like that generational ancestral history, this is right there for me. And I had a chance to really go to the south and scout and think. And the film is about the music that was so special to my to my uncle — and I couldn't be happier with the film that we'll be able to show you guys in a few months." On the Movie's Supernatural Aspects "The film is very genre-fluid. It switches in and out of a lot of different genres. Yes, vampires are an element of the movie. But that's not the only element. It's not the only supernatural element. The film is about more than just that, and I think it's going to surprise folks in a good way. My favourite films in the in the genre, you could take the supernatural element out and the films would still work — but the supernatural element actually helps to heighten it, helps to elevate it. So I was aspiring to make something in that in that tradition. And the film has elements of all of the things that I that I love. It's really a personal love letter for me to cinema, to the art form, specifically the theatrical experience. It's interesting working in a post-COVID time, when everybody was sequestered — and I know I found myself missing that experience of experiencing things in a room with folks I didn't know, but still reacting in the same way, or maybe reacting in different ways and getting to enjoy that. The film is meant to be seen in that capacity." On Using Large-Format Visuals, Such as Shooting in IMAX, to Draw Audiences In "The whole effort was for the experience to be immersive. We wanted to let folks experience this world. And for me, it's the world that my grandparents were a part of. It's the world that they came up in. And it's a time that's often overlooked in American history, specifically for Black folks, because it was a time associated with a lot of things that maybe we're ashamed to talk about — but I got to talk to my have conversation with my grandmother, who's nearly 100 years old, and do some really heavy research, and it was exciting. To bring that time period to life with the celluloid format that was around then, but with the technological advancements that IMAX can provide, it's really exciting — really exciting." On How a Stephen King-Penned Vampire Novel Proved an Influence "A big inspiration for the film is a novel called Salem's Lot, and in the novel — it's been adapted quite a few times and in some really cool ways, but what's great about that novel is when Stephen King talks about it, for him it was Peyton Place, which is another novel, meets Dracula. What happens when a town that's got a lot of its own issues, a lot of interesting characters, meets up with a mythological force of nature and it starts to influence the town? So that idea for me was a great way to explore some of the real things in this place that my grandparents and uncles who influenced my life came from — but also that a lot of American pop culture came from, right there. One of the things we explore in the film is blues music and blues culture, and that became so many other things that affect what we do today. So it was great to be able to explore that. And that music has a has a very close relationship with the macabre, so to speak, with the supernatural. You hear stories about Tommy Johnson and Robert Johnson selling that souls to be able to play the guitar the way they do — the deals being struck. It was called the devil's music — and the dichotomy of these incredible singers, even still to this day, they learned how to make music in the church, but yet they chose to make music that maybe was frowned upon." On the Catharsis of Making Movies for Coogler "I'm blessed to have been able to have found this medium. I found it out by accident. But where I can work out deep, philosophical, existential questions that I may be struggling with, I get to work them out while contributing to an artform that that means so much to me and my family. Watching movies for us was a pastime, and it was a way to connect, it was how we travelled. So I feel like the luckiest person on the planet — but yeah, it is a form of therapy. Each film brings me closer to understanding myself and the world around me, I think." On Jordan Portraying Twins — and Why Twins Feel Supernatural "These are guys who there's nothing supernatural about them outside of them being identical twins. Now, when you dig into the research on twins, it is pretty strange. We still don't totally understand how we have specific identical twins, because it's not something that can be inherited. It's an anomaly. What we did on this was I hired a couple friends of mine who are filmmakers, Noah and Logan Miller — we hired them as twin consultants. They're about the same age as me and Mike, and they were able to talk to Mike and myself while we were working on the script, and he was working on prepping the characters, on what it is like to have an identical twin. Some of that work was just fascinating — like this idea of ever since you achieved consciousness, there was another version of you, right there, right there in front of you, sharing space. And how they see the world — how they see the world as 'us versus everybody else'. The other aspect of it is the fact that they're not totally different. They're actually are quite alike. They're different in subtle ways that Mike found. But it's an absolutely brilliant performance — both performances. I can't wait for folks to see him. It's Mike unlike I've ever seen him before, and I know him pretty well." On Why the Time Was Right for Coogler to Tell an Original Story "I think in terms of timing — and timing is everything, it can really make or break a project, now more than ever. But for me, in being a writer/director, the timing first has to start with me. And it felt like I was at a point in my life where I did want to try to do something original. And I realised I had been working on things that were based on pre-existing things, maybe a real-life situation, maybe a pre-existing franchise and cinema, a pre-existing comic-book franchise, and so I felt the itch to want to try. I could kind of feel like the kids are growing up, I'm getting older, I can feel time on my on my backside. So it turned out to be the perfect timing for me, personally. And at terms of looking around at the world and where we are, those two things seem to be lining up. But at the same time, you don't have any control over that one. You've got to kind of start with yourself. Even then, I did want to still play with archetypes. I guess it's original, but I'm dealing with a lot of archetypes — not just a vampire, but the supernaturally gifted musician, the twins. When I was coming up, every neighbourhood would have those twins who were well-known, sometimes notorious, just had a reputation as local celebrities. That idea is something that we're exploring in this, and a lot of other ideas. So I'm still digging into pre-existing things and culture as best I can, but synthesising them through my own personal lens." Sinners releases in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, April 17, 2025.
He's going to Newport: Johnny Cash, that is. Twice in A Complete Unknown, the iconic singer-songwriter graces the lineup at the famous folk festival in Rhode Island in the 60s. Twice in the Bob Dylan biopic, he crosses paths with the film's subject at the event. The details depicted are in the service of Dylan's story — while James Mangold is in the director's chair, he's not remaking Walk the Line — but these wouldn't be the moments that they are, and nor would A Complete Unknown be the movie that it is, without Boyd Holbrook (The Bikeriders) as Cash opposite Timothée Chalamet's (Dune: Part Two) Dylan. The term "goes electric" will always be synonymous with Dylan at 1965's Newport Folk Festival, where he dared to play an electric guitar in one of his sets — and the response as much as the act ensured that it went down in history. Cash helped him get there, not only by picking up the same type of instrument at the same place the year before, but through his pen-pal friendship with and encouragement of Dylan. The eight-time Oscar-nominated picture makes clear how much that Cash's words, and the effort of him taking time to commit them to paper, meant to Dylan. It goes electric, too, when Chalamet and Holbrook share scenes. A Complete Unknown is a movie with Chalamet as Dylan, Monica Barbaro (Fubar) as Joan Baez, Edward Norton (Asteroid City) as Pete Seeger and Scoot McNairy (Speak No Evil) as Woody Guthrie. So, it's a flick filled with impressive actors portraying music greats. Given that this a film by Walk the Line director Mangold, however, it's also a picture that gives Holbrook a completely different job to his co-stars, since he's portraying Cash. What happens when the filmmaker behind an Academy Award-winning Man in Black biopic asks you to be the next actor to slip into the legend's shoes? Holbrook had been keen on a different role in the feature, he tells Concrete Playground, at a time when Cash wasn't even in the script — then found himself with a "daunting task". Still, for anyone who has charted Holbrook's career since his 2008 big-screen debut in Milk — a span that's taken him through Behind the Candelabra, The Skeleton Twins, Gone Girl, Jane Got a Gun, The Predator, Narcos and The Sandman, just to name a few projects — it should come as no surprise that he feels like he's been preparing for this part for more than a decade. It helped that he'd made two previous films with Mangold, Logan (which uses a Cash song over its closing credits and in its trailer) and Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. In fact, he sees his relationship with the filmmaker as similar to Dylan and Cash's, but with Mangold as the mentor and Holbrook the protégé. And, it equally assists that he'd also perfected swagger on-screen, which can be an elusive trait, including in his two prior roles in The Bikeriders and Justified: City Primeval. Yes, his A Complete Unknown performance meant facing "the Joaquin element", Holbrook explains — with Joaquin Phoenix (Joker: Folie á Deux) Oscar- and BAFTA-nominated, and the winner of a Golden Globe, for playing Cash two decades back for Mangold. But he also knew that the filmmaker, who worked with fellow screenwriter Jay Cocks (Silence) to adapt Elijah Wald's 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric! Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night That Split the Sixties, had a fresh angle into Cash here. As Mangold himself also told us about the pair's relationship as pen pals, "this correspondence suddenly became central to me, because as I was trying to assemble — as much as I was trying to tell Dylan's story, he is a bit inscrutable, and I felt like you could learn more by also telling the story of those that surrounded Dylan, and the way his genius affected each of them differently". "And what was so necessary about bringing Johnny into the story was that he's the devil on that shoulder. If you have Pete and Lomax and Joan Baez all on this shoulder saying 'stick with the team; don't cross over to that dangerous, suspicious popular music', you had Johnny Cash on the other shoulder who was saying 'track mud on someone's carpet'," Mangold continued. "Which was literally one of Johnny's lines in his letters to Bob. And that he made it his business to encourage Dylan to stay bold and to stay on the leading edge, was so wonderful to me." For Holbrook, taking on the part meant exaggerating his music skills to Mangold to begin with; however, the quest to make good on that promise became a key part of his preparation process. We also chatted with Holbrook about his repeat collaborations with Mangold, perfecting swagger on-screen, drunk acting as Cash in one of the movie's standout scenes, and what excites him about working on a new movie or TV show — next he'll pop up in season four of The Morning Show — at this stage of his filmography. On Having a Cash-and-Dylan Relationship with Director James Mangold After Logan, Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny and Now A Complete Unknown "I don't think I would have gone anywhere near the Johnny Cash character unless it was Jim making the movie. And it was odd, because I'd read the script before we did Indiana Jones together, and I was angling at a part that I was probably too young for, but the Johnny Cash role wasn't even in there yet at the time. And so we went off and did Indiana Jones, and then I got a call, like maybe six months before we made it. And he said 'hey, I want you to play Johnny Cash'. And I said 'how's that possible? He's not in the script'. And so he had added him because he didn't know that when he made Walk the Line that him and Bob Dylan were these pen pals. And so by his research into Bob, he found out this because Bob had kept the letters and Johnny hadn't kept the letters. So he really just let me go off and do what I had to do, which is conjure up a character and an impression in the daunting task of playing Johnny Cash. Jim really gives you a lot of space. And the great thing about when you get to work with Jim, on the day, if you come in prepared, he enhances your performance in a very cinematic way." On Exaggerating His Music Skills Going Into the Film — and How Learning to Make Good on That Promise Helped Holbrook Step Into Cash's Shoes "I knew at the end of the day that they could shoot from here up [Holbrook motions to his mid-chest] and we could get by. But it feels like I've been preparing for the last 15 or ten years to play this part. Because I played guitar. I couldn't count music. I couldn't hold a tune. I couldn't play and sing at the same time. But there is this awesome opportunity where if I just eat, breathe and sleep this character, I can pull it off. And I think there's something really exciting about that amount of pressure, being a performer — I want to have a performance and I want to build this thing. So it almost bottlenecks down into the day of this, like 'well, you're going to sink, or you're going to swim'. And I think that's pretty exciting. So yeah, I think the week of it all started like 'okay, I can do it at the tempo' — and it wasn't just hanging on. I was able to control the song and control the voice, control the pacing." On Bringing Swagger to the Screen — as Johnny Cash, and Across Holbrook's Career "Film acting is really different from theatre acting, and there's also the practical of being relaxed enough that, you know, there's this 800-pound gorilla being the camera staring at me at all times. Like, how do I just relax and embody this? And really it's from a bunch of stuff of the art of not giving a fuck — being really adamant that 'this is who I am, take it or leave it'. And having a sense of humour about yourself. And doing all this so many times that it's just become existence. I'm not even thinking about it anymore. I'm sort of lost in what I'm doing. It comes down to that. It comes down to a lot of rehearsals, a lot of preparation. I almost prefer the preparation to making a movie than making the movie." On What Went Into Capturing Not Just the Essence of Cash, But the Essence of Drunk Cash "It was from one line in particular, 'I saw the ocean', that I just knew how. I just knew where he was in a daydream. You catch yourself doing laundry or whatever around the house and you are just in a dream, and you kind of see the performance, or I do — and you just understand it. So now it's a real idea. Then it just takes the physicalisation of staying on a word and just finding it, or whatever it is. The super subtlety of that is difficult to verbalise, but comes down to playing around with it. I definitely wouldn't recommend going method on a long work day like that." On Whether the Unique Task of Playing an IRL Figure for a Filmmaker Who Has Already Made a Separate Movie About Him Helped Holbrook Prepare "I was concerned that I had to portray someone who was an iconic person and so people, so many people, have strong memories of him and who he is. Then there's the Joaquin element, facing his great performance and following that up. But I think that Jim and I made the film, and he really understood the importance of Johnny's role in Bob's life at that time, because Johnny had been so — he's doing 200 shows a year on the road. I mean, you are a road dog. You have so much experience in this. And when you're becoming the most-famous person in the world within a year's time, Johnny was able to meet him at that fork in a road where 'hey, it's going to get weird if you don't keep your voice' or 'it's going to be okay if you just stay true to who you are'. And I think in commerce and industries and stuff like that, when a lot of money is on the table, your voice can be compromised — and I think it's really all about that moment in the film where Bob is choosing what his voice is telling him, what he wants to say, how he wants to express himself. And that's going electric in that particular time, because he's just skyrocketing with creativity. And so I think Johnny was able to nudge him in the right direction, remind him who he is." On What Excites Holbrook About a New Project, Including A Complete Unknown, at This Stage in His Career "The performance element. I never really have never sang in front of a bunch of people before. There is a sensation that goes along with that that's exciting. I just did The Morning Show and I found out that the guy was a stand-up comic. I don't know how funny I am, but I like to be funny. I like to practice being funny. But I'd never been onstage and done a set in of people. So that's exciting. That's like 'wow', that's slightly — not terrifying at all, but I want to know what that feels like and to do that. And I think there's all an art and a craft to how the instrument of our humanness can be used. So I just love seeing which way I can bend and which way I can go — and how different I can sound, how different I can look? 'What is this character? What is this character going to go through? At what level? Is it kind of like he's going through like a number-two heartbreak?' But no, I want a number ten on everything. And so I really look for that highest value of expression." A Complete Unknown released in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, January 23, 2025. Images: courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2024 Searchlight Pictures All Rights Reserved.
Once again, the Chinatown Precinct is going all out for Lunar New Year, closing off Little Bourke Street (between Swanston Street and Exhibition Street) on Sunday, February 2 for a massive street party. During the day, you can expect to find plenty of food stalls, local restaurant dining deals, cultural performances, a dragon parade, blessings, live music, a kids' area (with face-painting and craft classes) and a big pop-up beer garden. The official party lasts from 10am–8pm, but the street will be closed to cars until 2am — letting folks carry on at nearby late-night bars and BYO restaurants. But the festivities aren't only taking place on Sunday, February 2. The Museum of Chinese Australian History is also running a couple of different exhibitions from Saturday, January 25, and hosting a series of Shaolin kung fu performances on Saturday, February 1 and Sunday, February 2. Simply rock up to the museum's Shaolin Temple from 7.30-9pm on these days to find the monks putting on a show. The museum has even teamed up with nearby restaurants to run a couple of cultural tours and dinners. On Thursday, February, 6, punters can pay an easy $88 for a culinary talk paired with an 11-course feed at Chine on Paramount. And the following day, on Friday, February 7, museum staff will take visitors on a guided tour of Chinatown, which ends at Longrain — where guests can enjoy a big Lunar New Year set menu ($148 per person). [caption id="attachment_787188" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Longrain by Eugene Hyland[/caption] Lord Mayor Nick Reece shared, "There is only one place to ring in the Chinese Lunar New Year and that's at our historic Chinatown Precinct." "Last year, more than 200,000 people flocked to Chinatown to celebrate and with new activations galore I can't wait to see what's in store as we make new memories and transition from the dragon to the snake." The Melbourne Chinatown Precinct's 2025 Lunar New Year block party is running on Sunday, February 2. For more details on this event and other LNY celebrations, you can visit the Melbourne Chinatown Business Association's website.
If you thought that the White Lotus resorts in Hawaii and Sicily were luxe, Thailand's counterpart has news for you: "our hotel is the best in the world," guests are told upon checking in, as viewers can see in the just-dropped full season-three trailer. A new batch of travellers is making the chain their temporary home away from home, and a new round of chaos is certain to ensue. Also exclaimed in the latest sneak peek: "what happens in Thailand stays in Thailand". The acclaimed series returns for its third run in mid-February 2025 — and while a vacation at an opulent hotel is normally relaxing, that isn't what folks find in this show. It was true in the first season in 2021, then in season two in 2023, each with a largely different group of holidaymakers. Based on the various glimpses at season three over the last few months, that's of course set to be accurate again in the eight-episode run that arrives from Monday, February 17 Australian and New Zealand time. Walton Goggins (Fallout), Carrie Coon (Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire), Jason Isaacs (The Crowded Room), Michelle Monaghan (MaXXXine), Leslie Bibb (Palm Royale) and Parker Posey (Mr & Mrs Smith) are among the vacationers hoping to enjoy a White Lotus stay this time, alongside Sam Nivola (The Perfect Couple), Patrick Schwarzenegger (Gen V), Sarah Catherine Hook (Cruel Intentions) and Aimee Lou Wood (Sex Education). Families, couples and friends on getaways: they're all covered by the above cast members. From season one, Natasha Rothwell (How to Die Alone) is back Hawaii spa manager Belinda, who advises that she's there on an exchange program to take some knowledge back to Maui. Season three also stars Lisa from BLACKPINK, Lek Patravadi (In Family We Trust), Tayme Thapthimthong (Thai Cave Rescue), Nicholas Duvernay (Bel-Air), Arnas Fedaravičius (The Wheel of Time), Christian Friedel (The Zone of Interest), Scott Glenn (Bad Monkey), Dom Hetrakul (The Sweetest Taboo), Julian Kostov (Alex Rider), Charlotte Le Bon (Niki), Morgana O'Reilly (Bookworm) and Shalini Peiris (The Ark). Bad feelings, seeking pleasure but finding pain, threatening to drink oneself to sleep, wanting to always live like this, family reunions, angry rich men, possible prison sentences, protecting the hotel: alongside guns, dancing, judgemental pals, missing pills, snakes, swims, monkeys, ambulances, complaints about gluten-free rice and a body bag, they're all featured in the clips from season three, which takes place over the course of a week. Where the Mike White (Brad's Status)-created, -written and -directed satire's first season had money in its sights and the second honed in on sex, eastern religion and spirituality is in the spotlight in season three. What'll be in store after this? While the third go-around is 2025's must-see viewing, HBO has already renewed The White Lotus for its fourth season. Check out the full trailer for The White Lotus season three below: The White Lotus returns on Sunday, February 16 in the US, which is Monday, February 17 Down Under. At present, the series streams via Binge in Australia and on Neon in New Zealand. Images: HBO.
As the world heard in brief at the 2025 Golden Globes, the path to The Brutalist becoming the acclaimed film it is — it won three awards that evening, for Best Picture — Drama, Best Director and Best Actor — Drama; since, it has earned ten Oscar nominations and nine BAFTA nods — was far from smooth, let alone guaranteed. "Once, a few short months ago, it had the odds very much stacked against it," filmmaker Corbet said in his first speech of the night. "I was told that this film was undistributable. I was told that no one would come out and see it. I was told the film wouldn't work," the actor-turned-director, who previously helmed The Childhood of a Leader and Vox Lux, added in his second stint at the microphone. "No one was asking for three-and-a-half-hour film about a mid-century designer, on 70-millimetre." When The Brutalist premiered at the 2024 Venice International Film Festival, it started lining its trophy cabinet. No shortage of five accolades went its way at the fest, including the Silver Lion for Best Direction. That debut screening was the moment that stars Adrien Brody (Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty), Guy Pearce (The Convert) and Felicity Jones (Dead Shot) realised how a movie that'd always felt epic to them also resonated deeply with audiences, they tell Concrete Playground. "You felt it, you felt it in the room," says Brody, who knows a little about the response from viewers to a feature that grapples with the Second World War's impact. In 2002 at Cannes, he went through a similar experience with The Pianist. In 2003 at the age of 29, he became the youngest-ever Best Actor Academy Award-winner for that picture, a title that he still holds. The Brutalist is epic not just in its emotions — for everyone involved in crafting it and for audiences alike — but also in its ambitions, performances, imagery, and exploration of the harrowing post-war pursuit of the American dream and immigrant experience. The same description applies to its lengthy running time, which includes a 15-minute intermission. It's the monumental feat of a committed filmmaker who worked for years to ensure that the movie came to fruition, and in exactly the way that he wanted it to. While it screens in 70-millimetre, it was shot VistaVision, a format deployed by Alfred Hitchcock on masterpieces such as North by Northwest and Vertigo, and last used in the US for an entire feature with 1961's One-Eyed Jacks. "The shortest answer is really just because it looks better," Corbet shares with Concrete Playground about using VistaVision. "Essentially, what you're doing is you are turning the negative on its side so that you're able to use the length of the celluloid, you're able to use more neg area," he continues. "I actually think it's a great alternative for independent filmmakers that want to shoot on a large format," he notes, while also recognising what every devoted movie lover does: that how a film is made and looks are crucial tools in ensuring that watching pictures on the big screen still thrives. "For me, large formats are the future of cinema. What's funny is that they're both the past and the future. They've been around for almost a century at this point … It gives folks a reason to get off their couch, and I think that's really important in this day and age." Giving the world something to behold is also a key facet of The Brutalist's narrative, with Brody playing Hungarian Jewish architect László Toth. To escape the horrors of the Holocaust, he crosses half the planet to start a new life in America, making Pennsylvania his home while waiting for his wife Erzsébet (Jones) to complete the same journey with their niece (Raffey Cassidy, a Vox Lux alum). Professionally, his past achievements in Europe mean little in the US, however, until being tasked to revamp the personal library of rich and powerful industrialist Harrison Lee Van Buren (Pearce) leads to a stunning commission. For his new patron, László is to design a sprawling hilltop community centre as a memorial to Van Buren's late mother. As grand as The Brutalist is, it's also an intensely intimate movie, as the ways that the Toths are shaped by the traumas of both the Second World War and their efforts to settle in America haunt in every moment. That makes it personal for Brody, whose family made the same trip to the US. "I can relate to the immigrant experience and the hardships and sacrifice and resilience of the many people who have been forced to flee horrific conditions in hopes of finding a new land, and to be welcomed and to find a sense of home. Obviously, you must have heard me speak of my mother and my grandparents' own personal struggles of fleeing war-torn Europe in the 50s and being refugees, and coming to America and starting again, and so I can speak to that. And I can speak to how by reflecting on the horrors of the past we can hopefully gain some perspective and clarity and understanding of how to make the world better in our present. And I think that's what filmmakers are yearning to discover and open a conversation towards," he advises. Brody also sees how personal this film is to Corbet, as the feature's director and co-writer — penning the script with his partner Mona Fastvold (The World to Come) — has never held back from conveying. "If you ask Brady, the creation of this film is very much an exorcism of his experiences in the dynamic of the patronage system as an auteur filmmaker with a sense of being dominated and controlled. I'm merely an actor at this juncture of my life, and I understand that that is a somewhat par for the course. There are things worth fighting for, and the joy and the burden of being a filmmaker is that you are at the helm; however, there are other factors, as you need funding to do great work. I think the key really is just communication and respect. And when that isn't there, it leads to great differences and acrimony." "This is a very emotional work, and deeply committed work. And whenever you're that passionate about anything you have to stand up for what's important and your beliefs. So I relate to it. I also understand nature of the space," continues Brody. We also chatted with him, Corbet, Pearce and Jones about gleaning the magnitude of the film even from the script, how the polarising response to brutalist architecture influenced the movie, unpacking such layered characters, architecture as social commentary, those Venice reactions and more. On Knowing Even Just on the Page That This Was an Epic Project, Yet Also Deeply Intimate — and the Magnitude of What It Was Asking of Brody Adrien: "I think you could just re-interpolate your question into my answer. It's exactly how I feel. It was very much, it was incredibly moving to read for all those reasons. It was quite nuanced and eloquently written and sensitive, intimate and vast in scale, and unique. I mean, there was a built-in intermission and overture, you name it. It was such richly written screenplay. Of course this character has a complexity, and such a range of lived experience that any actor would would kill for this role. I was very, very moved by it. It spoke to me in many ways. It was very ambitious in scale and very challenging, and I was very impressed, and I thought it had great potential." On How the Polarising Response to Brutalist Architecture Influenced the Film — and Also How Corbet Approached the Movie Brady: "Well, two things. I suppose that I really relate to this movement because of the fact that I myself, I make films that are generally somewhat polarising, and they have a very strange construction, and an intentionally jagged one. I deliberately omit second acts and play with structure in ways that I think for some viewers, they find it incredibly frustrating. But I think that that brutalism's radical commitment to both good, clean minimalism, but they take up a lot of space and they're very unapologetic, I think that for me, that's not just what this film is but it's what my films are, and so I relate. And then finally, in terms of how to present it, the difficult thing about architecture is that architecture is inanimate, it doesn't move — and so it is very difficult to make a film on architecture, because even if it it's incredibly glorious, it's nothing like the human face. So I think that for us, we had to find ways of representing architecture, that the film itself had to be a brutalist monument. Because there's only about eight or nine minutes of brutalism in in the entire film's runtime. For me, we are representing our architecture in terms of our forced perspectives and emerging from darkness into the light, in the way that Lloyd Wright would lead people through a space. In a Frank Lloyd Wright residence, you would enter into a small room with very low ceilings and no windows, and this was a place to take off your shoes and hang up your jacket. Then you would ascend a staircase and then boom — it would crack wide open like a cathedral. That's very similar to our opening sequence with Adrien emerging onto the deck of a ship. It's a similar feeling. So we were constantly thinking about ways to represent the architectural experience." On Pearce Making Back-to-Back Films with The Brutalist and Inside Where Complicated and Hierarchical Power Dynamics Between Men Are Pushed to the Fore Guy: "It's just the most-fascinating thing to be interested in, I think. And I find it's not that I'm looking for those roles per se, but just that both the scripts came my way and I was immediately taken by them. Felicity will attest to this one as well, it's just so interesting the way with all the characters, in the way that Brady, who wrote the script with his wife Mona, has a deep interest in the connectivity and the dynamics between people, and the way in which we need each other and the way in which we use each other, and the way in which we sort of rely on each other. All that stuff is is a big part of what this story is, as well as some themes and other great stuff, too. And I think on the film Inside, which is a really emotional, beautiful movie as well — it's a prison movie, these men in prison, very particularly trying to work out who's in charge, where the power sits and shifts, and really it's just fascinating stuff to delve into. Really, as actor, it's sort of the best stuff to delve into, I think." On What Jones Drew Upon for a Film That Examines How Layers of Different Traumas Shape Us Felicity: "I find research incredibly helpful. I like to be quite forensic in terms of understanding the context of the character and the time that they're existing in. And I feel in quite a sort of scholarly way, I like to go from the outside in, so go 'what are the big, themes, ideas, in the script and the character?', and then gradually get more and more detailed as the as time goes on. But when you're actually shooting, you just have to be totally focused on that psychology and intricacy of that person. But what's so great about working with someone like Brady is that he understands the power of cinema to convey ideology. And that's really special to work with someone like that, whether the film has obviously a much bigger socio-political message than its individual components." On the Challenges of the Role, and Making Independent Films, for Brody Adrien: I think the hardest thing about this part is that it went away for a long time. I read this script five years ago and then there was an iteration of it without me and others, and then there was a long period of time and it came around, and I'm very grateful for that. It's very challenging to make independent films. Obviously you have a deficit of resources and a bounty of creative visionary ideas, and you have to make the most complex and eloquent story come to life. And you, as an actor, it really falls on your shoulders quite a bit, because the production being starved of resources pushes you to the limit. So they're constantly forcing calls, meaning there's not much turnaround time, so you're working all the time. And if you have vast amounts of dialogue or heavy emotional scenes day in and day out, it's quite draining. And there isn't sufficient time to really give everything the space that it needs, so you have to make do and be incredibly prepared, especially when you have a very specific dialect to work on and beautiful eloquent dialogue. So there are those issues, but it's not something I'm unfamiliar with. Most films that I've done have been in similar circumstances. And you just do the work. I don't look back at this with — I feel very grateful for it, and I think part of the journey is what you do with those challenges and how you can have them motivate you and, at times, even enhance your own work because of those pressures." On Corbet's Use of Architecture as a Form of Social Commentary, and Also a Metaphor for the Characters Brady: I think that the jumping off point for this film, it came from two books, each from a small press. One was called Marcel Breuer and a Committee of Twelve Plan a Church, which is a memoir that was written by a monk at Saint John's Abbey that observed a lot of the microaggressions that Marcel Breuer was facing, or was up against, when he was building that cathedral. And as a Hungarian Jew in a small American town. Then I also read a book from Jean-Louis Cohen, who's written many, many extraordinary pieces on architecture, and he did the big Corbusier book for Taschen that you see in rich people's living rooms — but he also wrote a book called Architecture in Uniform, which is an extraordinary book about the ways in which post-war psychology and post-war architecture are intrinsically linked. It's also about how buildings were employing materials that were developed for life during wartime, and so a lot of these materials that were developed for the First and Second World War had a big impact even on the construction of these buildings in a more literal way and a less allegorical way. But he also writes about his interpretation of a lot of work from that, and for him, it's a question as well: how cognisant is the artist of what it is that they are expressing, especially with these particularly radical monuments? And so that's what the film for me is ultimately really about. The sort of meaning that his niece imbues the building with at the end of the movie, it may be an interpretation — and he, at that point, he's in a wheelchair and his wife has most likely passed away, and so he's not able to speak for himself. I think that movies and architecture, they are pieces of public art, and people will do with them whatever they will. They paint on them and they will piss on them, and they cherish them and they will tear them down. And at the end of this character's life, you're left with question of 'was it worth it? Why do we do what we do?'. And I don't have the answer to that because I don't know why I continue to make films when it's so frequently an arduous and painful experience. But, you know, I'm already working on the next one." On How Pearce Approached Digging Into Van Buren's Complex Layers Guy: "I never know how to answer the question of how I approach something. I think a lot of it is instinctive. A lot of it is as a response to the script and what I felt was there in the script. There's very clear moments throughout the course of the film where the character almost contradicts himself in behaviour, but in each of those moments, I think he exhibits something that is, to some degree, true to himself — whether he's bombastic and dominating, or whether he's actually sensitive and kind of aware, whether he's being generous or whether he's controlling. All of those things tie in together, and I think that that's what was great about the script for me, was that I felt like I saw all these different elements in this man that Brady and Mona wrote. And so obviously approaching each of those scenes at individual times, it's important to be true to whatever it is that's required in a scene, but also being aware of how he is in the scene previously, and that we want to see contradictions, I think, in characters, but then it needs to feel like a believable leap from from one place to another. Here is somebody who is, I think, deeply sensitive in a way, and kind of aware, but also has a big ego and is driven by his own sense of self-creation. I just felt like I got all of that from the script and obviously in talking to Brady, so it's an internal thing that takes over for me when I'm working, that just hopefully allows me to be authentic with all those different elements." On Jones' Task in Taking Erzsébet From a Woman Who Appears Fragile to a Powerful Presence Standing Up for Her Husband Felicity: This was something that Brady and Mona were really intrigued by, this idea that when Erzsébet arrives, we see how the trauma of being in the concentration camps has manifested itself, and that manifestation is very clearly physical. She's suffering from malnutrition, and in many ways it feels as though Erzsébet has disassociated from herself physically. I think she's been through such trauma that in some ways, she's slightly watching herself in the beginning of the film. And she has such little expectation of other human beings. She decided if you don't have any expectations, then you can't be disappointed. So in that first scene when she meets Van Buren, she has just realises that in quite a Nietzschean way, that this is just a power struggle. Every human interaction to her is a power struggle. So you've just got to work out what someone is potentially, what harm they're going to do to you, and how to mitigate that. But then throughout the film we see her, conversely to Laszlo, we see her health improving. We see her flourishing. And you realise that this woman is a deep pragmatist, and in some ways she's someone who is prepared to embrace the joys of capitalism that America is advertised to offer. And you see her, in some ways, having to deny her own intellectual progression in her work just as a means of getting enough money so that they can make their lives work. By that scene that she has with Van Buren, you see someone who's just refusing for the hierarchy to be financial, that dignity does not come from in any way your perceived financial prowess — it comes from something much deeper." On the Connections That Corbet Sees Between The Childhood of a Leader, Vox Lux and The Brutalist Brady: "They're all virtual histories. The Childhood of a Leader is a post-war film as well, about the six months leading up to the signing of the Treaty of Versailles. Vox Lux is also about a post-traumatic period of a more-recent world history, about American culture after 9/11 and Columbine, which were such definitive events in the US. So I would say that the films, they all always begin or conclude from — they're all films on the theme of destruction and regeneration. One of my favourite essays is from WG Sebald. I talk about Sebald a lot because I'm really a Sebald fanatic, and I also love VS Naipaul and many, many others, but he wrote this fantastic book called on the Natural History of Destruction, and there are these extraordinary essays about regeneration and trauma, and that just is something that I've always been consumed with." On When Brody, Pearce and Jones First Realised the Impact of The Brutalist with Audiences Adrien: Only in Venice, to be honest. I wish I could say I'm cautiously optimistic. I've realised now that I'm not even very optimistic. I think it's a good defence mechanism. But I love Brady's work, and I knew the great potential of storytelling, and I knew that he had all of the elements to bring this to life. And yet it did exceed my expectations. I think it's a combination of all the creative contributions made on this movie, and how they all lift each other up and hold each other together beautifully. It's quite remarkable. To share that experience in that darkened room in Venice with an audience, and to feel — you felt it, you felt it in the room. Those are really memorable moments in one's career, when all that hard work, and it's not just the hard work of making this film. It is 20 years since I've sat in a room and witnessed that for a film that I was the protagonist in, that spoke to such complexity and touched the people around me to the point where they're weeping and looking at me and in awe of this work. And it's beautiful." Guy: "I think Venice." Felicity: "I think Venice. I think the audience response in Venice was quite a surprise. You expect a nice gentle clap, and it was quite forceful and for quite a long time." Guy: "And it didn't stop. Yeah, it didn't stop." Felicity: "And then we suddenly were going 'oh wow, this'. So yeah, it was in that moment. 'Something has happened here.'" Guy: "I think during the process of filming, of course we'd all read the script and we'd been working with Brady on the phone in conversations beforehand — and it certainly felt like we were part of something special. But I've felt that before on jobs and then the finished film doesn't necessarily live up to it. So I think knowing also Brady's style, he's somebody to be reckoned with as far as filmmaking goes. But yeah, I think Venice really was, I guess, a clear moment to go 'oh, okay'." Felicity: "Yeah, it's amazing how the festival — I mean, it's such an extraordinary festival, Venice, how much they championed this film and the people involved. And I think that gave us the kick off, really." Guy: "It helps that there's a bit of Venice in the end of the movie." Felicity: "Exactly. There's a bit self-interest in it." Guy: "Yeah, pop a bit of Cannes in your film." Felicity: "That was very canny of Brady, in fact, to put a little bit of Venice in it." Guy: "Yes, Cannes-y — Venice-y." The Brutalist opened in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, January 23, 2025.
In 2017, when Warwick Thornton's Sweet Country first reached cinema screens, the blistering Indigenous Australian western won awards in Venice, Toronto, Luxembourg and our own backyard. It's a sublimely shot and performed work of art that powerfully interrogates Australia's past and draws parallels with the country's present, so that's not surprising — and it joined a long list of acclaimed work by Indigenous Australian filmmakers. Thornton himself is no stranger to the spotlight, with his debut Samson & Delilah winning the Camera d'Or at Cannes in 2009. Sixteen years earlier, Australian artist Tracey Moffatt premiered BeDevil at the prestigious international festival, too, with her feature marking the first ever directed by an Australian Aboriginal woman. From Ivan Sen's Mystery Road and Goldstone to Rachel Perkins' Bran Nue Dae and Jasper Jones, the list of exceptional films by Indigenous Aussie directors goes on. Showcasing the breadth and depth of the nation's filmmaking talent — and, crucially, showcasing Indigenous Australian stories — they demonstrate Aussie cinema at its best. And if you're wondering where to start, here are 25 movies that you can stream right now. Mystery Road, Goldstone, Toomelah and Limbo When Ivan Sen and Aaron Pedersen (High Ground) teamed up for 2013 film Mystery Road, they gave Australia the ongoing gift of outback noir. Sen's writing and directing was so finessed, Pedersen's performance as Indigenous Australian police officer Jay Swan so riveting and the movie's entire concept so engaging that it's no wonder everyone wanted more. So, another followed. Across fellow big-screen effort Goldstone, Swan went to a different remote corner of the country, tried to solve a different case and became immersed in a different set of small-town politics. In both films, the franchise lays bare the state of Australia today, especially when it comes to the nation's treatment of its First Nations peoples. And if you're instantly hooked, it has also spawned its own two-season TV series also starring Pedersen — plus an exceptional prequel series as well. Also worth seeking out: Sen's 2011 drama Toomelah, as set in the titular New South Wales town, with ten-year-old Daniel (Daniel Connors, who is also in Mystery Road) at its centre. And, in 2023, Sen brought Limbo to cinemas, this time starring Simon Baker (Boy Swallows Universe) in a black-and-white Coober Pedy-shot tale about another police officer riding into a small Aussie town, and looking into a case that few people have been all that fussed about until now because the victim isn't white. Mystery Road streams via ABC iView, Stan,YouTube Movies and iTunes. Read our full review. Goldstone streams via ABC iView, Netflix, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review, and our interview with Ivan Sen and Aaron Pedersen. Toomelah streams via ABC iView and Netflix. Limbo streams via ABC iView, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review, and our interview with Ivan Sen and Simon Baker. Samson & Delilah, Sweet Country and The New Boy Before Warwick Thornton turned his camera on himself in the personal and reflective TV documentary The Beach — which is the best piece of Australian television that hit screens in 2020 — he directed two of the great Aussie films of the 21st century. And, since then, he's also added another, The first: a love story, a tale of fighting to survive and an unflinching look at teenage life in Australia's red centre, aka 2009's equally heartwrenching and stunning Samson & Delilah. Indeed, it's little wonder the multi-award-winning movie firmly put Thornton on the international map. With Sweet Country, he then returned to the Northern Territory with a film that makes a firm statement, as becomes clear when an Indigenous stockman (Hamilton Morris) kills a white station owner in self-defence. He's forced to flee with his wife Lizzie (Natassia Gorey-Furber), but a local posse is soon on their trail. As Sweet Country decisively confronts this all-too-real situation, it also confronts the country's history of racial prejudice. In 2023's The New Boy, Thornton headed to a remote monastery with a mission for Indigenous children, where Sister Eileen (Cate Blanchett, Tár) is in charge. Her faith is tested when the titular child (newcomer Aswan Reid), a nine-year-old orphan, arrives and has his own experience with religion, which clashes with the mission's take on Christianity. Samson and Delilah streams via SBS On Demand, Netflix, Stan, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Sweet Country streams via Netflix, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. The New Boy streams via Binge, Prime Video, YouTube Movies and iTunes. Read our full review, and our interview with Warwick Thornton. BeDevil One of Australia's most astonishing films — and yet one of the country's lesser-celebrated gems — Tracey Moffatt's BeDevil took the Queensland visual artist, photographer and filmmaker to Cannes and back. That external validation is all well and good; however it's really just the cherry on top of a potent triptych of haunting tales that demands attention on its own merits. In not only her first and only feature, but the first feature by an Australian Aboriginal woman, Moffatt takes inspiration from ghost stories told to her as a child by both her Aboriginal and Irish relatives. A thoroughly distinctive and immersive horror movie is the end result, and one that smartly and engagingly explores Australian race relations in a disarmingly unique way. Surreal, eerie and simmering with intensity, it'll also show you the Aussie landscape in a whole new light. BeDevil streams via SBS On Demand and Vimeo. Sweet As In Sweet As, the red earth of Western Australia's Pilbara region couldn't be more pivotal. For this coming-of-age drama, Jub Clerc (The Heights) deploys the patch of Aussie soil as a place where teenagers find themselves. The first-time feature director and writer draws upon her own adolescent experiences for her full-length debut, while also crafting the first WA flick that's helmed and penned by an Indigenous female filmmaker. Murra (Shantae Barnes-Cowan, Firebite) is one of Sweet As' adolescents learning to be shutterbugs; with her mother (Ngaire Pigram, also a Firebite alum) grappling with addiction, the 16-year-old's police-officer uncle Ian (Mark Coles Smith, Mystery Road: Origin) enrols her on a trip that she doesn't initially want to take — with youth workers Mitch (Tasma Walton, How to Please a Woman) and Fernando (Carlos Sanson Jr, Bump) as guides and chaperones, plus Kylie (newcomer Mikayla Levy), Elvis (Pedrea Jackson, Robbie Hood) and Sean (fellow first-timer Andrew Wallace) as her new friends. Sweet As is available to stream via SBS On Demand, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson A searing and impassioned take on a well-known Australian tale — a First Nations, feminist and anti-colonial version, too — The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson is the film that Leah Purcell had to make. See: her lengthy history with Henry Lawson's short story of almost the same name. In 2016, she adapted The Drover's Wife for the stage. In 2019, she moved it back to the page. Now, she's brought it to the screen — and the end result is a must-see. Only minutes in, in what marks the actor-turned-director's feature filmmaking debut, it's easy to see why Purcell keeps being drawn to retell this 19th century-set story. In her hands, it's a story of anger, power, prejudice and revenge, and also a portrait of a history that's treated both women and Indigenous Australians abhorrently. And, ever the powerhouse, she writes, helms and stars. The Drover's Wife The Legend of Molly Johnson streams via SBS On Demand, Stan, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. The Moogai First, The Moogai was a SXSW Midnight Shorts Grand Jury Award-winning short. Then, writer/director Jon Bell and his stars Shari Sebbens (The Office) and Meyne Wyatt (Strife) returned to turn this tale of Australia's past haunting its present on- and off-screen into a feature. This is an Aussie horror film born out of the Stolen Generations where the monsters of colonisation, White Australia policies and attitudes since remain inescapable, and where Indigenous children today are also snatched away by a literal monster — and it's a brilliant idea, as well as one that instantly feels as if it needed to have been made decades back. The Moogai begins on the Red River Aborigines Mission in 1969, where two sisters (debutants Aisha Alma May and Precious Ann) attempt to avoid being separated from their family by white men, only for one to be spirited away instead by the picture's namesake. When it jumps to half a century later, the film spends its time with Indigenous couple Sarah (Sebbens) and Fergus (Strife) as they prepare for the arrival of their second child, but find themselves dealing with malevolent forces. The Moogai via YouTube Movies. Read our interview with Shari Sebbens, Meyne Wyatt and Jon Bell. Bran Nue Dae, Jasper Jones and Radiance When Rachel Perkins brought hit Aussie musical Bran Nue Dae to the big screen in 2010, she turned an already beloved stage musical into one of the country's cinema box office successes. The lively love story takes a road trip through 60s-era Australia, and brings plenty of famous faces along for the ride, with Jessica Mauboy (The Secret Daughter), Ernie Dingo (Squinters) and Deborah Mailman (Total Control) among the cast. Then, in 2017, she adapted another Aussie classic. This time, she set her sights on Craig Silvey's novel Jasper Jones, which examines race relations in a rural Australian town — particularly the treatment of the teenage titular character (Aaron L McGrath, Gold Diggers), who is considered an outcast due to his ethnicity. The book was already intelligent, thoughtful and engaging, and the film proves the same. Similarly worth watching is Perkins' moving 1998 filmmaking debut, Radiance, about three sisters (Wentworth's Rachael Maza, Deborah Mailman again and The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart's Trisha Morton-Thomas) working through their baggage after their mother's death. Bran Nue Dae streams via SBS On Demand, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Jasper Jones streams via Netflix, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Radiance streams via ACMI Cinema 3. The Sapphires, Top End Wedding and Firestarter — The Story of Bangarra An actor and a filmmaker, Wayne Blair boasts an eclectic resume. You've seen him on-screen in Wish You Were Here, The Turning, Emu Runner, Seriously Red and The New Boy, and he both directed and featured in episodes of Redfern Now and the second season of the Mystery Road TV series. Behind the lens, he's also helmed episodes of Lockie Leonard, and directed the 2017 US TV remake of Dirty Dancing. But, Blair is probably best known for The Sapphires and Top End Wedding. They're both big films — and Blair has a definite feel for feel-good material. One follows a group of four Indigenous Australian female singers (Deborah Mailman, Jessica Mauboy, Preppers' Shari Sebbens and The Artful Dodger's Miranda Tapsell) sent to Vietnam to entertain the troops. As for the other, it tracks an Indigenous Australian woman's (Tapsell again) whirlwind quest to stage her perfect nuptials in her hometown of Darwin. Also on Blair's resume: documentary Firestarter — The Story of Bangarra, about Australia's acclaimed Indigenous dance theatre. Co-directed with Nel Minchin (Matilda & Me, Making Muriel), it's a powerful portrait that also steps through the nation's past and focuses on three siblings — Stephen, David and Russell Page — with dreams as big as their talents. The Sapphires streams via Prime Video. Top End Wedding streams via iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Firestarter — The Story of Bangarra streams via SBS On Demand, Netflix, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Read our full review. Here I Am Marking not one but two feature debuts — for writer/director Beck Cole (Deadloch) and star Shai Pittman (Around the Block) — Here I Am tells one of the oldest tales there is. It's also a prime of example of taking a familiar narrative and giving it a new voice; viewers have seen this story before in various guises over decades and decades, but never championing Indigenous women. When Karen (Pittman) is released from prison in South Australia, she embarks upon a quest for redemption, including reconnecting with her unimpressed mother Lois (Marcia Langton) and her young daughter Rosie (Quinaiha Scott). Unsurprisingly, that reunion doesn't go smoothly, but both Cole and Pittman are committed to riding the ups and downs. Both hit the big-screen for the first time in a striking fashion, and with a film that proves both intimate and clear-eyed in its multi-generational portrait. Here I Am streams via iTunes and Prime Video. We Are Still Here It begins with stunning animation, shimmering with the rich blue hues of the sea. From there, everything from lush greenery to dusty outback appears in its frames. The past returns to the screen, and a vision of the present finds a place as well — and crossing the ditch between Australia and New Zealand, and venturing further into the South Pacific, is baked into the movie's very concept. That film is We Are Still Here, which makes an enormous statement with its title, responding to 250 years of colonialism. Of course, filmmakers in the region have been surveying this history since the birth of the medium, because the topic is inescapable. Combining eight different takes from ten Indigenous filmmakers (including Here I Am's Beck Cole, A Chance Affair's Tracey Rigney, Carry the Flag's Danielle MacLean and A League of Her Own's Dena Curtis from Australia) instantly makes We Are Still Here stand out, however — and this Pacific First Nations collaboration isn't short on talent, or impact. We Are Still Here streams via SBS On Demand, Netflix, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. Spear An Australian dance movie that uses its fancy footwork to step through the plight of the country's First Nations peoples, Spear is a striking cinematic achievement. First-time feature helmer, Bran Nue Dae and The Sapphires choreographer, and Bangarra Dance Theatre artistic director Stephen Page turns the company's performance work of the same name into a big-screen spectacle unlike anything crafted locally, or anywhere else for that matter. Mood, music and movement are pivotal, as a teenage boy wanders from the outback to the city to try to reconcile his ancient culture in a modern world. His journey is just as transporting for those watching as it is for everyone within the movie, as well as anchoring one of the most expressive pieces of Australian film perhaps ever made. Watch his with the aforementioned Firestarter — The Story of Bangarra for a fantastic double feature. Spear streams via Beamafilm. Read our full review. Satellite Boy On paper, it might seem easy to spot exactly why Satellite Boy proves so charming. Writer/director Catriona McKenzie smartly enlisted the now-late David Gulpilil (Storm Boy) as Indigenous elder Jagamarra, one of ten-year-old Pete's (first-timer Cameron Wallaby) guardians and the person teaching him about life on the land. It's a stroke of casting genius, clearly — and crucial to the film. That said, this dreamlike 2012 movie has several impressive casting touches as it traverses the Western Australian landscape, including unearthing young Wallaby as its lead and similarly finding fellow debutant Joseph Pedley to play Pete's pal Kalmain. McKenzie's feature also boasts a delightful narrative, which sees the two boys take to the bush en route to the city to save the home that Pete adores: a rundown drive-in cinema that this big-dreaming kid simply wants to get back into action. Satellite Boy streams via iTunes. Buckskin and Finke: There and Back The past few years have been memorable for Dylan River. The Alice Springs filmmaker directed delightful SBS web series Robbie Hood, was the cinematographer on rousing Adam Goodes documentary The Australian Dream, worked as the second unit director on the aforementioned Sweet Country, lensed The Beach (with the latter two both helmed by his father, Warwick Thornton), co-directed Mystery Road: Origin and was behind the wonderful Thou Shalt Not Steal. He also wrote, directed and shot two impressive documentaries of his own: Buckskin and Finke: There and Back. The first tells the tale of Jack Buckskin, Australia's only teacher of the near-extinct Kaurna language, while the second covers the rough, tough, two-day off-terrain trek that gives the doco its name. Both prove insightful, and showcase the astute skills of one of Australia's emerging filmmaking talents. Buckskin streams via SBS On Demand and Vimeo. Finke: There and Back streams via SBS On Demand, Netflix, DocPlay, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. It's also one of our ten best movies of 2019 that hardly anyone saw. Servant or Slave and Looky Looky Here Comes Cooky Watching a documentary directed by Steven McGregor involves exploring Australia's complicated history. There's much for the director of Black Comedy and co-writer of Mystery Road, Redfern Now and Sweet Country to cover, of course. In 2016's Servant or Slave, he turned his attention not only to the nation's Stolen Generation, but to the Indigenous girls who were forced to work as domestic servants. The powerful film features five women recalling their experiences — and it's impossible not to be moved and horrified by their accounts. With 2020's Looky Looky Here Comes Cooky, the filmmaker takes a more irreverent approach to Australia's past, while still remaining just as probing. The charismatic Steven Oliver leads the show on-screen, as this clever and engaging movie revisits the story of Captain Cook from a First Nations perspective, including via songlines with the assistance of Indigenous performers. Servant or Slave streams via DocPlay, Brollie, Prime Video, YouTube Movies and iTunes. Looky Looky Here Comes Cooky streams via SBS On Demand.
With 13 Academy Award nominations, Emilia Pérez has achieved a feat that no other film in a language other than English has ever managed before. The musical crime drama made history by earning the most amount of nods of any non-English movie, more than the ten received by both Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Roma in 2000 and 2018, respectively. When 2025's nominations were announced by Bowen Yang (Saturday Night Live) and Rachel Sennott (Saturday Night), Emilia Pérez unsurprisingly topped the list of all contenders this year. By the numbers, competing to take home a shiny statuette on Monday, March 3, Australian and New Zealand time, The Brutalist, Wicked, A Complete Unknown and Conclave all sit next on the list, with ten apiece to the first pair, and eight each for the second duo. This year, the Academy loves post-war explorations of the impact of trauma through architecture, stage-to-screen musicals inspired by classic flicks, Bob Dylan and feuding cardinals, clearly. All five of the aforementioned films are in the running for Best Picture, a field that also includes 2024 Cannes Palme d'Or-winner Anora, sandy sci-fi sequel Dune: Part Two, body-horror gem The Substance, Brazilian political drama I'm Still Here and the page-to-screen Nickel Boys. Thanks to The Substance, this is the sixth year in a row that at least one Best Picture-nominee has been helmed by a female filmmaker. The creative force behind it, Coralie Fargeat, is also 2025's only woman in the Best Director category, somehow marking just the tenth time that a nomination in the field hasn't gone to a man in the Oscars' now 97-year history. From Down Under, The Brutalist's big bag of nods includes one for Best Supporting Actor for Guy Pearce, while cinematographer Greig Fraser is among Dune: Part Two's five nominations after winning for the first Dune. Equally huge local news: stop-motion delight Memoir of a Snail making Harvey Krumpet Oscar-winner Adam Elliot a nominee again, contending in the Best Animated Feature field. Among the other highlights, deeply moving animation Flow's two nods (for Best Best Animated Feature and Best International Feature), Demi Moore backing up her Golden Globe win with a Best Actress nomination for The Substance, Sebastian Stan getting recognised for The Apprentice, the latter's Jeremy Strong battling it out with his Succession brother Kieran Culkin (A Real Pain) for Best Supporting Actor, must-see Japanese documentary Black Box Diaries scoring a spot and four nominations for Nosferatu all stand out. Chief among the surprise omissions is the Golden Globe-winning Challengers score by Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross not making the cut — but, as always, plenty of worth films don't make the cut every year and still remain worthy films. What and who else is hoping for some time in the spotlight at the Conan O'Brien-hosted ceremony in March? Here's the full list of nominations: Oscar Nominees 2025 Best Motion Picture Anora The Brutalist A Complete Unknown Conclave Dune: Part Two Emilia Pérez I'm Still Here Nickel Boys The Substance Wicked Best Director Anora, Sean Baker The Brutalist, Brady Corbet A Complete Unknown, James Mangold Emilia Pérez, Jacques Audiard The Substance, Coralie Fargeat Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role Cynthia Erivo, Wicked Karla Sofía Gascón, Emilia Pérez Mikey Madison, Anora Demi Moore, The Substance Fernanda Torres, I'm Still Here Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Adrien Brody, The Brutalist Timothée Chalamet, A Complete Unknown Colman Domingo, Sing Sing Ralph Fiennes, Conclave Sebastian Stan, The Apprentice Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role Monica Barbaro, A Complete Unknown Ariana Grande, Wicked Felicity Jones, The Brutalist Isabella Rossellini, Conclave Zoe Saldaña, Emilia Pérez Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Yura Borisov, Anora Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown Guy Pearce, The Brutalist Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice Best Original Screenplay Anora, Sean Baker The Brutalist, Brady Corbet and Mona Fastvold A Real Pain, Jesse Eisenberg September 5, Moritz Binder, Tim Fehlbaum and Alex David The Substance, Coralie Fargeat Best Adapted Screenplay A Complete Unknown, James Mangold and Jay Cocks Conclave, Peter Straughan Emilia Pérez, Jacques Audiard in collaboration with Thomas Bidegain, Léa Mysius and Nicolas Livecchi Nickel Boys, RaMell Ross and Joslyn Barnes Sing Sing, Clint Bentley, Greg Kwedar, Clarence Maclin, John 'Divine G' Whitfield Best International Feature Film I'm Still Here The Girl with the Needle Emilia Pérez The Seed of the Sacred Fig Flow Best Animated Feature Flow Inside Out 2 Memoir of a Snail Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl The Wild Robot Best Documentary Feature Black Box Diaries No Other Land Porcelain War Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat Sugarcane Best Original Score The Brutalist, Daniel Blumberg Conclave, Volker Bertelmann Emilia Pérez, Clément Ducol and Camille Wicked, John Powell and Stephen Schwartz The Wild Robot, Kris Bowers Best Original Song 'El Mal', Emilia Pérez, Clément Ducol, Camille and Jacques Audiard 'The Journey', The Six Triple Eight, Diane Warren 'Like A Bird', Sing Sing, Abraham Alexander and Adrian Quesada 'Mi Camino', Emilia Pérez, Camille and Clément Ducol 'Never Too Late', Elton John: Never Too Late, Elton John, Brandi Carlile, Andrew Watt and Bernie Taupin Best Cinematography The Brutalist, Lol Crawley Dune: Part Two, Greig Fraser Emilia Pérez, Paul Guilhaume Maria, Ed Lachman Nosferatu, Jarin Blaschke Best Film Editing Anora, Sean Baker The Brutalist, David Jancso Conclave, Nick Emerson Emilia Pérez, Juliette Welfling Wicked, Myron Kerstein Best Production Design The Brutalist, Judy Becker, Patricia Cuccia Conclave, Suzie Davies, Cynthia Sleiter Dune: Part Two, Patrice Vermette, Shane Vieau Nosferatu, Craig Lathrop, Beatrice Brentnerová Wicked, Nathan Crowley, Lee Sandales Best Visual Effects Alien: Romulus, Eric Barba, Nelson Sepulveda-Fauser, Daniel Macarin and Shane Mahan Better Man, Luke Millar, David Clayton, Keith Herft and Peter Stubbs Dune: Part Two, Paul Lambert, Stephen James, Rhys Salcombe and Gerd Nefzer Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, Erik Winquist, Stephen Unterfranz, Paul Story and Rodney Burke Wicked, Pablo Helman, Jonathan Fawkner, David Shirk and Paul Corbould Best Costume Design A Complete Unknown, Arianne Phillips Conclave, Lisy Christl Gladiator II, Janty Yates and Dave Crossman Nosferatu, Linda Muir Wicked, Paul Tazewell Best Makeup and Hairstyling A Different Man, Mike Marino, David Presto and Crystal Jurado Emilia Pérez, Julia Floch Carbonel, Emmanuel Janvier and Jean-Christophe Spadaccini Nosferatu, David White, Traci Loader and Suzanne StokesMunton The Substance, Pierre-Olivier Persin, Stéphanie Guillon and Marilyne Scarselli Wicked, Frances Hannon, Laura Blount and Sarah Nuth Best Sound A Complete Unknown, Tod A Maitland, Donald Sylvester, Ted Caplan, Paul Massey and David Giammarco Dune: Part Two, Gareth John, Richard King, Ron Bartlett and Doug Hemphill Emilia Pérez, Erwan Kerzanet, Aymeric Devoldère, Maxence Dussère, Cyril Holtz and Niels Barletta Wicked, Simon Hayes, Nancy Nugent Title, Jack Dolman, Andy Nelson and John Marquis The Wild Robot, Randy Thom, Brian Chumney, Gary A Rizzo and Leff Lefferts Best Documentary Short Subject Death by Numbers I Am Ready, Warden Incident Instruments of a Beating Heart The Only Girl in the Orchestra Best Animated Short Film Beautiful Men In the Shadow of the Cypress Magic Candies Wander to Wonder Yuck! Best Live-Action Short Film A Lien Anuja I'm Not a Robot The Last Ranger The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent The 2025 Oscars will be announced on Monday, March 3, Australian and New Zealand time. For further details, head to the awards' website.
Timothée Chalamet has played a teenager falling in love over summer (Call Me By Your Name), King Henry V (The King), Paul Atreides (Dune and Dune: Part Two, Willy Wonka (Wonka), a cannibal (Bones and All), a love interest for Saoirse Ronan (Lady Bird and Little Women), a young man struggling with addiction (Beautiful Boy), the Vice President's son (Homeland) and more, but there's a look of fierce enthusiasm that comes over him when he's talking about a project that he spent more than half a decade working on, stars in and also produced: A Complete Unknown. Portraying Bob Dylan on-screen isn't a simple task. In fact, when I'm Not There attempted the feat in 2007, it enlisted six actors, including Australians Heath Ledger and Cate Blanchett (The New Boy), to share job. As evident from his hypnotic performance in A Complete Unknown — and his singing and guitar-playing, learned for the feature — Chalamet not only embraced but aced the challenge. For A Complete Unknown, he steps into Dylan's shoes from back when the movie's title proved true, then stays in them until four years later when that phrase definitely no longer applied. In 1961 at the age of 19, Dylan met his idol Woody Guthrie (Scoot McNairy, Speak No Evil), visiting him in hospital as a fan from Minnesota. Come 1965, after songs such as 'Blowin' in the Wind', 'The Times They Are a-Changin' and 'Subterranean Homesick Blues' had struck a chord, whether he'd go electric at the Newport Folk Festival was the source of huge controversy. Dylan did, as history will always remember. Chalamet, working with director James Mangold (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny), brings that specific slice of the icon's life to the screen in a film that keeps garnering him award nominations. He's the young Dylan, arriving to chase his music dream with little more than the guitar that's rarely out of his hands. He's also the thrust-to-fame-swiftly Dylan, after mentorship from Pete Seeger (Edward Norton, Asteroid City), while cultivating a complicated relationship with the already-renowned Joan Baez (Monica Barbaro, Fubar), and as he's trying to maintain a relationship with artist and activist Sylvie Russo (Elle Fanning, The Great), who is based on the real-life Suze Rotolo. And, Chalamet wouldn't mind being Dylan again in the future, if the "incredible opportunity" came up. "The amazing thing about Bob Dylan is every chapter is interesting. This is almost the most fertile because it's the beginning," Chalamet advises. This is the period of his life where the least is almost available, especially in the early 60s, but you can make a movie out of almost any period of Bob's life." How does it feel to lead a Bob Dylan biopic and to have the man himself tweet about it? "I didn't know if he was ever going to say anything because, true to the reclusive artist that Bob is, I don't know if he'll ever see the movie, truthfully," Chalamet says. "But seeing that post was hugely affirming. When you're a young artist, I don't care how successful you are, to get a pat on the back from a legend — especially a legend of few words like Bob Dylan — it was a dream come true, literally. I mean, it was beyond my wildest dreams. It was an enormous pat on the back and affirmation, and a moment for me in my life and career to go 'okay, I'm doing the right thing'." Passion radiates from Chalamet, clearly. It does the same from Mangold, who returns to the music-biopic genre after 2005's Johnny Cash-focused Walk the Line — Cash is also part of this flick, with Boyd Holbrook (The Bikeriders) in the part — plus from Fanning and Barbaro, too. "Think about it: between the ages of 19 and 24, he wrote 15 or 20 of the most-important songs of the century," the filmmaker behind A Complete Unknown, who co-wrote the script with Jay Cocks (Silence), adapting Elijah Wald's 2015 book Dylan Goes Electric! Newport, Seeger, Dylan, and the Night That Split the Sixties, notes of Dylan to Concrete Playground. "That's pretty remarkable when you think about what probably we were all doing between 19 and 24 years of age." Fanning was a massive Dylan devotee going in; "I was huge Bob Dylan nut, and I had a poster of him on my wall and I was a fanatic, so I felt like I kind of manifested this part in in many ways," she shares about playing Russo, a take on Rotolo with the name changed at Dylan's request. For Barbaro with portraying Baez, she speaks about her gig, the IRL great that she's acting as and performing with Chalamet — after learning to sing and play guitar herself — with equally deep feeling. "It's an absolute career highlight for me," she tells us. As it works its way from Guthrie's hospital bedside to Newport, exploring who Dylan was at the time through his music and impact, the commitment from its many key forces echoes from A Complete Unknown as memorably as its wealth of tunes. Chalamet, Mangold, Fanning and Barbaro also spoke with us about how important it is that the movie isn't trying to paint one definitive portrait of its subject, the film's exploration of an artist evolving, speaking with Baez, Cash and Dylan's connection, parallels for the cast with reality and more. On How Mangold Knew That Chalamet Was the Right Actor to Bring This Period of Dylan's Life to the Screen James: "Well, 'know' is the strange word. I had an instinct that he'd be good. We don't know anything. I mean, we just try. And Timmy's phenomenally talented. Can sing. And I think has some of the mercurial, playful aspects of Bob in him, in his own personality. I thought he could find parallels. The act of playing a role like this isn't really the act of doing an impression or mimicry — it's really, to me at least as I feel it, it's about finding the harmonies between your own personality and the person you're playing, and finding a way to meet somewhere in the middle where you're still bringing your authentic acting self. You're not just doing an impression in which the performance is judged by how well you do Bob's mannerisms only, but how well you can fold that into who you are and come out with something authentic, and real, and soulful that exists in the space between. He's one of the best young actors of our time. And he's also a wonderful guy. And it seemed so logical, it seemed actually a no-brainer, to be honest. It seemed like a really exciting proposition. I cannot say I knew he would hit it so far out of the park that he would find such a great chord. We often present ourselves, as directors, we often try to get you guys to write about us like we knew everything in advance and we had a vision, and the vision comes to life — and we love it when you write about us that way. But in reality that isn't the way it is. We have a hunch. We have a hope. We have a prayer. And sometimes we're right and we keep it in the movie. Sometimes we're wrong and, if we can, we get it out of the movie. But the reality is that I had a hunch Timmy would be great. But I also demanded a lot of him. He had to learn over 40 songs and play them live, and be still in character acting, meaning it's not just 'can you learn the song and sing?' — it's 'can you learn the guitar, sing this song and do it like Bob Dylan in a scene while there's romantic tension or some other kind of dramatic energy going on?'. You're talking about a lot of chewing gum and riding bicycles and juggling at the same time. And Timmy's a pretty remarkable talent himself. And you're also talking about a young man in Timmy who has met with fame from an early age like Bob. So there are whole other levels where — and stardom and all that it brings — so that there were so many levels that he could bring insight and talent to this job." On How Crucial It Was to Chalamet That This is a Film About a Moment in Time and an Artist Evolving Timothée: "That's exactly it. This is a movie firmly about an artist evolving, as you so wonderfully put it. This is an interpretation. This is not a definitive act, and I think James Mangold, our director, always had a very solid eye on that. This is a man who's alive and well, who knows the history of how this went down. And a lot of the footage, not particularly from 1961–63, but definitely from 64 onwards, is available online and it's wonderful. It was very helpful to me in my interpretation of the character and of this period, but ultimately this is an interpretation. That's why Elle Fanning's character is a Sylvie Russo, as opposed to Suze Rotolo. This is more of a fable. And nonetheless, it's also, of course, a Bob Dylan biopic." On How the Film's Exploration of Artistic Evolution Resonates with Fanning Given That She's Been Acting Since She Was a Toddler Elle: "Yeah, technically two, because I would play my sister at a younger age in things, in flashback scenes — they would just call me in. But I think that's one of my favourite things, honestly, about this film and watching it as a whole. This slice of Dylan's life was so much about making artistic choices and not being pigeon-holed into one thing. So it's actually been a really nice reminder to me to follow my instincts. I always have followed my instincts pretty much. And when I haven't, it's like 'oh god, it's always best to do that'. And I love surprising people and picking parts that are going to surprise people, and surprise myself and challenge me. That's just what I want. I don't want to ever be put into a box of a certain genre or certain film. I mean, people will try to do that to everyone, because it's more palatable for people when you understand where they're coming from. That's what Dylan has done — he's never allowed anyone to do that to him. So it's been inspiring, and the movie is really about that, to be honest. So I loved watching the film for the first time, and seeing that journey was great. Because obviously I wasn't in every single scene, so it's fun to watch the scenes I wasn't in. But I try to push myself." On How Portraying an IRL Figure, and an Icon, Changed How Barbaro Approached Her Part Monica: "It was very big shoes to fill. She's an exceptional musician and I had no music training, so my main call to action was to learn to play guitar, and learn to sing, and get my proficiency up to a level where you would believe that I'd been doing that for years and years. And then also, the benefit is, as much as her voice is absolutely impossible to replicate, she had these iconic qualities that people referred to a lot. When they talk about her, they mentioned her tight vibrato and the key that she sings these songs in. And so just trying to expand my range and trying to sound like her — the finger-picking, that was a particular style that she played with. And just diving into those specifics to try to get that recognisability there was a huge part of the process." On Mangold Revisiting Johnny Cash On-Screen After Walk the Line — and Finding Someone New to Play Him James: "I really didn't give it much thought in terms of my own oeuvre, although I was aware that it was the second time this real-life character was appearing in my film. It just seemed a necessity, the more research I did. It wasn't really very featured at all in Elijah Wald's book, but the more research I did — and I also had the knowledge from making Walk the Line that Johnny Cash and Bob had been pen pals during this period — but the more research I did, and knowing that Cash was on stage in the wings when Bob went electric, was there and even lent his guitar, his acoustic guitar to Bob when he went back out on stage to sing his last song 'Baby Blue', the last acoustic song, at Newport 65, I thought 'well, what am I going to do with Johnny?'. And I asked Dylan's manager, Jeff Rosen, if they still had the letters that Johnny Cash had written to Bob. And they did. And he sent me scans of all these letters, which were magnificent — a kind of beautiful, romantic example of an artist a few years ahead of Bob, writing him fan letters and bolstering a sense of confidence in the young man about his writing and his ability from someone Dylan admired. And so this correspondence suddenly became central to me, because as I was trying to assemble — as much as I was trying to tell Dylan's story, he is a bit inscrutable, and I felt like you could learn more by also telling the story of those that surrounded Dylan, and the way his genius affected each of them differently. And what was so necessary about bringing Johnny into the story was that he's the devil on that shoulder. If you have Pete and Lomax and Joan Baez all on this shoulder saying 'stick with the team; don't cross over to that dangerous, suspicious popular music', you had Johnny Cash on the other shoulder who was saying 'track mud on someone's carpet'. Which was literally one of Johnny's lines in his letters to Bob. And that he made it his business to encourage Dylan to stay bold and to stay on the leading edge, was so wonderful to me. And then Cash also ironically had a band, and somehow got special dispensation to bring his band on the stage at Newport without anyone having a meltdown — which indicates or, I think, reveals, how Bob was a symbol. The reason they didn't want Bob to go electric was not because they hated all music with an electric guitar or a drum, but because he had become the centre pillar, holding up the tent of classical folk music. And if Bob turned, that meant the tent would fall." On Chalamet's Run of Playing Young Men Discovering the Reality of What Fame and Power Means as Paul Atreides and Bob Dylan — and Parallels with His Own Experience Timothée: "I think what's most fascinating about the world of Dune, and of this period of Bob Dylan that we explore in this film from 1961–65, is both were born of the open-mindedness of culture in America in the 1960s. Dune was written in this middle 60s period, it was written on the West Coast, but in a similar time in American history where people were groundbreaking with their creativity and open mindedness. And as far as relating to these roles, it's really not that fascinating to try to dissect or even to talk about, because the ways or parallels are apparent or not apparent, and I have no interesting perspective for anyone beyond the ways they're apparent to you or to me. And the ways they're not apparent are also apparent, because I'm not a space prophet and I'm not a lyrical prophet." On What Fanning Was Excited About, Coming to A Complete Unknown as a Huge Dylan Fan Since She Was a Teenager Elle: "Well, I was excited about multiple things. Jim and I were supposed to, he was supposed to direct me in a film many years ago, and so to be able to — that didn't work, but then he remembered me from that time and so asked me to come on for this. And I'd done a movie with Timmy before, so we were friends. I was huge Bob Dylan nut, and I had a poster of him on my wall and I was a fanatic, so I felt like I kind of manifested this part in in many ways. And obviously, the film was like five, well, more than five, years in the making. We were supposed to film it five years ago and then COVID and the strikes happened. So we had a lot of time to think about it. There were points where we thought it might fall apart — is everyone's schedules going to work? — so I was very happy that the schedules worked out that I was able to stay on and do it. [caption id="attachment_987697" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kate Green/Getty Images for The Walt Disney Company Limited[/caption] And then, the thing is Sylvie, even though her name is different, she really she is Suze Rotolo. So she's not actually a fictionalised character, it's just that her name is changed because Bob Dylan himself, he talked to Jim a lot about the script and he's read the script — I haven't met him or talked to him — but he wanted her name changed. That was the one thing that he wanted, because he felt like she, and this is touched on in the movie a lot, that she was a private person. She never wanted to be a public figure. And Suze has now passed. So there was something, there was a weight to that, that I subconsciously always felt every day. Because I don't know if Bob will ever see this movie, but still if he does one day, I hope that I captured that essence of their first love, because obviously it was a very sacred and precious thing to him. And Suze wrote a novel, a memoir called A Freewheelin' Time, so I read that and had so much information about their relationship. And honestly, scenes from that book are verbatim in our story. So in a lot of ways, her story is very true to the trajectory of their relationship. Dates are changed, she wasn't in Newport in 65, but the fights that they had and the things that they shared together is very true to what the relationship was. Obviously Suze was, I guess, a muse, but I guess more inspired him many times over. There's so many songs he's written about her. And he really wasn't in the political scene, he wasn't into politics until he met Suze, because she was a real political activist at that time in the 60s, in the West Village and the youth movement and civil rights movement, she introduced that to Bob. I knew how special of a figure she was to him, so I wanted to honour that and make it true to first loves around the world that we have. Inevitably they don't work out, but keep 'em in your heart." On What Barbaro Drew From Speaking with Baez — and What It Meant to Her Monica: "I did have the chance to speak with her. I was nervous about reaching out, but I was so absorbed and obsessed with her and her life, and every corner of what I could find in any interview, memoir, documentary, and even within the songs and the way she sang them, that we were starting to film and I started having dreams about her. And I kept dreaming that we were hanging out and we always had a really good time. And so I think my subconscious was telling me that 'it's okay to reach out' — like 'you do understand her, I think, well enough to know that she'll have a conversation with you'. And I felt like it was a very Joan thing to do, to be bold enough to reach out so. So I did, and we spoke on the phone, and hearing the sound of her voice on the phone with me is one of the most-beautiful experiences I think I've ever had. It was emotional. It was everything to me, and she mentioned at one point that she was hoping I would reach out — and that just felt incredibly validating in my decision. And also I felt it made me feel like I really had understood something about her, and that I was on the right path. And the next day I performed 'Don't Think Twice' live, which was my first song live in front of a live audience on a big stage with guitar, with singing — difficult guitar song, too, that I had taken a year to learn with no prior experience. And so I was all bundled up and nervous for that, and then as we were doing takes of it, I just felt something release, and I felt like she had sort of — whether she knew it or not — sort of sent me on my way, and I was able to fully embrace the research I had done, but try to blossom into this character in the movie, and create as her and try things as her. I felt like somehow, even though she didn't give me permission, I felt somehow like I suddenly had it, had that permission to try things as Joan." A Complete Unknown releases in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, January 23, 2025. Images: courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2024 Searchlight Pictures All Rights Reserved.
No one spent a winter weekend dancing in a North Byron Bay Parklands field at Splendour in the Grass in 2024. No one will do that in 2025, either. After 2024's festival was cancelled just weeks after unveiling its Kylie Minogue-, Future- and Arcade Fire-led lineup, the Splendour crew has advised that there'll also be no fest this year. "Hey gang, sorry it's been so quiet, but we had a little holiday ... finally. The rest of the festival team have still been busy cooking up some awesome new things for music lovers in Australia, but Splendour needs a little more time to recharge and we won't be back this year," said organisers in a statement on social media. "Think of it as a breather so we can come back even bigger and better when the time is right. Lots of other huge events on the horizon so keep an ear to the ground in the coming months — we can't wait to share what we've been working on!" View this post on Instagram A post shared by Splendour in the Grass (@splendourinthegrass) Notably, the statement about 2025's event doesn't confirm that the festival will return in 2026, but rather says that it'll be back "when the time is right". For now, put those glittery gumboots away for at least this year, in what proves another heartbreaking piece of news for Australia's live music industry. When Splendour scrapped its 2024 plans, it did so after revealing its roster of acts, and also followed on from a heap of other cancellations across the Aussie festival scene. Groovin the Moo ditched its 2024 events just a fortnight after announcing its lineup. Also, Falls Festival took summer 2023–24 off, Summergrounds Music Festival at Sydney Festival was cancelled and This That hasn't gone ahead for a couple of years. Since Splendour cancelled, Yours and Owls ditched its 2024 fest, as did Spilt Milk and Adelaide's Harvest Rock. Dark Mofo took a breather, too, while Mona Foma called time forever after its 2024 event. Bluesfest also revealed that it would say farewell after its 2025 fest, but it has been reported that that might no longer be the case. "With a heavy heart, we're announcing the cancellation of Splendour in the Grass 2024," said the Splendour team in a statement last year. "We know there were many fans excited for this year's lineup and all the great artists planning to join us, but due to unexpected events we'll be taking the year off. Ticketholders will be refunded automatically by Moshtix. We thank you for your understanding and will be working hard to be back in future years." "We're heartbroken to be missing a year, especially after more than two decades in operation. This festival has always been a huge community effort, and we'd like to thank everyone for their support and overall faith. We hope to be back in the future," added Jessica Ducrou and Paul Piticco, co-CEOs of Secret Sounds. 2024's event would've marked the festival's 22nd birthday — and its third COVID-19-era fest, following the supremely muddy 2022 iteration (which was delayed for the two years due to the pandemic's early days) and 2023's go-around. Splendour in the Grass won't take place in 2025. For more information, head to the festival website. Images: Charlie Hardy, Bianca Holderness and Claudia Ciapocha.
How many ways can getaways go wrong? In The White Lotus, each season brings a new list of chaos — and the show isn't done sending characters off to exclusive resorts to deal with whatever life throws at them just yet. The show's third season will arrive in February 2025, but there's already more on the way after that, with HBO announcing that season four has been greenlit as well. Accordingly, before anyone even watches a second of The White Lotus season three — which'll stream from Monday, February 17 Down Under — season four has been locked in. There's no word yet on which destination will follow Hawaii, Sicily and Thailand, however. There's also no details on who'll be in the series' fourth cast, and if any familiar faces will return. While the world waits for more information about season four, season three is worth getting excited about, too. A new batch of travellers is checking in, and a third The White Lotus hotel is ready and waiting. As Lisa from BLACKPINK says in both the initial look at footage from season three in a broader HBO trailer and in the anthology hit's first teaser, "welcome to The White Lotus in Thailand". A getaway at a luxurious hotel is normally relaxing, but that isn't what vacationers find in this show. It was true in the Hawaii-set first season in 2021, then in season two in Sicily in 2023, each with a largely different group of holidaymakers. Based on the sneak peek at season three, that's of course going to be accurate again in the third season's eight-episode run. Walton Goggins (Fallout), Carrie Coon (Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire), Jason Isaacs (The Crowded Room), Michelle Monaghan (MaXXXine), Leslie Bibb (Palm Royale) and Parker Posey (Mr & Mrs Smith) are among the folks checking in season three, alongside Sam Nivola (The Perfect Couple), Patrick Schwarzenegger (Gen V), Sarah Catherine Hook (Cruel Intentions) and Aimee Lou Wood (Sex Education). Families, couples and friends on getaways: they're all covered by the above cast members. And as Monaghan exclaiming "what the fuck is this place?" indicates, they're in for some chaos. Bad feelings, seeking pleasure but finding pain, threatening to drink oneself to sleep: alongside guns, dancing, judgemental pals, missing pills, snakes, monkeys, ambulances, complaints about gluten-free rice and a body bag, they're all featured in the teaser as well. From season one, Natasha Rothwell (How to Die Alone) is back Hawaii spa manager Belinda, who advises that she's there on an exchange program. Season three also stars Lek Patravadi (In Family We Trust) and Tayme Thapthimthong (Thai Cave Rescue) as one of The White Lotus' owners and security guards, respectively. Where the Mike White (Brad's Status)-created, -written and -directed satire's first season had money in its sights and the second honed in on sex, eastern religion and spirituality is in the spotlight in season three, which also co-stars Nicholas Duvernay (Bel-Air), Arnas Fedaravičius (The Wheel of Time), Christian Friedel (The Zone of Interest), Scott Glenn (Bad Monkey), Dom Hetrakul (The Sweetest Taboo), Julian Kostov (Alex Rider), Charlotte Le Bon (Niki), Morgana O'Reilly (Bookworm) and Shalini Peiris (The Ark). Check out the first teaser trailer for The White Lotus season three below: The White Lotus returns on Sunday, February 16 in the US, which is Monday, February 17 Down Under. At present, the series streams via Binge in Australia and on Neon in New Zealand. The White Lotus season four doesn't yet have a release date — we'll update you when one is announced. Images: HBO.
"Think about how screwed up we would be if we had survived a plane crash, only to end up eating other." That's Yellowjackets in a nutshell, as Christina Ricci (Wednesday) so perfectly describes in the just-dropped full trailer for the show's third season. In store this time around is more then-and-now glimpses of exactly how a New Jersey high school's girls soccer team remained alive — well, some of them — after being stranded in the wilderness following a plane crash, and also what it took to endure and, of course, what the experience did to them. Yellowjackets wants viewers to be its bloody Valentine this year — and more cannibalism, more haunting secrets, more fights to persist and more hunting are set to fill the series' third go-around, as both the first glimpse and initial trailer in 2024, and now a bigger sneak peek, all illustrate. Again, the action is split between two periods, following its characters both in the immediate aftermath of their traumatic accident and also when the past keeps intruding upon their present after decades have gone by. As viewers discovered when it debuted in 2021 and became one of the best new shows of that year, the instantly intriguing (and excellent) series hops between the 90s and 25 years later. Across two seasons until now, life and friendship have proven complex for Yellowjackets' core quartet of Shauna (The Tattooist of Auschwitz's Melanie Lynskey as an adult, and also No Return's Sophie Nélisse as a teenager), Natalie (I'm a Virgo's Juliette Lewis, plus Heretic's Sophie Thatcher), Taissa (Law & Order's Tawny Cypress, and also Scream VI's Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Misty (Ricci, and also Atlas' Samantha Hanratty). The trailers for season three also put it this way: "once upon a time, a bunch of teenage girls got stranded in the wilderness ... and they went completely nuts." The full setup: back in 1996, en route to a big match in Seattle on a private aircraft, Shauna, Natalie, Taissa, Misty and the rest of their teammates entered Lost territory. The accident saw everyone who walked away stuck in the forest — and those who then made it through that ordeal stuck out there for 19 months, living their worst Alive-meets-Lord of the Flies lives. After swiftly getting picked up for a second season because its first was that ace, Yellowjackets was then renewed for a third season before that second group of episodes even aired. In Australia, viewers can watch via Paramount+. In New Zealand, the series streams via Neon. In season three, the returning cast — which includes Simone Kessell (Muru) as the older Lottie and Lauren Ambrose (Servant) as the older Van, characters played in their younger guises by Australian actors Courtney Eaton (Mad Max: Fury Road) and Liv Hewson (Party Down) — will be joined by Hilary Swank (Ordinary Angels) and Joel McHale (The Bear). And from season two, Elijah Wood (Bookworm) is also back. Check out the full trailer for Yellowjackets season three below: Yellowjackets season three will start streaming from Friday, February 14, 2025 via Paramount+ in Australia and Neon in New Zealand. Read our review of season one and review of season two, plus our interview with Melanie Lynskey.
There's no putting a happy face on this news: Joker: Folie à Deux has been named one of the worst movies of 2024 by the 45th Golden Raspberry Awards. While the first Joker film earned Joaquin Phoenix (Napoleon) an Oscar, now he's up for Worst Actor instead. Lady Gaga (House of Gucci) is included in the Worst Actress field for her performance as Harleen Quinzel, and the picture's two leads share a nod in the Worst Screen Combo category. The flick also popped up in the Worst Screenplay, Worst Director (for Todd Phillips, War Dogs) and Worst Remake, Ripoff or Sequel camps. 2025's Razzies, which will announce its winners on Sunday, March 2, 2025 Australian and New Zealand time, weren't fond of comic-book characters making the leap to the screen. Madame Web also collected a heap of nominations — six in total, including for Worst Picture and in three of the acting fields. Cinema's least-coveted gongs didn't have any love for video game-to-film adaptation Borderlands, either, another flick with a big showing, including in the top field. Also up for Worst Picture: Francis Ford Coppola's Megalopolis and political biopic Reagan. The five-film group covers all of the most-nominated titles for 2025's awards, with Joker: Folie à Deux up for seven, then Madame Web, Borderlands, Megalopolis and Reagan each up for six. From there, although they weren't featured in the Worst Picture field, the Jerry Seinfeld-directed Unfrosted picked up four nods, Kraven the Hunter scored three and the remake of The Crow starring Bill Skarsgård (Nosferatu) nabbed two. Everything from Argylle (for two of its performances) to Mufasa: The Lion King (for Worst Remake, Ripoff or Sequel) are now Razzie nominees. Among the big-name stars recognised this year, Seinfeld earned two (for Worst Actor and Worst Director), while Jack Black received three (for Worst Actor for Dear Santa, Worst Supporting Actor for Borderlands and for the latter again for Worst Screen Combo — for any two obnoxious characters, but especially Jack Black). Whichever films emerge victorious in March, they'll follow on from 2024's winners, with Winnie-the-Pooh: Blood and Honey nominated in five categories and winning all five — and Expend4bles collecting two awards. The year before, Morbius, Blonde and Elvis tied for the most accolades with two apiece. Check out the full list of Razzie nominees below: Golden Raspberry Nominees 2025 Worst Picture: Borderlands Joker: Folie à Deux Madame Web Megalopolis Reagan Worst Actor: Jack Black, Dear Santa Zachary Levi, Harold and the Purple Crayon Joaquin Phoenix, Joker: Folie à Deux Dennis Quaid, Reagan Jerry Seinfeld, Unfrosted Worst Actress: Cate Blanchett, Borderlands Lady Gaga, Joker: Folie à Deux Bryce Dallas Howard, Argylle Dakota Johnson, Madame Web Jennifer Lopez, Atlas Worst Supporting Actor: Jack Black, Borderlands Kevin Hart, Borderlands Shia LaBeouf, Megalopolis Tahar Rahim, Madame Web Jon Voight, Megalopolis, Reagan, Shadow Land and Strangers Worst Supporting Actress: Ariana DeBose, Argylle and Kraven the Hunter Leslie Anne Down, Reagan Emma Roberts, Madame Web Amy Schumer, Unfrosted FKA Twigs, The Crow Worst Screen Combo: Any two obnoxious characters (but especially Jack Black), Borderlands Any two unfunny "comedic actors", Unfrosted The entire cast of Megalopolis Joaquin Phoenix and Lady Gaga, Joker: Folie à Deux Dennis Quaid and Penelope Ann Miller, Reagan Worst Director: SJ Clarkson, Madame Web Francis Ford Coppola, Megalopolis Todd Phillips, Joker: Folie à Deux Eli Roth, Borderlands Jerry Seinfeld, Unfrosted Worst Remake, Ripoff or Sequel: The Crow Joker: Folie à Deux Kraven the Hunter Mufasa: The Lion King Rebel Moon 2: The Scargiver Worst Screenplay: Joker: Folie à Deux Kraven the Hunter Madame Web Megalopolis Reagan The Golden Raspberry Awards will be announced on Sunday, March 2, 2025 Australian and New Zealand time. For further details, head to the awards' website.
If you went to The Warehouse Project's first-ever Australian dates in 2024, then you experienced a slice of history, as one of the dance-music world's favourite events finally made the leap Down Under. The Manchester rave scene mainstay's Aussie debut clearly went well — so much so that dates have just dropped for a return visit in 2025. The Prodigy, Basement Jaxx, Fred again.., Skrillex and Happy Mondays have played it. De La Soul, Aphex Twin, Carl Cox and deadmau5, too. For dance music fans, and just music fans in general, The Warehouse Project's fame extends far past its UK home. For its second Australian trip, the event is again hitting up Sydney and Melbourne, this time across Thursday, April 24–Friday, April 25. [caption id="attachment_943879" align="alignnone" width="1920"] © Photography by Rob Jones for Khroma Collective[/caption] Melbourne's PICA will welcome The Warehouse Project for the second time; however, Sydney's event is taking place at Hordern Pavilion in 2025, after setting up shop at Munro Warehouse in Sydney Olympic Park in 2024. This year's events are one-day affairs in each city, too, rather than two nights apiece as happened last year. This remains a two-city tour, though, so if you're keen on hitting up The Warehouse Project in Australia and you live somewhere other than Sydney or Melbourne, you'll need to plan an interstate trip. The Manchester institution's Aussie debut in 2024 came after initially going international in 2023 in Rotterdam and Antwerp. View this post on Instagram A post shared by The Warehouse Project (@whp_mcr) As for who'll be on the lineup this time, that's still to be revealed — but whoever does the honours, they'll follow on from Mall Grab, Bonobo, HAAi, Kelly Lee Owens, Paula Tape, dj pgz, Krysko, Effy, Jennifer Loveless and DJ Dameeeela in 2024. It was back in 2006 that The Warehouse Project first unleashed its club nights on its birthplace, kicking off in a disused brewery and then moving underneath Manchester's Piccadilly station, in a space that's also been an air-raid shelter — and also to a warehouse that dates back to the 1920s. Now, it calls former railway station Depot Mayfield home when it's on in its home city. The Warehouse Project Australia 2025 Thursday, April 24 — Hordern Pavilion, Sydney Friday, April 25 — PICA, Melbourne [caption id="attachment_943890" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Mayfield Depot, Rcsprinter123 via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] The Warehouse Project returns to Australia across Thursday, April 24–Friday, April 25, 2025, with presale tickets from 12pm AEDT on Wednesday, January 22 and general sales from 11am AEDT on Wednesday, February 5 Head to the event's website for further details. Top image: Rob Jones for Khroma Collective.
There are few words as adored in Australian children's literature as seven penned by Alison Lester: "at our beach, at our magic beach". On the page, in one of the Aussie author and illustrator's best-known books, that phrase starts different descriptions of how a day by the waves can pan out. Here, swimming in the sparkling sea means seeing wild horses among the waves, however, just as digging in the sand conjures up dragons attacking castles. Gorgeous and transportive drawings both set the scene and take each on its fantastical journey — where rock pools are the entry to the kingdom of fish, stormy days bring treasure, fishing sparks quite a catch and more. Whether discovering it as a kid for the first time, or revisiting it as an adult sharing it with your own children or nieces and nephews, Magic Beach has always felt special, and also rung true in this nation girt by sea. It understands the joys of simply spending a day by the ocean, and the possibilities that doing just that can bring to young hearts and minds. Now, 35 years after initially hitting bookshelves, Magic Beach is also a movie. Making his third family-friendly film after Paper Planes and Blueback — and worlds away from the likes of Balibo, The Dry and Force of Nature: The Dry 2 — director Robert Connolly brings Magic Beach to a new medium as a creative mix of animation and live-action, and as a ten-segment anthology where kids, plus a dog, envision their own beach adventures after reading Lester's tome. Yes, Magic Beach as a movie is fittingly and wonderfully imaginative as ten animators take their cues from the book, then spin inventive stories. And yes, Magic Beach as a movie shot its live-action scenes at Lester's own magic beach. For Australia's first-ever Children's Laureate, that coastal spot is Walkerville South. Lester's own beach house was the base during the production, where the kids would arrive each day. Unsurprisingly, seeing her favourite patch of sand in the film is a source of joy for the author. "It's just a very warm, fuzzy feeling that a place that I've loved for so long, and then written this book about, that it's been turned into a beautiful movie," Lester tells Concrete Playground. What makes this location about two and a half hours out of Melbourne a magic beach? "I think my parents used to go to that beach before I was born, and then I was taken there as a baby. We used to stay at a friend's house for a long time, and then an old house came up for sale and mum bought it, when I think I was eight. And so since then we've always had this place that we go to," Lester continues. "I hardly ever go to other beaches because I always go there. It's just like that's where we're going for summer. I think the whole family has that feeling, that the minute you walk into the house all of worries and tensions drop away — and you're like 'aaah, here we are, we're at this beautiful place'." Even if you haven't ever specifically thought about it, we all have a magic beach or equivalent. "It's interesting, isn't it, your own childhood. I grew up in the Blue Mountains outside Sydney, so I was inland, and so for me there were little rivers that I would swim in. I was not coastal," advises Connelly. "Then we as a family, like a lot of Australian families, would go to the beach and stay in a caravan park. There was Terrigal, north of Sydney. But if I think more significantly in my life, when I was in my late teen years, the more-complicated teenage years when I was finishing school, I used to always get the train down to the Royal National Park south of Sydney, and I'd walk on my own into a little beach called Burning Palms. I'd camp on my own for a couple of days just to decompress, and swim in the ocean down there on my own. So that's probably the closest, if I think of the most-significant one in my life, because was very formative. But not when I was a little kid, because when I was a little kid, I was in the bush." "There's something about water, isn't there? And the threshold of diving into the water when you're little," Connolly also notes. His latest film, which he came to after fellow filmmaker Sarah Watt (My Year Without Sex) was initially set to direct before her death in 2011, deeply understands that feeling. It's committed to heroing what youthful minds dream up, too, and the sensation of being by the shore. We also chatted with Lester and Connolly about how the film came about, and its animated segments; ensuring that the book wasn't just a source of inspiration; their collaboration; giving the picture a wave-like rhythm; why Magic Beach has endured with generations of readers; and much more. On Magic Beach's Journey to Finally Becoming a Film Robert: "Sarah Watt, the amazing filmmaker behind Look Both Ways and My Year Without Sex, was developing it with Alison. And I worked with Sarah, who sadly is not with us anymore, but she introduced me to Alison — and we were collaborating together on it. It's so crazy, isn't it? The gestation period for projects, you can't pick it. Some films happen quickly and some take a long time. But I think my first involvement was over ten years ago. So that's quite a journey." Alison: "Well, it's been a very long journey and a very meandering journey, because when Sarah and I got together, we really loved working together and hanging out together. So a lot of times when we're supposed to be working, we'd just be hanging out and having a nice time. And then when Robert took the project over — and Sarah was in the same boat, they're both so in-demand and so successful that they always had other projects going on so. Robert and I laugh, at every Christmas he used to give me a phone call and say 'oh, hi Alison, can we have it for another year?'. And I go 'yeah, yeah, sure, it'll happen eventually'. I think we all had other things to go on, and Magic Beach was just simmering away in the background. And in a way, probably having that time was a good thing for it to finally turn out the way it did, where it wasn't rushed." Robert: "Yeah, that's true. It took a while to work out the way to tell the story of the film, to find a really unique way to tell that beautiful book as a film. So it didn't come quickly as an approach." On Whether Lester Ever Thought That a Magic Beach Movie Would Happen Back When the Book Was First Published 35 Years Ago Alison: "No, I never imagined it. It didn't cross my radar at all. I would have been happy if it had had a couple of print runs — and that's the other thing, it's still going as a book after all this time, which is really lovely." On Connolly's First Introduction to the Book — and Adding It to His Lineup of Family-Friendly Movies Robert: "I read it to my children. My daughters are 22 and 20 now, but I read Magic Beach and a whole bunch of other books of Alison's to my children when they were really little. And it was interesting, once I had kids, I started broadening my career. I did the film Paper Planes, and that was my first family film and I just fell in love with the idea of making films for younger people. And it was just a really attractive part of my career. The audience for Paper Planes was more primary school, and the audience for Blueback was more high school, but I have this fascination with that early-childhood phase, when I feel like children are the smartest they ever are. It's the most creative, imaginative stage, where they haven't learned any rules yet. And I love that audience, and so it just felt like an inevitable journey, really, for me to go on. Then it took me a while, actually. After we lost Sarah, I found it really hard to come back to the project for a while. I think we were all very sad. But the joyful spirit of Sarah's work and her own creativity is in this film. Her mischievous, cheeky, deeply humanist sensibilities are something that I think Alison and I see in the film that we've made." On Whether Lester Had Any Set Ideas About What the Film Should Be — and How Its Anthology Structure Came About Alison: "No, no, not really. I definitely didn't want it to be a kind of forced narrative where there was an evil developer who was going to build a hotel on the beach and that kind of forced thing. Other than that, I really trusted Sarah and Robert to do what they're so good at." Robert: "It was interesting initially. The animations came first, and so we invited — my producing partner Liz Kearney, who did Memoir of a Snail recently, and Chloe Brugale, who were working with me at the time — we just set on this journey to find ten animators, and invite them to respond to a different one of the kids and the dog, as it turned out in the film, and create their own work. So that was the step, and that's where the film began. So the live-action came second, which is really interesting — because once we have these beautiful animations, you can imagine what it was like when we were getting these beautiful, extraordinary, exquisite creative works delivered to us, it was like 'well, how do we stitch it together? How do we now create an overarching narrative for it? What's that going to look like?'. And that took a while, but we wanted to keep the spirit of what was so special and incredible about the book, and how the book allows young people to fill the blanks — like it really allows it, it doesn't fill everything in. So we needed it to keep that imaginative spirit of the book, which is where that idea of having this documentary footage of children, that then opens up into the magical world of the beach and then into the animation. It's these three layers of the film. So it was a real journey, but I'd love you know I loved? We had no rules — we kept trying new things, even in the edit we had no rules." Alison: "It's like that Spike Milligan thing: 'there's no plan, so nothing can go wrong'." Robert: "That's right. That's exactly right. I love that it's a film for little kids, and it's probably the most rule-breaking film that I've ever done, which is something young kids would really appreciate." On How the Narratives for Each Animated Segment Came About Robert: "I didn't want to restrict them. I wanted them to feel that freedom of childhood and their response to the book, so I gave them almost no rules, except that they had to choose a child and a section of the book, and then create their own work in their own style, which is something that Sarah had been really keen about, and Alison and I discussed. So in some ways it becomes a response — a love letter to the book and to the beach for each of those ten animators in their own style." Alison: "And they all rose to the occasion incredibly, didn't they?" Robert: "Yeah, yeah. You think of the different styles — and they're all very personal to each of the animators. Each of the animators can talk very much about their own response to the beach." On the Importance of the Book Not Just Inspiring the Film, But Being Part of the Film — Including Kids Reading and Responding to It Robert: "That was a real choice that came quite late — and I don't even know if we'd made that decision till after the animations. I think because I didn't quite know how the live-action was going to work. It could have been a story, it could have had more of a narrative structure. And then it was the idea of looking at the animations: 'well, what if we actually take real kids and let the book trigger them to imagine being at the beach as a character in the book, and then the beach itself triggers the imagination of the animation?'. I think actually that idea of them all reading or being exposed to the book in some form came after the animations, actually." Alison: "Quite late, yes. And as the author of the book, for me that is such a buzz just to see the movie built around the book and to have the illustrations up there on the big screen. It's really, really beautiful." On How Lester and Connolly Collaborated on the Movie Robert: "It was fun. We actually made the film on the magic beach. We had a small crew and this beautiful group of kids, and every day we the kids would all turn up at Alison's house, which is in the book as well and looks out over the magic beach — and Alison was staying there at the time, and the kids would turn up and say 'hi, Alison!'. And Bigsy the dog would be walking around. And they'd get in their costumes have breakfast, and then we'd all walk down to the beach and film. And then Alison would come down. I loved the collaboration of that. One of my favourite bits of that is that in one of the beautiful pictures in the book, there's a mobile hanging on the wall, when the kids are in bed, and it's got all different shells and things from the beach — and I just asked Alison if she could make one, and she made one and brought it down, and it wasn't even scripted where we'd use it. And that's the beautiful sequence when Riley, the young deaf girl, wakes up on the beach and touches it. So they're not scripted, but something that between Alison and I and the crew, and all being there on the beach, we improvised into life." On Whether Shooting on Lester's Actual Magic Beach Was Always a Given Robert: "No, actually. We weren't sure. At one point, I wondered if all of the kids' stories should be on a different beach." Alison: "Yeah, I remember that." Robert: "Or I thought maybe 'what if each of the nine kids had their own imagination on a different beach?'. But it felt that way you'd lose the spirit of collaboration. I like that one kid wakes up and they're on the beach and they're like 'where am I?', and then the second kid. And then there's two kids, and then they play together, and then the next kid turns up. So there's this idea that the children build a community. So that at the end, when they're all running down to the water and running across the water, that all of the kids are united together. Also it's so beautiful, it felt like going to the real magic beach would be a real treat for audiences as well, with love of the book, that they can see the film and go 'this is the real magic beach'." Alison: "And it all comes together, I think, too, doesn't it — when there's so many different things going, to have that constant of the beach where you can see quite clearly that it is the same place, even though they're different locations within the beach." Robert: "Yeah." On Giving the Film a Rhythm That Resembles the Waves, Washing in and Out of Each Segment Robert: "I'm so glad you picked that up." Alison: "Yeah, me too." Robert: "Because I remember talking to Maria Papoutsis, who edited it for me, and we talked a lot about that — that idea that you don't necessarily want things to be angular in how they're edited. You want it to feel like you're moving from scene to scene and moment to moment. The thing I love about watching the ocean, it's like watching a fire, a campfire — it's the same but it's infinitely different. I'm glad you picked that up. And also something I talked to Briony Marks about, with the music, she did the overarching composition with percussion. It's all percussion, marimbas and vibraphones. And this idea of not trying to be tight and angular and precise, which is what we get so used to now — highly structured cinema that's highly formed — and wanting it actually to have a rhythm that's a bit surprising. And they're different. The dynamic shape of the film was — actually, a lot of time was spent on trying to work out what order to put the animations. We tested different orders and then played it to kids, and then changed the order a bit, and then played it to kids again." On Why Readers Love Magic Beach So Much, and Have Since the 90s Alison: "I can't remember how I came up with that 'at our beach, at our magic beach', but I think it is a really lovely intro into each. So there's that rhythm of the text, which I think is very gentle and easy to read. And often people are reading those books late at night to their kids or they're tired and it's like 'oh my god, give me something easy to read' — and it does flow really nicely. But I think so many of us love the beach and we understand that experience of just going to beach in a really uncomplicated way, where you just go and see what's there. I think that the thing Robert talked about a little while ago, too, is that there's a lot of room in that book for your own imagination. You see what the kids are doing, but you don't know their names or anything like that, and it's not very specific, so you can easily be part of that book. So I think it's partly that a lot of families would recognise themselves in the book. And just the flukiness of why people like a book. I'm always so chuffed that the creative things I do often resonate with people, and I don't know that you can control that. It's just the luck of the draw really." On What Appeals to Connolly About Jumping Between Family-Friendly Films and the Likes of Balibo and The Dry Movies Robert: "Some filmmakers wonderfully stay in their own lane of genre, and they have become renowned for it — and some of my favourite filmmakers are like that. But there are great inspirations to me, like the Australian filmmaker Peter Weir, who worked in so many different genres across an impressive career. And I feel like, and what I hope, is that each film in some way follows that tradition of cinema almost being a microscope into the human condition. It's like every film looks somewhere into some aspect, like if Magic Beach looks into the deep, profound side of childhood at the beach and the way the natural world inspires creativity, a film like Balibo is very different because it looks into the power of individuals to act ethically and their leadership as a way to lead their country to freedom. So they're very different films, but I hope in some ways that my films always apply that rigour, so if you look at them collectively, I'd like to think that they're a body of humanist cinema about who we are and how we live and how we relate. But it's also fun. It's fun to swing. It was funny, though, when I was trying to finance Paper Planes, it was my first film after Balibo. And one of the investors who turned it down was like 'how in god's name are we going to market the film? Paper Planes, a film for the whole family from the director of Balibo? It's not going to work.' But I did have a kid come up to me with their youngest sibling at one of the screenings we had on the weekend, and the kid was a bit older going 'oh my god, I've seen Paper Planes so many times' — and they were bringing along their three-year old little sibling to see Magic Beach. So I have got a fanbase with young kids as well now, you see." Magic Beach opened in Australian cinemas on Thursday, January 16, 2025.
He made movies that no one else could've. He changed what the world, viewers and fellow filmmakers alike, thought was possible in cinematic storytelling. The greatest television show ever created sits on his resume, a label that would've applied even if it had only received a two-season run in the 90s, but was proven all-the-more accurate when he revisited it two and a half decades later to gift audiences an unforgettable 18-episode achievement. There has never been an artist like David Lynch, and won't be again. Anyone who has had the chance to explore his paintings, drawings and sculptures, too — which made a spectacular Australian showing at a dedicated exhibition at Brisbane's Gallery of Modern Art in 2015, with the man himself in attendance — can't shake them from their mind. Movies, TV, acting, animation, art, music, books, furniture, photography, advertising, music videos, transcendental meditation, comic strips, coffee, weather reports, cooking quinoa, gravity-defying hair: before his death on January 15, 2025, Lynch made an impact upon all of them. "He was in touch with something the rest of us wish we could get to," shared Kyle MacLachlan, Lynch's Special Agent Dale Cooper in Twin Peaks, Paul Atreides in 1984's Dune and Jeffrey Beaumont in Blue Velvet. "David was in tune with the universe and his own imagination on a level that seemed to be the best version of human," he continued. "Every moment together felt charged with a presence I've rarely seen or known. Probably because, yes, he seemed to live in an altered world, one that I feel beyond lucky to have been a small part of. And David invited all to glimpse into that world through his exquisite storytelling, which elevated cinema and inspired generations of filmmakers across the globe," said his Mulholland Drive lead Naomi Watts. For Wild at Heart's Nicolas Cage, Lynch "was a singular genius in cinema, one of the greatest artists of this or any time," he told Deadline. "He was brave, brilliant and a maverick with a joyful sense of humour. I never had more fun on a film set than working with David Lynch. He will always be solid gold." "The world is going to miss such an original and unique voice. His films have already stood the test of time and they always will," noted Steven Spielberg, who gave Lynch one of his last role sas an actor, casting his fellow helmer as another Hollywood great, John Ford, in the autobiographical The Fabelmans. For another filmmaking icon adoring a filmmaking icon, Martin Scorsese also provided his ode in a statement: "I hear and read the word 'visionary' a lot these days — it's become a kind of catch-all description, another piece of promotional language. But David Lynch really was a visionary — in fact, the word could have been invented to describe the man and the films, the series, the images and the sounds he left behind. He created forms that seemed like they were right on the edge of falling apart but somehow never did. He put images on the screen unlike anything that I or anybody else had ever seen — he made everything strange, uncanny, revelatory and new. And he was absolutely uncompromising, from start to finish." When Lynch committed his journey to paper with 2018's must-read Room to Dream, the talent that crafted the most-stunning debut feature there is with Eraserhead, earned a Best Director Oscar nomination for his second film The Elephant Man (and later for Blue Velvet and Mulholland Drive), and has nine Emmy nods to his name for the first and third seasons of Twin Peaks, couldn't have chosen a better moniker for his memoir. When Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me advises that "we live inside a dream", it also couldn't have felt more apt. To watch Lynch's work is to fall into his dreams — surrealist visions filled with clashes and contrasts, such as his career-long fascination with the sublime and the terrifying sides of suburbia and domesticity — then be inspired to have your own, whichever places both wonderful and strange that they might take you. [caption id="attachment_987090" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Suzanne Tenner/SHOWTIME[/caption] For Lynch, where his output transports fans to has always been personal, including to them. Famously, he eschewed explanations, letting his creations speak for themselves, and giving everyone watching, viewing, listening and appreciating the room to draw their own interpretations. "It's the ideas that come. And many of the ideas that come are conjured by our world. And we all know that there's many mysteries. I always say that human beings are like detectives: we want to know what's going on and what the truth of a thing is, and we see our world, we feel it, we feel there's things going on," he said to David Stratton at a public in-conversation event during his trip to Brisbane. "I always say that the filmmaker has to understand the thing for himself or herself. But when things get abstract, or a little bit abstract, there's room for many interpretations, and each person should be able to make up his or her mind to feel what the things mean." To pay tribute to Lynch, damn fine cherry pie should be on the menu. So should a damn fine lineup of viewing, because there's no better way to honour a filmmaker like no other than to relish his on-screen dreams. When his family announced his passing at the age of 78, they noted that he'd remind everyone to "keep your eye on the donut and not on the hole". Take that advice by enjoying everything that's available to stream right now — and Lynch's version of a small-town-set TV murder-mystery, its big-screen prequel, a documentary about him, several acting roles and a monkey interrogation are just the beginning. (Sadly, Eraserhead, The Straight Story and Inland Empire aren't available at the time of writing, but they'd be on the list otherwise.) The Elephant Man David Lynch has never been shy about how unlikely it was for the director of Eraserhead to score a job making a Victorian era-set period drama in England with John Hurt (Jackie), Anne Bancroft (Keeping the Faith), John Gielgud (Elizabeth) and Anthony Hopkins (Those About to Die) — or how he thought that once Mel Brooks (Only Murders in the Building), who executive produced the film, saw his debut feature that he wouldn't get the gig. Thankfully Brooks was wowed, and so cinema gained an affecting movie from Lynch that's restrained compared to much of his other output, but also deeply compassionate and unflinching. With Hurt astonishing as its lead, the eight-time Oscar-nominated The Elephant Man tells of the IRL life of Joseph Merrick, whose physical deformities saw the movie's moniker slung his way. The Elephant Man streams via iTunes and Prime Video. Dune Before Timothée Chalamet (A Complete Unknown) became cinema's ultimate spice boy — Paul Atreides, as he plays in 2021's Dune and 2024's Dune: Part Two for Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049) — Kyle MacLachlan (Blink Twice) walked without rhythm first, in his debut collaboration with David Lynch. The latter disowned his adaptation of Frank Herbert's sci-fi novel, his third feature, his only attempt at a blockbuster and a movie that wasn't met warmly when it released in the mid-80s; however, there's no mistaking the visual ambition that the director attempts to bring to the page-to-screen space opera. Everyone knows the film's narrative due to the two Chalamet-starring flicks, but those versions didn't also star Sting (playing Feyd-Rautha before The Bikeriders' Austin Butler) or Patrick Stewart (as Gurney before Outer Range's Josh Brolin). Dune streams via Netflix and Stan. Blue Velvet What lurks behind seeming perfection is a lifetime-long on-screen obsession for David Lynch, beginning with parenthood in Eraserhead and applying to white picket-fence life in every iteration of Twin Peaks, plus Blue Velvet. Returning home to Lumberton, North Carolina from college, Kyle MacLachlan's Jeffrey Beaumont is soon drawn into the nightmare lived by lounge singer Dorothy Vallens (Isabella Rossellini, Conclave) at the hands of gangster Frank Booth (Dennis Hopper, Crash) — all after he finds a severed human ear in a field near his house. The film's exploration of darkness lingering within also applies to its protagonist, with MacLachlan stellar in a movie that also marks Lynch's first collaboration with Laura Dern (Lonely Planet), features a haunting performance by Hopper and ensures that you'll never hear Roy Orbison the same way again. Blue Velvet streams via iTunes. Twin Peaks It's the mind-bending small-town mystery-drama that comes with its own menu — and with plenty of thrills, laughs and weirdness. Whether you're watching Twin Peaks for the first or 131st time, you'll want to do so with plenty of damn fine coffee, fresh-made cherry pie and cinnamon-covered doughnuts to fuel your journey. David Lynch and Mark Frost's seminal TV series doesn't just serve up 90s-era oddness with backwards talk, log-carrying ladies, couch-jumping monsters and fish in percolators, as centred around the murder of high-schooler Laura Palmer (Sheryl Lee, Limetown), though. It returned for an astonishing third season in 2017 as well that's the finest thing to reach the small screen in the 21st century. There's never been anything on television like Twin Peaks. No one can play a kind and quirky FBI boss like Lynch either, or a dedicated agent like Kyle MacLachlan as Dale Cooper. Twin Peaks streams via Paramount+. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me is a prequel to Twin Peaks, as well as the exceptional TV show's leap to cinemas. The film is also a masterpiece in tragedy, and the same in empathy. Before she's "dead, wrapped in plastic" in the program's debut instalment, David Lynch truly sees Laura Palmer and everything that she goes through. Set in the lead-up to her demise, the flick burrows deep into the menacing forces at play. It's a movie of sheer dread, even though viewers know what's going to happen. As only he can, Lynch steeps every frame in the brutal pain, terror and suffering of his doomed protagonist, ensuring that his audience walk in her shoes, feel what she's going through and see how ravenously that the world tears into her, all while baking in his adored surrealist touches. He also works David Bowie into the Twin Peaks cast, magnificently so. Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me streams via YouTube Movies. Wild at Heart David Lynch directing Nicolas Cage: of course it had to happen, and thankfully did. That's one helluva filmmaker-actor combination — and when the unrivalled helmer had the incomparable star in front of his lens, the Palme d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival came his way. The movie that Lynch made between Twin Peaks' initial run and the series' big-screen prequel Fire Walk with Me, it features one of Cage's greatest performances. Cage playing one half of a couple on the run (opposite Laura Dern), singing Elvis tunes like he was born to and navigating a Lynchian crime-romance flick truly is what dreams are made of. Adapting the 1990 novel of the same name — by author Barry Gifford, who went on to co-write Lost Highway with Lynch — Wild at Heart is also as distinctive as crime road movies get. Wild at Heart streams via iTunes and Prime Video. Lost Highway It's thanks to Lost Highway that Nine Inch Nails' 'The Perfect Drug' exists; before he was composing Oscar-winning The Social Network and Golden Globe-winning Challengers scores, Trent Reznor also produced this 1997 film's soundtrack for David Lynch. Tunes by NIN, David Bowie, The Smashing Pumpkins and Lou Reed are just one of movie's highlights, however. Initially with Bill Pullman (Murdaugh Murders: The Movie) as a saxophonist, then with Balthazar Getty (Megalopolis) playing an auto mechanic — and with Patricia Arquette (Severance) acting opposite each, featuring in both of the flick's two parts — Lost Highway embraces its sinister tone from the get-go, with its guiding force strapping in for an eerie and audacious ride filled with mysterious VHS tapes, murder convictions and sudden swaps, and refusing to pump the brakes for a moment. Lost Highway streams via Stan. Mulholland Drive In dreams, Mulholland Drive lingers. In reality, the Los Angeles-set masterpiece has as well since 2001. Although the term naturally applies to his entire filmography, movies don't get much more Lynchian than this shimmering neo-noir and tribute to Tinseltown that started as a TV project, and stars Naomi Watts (Feud) as eager aspiring actor Betty Elms and struggling thespian Diane Selwyn. One is fresh from Deep River, Ontario and chasing her dreams. The other no longer has stars in her eyes. Reflections and doppelgängers, fantasies and alternate realities, accidents and surprises, hopes and failures, how Hollywood demands reinvention, the roles that people play for and without the cameras: they're all part of a mesmerising picture (as are Father of the Bride's Laura Harring and Beetlejuice Beetlejuice's Justin Theroux among the cast). Mulholland Drive streams via Binge, Stan and ABC iView. Duran Duran: Unstaged Inland Empire will always be David Lynch's last narrative feature, but it wasn't his last full-length film. Five years after the movie that he wanted Laura Dern to win an Oscar for so badly that he took to Sunset Boulevard with a cow by his side, he helmed Duran Duran: Unstaged. Before making his one and only concert flick, he'd directed music videos for Chris Isaak's 'Wicked Game' and Moby's 'Shot in the Back of the Head', among others. Afterwards, he'd do the same on Nine Inch Nails' 'Came Back Haunted' and several of his own tunes with Chrystabell, too. But just once, for two hours, he brought an entire live gig to the screen — as shot in Los Angeles on the British band's The All You Need Is Now tour, complete with 'Hungry Like the Wolf', 'Girls on Film', 'Notorious', 'Rio', 'A View to a Kill', 'Come Undone', 'Planet Earth', 'Ordinary World' and more on the setlist. Duran Duran: Unstaged streams via Docplay David Lynch: The Art Life Even when a David Lynch-directed project is diving into nightmares, which is often, the filmmaker's movies and TV shows get audiences yearning to spend time in their company, lapping up his unequalled vision of the world. That's the reason that documentary Lynch/Oz, about his obsession with The Wizard of Oz in his work, exists. Watch doco David Lynch: The Art Life and viewers can spend time in Lynch's company as well. For helmers Rick Barnes, Olivia Neergaard-Holm and Jon Nguyen — all directing their only feature so far — Lynch takes everyone on a tour of his upbringing, efforts to make Eraserhead in the 70s, and artistic and musical output. Of course, don't expect any answers. Again, Lynch wants to let his work speak for itself, rather than him speak about it. But do expect to spend an enjoyable time with the unparalleled master auteur. David Lynch: The Art Life streams via Docplay. What Did Jack Do? In a dimly lit room in a grimy train station, a capuchin monkey sits at a table. In walks a detective, who then starts smoking a cigarette and interrogating the animal in front of him. They chat, bantering back and forth as the cop asks questions and the primate answers. At one point, the monkey even sings. Queries range from "do you know anything about birds?" to "you ever ride the rodeo?", all in a quest to solve a murder. A chicken also pops up, and a waitress. If the above scenario sounds more than a little surreal, that's because it is — especially given that it's part of David Lynch's 17-minute short film What Did Jack Do?. The black-and-white piece also stars the inimitable Lynch as the detective. It's a unique, delightful and characteristically eccentric work by one of the most distinctive folks to ever stand behind a camera. What Did Jack Do? streams via Netflix. Lucky Six times throughout their careers, David Lynch directed Harry Dean Stanton. In the year that delivered their last collaboration in one of Lynch's projects — the third season of Twin Peaks, which followed Wild at Heart, miniseries Hotel Room, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me, The Straight Story and Inland Empire — and sadly saw Stanton pass away at the age of 91 after 200-plus acting credits, they teamed up as fellow performers in the delightful Lucky. In the directorial debut of actor John Carroll Lynch (Babes), the veterans are thrust to the fore as Stanton plays a 90-year-old small-town loner who is forced to face his mortality. The landscape of his face pairs perfectly with the arid dessert surroundings, while his specific brand of cantankerous charm finds its match in Lynch as his monologue-spouting, tortoise-loving pal. Lucky streams via Brollie. Read our full review. The Fabelmans With The Fabelmans, Steven Spielberg pays tribute to cinema in as many ways as he can fit into a single feature, all while relaying how he grew up as a movie-loving kid — and sharing the affection with his family, too, as he explores the complicated dynamics that shaped his childhood. The director behind everything from Jaws and Indiana Jones to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park and West Side Story also tips his hat to two other filmmaking forces in his coming-of-age affair: four-time Best Director Oscar-winner John Ford, who Spielberg met when he was starting out, and David Lynch. The latter fellow helmer plays the former, in an inspired stroke of casting. Although any acting performance by Lynch is a treat, this one, as he makes a point about interesting filmmaking using the horizon to Gabriel LaBelle (Saturday Night) as Spielberg's surrogate, couldn't be more perfect. The Fabelmans streams via Netflix and ABC iView. Read our full review.
Paying tribute to great authors and writers is easy. Libraries beckon, as do whatever happens to be on your own bookshelf or Kindle. Getting the chance to celebrate the talents behind some of the greatest works of literature ever committed to paper in a stunning exhibition is far more rare, however. Indeed, Writers Revealed: Treasures From the British Library and National Portrait Gallery, London is a world-first. Clearly, it's a special treat for word nerds — especially if you're a fan of Jane Austen, William Shakespeare, JRR Tolkien, Bram Stoker, the Brontë sisters, Virginia Woolf, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and more. What goes on display at a showcase dedicated to wordsmiths? When it arrives at HOTA, Home of the Arts on the Gold Coast from Saturday, April 12–Sunday, August 3, 2025, Writers Revealed will span author portraits, plus rare handwritten manuscripts and first editions. Over 70 pieces of art will feature the likenesses of the writers responsible for Pride and Prejudice, Romeo and Juliet, The Lord of the Rings, Dracula, Wuthering Heights, Sherlock Holmes and other masterpieces. More than 100 texts will be included, too, with six centuries of literature covered. [caption id="attachment_987067" align="alignnone" width="1920"] William Shakespeare, associated with John Taylor, oil on canvas, feigned oval, circa 1610. © National Portrait Gallery, London[/caption] As the exhibition's full name states, this is a collaboration between the British Library and the National Portrait Gallery, London. If you're wondering why the two institutions are pairing portraits with texts, one of the showcase's aims to explore how literature and visual expression are linked. Also in the spotlight: the legacy of influential writers, plus digging into their creative processes. Oscar Wilde, Harold Pinter, William Blake, Charles Dickens, Lewis Carroll, Lord Byron, TS Eliot, Thomas Hardy, James Joyce, DH Lawrence, John Keats, William Wordsworth and Rudyard Kipling are some of the other greats earning Writers Revealed's attention, as are AA Milne, Beatrix Potter, Dylan Thomas, Sir Kazuo Ishiguro and Zadie Smith. Among the highlights that'll fill 1000 square metres in HOTA's Gallery 1 for 16 weeks: Austen's writing desk, what's thought to be the only Shakespeare portrait to be painted while he was alive, illustrated letters from Tolkien to his grandson, Lewis Carroll's diary entry about Alice in Wonderland and Virginia Woolf's handwritten Mrs Dalloway manuscript. [caption id="attachment_987064" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Harold Pinter by Justin Mortimer, oil on canvas, 1992. © National Portrait Gallery, London[/caption] "We are thrilled to collaborate with the National Portrait Gallery on Writers Revealed, a truly unique exhibition that brings together some of the most exceptional objects from our collections. Visitors will experience rare first editions and exquisite manuscripts alongside celebrated portraits of the writers who created them," said Alexandra Ault, Lead Curator of Modern Archives and Manuscripts at the British Library, announcing the exhibition. "Featuring treasures that rarely leave our gallery in London, this major new exhibition will bring HOTA's visitors closer to some of the most-important figures in English literary history," added Catharine MacLeod, Senior Curator of 17th Century Collections at the National Portrait Gallery. "Encountering these displays, visitors will discover what is revealed and what is hidden when life, writing and portraiture intersect." [caption id="attachment_987063" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Charles Dickens by Daniel Maclise, oil on canvas, 1839. © National Portrait Gallery, London[/caption] [caption id="attachment_987062" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Beatrix Potter by Delmar Harmood Banner, oil on canvas, 1938. © National Portrait Gallery, London[/caption] [caption id="attachment_987066" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Lord Byron, replica by Thomas Phillips, oil on canvas, circa 1835, based on a work of 1813. © National Portrait Gallery, London[/caption] [caption id="attachment_804623" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Scott Chrisman, Pixeltape Media[/caption] [caption id="attachment_987061" align="alignnone" width="1920"] A vista through the Romantics display through to Queen Victoria by Sir George Hayter (1863) at the National Portrait Gallery, London. Photo by Oliver Hess.[/caption] [caption id="attachment_987060" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tony Antoniou[/caption] Writers Revealed: Treasures From the British Library and National Portrait Gallery, London displays at HOTA, Home of the Arts, 135 Bundall Road, Surfers Paradise, Gold Coast, from Saturday, April 12–Sunday, August 3, 2025. Head to the gallery's website for further details and tickets. Top image: Jane Austen by Cassandra Austen, pencil and watercolour, circa 1810. © National Portrait Gallery, London.