A film festival that brings the best and brightest new Japanese movies to Australian cinemas each year is a film festival to cherish. Also ace: a film fest that features a solely digital lineup of flicks and TV shows from Japan that you can check out from your couch. So, while it isn't time for the IRL Japanese Film Festival for 2024 yet — it last hit locations around the country across September–November 2023 — the Japanese Film Festival Online will keep you entertained this winter. Both fests serve up a handy way to view the latest and greatest Japanese fare without hopping on a plane, but only the online version lets you do so from home. Running from Wednesday, June 5–Wednesday, July 3, 2024's version will feature 23 films and two TV dramas, the latter serving up 20 episodes. And, you'll be able to check out for four Japanese horror shorts, too, all of which initially debuted in 2023 at the first-ever Horror Film Competition in Japan. The other big drawcard: Japanese Film Festival Online screens its program for free. Accordingly, this lineup won't test your budget, whether you're keen on I Am What I Am, which stars Drive My Car's Toko Miura; Anime Supremacy!, about a new director and a hotshot facing off while making their own competing anime; Single8, a Steven Spielberg (The Fabelmans)-influenced picture about Star Wars-loving teens making their own movie; or classic anime Kimba the White Lion from 1966. Film lovers will be catching the movies on the program between Wednesday, June 5–Wednesday, June 19. Fellow feature options include Father of the Milky Way Railroad, a biopic about poet and novelist Kenji Miyazawa; magazine drama Kiba: The Fangs of Fiction; Baby Assassins, where teen assassins are forced to give up the murderous life; and The Handsome Suit, about a magical outfit. TV fans will be tuning in from Wednesday, June 19–Wednesday, July 3, with 2017's Rikuoh starring Kôji Yakusho (Perfect Days), and stepping inside a traditional Japanese sock company — and 2015's Downtown Rocket based on Shitamachi Rocket novels about an ex-aerospace researcher who leads a factor that he inherited. While you won't pay a thing to watch, you do still need to register via the fest's website. Won't be in Australia at the time? The fest is available in 27 countries.
Yearning to create pop music that has a little more depth than your standard dancefloor anthem is Sydney's Catcall. Catherine Kelleher, the woman behind the name, speaks to Kirstie Sequitin ahead of her debut album release and upcoming performance at Surrealism Up Late. How's The Warmer Side coming along? Yeah, it's good! We're kind of in the process of mixing it at the moment. There'll be a new single out in August, September hopefully. How long has that process been going for? It seems like you've been working on it for a while now. I put the EP out around 2008, and then I started writing for the album around the end of that year. Since then I've been kind of writing and recording and working on it. It's just taking a long time for the songs to develop to a point where we're all really happy with them, and then there was a lot of demoing done and a lot of songs disposed of. Then we had to work out how the record was going to be tied together and produced and recorded. All that kind of stuff just took a while to kind of grow into something strong, but now it's all kind of come together quickly in the last couple of months and it's at that point where we're just locking mixes off and whatnot. When it comes down to the writing process - I guess that was a while ago now - but do you focus on lyrics first or do you focus on the backing stuff first? I usually collaborate with people who start off by sending me either a simple thing with a bass line or some keys, and that inspires the vocal melody. They'll normally ask me, "What do you want to make?" and I usually tell them to make whatever they vibe. I don't like sending refs or anything saying "I want you to create me this!" It's not about creating the most interesting or exciting work; usually I just want the other person to do what they do best. They usually send me a beat or something and I'll write something over it and that'll always start with a vocal melody. From there the hardest part is basically just nutting out the lyrics and that's usually where all the time is spent, getting the lyrics perfect, because you need your meanings and you need to sing it and make sure it sounds good. Then we record and mix and get the production worked in. Do you have a specific vision in mind? I know that you said that you don't tell the collaborators what to do but do you have a template of how you want them to sound? Hm… not really - they've usually already heard something I've done. With Youth [Brisbane's Luke Foskey], he knew all of it, so he would just send me stuff. But with more recent collaborations in the past six months they do normally ask for refs and ask things like "What are you listening to at the moment?" and I'll say, "Oh, I'm really into Fleetwood Mac". But you can't get someone to truly create something that's like Fleetwood Mac, so I'll just tell them what I'm listening to, and send them stuff that I've already written and that usually forms what they'll do. Most of the time I just want them to do what they already do, and I collaborate with them because I've already heard their stuff. But they do always ask those kinds of questions like "What are you writing? Are you writing something slow or are you writing something fast?" because they want to know a point to start. Then I think, "Maybe we will go fast, maybe we'll go up-tempo" but usually I stop there because I want them to do what they do, because that's when the most exciting stuff happens. I've read that you have an emphasis on making things imperfect, can you elaborate on that? I don't want things to be necessarily perfect but just as strong as they can be, I guess. In terms of the quality of work, the show… I just want everything to have the best that I can bring it. I don't like the idea of putting something out there that's half-assed. Well, not half-assed but just something that feels like it's not finished, or complete, you know? Because I've already done that, I've put out work that's not complete, I've performed shows that have been really incomplete. Now this is my first record, and I'm going to start putting on a live show and playing regularly. I'm not a complete perfectionist but I just want everything to be the best that it can be. What it seems like to me is that you're trying to work on something that's a little more wholesome than other pop music that's coming out. Yeah, yeah, I want it to be substantial. I was at the APRA Awards the other day and I remember there were eight songwriters on one Katy Perry song and I was like, "That's why these records come out so quickly! There are eight people working on this!" It's like, there's a real formula with the production and it just feels really empty. I just want things to be soulful; I want people to connect with it and I don't think you can just do that if you do it without putting any thought or care into it. It takes a long time to write a really good record. It's so much harder than people assume. Pop records especially. I mean, good pop records. Not really forgettable, flimsy, soulless pop records. You've changed a lot in the past couple of years, how would you describe your developments? Your music style, how has that developed? I think I've become a better singer, a better vocalist, and that's opened up a lot more possibilities for me for what I can write. I've started paying more attention to song lyrics and what makes a really good song. Bry Jones and Toni Toni Lee, I think working with them has really helped me develop, and being open to criticism of what I'm doing and performances and writing. And spending a lot of time rewriting and looking at what I've done and thinking about what I've done and trying to make it better, rather than being satisfied with the first thing I put down, which is what I used to do. I used to be like "Yep, that's what we're going to do" and never edit myself or look back and think, "Hang on a second, there's so many different ways I can make this better". I think that has definitely made me a better songwriter and a better singer and a better performer all round. Catcall plays Surrealism Up Late at the Gallery of Modern Art on July 29. Thanks to GoMA we've got three double passes to give away - e-mail brisbane@concreteplayground.com.au with the subject line 'Water in my veins' by Monday July 25 for your chance to win.
2022 hasn't been kind to anyone's bank balances, with inflation having a hefty impact on the cost of living all around the world, including in Australia. We know you know this, and so does your wallet. In Sydney in fact, the year's financial struggles have seen the Harbour City reclaim global recognition for being a mighty expensive place to call home, taking tenth place on The Economist Intelligence Unit's annual Worldwide Cost of Living survey. While Melbourne was dubbed Australia's most liveable city in the EIU's Global 2022 Liveability Index earlier in 2022, Sydney has nabbed a less sought-after mantle, after sitting in the same spot back in 2018. Again, it's an exxy time all-round in general, with the survey noting that prices worldwide, in the 172 major cities surveyed, have shot up 8.1 percent year on year on average (in local currencies). That's the biggest jump in the 20 years that the EIU has digital data for. The place on the planet that'll trouble your pennies the most? This year, there's two: New York and Singapore. The pair of cities tied for the top spot, with New York earning the unwanted honours for the first time ever, but Singapore taking the crown for the eighth time in a decade. The two places bump down 2021 leader Tel Aviv to third, with Hong Kong and Los Angeles then sharing fourth spot. The Swiss cities of Zurich and Geneva came in at six and seven respectively, while San Francisco sits at eighth, Paris at ninth and Copenhagen shares tenth place with Sydney. Yes, this means that Sydney is more expensive to live in at the moment than London and Tokyo — two cities that aren't considered cheap at all. In fact, Tokyo dropped down 24 spots to sit in 37th place. As per The Guardian, Sydney's rise from 14th in 2021 to tenth this year isn't the only upward movement among Australia's cities. Melbourne leapt from 16th to 15th, and Brisbane from 36th to 32nd. For further details about the 2022 Worldwide Cost of Living survey, head to The Economist Intelligence Unit's website.
If winter has left you unimpressed by the current state of your wardrobe — or if, y'know, you just like some fancy new clothes now and then — you'll be pretty pleased to know that the Big Fashion Sale is back. Usually, it's a physical affair that takes place in Sydney and Melbourne; however like plenty of other events at the moment, the shopping extravaganza has hopped online — and gone national — for its current outing. The name pretty much says it all. Happening from Monday, August 31, this thing is big. You'll find a hefty array of lush items from past collections, samples and one-offs from a huge lineup of cult Australian and international designers, both well-known and emerging — including Romance Was Born, Alexander McQueen, Isabel Marant, Max Mara, Kenzo, Ellery and more. With discounts of up to 80 percent off, and more than 700 items on offer, this is one way to up your count of designer threads while leaving your bank balance sitting pretty, too — whether you're keen on clothes, shoes, swimwear or accessories. The Big Fashion Sale's latest online sale kicks off on Monday, August 31 on the event's website.
From agrarian restaurants and picturesque wineries to après-ski drinks, a foraging and cooking class, a farmers' market and even an oyster festival, Aotearoa New Zealand has a multitude of culinary experiences across every season. New Zealand's hospitality scene is known for using seasonal produce that's locally sourced or foraged, paired with drinks by local winemakers, brewers and distillers. To really take advantage of this mindful approach, time your visit with the epicurean experiences you want to sample or partake in, so you can savour the seasonal ingredients and admire the creative ways they're used. The beauty of Aotearoa New Zealand really starts to come to life through the different seasons. Cooler temperatures mean cosying up with award-winning cool-climate wines against views of the changing foliage and snowfall, while the warmer days of spring bring about al fresco dining, outdoor adventures and fresh seasonal produce. No matter when you visit, you're sure to be well looked after with a warm welcome and sense of manaakitanga, as locals share their knowledge and passion for the land. We teamed up with 100% Pure New Zealand to highlight some delectable drinking and dining destinations around New Zealand for each season, so you can plan your trip based on the time of year that most appeals to you. Flick the switch for seasonal dining experiences in autumn, winter and spring. Jump to switcher
Sand won't just be found on Australia and New Zealand's beaches this summer. On the last day of the season, sand will fill big screens Down Under when Dune: Part Two finally hits cinemas. Originally slated to release in November 2023, then postponed during Hollywood's strikes, the film now has a Thursday, February 29, 2024 release date — and a new sneak peek at its sci-fi tale. Will Dune movies just keep getting better and better? Here's hoping that's a natural outcome, just like spying sand as far as the eye can see across Arrakis, when the sequel to 2021's Dune arrives. The first time that Denis Villeneuve (Blade Runner 2049) followed in David Lynch's footsteps to make a new adaptation of Frank Herbert's novel, managing what Alejandro Jodorowsky sadly couldn't (see: excellent documentary Jodorowsky's Dune), he gave the world a stunning new science-fiction cinema classic. Villeneuve's picture scored ten Oscar nominations and six wins; however, it only told part of Dune's story. Cue Dune: Part Two to keep the tale going. War has arrived on the franchise's spice-laden planet, and Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet, Wonka) and the Fremen are ready to fight. The former doesn't just want to face off against the folks who destroyed his family, but for the sandy celestial body, with Zendaya's (Euphoria) Chani at his side. That's the tale teased in not one, not two, but now three trailers for the Dune sequel, with the third focusing on the battle to come. The 2021 film had Paul head to Arrakis because his dad Duke Leto Atreides (Oscar Isaac, Moon Knight) had just been given stewardship of the planet and its abundance of 'the spice' — aka the most valuable substance in the universe — and then get caught up in a bitter feud with malicious forces over the substance. It also saw Paul meet the population of people known as the Fremen, including Chani, plus Javier Bardem's (Lyle, Lyle Crocodile) Stilgar, which is who he and his mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson, Silo) are with in Dune: Part Two. Expansive desert landscape, golden and orange hues (again, Villeneuve helmed Blade Runner 2049), sandworms, the director's reliable eye for a spectacle and Hans Zimmer's (The Son) latest likely Oscar-winning score: they've all shown up in the new film's three glimpses so far. So have some of the franchise's new players, with Austin Butler ditching his Elvis locks as Feyd Rautha Harkonnen, the nephew of Stellan Skarsgard's (Andor) Baron Harkonnen. Christopher Walken (Severance) and Florence Pugh (The Wonder) also join the saga as Emperor Shaddam IV and his daughter Princess Irulen. From the first film, Josh Brolin (Outer Range), Dave Bautista (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3), Stephen McKinley Henderson (Beau Is Afraid) and Charlotte Rampling (Benedetta) return, while Léa Seydoux (Crimes of the Future) also joins the cast. Off-screen, Villeneuve has brought back not just Zimmer, but Oscar-winning Australian director of photography Greig Fraser (The Batman), Oscar-winning production designer Patrice Vermett (Vice), Oscar-winning editor Joe Walker (The Unforgivable), Oscar-winning visual effects supervisor Paul Lambert (First Man) and Oscar-nominated costume designer Jacqueline West (Song to Song). Check out the latest Dune: Part Two trailer below: Dune: Part Two will release in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, February 29, 2024.
We've heard of public bookshelves and we see piles of terrible self-help books left outside people's terrace houses all the time (just one time, we'd like to pick up a classic), but this New York artist has found a different way to pass on his unwanted paperbacks. Shaheryar Malik, an art director originally from London but working in NYC, left piles of books in high traffic spots around the city for people to pick up and read — and has created a pretty bloody beautiful work of art in the process. Dubbed The Reading Project, the art experiment was both a way for Malik to pass on books from his personal collection and express himself in NYC in a way that wasn't just taking another selfie. So he placed books in some of the busiest spots in one of the busiest cities in the world — Times Square Subway Station, Central Park, The High Line, Brooklyn Bridge — and had photographer Daniel Yim take a single photo of them. Then, the books were left for passersby to pick up, take home and read. Malik left a note with his contact details in each of the books, and according to The Guardian, he's recieved over 60 responses so far. The result is some seriously great photos of books in some of the world's most iconic locations. And literary nerds will be pleased to know that Malik has a diverse range of books in his collection, with titles ranging from Portuguese literature to the history of Nazi Germany — so if you ever bump into one of his book piles, you'll find much more than just the same self-help schtick. Via The Guardian. Images: Daniel Yim.
As a country girt by sea, it's easy to take Australia's sandy waterside for granted. But just like our ever-rising temperatures, ever-lingering drought conditions and increasingly widespread bushfires, our coastline isn't immune to climate change. Nor, with oceans both warming and rising, are our beaches guaranteed to withstand it. In Stockton Beach, in Newcastle's north on the NSW coast, this grim reality has been making its presence known for decades, all due to continuing coastal erosion. Since huge storms back in 2015, which cost the beach millions of tonnes of sand, it has been a particularly prominent issue; however, in the past few weeks, the spot has completely lost its coveted patch of sand. It happened quickly, too — the Newcastle Herald reports that "a section of the beach lost 2.5 metres in sand height" in just five hours. The paper estimates that around 500,000 cubic metres of sand (50,000 truck loads) would be required to replace what's been lost so far. So instead of somewhere to sit and sunbathe, beachgoers are now met with rocks, sand cliffs and a waterline much closer than it has ever been before. At the south end of the beach, the sand in front of the nearly 112-year-old Stockton Surf Life Saving Club, the adjacent car park and Lexie's Cafe have been particularly hard hit and, unsurprisingly, the City of Newcastle has closed all access points to the beach — except for the one at the Mitchell Street breakwall — until further notice. This aerial footage from The Guardian shows pretty clearly how severely the beach has been affected. [caption id="attachment_744112" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Save Stockton Beach[/caption] As Newcastle's Lord Mayor explained at a council meeting last week, the catastrophic current situation has been caused by large swells in the recent weeks. The council is now undertaking emergency works, such as sandbagging, in the hope it can get Stockton Beach to condition that's useable for the public. The "preferred option" is to bring sand back in to the beach — an option that relies on the NSW Government's Coastal Zone Management Program. In good news, according to the ABC, the State Government has just approved $250,000 in funding for the council and has declared the beach a Significant Open Coast Location, meaning that the council can apply for emergency funding at any time. Shelley Hancock, the Minister for Local Government, says that the council's applications for funding are "currently undergoing a rapid assessment so that works can be undertaken as a matter of priority". Fast-tracking a mooted gas terminal at Kooragang Island, which could see sand dredged and relocated to Stockton, has also been floated as a solution — but it would require a statewide ban on offshore dredging to be lifted. Back in June, the council discussed offshore sand extraction, noting that it was "one of the only viable methods for large-scale beach nourishment along the open coast". At the time of writing, a GoFundMe campaign to save the beach has raised over $18,000, and a the Save Stockton Beach Facebook page is trying to raise awareness around the issue. Losing a beach is a bleak prospect, but the effects far span beyond just losing somewhere to lay out a towel. As the landscape changes, the sand shifts, threatening nearby buildings. The local daycare centre has been forced to shut due to the erosion, with the structure set to be demolished. Cabins at the nearby holiday park were also vacated last week, as a precautionary measure, although they've since been re-opened. Coastal erosion is by no means limited to Stockton Beach, of course. Due to rising temperatures and wild weather, sea levels are rising and eating into coastlines around the world, from England to Tunisia. And with similarly bleak scenarios happening across Australia — from Sydney to Melbourne to Perth to Adelaide — stories like these are sadly likely to increase in frequency. If you live near, or are travelling to, Stockton Beach, check the City of Newcastle website for updates on the beach accessibility. To help, you can get in touch with the Save Stockton Beach group — or keep striking for the government to take action on climate change to prevent this happening to more of our country's epic beaches. Images: Save Stockton Beach Facebook.
The truth is out there, and this year's Melbourne Fringe Festival is on a mission to hunt it down. The annual boundary-pushing arts fiesta has dropped its loaded 2019 program, embracing the hard-hitting theme 'in search of the truth'. Descending on the city from September 12–29, Melbourne Fringe is set to deliver its signature diverse spread of talent, this time cramming over 455 eye-opening events into the calendar. It's also debuting its brand-new home at Trades Hall, one of a huge 140 venues playing host to this year's Fringe festivities. You'd best start plotting your festival experience now, because there's a whole lot here to tickle one's fancy. The USA's Cause Collective will be doing some digging with its pop-up photobooth confessional, a live art piece that has visitors responding on camera to the prompt "the truth is…". The oft-revealing answers will then be featured in a public exhibition at Chapel off Chapel. A jam-packed comedic lineup promises to throw down some hard truths of its own, from the hilarious tale of self-discovery that is Mormon Girl, to a stand-up show packed full of fresh material from legendary funnyman Jimeoin. Meanwhile, homegrown burlesque star Moira Finucane stars as an apocalyptic snow queen in internationally-acclaimed show The Rapture Chapter II: Art Vs Extinction. Elsewhere, you can get a little more hands on. Unearth hidden gems as part of roving outdoor audio experience Shrines and Half Truths, or perhaps embark on a smartphone-guided tour of Werribee lead by performance alchemists Binge Culture. Expect party vibes aplenty from heady circus cabaret piece Society, as well as a show-stopping riot of drag, music, circus and burlesque when Yummy Deluxe takes over the Fringe Hub at Trades Hall. The new digs will also play host to a program of lively fiestas, including a fittingly boisterous Janet Jackson tribute night, the city's best choirs singing 1999's best hits and a Fringe-style Grand Final do with the riotous Betty Grumble as host. Melbourne Fringe Festival runs from September 12–29. For more information, or to buy tickets, visit the festival website.
Twelve years after RuPaul's Drag Race first sashayed its way onto US television, viewers Down Under have finally been gifted a local version. Currently streaming via Stan, RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under is exactly what it sounds like — the hit series, still hosted by RuPaul, but featuring Australian and New Zealand drag queens. And, if you'd like to see more of this year's competitors, you'll be able to head along to the program's new live stage show. All ten of this year's drag queens will be hitting up Sydney's Hordern Pavilion, Melbourne's Palais Theatre, Perth's Crown Theatre, Brisbane's QPAC and Canberra's Canberra Theatre as part of RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under Live on Stage. It too is rather self-explanatory, and it'll obviously have quite the cast when it hits the road this September. If you've been watching the TV series, you'll already know which contenders have been strutting their stuff for drag supremacy. The lineup spans seven Australians and three New Zealanders, including Art Simone from Geelong, Melbourne's Karen from Finance, and Sydney's Coco Jumbo, Etecetera Etcetera and Maxi Shield. Newcastle's Jojo Zaho and Perth's Scarlet Adams round out the Aussie queens, while Auckland's Kita Mean, Anita Wigl'it and Elektra Shock comprise the NZ contingent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdcgf5I6Qb8&feature=youtu.be RUPAUL'S DRAG RACE DOWN UNDER LIVE ON STAGE TOUR DATES: Saturday, September 18 — Hordern Pavilion, Sydney Tuesday, September 21 — QPAC Concert Hall, Brisbane Thursday, September 23 — Crown Theatre, Perth Saturday, September 25 — The Palais, Melbourne Tuesday, September 28 — Canberra Theatre, Canberra RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under Live on Stage will tour Australia from September 18–28. For further details — and to buy pre-sale tickets from 12pm on Friday, May 21 and general tickets from 12pm on Monday, May 24 — head to the Live Nation website.
Plenty of sun. A little shade. Icy, refreshing beverages. Proximity to a body of water. On a hot summer's day, that's exactly what you want from a bar. Thankfully, Melbourne currently has seven bars that tick all of those boxes — and, they're only around for a short time. Yep, they've only popped up for the hotter months. You'll find an Amalfi-themed oasis on a CBD rooftop, a vodka-fuelled pop-up in St Kilda, a games-filled garden at Fed Square and even one right on the sand at Port Melbourne Beach. Check BOM, round up your mates, head out for an arvo at one of these extremely summery pop-up bars before they disappear
In very English news, everyone's favourite well-mannered witch (sorry Sabrina) Hermione/Emma Watson, has been covertly distributing books on the London Underground. Watson has been sneaking around under the city, like the most conspicuous rat in the world, hiding copies of Maya Angelou's Mom & Me & Mom as part of her feminist book club initiative Shared Shelf. While we dig Watson's initiative and the feminist slant of her book drop, the concept isn't exactly original. She dropped the copies of the book — which is this month's pick for her online book club — on the Tube (complete with personal notes inside them because she's an angel) as part of Books on the Underground, who have been dropping books all over the shop for years. Closer to home, Books on the Rail started a book ninja empire in Melbourne that has rapidly been expanding across the country. Founders Ali Berg and Michelle Kalus have been coordinating their book ninja operation since April of this year. It's a simple concept – BotR distributes hundreds of books on Melbourne public transport. You know their work by the sticker on the front, encouraging you to read, enjoy and return the book. They started the project by giving away their own books and op-shop finds and now get regular deliveries from authors and publishers. The project is fuelled by the sustainable energy of social media, with commuters sharing and reviewing their reads under the hashtag #booksontherail. BotR is also gaining steam in Brisbane and Sydney. They've even recently organised a book club to take place on a Melbourne train. Early reviews dub it 'peak Melbourne'. Via BBC. Image: Emma Watson via Instagram.
This coming August, your daughter probably isn't getting married. In fact, you mightn't even have a daughter at all. But if you'd like to spend the month saying "you come into my house on the day my daughter is to be married" while holidaying in the very mansion featured in The Godfather, that's now a genuine possibility. Movie lovers have Airbnb to thank for this opportunity, with the accommodation service adding the chance to follow in the footsteps of the most iconic gangster movie ever made to its list of pop culture-themed one-off experiences. Just this year alone, it has listed the Bluey house, the Moulin Rouge! and the Scooby-Doo Mystery Machine for stays. If you wanted to solely plan your getaways around living life like you're in your favourite movie or television show, Airbnb has definitely here to help lately. The platform's current impressive home away from home arrives to celebrate The Godfather's 50th anniversary, and will have one lucky person and up to four of their pals whiling away an entire month in the Staten Island mansion in New York that's seen in Frances Ford Coppola's masterpiece. The film features the outside of the house, but you'll get to scope out the inside as well — all 6248 square feet of it, which was built in 1930. When you're not channelling your inner Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan or Diane Keaton, you'll have plenty to do — there's a big saltwater pool, a pub in the basement, a game room and a gym. In fact, you'll have the run of the five-bedroom, seven-bathroom abode, other than the basement closets and the attic. You do need to be keen for a lengthy trip, with just one reservation available for 30 nights from August 1–31. And, like all of Airbnb's similar offerings in the past, you're responsible for getting yourself there and back — so if you do get lucky and score the booking, travel isn't included in the price. For those making the jaunt from Down Under, that turns this stint of The Godfather worship into a more expensive option. That said, the mansion itself will cost you just US$50 per night. And, if your bank balance is up to it, a stay here will get you away from Australia and New Zealand's frosty climes and into a Staten Island summer. If you're still keen, you can apply to book at 3am AEST on Thursday, July 28 via the Airbnb website. Another caveat: this is a family home when it's not welcoming in Airbnb guests, and it's located in a quiet neighbourhood, so stays are strictly limited to you and the four folks you take with you — with no outside guests allowed. If the timing doesn't work for you, it's likely only a matter of time until Airbnb finds another pop culture-themed getaway that'll tempt your wanderlust. Here are two places on our wishlist: Buffy's house from Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Twin Peaks' Black Lodge. For more information about the The Godfather mansion listing on Airbnb, or to apply to book at 3am AEST on Thursday, July 28, head to the Airbnb website. 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. Images: Marc McAndrews.
In these cutthroat days of citizen journalism, a single tweet can obliterate a career. Just ask all these people. That which has been posted — and shared 20,000 times — cannot be unposted. And whether you were drunk, feeling sorry for yourself, on some kind of weird ego trip (Anthony Weiner = Carlos Danger?), really bad at conveying irony, genuinely misunderstood or just plain stupid when you penned the fatal line, excuses aren’t likely to get you out of hot water. Precedent suggests that neither your employer nor the angry mob is likely to be too easily persuaded. But if your most ill-thought-through posts are still buried deep in your feed, rather than across the front page of the Daily Mail, there’s hope. A new app by the name of Clear can burrow into your social media past, analyse your history and flag posts that seem inflammatory or offensive. Based on a mix of miraculous algorithms and Watson, a supercomputer created by IBM, the app works on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Clear’s creator is a man who’s name you might have seen in the headlines. Earlier this year, EthanCzahor was working on a campaign for Jeb Bush, former governor of Florida and possible 2015 presidentialcandidate, when a flurry of old tweets appeared out of thecyber-ether. One read, “Most people don’t know that Halloween is German for ‘night that girls with low self-esteem dress like sluts.’” And another, “When I burp in the gym I feel like it’s my way of saying, ‘sorry guys, but I’m not gay’.”Czahor lost his job within 48 hours of starting, which was a huge blow for a 31-year-old who’d spent his twenties pursuing a career in politics. From the get-go, Ethan maintained that the tweets were jokes, the meaning of which had become skewed. “I was telling jokes with my friends and they were completely tongue-in-cheek and completely harmless,” he told Time. “But years later after I had forgotten about them, they’d been pulled out of context and it looked terrible.” “You exist in a lot of places on the Internet,” he said. “And I just feel that you have the right to at least know what’s out there, and to take care of it.” Via Mashable and Time.
If you've been using all these lockdown hours to plot your next regional Victorian escape, here's another reason to pop the Grampians on that itinerary. Up in the region's north, the town of St Arnaud has just unveiled a striking new cultural attraction: a towering silo artwork by local artist Kyle Torney, titled Hope. The latest addition to the renowned Silo Art Trail, the piece pays homage to the town's gold mining history, featuring a design of three faces that was selected by St Arnaud residents themselves. And this giant masterpiece was no mean feat to create, taking the artist over 800 hours from start to completion, and involving around 30 treks up and down the silo each day. The whole silo had to be cleaned and primed, before being decked out with a grid to help guide painting the faces' tricky proportions. Funded in part by the St Arnaud ArtSpace community centre and the Northern Grampians Shire Council, the artwork marks the sixth local mural painted by Torney, who himself is a sixth-generation St Arnaud native. The artist is well-known for his distinctive 'narrative portraiture' style, with works having graced spaces across Melbourne, Adelaide and Ballarat, as well as the walls of an art gallery in New York. It is hoped the new silo art will help boost tourism in the area following the heavy impact COVID-19 restrictions have had on regional travel. "Street art really brings the community together," said Torney in a statement. "I called the silo art 'Hope' which is reflective of the gold mining period but also resonates with the current climate." The Silo Art Trail is the country's largest outdoor gallery, covering over 200 kilometres. With this latest design, its collection now includes nine silo murals, featured in the stretch of towns from the Mallee's Patchewollock to St Arnaud. 'Hope' is located on McMahon Street, St Arnaud, Victoria. To learn more about the full Silo Art Trail, visit the website. Travel is restricted under metropolitan Melbourne's current stage four restrictions and regional Victoria's stage three orders. For the Victorian Government's latest advice, head to the Victorian Department of Health and Human Services website.
UK rocker Yungblud has announced he'll bring his Idols world tour to Australia next January, marking his biggest local shows to date. The Doncaster-born singer and songwriter — real name Dominic Harrison — will kick off the tour at Sydney's Hordern Pavilion on Saturday, January 10, before hitting Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Perth. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Rolling Stone AU/NZ (@rollingstoneaus) The run celebrates Yungblud's fourth studio album, Idols, which dropped in June and went straight to number one in the UK and number four in Australia. Known for his high-energy performances and fiercely loyal fan base, the tour promises the kind of chaotic, cathartic shows that have earned him global acclaim. Speaking to Rolling Stone AU/NZ earlier this year, Yungblud teased "massive plans" for the Australian leg of the tour and hinted that his self-created festival Bludfest — which launched in the UK last year — could eventually make its way Down Under. "I know the Australian festival market has been struggling," he said. "I really want to try my best to implement a new idea with Bludfest because it worked in the UK." Tickets go on sale from Tuesday, October 21, with pre-sales for Telstra Plus members opening Thursday, October 16 and Frontier Members from Monday, October 20. Yungblud's 2026 Australian tour kicks off in Sydney on January 10. Visit Frontier Touring for ticket details and dates.
He's responsible not just for a big Australian movie franchise, but for the big Australian movie franchise. He's also followed a pig in the city, made penguins dance, gotten witchy and granted wishes, too. He's Australian filmmaking icon George Miller, and he has just joined the Sydney Film Festival lineup for 2024 to talk about his career, and of course Mad Max and Furiosa. Mere weeks after Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga hit cinemas — starring Anya Taylor-Joy (The Super Mario Bros Movie) as Furiosa and Chris Hemsworth (Thor: Love and Thunder) as wasteland warlord Dementus — Miller now has a date with Sydney's annual cinema showcase to chat about on-screen storytelling. For company, he'll have someone else who knows a thing or two about action cinema, and just filmmaking in general: stuntman and filmmaker Nash Edgerton, brother of Joel (Dark Matter), and director of episodes of Bodkin, plus Mr Inbetween, Gringo and The Square. The Road to Furiosa — George Miller with Nash Edgerton will take place at 3pm on Saturday, June 15 in the Sydney Film Festival Hub at Town Hall, on the second-last day of the fest. SFF's full dates: Wednesday, June 5–Sunday, June 16. Miller won't just be stepping through his work in a general sense, either. The director that started the Mad Max franchise 45 years ago and has helmed four more films in the saga — and has Babe: Pig in the City, The Witches of Eastwick, the two Happy Feet movies, Lorenzo's Oil and Three Thousand Years of Longing on his resume as well — will dig into a specific action sequence, if you want to find out how it was executed. After also adding a visit from Elvis star Austin Butler for his new picture The Bikeriders and straight-from-Cannes body-horror flick The Substance as closing night's flick since announcing its 2024 program, Sydney Film Festival has now popped something for Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon fans on the bill, too. Ahead of season two's arrival, the Iron Throne spend time at Martin Place from Wednesday, June 5–Friday, June 7. Yes, you can sit in it. Other talks and events on the program also include a queer cinema night, going all in on the 80s to tie in with opening night's Midnight Oil: The Hardest Line, K-pop fun as part of a Korean cinema celebration and a session on the impact of AI. [caption id="attachment_959668" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Belinda Rolland © 2023/SFF[/caption] Sydney Film Festival 2024 takes place from Wednesday, June 5–Sunday, June 16 at various cinemas and venues around Sydney. For more information and tickets, head to the festival's website. Read our interview with George Miller, Anya Taylor-Joy and Chris Hemsworth about Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga, and our review of the film. Top image: Sonna Studios.
Want to cover your walls with cool, original artwork without it costing you the roof over your head? Then head on down to the Royal Exhibition Building, for an art bazaar you can actually afford to attend. A three day celebration of design, print and illustration, Supergraph is a goldmine for artists and art lovers alike. Supergraph 2015 features dozens of exhibitors, ranging from long-established artists to the best and brightest young talent. The flavour is local for the most part, although The International Salon section showcases designers from America, the UK, New Zealand, Hong Kong and Thailand. Pieces start from as low as $30, ensuring that no one has to go home empty handed. But it's not just artists spruiking their wares. The Supergraph program is packed full of special events, from an opening night party with DJ Yo! Mafia to masterclasses on felt art, fashion illustration and tattoos. In between, you can chill out at the Food Truck Stop, snacking on bagels, donuts, tacos and more. For the full Supergraph program, visit their website.
When December hits, 'tis the season to be jolly. 'Tis the season to be celebrating over cocktails and sipping plenty of drinks in general, too. But even just a few days into the merriest time of year, or summer, you might feel like you've already tried every beverage there is. Enter Cocktail Porter's DIY Messina espresso martini kits, which come in dulce de leche and chocolate-hazelnut versions. You might've sipped these boozy treats before, actually, because this isn't the first time they've been available. Still, Cocktail Porter has brought them back for the appropriate time of the year, letting you make your own boozy end-of-year beverages — or start-of-year, once 2023 hits — using Messina products. Unsurprisingly, these make-at-home packages have proven popular, especially after we've all been spent more time than usual at home over the past few years. Now that there's no restrictions on heading out of the house, though, they're back to being an easy favourite for parties, casual after-work sips and occasions like Christmas — or just because. First, the dulce de leche espresso martini kit. Basically, it's the answer to a familiar dilemma. No one likes choosing between tucking into dessert or having another boozy beverage, so these kits combine the two. To enable you to whip up dulce de leche espresso martinis at home, you'll get a box filled with vodka, coffee liqueur, cold-drip coffee and Messina's dulce de leche topping, plus Messina's chocolate hazelnut spread and shaved coconut to go on top. Prefer a Nutella-esque spin to your espresso martinis? The Messina choc-hazelnut espresso martini kit comes with the gelato chain's choc-hazelnut spread, as well as vodka, espresso and Baileys. For a garnish, the pack also includes Ferrero Rochers for you to crush. Once your kits arrive, you just need to follow the instructions, then get drinking. Whichever variety you choose, you can pick between two different-sized packs. A small dulce de leche kit costs $85 and serves up six drinks — or you can opt for the large for $149, which makes 18 dessert cocktails. With the choc-hazelnut, you'll pay $80 for the six-drink pack and $145 for a 16-cocktail offering. Cocktail Porter delivers Australia-wide, if that's your summer drinking plans sorted. You can also sign up for a subscription, which'll see a different kit sent to your door each and every month. To order Cocktail Porter's Gelato Messina cocktail kits, head to the Cocktail Porter website.
Want to sing along to a live version of 'Emergency Contraception Blues' or do your Shuffle dance in a public place rather than in the shower (with lots of jumping involved)? Then here's your chance, because the Bombay Bicycle Club are going to be hanging out in Australia for a little while after playing The Falls Festival and a string of American gigs. It's time to learn their lyrics, perhaps eat a curry (the band named themselves after a curry chain) and practice those Northern Londonder accents ("you riiiiiiigh?"). These guys sure seem like an interesting bunch in their music clips, frolicking around London and revealing a love for moon juice, space jellyfish and antennae growing out of heads, so surely the gig will be a hit. Three of the four in the band have been playing together since they were 15, their last two albums have gone gold in the UK and Triple J seem to like them a lot too. Jack Steadman (lead vocals, guitar, piano), Jamie MacColl (guitar), Ed Nash (bass) and Suren de Saram (drums) make their music a hard one to pin down in terms of classification, but British indie folk, indie rock and twee pop all seem apt. The Paper Kites are going to be supporting them, if for some reason you needed another reason to go. https://youtube.com/watch?v=MgvBmEmtF-I
That pup of yours (or that pup you've been thinking about getting) is about to score a whole bunch of new places to sniff, socialise and play, with the Victorian Government announcing plans to create 33 new dog parks across the state. After revealing funding for an initial batch of new green spaces in the first round of the Government's $154 million Suburban Parks Program — which covered 16 sites for your pooch — the state's powers that be have announced that number will be boosted by 17, this time via $2.5 million from the Government's Building Works package. For your pupper, that's a hefty increase in off-leash areas, both in Melbourne and throughout the rest of the state. Locally, the newly announced dog parks will be in the outer suburbs — in Pakenham, Carrum Downs, Dandenong North, Eynesbury, Belgrave, Mill Park and Altona. The Mill Park site is due to open in the coming months, while the rest are either in the works or slated to start construction by the end of the year. They'll join sites in Carrum, Cranbourne East and Rowville in Melbourne's south; South Yarra in the east; Eltham North and Mickleham in the north; and Maribyrnong, Cairnlea and Werribee in the west, all of which are set to open from 2021. Regional areas such as Ararat, Buninyong, Yarragon, Portland, Kilmore, Belmont, Shepparton, Mildura, Swan Hill and Warracknabeal will also receive new dog parks as part of the just-revealed announcement. In total, the Suburban Parks Program will create total of 6500 hectares of new parkland, walking trails and bike trails across the city. Announcing the news this week, on Wednesday, August 26, Victorian Environment Minister Lily D'Ambrosio noted how important parks are to Melbourne neighbourhoods. "Now more than ever, we realise the value of having open green space close to where we live. These dog parks are not only important for pet owners — building them will create local jobs and boost local businesses as re rebuild from the pandemic," she said. According to the Government, the locations have been chosen based on accessibility by public transport, road or walking and biking trails, as well looking at what dense, urban areas were lacking green open spaces. A heap of new pocket parks will also be created in Melbourne — 25, in fact — popping up everywhere from Flemington to Moorabbin, as well as fringe suburbs such as Officer, Clyde, Craigieburn, South Morang and Sunbury. [caption id="attachment_781920" align="aligncenter" width="1920"] New pocket and dog parks projects to be funded under the Suburban Parks Program via the Victorian Government[/caption] It's not the first time that the Andrews Government has proved itself pet-friendly, having recently introduced new rental reform laws making it way harder for landlords to ban pets, too. For more information about Victoria's new parks, head to the state government's Suburban Parks Program website.
If you've ever been on a KFC mission — because you were hungry, hungover, or just hankering for the Colonel's 11 secret herbs and spices — then the fast food chain's latest endeavour will feel a lot like art imitating life. The fried chicken fiends have released a new smartphone game that's all about hunting down buckets of chook pieces. Yes, of course it is. Available for both iOS and Android, the smartphone game is called The Great Bucket Hunt — because what else would it be called? — and it's available to play now via the KFC app. And, as it uses augmented reality, it'll have you wandering the streets looking for chicken buckets. Again, that might feel a little too familiar. KFC doesn't need a reason to get playful with its marketing. Case in point: mindfulness website KFChill, which lets you bliss out to the sounds of chicken frying (and is actually immensely soothing). This time, though, there is a tangible reward. If all that staring at your phone and searching for buckets starts getting your tastebuds in a tizzy, there's chicken to be won — and cash and other prizes. Once you've tracked down buckets near you, you'll give them a spin to see what you've won. Every bucket has a prize, so you're always going to nab something. The big freebies: $50,000 in cash and free KFC for a year. Find three golden buckets, and you can win $5000, too. Yep, it's a bit like Pokemon Go, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and your drunken cravings all rolled into one — all to promote KFC, of course. Other prizes include eftpos gift cards worth between $25–200, free food (15-piece buckets, burgers, popcorn chicken, nuggets and plenty of combos), tickets to the NRL and AFL grand finals, free KFC every Sunday, KFC merchandise and cheap KFC deals. And getting in quick is recommended — once someone finds a bucket, it's out of the game forever. The Great Bucket Hunt is available to play via the KFC app between Tuesday, June 15–Monday, July 12.
As Melbourne's dining scene returns to a sense of (relative) normality, one of the city's biggest food events is back on the menu — Melbourne Good Food Month presented by Citi. Returning this June, the month-long event will see a number of tasty events take over some of Melbourne's best-loved restaurants. To get things started, Flower Drum will be teaming up with Neil Perry on a one-night-only multi-course dinner on June 1, while nomadic pop-up restaurant Esmay will make a stop at Bar Liberty on June 15. There'll be two seatings for this event (one at 5:30pm and another at 8pm), but get in quick to avoid missing out. Elsewhere, Good Food Month will host a Young Chefs Lunch at new plant-based eatery Lona Misa (pictured above) on June 20, so you can check out a fresh addition to Melbourne's dining scene and enjoy the talents of culinary up-and-comers. On June 24, Cumulus Inc's upstairs dining room will host hatted Sydney izakaya Cho Cho San for a multi-course, mod Japanese-inspired menu. And, if you're a loyal fan of The Good Weekend Quiz, head to Flinders Lane's Chapter House on June 27 to take part in a live rendition of the weekend ritual. It will, of course, be food- and drink-themed, and catered by Andrew McConnell and his Cumulus Inc team. Melbourne Good Food Month runs throughout June 2021. Head here for a full list of events and to purchase tickets.
Hayao Miyazaki took five years to complete his latest animation, but you can make yours near instantly, with a new piece of software called Plotagon. The democratically easy-to-use and pretty much mind-boggling technology transforms your screenplay into an animated film. lt turns your layperson's screenwriting into code, creating an animated movie just as you envisioned it, with the set, dialogue, tone, movement, sounds and music to boot. That's right; you type the words, and then they just happen. But with an aesthetic reminiscent of The Sims, animations can be pretty wooden, and unless you buy from the Plotagon in-built store, your character and setting choices are limited. Okay, so maybe the program almost creates the movie you envisioned. But with software fast developing and designers constantly making tweaks, we can soon expect to create our own 3D characters.On the plus side, some of the characters have been created specifically for the app by legendary comic book creator Stan Lee (Spiderman, Hulk), so they may be better than the ones you'd spun yourself anyway. For the moment, it’s the ultimate platform for fan-fiction writers, and a space for 13-year-olds to live vicariously through a better-looking or more popular avatar. But with the possibility to add canned laughter after every line, a satirical sitcom will be this writer’s first project. Plotagon is free to download and currently in beta. Story via PSFK.
For eight decades, the space at Hawthorn East's 225 Camberwell Road served up all sorts of pre-loved treasures. Now, the heritage building across from the Rivoli cinema is slinging all manner of local and international wines. Taking over half of the shop front, East End Wine Bar transforms a 1930s auction house into a old-meets-new hangout — one where sitting and sipping is the main attraction, but where browsing the racks and taking a bottle home with you is also on the cards. Whichever you choose, you'll be doing so among timber and steel finishings, with the decor influenced by English pubs as well as modern-day Melbourne. Combining a cosy indoor space with an outdoor courtyard — complete with a retractable awning to make the most of the weather, when appropriate — the new watering hole can hold 130 people for drinks and a bite to eat. Small plates, charcuterie boards and pizzas are on the food menu. Among the latter, the 'Gawny', is a tribute to one of East End's owners: Melbourne Demons footballer Max Gawn. He's teamed up with Saint James' Rich Donovan and Craig Tate, plus Burnley Brewing operator Phil Gjisbergs, with their venture now open seven days a week — from 4pm on weekdays and from midday on weekends. Drinks-wise, wine lovers will find a 21-strong wine list spanning reds, whites, sparkling, rose and orange tipples, plus beer and cider as well — including three brews on tap. The aperitif selection is small but stacked with favourites, including Aperol spritzes, Pimm's cups, negronis and old fashioneds. And, on the takeaway front, vino aficionados can pick from the bottle shop's selection, which highlights low yielding wine producers as well as established masters.
Pour yourself a white russian, pop on your favourite bathrobe and prepare to spend two hours with one of the best big-screen creations there is. No one else in the history of celluloid is quite like Jeffrey 'The Dude' Lebowski, played with such relaxed slacker charm by Jeff Bridges that it genuinely seems as if he isn't acting. And no other filmmakers could've brought his zany (and immensely fictional) story to life like the Coen brothers, either. There's a reason that this flick has been a cult classic for more than two decades now. Actually, there are plenty — including a bowling joke that you've probably either quoted or heard multiple times, because it never gets old. If you're a newcomer to the 1998 movie, prepare for a mistaken-identity tale, with The Dude mixed up with a millionaire with the same name. Oh-so-many hijinks ensue, with the Coens firmly in offbeat crime-comedy mode, as aided by a cast that includes everyone from John Goodman and Julianne Moore to John Turturro and Steve Buscemi.
If your life could use a bit more Pixar magic at the moment, then Disney is here to help, with the Mouse House rushing the beloved animation studio's latest film to Australian and New Zealand audiences via digital rental and its streaming platform Disney+. Featuring the voices of Chris Pratt, Tom Holland, Julia Louis-Dreyfus and Octavia Spencer, Onward was originally slated to release on the big screen Down Under on Thursday, March 26; however those plans changed when cinemas were ordered to shut. While the movie did play in Australian theatres for a few days over the weekend immediately beforehand, giving dedicated audiences a sneak peek, cinemas were hardly packed at the time — so, if this elf-filled adventure is still on your must-watch list, you're not alone. Pixar fans will be able to get their animation fix via video on demand from Friday, April 3, which'll require paying separately to view the film. Or, if you're already a Disney+ subscriber — or you've been thinking of becoming one — you'll be able to watch Onward on the company's own streaming platform as part of its regular package from 6pm on Friday, April 24. Story-wise, Onward tells the tale of brothers Ian and Barley Lightfoot (Marvel co-stars Holland and Pratt), two teenage elves who've grown up without their dearly departed dad. Thanks to an unexpected flash of long-dormant magic, they're given the chance to spend one last day with their father — but, in order to do so, they'll have to undertake a perilous quest in Barley's rundown van Guinevere. From the above description, you might've noticed that Pixar's usual formula isn't at play here, with the company branching beyond the "what if toys/cars/rats/robots/monsters/feelings had feelings?" setup that's served it so well in everything from the Toy Story franchise to Inside Out. Rest assured, however, that Onward's central elf siblings do indeed experience a whole heap of emotions as they cast spells, try to decipher mysterious maps, endeavour to avoid curses, explore their complicated brotherly relationship and team up with a part-lion, part-bat, part-scorpion called The Manticore (Spencer). Fast-tracking Onward to digital platforms is the latest example of film industry's efforts to adapt to the changes forced by the spread of COVID-19. In Australia and New Zealand, Disney follows fellow distributor Roadshow's lead — with the latter also speeding up the online release of a number of its big titles as well. Check out the trailer for Onward below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HxKXiQvyG_o Onward will be available to purchase separately on digital platforms in Australia and New Zealand from Friday, April 3, before hitting Disney's streaming platform Disney+ as part of its regular package at 6pm on Friday, April 24. Images: © 2019 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved. To find out more about the status of COVID-19 in Australia and how to protect yourself, head to the Australian Government Department of Health's website. 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.
With Lacoste tennis dresses donned, twee baked goods in hand and Famous Friend bingo card at the ready, we checked into Wes Anderson’s newest and wildly anticipated new pop-up book of a cinematic endeavour, The Grand Budapest Hotel. Murder, art theft, pastry and Adrien Brody's moustache — Anderson serves up his most diabolical, zany undertaking yet, using every trick in his own book. FUTURA IS DEAD Looks like Anderson has relinquished his hold on his longtime minimalist typeface go-to Futura, handing the reins to Lorde and Vampire Weekend and opting for a more weighted, slab serif font called Archer. Often featured in credits sequences of old Italian films, Archer is described by developers Hoefler & Co. as "sweet but not saccharine, earnest but not grave, Archer is designed to hit just the right notes of forthrightness, credibility, and charm." Film schools worldwide will undoubtedly be mass-installing the new typeface immediately. POLITENESS GETS YOU EVERYWHERE, EVEN OUT OF JAIL Sporadically reciting romantic poetry, giving lectern-delivered philosophical orations to the hotel staff about guest rudeness, serving up mush in prison with five-star finesse, Ralph Fiennes solidifies himself as downright godly in his role as M. Gustave, the flamboyant, charming and silver-tongued concierge of The Royal Budapest Hotel. Winning as many friends as he makes enemies, Fiennes sees Gustave balancing art theft, jailbreaks and cologne appreciation with breezy, theatrical conviction. Goes to show, a little complimentary affection will get you everywhere, darling. CELEBRITY BINGO MEANS A TOPNOTCH CAST A well-known fact, Anderson has accrued quite the crew of illustrious buddies simply by sticking with familiar faces all career long. Zissou-Tenenbaum-Rocket leads Bill Murray, Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman have stepped back from the top spots for cheer-inducing pop-ins and supporting roles, making way for the new Wanderson Posse of Edward Norton, Tilda Swinton and Adrien Brody. Prompting constant outbursts of “Ohhh, it’s that guy!” from cinemagoers, we’ve come to actually wait for Anderson’s flurry of crafty cameos. Once again, Anderson’s cohort of well-liked celebs play dress up and wear All The Moustaches, with every screen guru from Tom Wilkinson to Jude Law and Harvey Keitel making their fleeting moments count. Now with added newbies Lea Seydoux and Saoirse Ronan, being in a Wes Anderson cast is now the hottest bill around. JEFF GOLDBLUM MAKES LEGAL JARGON SOUND UNBELIEVABLY EROTIC Jur-is-diction. Ex-ec-u-tor. If Jeff Goldblum wasn’t mystical and unnervingly alluring enough, he’s gone and landed himself one of his most potentially meme-worthy roles to date, with circular, thick-rimmed spectacles to boot. Using flashcards to describe a murder scene without taking one eye off the camera, dumping his dead Persian in a trashcan and being chased through an art museum by Willem Defoe aren’t nearly as exhilarating moments as Goldblum simply reading the contents of a last will and test-a-ment. IF IT AIN'T BROKE DON'T FIX IT Meticulously premeditated and artful mise en scene, idiosyncratic scripting, perfectly flawed and outlandishly eccentric characters and a ukulele-fuelled soundtrack have become a formidable formula for Anderson, slowly developing into an extreme form of his own genre. After being royally reprimanded by critics for Moonrise Kingdom being a little too cute for their liking (heartless bums), TRBH sees the Twee King back on form with all the artful weirdness of The Royal Tenenbaums peppered with The Life Aquatic’s epic storybook set detail and The Fantastic Mr. Fox’s jolly good humour. With super zooms, painted landscape backdrops, frontal character portraits, horizontal tracking shots and whole lot of font, Anderson seems more settled in his own style than ever. And that’s quite alright, darling. The Grand Budapest Hotel opens April 10.
When we think of the perfect way to close out the working week, it invariably comes back to a great night out and an alcoholic beverage of sorts — which is why we haven't been able to get enough of the NGV's Friday Nights. Changing up the pace of your usual Friday night out and typical gallery visit, these lively evenings combine a headline exhibition with world-class tunes and some gin drinks brought to you by a Bombay Sapphire pop-up bar. Even though summer has officially left us, there are still a few more weeks left of summer's blockbuster show, Escher x Nendo: Between Two Worlds, before it wraps up on Sunday, April 7. To get you out there, we've picked out a few must-see things to experience before the exhibition is through. Grab a spritzy ginger, mint and gin cocktail from the Bombay Sapphire garden bar, and jumpstart your weekend surrounded by art, music and your fellow culture vultures. BOMBAY SAPPHIRE POP-UP BAR We'd be lying if we said drinking cocktails while museuming wasn't at least a little part of the appeal of NGV Friday Nights. And it's easy to understand why, with Bombay Sapphire partnering with the NGV to transform its garden into an awesome openair bar. The design draws inspiration from Escher and Nendo's hypnotic works inside, offering up a creative and lush area to rest your feet while sipping fresh cocktails. At this garden bar, you can try the full range of Bombay Sapphire Twists, combining fresh citrus and herbs together across spritzy options. Opt for something fruity like the raspberry and basil, spicy like the mint and ginger, something fresh with lemon and thyme or classic like a good ol' gin and tonic, as you discuss the mind-bending works inside. [caption id="attachment_700126" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Sean Fennessy.[/caption] ESCHER X NENDO: BETWEEN TWO WORLDS If you somehow haven't yet heard the buzz, Escher x Nendo: Between Two Worlds is something of a landmark event. Pairing the mesmerising artworks of celebrated Dutch artist MC Escher and Japanese design studio Nendo, the exhibition weaves the duo's creative spirits seamlessly come together in a massive presentation that's taken over the NGV. From captivating installations to warped spaces and paper works, experiencing this show is a must for, well, everyone. The blockbuster exhibition runs till Sunday, April 7, coinciding with the final NGV Friday Nights event. Make sure to plan your weekends accordingly so you can get at least one visit in before it's all over. BACH X REIMAGINED: PRESENTED BY ANON The NGV Friday Nights sessions might be dominated by some of the biggest electronica names in Aussie music, but that doesn't mean we can't also take a moment to appreciate a bit of Bach. Exploring the possibilities of classical music, renowned Melbourne-based collaborative project Anon unites a host of Australian live performers to reconceptualise the legendary compositions of Bach. The project brings forth new baroque, jazz and classical songs and explores Escher's own admiration and enjoyment of the composer — he believed Bach's work had a similar 'infinite appeal' that's also found in Escher's own art. Anon performs three times at each event, plus there's a specially commissioned soundscape that's been designed as part of the Friday Nights sessions. [caption id="attachment_611703" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Wayne Taylor.[/caption] MELBOURNE DESIGN WEEK, MELBOURNE ART BOOK FAIR AND JONTI The NGV's March 15 Friday Nights showcase is a particularly special time to visit. That's because there's even more to check out than usual with the timely launch of Melbourne Design Week 2019 and the Melbourne Art Book Fair — which will also see the Bombay Sapphire bar popping up for the full run of Melbourne Design Week and the opening night of the book fair. This year, the week's theme focuses on 'Design Experiments' seeing more than 200 exhibitions, talks and workshops consider how design will play an important role within our collective futures. Also in attendance will be Australian hip hop and electronic producer Jonti. Emerging from his bedroom studio to collab with an eclectic selection of international artists such as The Avalanches, Warpaint and Badbadnotgood, Jonti is sure to present a soundtrack to this Friday Night you won't want to miss. [caption id="attachment_636238" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Confidence Man at BIGSOUND 2017 by Bec Taylor.[/caption] CONFIDENCE MAN It probably shouldn't come as a surprise, but if there's something Melbourne-based duo Confidence Man has in spades, it's confidence. And in all honesty, it's completely justified. Coming off the release of the 2018 debut album Confident Music for Confident People, the pair has graced pretty much every major venue and festival stage Australia has to offer and has recently turned its attention to the hoards of European and American fans. But before the duo jets off overseas, the dancing duo is bringing energetic tracks to the final NGV Friday Nights session of the season on April 5. Delightfully self-assured, this is bound to be a non-stop dancing send-off. Check out the full lineup of Friday Nights here and make tracks to the NGV to sip some spritzy Bombay Sapphire concoctions as you absorb a whole heap of culture. Tickets for non-members are $35 online or $40 at the door.
Yoda? Cartoon characters? Pamela Anderson emerging in slo-mo from the surf, flicking her hair to the Baywatch theme? Such are the visions that come to mind when viewing the high-speed photographs of violently shaking dogs, shot by Carli Davidson for her new book, Shake. With plenty more flabby skin and saliva at their disposal, our furry friends put human jowlers utterly to shame. Davidson appears to be a bit of a badass known for her wildlife photography, and according to her bio, was "raised on a secret volcano island by cheetahs". (Her biopic is recommended viewing). She first began photographing animals while working at the Oregon Zoo. The shake project was inspired by her pet dog Norbert (a name which I choose to interpret as an Angry Beavers reference), whose drool Davidson is apparently obliged to scrub from the walls of her home with some frequency. In Shake, she shares 130 high-speed photos of 61 dogs from a range of pedigrees, including a Chinese Crested, that exquisite breed famed for its tendency to win the World's Ugliest Dog competition each year. Different textures of fur coat and jowl surface area contribute to the extremity of 'shake', floppy ears and eyelids flying in opposing directions with a majesty comparable to that of hawks swooping above the Far Northern tundra. One can only imagine the sheer volume of drool lopped onto Davidson's bystanding studio assistants, who by the end must have resembled the victims of some terrible slug fight. The resulting portraits truly inspire — buy them singly as prints, ideal for your stylish home or super tasteful office wall. If that's just not sufficient, order the book on Amazon to be reminded of just how cute and demented doggies really are. The video below, created in conjunction with Variable, is an instant mood-lifter, as all kinds of puppies rattle and roll to an appropriately sentimental soundtrack. Via Colossal.
Toronto welcomed a new and unique edition to its dining scene last month: Canada's first-ever restaurant tailored for the deaf. Signs, already popular with locals and tourists alike, is the brainchild of Anjan Manikumar, a hearing man who was inspired to learn American Sign Language (ASL) after realising first-hand how deaf customers struggled in restaurant situations that are simply taken for granted by others. The bar-restaurant, serving modern Canadian and international fare, employs a team of waiters who are almost entirely deaf. Choosing from over 200 deaf applicants, Manikumar found none had any waiting experience and some had never had a full-time job at all. He hopes the new venture will encourage the creation of other career opportunities for the deaf, while also promoting sign language among the community. For customers unfamiliar to ASL, the menu handily lists the sign equivalent next to each item, and a 'cheat sheet' (pictured below) translates some longer phrases, encouraging customers to engage with staff and fellow diners in this universal language. Via Buzzfeed. Photo credit: Signs.
A music documentary with a glossy sheen and a warm heart, 20 Feet From Stardom tells the stories of some of popular music's most accomplished backup singers, including those who have shared the stage with the likes of Bruce Springsteen, The Rolling Stones, Stevie Wonder and Michael Jackson. While names like Darlene Love, Lynn Maybry and Merry Clayton may be almost completely unknown, classic soul, pop and girl group songs from 'Walk On The Wild Side' to 'Da Doo Ron Ron' and 'Gimme Shelter' would have been infinitely lesser without them. Possessed with the ability to perform vocal pyrotechnics which would blitz most Idol contestants, many of these backup singers yearn for their own moment in the spotlight, but as Springsteen observes "that walk to the front (of stage) is a difficult one". Though their ambitions of breaking out of the shadows of stardom were often frustrated by the whims of a notoriously fickle industry, the selfless contributions they made were immense and their stories are rarely less than compelling. Though primarily an upbeat affair, Morgan Neville's film is unafraid of tackling more emotionally complex terrain as he covers the backstory of Phil Spector's monstrous exploitation of backing singers and the politics around Lynyrd Skynyrd's 'Sweet Home Alabama', which featured African-American backing singer Merry Clayton contributing to a track intended as a rebuttal to Neil Young's anti-racist 'Southern Man'. There's also a note of lament for the perceived declining importance of backup singers, as technology evolves to make their prodigious vocal talents a luxury when Auto-Tune and studio wizardry can produce the same result. As well as collating priceless archival footage performances of the film's stars with the likes of The Talking Heads, Paul Simon and Elton John, the documentary has corralled some of its subjects together for some perfectly shot performances of some of their greatest works. Although it has been decades since their prime in some cases, their voices are as sweet as ever, and when they join forces to belt out the evergreen 'Lean On Me', the results are simply spine-chilling. Neville's ambitions of pushing these overlooked but hugely talented musicians into the full blare of the spotlight is beautifully realised. https://youtube.com/watch?v=tWyUJcA8Zfo
First, the Dirty John podcast brought the tale of John Meehan to listeners' ears. Then, as tends to occur with true-crime hits, it was turned into a dramatised television series. Now, as also often happens when a TV show strikes a chord, it's kicking on for a second season — focusing on a completely different case, and once again heading to Netflix Down Under. Launching in Australia and New Zealand on Friday, August 14, Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story steps into the story of its eponymous figure. If it sounds somewhat familiar, that's because the events covered date back to the late 80s. In the early 90s, they even inspired an episode of Law & Order. More recently, Los Angeles Times podcast It Was Simple: The Betty Broderick Murders also explored the details — with the same publication behind journalist Christopher Goffard's original Dirty John podcast. Starring Amanda Peet and Christian Slater as as Betty and Daniel Broderick, as well as Legion's Rachel Keller in a pivotal role, The Betty Broderick Story is another Dirty John tale about sex, lies and murder. Here, a seemingly idyllic marriage first breaks down, then gives rise to a double homicide. If you don't already know the ins and outs, this is also another true-crime case best discovered by watching, with the mini-series unfurling the minutiae across eight episodes. Prepare for quite a few ups and downs, obviously. The eight-episode series has just finished its week-to-week run on US television, but Netflix will drop all eight episodes at once. Check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RE-GwkeZQmI Dirty John: The Betty Broderick Story drops on Netflix Down Under on August 14, 2020. Top image: Isabella Vosmikova/USA Network.
Love the great outdoors but not the sleeping in a tent bit? Parks Victoria hears you, so it's piloting a new accommodation option across the state's most iconic parks. Introducing Canopy eco sleeper pods. Despite the name, the structures look much more like tiny houses than like the Japanese-style capsule hotels the name evokes. The 'eco' part is spot on, though — each pod has been designed with sustainability in mind, using eco-friendly, low impact materials with a focus on energy efficiency and minimal impact on the surrounding landscape. The pilot program will run from April through July, starting off in Point Nepean National Park. Four pods will be tested during the pilot, two from JAWS Architects and Pod Matrix and two from Oscar Building and Troppo Architects. Of course, this means the pods will come in a variety of styles — with and without kitchen and bathroom facilities, along with 'off-grid' models which are fully self-sufficient with electricity and running water. While still in pilot phase, people are encouraged to stop by to view and provide feedback on the pods, specifically on aspects of design, amenity, accessibility, visual impact and visitor experience. You are also able to register interest for an overnight test stay in one of the Point Nepean pods. If the pilot is successful, you can expect Canopy to pop-up in national parks across the state. For more information on the project or to provide feedback, visit the website here.
When Iron Man, Thor, Scarlet Witch, Black Widow, Captain America and their fellow caped-crusader pals all cross paths on-screen, they do so within the Marvel Cinematic Universe. When it's Batman, Superman, Wonder Woman and Aquaman's turn, they populate the DC Extended Universe. But these kind of big-screen franchises aren't just the domain of superheroes. In the Sony Pictures Universe of Marvel Characters, for instance, a number of Spider-Man supervillains are getting their own interconnected movies. First came 2018's Venom, starring Tom Hardy (Dunkirk) as a journalist who is forced to share his body with an alien symbiote. Next year — delayed from 2020 — Morbius will see Jared Leto (The Little Things) play a figure also known as the "Living Vampire". In-between the two, Venom: Let There Be Carnage is also hitting screens. The initial flick about Hardy's Eddie Brock and his parasitic pal did ridiculously big business at the box office, so it was always going to get a sequel. Due to hit cinemas Down Under this October — after being delayed from its September release date — Venom: Let There Be Carnage signals its other main point of focus in its title. This time around, Venom isn't the only formidable figure that Brock has to deal with, with Woody Harrelson (Zombieland: Double Tap) joining the cast as Carnage. For those who haven't dived deep into Spider-Man's comic book history, Carnage is another of the web-slinger's adversaries. Inhabiting the body of a serial killer called Cletus Kasady, he's also Venom's nemesis. And while Eddie's life isn't all that straightforward as seen in both the original Venom: Let There Be Carnage trailer and the just-dropped new sneak peek — living in harmony with Venom is about as easy as it sounds — things get a whole lot more chaotic when Carnage enters the scene. As these two villains face off, here's hoping that Venom: Let There Be Carnage gives Michelle Williams (Fosse/Verdon) more to do than the first Venom movie did, with the four-time Oscar-nominee returning as Eddie's ex-fiancée. Also seen briefly in the trailers: Naomie Harris (The Third Day) as yet another Spider-Man villain, Shriek, plus Stephen Graham (The Virtues) as Detective Mulligan. And, behind the lens, Lord of the Rings actor-turned-Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle filmmaker Andy Serkis directs. Check out the latest trailer below: Venom: Let There Be Carnage opens in Australian cinemas sometime in October — we'll update you when an exact date is announced.
UPDATE, May 12, 2021: Doctor Sleep is available to stream via Netflix, Binge, Foxtel Now, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Amazon Video. A river of blood cascading from an elevator. Creepy twins eager to play forever. The eerie woman in room 237. Since Stanley Kubrick brought Stephen King's horror novel to cinemas in 1980, these images have become synonymous with The Shining, as has the word 'redrum' and frosty hedge mazes. But, really, this story owes a debt to ice cream. That's not how King's 1977 book starts, or Kubrick's masterpiece; however Dick Hallorann's (Scatman Crothers) telepathic offer of dessert to five-year-old Danny Torrance (Danny Lloyd) is one of the movie's pivotal moments. It's when audiences learn what the film's title means, and discover they'll be spending time in the duo's heads while they communicate without moving their lips. Doctor Sleep — which hit bookshelves in 2013 as a King-penned sequel to The Shining and now reaches theatres under the direction of Mike Flanagan (The Haunting of Hill House) — latches onto that idea. In its predecessor, the Overlook Hotel that Danny and his parents (Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall) temporarily called home also had a "shine", turning it into a ghostly battlefield — but in Doctor Sleep, the characters' minds become a combat zone as well. Danny is now Dan (Ewan McGregor), a drifter who finds the straight and narrow in a small New Hampshire town, yet remains haunted by his boyhood experiences. He connects with fellow telepath Abra (Kyliegh Curran), a teenager whose powers eclipse his own. They initially chat without chatting, until Abra glimpses a sinister group of nomadic quasi-immortals who possess the same extrasensory gifts and consume the essence of psychic folks. Led by the malevolent Rose The Hat — who's played with menacing relish by Mission: Impossible – Fallout's Rebecca Ferguson, complete with Babadook-style headwear — this death cult earns Doctor Sleep's considerable attention. Sometimes, they recruit their potential victims. Mostly, they kill them, inhaling their shine or "steam". In Abra's case, the group is ravenous for — and frightened by — her potent power. As a face-off looms, Dan, who is still mentored by the spirit of Hallorann (now played by Carl Lumbly), adopts the same role for Abra. While the film takes its time teasing out Dan and Abra's individual stories, bringing them together and depicting Rose's twisted reign, it's always headed in one direction: to the Colorado hotel that has lingered over cinema history for nearly four decades. In a movie where getting into someone's head is crucial — and thriving on what you extract out of it, too — Doctor Sleep does the filmic equivalent with The Shining. King famously hated Kubrick's adaptation, even scripting his own TV version in the 90s. By writing Doctor Sleep, he attempted to reclaim his own story and put it back on his preferred path. Flanagan, however, has no such qualms about one of the best horror movies ever made. On the screen, Doctor Sleep begins with notes from The Shining's main theme, and the nods and winks only continue. He recreates scenes, mirrors visual motifs, uses snippets of the original, and finds aesthetic, narrative and thematic ways to allude to Kubrick's film. The picture's nostalgia is never as gratuitous and empty as Ready Player One's reference to the movie, thankfully, but it still traces its predecessor's footsteps more closely than it needs to. It can't be easy, making a sequel to an iconic book-to-film adaptation that also adapts the follow-up novel addressing the author's issues with the first movie. It's to Flanagan's credit that Doctor Sleep wholeheartedly tries to juggle these competing aims. An accomplished horror writer/director/editor with fellow King adaptation Gerald's Game to his name, he infuses Doctor Sleep with growing dread and gnawing unease. Never just trying to ape Kubrick, he crafts his own standout images — involving Rose and her cronies at their most frenzied, and literally stepping inside Dan, Abra and Rose's minds. Also boasting top-notch lead performances, a thoughtful exploration of childhood trauma and its impact, and an unnerving score, Doctor Sleep builds its own momentum and intrigue. Inevitably, though, it starts chasing The Shining's tail too blatantly and feverishly. Doctor Sleep was never designed to stand alone, but by remaining so beholden to The Shining, it can feel like a missed opportunity. It doesn't need to prop itself up so forcefully, or to imitate Kubrick so stringently, and proves a much better film when it's doing neither. In rare scenes where the sequel interrogates rather than apes the original movie, Doctor Sleep is far more convincing in linking the two. When Dan admits to an Alcoholics Anonymous meeting that he drank because that's how he connected to the memory of his dad, it's the picture's most powerful moment — and shows why McGregor is perfectly cast to wade through Dan's niggling pain. It's also a way to take viewers both into the character's head, and into The Shining, without being so overt. The film still shines more often that not, but if only the bulk of Doctor Sleep had that same gift. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0oCTK2U5lpc
"It's actually a western" is a fairly common call these days, directed towards everything from superhero films to horror flicks. In the case of Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, the comparison really sticks. In the latest biting black comedy from writer-director Martin McDonagh (In Bruges, Seven Psychopaths), a horrific tragedy inspires a determined crusade, as a lone hero commits to doing whatever it takes to see justice done and a small town gets caught up in the chaos. Shots are fired, in the form of controversial signs, scuffles with dentists, cursing at priests, and hurling both people and Molotov cocktails through windows. Clad in faded boilersuit rather than cowboy hat and holster, Mildred Hayes (Frances McDormand) leads the charge. After spotting a trio of weathered billboards on the rarely used Drinkwater Road outside of the titular locale, she hires them out with the purpose of sending one hell of a message. Still mourning the death of her teenage daughter seven months earlier, and equally furious and frustrated about the lack of progress in the local police investigation, Mildred arranges for the signs to bear three statements. "Raped while dying," reads the first. "And still no arrests?", asks the second. "How come, Chief Willoughby?", pleads the third. The origins of the film's fantastic title might be immediately apparent, but the directions that Three Billboards heads in from there are far from predictable. The movie wears its rage as prominently as Mildred wears her wilt-inducing glare, while at the same time chronicling her grief with empathy and understanding. It's a delicate balance, never downplaying either her ire or her pain, and it's one that McDonagh gets just right. It also proves essential as Mildred crosses paths with other townsfolk, such as the well-respected Chief (Woody Harrelson) named on her signs, and the easily angered Officer Jason Dixon (Sam Rockwell), who's known for his brutal racism more than his law-enforcement prowess. Packed with dark, hilarious, nigh-unprintable dialogue, McDonagh's script mightn't be subtle, but it is teeming with complexity — much more than some of its seemingly simplistic takes on race and gender might initially indicate. Taking his cues from gunslinging revenge tales gone by, the filmmaker crafts a complicated rumination on humanity's contradictions, including the way that the right intentions can still lead to murky outcomes, and vice versa. His storytelling approach demonstrates a similarly stark contrast in action, convincingly flitting from scathing to thoughtful to loud, foul-mouthed and attention-seeking, and back again, in an instant. From the second that McDormand's Mildred locks eyes on the billboards, there's no doubting the movie's other big standout. It's hardly surprising given the actress' track record, but it bears highlighting all the same. While Harrelson and Rockwell are in terrific form, they've got nothing on McDormand, who seems certain to pick up another Academy Award nomination more than 20 years after scoring her first playing the polar opposite type of role in Fargo. She's in total command of the movie from beginning to end, though in true western style it's the small gestures, more than the witty speeches, that really leave a lasting impression. The range that she shows — whether in a momentarily faltering gaze, an unthinking act of kindness in a confrontational situation, or a look of troubled realisation — many actors can only dream of. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3aZ3r-84EQc
This year's pandemic might have thrown some terrible things our way, but it's also gifted Australia with a few silver lining-style gems. And perhaps the most significant is Melbourne's new-found obsession — or, shall we say, thirst — for a certain Victorian Chief Health Officer. Yep, the state is crushing, hard, as locals flood social media with declarations of admiration for our health expert hero, Professor Brett Sutton. And now, you can also get a cushion, throw blanket or even socks adorned with his cherished mug. It's a face that's fast become a very familiar one, what with all the daily press conferences and updates ensuring plenty of Sutton air-time. There's even a photo of his 22-year-old self doing the rounds on the internet, complete with flowing locks and charming grin. https://twitter.com/VictorianCHO/status/1251316902598594560 But if all that's not enough, you can get an even more regular Sutton fix, with a new series of digitally printed designs from local artist Ashley Ellis. Available online via her Red Bubble store, you'll now find a whole range of products emblazoned with the CHO's face, from phone covers and mugs, through to journals and throw cushions. There's even a printed face mask, which we're sure would be Sutton's own pick of the bunch. If your COVID-19 heart lies elsewhere, Ellis has also created designs in honour of Victoria's Minister for Health Jenny Mikakos, and Premier Daniel Andrews decked out in his favourite North Face jacket. We're told that portraits of Andrews' trusty AUSLAN interpreters are on their way, too. Snap up some Brett Sutton-inspired goodies from Ashley Ellis's Red Bubble store and see more of her designs over on Instagram.
In great news for your bank account and your wanderlust alike, Australia will soon be home to a new low-cost airline, with Bonza slated to fly 27 routes between 17 destinations around the country when it takes to the skies. In great news for your tastebuds, and for local producers as well, the carrier is also set to throw Aussie foods and brews some love when it does start soaring through the heavens. Although exactly when Bonza will commence its flights is yet to be revealed, those trips will come with a completely homegrown in-flight menu. The airline has announced that its entire culinary lineup will hero Australian items — all 40-plus products — including many made by Aussie small businesses. Travellers can look forward to tucking into banana bread waffles and a snag in a bag, plus fava beans by Happy Snack Company, Mildura Chocolate Company's giant chocolate freckles and bikkies by Aussie Biscuits. The Handmade Food Co, Silver Tongue Foods and Mama Kaz will also be keeping passengers' appetites sated, including via sandwiches, crackers and muffins. Plus, folks after vegan and vegetarian options can expect vegan sandwiches, brownies, Chappy's Snacks chips and AmazeBalls Popped Cheese from Ashgrove Cheese. Drinks-wise, there'll be a focus on Aussie craft beer, including tipples by Your Mates Brewing Co, Ballistic Beer Co and Spinifex Brewing Company. Fancy a brew without the booze? Heaps Normal Quiet XPA will also be on the menu. Back to the hard stuff, Sirromet Wines is taking care of the vino — red, white, rosé and sparkling all included — while Sunshine & Sons is gin, vodka and rum duty. And if you're looking for a coffee instead, Groundskeeper Willie's cold-drop coffee in a can will onboard. For soft drinks, Saxby's cola, lemonade and sugar-free ginger beer will be on offer. In addition to supporting local, many of Bonza's chosen food and beverage suppliers boast significant social and environmental efforts. Ballistic donates to helping injured turtles in the Whitsundays, a portion of Spinifex's profits go to veterans' mental health, Mildura Chocolate Company invests its profits into training and employment opportunities for people with disability or disadvantage, and Aussie Biscuits is a social enterprise that employs people with disability, for instance. Whatever looks set to satisfy your hunger, it won't come to you via a catering trolley. Instead, Bonza's cabin staff will be assigned seat rows to look after on each flight. So, you'll order and pay via the app, then have whatever you've selected brought to your seat. And, you can make multiple purchases throughout your trip rather than having to wait for the trolley to get to you — which is great news if you're sitting in the last row. When it hits the air, the airline will service locations such as Bundaberg, Cairns, Gladstone, Mackay, Rockhampton, the Sunshine Coast, Toowoomba, Townsville and the Whitsundays in Queensland; Albury, Coffs Harbour, Newcastle and Port Macquarie in New South Wales; and Melbourne, Avalon and Mildura in Victoria — with a big focus on regional destinations. Launching with the backing of US private investment firm 777 Partners, which also has a hand in Canada's Flair Airlines and the Southeast Asian-based Value Alliance, Bonza will also base its headquarters on the Sunshine Coast, too. And yes, a number of its food and drink suppliers hail from the region. Bonza doesn't yet have a launch date — we'll update you when one is announced. For more information, head to the airline's website. And for its full list of routes, you'll need to download the airline's app for Android and iOS.
It's time to get the word "Jellicle" stuck in your head again: to mark 40 years since it first hit the stage in Australia, Cats has locked in a new season Down Under. Back in July 1985, Aussie audiences initially experienced Andrew Lloyd Webber's acclaimed production, which turned a tale inspired by poems from T.S. Eliot's Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats into an award-winning theatre hit. The place: Sydney, aka where Cats is heading again from June 2025. Four decades ago, the show pranced and prowled through Theatre Royal Sydney — and the new season will scamper across the boards there again, too. There's no word yet on whether the show's 2025 Australian run will make stops in any other cities, so if you're keen for some new Cats memories, booking a seat in the Harbour City is your only current way of guaranteeing them. "Cats is a legendary show that I've admired for over 40 years. A sparkling fusion of music, dance and verse, it was revolutionary when it first opened and enticed new audiences into the world of musical theatre," said producer John Frost for Crossroads Live about the new Aussie performances. "I can't wait to bring the original production of Cats back to Australia where it all began, at Theatre Royal Sydney, to celebrate its 40th anniversary in Australia." If you're new to Cats, it spends its time with the Jellicle cat tribe on the night of the Jellicle Ball. That's the evening each year when their leader Old Deuteronomy picks who'll be reborn into a new Jellicle life by making the Jellicle choice. And yes, "Jellicle" is uttered frequently. Of late, audiences might be more familiar with Cats as a movie. In 2019, the musical made the leap from stage to screen with a star-studded cast including Idris Elba (Hijack), Taylor Swift (Amsterdam), Judi Dench (Belfast), Ian McKellen, (The Critic) James Corden, (Mammals) Jennifer Hudson (Respect), Jason Derulo (Lethal Weapon), Ray Winstone (Damsel) and Rebel Wilson (The Almond and the Seahorse) playing singing, scurrying street mousers. If you ever wanted to see Swift pouring cat nip on a crowd of cats from a suspended gold moon, or were keen to soothe your disappointment over the fact that Elba hasn't yet been James Bond by spotting him with whiskers, fur and a tail, this was your chance. For its efforts, the Tom Hooper (The Danish Girl)-directed film picked up six Golden Raspberry Awards, including Worst Picture. But while the movie clearly didn't hit the mark, you can see why this feline-fancying musical has been such a huge theatre hit when it makes its Aussie stage comeback. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Cats Australia (@catsthemusicalau) Cats will play Theatre Royal Sydney, 108 King Street, Sydney, from June 2025. Head to the musical's website to further details and to sign up for the ticket waitlist. Images: Alessandro Pinna.
As of 2pm on Sunday, August 18, D.O.C Espresso in Carlton is shutting its doors and starting some long-awaited renovations. This dining institution has led the way in modernising Melbourne's Italian dining landscape ever since it opened in 1997, and it's about time the site got a proper refresh. D.O.C hopes to reopen the Lygon Street diner at the end of October, revealing a brand-new look that's said to complement the team's new concept menus. Most of the work will centre around updating the kitchen, increasing the number of bar seats, and adding in new banquette booths with marble tabletops. But the outdoor area will also get some love. D.O.C's back courtyard will be transformed with terrazzo finishes and the footpath dining area on Lygon Street will also get a "timeless" makeover. "This renovation has been coming for a long time, and it's incredible to see our vision come to life. The renovation will involve major work to support D.O.C Espresso's transition from a cafeteria and all-day diner to a lunch, aperitivi and evening affair, with an elegant menu to match," says Michael Costanzo, D.O.C Group Director. Thankfully, fans of the Melbourne pasta joint won't be left without a spot to go for great Italian eats, as all of its other venues remain open, including the neighbouring D.O.C Delicatessen. What's more, during renovations, the deli will run a small coffee and morning trade, plus the team will serve up some D.O.C classics for lunch. Loyal regulars won't have to totally go without for the next few months. D.O.C Espresso on Lygon Street will close for renovations on Sunday, August 18, and plans to reopen at the end of October. For more details, visit the venue's website.
The sights, the sounds and — most importantly — the flavours of a Bangkok street kitchen are on their way to Melbourne. Set to open on Crown Riverwalk on January 16, Long Chim Melbourne will be chef David Thompson's third Thai restaurant in Australia, following the super successful Long Chim Perth and new 2016 addition Long Chim Sydney. It's not often that Melbourne trails behind Perth in the world of fine dining. Still, we figure better late than never. Prepare for Thai fare just like you'd find in the streets and markets of Bangkok, including charred rice noodles with beef, basil and Sriracha sauce, plus prawn laksa, chive cakes, green papaya salads, grilled pork and banana roti. The a la carte menu also boasts curries, soups, salads and stir-fries aplenty, including a mashed prawn curry and sour orange curry of ling fish. Dessert fiends can look forward to both durian and Thai coffee ice cream. Thirsty? Long Chim — which means 'come and try' — will also serve up craft beer and wine along with a selection of Asian-inspired cocktails. The rum-based Bangkok Painkiller and gin-based 555, both created by Long Chim's head of beverages James Connolly, are highlights among the 11 boozy, five alcohol-free range, alongside the Or Tor Kor Mule (a combination of ginger beer, vodka infused with kaffir lime zest and Thai bitters), the Tropic Thunder (pineapple, passionfruit, burnt orange and rum), and the Muay Thai Mai Tai (ginger, almond, coconut and tequila). Mouthwatering, authentic morsels; unique, refreshing beverages — that's what you'd expect from one of the biggest names in modern Thai cooking. Thompson's Bangkok eatery Nahm recently ranked one of the 50 Best Restaurants in the World, while his London restaurant was the first Thai venue to be awarded a Michelin star. Long Chim Melbourne will open for dinner only at Crown Riverwalk from January 16. Visit their website for further information. By Tom Clift and Sarah Ward.
Melbourne's summer bucket list is set to be an extra hefty one this year, as people scramble to tick off all the experiences they missed out on over lockdown. Dining out with mates at the pub? Check. Catching an IRL gig? Check. Whizzing through the air on a zipline across the Yarra? Actually, this summer, you can check that one off, too, thanks to Firefly Zipline — an entirely unexpected new experience popping up at Fed Square for the month of December. From December 1–28, a 130-metre zipline will be installed in the heart of the CBD, connecting Federation Square with Alexandra Gardens. Punters of any age will be able to book a ticket, don a safety harness and helmet, and enjoy a hurtling flight over the Yarra, either solo or as part of a pair. Soaring nine metres above the water and clocking speeds of up to 40 kilometres per hour, it's the ride you never knew you needed in your life. And the one you probably never saw coming. Coming to fruition after many years of planning, Firefly Zipline is being brought to life with a little funding help from the City of Melbourne and the Victorian Government, in the hopes of bringing some extra action to the CBD as it emerges from lockdown. There's no age limit for zipline flyers, though anyone under 18 will need a parent or guardian present to sign their waiver, and kids under 12 will have to ride with a paying adult. You'll also need to weigh between 35 and 120 kilograms to jump aboard. It's recommended you get in quick though, with only 5000 tickets available. Firefly Zipline will operate multiple sessions daily from December 1–28. Tickets are $49 for adults, $39 for kids and $159 for a family of four. Buy yours here from November 1 onwards.
First it was The Guardian. Then came The Huffington Post. And now The New York Times is the latest international publication to launch in Australia. After vague affirmations that the daily newspaper was looking to expand into Australia in August last year, the Times has today — Tuesday, May 2 — officially launched a Sydney bureau and, with it, extended coverage of news and issues that affect Australians. Unlike The Guardian and HuffPost, the The New York Times' Australian coverage will not have its own edition, but will be integrated into its global site. The addition of an Australian newsroom — which is being led by Damien Cave, who was the publication's deputy national editor in the US — will serve to insert Australian issues into the global agenda. This new coverage, which kicks off today, will include news, investigations, opinion pieces and cultural coverage. The New York Times Australia coverage can be found under the world section of the site. Though the Times works on a subscription model, Australians have unlimited access the site for free until May 8.
For five years between 2005–2010, David Tennant played one of the most iconic roles there is; however, he'll never just be known for his work on Doctor Who. Since stepping out of the TARDIS, the British actor has been filling his resume with supremely interesting parts. Miniseries Deadwater Fell is the latest — and yes, if you've spotted that Tennant has become very comfortable in crime thrillers, drama and mysteries, you're completely right. Here, he plays Tom Kendrick, a doctor in a Scottish village who is also the only survivor when his home catches ablaze. Over four tense episodes, the twisty series explores the events and aftermath, including its impact upon the local community. It's not all what it seems, of course, which goes with the territory. In terms of actual terrain, the show is set in a fictional town, but expect to feast your eyes on plenty of scenic Scottish sights.
There are plenty of ways to see out one year and welcome in the next. There are plenty of music festivals that offer that experience, too. But Woodford Folk Festival truly is an event like no other. When it sets up shop in southeast Queensland, it turns a patch of the Moreton Bay region into a thriving and heaving arts, music and culture village — and it's finally back to do it all again to farewell 2022 and greet 2023. Back in May, the festival announced that it would indeed return this year, hosting its first fest since 2019. And, it revealed its dates: Tuesday, December 27, 2022–Sunday, January 1, 2023. Now, it has also just locked in who'll be in the bill. It's an enormous lineup, as it always is — but it starts with Boy and Bear, Jaguar Jonze, Dani Im, John Butler and Electric Fields. Also on the program: The Black Seeds, The Black Sorrows, Gabriella Cohen, Spinifex Gum and Urthboy. Given that there's always around 2000 artists putting on 1600-plus shows across the festival's 25 stages, in venues that range from a 25,000-seat amphitheatre to chilled-out hangout spots, the list truly does go on. Whoever piques your interest, or even if you're just keen on a Woodford experience — for the first time, tenth or more — prepare to catch a heap of bands, wander between arts performances and get a little muddy, all around 90 minutes north of Brisbane. The festival will once again take over its Woodfordia parklands base, which now boasts a lake. And, as always, the fest's lineup spans everything from music, art, circus and cabaret to yoga, dance and comedy, plus spoken word, comedy, workshops, bars, cafes and restaurants. Tickets are already on sale, whether you'll be slumbering at one of the fest's multiple campgrounds or just heading along for the day. Whichever fits, you'll have company — more than 120,000 people attended and participated each year in pre-pandemic times. Find highlights from the 2022–23 lineup below, and check out the full list of acts and activities on the Woodford website. WOODFORD 2022–23 LINEUP HIGHLIGHTS: Alysha Brilla Andrew Small Anna Smyrk Ashley Watkins Band of Frequencies The Black Seeds The Black Sorrows Boy & Bear Catherine Britt Coterie Dami Im Dya Singh Electric Fields Electrik Lemonade Emma Donovan & The Putbacks Emily Lubitz Eric Bogle Fred Smith Gabriella Cohen Grace Petrie with Ben Moss Greg Sheehan Hello Tut Tut Hollow Coves Hot Potato Band Inn Echo Jacob Jolliff Band Jaguar Jonze The Jellyman's Daughter John Butler Keyim Ba Lior & Domini Liz Stringer Mama Kin Spender Marlon x Rulla Mia Wray The Monks of Tibet The Moving Stills Neil Murray Parvyn The Paul McKenna Band Rachel Bailman Rich Davies & The Low Road Sorong Samarai The Spooky Men's Chorale Spinifex Gum The Steele Syndicate Super Massive Tenzin Choegyal William Barton Urthboy Yirrmal The 2022–23 Woodford Folk Festival will run from Tuesday, December 27, 2022–Sunday, January 1, 2023 at Woodfordia on the Sunshine Coast. For more information, head to woodfordfolkfestival.com Images: Woodford Folk Festival via Flickr.
In celebration of the XX Commonwealth Games currently being held in Glasgow, one Scotland bar has created a marathon cocktail. Like many of the athletes competing this year, this cocktail is also a record breaker, with 71 ingredients used to represent each country participating in the Games. Mal Spence, of Kelvingrove Cafe in Glasgow worked with Glasgow City Marketing Bureau to create this extravagant concoction. "Most classic cocktails have three or four ingredients.” Spence explained to the Evening Times. “To find a recipe that could combine all these different flavours and also taste good was a challenge I couldn't resist.” Spence experimented with 300 different ingredients before finally achieving the right blend of flavours. While most alcohol aficionados would squash up their face at the thought of such a busy cocktail, in this case we’re satisfied that the research has been done and we will happily be the judge of this debate if someone would like to make us one. While the cocktail uses some familiar flavours of English red Apple and Scottish wild strawberry, the Commonwealth Cocktail includes a few things we’ve barely heard of, let alone tried in a cocktail. Really, when else would you get to sample The Cook Islands’s custard apple seeds, Swaziland’s sycamore fig, or Malaysian galangal? Australia’s contribution to the mix is an aniseed myrtle (syzygium anisatum), in case you were wondering. Spence is doing a limited run of 71 of these cocktails (of course) until August 3. If you’re unable to get to Glasgow Spence has made a simpler version, which you can make at home as you watch Australia dominate the Games. Here's the full list of ingredients: Africa Botswana: devils claw (genus clerodendrum) Cameroon: bitter leaf (piper umbellatum) Ghana: taro (psidium guajava) Kenya: chives Lesotho: rosehip Malawi: cacao (pycreuscyperaceae) Mauritius: wild raspberry (rubus rosifolius) Mozambique: cassava Namibia: prickly pear Nigeria: utazi leaves Rwanda: papaya Seychelles: citronella Sierra Leone: cashew nut (piassava) South Africa: roobus Swaziland: sycamore fig Tanzania: cloves Uganda: nakati eggplant Zambia: sorrel Americas Belize: dragonfruit Bermuda: arabica coffee beans Canada: logan berry Falkland Islands: bitter cress Guyana: sugar cane St. Helena: St. Helena tea plant Asia Bangladesh: jujubi Brunei Darussalam: durian fruit India: mangosteen Malaysia: galangal Maldives: pomegranate (annaaru) Pakistan: saffron Singapore: rambutan Sri Lanka: ripe jakfruit Caribbean Anguilla: mango Antigua & Barbuda: tamarind Bahamas: egg fruit Barbados: sour cherry British Virgin Islands: noni Cayman Islands: sage (salvia caymanensis) Dominica: guava leaf Grenada: lemon grass Jamaica: okra Montserrat: devil’s horse whip St. Kitts & Nevis: tamon St. Lucia: sweet basil St. Vincent & The Grenadines: arrowroot Trinidad & Tobago: tonka bean Turks & Caicos Islands: sapodilla Europe Cyprus: basil-thyme (???????) England: red apple Gibraltar: maqui berry Guernsey: blueberries Isle of Man: new potatoes Jersey: lavender Malta: star anise Northern Ireland: bog rosemary Scotland: wild Scottish strawberry Wales: wild cotoneaster Oceania Australia: aniseed myrtle (syzygium anisatum) (gundabluie) (bardi bush) Cook Islands: custard apple seeds (annona reticulata) Kiribati: dried coconut meat (copra) Nauru: pumpkin seeds New Zealand: manuka honey Niue: paw paw Norfolk Island: yam Papua New Guinea: taro (colocasia esculenta) Samoa: ladies finger (small, sweet banana) Solomon Islands: taro leaves Tonga: avocado (avoka) Tuvalu: breadfruit Vanuatu: plantain Fiji: kava root Via The Evening Times and Grub Street.
April 14, 2018, will forever go down in history as the day Beyoncé took to the Coachella stage and made it her own. If you were lucky enough to be there, you'll no doubt remember it forever. If you watched the live stream — and it became the most-watched live-streamed performance of all time, so you probably did — then you'll never forget it either. Whichever category you fell into, you likely wish you were closer to the action — to the stage for the 105-minute performance, to the 100-plus dancers, to its powerful homage to America's historically black colleges and universities, and to the backstage antics as well. Enter Netflix's Homecoming: A Film By Beyoncé, the concert documentary you definitely knew you needed, but didn't know existed until now. On Wednesday, April 17, the streaming platform will release the in-depth look at Beyoncé's epic show, revealing "the emotional road from creative concept to cultural movement" according to the official synopsis. The film reportedly clocks in at 137 minutes, so expect a lengthy and intimate tour through the festival set everyone has been talking about for a year, including behind-the-scenes footage and candid chats that delve into the preparation process and Beyoncé's stunning vision. Even if Beyoncé hadn't put on such a fierce 32-song performance complete with a marching band, Beychella still would've made history. Her performance was a year in the making, with the music superstar originally scheduled to play in 2017, but dropping out due to pregnancy (with twins Rumi and Sir). And when she finally appeared before the California crowd, she became the first black woman to headline the fest — and only the third woman to do so in 20 years. News of the film comes just as one of Beyoncé's 2018 co-stars, her sister Solange, announced that she was pulling out of this year's Coachella due to "major production delays". Check out the trailer for Homecoming: A Film By Beyoncé below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fB8qvx0HOlI Homecoming: A Film By Beyoncé hits Netflix on Wednesday, April 17.
While you've probably heard of aspiring entrepreneurs seeking an MBA (Master of Business Administration), CBA (Certified Balloon Artist) qualifications are a little less common. However, when it comes to Certified Balloon Artists and the brains that dreamt up POP ART at Chadstone - The Fashion Capital, Chris Adamo is more qualified than most in the blow-up-and-build business. MEET THE MAESTRO: CHRIS ADAMO The son of a florist mother and CBA father, Chris was first introduced to the balloon art industry more than 25 years ago. He then went on to travel the world to teach industry tips and tricks with everyone's favourite party decoration. A combination of parental influences, a professional background in IT, design and construction, plus a passion for producing creations designed to blow you away led Chris to launch his own business The Balloon Crew in 2003. Since then, this modern-day Michelangelo has been dubbed the '"father of organic balloon decor" and is one of the most-awarded artists in the tight-knit balloon business. In fact, he was voted Latin America's Most Influential Balloon Artist in 2018. Given this prestigious pedigree, it's safe to say that Chris knows a thing or two about how to make an event pop (although ideally not literally!). This makes his partnership with Chadstone - The Fashion Captial for POP ART — a collaboration to create balloon-based installations for the largest shopping centre in the southern hemisphere — such a perfect match. ELATED AND INFLATED AT CHADSTONE Held at Chadstone - The Fashion Capital from Saturday, June 24 till Sunday, July 9, POP ART will be the biggest balloon art installation ever seen in Australia. In fact, the festival will feature more than 25,000 balloons of various sizes, each placed by hand by a talented crew led by Chris. POP ART will be divided across two precincts at Chadstone for the school holidays. One is the Underwater Precinct, where colossal sea creatures (like a huge yellow submarine, sharks, sea turtles, fish and coral reefs all made from balloons) will float past Target, spanning across four levels. Chris' personal favourite is The Prehistoric Park, where enormous balloon dinosaurs, snakes and volcanos will transform the area outside David Jones into a land lost to time. "One of my favourites is the life-size brachiosaurus, which alone consists of nearly 10,000 balloons of various sizes, making it a standout piece," he says. "I intentionally wanted it to be lifelike. It's actually what first inspired the process when Chadstone approached me," adds Chris. "I know we could have done little pieces all the way through the whole centre, different levels, and divided and split them into little moments of balloon art. But I always feel that you have wasted an opportunity to not build to scale. With balloons, it's just something that's exceptionally memorable." The Prehistoric Park will also host the school holiday program, which is bustling with activities and games. Guests can attend an interactive dinosaur balloon show at 10am and 3pm daily, and fun balloon twisting workshops at 11.30am and 1.30pm daily. ENGINEERING MEETS ARTISTRY Working with balloon structures of this size means there are several strings attached. Literally and figuratively. One is maintaining the precarious balance between the practical and the perceptible. When outlining his involvement in the construction of the project, Chris explains the importance of establishing strong support systems for the sculptures, with most built on lightweight aluminium framing that forms the base and then enhanced with interconnected rings. "We're designing to scale, which requires a lot of engineering," he says. "Creating a foundation that is sturdy and geometrically correct requires a lot of behind-the-scenes work. Nothing will present well if the proportions are off. I used to work in graphic design and I am a very visual person. So that also helps to create digital elements. And it's also why we have a team of about 24 people from this industry, from all across Australia, who are just very excited to be a part of something bigger than what they could achieve." Chris says it's no accident that he became a balloon artist. "Ultimately, balloon art really is an amazing medium and something that we can scale so easily. It's lightweight in the forms of manipulation, and with so many different designs and processes that we can use and apply, the opportunities are endless". KEEPING THINGS AFLOAT The sometimes problematic nature of balloons (namely as an environmental pollutant) places Chris in a perfect position to address the elephant — or perhaps the dinosaur! — in the room. What will happen to POP ART post-festival? "We use dense, thick, natural latex balloons. Essentially, they are made like maple syrup, which means they're designed to naturally degrade after four weeks," he says. Chris remains committed to ensuring that POP ART lives on by recycling the raw materials that first brought it to life. "We endorse best practice and don't do balloon releases. We haven't for 20 years. Instead, we use a commercial-grade recycling programme called TerraCycle, which turns them into mulch and sells them as a new commodity that is used often for rubber mats and play toys." Sorry to burst your bubble but POP ART at Chadstone - The Fashion Capital is only on for a limited time. To discover more of what it has to offer, head to the website. Images: Chadstone
