If there's a speed record for greenlighting a new television series, the ABC's decision to make A Dog's World with Tony Armstrong a reality must be right up there. Saying no couldn't have even been an option, because it's just such an innately winning formula. Former AFL player turned ABC News Breakfast sports presenter Armstrong has proven an enormous hit for the national broadcaster since joining in mid-2020 — including when he's accidentally talking about bulging dicks — and everyone loves watching cute canines. Now streaming on ABC iView, as well as airing on ABC, the show that results is exactly what viewers expect — Armstrong fans and dog lovers alike. The former chats through exactly why the four-legged creatures have become humanity's best friend, and how and when, and is occasionally seen on-screen with an array of adorable puppers. Experts on all things pooch lend their commentary, research and general thoughts, too, and barking critters are rarely far from the screen. Across its three parts, the series isn't lacking in informative bite. The first episode bounds through the affinity that humans have found with dogs, and vice versa — including contemplating how dogs evolved, what separates them from wolves now, and how they react to human emotions. Then, in the second instalment, A Dog's World with Tony Armstrong focuses on how canines sense their way through the world, and what type of perspective that gives them. Finally, in part three, pooch happiness and wellbeing is in the spotlight. If you've ever wondered why your pet pupper does what it does — and how it gets you to do what it wants, too — prepare to find out. That wide-eyed look that every dog gives when it's after something, knowing that we're all defenceless against it: yes, the science behind that, including the muscles that make it happen, earn the show's attention. Providing more than just endearing canine footage was always the program's aim, as Armstrong explained when the ABC dropped the first trailer. "When I was approached about the possibility of being involved in A Dog's World, I don't even think I got to the end of the email before I was agreeing to take part," he said. "It was amazing being involved in the project, I learned a lot and I hope everyone who watches enjoys it as much as we enjoyed making it!" It's been a great couple of years for getting your dog fix via a screen, whether you're living vicariously through your viewing because you don't have a barking bestie of your own or you simply (and understandably) believe that there's no such thing as too many dogs. Netflix already gave us two seasons of the docuseries Dogs, recent big-screen release Stray spent time with puppers in Istanbul, Channing Tatum is currently in cinemas road-tripping across the US with a dog and there's even a whole streaming platform made for woofers — because as every pooch owner knows, they like to watch TV, too. Only A Dog's World enlists Armstrong to explore the world of canines, though. Check out the trailer for A Dog's World with Tony Armstrong below: A Dog's World with Tony Armstrong is now available to watch via ABC iView.
In Stay of the Week, we explore some of the world's best and most unique accommodations, giving you inspiration for your next trip. In this instalment, we take you to fabulous Fiji for a special stay at Castaway Island. We love this place so much that we teamed up with the resort to offer an exclusive five-night travel deal — including a complimentary bottle of wine and a fruit platter on arrival, free use of snorkelling equipment and selected water activities and a guided sunset kayaking tour and island walk. WHAT'S SO SPECIAL? It may share the same name as the fictional survival drama starring Tom Hanks but, coconuts aside, guests at Castaway Island will experience an entirely different version of island life thanks to everything on offer at this decidedly indulgent escape. Castaway Island Fiji blends the charm of traditional Fijian bure (bungalows) with contemporary comforts to deliver luxurious relaxation to those who travel there. THE ROOMS Nestled amongst either the lush tropical gardens or at the water's edge, Castaway Island's Fijian-style thatched bungalows offer spectacular blue-to-green views to start the day, regardless of which suite you stay in. Rooms range in size from simple two-sleepers ideal for a romantic rendezvous to super-sized group spaces perfect for getaways with a crew of friends or the whole family. Each stay offers airy vaulted ceilings lined with individually designed hand-painted 'Tapa' cloths, an outdoor patio, those incredible vistas, and daily house keeping. They're also air-conditioned, in case being lulled to sleep by warm island breeze isn't your thing. FOOD AND DRINK Castaway Island offers travellers an excellent introduction to South Pacific cuisine, especially those who book this Concrete Trips package. As well as a complimentary tropical fruit platter on arrival, guests can spoil themselves with the a la carte selections at Water's Edge Restaurant (including the chargrilled wild caught fish of the day), or Polynesian-inspired snacks like Crispy Ura Salad with prawns and fruity cocktails at Nuku Maru Pool Bar & Grill, or fine Fijian-Asian fusion served to you at tables on the beach under the stars at Restaurant 1808. Ready to DIY? Enrol in one of Castaway Island Fijian Village cultural programs, which includes a Fijian culinary workshop so you can finesse your own cooking skills. THE LOCAL AREA You can spend most of your days diving into bright blue waters and walking along the sandy white beaches of Castaway Island. But, should you be looking for something more, the resort's all-ages all-interests program is packed with alternatives that allow you to take advantage of the natural landscape and discover the local area. Popular activities range from sunrise yoga to sunset snorkelling, kayaking to coconut-weaving classes, beach volleyball to traditional bracelet making. THE EXTRAS One of the best ways to experience the Fijian concept of Bula (a greeting wishing the person good health and a good life) is to accept an invitation to Castaway Island's weekly management meeting. An exclusive offer included in our Live the Luxe Castaway Life deal. Okay, given that you'll actually enjoy free cocktails and staff Meke (Fijian Dance) performances, it's probably more accurate to refer to it as a party. Feeling inspired to book a truly unique getaway? Head to Concrete Playground Trips to explore a range of holidays curated by our editorial team. We've teamed up with all the best providers of flights, stays and experiences to bring you a series of unforgettable trips in destinations all over the world.
UPDATE Tuesday, March 9: The Boatbuilders Yard's 90s RnB brunch has been extended beyond summer, now running until Saturday, April 30. Which means you've got a few extra weeks to don your velour trackies and book in a seltzer-filled Saturday session. The below dates have been adjusted to reflect the change. There are some things best left to the 90s, like pukka shell necklaces and over-plucked eyebrows. But one thing that's happily here to stay is 90s RnB; especially teamed with good food, delicious cocktails and some of the most iconic 90s looks. If you're ready to relive your youth — or you'd rather re-do it — The Boatbuilders Yard is hosting its new 90s RnB Mixtape Saturdays every week this summer. Moon Dog are in charge of the 90s-themed drinks list, which features plenty of cocktails crafted on its signature Fizzer seltzers. Think, the Piney Limey flavour paired with Midori, and a lemon and Blue Curacao combination. There's a seltzer-filled post-mix machine, plus, a Smirnoff Ice or Passion Pop is promised on arrival to really bring back that hit of nostalgia. Food-wise, you're in for the likes of potato skins, mini hot dogs and sloppy joes — so you can pretend you're eating in the cafeteria in your favourite 90s high-school rom-com, of course. DJ Joey Lightbulb will be on the decks and taking song requests, so dig out your old mixtapes for inspiration. Tickets are $65 per person and bookings are recommended, with sessions running from 12-2pm and 2.30-4.30pm each Saturday. Don your Mytiko pants, finest beige Masseurs and hypercolour t-shirts and get ready to boogie like Y2K is imminent.
Melbourne knows how to strike the perfect work/life balance, and we've embraced the neighbourhood wine bar scene with open arms — and mouths — to prove it. Whether you're keen on the local chicken shop that serves up some of the most exciting minimal intervention wines coming out of Australia (perfect for that out-of-town client meeting), or looking for somewhere warm and inviting to take the office crush, there's no shortage of establishments to cater to any post-work need (or crisis). We've done a quite a bit of eating and drinking through this great city of ours, so, along with American Express, we've pooled our knowledge for your benefit. In fact, we've sifted through our directory to pick out the best casual drinking spots to suit whatever you have planned. Just quit your job and need to toast with a good wine? Want to get a spreadsheet done over lunch? Need an excuse to use your American Express® Card? We know just the place. Got yourself in another dining situation and need some guidance? Whatever it is, we know a place. Visit The Shortlist and we'll sort you out.
Yep: whenever Jordan Peele drops a new film, it instantly proves a must-see, as both the Oscar-winning Get Out and the equally exceptional Us have shown so far. Also yep: when it comes to making the leap from an iconic sketch comedy series to helming horror movies — and having a hand in bringing everything from BlacKkKlansman and the ace latest Candyman flick to Hunters and Lovecraft Country to our eyeballs, too — the former Key & Peele has been having a helluva past five years. And one last yep: the comedian-turned-filmmaker's next flick, his third big-screen directorial effort Nope, couldn't look more eerie, enticing and exciting (aka the classic Peele combination). That was true back in February, when the first sneak peek at Nope dropped and had Get Out star and Judas and the Black Messiah Oscar-winner Daniel Kaluuya ask "what's a bad miracle?". Now that the film has released a full trailer that sheds further light on its narrative, that still remains 100% accurate. The setup: the Haywood ranch is proudly run by the only Black-owned horse trainers in Hollywood (played by Kaluuya and Hustlers' Keke Palmer), whose connection to show business dates back to the very birth of cinema. But their remote patch of inland California soon becomes home to a disturbing discovery — and the fact that everyone spends a fair amount of time either looking up in horror or running away from something chilling in the sky in both trailers says plenty. In the new sneak peek, Kaluuya and Palmer's brother-and-sister duo OJ and Emerald are rocked by tragedy, then spooked by what's happening above. And, yes, Kaluuya utters the movie's title. Emerald decides that they need to capture what's happening on film, which is where Michael Wincott (Veni Vidi Vici) and Brandon Perea (The OA) come in — one charged with standing behind the lens, the other selling tech equipment. With Nope also lending its attention to other California residents who see this uncanny presence in the sky, Steven Yeun (Minari) also pops up as a rodeo cowboy. As with all of Peele's celluloid nightmares so far, the less you know going in when the movie hits cinemas Down Under in August, the better. That said, the two trailers so far do a fantastic job of teasing all of the unsettling imagery that the filmmaker is about to get lodged in your brain, including fields of colourful inflatable tube men waving in the breeze, the creepiest of clouds and shadows, and a big leap into X-Files territory. Check out the full trailer for Nope below: Nope will release in cinemas Down Under on August 11, 2022.
We're almost halfway through 2022 but Brisbane is just getting warmed up. There's a jam-packed schedule still to be enjoyed, from new gallery exhibitions and boundary-pushing immersive art experiences to international sporting events and the return of pandemic-postponed festival celebrations. This year, the Queensland capital will continue to attract world-renowned creators and performers while spotlighting the best local talent, too. The biggest food festivals are still to come — serving up the best of southeast Queensland on a platter — as well as a brand new brew fest that's exclusive to Brisbane. Adrenaline junkie? Football fanatic? Culture vulture? Fervent foodie? Here are nine must-do events happening in Brisbane in 2022.
We all have a family story to tell, but we can't all tell it like Sarah Polley. The actor known for such films as Dawn of the Dead and Splice and director of quietly acclaimed features Take This Waltz and Away From Her has turned her hand to documentary with Stories We Tell, and it's been demanding attention from festival audiences around the world. Unfortunately, it's one of those films that it's best to know as little of as possible when you go in, so this is going to be a short article. Suffice to say, Polley's primary interest is her mother, Diane Polley, an actress and extrovert who relished the escape from home life that came with roles on the stage. She died in 1990, when Sarah was 11, leaving behind a web of secrets that lay hidden for many years — until her daughter grew up and started to pull at the threads. Polley has a great cast of characters in her life to work with (every member of her family is interviewed), but the magic of this movie is ultimately in her storytelling. It's wittily edited, warm and makes some rather uncanny use of Super 8. The result is probably the most enthralling and entertaining family memoir around. Stories We Tell is in cinemas on September 26. Thanks to Palace Films, we have ten double advance screening passes to give away, valid from September 13-22. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email hello@concreteplayground.com.au with your name and address.
You might not know that noted film banger of the 00s Bring It On has been made into a stage musical — and, having already done the rounds on Broadway in 2012, it's going to cartwheel into Melbourne in June this year. Responsible for the phrase "cheerocracy" and your unrealistic expectations of high school, it seems the original movie still has some decent cultural capital to give. If you've been wondering, in the last 18 years, what exactly the world of competitive cheerleading might have going on with it these days, this musical is for you. If you had a Kirsten Dunst poster on the back of your childhood bedroom door, this musical is for you. To be honest, if you've watched the film even just a few times, it's probably for you too. With music and lyrics by Tony Award-winning composer Lin-Manuel Miranda (of Hamilton fame) and the stage adaptation by Jeff Whitty (Avenue Q), the musical is only loosely based on the original film of 2000, which starred your girls Kirsten and Eliza Dushku. Unlike the five sequels that followed the movie — all of which went directly to VHS — the musical looks like it has a refreshing amount of sass, cutthroat rivalry and aerial stunts. Bust out your best spirit fingers and get them tapping on your keyboard if you want tickets — Bring It On: The Musical is making its way to Melbourne's Athenaeum Theatre in June, but it's only going to be step-pivot-split jumping around town for a strictly limited run.
By this point in 2020, you probably feel like you've spent most of your year at home — and either watching or cooking something while you've been there. Thanks to both country-wide stay-at-home requirements and city-specific lockdowns, that's how the past six months have played out. And, as a result, you likely feel as if you've seen every cooking show and made every recipe there is, too. Enter Raph's Mean Cuisine, the YouTube culinary series hosted by Melbourne restaurateur Raph Rashid, who the city's residents will know from Beatbox Kitchen, All Day Donuts and Juanita Peaches. In bite-sized episodes clocking in at under 12 minutes, the show adopts a very nostalgic approach to helping you up your kitchen game — because if there's one thing we're all experiencing this year, it's a yearning for a time before the pandemic. Specifically, Rashid is focusing on 80s cooking classics, with each instalment of his seven-part first season showcasing a dish that's bound to bring back memories. They're simple, easy recipes, too, which you'll be able to recreate at home without any trouble. As Rashid explains, "I just wanted to inspire people to cook in real kitchens, in sharehouses. And I just love cooking with friends. It's kinda what life's all about". Accordingly, he teams up with a different guest in each episode, and together they whip up the cuisine in the spotlight in Rashid's home kitchen. And, as well as recipes, every episode includes tips and hacks as well. On the menu: apricot chicken made with sommelier Matt Skinner, chow mein made with artist Esther Olsson's help and curried sausages with assistance from 1800-Lasagne's Joey Kellock. Six episodes are available at present, also covering Mars bar slice, chicken kievs and tacos, as cooked with florist Hattie Molloy, chef Mike Hoyle and artist Nadia Hernandez. Fancy trying your hand at a lamb roast as well? In the show's finale, that's on offer. Dropping at 6pm on Tuesday, September 8, it'll see Rashid join forces with pro skater Nick Boserio and Melbourne Food and Wine Festival Creative Director Pat Nourse to revive an 80s (and Sunday) staple. Check out Raph's Mean Cuisine's first episode, focusing on apricot chicken, below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OVHsUwQAlhk The first six episodes of Raph's Mean Cuisine are available to view on YouTube, with the seventh — the season finale — dropping at 6pm on Tuesday, September 8.
In 2020, Brisbane made history, becoming the only city outside of Melbourne to ever host an AFL Grand Final. This year, the Queensland capital looks poised to land another huge sporting event — although it won't happen for another 11 years. That'd be the 2032 Olympic Games, with Brisbane named the preferred host for the Games of the XXXV Olympiad back in February. Now, overnight, that quest has progressed. Following a meeting on Thursday, June 10, the International Olympic Committee Executive Board has announced that it is recommending that the Queensland capital gets the official nod. The IOC Executive Board's proposal now moves to the broader International Olympic Committee itself, which will vote on the matter at its next session on Wednesday, July 21. So, in just over a month, Brisbane will likely be named as the actual host of the 2032 Olympic and Paralympic Games — not just the preferred host. The move follows a recommendation by the Future Host Commission for the Games of the Olympiad, as happened when Brisbane was named the preferred 2032 host earlier this year. This time, the commission has put together a detailed report, which just earned the Executive Board's unanimous support. Announcing the news and outlining why the city has won its endorsement, the Executive Board listed eight core strengths identified in Brisbane's bid. They include the fact that Australia is apparently a "sports-loving nation"; the use of either existing or temporary venues to cover 84 percent of the Games; the support of the government, the public and the private sector; a commitment to sustainability; and the social and economic benefits — US$6.1 billion in value to Queensland and US$13.4 billion to Australia, according to commission's impact study. https://twitter.com/iocmedia/status/1403007957424611328 If Brisbane is officially named next month, the 2032 Games will be the first held in Oceania since 2000 — when Sydney did the honours — and will mark just a 32-year gap between Australia's most recent hosting slots. The Games were first held on our shores back in 1956, in Melbourne. It'll also mean that southeast Queensland will host the Olympics just 14 years after hosting the 2018 Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast. Brisbane has staged the Commonwealth Games, too, back in 1982. Brisbane's bid includes three clusters of venues — in Brisbane itself, on the Gold Coast and on the Sunshine Coast — and proposes that the Games take place between July 23–August 8, 2032. As revealed in April, the Gabba will also undergo a huge revamp if the city hosts the Games, which'll basically involve tearing the stadium down and rebuilding it again. After Tokyo holds the postponed 2020 Games in July and August — without overseas spectators — Paris is on hosting duties in 2024. Then, in 2028, Los Angeles will take the torch. For further details about the International Olympic Committee's announcement, and about Brisbane's bid for the 2032 Olympics, head to the Games' website. Top image: Tokyo 2020 and TMG.
Last night, the best chefs in the world descended on the Marina Bay Sands in Singapore for the annual World's 50 Best celebrations. And while there were plenty of Australians present at the awards — including the event's host, Australian journalist and TV personality Annabel Crabb — no local restaurants made the top 50. Australia's highest ranking restaurant was Attica in Melbourne, which came in at number 84 in the long list announced last week. Fellow Victorian Brae also came in at 101. This year, the list expanded to 120 for the first (and only) time, as a one-off nod to San Pellegrino's (the award's primary sponsor) 120th anniversary. The top five restaurants for 2019 were dramatically different from previous years as former World's 50 Best winners — including Eleven Madison Park and Osteria Francescana — were barred from the list, and instead added to a 'Best of the Best' lineup. The top gong, for the first time in the event's 17-year history, went to a French restaurant: Mirazur. Run by Argentinian-born chef Mauro Colagreco, whose cooking is also inspired by his Italian grandparents, Mirazur is located in an old 1930s villa in the French Riviera, near the Italian border. And, we're guessing it's going to be pretty hard to get a booking there for the next little while — so, we suggest planning a French vacay for 2020 (or beyond). Rounding out the top five were Copenhagen's Noma at number two, which reopened in a new space with a new seasonal menu last year; Spain's Asador Etxebarri at number three; the soon-to-close Gaggan in Bangkok at number four; and fellow Danish restaurant Geranium at five. Other new and notable additions to this year's list include a first-time inclusion for Dominique Crenn's famed San Francisco spot Atelier Crenn and NY's Cosme, by the 2019 Best Female Chef Daniela Soto-Innes, which was the highest ranked US restaurant. https://www.instagram.com/p/BzI0i_OlDGg/ The winning restaurants were chosen by a 1000-strong global voting panel which, for the first time, had an equal gender balance. Five restaurants led by females made the top 50, the same number as last year. You can check out the full list of the World's 50 Best Restaurants here and read more about the long list here. First image: Mirazur by Nicolas Lobbestael.
It begins with a ghost story, then a chilling diversion away from its main characters that's heartbreakingly ripped from the headlines. It ends with the most OTT yet incisive Amelie parody — and reckoning with restlessness, too — that's ever likely to grace screens, complete with baguettes wielded as weapons. In-between, it may or may not attend Tupac's date with death in Amsterdam, literally takes to history with a chainsaw and calls out Karens who are quick to snipe at others with their "I want to speak to the manager" sense of entitlement. Also, Alexander Skarsgård (The Northman) pops up and masturbates furiously, and cannibalism plays a part. The show in question: Atlanta. It took four years for the Donald Glover-created and -starring (and often -written and -directed) series to return for its third season, but the deservingly acclaimed program sashays through its latest batch of ten episodes like no time has passed. That said, when its latest stint first arrived back in March, launching with two episodes at once before reverting to weekly single-instalment drops, it made its comeback with two pieces of fantastic news and one inevitable but not-so-welcome reality. Wonderfully, this is one of two seasons of Atlanta that'll air this year. Surreal, insightful and exceptional, it's also as great as the show has ever been since it initially debuted in 2016. But when season four does appear later in 2022, that'll be the end. Knowing that Atlanta's time is numbered makes revelling in what it has for viewers now all the more special, although this series has long earned that description anyway. That quick list of season-three highlights above demonstrates that anything and everything can happen in Atlanta — and frequently does. But there's always an underlying point to stress, and one that'll never get old. Just as Jordan Peele has on the big screen with Get Out and Us after building upon his excellent sketch comedy show Key & Peele, Glover lays bare what it's like to be Black in America today with brutally smart and honest precision, and also makes it blisteringly apparent that both horror and so-wild-and-terrifying-that-you-can-only-laugh comedy remains the default. Atlanta's third season goes big on white bullshit, and also on the way that the white-centric world will forever be haunted by how it still treats and has historically treated people of colour. And, in the episodes that focus on Glover's Earnest 'Earn' Marks, his cousin and rapper Alfred 'Paper Boi' Miles (Brian Tyree Henry, Eternals), their Nigerian American pal Darius (Lakeith Stanfield, Judas and the Black Messiah) and Earn's ex Vanessa (Zazie Beetz, The Harder They Fall), the lived experience of being a Black American anywhere is thrust into the spotlight. Atlanta has now evolved to the point where it can be Atlanta anywhere, including well beyond its titular city. A lesser show might feel as Van visibly does from the moment that she meets Darius at the Amsterdam airport — careening, unmoored, uncertain of where to fit — but Atlanta is never anything but its ambitious and incredible self. Now all wrapped up and ready to binge — if waiting week to week isn't your style of viewing — the series' current spin has Al on tour in Europe, after his fame has rocketed since viewers last saw him. One of season three's bold moves: jumping into a stratospheric phase in the rapper's career, with money and success now just a given for the talent that the show saw strive, struggle and hustle through seasons one and two. When he's jailed in The Netherlands, he's treated like royalty. He's chased in the street, too, and recognised wherever he goes. And when Earn has to rustle up a fat stack of cash to get him out of prison, it's as easy as demanding an advance on that night's gig. Al's new luxury-dripping status quo, and Atlanta's drastic change of scenery, results in an on-the-road onslaught of antics that repeatedly put the program's key foursome at the mercy of white bullshit. Racist traditions, money-hungry rich folks looking to cash in on someone else's culture, scheming hangers-on, brands using Black artists for politically correct PR stunts, culinary gentrification, not just literal commodification but also voracious consumption — they're all included, and unpacked scathingly and exactingly. Also covered, particularly in the season's sublimely ridiculous final episode: the way that navigating this constant swirl of white-fuelled chaos isn't just exhausting, but dispiriting to the point that joining can seem like the safest move. Closing out with the only Van-focused entry from the new batch, season three's closer is as farcical and funny as Atlanta gets, and also deeply steeped in the everyday exasperation of battling to exist. When Glover, Henry, Stanfield and Beetz are on-screen — albeit never together as much as audiences hope — Atlanta is as comfortable as it gets while also always throwing up a non-stop array of surprises. Then there's the season's standalone stories, all of which would fuel excellent movies. Proving astute, incisive, sometimes-absurd, always-stellar and relentlessly inventive, here Atlanta examines the welfare system and its inequalities, reparations for slavery, the emotional and physical labour outsourced to Black workers, and how the world enforces all things white as the default — and preferred — option. Sometimes the takeaway points are obvious, but that doesn't mean they're any less searing. The cast, as always, are a powerhouse. Few actors can convey wearingly resigned yet still determined like Glover, or make Darius' ethereal vibe run deep as Stanfield does. Henry fleshes out Al's growing dissatisfaction with the trappings and expectations of fame, while Beetz steals every scene she's in — even when, for most of the season, she's flitting around the edges as Van free falls from the crew's most sensible member to its most erratic. Some of season three's stunt casting doesn't pay off, though, with obviousness rearing its head again and less successfully, but Atlanta still boasts the best core quartet currently on television. It's still the best among at almost everything it does, in fact, including sliding onto Glover's always busy resume. Obviously, season four now can't come quickly enough. Check out the full trailer for Atlanta's third season below: The third season of Atlanta is available to stream via SBS On Demand in Australia and Neon in New Zealand.
The increasing rise of streaming platforms could mark the death of movie-going as we know it, or so says the popular line of thinking that's been floating around for years. We're fairly certain that online services won't completely kill cinemas, however, even as huge companies like Apple and Disney try to battle it out with Netflix. There's a simple reason, and it's all about the spectacle. If the big screen dies out, all of those huge superhero battles will lose a bit of their sheen — and so will nerve-wracking creature features. It's a truth universally acknowledged that there's nothing quite like watching savage critters attack while you're sat in a darkened theatre, where nothing can disrupt the tension and a whole room of people are reacting to the on-screen horrors. That's one of the reasons Steven Spielberg's Jaws proved such a hit, after all, with the movie credited with inventing the mid-year blockbuster season. Since the 1975 thriller, plenty of films have tried to follow in its footsteps, both seriously and comedically. Crawl is the latest, slinging killer crocodiles at Skins and Maze Runner star Kaya Scodelario — because, well, why not? Directed by Alexandre Aja (The Hills Have Eyes, Piranha 3D) and produced by Sam Raimi (the original Evil Dead trilogy, Drag Me to Hell), Crawl takes place in Florida, just as a huge hurricane hits. Scodelario's Haley is told to evacuate, but she wants to find her missing dad (Barry Pepper) first — and he's injured and stuck in the crawl space of their family home. So far, so unfortunate. But then floodwaters rise, the storm keeps belting down and something with teeth is lurking below the water. If you're not fond of jumps, scares and snapping foes, this won't be for you. If you are, check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4WuVXo_XAM&feature=youtu.be Crawl releases in Australian cinemas on July 11. Image: Sergej Radović. © 2019 Paramount Pictures Corporation. All rights reserved.
Anything can be festive with the right theming, and that includes doughnuts. Accordingly, it should come as zero surprise that Krispy Kreme will soon release a line of Christmas goods, aka doughnuts iced in red, green and white. What you might not be expecting, however, is the new range of doughnut-inspired Christmas biscuits for dogs that it has just dropped first. You know the thinking behind this new canine snack: anything humans can eat, dogs think they can munch on as well. Of course, as every responsible pet parent knows, that isn't the case. But this festive season, that's where Krispy Kreme's latest limited-edition range of 'doggie doughnuts' comes in. The company has dipped their paws in this territory before, back in 2021. This time, the round dog bikkies are all about the jolliest part of the year. Even better: they're decked out exactly as the Christmas range of doughnuts for humans will be when they arrive, so you and your pupper can go all matchy matchy with your snacks. Krispy Kreme's new dog treats sure do look like the real thing anyway, and once again hail from a collaboration with Coolum-based pet treats business Huds and Toke. They come in four packs for $10.95, with each biscuit featuring different decorating — so there's a Christmas tree-inspired bikkie, one that's meant to look like a Christmas pudding, another that's inspired by Santa's belly (including a blet) and a white, sprinkle-topped number simply dubbed 'festive ring'. The biscuits aren't made from doughnuts or chocolate, of course; instead, they use a hard-baked cookie base that uses peanut butter, carob and other canine-friendly ingredients. The bikkies are also meant to be good for chewing and for teeth cleaning — so they'll get your four-legged friend's tail wagging and help take care of their dental health. And yes, a big caveat: they are just for pets. So, just like how Fido or Rover can't have your doughnut, you can't have their version either. Find them now at Krispy Kreme stores around the country, including via drive-thru and click-and-collect. Krispy Kreme's Christmas doggie doughnuts are now available from the chain's stores — including via drive-thru and click-and-collect for a limited time.
UPDATE: MARCH 11, 2019 — Due to the show on Saturday, April 20 selling out, Palais Theatre has announced a second David Gray show on Friday, April 20. Tickets start at $99.50. UK singer-songwriter David Gray has ticked off more than a few achievements in his 25-year career. His breakthrough album, White Ladder, became the biggest-selling record in Ireland of all time and he has gone on to receive BAFTA, Brit and Grammy nominations, plus a slate of other awards. Gray's seventh album, Life in Slow Motion, debuted at number eight on the Australian charts, establishing a firm fanbase Down Under ever since. And in good news for both new and existing fans, Gray is heading back our way in April to play Bluesfest, plus a handful of sideshows. His tour will be timed around the release of his eleventh album, Gold in a Brass Age — the first record of new material in four years. Head along to Palais Theatre on Saturday, April 20 to hear the entire record played live, including the new single 'The Sapling', plus an array of Gray's smash hits including 'Babylon', 'This Year's Love' and 'Sail Away'. To purchase tickets, head this way.
It's Halloween, 1968, in the fictional town of Mill Valley. With an opening montage reminiscent of many a movie, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark shows viewers just what that means. Locals prepare to celebrate the spookiest day of the year, with decorations littering the town. Pumpkins are a common sight, naturally. Horror-obsessed aspiring writer Stella (Zoe Margaret Colletti) and her fellow teen outcast pals, Auggie (Gabriel Rush) and Chuck (Austin Zajur) are getting ready to go trick-or-treating, too; however it's the bully they're afraid of that initially proves pivotal. At his family farm, Tommy (Austin Abrams) and his offsiders attack a scarecrow. Under the autumn sky, surrounded by towering crops stretching far and wide, they smash and bash the figure mercilessly. Each blow knocks the straw man around, but it doesn't fight back. It can't — it's inanimate. But that doesn't mean that there won't be repercussions. Based on the 80s and 90s children's book series of the same name, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark doesn't trade in a 'what goes around, comes around' mentality — although Tommy isn't destined for a hero's journey. Rather, director André Øvredal (The Autopsy of Jane Doe) and his screenwriters (The Lego Ninjago Movie's Dan Hageman and Kevin Hageman, plus Oscar-winning The Shape of Water filmmaker Guillermo del Toro) explore the idea that pain is part of a cycle. Whether you're inflicting, receiving or helping to relieve it, trauma isn't a one-way event or a one-off occurrence. In the film's intermittent narration, Stella explains this in a different way, more befitting the movie's literary origins: "Stories hurt. Stories heal". After a trip to a supposedly haunted local house leaves Stella in possession of a spooky collection of stories, her words start ringing true. Decades earlier, the book belonged to Sarah Bellows, who was brutalised by her wealthy family, locked in the basement and — as the legend goes — lured in kids with eerie tales, then killed them. Stella doesn't necessarily believe the myths, until fresh tales begin writing themselves into the dusty tome in a bloody scrawl. Each new story mentions someone that Stella knows, such as Tommy, Auggie, Chuck and the mysterious drifter, Ramon (Michael Garza), that she meets at a drive-in screening of Night of the Living Dead. As foretold on the page, scarecrows soon seek revenge, monsters shuffle through creepy asylums and stews come seasoned with body parts, among other unnerving incidents. Tasked with adapting short stories, the filmmakers find an effective solution to what could've been the movie's big struggle: moulding standalone tales into a cohesive whole. Working through a selection of the printed collection's chapters, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark still feels episodic. Indeed, each segment could work on its own as a short film. That said, this isn't a cobbled-together anthology linked by loose connective tissue (or, if they've sprung to mind, a Stranger Things or IT rip-off). Delving deep into what each spooky tale means to Stella and her friends, Øvredal gives his framing narrative as much weight as the movie's individual parts. These stories reflect events, emotions, fears and worries in the characters' lives, and tie into the picture's setting and time period. The Vietnam War rages on, Richard Nixon is about to be elected to America's highest office and racism makes its presence known — and, via all of the above, a generation just coming of age begins to realise that horror really exists. When it comes to the tangible frights — the bumps, jumps, creaks and the like — Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark also finds an apt approach. As he demonstrated in both The Autopsy of Jane Doe and Troll Hunter, Øvredal knows that less is often more. When needed, though, he's not afraid to throw severed heads around, unleash a stream of spiders or watch dissembled limbs combine into a demon. He's not averse to pushing his fresh-faced cast to their limits, either, or deploying Breaking Bad's Dean Norris (as Stella's dad) as the fount of all gravitas. But, whether in subtle or overt mode, the film always sticks to its point, showing how frightful sights, and the underlying forces and troubles they represent, can manifest in many forms. Still, Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark does tussle with one tricky spot. While vastly darker than Goosebumps, this is an adolescent-friendly affair, sparking an all-too-generic ending and sequel setup. When it takes the easy route in wrapping things up, the movie is at its worst. Thankfully for horror buffs of all ages, that's doesn't spoil the preceding fun. For most of its running time, this is a suitably creepy and thoughtful film, taking familiar parts, twisting them in unnerving ways, and layering its stories with both scares and meaning. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FYPRyBN3Kz8
Another year, another new version of Cinderella. Some stories just can't stay away from the screen, and this is one of them. Filmmakers have been drawn to the fairy tale since the silent era, resulting in beloved animated flicks, playful takes on the tale such as Ever After and Ella Enchanted, and Disney's 2015 live-action adaptation. Arriving next, and soon: a new musical that combines glass slippers and pining for a better life with singing, dancing and a fairy godparent named Fab G — with the latter played by Pose's Billy Porter. This version of Cinderella stars singer Camila Cabello as the titular character, while The Craft: Legacy's Nicholas Galitzine plays Prince Robert. Also popping up: Idina Menzel (Frozen II) as Cinders' stepmother, Minnie Driver (Starstruck) and Pierce Brosnan (Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga) as the king and queen, and Romesh Ranganathan (Staged) and James Corden (The Prom) as both footmen and mice. The latter is a producer, too, and came up with the idea for the film, while Pitch Perfect writer and Blockers helmer Kay Cannon sits in the director's chair. Clearly, if a new version of Cinderella doesn't hit the screen every few years, Hollywood must turn into a pumpkin. While musical takes on the tale aren't new — see also: the stage version that's slated to hit Australia — this one is set to feature pop songs. So, you'll be seeing Cabello, Menzel and company singing tracks you know, as well as crooning their own new original tunes. Just how that'll turn out will be revealed on Amazon Prime Video on Friday, September 3, with the film originally slated for a cinema release, but then snapped up by the streaming platform instead. In both the initial first-look trailer and a just-dropped first new sneak peek, there's plenty of songs, colour and empowerment. Cinders won't stand for her stepmum's terrible treatment, or for simply being a dutiful princess when she hits it off with Prince Robert. There's also humour in this version, crucially, including around Fab G and the abilities that come with being a fairy godparent. "Do you want to go to that ball?" asks Fab G, to which Cinders replies: "yes, I was just crying and singing about it like two minutes ago". Check out the latest Cinderella trailer below: Cinderella will be available to stream via Amazon Prime Video from Friday, September 3. Top image: Kerry Brown.
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.
New York's Museum of Modern Art isn't the only major international gallery to bring its wares to our shores this year, with an exhibition from London's Tate Britain gallery heading to Australia from December. Entitled Love & Desire: Pre-Raphaelite Masterpieces from the Tate and displaying from December 14, 2018 until April 28, 2019, it'll bring more than 40 of the Tate's beloved works to the National Gallery of Australia in Canberra, in an exhibition that'll focus on the artistic movement that started in 1848. Iconic pieces such as John Everett Millais' Ophelia and John William Waterhouse's The Lady of Shalott will be making the journey as part of the showcase. Part ode to early Renaissance efforts, part protest against the prevailing creative traditions of the mid-19th century, pre-Raphaelite art was sparked by a group of rebellious artists eager to create something different to the art of the time — and their preferred style, featuring detailed, colourful compositions painted in thin layers with small brushes, certainly managed that. In addition to the pieces from the Tate, the exhibition will also feature an additional 40 works loaned from other British and Australian collections. Each will help highlight the themes of the Pre-Raphaelite movement, examine the different styles adopted by the various artists adhering to its principles, stress the importance of draughtsmanship and emphasise the movement's fondness for collaboration. "This exhibition includes some of the most loved and visited paintings at Tate — some of which have never before been seen in Australia," said NGA director Nick Mitzevich. Love & Desire: Pre-Raphaelite Masterpieces from the Tate will be the NGA's major summer exhibition, although it's not the gallery's only new addition come the end of the year, with Yayoi Kusama's pumpkin-filled infinity room The Spirits of the Pumpkins Descended into the Heavens set to join its permanent collection in December. Images: John Everett Millais, Ophelia 1851-2. Oil paint on canvas. Tate collection presented by Sir Henry Tate 1894. © Tate. / John William Waterhouse, The Lady of Shalott 1888. Oil on canvas. Tate. © Tate.
In October 2023, Karen Martini's restaurant Hero suddenly closed its doors to the public. It was a shock for the industry. But the author and celebrity chef wasn't gone for long. She soon became Culinary Director of Johnny's Green Room, and then took charge of all things food at Saint George gastropub in St Kilda. The transformed venue (formerly The Saint Hotel) now includes two distinct drinking and dining spaces: The Tavern and The Grill. The Tavern is home to some classic gastropub eats like a fried fish burger and veal cotoletta, plus a few fun and more interesting dishes like the potato cake topped with whipped cod roe. But it's within The Grill where Martini is really showcasing her signature contemporary Italian culinary stylings. For one, it is where she is bringing back her much-loved bistecca alla Fiorentina (from when she worked at Melbourne Wine Room). A slew of antipasti dishes and handmade pasta also feature in this more refined part of St Kilda's Saint George. The drinks menu includes a quirky wine list, along with plenty of Italian-inspired cocktails and some local beers. The backdrop to the food and drink lineup is the newly designed Saint George. Chris Connell Designs has kept things simple, restoring the exposed brickwork, while placing simple black tables throughout the two spaces and injecting a bit of colour with pleasing earthy hues. A few wall-sized David Band artworks from Martini's personal art collection have also been recreated for the pub, adding to its sleek and contemporary feel. Martini is leaving her stamp all over the Saint George gastropub in St Kilda, and we are all for it. Images: Kristoffer Paulsen.
Maybe you've tried mixing flour, salt, a little red wine and a dollop of tomato sauce. Perhaps you can't look at the last month of the year on a calendar without hearing Paul Kelly crooning "it's the 21st of December" in your head. As a song, 'How to Make Gravy' has been an Australian classic since 1996. It's one of the tunes that the great Aussie singer-songwriter will forever be known for. As a movie, How to Make Gravy is the nation's latest festive film, after musician Meg Washington and writer/director Nick Waterman first revealed back in 2022 that they were adapting Kelly's track for the screen. The song does indeed tell listeners how to make gravy. It also unfurls a story that explores what that sauce, plus the act of sharing it with loved ones over the festive season, means to the tune's protagonist. Kelly crafts the track as a letter from Joe to Dan, reflecting on all of the things that he'll be missing that Christmas due to being in prison. "And give my love to Angus, and to Frank and Dolly — tell 'em all I'm sorry, I screwed up this time," the song advises. "And look after Rita, I'll be thinking of her early Christmas morning when I'm standing in line," it continues. "Tell 'em all I'm sorry, and kiss the sleepy children for me. You know one of these days, I'll be making gravy. I'll be making plenty, I'm gonna pay 'em all back," the tune concludes. How do you make a movie out of 'How to Make Gravy'? For the feature now streaming via Binge since Sunday, December 1, 2024, arriving wth perfect end-of-year timing, Washington and Waterman have spun a tale based around all of the folks that Kelly mentions. The brothers driving down from Queensland, Stella, Mary and Roger: they all pop up, too. The duo has also enlisted an impressive list of actors to bring those figures and new characters to life, such as Kate Mulvany (The Clearing), Damon Herriman (Better Man), Brenton Thwaites (Titans), Kieran Darcy-Smith (Mr Inbetween) and Kym Gyngell (The Artful Dodger), plus French actor Agathe Rousselle from Titane making her first English-language film. Two of its biggest names — and two of Australia's best screen talents — sit at the picture's centre. Daniel Henshall (RFDS) is Joe, author of the pivotal message. Hugo Weaving (Slow Horses) plays Noel, who isn't mentioned in the song. For Weaving, "the song 'How to Make Gravy' means someone wants to be making gravy with their family, so it means someone wants to be at home with their family and they're not," he tells Concrete Playground. "But the promise of the gravy is that when I am back at home with you, I will make lots and lots of gravy. So I'll make up for time lost, and I value my family, I value you and I want to gift you this thing that I can do. And I'm sorry that I've stuffed up so badly that I'm not with you. So that's what both the film and the song mean." Henshall agrees; to him, Kelly's track is about "wanting to be home and not being able to be to" and "missing the people that you love". More than four decades since his first-ever screen credit back in 1980, Weaving's career has taken him everywhere from touring the outback in drag in The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (a sequel to which is on the way) to enforcing a robot-dominated world order in The Matrix franchise and playing a half-elven leader in The Lord of the Rings saga. He's starred in Marvel and Transformers movies, too, alongside a wealth of excellent homegrown fare (see: Proof, Babe, Little Fish, Mystery Road, Healing, The Dressmaker, Hearts and Bones, The Rooster and TV's Love Me). Henshall made a chilling imprint in Snowtown, then added fellow exceptional Australian flicks These Final Hours, The Babadook and Acute Misfortune to his resume. On TV, American efforts Turn and Defending Jacob are on his filmography, as are the Aussie likes of Bloom, Lambs of God, Mystery Road: Origin and Savage River. And then there's two Bong Joon-ho movies: Okja and 2025 release Mickey 17. [caption id="attachment_983111" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ben Symons[/caption] How to Make Gravy isn't Weaving and Henshall's first on-screen collaboration. In 2023, The Royal Hotel also brought them together. Before that, 2019's Measure for Measure did the same. With The Royal Hotel and their current team-up especially, they're spending their shared time exploring the complexities of masculinity — in Kitty Green's (The Assistant) film as two of the menacing men at an outback pub, and in How to Make Gravy as inmates. After perpetrating toxic attitudes the last time that they co-starred together, they're now attempting to break free of harmful behaviours. Joe is angry before he starts serving an 18-month sentence. That fury and pain has played a considerable part in sparking his incarceration, in fact. A veteran lifer, Noel has been in similar shoes, but now both oversees the prison kitchen and runs a men's group to help his fellow detainees get in touch with their emotions. The movie version of How to Make Gravy also hops between the events that led to Joe being behind bars and the aftermath the following Christmas — and also between his stint inside and how his family, including Rousselle as his wife Rita, Thwaites as his brother Dan, Mulvaney as his sister Stella, Herriman as her husband Roger, and Jonah Wren Phillips (Sweet Tooth) as Joe and Rita's son Angus, are coping. We also chatted with Weaving and Henshall about their first thoughts when they first heard about the project, its many layers, starring in a movie with such beloved source material, how their paths keep crossing on-screen and digging into the feature's themes. On the Reaction When a Movie Based on an Iconic Paul Kelly Song Comes Your Way Hugo: "Brilliant idea, really excited. Read the script — fantastic version, adaptation, realisation of the source material. And thrilling character for me. So I was all in straight away." Daniel: "Yeah, the idea of being a part of something that means so much to so many was very exciting. And then meeting Nick and Megan and reading their script just made it even more palpable. It was such a visceral script. And what they had done with that, how they moved away from the song, and how they had paid respect to the song and how they'd fleshed out these characters, and how they're dealing with a lot of issues underneath everything without explicitly saying that, I think it was incredibly clever. Much like Paul's music, it's so simple in its structure, but it's so effective. And every time you come to it, you see or feel a bit more. I hope that's what this film does for people as well. I think, for me, having seen it a couple of times now, every time I see a bit more and feel a bit more." Hugo: "The mark of a good film, actually, that. I thought 'oh, is this a different edit?' — and they go 'no, it's the same film that you saw like two months ago'. I said 'I'm sure, didn't you cut that out or put that in?'. 'No, it's the same thing.'" Daniel: "You get a different thing each time." Hugo: "I think it's one of those films where when you see it, you'll see a lot each time". On Whether There's a Sense of Responsibility When You're Starring in a Film That Stems From Such Treasured Source Material Daniel: "Absolutely. And I think that's the initial fear — are you going to ruin someone else's experience of this much-beloved property, this song? But this is an adaptation, and you cross over into understanding that this isn't an imitation, it's an adaptation. So they've taken it and run with it, and now we're focused on making this work from that. We're not going to disrespect the original, but we're going to make this different version inspired by this. So you can focus on that. So the responsibility is now on the film, not to not respect the song, but not being worried about changing someone else's opinion or experience of this song. We're now focused on the film, which is a different thing. It's a fully fleshed idea that's taken from a form in its origin, and now it's in a two-hour format on the screen in real life." Hugo: "Lovely for Paul, too, because he had such a great reaction to it." Daniel: "He did." Hugo: "And I think he feels like his original, didn't he say that 'where it's moved from when I wrote it to now is so great'? And for him that's a liberation, I think. So it's great to get seal of approval from Paul Kelly …" Daniel: "From the originator." Hugo: "… with regard this version of the song. Good to hear. Good to hear." Daniel: "He was very moved, which was really beautiful to see." [caption id="attachment_983112" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ben Symons[/caption] On Weaving and Henshall's Shared On-Screen History, and How That Helped While Collaborating on How to Make Gravy Daniel: "It's brilliant because, I mean, I'm very fond of Hugo, and so I've learned that that gives me a shorthand in communication, in familiarity, in trust, in friendship. So when we go to do something on the screen, I'm innately more open to it and I'm innately more free to play, and feel comfortable to play and not to fail. And so what a wonderful place to start off, even before we start talking about the work. If you're already coming from that, all of that work that you can only do through experiencing somebody. It's like becoming a friend with somebody. The deeper you go with them, the more the friendship grows. And that's true of the work, too. We become more familiar with each other." [caption id="attachment_983113" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Ben Symons[/caption] Hugo: "It's nice, too, being excited by the prospect of working with Dan — having seen Acute Misfortune, for example, which was just such an extraordinary performance, and then getting the opportunity to work with that actor. So you go 'well, I really like what this guy does, and so I hope I'm going to enjoy working with him'. So it's been a really good journey, from Measure for Measure, tiny little scenes we had, to being in each other's orbit on The Royal Hotel — but again, prosecuting intensely toxic male psyches together and talking about that world, the world of The Royal Hotel, and then being able to progress from that toxic world into a another, a world about a more-balanced idea of what family is, and looking at how men can heal themselves. It's been a great journey, actually." Daniel: "Yeah, yeah, yeah, it has." Hugo: "A pleasure." On What Weaving and Henshall Drew Upon to Dig Into Masculinity's Complexities Hugo: "Well, the script initially, and then what that throws up for you, what work you need to do to understand that. So for me it was like 'well, if Noel's done all this work, what work have I done on myself? What sort of psychological pathways have I gone down to understand where I'm at? And what sort of work has this character done? What sort of men's-group work does he have to do?'. So there's all this prosecution of a character that you do before any film. And you can never do enough and then, of course, at some point you've got to just jump in and do it. But always do as much as you can to make that character as complex and as human as possible." Daniel: "For me, it starts with the conversation with the director, and their understanding of the character — and why the character does these things. And then through that conversation, I can state where I'm coming from or what it does for me, or how I respond to that. And I think there's always a thing where at least I try to connect something that's happened to me in my life to something that's happened to the character in their life. And once I understand what that kernel of emotional history is, then you can start to flesh out those very real responses and start to understand them without judgment. I think there's a lot to mine in this character. It's so richly written, so it does begin with the script, obviously. But there's so much more under the surface which, again, was explored through conversation and then personal experience." Hugo: "There's massive backstory …" Daniel: "For all the characters." Hugo: "… for all the characters, actually. And they're just touched on. You get a very strong sense of the father having suicided some years ago, when Joe is a kid. You get a sense of Red's [a fellow inmate] background. You get a sense of Noel's background. You get a sense of Agathe's character's background and mother." Daniel: "Just with that one conversation." Hugo: "So all of these characters, the lives are just hinted at. So you need to find the truth of all of that, and you need to create those stories." Daniel: "That's most of the work, isn't it?" Hugo: "Yeah, it is. And then that brings about 'well, this character thinks in a certain way' or there's an inner monologue happening for them which is very slow or very fast. Every character has an internal world that's significantly different from others, and it's slowly finding that, tapping into that. That's when it starts to get exciting, I think, when you start thinking like that person." Daniel: "Yes." Hugo: "And instinctively feeling like that person." How to Make Gravy streams via Binge. Film images: Jasin Boland.
Guys, we did it. We helped art happen in the face of corporate suckiness. You may remember how last month Lego refused to fulfil Chinese artist and political commentator Ai Weiwei's order for bulk bricks on the grounds that they “cannot approve the use of Legos for political works”. This bizarre and freedom of speech denying move — one that should shock nobody who’s ever stood barefoot on a tiny plastic brick — came just two months before Weiwei's huge blockbuster summer exhibition at Melbourne's National Gallery of Victoria, Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei, which will kick off on December 11. When news broke of Lego's tyrannical response, it wasn’t long before the good people of the internet were offering up their own Legos for Weiwei’s use instead. So what did Weiwei do? He announced that he would be collecting donated Lego in different cities to create the exhibition anyway. A collection point was set up in in the NGV sculpture garden in Melbourne as a repository for the Lego blocks. Donors were encouraged to bring in their Lego blocks and drop them through the sunroof of a car parked in the garden. And it worked. In the wee hours of this morning, Weiwei started posting images of his new artworks to Instagram. The portraits are of activists who fight for human rights and free speech, and so far include privacy activist Edward Snowden and the Republic of The Gambia's opposition treasurer, Amadou Sanneh. A photo posted by Ai Weiwei (@aiww) on Nov 19, 2015 at 8:11am PST A photo posted by Ai Weiwei (@aiww) on Nov 19, 2015 at 8:26am PST A photo posted by Ai Weiwei (@aiww) on Nov 19, 2015 at 8:11am PST We love you Weiwei. Andy Warhol | Ai Weiwei comes to the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne from December 11 to April 24, in collaboration with The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh. For info and tickets, head to the NGV website. Words: Imogen Baker and Lauren Vadnjal
Picture this: you're having a lazy evening at home in front of Netflix, and you promise yourself you'll power through just one — and only one — more episode before tapping out for the night. How many times have you broken that promise? Let's face it, you'd probably prefer not to count. And if you're like us, you probably also reach for the Ben & Jerry's for a quick sugar fix to keep you going. Convenient it may be, but healthy? Not so much. Next time you're planning a lazy night in, level up your snack game with something more wholesome (and equally delicious). We've teamed up with Yumi's to compile a collection of quick, easy and delicious alternatives to your favourite couch-time snacks. Here's what to dig into next time you're doing Netflix and chow. INSTEAD OF CHARCUTERIE...ASSEMBLE A GRAZING PLATTER Look, there's nothing wrong with a well-prepared charcuterie board — piles of delicious deli meats, indulgent cheeses, pâté and preserves, salty crackers, and the odd smattering of fruit. Add some variety with crunchy crudites — and, of course, dip. Yumi's have a huge range of dips that are all dairy and gluten free, and packed with real ingredients. We love the classic sweet potato and cashew dip, while the classic hommus is also excellent — variations like the rocket and almond pesto are also winners. They're great paired with fresh veggies (think carrots and cucumber), but perhaps even better with Yumi's selection of preservative-free and ready-to-eat falafel or veggie bites. We recommend zapping them in the microwave for a minute. INSTEAD OF ICE CREAM...MAKE SORBET Real talk: telling yourself that you're having just one more scoop of ice cream is the same as telling yourself you'll only watch one more episode before heading to bed. Before you know it, it's an ungodly hour and you're staring at the bottom of an empty tub. Lessen the lactose by making a swap for an easy, refreshing homemade sorbet — no churning required. You'll need to dice and prefreeze your favourite fruit — mango, cherries, pineapple or banana always work a treat, while store-bought, prefrozen berries are great for a quick win. Then, pop a cup (or two) in a blender with three to four tablespoons of sugar or maple syrup, and blitz until smooth. You can balance out the sweetness with a hint of lemon or lime juice, too. [caption id="attachment_815090" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Margarita Zueva (Unspalsh)[/caption] INSTEAD OF PIZZA...MAKE BRUSCHETTA An evening on the couch with a juicy series lined up and a big, cheesy pizza — is there a better way to Netflix? Perhaps not — but there are healthier ways (that also don't rely on Uber Eats). Making your own pie is simple as can be, especially with so many types of premade bases available in just about any supermarket, including ones that cater for just about every dietary requirement. Crank up the oven and lather your base with tomato paste (you can even make your own, should you wish), cheese and your choice of toppings. Feel like something more refreshing? It's hard to go wrong when you make your own bruschetta. Pick up a crusty baguette, whack it under the grill, give it a rub with some olive oil, garlic and salt, and then load it up with fresh diced veggies, herbs or deli meats. It's an easy — and delicious — way to make sure you get in your five a day. [caption id="attachment_815095" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Charles Deluvio (Unsplash)[/caption] INSTEAD OF SALTY CHIPS...MAKE VEGGIE CHIPS Love the salty crunch of potato chips? Us too — so we also know how hard it is to know when to stop. For a healthier alternative, leave the prepackaged morsels in the supermarket aisle and pick up some sweet potato or kale instead. It couldn't be more simple to get snacking, either. Just slice up your veg, toss it in some olive oil and pop it in the oven until crispy. Kale is full of good things, from beta-carotene to help eyesight, and Vitamins C, K and E. As for sweet potato, it's loaded with antioxidants, fibre and Vitamin A — it's also lower GI than a regular potato. Want some extra flavour? Kale chips are even better when tossed in a bit of za'atar, while sweet potato and paprika is a spicy match made in heaven. Dip liberally in some hummus and you've got yourself a serious snack. [caption id="attachment_815092" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Anshu A (Unsplash)[/caption] INSTEAD OF BIKKIES...MAKE OATMEAL COOKIES We stan a Tim Tam as much as the next sweet tooth. And don't get us started on our ongoing love affair with an Iced Vovo. But of course, they're not the healthiest treats to snack on. If you too have trouble keeping your mitts out of the bikkie tin, try your hand at making your own oatmeal cookies. They're surprisingly easy to put together and will easily satisfying any sweet cravings. The benefits of trading sugar for oatmeal are plentiful — oats are higher in fibre, can stabilise blood sugars and are loaded with vitamins and antioxidants. There's also the added benefit of the warm aroma of freshly baked goods waiting through your house. [caption id="attachment_815093" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Abbie Whiddett (Unsplash)[/caption] INSTEAD OF CAKE...MAKE CACAO BALLS There's a better way to get your gooey chocolate fix. Enter date and cacao balls. They're ridiculously easy to make, and they last longer than cake does, too (though if they disappear from the fridge quickly, we won't blame you). There are a heap of health benefits, too — dates are high in antioxidants and fibre, and can also improve bone health, while cacao has been shown to help lower blood pressure and improve blood flow. For more wholesome snacking, check out the full range of Yumi's falafels, veggie bites and dips.
The common wisdom, as taught to us by John Howard, that most progressive of reformers, is that less guns on the street equals less gun violence. Seems like a simple enough equation. It seemed to work in Australia after the 1996 Port Arthur massacre and its been the driving idea behind New York's tighter gun legislation. Yet in 8 unbelievable seconds all of our assumptions about gun control and gun legislation became frighteningly and irrevocably obsolete. Thanks to a little thing called 3D printing, a group of Texan anarchists and libertarians known as Defense Distributed have made printable weapons not only conceivable but 100 percent possible. With nothing more than a few-thousand-dollar printer, a couple chunks of plastic and an online file (which you can download for free right now!), you can make a lethal weapon from the comfort of your own living room. As of March, more than 10,000 people had already downloaded one such gun-making file. Unsurprisingly, this development has got US legislators going into overdrive. Earlier this week, New York became the first state to take decisive action on the issue introducing a bill that would make it illegal for anyone but a licensed gunsmith to create a firearm using a 3D printer. The bill also includes a number of important restrictions such as compulsory police notification, registration of any weapon within 72 hours of creation and limits on bullet production. California is expected to introduce a similar bill in the coming weeks. While such legislative action is understandably important, the New York bill ain't about to put a stopper on the production of homemade weapons. According to New York University's resident gun law expert, James B. Jacobs, the Second Amendment will be the least of legislators' worries. He argues that while printable weapons can be restricted in much the same way as assault weapons have been, banning the files that allow you to print 3D guns is a much more difficult prospect. "The First Amendment will not permit banning posting software that would allow 'printing' such a weapon, just as we can't ban Al Qaeda literature on building pipe bombs,” Jacobs says. Whether this technology will make any discernible difference to America's already gun-enriched culture remains to be seen, but for the moment the thought of 'gun labs' popping up in the garages of wayward youths across the country has me scared shitless. Between this and a few fairly spine-tingling videos, it seems fair to say that the possible repercussions of having printable weapons are only just beginning to emerge.
From the CBD to the west, Sydney Festival will take over the city yet again this January, with over 130 art, music, theatre, comedy and cultural events happening across three weeks, between Wednesday, January 6 and Tuesday, January 26. Get your calendar ready, it's going to be a busy 21 days. Things will look a little different from previous years, with all 2021 events adhering to COVID-19 safety guidelines, including capacity limits and social-distancing regulations. The festival, however, is a big step for the city's culture and nightlife, marking a slow return to normality. 2021 will be the festival's last year under the helm of Artistic Director Wesley Enoch, with Olivia Ansell taking over in 2022. Due to border closures, Enoch has had to craft an Australian-only program, calling on the best established and up-and-coming talent the country has to offer. [caption id="attachment_789697" align="alignnone" width="1920"] 'The Rise and Fall of Saint George' by Peter Rubie[/caption] Highlights of the newly announced program include a pop-up stage at Barangaroo; the telling of Evonne Goolagong's life story, which will see Sydney Town Hall transformed into a tennis court; an installation of large floating bees around Vaucluse House called Hive Mind; an homage to musical legend George Michael starring Paul Mac; and the return of the festival's Blak Out program, promoting and uplifting First Nations voices and storytelling throughout the festival. The Barangaroo pop-up titled The Headland, will see a 32-metre-wide stage, larger than both the Capitol and Sydney Lyric, constructed in front of Sydney Harbour. The stage will operate over 16 nights, playing host to performers and musicians such as the Bangarra Dance Company, Sydney Symphony and Paul Mac, all for just $25 a ticket. Taking to smaller stages across the city, including The Lansdowne, Factory Theatre and Tokyo Sing Song, will be a whole bunch of Australian favourites including Christine Anu, Urthboy, E^ST, Alice Ivy and Emily Wurramara. [caption id="attachment_789696" align="alignnone" width="1920"] 'Hive Mind'[/caption] Alongside the giant bees taking residence in Vaucluse, visual art will consume the city, with exhibitions at the Art Gallery of New South Wales, the Museum of Contemporary Art and outside Customs House, Circular Quay, where a new large-scale immersive experience from audio-visual artist Matthias Schack-Arnott will be set up for the public to interact with. The festival will also see the return of long-running favourites, such as Parramatta Park's Sydney Symphony Under the Stars and Barangaroo's The Vigil on Australia Day eve. Sydney Festival 2021 runs from January 6–26 at venues across the city. For further details and to buy tickets, visit the Sydney Festival website. Tickets are on sale now. Top image: The Headland stage and 'Sydney Symphony Under the Stars' by Victor Frankowski
For those of you who secretly pat yourself on the back with every Facebook notification and retweet, meet your self-esteem boosting sidekicks: Molly and Olly. In case you needed reminding of just how popular you are, these mini robotic siblings are here to stroke your ego by releasing a sweet scent or treat upon every post, mention or retweet received. Created by software developing agency MintDigital, Molly and Olly bring social media interaction to another level. Once plugged into your computer, adorable Olly may be synced with any online network. When you receive a comment or a post, Olly will release a scent into the room; the more online notifications, the more aromatic your room. Molly, the slightly larger of the two, may similarly be synced to any network of your choosing. Instead of dispensing scents to congratulate you on a notification, however, this robot will give you your sugar fix by dispensing an edible treat. Social networking success never tasted (or smelled) so sweet. [via That's Like, Whoa!]
True to its name, this bar is located at the edge of some water – the waters of Hobsons Bay to be exact. Situated on the Southbank Promenade, this bar and grill has a relaxed yet elegant feel and features stunning views of the water under the compelling city lights. The waterside theme continues in the menu, with a selection of oysters and seafood on offer. Put on your fancy pants, slurp down some slippery seafood and enjoy the stunning views with a drink in hand.
It isn't every day that wandering through Federation Square involves walking past — or through — a whopping 3000 kilograms of clothing waste. Thanks to an eye-catching, awareness-raising, three-day-only pop-up, however, Melburnians can currently do just that. Until Thursday, April 28, a hefty pile of discarded fashion is sitting in the middle of the Victorian capital, all to draw attention to how many threads are thrown away by Australians. The sustainability focused installation is a collaboration between Kathmandu and zero-waste advocate Joost Bakker, and it'll instantly teach you something — because the 3000 kilograms of discarded clothing that's pivotal to the piece only represents the amount of textiles disposed of by Aussies in a mere five-minute window. That's how much that gets thrown away every five minutes, in fact, with Kathmandu and Bakker's team-up designed to make that stark truth hit home. "The thing that shocked me the most — I just thought I'd use 500 kilos of clothing, but then I got 200 kilos of clothing in just one day," Bakker tells Concrete Playground. "I just went 'oh my god'. There's just this huge volume. I just couldn't quite comprehend the volume, and the weight. And then when you see these piles of clothing, or you see factories full, or you see it in landfill — the energy, the water, the labour, everything that's gone into creating that, and it's just thrown into landfill, it's crazy." The 3000 kilograms of clothes that Bakker has amassed for this project — with the help of clothing recycling centre Upparel — is used in a tunnel structure that visitors to Fed Square can mosey through. Still, it's hard not to feel the the scale of it. Again, that's completely by design. "My core belief is that people are aware, they'll do something about it," says Bakker. "Even if it's just one person who walks through that structure and gets inspired and comes up with a solution — that's what's so exciting. Globally, so many people are putting their energy into finding solutions that, over the next ten years, it'll be a thing of the past. I have no doubt that clothing waste will not exist very quickly because we're all putting our energy into it and trying to find solutions. Humans are amazing at finding solutions when we put our energy and efforts into it, and that's what's happening now. That's really what this installation is all about," he continues. The reason for the collab with Kathmandu: the company asked, and gave Bakker free rein to come up with his own way to highlight the fashion-waste problem. "I thought it was quite inspiring that a brand wanted to actually highlight this, and so I got quite excited," he notes. "I wanted to really come up with a way that you could actually immerse yourself in a volume [of textiles]. If you have a pile of clothing, it's very difficult to get a sense of how much that is," Bakker tells CP. "So I wanted to create a structure where you were really in it and immersed in it. And I'm based in Monbulk, I'm surrounded by flower farmers, and I was able to access plastics that are used for greenhouses — these are all offcuts, and we've put lots of layers of offcut plastic to create that structure that allows you to see the enormous waste that's generated." Kathmandu is also launching a new 100-percent biodegradable BioDown puffer jacket, which Melburnians will see hanging through the installation. It's made from materials — outer, inner, down, zips, threads, tags and all — that are treated with a special additive that helps accelerate biodegradation, but only in a landfill environment. The jackets will hit stores from Thursday, April 28. Bakker notes that it's moves like these that'll help see textile waste eliminated — an issue that's only been around for half a century or so anyway — and unwanted fashion items reused and recycled instead. "My belief is that waste is just a human thing. Waste is something that pretty much is only a fifty-year thing, it's a very short space of time that we've generated a waste industry. Even if you go back 60, 70 years, everything was a resource, so we didn't have things like landfills and waste dumps," he explains. "I view waste as something beautiful. It's amazing how many people have commented 'the structure is actually really beautiful, but it's filled with waste, it's filled with something that we discard, something that we don't put any value on'. All my work has been about turning that around," Bakker continues. "In nature, there's no waste. You don't walk around a forest and go 'oh my god, I'm surrounded by all this rubbish'. It's only a human thing, because everything becomes something else again. I think the sooner that as a society we embrace that idea, we can completely design waste out of everything. It can happen really quickly, and I think it will happen really quickly, because we are all aware now." Kathmandu's fashion-waste installation is on display at Federation Square, Flinders Street, Melbourne, from Tuesday, April 26–Thursday, April 28.
If pastel wasn't already part of your gig-going wardrobe, it will be at Australia's newest music festival, with Client Liaison launching their own curated touring event. Called Expo Liaison, the seven-hour fest will tour Melbourne, Perth, Sydney and Brisbane across the last two weekends in August, with the yet-to-be-announced lineup selected by the band. There's no word yet on whether they'll be performing themselves, but you'd think that's a highly likely possibility. Just what else is in store is also yet to be revealed too, although the festival bas been badged "a multimedia, multi-city, multiversal experience" in its promotional material, as well as a "once-in-a-lifetime event". They're the kind of descriptions that plenty of gigs and fests throw around, but Client Liaison have a track record of delivering more than just the usual shows — or fashion lines or music videos, for that matter. First release tickets are currently on sale across all four cities, and if you're keen to hear the duo's own thoughts on the festival, check out the Expo Liaison trailer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AgSsrdVHnh0&feature=youtu.be Expo Liaison heads to Melbourne's Flemington Racecourse on August 18, Sydney's Parramatta Park on August 25 and Brisbane's Victoria Park on August 26. Head to Client Liaison's website for further details and to buy tickets.
If you're fond of cats big and small — fluffy, hair-free, scampering, sleeping and the like — then you'll know one golden rule: every day is better when there's meowing mousers involved. And, maybe you've secured that sweet situation thanks to your own purring pet. Or, perhaps you're just the kind of person who makes a beeline to any kitten they see, tries to become its best friend and can't focus on anything else while it's in the vicinity. Whichever fits, adding more cats to your day is something that every feline fan wants — and it's definitely a part of the Cat Protection Society of Victoria's new dream gig. It's a volunteer job, spanning a three-month stint in Melbourne, but it'll 100-percent bring kittens your way. The role: CPSV's official 'cat cuddler'. Yes, that's really what it's called. Obviously, what it entails is rather self-explanatory — because the lucky person who scores the position will be tasked with providing love, affection and enrichment to the cats and kittens in the society's care as they wait to be adopted. The word you're looking for? "Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww". This is the organisation that offered cat cuddling gift vouchers as Christmas gifts last year, after all — but this is even cuter. The caveats: you'll need to be in Melbourne to take the gig, and you'll need to have a minimum of three hours per week — on one weekday each week, and during normal operating hours — to head to CPSV's adoption centre to give its kitties all those snuggles. If that sounds like you — or if you've got a pussy-loving pal that you know would love it — all applicants have until Friday, June 4 to apply to temporarily join the society's team of around 40 volunteers. To throw your name in the ring, you'll want to head to the CPSV website and upload a short video (up to two minutes max) that explains why you should be the official Cat Protection Society Cat Cuddler, and also complete the online application form. To apply for the Cat Protection Society of Victoria's 'cat cuddler' position before Friday, June 4, head to the organisation's website.
Is Sydney Film Festival in its body-horror era? In 2024, the Harbour City's annual citywide celebration of cinema closed with The Substance, after it had wowed Cannes but before it was an Oscar-winner. The very next movie that the event is screening, aka 2025's just-announced opening-night picture, also falls into the genre. Together stars Alison Brie (Apples Never Fall) and Dave Franco (Love Lies Bleeding), had this year's Sundance buzzing and marks the feature directorial debut of Australian filmmaker Michael Shanks (The Wizards of Aus). The Aussie film will kick off one of the country's major yearly odes to movies on Wednesday, June 4 — and will do so with a flick about a couple moving to the country, then finding more than just the relaxing quiet life they're seeking awaiting. Brie and Franco play Millie and Tim. After their big shift, she feels more at home than he does, ramping up their codependent relationship on his side. Then, as the teaser trailer featuring staring animals, unexpected strands of hair, a cave and declarations of love starts to show, things get strange. Also co-starring Australian actor Damon Herriman (How to Make Gravy), Together has a date with SFF almost two months in advance of its Aussie and US cinema release date at the end of July. In Sydney, it leads a lineup that's drop its full program on Wednesday, May 7, but already includes a Jafar Panahi retrospective, Justin Kurzel (The Narrow Road to the Deep North)-directed documentary Ellis Park, and everything from homegrown animation Lesbian Space Princess to Barry Keoghan's (Bird) new Irish thriller Bring Them Down. "We are thrilled to open the 2025 Festival with Together, a fiercely original work that showcases the creative ambition of a new voice in Australian cinema," said Sydney Film Festival Director Nashen Moodley, announcing 2025's opening flick. "Michael Shanks has crafted a bold and inventive debut that shifts seamlessly between tones, anchored by fully committed performances from Alison Brie and Dave Franco." Added Shanks: "having Together open Sydney Film Festival is a huge honour. Despite our US leads, this is an Australian film through and through, and I'm so proud to showcase what amazing crew and cast we have in our local industry." "I got altitude sickness in Utah when the film premiered in Sundance, and thankfully that's far less likely to happen when it premieres in Sydney." Check out the teaser trailer for Together below: Sydney Film Festival 2025 runs from Wednesday, June 4–Sunday, June 15 at cinemas across Sydney. Head to the festival website for further information and tickets — and check back here for the full lineup on Wednesday, May 7, 2025.
You love your mum, and if you're looking for ways to spoil the leading lady in your life, we're here to help. Because let's face it — your favourite underground bar is a bit too dingy, and your go-to ramen joint is a bit of a lazy pick for the woman who gave you, you know, life. This is your chance to deliver something momentous and memorable — and earn some serious brownie points on the side. From luxuriously long lunches to boozy brunches and everything in between, we've rounded up the best places for Mother's Day in Melbourne, and for every weekend after it. Go forth and really make mum's day. Recommended reads: The Best Restaurants in Melbourne The Best Wine Bars in Melbourne The Best Pubs in Melbourne The Most Romantic Bars and Restaurants in Melbourne For Wine Lovers: Fergusson Winery This Mother's Day, Fergusson Winery in the Yarra Valley is hosting a luxury garden party surrounded by rolling vineyards. The team has created a four-course menu just for the occasion ($99) and will set up a bunch of lawn games for the afternoon — just hope for good weather. There will also be a themed cocktail menu, matching wines (obviously) and a special gift for each of the mothers who attend the lunch. For Immersive Art, Dining and Yoga: The Lume Melbourne digital art gallery The Lume's current multi-sensory exhibition is dedicated to Vincent Van Gogh, and this exhibition will be the gallery's final before closing its doors forever on Sunday, June 1. Van Gogh's masterpieces cover all the floors and walls, making for an experience that goes above and beyond your typical art gallery. And for this Mother's Day, there will be a few ways to celebrate at The Lume. For a special meal with a special lady, you can book a spot at Caffè Terrace 1888, the on-site dining destination that blends into the immersive space, for a taste of 19th-century French classics inside the works of Van Gogh himself. If Mum is a wellness lover and doesn't mind an early start, The Lume's wellness program is running a special 8am class on the big day for $35 per person. Move and Connect with Her Run combines gentle yoga and soothing sound baths for a restorative Mother's Day experience you couldn't find anywhere else. If you need early morning energy to support Mum, the class includes complimentary coffee for all participants beforehand. For Classic Mother's Day High Tea: Mary Eats Cake, Royal Exhibition Building and Sofitel on Collins Treating your mum to a luxe Melbourne high tea is a classic Mother's Day experience. It's easy, no matter the size of the group, and it doesn't have to be too expensive. There are also heaps of places in Melbourne that have made one-off afternoon teas for Mother's Day. First, Mary Eats Cake is running its Mother's Day High Tea again (from $75 per person) from Thursday, May 1–Saturday, May 31, as well as a dedicated Ultimate Mother's Day High Tea for $95 per person on the weekend of the occasion. Both include your usual high tea treats of specialty cocktails and mocktails, savoury and sweet treats, and oh-so-many scones. For a touch of historical elegance, the UNESCO World Heritage-listed Royal Exhibition Building is hosting a Mother's Day high tea with complimentary bubbles and live classical music for $139 per person, while Sofitel on Collins has put together a Mother's Day high tea in No35 Restaurant with complimentary champagne, degustation bites and live music from $155 per person. For Mums Who Love a Cause: Mother's Day Classic and The Terrace Sure, you could spend your day indulging in all sorts of high teas and treats across Melbourne, but the occasion marks a great opportunity to get moving for a damn good cause. The Mother's Day Classic is an annual Mother's Day marathon (or walkathon) that circumnavigates Royal Botanic Gardens to raise money for breast cancer and ovarian cancer research. Nearby to the course is an ideal recovery spot at one of Melbourne's most scenic cafes: The Terrace. You can recover with an à la carte booking or opt for the Mother's Day high tea package, which includes sweet and savoury treats, a hibiscus spritz and bouquets (available for preorder) across three sessions for $89 per person. For Ceramics Shopping: Three Day Clay Pop-Up Instead of picking a present to get your mum ahead of time and hoping she loves it, why not take her shopping for her own gift instead? You can hit up stores all over the city or opt to visit the Three Day Clay pop-up store on Sydney Road in Brunswick. 13-plus artists will sell their wares during the mornings and afternoons from Friday, May 8–Sunday, May 11. The event is even open in the evening on Friday, when the team will give a glass of complimentary sparkling wine to everyone who stops by. For a Lunchtime Feast: Bottomless Yum Cha at David's If you prefer a more casual, all-you-can-eat feast for Mother's Day in Melbourne, then you've got to check out David's in Prahran. On Saturday, May 10 and Sunday, May 11, the team will serve up their bottomless yum cha ($74 per person), with seatings throughout the day on Saturday and bookings into the evening on Sunday. Given that it's Mother's Day, there will be more than enough tea and spritzes to enjoy throughout your booking. These guys are super quick with their service, so you know the staff won't let your glass lay empty for long. [caption id="attachment_951928" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Petrina Tinslay[/caption] For Total Luxury: Reine and La Rue Reine and La Rue is home to one of the finest dining spaces in Melbourne. It's also hosting one of the most decadent Mother's Day meals in Melbourne. For both lunch and dinner, the team has created a stunning set menu and is giving guests the opportunity to personalise the occasion. When booking, guests can choose between a preordered box of sweet treats or an elegant floral bouquet to adorn their table. The experience isn't the cheapest, clocking in at a hefty $245 per person, but it is great for those looking to go all out this Mother's Day. For Fresh Flavours: Lona Misa If you're not drawn to the temptation of scones, teas or even a hearty pub feed, there are some more adventurous Mother's Day offerings around town. One of those is at Lona Misa, the South Yarra Latin hotspot that specialises in approachable and vegan-friendly fare. The team has put together a long lunch menu for Mother's Day, for $95 per adult. Expect potato bread and grilled shiitake anticuchos skewers, roasted peri-peri chicken, roasted cabbage with salsa macha and Andean papas with black garlic mayo. All that comes with free-flowing coffee and tea, and two hours of bottomless mimosas, spritzes, wine and beer. For a Sweet Treat: Piccolina Not all Mother's Day treats have to include outings to Melbourne restaurants and bars. Sometimes, you just want to hang out at home and have some family time. If that's your plan, but you still want to do something a little special, think about pre-ordering some of Piccolina's limited-edition tiramisu gelato sandwiches. The pastry chefs over at one of Melbourne's best gelaterias have adapted the timeless Italian dessert into an all-new form, with chocolate-dipped and cocoa-dusted sponge wedged around a slab of ganache and marscarpone gelato. You can pick them up on Mother's Day and deliver them yourself for an easy $22. Top image: Mary Eats Cake
'Drink fresh' is the general rule of thumb when it comes to beer, but not all brews must be consumed according to a 'best by' date. Because really, some things are just better with age (see: wine, whisky, wisdom). And in actuality, some beers are better with some age. So, in celebration of Coopers' 2017 Vintage Ale release, we're exploring the idea of ageing, and more particularly, ageing beer, because time can be of the essence when it comes to some of the finest things in life. We've already looked at five unexpected things that get better with age (number one being beer), and now we're diving deeper into this idea of ageing brews. Chief brewer of the iconic Coopers Brewery, Dr Tim Cooper is an impressive figure within Australia's beer scene. Not only is he a certified medical doctor, but he also heads up the family business, continuing to grow its legacy. As part of this legacy, his team has explored the process of ageing beers since 1998 when they released their very first Coopers Extra Strong Vintage Ale. For the uninitiated, these beers are made with the intention that they should be cellared before enjoyed in order to help deepen flavour and bring out new aromas as the brew ages. Looking to dive a bit deeper into this cellaring process, we sat down with Dr Tim to talk through all things aged beer — why you should try it, which beers you should (and shouldn't) cellar and how to age them correctly. WHY YOU SHOULD AGE BEER "My father used to tell tales at the brewery of a Norwegian sea captain who would purchase a year's supply when docking in port closest to the Adelaide brewery," says Dr Tim. "He would hoard the beer for his travels, preferring to drink those stored from the previous years as they had matured. This was back in the 1970s, and showed that people were interested in ageing back then." Come the 1990s, numerous requests from publicans pressured the brewery to consider a vintage seasonal; by the time 1998 came around, the Coopers Vintage Ale was born. Whilst it's not entirely clear what will happen when a beer ages — there are just too many variables — maturation cannot be considered emphatically better or worse, it merely changes the beer's flavour. "Ageing takes some of the raw edges off the perceptible flavour and can definitely be an improvement," Dr Tim asserts. Ageing beer brings out new flavours, replacing harsher notes with softer, sweeter aromas. "Fermentation with ale yeast imparts fragrant esters of tropical fruit, pineapple and banana evident early on," explains Dr Tim. "These compliment the floral and fruity notes arising from the addition of aroma hops. Consumers will enjoy these flavours when drinking these ales fresh." Then, over a relatively short time, the fruity and floral character of the ferment esters and hops dwindle, so by the five year mark, the malt characteristics become fortified. This further ageing will foster umami and vinous characteristics of, say, port wine. When it comes down to it, however, it's all dependant on your own tastes. The reason you should try ageing beer exists in why you drink it in the first place — "the end goal should be for better enjoyment." WHICH BEERS CAN BE AGED Overall, beers with higher alcohol are up to the challenge of cellaring. "By and large the Coopers Vintage products are generally higher than average in alcohol," Dr Tim explains. Similarly, sour styles and beers you can buy already barrel-aged fend nicely, developing flavour and complexity as time goes by. These heftier, more alcoholic beers — think stouts, porters and barley wines — not only have natural means of reducing the negative effects ageing has on taste, but their flavours often benefit. Fruity, floral notes and any bitterness decrease due to the natural degradation of hop profiles, all while malt characteristics such as bready notes and sweetness generally take over. Just keep in mind that hop-centric beers, lagers and beers with lower ABV are generally brewed for fresh consumption. Their flavours will suffer from any prolonged ageing. HOW TO PROPERLY CELLAR Implicitly funky and unpredictable, beer is like a jazz musician who leads by listening rather than following any sheet music. So ageing beer can go in strange directions, both pleasant and less than. How should you cellar your beer to best bring out deeper flavours and avoid ruining the brew? It's best to avoid oxygen, heat and sunlight. A young beer will age gracefully under proper conditions. Coopers helps you out on the oxygen front, by naturally conditioning their bottles to help remove any free oxygen that will ruin your beer. Dr Tim explains how "naturally conditioned beers can be best [for ageing], as the yeast mops up the oxygen left over in the bottles helping to curb oxidation and spoilage." He also suggests storing a carton or two in a central part of your house that isn't likely to heat up, "preferably a dark cellar, but anywhere that is cool, around ten to 15 degrees, is good." A space with minimal light is also ideal to avoid too much sun. Without breaking open the chemistry textbooks, the reason to avoid storing your beer in sunlight is that ultraviolet light breaks down acids from the hops to the same sulphur radical as the smell of skunk spray — hence why as some beers age, they can become 'skunked', particularly hoppy beers and lagers like IPAs and golden ales. Quite possibly the biggest challenge of ageing beer is keeping it cellared long enough to allow for the ageing process to take place. "I'm completely hopeless," says Dr Tim. "I do always enjoy every vintage, but [I don't] always remember to take it home." We can appreciate that when it comes to tasty beers, it is hard to keep your hands off them. Sometimes ageing can be a great thing. Stock up on some Coopers Vintage Ale 2017 and try it yourself. Words: Mikey Lowe and Quinn Connors.
A holiday at a luxurious resort in Thailand is usually relaxing. For Walton Goggins (Fallout), Carrie Coon (Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire), Jason Isaacs (The Crowded Room), Michelle Monaghan (MaXXXine), Leslie Bibb (Palm Royale), Parker Posey (Mr & Mrs Smith) and more in The White Lotus season three, however, getaway bliss might prove elusive. In 2025, TV viewers will find out what the hit anthology series has in store for its latest batch of travellers. Fancy a sneak peek now? HBO has dropped a new teaser trailer for its upcoming slate. The latest glimpse at what the US network has on the way covers a heap of series, so The White Lotus season three only features briefly. But Goggins peers at the sights, Bibb and Monaghan mosey through a crowd, and Posey and returning cast member Natasha Rothwell (How to Die Alone) also pop up, while Lisa from BLACKPINK welcomes guests. Exactly when The White Lotus returns hasn't been revealed as yet, other than sometime in 2025. Also arriving next year, and also debuting never-before-seen footage in the clip: IT prequel series Welcome to Derry, season four of Hacks, season two of The Rehearsal, a new show led by Bottoms and Saturday Night's Rachel Sennott, two-part documentary Pee-Wee as Himself, The Righteous Gemstones season four, Peacemaker season two, The Pitt with ER veteran Noah Wyle, Mark Ruffalo (Poor Things)-led FBI series Task and Tim Robinson (I Think You Should Leave with Tim Robinson) comedy The Chair Company. The second season of The Last of Us, new Game of Thrones prequel A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms, season three of And Just Like That... and season three of The Gilded Age also feature in the trailer, albeit without any new material, with each series joining the list for 2025. You can spot scenes from Dune: Prophecy, season three of The Sex Lives of College Girls, the animated Creature Commandos and limited series Get Millie Black, too, each of which are 2024 releases. From 2025's lineup, newcomer Duster with Lost's Josh Holloway and season two of Conan O'Brien Must Go score a look as well. Where Australians will be watching all of the above is yet to be revealed, however, given that HBO has confirmed that its own streaming service Max will launch here sometime in the first half of 2025. Watch HBO's new 2024–25 roundup trailer below: The shows highlighted in HBO's new trailer will arrive across the end of 2024 and in 2025. At present, the bulk of the network's programs stream via Binge in Australia and on Neon in New Zealand. Images: HBO.
New year, new murder in the building — in the fictional Arconia in New York, that is. That's what's in store for fans of Only Murders in the Building, the true-crime comedy that proved one of 2021's surprises and delights. Knowing they're onto a good thing, Hulu in the US quickly renewed the hit series, and now it's coming back in June with another killing to solve. If you missed the first season in 2021, it takes a great idea and turns it into an amusing murder-mystery gem. If you've ever listened to a true-crime podcast, decided that you'd make a great Serial host yourself and started wondering how you'd ever follow in Sarah Koenig's footsteps, then Only Murders in the Building is definitely the series for you. The show focuses three New Yorkers who basically follow that same process. Here, actor Charles-Haden Savage (Steve Martin, It's Complicated), theatre producer Oliver Putnam (Martin Short, Schmigadoon!) and the much-younger Mabel Mora (Selena Gomez, The Dead Don't Die) are all obsessed with a podcast hosted by the fictional Cinda Canning (Tina Fey, Girls5eva). They find themselves unexpectedly bonding over it, in fact. And, when someone turns up dead in their building, they decide that they can sleuth their way through the case by getting talking themselves. [caption id="attachment_824354" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu[/caption] That's how the first season panned out. Think Knives Out, but a sitcom and also a little goofier. Now, as the just-dropped first trailer for the show's second season shows, Charles-Haden, Oliver and Mabel are weathering the fallout from the last batch of episodes — namely, season one's big finale — and they have another murder to investigate (and another podcast season to chat about it on, obviously). Complicating their efforts this time around are a trio of factors: their public implication in the death in question; the fact that there's now a competing podcast about them and this new murder; the suspicions of their neighbours, who think they're guilty. Exactly how that'll play out won't be known until Tuesday, June 28, when Only Murders in the Building returns — but, whatever happens, both Cara Delevingne and Amy Schumer will be involved, with the pair joining the cast as guest stars. Check out the trailer for Only Murders in the Building season two below: Only Murders in the Building's second season will start streaming Down Under via Star on Disney+ on Tuesday, June 28. Read our full review of the show's first season. Images: Craig Blankenhorn/Hulu.
The Museum of Contemporary Art Australia will be transformed next week when the Games of Thrones Exhibition hits Sydney. With over 100 real artefacts, props and costumes (no replicas) the free exhibition will keep fans from gnashing their teeth as they await season five. The exhibition features a virtual experience that simulates life on top of the wall, where fans can catch a 360 degree panoramic view over Castle Black, as well as the opportunity to snap a selfie atop the Iron Throne. Liam Cunningham, who plays Davos Seaworth on the most downloaded program in history, is in town to launch the show. On a sunny winter morning outside Three Williams cafe, we caught up with the Irish engineer-turned-actor to talk finger puppets, potatoes and patricide. So thanks for chatting to us after no doubt a long flight. It's wonderful. I've a mate here who I've been threatening to come and see forever and I just haven't had the opportunity and when this came up they didn't have to ask me twice. This exhibition has gone all over hasn't it? Toronto, Amsterdam, Belfast, London. It's a real treat. What's really cool about it now is that HBO aren't trying to make a quick buck out of it. It's free. It's a little thank you to the fans for, you know, making it as big as it is. But it needs to finish real soon, otherwise I'll be naked in the next show, which would be unheard of. All my costumes are in this exhibition. For the fans, it's just a real treat. There are some fans, aren't there? Nobody knew it was going to be such a phenomenon. It's just this really expansive backdrop to an incredible story of family and paranoia and jealousy and power and how power corrupts and how the powerful, generally speaking, are just taking care of themselves. Our first female PM loved the show. Yeah she's a fan, a big fan! And Barack Obama. He insisted on getting season four before the public got it. So power does corrupt. That's how you know you've got power. He's a big fan. Jack Nicholson is a fan. Martin Scorsese. Who else? It's extraordinary the amount of people who love this show. You see it at the exhibition. You've got the emos and the goths and those people coming along who are kind of hardcore but generally speaking it's kids from sixteen to one hundred and sixteen watching it. It's not a niche program at all because it's unpredictable. Right from when our leading man Ned Stark got chopped it was a game-changer, because it broke, especially for the States, where your leading man gets in trouble, overcomes, gets the girl and disappears, boring boring boring. People went, 'What? Hold on, we need to watch this thing properly, because this is just messing with our heads.' If Davos suddenly turned around and told Stannis to shove it I don't think we'd see that coming. It's not in his nature. He's the kind of guy, if you were in trouble you'd want him in your corner. His loyalty and decency is unquestionable. Listen, he's treated well apart from having his hand chopped off. Is it a glove you use? Sometimes it's a glove. Sometimes it's little green puppets on my fingers that then get digitally removed. Pop quiz: If Davos was going to be killed off would you prefer his head was chopped off, his skull was popped or torture? Torture's always good 'cause you have the audience on your side. You're sort of a veteran but you started late as an actor. You worked as an engineer, lived in Africa and got married all before taking up the game. Your career before GoT is pretty accomplished but has your life changed in a big way since – I've been outed. I feel like I've been gay and kept it quiet and now people know. But you're coping. But I'm in front of the pride march with a stick. There is a bit of that. Listen, people's memories are really short. What's good about it is I have to wear this [gestures to beard], my pubic balaclava, when filming and when I finish filming off it comes and nobody knows who I am. Luckily I started late enough not to be impressed by myself. But you're Ireland's pin-up boy… There's a very healthy begrudgery in Ireland. No one gives a fuck who I am. You're not allowed to get on any sort of pedestal. It's kind of healthy. My ego's enormous anyway. I don't need it massaged. I can do that myself. You've brought your youngest along. Are you the coolest dad ever? Of course. Isn't that obvious. No, yeah, he's my travelling companion. He keeps me out of trouble. He keeps me out of the pip. I think he had a book. I'm impressed. A kid with a book. Yeah, but it's a book about guns. I'm raising a small serial killer. At the moment he's choosing which weapon to end my life with. He's probably looking at me through the window and saying I'm gonna pop a cap in your arse, Dad. No, he's cool. He's a sixty-year-old man trapped in a thirteen-year-old body. He's the kind of dude I got to for advice. He's an extraordinary little fella, my boy. In my last 35 seconds I have to ask, for my editor, reflections on The Little Princess? She's a fan! Quite a few tweets come through — OMFG Davos Seaworth is the dad from The Little Princess. The Little Princess was nineteen years ago so a lot of those eight-year-old girls are now watching me as Davos. And now they're hugely attractive, gorgeous-looking women, and I'm close to death at this stage, but at least I've kept these ladies very happy when they were kids and I'm keeping them happy when they're grown-ups. I love my job. There's not many movies for daddies and little girls. Can you think of any other ones for fathers and daughters? Oh man, the The Shiralee. It's this Australian one … It's got Bryan Brown in it. I used to look like Bryan Brown. Just quickly, I'm working on a story and I want to list all the things you can do with potatoes. Because you're Irish, and I don't mean to be racist, but I was wondering if you could add anything to my list. So far I've got mashed potato, fried potato, boiled potatoes, potato bake, potato soup... Mashed potato sandwiches. Keith Lemon's favourite dish. If you had to give up onions or potatoes? Well this is not an option. No. I cook. You have to give up one. Shit. Onions or potatoes? Onions are so incredibly important but listen, we'd die without potatoes. Now you're going to remember The Shiralee or will you forget? It's S-h-i-r-a – [A lady walks past and tells us to shut up our very female-specific body parts several times before moving on.] ...Welcome to Australia! That's fantastic. I wonder if she arranges flowers for a living. When do you head home? I leave Tuesday. We're going to open the exhibition. I couldn't wait to get down here. Does Australia really feel as far away as everybody – It's the moon. It's the moon. Next stop, the Sea of Tranquillity. Game of Thrones: Season 4 is now available on Google Play. The Game of Thrones Exhibition is at the MCA from July 1-5.
The name of Melbourne’s new environmentally conscious art festival doesn’t exactly roll off the tongue. As a statement of intention, however, it could hardly be more apt. With a simple equation, the organisers of Art+Climate=Change 2015 hope to further public discussion about the potentially dire consequences of climate change. And thanks to the work of dozens of local and international artists, they just might manage to succeed. With works across a variety of mediums including sculpture, painting, photography, video art and performance, standout exhibitions in the five week, multi-gallery program include Hannah Bertram’s Global Dust Project at La Trobe University, Saving Seeds at the Centre for Contemporary Photography in Fitzroy, and an examination of post-Fukushima Japanese art at RMIT Gallery titled The Return of Godzilla. You’ll also be able to see the fruits of activist artist Amy Belkin’s ongoing Public Smog project, which includes billboards, websites and even an application to get Earth’s atmosphere on the UNESCO World Heritage List. For everything happening at Art+Climate=Change 2015, visit their website.
It's the silly season, which means top tipples with your family, friends and work besties. Booze doesn't just make for a good time; it also makes for a great gift idea. If you're struggling to come up with a good grog gift this festive season, we've got you covered. Here's our round-up of drinks that tickled our fancy these holidays, from top-shelf whiskies to alcohol-removed wines. WINE 'Tis the season to cheers to the sun, and what better way than with some natty wines for Friend-mas. If you have a mate who loves their natties or is just dipping their toes into this world of wild ferments, SPON by Odd Culture wine shop and bar has curated the ultimate gift pack dubbed the Natty Wine Primer. It includes a sparkling pét-nat, white, red (one best served chilled) and a couple of skin contact numbers (orange and rosé). If you're looking for more bubbles, it's also slinging a gift pack called The Most Wonderful Time of the Year with a sparkling shiraz perfect for Christmas day, a grand cru champagne for New Year's Eve and an easy-going pét-nat for New Year's Day brunch. If the vinophile on your gift list is all about tradition, a case of wine from one of Australia's first families of wine should be on your shopping list. Brown Family Wines is Aussie through and through and now has five wine brands under its belt: Brown Brothers, Pirie, Devil's Corner, Tamar Ridge, and Innocent Bystander. You can't go wrong with the new Tarrango chilled red wine for something youthful and fresh. For something plush and velvety, Devil's Corner has a range of Tassie pinots that will make for a great vino on the Christmas table. There's also a slew of wine advent calendars on the market, from Good Pair Days to Laithwaite's Wines, if you'd prefer to leave the wine selections up to the somms. Good Pair Days has some of the best merch out there for a wine-lover, and it's no different with the wine advent calendars on offer this year. You can choose from options with a picnic set, a wine chiller set, a beach box — complete with a tote bag, hat and towel — or the standard pack. WHISK(E)Y Is your mum a fan of the dark spirits? Is your bestie a whisky fiend? Here are our top choices for the spirit savants in your lift this silly season. There are so many kinds of whiskies out there, but if you're on the lookout for something that's trying something new, you can't go wrong with Waterford Whisky. It's an Irish tipple that celebrates and advocates for terroir in whisky, and it only uses local Irish-grown grain with organic and biodynamic options on its roster. For something even more uncommon, opt for the peated version; it's the only whisky on the market that uses Irish peat to dry its barley. Plus, the blue glass bottle looks great on the shelf. If you know your whisky-lover is a sucker for scotch, you could go for Waterford Whisky's spiritual cousin, Bruichladdich. Another dram that celebrates terroir (started by the same person, in fact). The unpeated, non-chill-filtered single malt whisky, The Classic Laddie, is a crowd-pleasing option that works for many palates. If you want to surprise them with some top-shelf whiskies, you can always check out The Whisky Ark, which offers premium membership options, and has an excellent selection of scotch like Tamdhu and Glengoyne as well as exclusive Japanese whiskies. If you can't decide on a particular dram, leave the selection to the experts and go for an advent calendar. Liquor Loot puts out a gin and whisky calendar every year, and this year has expressions from Japan, Australia, Ireland, America, Scotland and more. And if you want to gift something that will keep surprising them throughout the year, why not set them up with a Whisky Club membership? Every month, they'll receive a new and often exclusive drop like the festive collab from Westward Whiskey and Rutherglen winery Stanton & Killeen: the Westward Whiskey Vintage Muscat Cask. GIN What's Christmas without cocktails, and what are cocktails without gin? There are literally thousands of versions of gins on the market today. From Australian drops that highlight native botanicals like Hickson House and Green Ant Gin to Japanese takes highlighting unique flora like Roku. Gin is special because it is very malleable, taking on the flavour profiles of whatever botanical is used. Kangaroo Island Gin is a new favourite of ours, and it has just released a special Spiced Pudding Gin that will bring a festive flair to your mate's G&T with cinnamon, clove, dried fruits and spice. If you know your gin-tastic friend isn't into traditional festive flavours, Four Pillars has launched its collab with Go-To skincare, 'My New Go-To Gin' made with quandong (Australia's native peach) to amp up that stone fruit goodness, perfect for summery cocktails over the holidays. TEQUILA Now, this spirit can be a bit of a dark horse, not unlike the person who usually calls for tequila shots at your Christmas holiday party. Why not go for the real deal, something extra special with a blow-the-budget option for your bestie with Herradura Legend? It is a first-of-its-kind Añejo tequila that has only recently launched in Australia. It's made with 100% blue weber agave that is traditionally cooked, naturally fermented, twice distilled, and matured for at least 12 months in heavily charred new American white oak barrels, resulting in soft caramel, toasted vanilla, oak, and lingering hints of agave. You could even convert some staunch whisky-only drinkers with this spirit. FOR SOMETHING DIFFERENT Not everyone is reaching for the classic whiskies and bourbons. Some people like to be more adventurous with their palate with grappa, moonshine, ouzo, arak and rakija. Sydney-based DNA Distillery makes the traditional Balkan fruit brandy rakija with Aussie shiraz grapes in classic, gold and pear (made with Aussie pears) expressions, perfect for your friend who has no more space on their wine rack and is over gin. It even has a gift box perfect for the flavour seeker in your life looking for something new. Did you have a mate who finally got to go on their Euro summer and hasn't been quiet about it since? Let them relive that luxe-Euro vibe with Tommy's Booze. The Melbourne-based Italian liquor company has put together a gift set with full-sized bottles of limoncello, mandarino, and lampone, perfect for those who love a refreshing digestif after the Christmas feast. NON-ALCOHOLIC If you have a mate who has opted to be dry, there's no reason not to treat them to the excellent non-alc options out there. Like Edenvale Wines, alcohol-removed wines are mindfully made to recreate the flavour profile of traditional alcoholic wines. We loved the GSM blend that tricked our unofficial drinks expert. For people who love the taste of beer but not the buzz, Heaps Normal is a crowd favourite, but Capital Brewing Co. is also pushing out some quality booze-free brews. And if you want to give them a selection, Beer Cartel has you covered with its cracking alcohol-free craft beer mixed pack. Top Images: Our Whisky Foundation Christina Kernohan, Liquor Loot.
A tribute to Los Angeles in film. Dreaming about somewhere over the rainbow and defying gravity with Wicked stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo singing the house down. 2025 ceremony host — and four-time Oscar-viewer — Conan O'Brien making a The Substance-inspired entrance, then regaling the crowd and the watching world with a genuinely funny opening monologue. A Real Pain winner Kieran Culkin telling Jeremy Strong how phenomenal he was in The Apprentice when collecting the first award of the night. Parks and Recreation favourite Nick Offerman announcing the presenters. That's how the 97th Academy Awards began. As they went on, this year's Oscars made dreams come true for the folks behind some of the best movies of the past 12 months. Flow, Wicked, Anora, Conclave, The Substance, Emilia Pérez, No Other Land, Dune: Part Two, The Brutalist, I'm Still Here: with A Real Pain, they're now all Academy Award-winners. Accordingly, 2025 is the year that an independent, dialogue-free film about animals — a movie that marked the first-ever Latvian title nominated for an Oscar, and to make good on that nod — won Best Animated Feature, and Flow couldn't be a more-worthy victor. Wicked costume designer Paul Tazewell made history as well, his award for the stage-to-screen musical making him the first Black man to ever take out the category. Best Supporting Actress Zoe Saldaña is the first American of Dominican origin to collect an Oscar statuette, too. I'm Still Here's Best International Feature prize makes it the first Brazilian flick to win that field. For Anora, Tangerine, The Florida Project and Red Rocket's Sean Baker, one of American cinema's great champions of otherwise untold tales, now has multiple Academy Awards — including for directing, writing and editing. Adrien Brody is now a two-time Best Actor winner, nabbing his second trophy 22 years after his first, again for grappling with the horrors of the Holocaust. By the numbers, this was a night of sharing the love, however. Best Picture's Anora wasn't the only film to get a shoutout more than once, even if it was the big winner with five awards. Also victorious multiple times: The Brutalist, Wicked, Dune: Part Two and Emilia Pérez. And, from the Best Picture nominees, only A Complete Unknown and Nickel Boys went home empty-handed — although both deserved better. Among the ceremony's fun, the 2025 Oscars also delivered an ode from Morgan Freeman to the late, great Gene Hackman to start the in-memorium segment, worked in a Bond song-and-dance spectacle, nodded to Kill Bill, honoured Quincy Jones and saw Mick Jagger receive a standing ovation for presenting the award for Best Original Song. When Quentin Tarantino announced Best Director, he was rewarded with thanks from Baker, noting that Anora wouldn't exist if QT hadn't first cast Mikey Madison in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. The Oscars featured a pitch for a building dedicated to watching streaming movies on the big screen as well, and a Dune and Dune: Part Two sandworm playing various musical instruments. If you needed a reminder of who was hosting, O'Brien wasn't afraid to skew silly, clearly — and savage in some of his jokes, including about standing up to Russians. Wondering what and who won what, and the films and talents that were also contending, at this year's Academy Awards? Check out the full list below — and if you're curious, you can also see what we predicted would and should win, plus our full list of where most of this year's nominees are screening or streaming in Australia right now. Oscar Winners and Nominees 2025 Best Motion Picture Anora — WINNER 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 — WINNER 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 — WINNER Demi Moore, The Substance Fernanda Torres, I'm Still Here Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role Adrien Brody, The Brutalist — WINNER 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 — WINNER Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role Yura Borisov, Anora Kieran Culkin, A Real Pain — WINNER Edward Norton, A Complete Unknown Guy Pearce, The Brutalist Jeremy Strong, The Apprentice Best Original Screenplay Anora, Sean Baker — WINNER 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 — WINNER 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 and John 'Divine G' Whitfield Best International Feature Film I'm Still Here — WINNER The Girl with the Needle Emilia Pérez The Seed of the Sacred Fig Flow Best Animated Feature Flow — WINNER Inside Out 2 Memoir of a Snail Wallace & Gromit: Vengeance Most Fowl The Wild Robot Best Documentary Feature Black Box Diaries No Other Land — WINNER Porcelain War Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat Sugarcane Best Original Score The Brutalist, Daniel Blumberg — WINNER 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 — WINNER '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 — WINNER Dune: Part Two, Greig Fraser Emilia Pérez, Paul Guilhaume Maria, Ed Lachman Nosferatu, Jarin Blaschke Best Film Editing Anora, Sean Baker — WINNER 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 — WINNER 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 — WINNER 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 — WINNER 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 — WINNER 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 — WINNER 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 — WINNER Best Animated Short Film Beautiful Men In the Shadow of the Cypress — WINNER Magic Candies Wander to Wonder Yuck! Best Live-Action Short Film A Lien Anuja I'm Not a Robot — WINNER The Last Ranger The Man Who Could Not Remain Silent The 2025 Oscars were announced on Monday, March 3, Australian and New Zealand time. For further details, head to the awards' website.
Described as a 'modern cowboy of the creative revolution', Mr Lentz creates objects and fashion accessories from wood and upcycled materials, which he finds in junk yards. 'My aim has always been to find beauty and share it with others,' he explains on his site. Mr Lentz works with leather, and dabbles in photography, but his current project is the creation of rings, necklaces and brass knuckles made of wood and grass. Fashioned from sustainably harvested walnut, each ring plays host to a live micro-environment - a teeny tiny patch of growing grass or moss. For those who don't go for green, Mr Lentz has created a limited edition series of brass knuckles made from deer antlers. According to his site, 'they're a force to be reckoned with', designed 'for the rebel livin' life on the edge'. The antler tips are gathered from the forest floor, after the deer have gone through their annual shedding process. Mr Lentz says that he decided to make environmentally-inspired jewellery after a solitary walk through a foggy, overgrown redwood forest. 'This walk lasted days, meandering through river valleys and steep, dense hillside. The redwood forest did not once fail to impress and inspire me, and so what once was a trail of footsteps is now a journey into the handmade world of eco-friendly and sustainable jewellery'. [via Inhabitat]
2024 started with Donald Glover on-screen in the TV remake of Mr & Mrs Smith. 2025 Down Under will begin with Childish Gambino returning to Australia and New Zealand on his The New World tour. The rapper and hip hop star has announced five dates across the two countries, starting in January and running into February, on what will be his first trip to these shores since 2019. On the agenda, then: summertime magic, when the musician/actor/writer/director plays not just his latest album Atavista — the finished version of 2020's 3.15.20 — but tracks from a career behind the microphone that dates back to 2011. Accordingly, expect to hear 'This Is America', 'Redbone', 'Sweatpants' and other songs from his past records Camp, Because the Internet and Awaken, My Love!. The Down Under leg of the tour will kick off at Spark Arena in Auckland, Gambino's only Aotearoa show. From there, he's hitting up the Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Sydney's Qudos Bank Arena, Melbourne's Rod Laver Arena and RAC Arena in Perth. When he last headed this way — complete with a headline spot at Splendour in the Grass — it was after initially announcing a 2018 Australian tour, then cancelling it due to an ongoing injury. Before that, he performed at Falls Festival in 2016. [caption id="attachment_955317" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Eli Watson via Flickr.[/caption] Gambino mightn't have been on Aussie and NZ stages for a spell, but Glover had the final two seasons of Atlanta — both in 2022 — reach screens since he was last Down Under. Voice work on Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse, producing TV series Swarm, the aforementioned Mr & Mrs Smith: they've all joined his resume as well. He'll also be heard as Simba again in Mufasa: The Lion King, the prequel to 2019's photorealistic version of The Lion King, before 2024 is out. On all Australian and New Zealand shows, Gambino will be supported by Amaarae. Childish Gambino 'The New World' Tour 2025 Australia and New Zealand Dates Tuesday, January 28 — Spark Arena, Auckland Saturday, February 1 — Brisbane Entertainment Centre, Brisbane Tuesday, February 4 — Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney Friday, February 7 — Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne Tuesday, February 11 — RAC Arena, Perth Childish Gambino is touring Australia and New Zealand in January and February 2025 — with ticket presales from Thursday, May 16, 2024 at staggered times, and general sales from Monday, May 20, 2024 at staggered times. Head to the tour website for further details. Top image: Eli Watson via Flickr.
Opera on a regular stage is one thing, but opera performed on a floating openair theatre atop Sydney Harbour, under the stars? Well, that's some unforgettable stuff. Especially when it's Giuseppe Verdi's famed classic La Traviata that's being given the overwater treatment. The glamorous three-act show is the latest production announced as part of Opera Australia's Handa Opera series, supported by the folks at Destination NSW. It was set to pop up on the harbour in March 2020, but, because of COVID-19, it was postponed. Now, it has been announced that the show will (finally) go on in March 2021. Handa Opera on Sydney Harbour has pulled over 400,000 guests since debuting with La Traviata back in 2012, its mix of drinking and dining options, breathtaking views and nightly fireworks making it one of Sydney's must-try cultural offerings. It's also considered one of the world's best openair opera venues. The upcoming season will see director Constantine Costi heading up a bold new production of La Traviata based on celebrated director Francesca Zambello's original. It tells the famously heartbreaking tale of a free-spirited Parisian courtesan and her tragic love affair with a nobleman. [caption id="attachment_805194" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Prudence Upton[/caption] Expect to be wowed by a glittering nine-metre-high chandelier decked out with 10,000 crystals on stage, while world-class performers — with up to 70 on stage in ensemble scenes — deliver soaring renditions of legendary tunes like 'Sempre Libera' and 'Brindisi'. As you'll be hitting up such a world-class event, why not make a night of it? Make sure you arrive early to enjoy the Italian-themed pop-up food and drink stalls for a pre-theatre snack. And, for those looking to make the affair even more luxe, book in for a staycation by the harbour. Of course, Opera Australia's La Traviata will be a COVID-safe event, following all NSW Government health guidelines and procedures. Top image: Hamilton Lund
Whether you're an old pro at visiting in Tasmania, a trip down south has always been on your to-do list or you're simply exploring your summer getaway options, the Apple Isle is about to welcome a lavish new spot that's tailor-made for Tassie holidays. Set to open in December, The Tasman marks the first Australian outpost for Marriott International's Luxury Collection hotels brand — so this is definitely a treat yo'self type of place to stay. Perched between Hobart's Salamanca Place and Parliament Square — complete with views out over the Sullivan's Cove waterfront — The Tasman will feature 152 rooms. Whichever one you're booked into, it won't be the same as any others on the property, because celebrating the character of the site is one of the hotel's main aims. Given that The Tasman features an original 1840s heritage building, a 1940s art deco building and a new glass-heavy pavilion, it's easy to see why that's such a focus. Some rooms nod in the heritage direction, others embrace art deco — and guests will enjoy original artworks by local creatives, island baths and fireplaces across the property. And, when you're not using the hotel as a base to explore the city, including not only Sullivan's Cove but also Salamanca Market and St David's Park, you can also pop into the onsite restaurant and bar. At Peppina, chef Massimo Mele will be serving up a Tassie take on Italian dishes, and pairing it with old-world hospitality. At Mary Mary, you'll sip cocktails by Proof & Company's Charlie Ainsbury — after finding the bar perched deep within The Tasman's sandstone walls. Price-wise, rooms start at around $400 per night. That said, you can expect to pay around $5000 a night for the Aurora Suite — the hotel's one-bedroom presidential suite, which comes with water views and its own rooftop terrace. The Tasman opens at 12 Murray Street, Hobart, in December 2021 — with bookings currently available from Tuesday, December 21 onwards. For further information, head to the hotel's website.
If you've looked at a television lately or headed in search of the golden arches to get a feed, then you've probably already realised that 2021 marks 50 years since McDonald's first started serving burgs in Australia. To celebrate, the fast food chain has been splashing advertisements all around the place, and whipping up specials — including 50-cent cheeseburgers and new McFlurrys so far. Up next: Macca's PJs. Obviously, you'll be lovin' them. Teaming up with Peter Alexander, McDonald's has launched a collection of sleepwear that features burgers, fries, golden arches, the chain's red and yellow colour scheme, and its famous figures such as Ronald, Grimace, Birdie and the Hamburglar. Do people wearing burger-covered pyjamas dream of Big Macs? That's the question you can now put to the test. You can clearly expect a big dose of nostalgia as well and, thanks to Ronald and company's presence, to have a fierce hankering for happy meals. Given that McDonald's opened here in the 70s, there's a huge retro feel to the entire range. If, while wearing them, you wake up and start watching cartoons, that's understandable. Ten different items are available now at Peter Alexander stores and via the sleepwear brand's website until stocks last — including PJ pants and sweaters for men and women, and four different matching sets for the latter. Prices start at $69.95 for kids, and span up to $129.95 for long-sleeved women's flannelette pyjamas covered in Macca's well-known characters. The McDonald's x Peter Alexander sleepwear collection is on sale now via Peter Alexander stores and the sleepwear brand's website.
Australia keeps going dotty for Yayoi Kusama — and this time, one of the Japanese artist's dot-filled installations is coming to our shores on a permanent basis. Canberra's National Gallery of Australia has acquired Kusama's pumpkin-focused infinity room The Spirits of the Pumpkins Descended into the Heavens, which will form part of the NGA's collection and go on display from December this year. The piece was first exhibited in 2015 and last seen in Australia earlier this year, in Brisbane as part of the Gallery of Modern Art's Yayoi Kusama: Life Is the Heart of a Rainbow exhibition between October 2017 and February 2018. Comprised of a mirrored cube filled with yellow, dot-covered pumpkins, it's a quintessential Kusama piece. Whether you're a devoted fan who considers visiting the artist's own Tokyo museum a bucket-list moment, or someone who has simply placed stickers around one of her obliteration rooms, you would've noticed that dots and the concept of infinity are crucial to her work — "our earth is only one polka dot among a million stars in the cosmos", she says. Inside the cube, the bulbous vegetables appear to create an endless field thanks to the shiny surface. On the outside of the cube, the structure's mirrored exterior reflects the yellow-and-black walls in the surrounding installation room — again, making it appear as though the pattern stretches on forever. The acquisition was made possible via a gift to the NGA from Andrew and Hiroko Gwinnett. "It has long-been my ambition to see a major contemporary Japanese artwork housed in Australia's national collection," said Andrew in a statement. "Kusama's playful installation is a legacy that will keep giving for generations to come." Find The Spirits of the Pumpkins Descended into the Heavens at the National Gallery of Australia, Parkes Place, Parkes, Canberra from a yet-to-be-revealed date in December 2018. Images: Yayoi Kusama, THE SPIRITS OF THE PUMPKINS DESCENDED INTO HEAVENS 2015. Installation view at The Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Nusantara (Museum MACAN). © Yayoi Kusama. Courtesy of Ota Fine Arts, Tokyo/ Singapore/ Shanghai.
If you're anything like us, you buy a lot of coffee, and odds are that means you burn through a lot of takeaway cups. But what you might not realise is that those cups contain a plastic liner that means they cannot be recycled. It's for this reason that the City of Sydney is throwing its weight behind a BYO coffee cup campaign – and a ton of local cafes are already on board. The aim of Responsible Cafes is to get cafes and customers to ditch takeaway coffee for good. "There are now over 2,500 cafes across Australia offering a discount to people with a BYO coffee cup," said founder Justin Bonsey. "It's great for our pocketbooks, great for cafes to bring in new customers and great for the planet." Cafes keen to get on board can sign up via the Responsible Cafes website. In return, they'll be added to a searchable map that, according to Bonesey, is visited by over 1 million people every year. Among the cafes that have already signed up include About Life Bondi Junction and Surry Hills, Darlinghurst's Infinity Bakery and The Royal, Surry Hill's BangBang Espresso and Soul Origin locations across the CBD and suburbs. The campaign will receive an injection of government funding via the City of Sydney's latest round of knowledge exchange sponsorships. "In our area alone, 100 million takeaway coffee cups end up in landfill every year – and each one takes around 50 years to decompose," said Lord Mayor Clover Moore. "Responsible Cafes connects and promotes cafes that encourage customers to refuse takeaway cups for good, and they're aiming to recruit another 100 new city cafes." It's not the first step that the City of Sydney has taken to address the issue. Last year they gave a $17,500 grant to Closed Loop, who installed standalone bins for coffee cups in office buildings in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. And it's also not the only bit of good environmental news we've gotten recently. Just last week, supermarket chains Coles, Woolworths and Harris Farms all pledged to stop using single use plastic bags as of 2018. Keep it up, Australia.
"We found love in a hopeless place," sings Rihanna, the sound of exuberance in her voice. With her declaration of romance gracing the soundtrack several times, American Honey has its unofficial anthem. The song in question couldn't be more fitting in the latest exploration of individuality and independence from Fish Tank and Wuthering Heights director Andrea Arnold. The film treks through desperate, desolate towns, but doesn't dwell in any one spot, or indulge in hopelessness for long. Instead, it combines the heady excitement that accompanies the first flourishes of something new, with the less-than-glamorous reality that inevitably seeps to the surface. Indeed, love isn't the only thing the film's road-tripping teen protagonists find, as they go door to door selling magazines across middle America. Cramped in close confines in cars and cheap hotel rooms, they witness wealth and poverty, meet kind and predatory strangers, and confront memories and emotions they don't have the words to express, but can convey only through their eclectic taste in music. That, plus a crew member who whips out his manhood whenever he can, and Shia LaBeouf sporting one hell of a rat tail. It's LaBeouf's Jake, a middle manager, who inspires 18-year-old Oklahoma resident Star (Sasha Lane) to flee from her sleazy dad and into a vehicle with the ragtag gang. She seeks nothing more than a pay cheque and a different scene, even if the former isn't easily earned, and the latter isn't quite the escape she thought it would be. The quick-thinking, smooth-talking salesman tricks that have served the charismatic Jake so well don't come naturally to Star, though amorous feelings for her new pal quickly do. Staying on the good side of the group's scantily clad, profit-obsessed leader, Krystal (Riley Keough), is a taxing job in itself. Landscapes fly by, spied out the van's windows, yet the more things change, the more they seem the same. Star can't help but have the celestial bodies she's named for in her eyes as fresh experiences, people, places and parts of life open up to her. A first-timer spotted on spring break by writer-director Arnold, Lane is as unguarded and realistic as you could want in such a film, and gives the impression of living rather than acting. Likewise, LaBeouf appears to coast rather than perform, in what may be the perfect vehicle for his careening off-screen ways. In support, Keough electrifies with little more than a steely glare and a no-nonsense demeanour. The entire cast, both leading and background, feel totally authentic — and while that's a term that gets bandied about a lot by film critics, the truth is American Honey oozes it from every frame. It's a product of Arnold truly going the extra mile, taking the cast on the road just as seen in the movie, and adopting stylistic choices designed to immerse viewers in the story. Boxing the film into a 4:3 aspect ratio demands the audience's focused attention, as does the dream-like sheen that tints her minutiae-filled images. Accordingly, there's potent, probing poetry in every shot, just as there is in every element of Star's ebbing, flowing life. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJbJsAdDilk
Name a season — there are only four, so it isn't hard — and, in Australia, it's likely that the weather will be hotter than average. The nation experiences toastier than usual summers, warmer than normal autumns and hotter than average winters every year, or so it seems. And, in news that will come as zero surprise, winter 2021 is expected to continue the trend. That's according to the Bureau of Meteorology, which releases an updated climate outlook every week — something that, with winter so close to arriving, is definitely worth a look. Much of the country is in for both warmer and wetter conditions than normal over the coming months, although exactly how that'll affect you obviously depends on where you live. If you reside in Australia's northern tropics, along New South Wales' coast, in southeastern Australia in general and in southwest of Western Australia, expect toastier winter temperatures this year, with a more than 80-percent chance that that'll be the case between June and August. Folks pretty much everywhere else except central Australia can also expect above average winter days, with a 60-percent likelihood. Nights in particular are also expected to be warmer over the same period, covering most of the country — with only parts of western WA expected to experience average or cooler conditions. To give an idea of exactly what that all means, the average daily maximum temperature for June sits at around 17 in Sydney, 14.1 degrees in Melbourne, 20.9 in Brisbane, 19.5 in Perth and 15.8 in Adelaide. In July, it's around 16.4 in Sydney, 13.5 degrees in Melbourne, 20.4 in Brisbane, 18.5 in Perth and 15 in Adelaide. And, come August, the figures usually come in at 17.9 in Sydney, 15 degrees in Melbourne, 21.8 in Brisbane, 19.1 in Perth and 16.1 in Adelaide. In good news for farmers, plenty of the nation east looks set for more rain, too. That's predicted to be the case in inland areas especially, with a 60-percent possibility. Along much the east coast, it could go either way — and in northern Queensland, which enters its dry season at this time of year, there's less than a 40-percent chance of more rain than usual. If you're wondering how BOM comes up with its models for the next few months, it draws upon the physics of our atmosphere, oceans, ice and land surface, as well a heap of observations — from satellites, as well as on land and sea. And, it also incorporates the effects of the climate change, with Australia's temperatures rising by around 1.44 degrees between 1910–2019. For more information about forecast weather conditions between this winter, keep an eye on the Bureau of Meteorology's climate outlook.
In rather epic chocolate news, the Great Ocean Road has scored a 15-acre chocolate and ice cream wonderland. As if you needed another reason to take a holiday, the Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery is located in Bellbrae, just next to Torquay (which is, just FYI, just over an hour from Melbourne). The chocolaterie is spearheaded by Leeanne and Ian Neeland, who also own the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie — that is, the guys who throw those epic hot chocolate, ice cream and rocky road festivals each year. The new coastal venue features a showroom filled with thousands of chocolates (including a cabinet filled with 7000 truffles) and free chocolate and ice cream tastings. An international team of six chocolatiers are on board to perform demonstrations throughout the day as they craft different chocolates and churn seasonal ice cream and sorbet. There's also be an on-site café that'll serve up grub made with produce from the grounds. So it's pretty much an adult version of Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory (but you're less like to be carried away by Oompa Loompas here). And after you've gorged to satiation in the showroom (and maybe have a bit of a sugar buzz on), you can take a wander through the surrounds — 15 acres of lush native garden and orchards. There's even a lavender maze to get lost in. Unsurprisingly, this whole free-tastings-and-abundant-nature formula is one that works, as the Neelands discovered when they opened their Yarra Valley venue in 2012. So if you, like us, are the type of person who makes all your life decisions based on chocolate, you might want to go book some time off work and check the air pressure in your tyres so that, come the weekend, you'll be running through a lavender maze covered in chocolate and blissing out. The Great Ocean Road Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery is now open at 1200 Great Ocean Road, Bellbrae. For more info, visit gorci.com.au. Updated: August 29, 2016.
When it comes to a romantic weekend for two, a solo trip or a break with the besties, you can't beat the cosy feels of a tiny house. Perfect for escaping the daily grind, a mini abode makes up for the space it lacks with plenty of good times and fresh air. With so many tiny houses in NSW, it's easier than ever to find the right one for you. Whatever your vibe, whether it's a quaint rural stay complete with rolling green hills or a luxe cabin by the water, NSW has a pint-sized holiday home to suit. We've done the hard work for you and rounded up some of the best small-but-mighty tiny houses you can book in NSW. Pick a favourite, pack a bag and get set for a taste of that minimalist life. Recommended reads: The Best Places to Go Glamping in NSW The Best Places to Stay in the Blue Mountains The Best Hotels in Sydney The Best Dog-Friendly Hotels in Australia [caption id="attachment_1009756" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Robert Walsh.[/caption] Billy's Hideaway by Huch, Wollombi Surrounded by bushland and overlooking a Billabong, this architecturally designed cabin is completely off-grid, offering a luxurious yet sensitive addition to the landscape. Enjoy panoramic views from the open-plan living, or settle in the hot tub with a glass of wine. From $448 a night, sleeps 2 adults, 2 children. Kumbogie Cabin, Daruka A cosy off-grid cabin for two, set among rolling green hills and bushland. Unwind on the porch overlooking the trees, or settle in by the outdoor fire. From $170 a night, sleeps two. The Bower at Nanny Goat Hill, Kangaroo Valley This charming tiny house in NSW is a farm retreat that makes for the ultimate small group getaway, boasting all the creature comforts, and a tranquil setting complete with resident goats and chooks. From $230 a night, sleeps four. Vineyard Cabin by Outpost, Exeter Nestled amongst the vines of Exeter Vineyard & Cellar Door in the Southern Highlands, this cabin combines rustic country charm with understated luxury. Cosy and authentic, unwind and immerse in the simple beauty of the Australian countryside. From $290 a night, sleeps two. Byron Hinterland Tiny House, Possum Creek A chic escape for two in a peaceful pocket of the Byron hinterland. This off-grid stay is effortlessly stylish, complete with sunny deck, hammock and reading nook. From $230 a night, sleeps two 6Sixteen The Banks, Agnes Banks With its idyllic rural setting and Blue Mountains outlook, this tiny home is one dreamy getaway. Enjoy the fire pit, sun-drenched deck and comfy loft bedroom. From $229 a night, sleeps three. Ligo, Wolgan Valley An architecturally designed tiny home surrounded by the picturesque cliffs of the Newnes Plateau within the Gardens of Stone National Park, escape the daily grind and immerse in the ruggedness of the Australian bush, with a side of luxury. From $449 a night, sleeps two. Horseshoe Hideaway, Mullion If you fancy stargazing from a hot-tub off the beaten track and waking up to sweeping mountain views, make this tiny house in NSW your next getaway. There's a fire pit and a floor-to-ceiling window in the shower, so you'll never miss the view. From $350 a night, sleeps two. Tiny Escape Tiny House, Wollombi A pint-sized paradise for two sitting among rugged bushland that promises a rejuvenating time away. There are luxury linens, a fire pit and acres of nature waiting to be explored. From $200 a night, sleeps two. The Hill Station, Mount Tomah Nestled in the heart of the Blue Mountains, this renovated cabin is the ideal couples retreat. Conveniently close to the Mt. Tomah Botanical Gardens, enjoy plenty of tranquil garden walks followed by afternoons curled up by the fireplace. Fron $380 a night, sleeps two. Boatshed Bliss, Dangar Island Soak up the sun on the shores of the Hawkesbury River in this pet-friendly retreat. You will have to get a boat to this secluded tiny home. With a private beach at your doorstep, you'll enjoy plenty of time by the water, whether you're taking a dip or watching the sun set over the lapping waves. From $275 a night, sleeps three. The Salty Dog, Newport One of the best tiny houses in NSW that's close to Sydney, this tiny boathouse takes 'on the water' property to the next level. The floating home for two comes complete with a cosy loft, downstairs dining space and kitchen and yes, a boat to get back to shore. From $655 a night. Sleeps two. [caption id="attachment_786394" align="alignnone" width="1920"] By Wilken Photography[/caption] Arabella, Beaumont An award-winning designer stay, complete with fairytale-like forest setting. While the tiny home itself is impressive, but it's the incredible one-way glass bathroom hidden among nearby trees that steals the show. From $290 a night, sleeps three. FYI, this story includes some affiliate links. These don't influence any of our recommendations or content, but they may make us a small commission. For more info, see Concrete Playground's editorial policy. Top image: Arabella by Love Space Photography. All other images supplied.
