UPDATE, September 27, 2023: Nile Rodgers & Chic have now added a Melbourne headlining show on Sunday, October 29 at the Forum, with tickets on sale at 11am on Thursday, September 28. This article has been updated to reflect that change. Good times are coming to Australia and New Zealand in October, and disco-soul hit 'Good Times', too. After already locking in spots at 2023's Harvest Rock in Adelaide and the Melbourne International Jazz Festival, Nile Rodgers & Chic have announced their own headline tour. Ah, Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne, Fremantle and Auckland, get ready to freak out. The disco greats will hit up all five cities with their own shows, on top of their already-announced festival dates. Fans in Adelaide, you'll need to make a plans to see Rodgers and his band in a fest environment, because they're not doing solo gigs in SA. [caption id="attachment_916215" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Alex Marshall via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] "The pandemic had kept us away from our fans in Australia and New Zealand for too long but now we are coming back to kick off the summer with good times!" said Rodgers, announcing the tour. Not only 'Good Times' but also 'Le Freak' is certain to get a whirl when the one and only Rodgers takes to the stage with the group that he co-founded more than five decades ago. Also on their recent setlists: Chic tracks 'Everybody Dance', 'Dance, Dance, Dance (Yowsah, Yowsah, Yowsah)' and 'I Want Your Love'. Mention Chic and Rodgers instantly springs to mind; however, as a guitarist, the latter is in a league of his own. You'll also know his work on Daft Punk's Random Access Memories, including single 'Get Lucky'. And as a writer and producer, he's had a hand in everything from David Bowie's Let's Dance album to Madonna's 'Like a Virgin'. Accordingly, Nile Rodgers & Chic gigs are known to bust out tracks from across Rodgers' career beyond Chic. Cue 'Get Lucky' and its earworm of a guitar riff, both 'Let's Dance' and the always-delightful 'Modern Love' by Bowie, and also a Madonna double of 'Like a Virgin' and 'Material Girl'. Because Rodgers and late, great fellow Chic member Bernard Edwards were involved in writing, composing and/or producing them, Diana Ross' 'I'm Coming Out' and 'Upside Down' also get a spin, plus Sister Sledge's 'He's the Greatest Dancer' and 'We Are Family'. NILE RODGERS & CHIC AUSTRALIA & NEW ZEALAND TOUR 2023: Wednesday, October 18 — Civic Theatre, Auckland Friday, October 20 — Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane Saturday, October 21 — Melbourne International Jazz Festival, Melbourne Monday, October 23–Wednesday, October 25 — Enmore Theatre, Sydney Friday, October 27 — Fremantle Prison, Fremantle Saturday, October 28 — Harvest Rock, Adelaide Sunday, October 29 — Forum, Melbourne Nile Rodgers & Chic are touring Australia and New Zealand in October 2023, with pre-sale tickets to their headline shows on sale from 10am local time on Wednesday, September 6 — and general sales from 11am local time on Thursday, September 7. Head to the tour website for further details.
Whether you're a happy-go-lucky type or you've just experienced a day that you'd rather forget, everyone needs a break from their own reality sometimes. The easiest way? A big dose of on-screen escapism. Maybe you'd like to creep your way through a haunted house? Perhaps you're keen to see what it's like in a witches' coven? If you'd prefer to explore a variety of different futuristic scenarios, head to space or navigate a zombie-riddled wasteland (all from the comfort of your couch, of course), there's a TV show that'll take you there. If all of the above scenarios sound familiar, there's a few reasons for that. Firstly, a number of TV programs have tried their hand at these ideas, both recently and over the years. Secondly, some of the best are currently available to watch via streaming platform Binge, including shows still releasing new seasons and cult favourites that have already wrapped up. We've teamed up with the service to recommend five must-sees — which you can stream right now, including via a 14-day free trial for new customers.
There's treating yo'self to a night out of the house — staycationing in your own city or heading out of town, whichever suits — and then there's the kind of evening where truly going all out is the only thing on the agenda. Staying at a swanky Brisbane hotel that's been temporarily taken over by a vodka brand would fall into the second category anyway, but here's something that levels up that already-indulgent experience: hiring out the whole place with your mates for a cool $49,999. Firstly, you'll clearly need a fat stack of spare cash. Secondly, you'll want at least 39 pals who are just as eager for quite the luxe experience, because this package covers 40 separate hotel rooms. That means that you'll all be paying $1249.98 each, just for one night at the Grey Goose Hotel by Ovolo — but you'll definitely be making the most of it. That hefty sum gets your whole group exclusive access to The Inchcolm by Ovolo hotel, which is already a mighty decadent place to stay. Inspired by the 1920s, and by Gertrude Stein's Paris salon, it's designed to be the type of spot where Ernest Hemingway, Banksy and David Bowie might all rub shoulders if they were all alive at the same time. And, that's the baseline at Grey Goose Hotel by Ovolo, with the vodka company then levelling up the joint from there — starting with plenty to drink and eat. On the menu: a Grey Goose martini tower at The Inchcolm Bar, followed by a five-hour premium beverage package. There's also a three-course dinner personally created for your group by either chef Ian Curley or Masterchef winner Diana Chan — and your choice of either a DJ spinning sounds or a live jazz band setting the mood. Plus, you'll take part in a martini masterclass with Grey Goose's Australian brand ambassador, as well as an oyster-shucking class. There'll be canapes to snack on as well, a whole caviar indulgence package, too, and a Grey Goose ice sculpture among the decor. Also included is the night's stay, in-room styling, valet parking and a complimentary breakfast the next morning — which, from the sounds of it, you'll be hankering for after a big night. And if you've got 40 more mates who'd love to come along, you can stretch out the package to cover 80 — but that's the absolute maximum. If that sounds like your idea of one helluva OTT evening away from home, you'll need to contact the hotel to check availability and book. You know those holidays where you don't leave the hotel, whether it's a staycation or a trip elsewhere? This is clearly one of them. And yes, liking vodka is a pretty good prerequisite. For more information about Grey Goose Hotel by Ovolo, head to The Inchcolm by Ovolo's website.
Looking for somewhere to take the old gal on Mother's Day, but don't want to miss out on a second of the Good Beer Week fun? Don't worry, the team at the Cherry Tree Hotel in Cremorne has got you all sorted out. This afternoon event is its take on a traditional jam and scone affair, only the baked treats are infused with beer (and their beer is infused with rose petals). $30 gets you a cold one plus unlimited scones and a crack at a wheel of Milawa cheese. The woman who raised you doesn't deserve anything less.
Talk about a perfect name: if you're going to start a new music festival that revolves around The Smashing Pumpkins, then calling it The World Is a Vampire is a no-brainer. This exciting addition to Australia's festival scene is being sent to happily drain all your attention this autumn, when it heads around the country with one helluva bill. Billy Corgan and his band members will be there, of course, and so will fellow alt-rock legends Jane's Addiction. Today is the greatest day for news about 90s favourites hitting our shores, clearly. And yes, you can expect the rollicking classic that is 'Bullet with Butterfly Wings' to get a spin — the whole fest is named after it, after all. As well as hearing fellow Pumpkins greats such as 'Disarm', '1979', 'Tonight, Tonight', 'Today' and 'Zero', the Perry Farrell-led Jane's Addiction will be on hand to bust out 'Been Caught Stealing', 'Jane Says' and the likes. How many 'Zero' shirts will you see at the fest? Oh so many, as at every Pumpkins gig. Also on the bill: Australia's own Amyl and The Sniffers, RedHook and Battlesnake, plus yet-to-be-announced local acts opening each stop. And this fest has stops. It'll be singing about rage and rats in cages at ten venues, pinballing around New South Wales, Queensland, Victoria and South Australia — heading to Sydney's Hordern Pavilion, plus Penrith, Newcastle and Wollongong; Port Melbourne, the Mornington Peninsula and Ballarat; Bribie Island and the Gold Coast; and the Adelaide Entertainment Centre. If you're a fan of The Smashing Pumpkins and Aussie music, and you know a bit about Billy Corgan's romantic history, you might be crossing your fingers for a wild addition to the bill: The Veronicas. The Australian duo joined the Pumpkins on-stage for 'Eye' back in November 2022, albeit at the Hollywood Bowl. Whoever else joins the lineup, they'll feature alongside professional wrestling, with each show including matches between Billy Corgan's NWA (National Wrestling Alliance) and the WAOA (Wrestling Alliance of Australia). Wrestlers will take to the ring in-between the bands — and yes, Corgan does own the alliance that bears his name. It's currently a stellar time for music icons who first made it big a few decades back touring Australia, with The World Is a Vampire and its killer lineup joining the Modest Mouse- and Slowdive-led Daydream, Fatboy Slim doing his own tour and headlining Groovin the Moo, Ice Cube and Cypress Hill teaming up, Snoop Dogg also heading our way, and Blink-182 stopping by in 2024 — and Red Hot Chili Peppers currently making their way around the nation. Yes, the list goes on, and also includes Vengaboys. THE WORLD IS A VAMPIRE FESTIVAL 2023 LINEUP: The Smashing Pumpkins Jane's Addiction Amyl and The Sniffers RedHook Battlesnake THE WORLD IS A VAMPIRE FESTIVAL 2023 DATES: Saturday, April 15 — Stuart Park, Wollongong, NSW Sunday, April 16 — Sandstone Point, Bribie Island, QLD Tuesday, April 18 — Hordern Pavilion, Sydney, NSW Wednesday, April 19 — Newcastle Entertainment Centre, NSW Saturday, April 22 — Hastings Foreshore, Mornington Peninsula, VIC Sunday, April 23 — Kryal Castle, Ballarat, VIC Wednesday, April 26 — Adelaide Entertainment Centre, SA Thursday; April 27 — PICA, Port Melbourne, VIC Saturday, April 29 — Nepean Aerospace Park - Penrith, NSW Sunday, April 30 — Broadwater Parklands, Gold Coast, QLD The World Is a Vampire Festival tours Australia in April 2023. Ticket pre-sales run from 9am on Thursday, February 2–11am on Friday, February 3, with general sales from 12pm local time on Friday, February 3. Head to the tour website for further details.
Asking someone what they're going to do at Good Beer Week is sure to elicit one unanimous answer: drink beer, man. But there are so many ways to drink beer and enjoy it that the answer, my friends, is never simple. Certainly not when it's Good Beer Week and you can do everything from downing a pot on the Colonial Tramcar to licking liquid nitrogen beer ice cream from the schooner (if this is a thing, can someone get N2 onto this?). So how do you go about planning for Good Beer Week? If you've picked up a copy of the program you'll notice that there is a lot happening and, as always, the more popular events have been sold out to people more organised than you. Running from May 17-25, it's a week of enjoyment and discovery of our favourite golden drink and we aren't going to let it pass by without a few ales passing through our lips. Here's our guide to the best of Good Beer Week. Add beer to your cocktail A good friend of mine once ordered me a beer cocktail that featured, amongst other things, the tangy taste of tabasco and Maggi beef noodle seasoning. Things have never been the same since. That's why I recommend — if you're willing to go down the road of the beer cocktail — being inaugurated by the experts. Join the guys at 1806 for a Beer Cocktail Degustation and for $50 you'll get a three-course medley of food bites, beer cocktails and a bit of insight into how they're put together. Don't want to go the whole hog? Try one out at Lily Blacks, who will be serving special beery cocktails throughout the week of the festival — just let them know what you like and hopefully Maggi doesn't make an appearance. Beer Cocktail Degustation, various dates during the week, 7.30pm, $50, 1806, 169 Exhibition Street, Melbourne, goodbeerweek.com.au Head to your local As well as a load of special events, Good Beer Week also infiltrates into a large list of pubs and bars — your local is probably one of them. The Grace Darling's Tap Takeover will see the local boutique brews on tap matched with food and live music in the band room. Beers and a band make so much sense, this night out is just a little more curated. As well as this, Little Creatures will be turning their Fitzroy dining hall into a leafy hops farm and a tonne of other venues such as Cookie, The Tramway Hotel, The Local Taphouse and Two Row are holding weeklong specials and stocking boutique brews. The Terminus Hotel in Fitzroy North is the official GBW Hub, and will host pop up events and be open late every night. Tap Takeover, week long, 12pm-late, $10, The Grace Darling Hotel, 114 Smith Street, Collingwood, goodbeerweek.com.au Taste all the beer Whether you know your beer like a boss or just know that you like drinking beer (no sweat), a beer tasting is a good way to develop your taste for the stuff and work out what you like. Plus, you get to drink, like, four beers minimum. Take the chance to head into The Kelvin Club (a members only bar) for an evening to taste a selection of boutique beers with matched canapes, play billiards and maybe even get your hair cut (there's an in-house barber). The Penny Black in Brunswick is also offering a three sample tasting paddle and a 10" pizza for $10 all week. Behind Closed Doors, Friday 23 May at 6pm, $25, The Kelvin Club, 14-30 Melbourne Place, Melbourne, goodbeerweek.com.au Learn something Make up for all those brain cells you're losing by learning something at Good Beer Week, too. And by something, I mean how to make beer yourself so you don't even have to leave the house to buy it. The Preston Shire Hall are holding a free workshop, teaching beer enthusiasts how to brew beer in a bag. A bag! This might not exactly set you up to start your own microbrewery, but if you can make beer in a bag, you're basically self sufficient. Brew in a Bag Workshop, Saturday 17 May at 12pm, free but bookings essential, Preston Shire Hall, 286 Gower Street, Preston, goodbeerweek.com.au Party with booze, tunes and burgers After you've done the civilised stuff (learning, listening, sipping politely out of shot glasses), it's time to get a bit loose. Micro brewery Doss Blockos are celebrating their Pale Lager being on tap for the very first time at Trunk and are throwing a party: taste test their brew in 1 litre take-home bottles, devour Trunk's wagyu burger and enjoy the beer garden's live street artists and DJ's. The following week, Howler are hosting a night of Kooinda craft beer and music, with sets from Total Giovanni, Banoffee, Martin King, Speed Painters, Two Bright Lakes and Andras Fox. Big Trunk, Sunday 18 May at 2pm, $33, Trunk, 275 Exhibition Street, Melbourne, goodbeerweek.com.au Howler & Kooinda Brewery Presents, Sunday 25 May at 7pm, $20, Howler, 7-11 Dawson Street, Brunswick, goodbeerweek.com.au Image credits: Jess Shaver and Moving Pixels
Being a music fan frequently involves envy. That singer or band that you're obsessed with is touring elsewhere? Cue the green-eyed monster. So, you're a Swiftie and you didn't get tickets to Taylor Swift's February 2024 Eras tour in Melbourne and Sydney, aka her only gigs Down Under? You know all about jealousy and FOMO, then. Enter Taylor Swift: The 'Eras' Tour Concert Film. Look what the world made Swift do: turn her current smash-hit tour into a movie that's releasing in cinemas. That's the wonderful news, complete with a just-dropped trailer for the film; however, the announcement might still get you envious for now. At the moment, only North American screenings have been announced so far. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift) Accordingly, yes, Taylor Swift: The 'Eras' Tour Concert Film exists, giving Swifties a cinematic view of the pop superstar's massive show. No, there's no news yet on when it will arrive in Australia or New Zealand. It wouldn't be surprising if the concert movie shakes off Down Under cinema stints until after February, when Swift has made it to our shores, played her shows, then headed elsewhere to do the same. Australia and NZ aren't the only places without big-screen dates locked in — nowhere other than North America has them, which coincides with the fact that that's the only place that the Eras tour had been to so far. In the US, the film will arrive on Friday, October 13. Whenever it does drop locally, fans will be in for a money-can't-buy view of the 'We Are Never Getting Back Together' and 'Bad Blood' musician's gig — working through her entire career so far, playing tracks from each of her studio albums in a three-hour, 44-song, ten-act spectacular. The Eras Tour kicked off in March in the US, ending that run in August. Swift also headed to Mexico last month. Brazil is her last stop in 2023, before playing Japan, Singapore, France, Sweden, Portugal, Spain, the UK, Ireland, The Netherlands, Poland, Austria and Australia until August 2024. She'll then return to the US, and then visit Canada next November. Check out the trailer for Taylor Swift: The 'Eras' Tour Concert Film below: Taylor Swift: The 'Eras' Tour Concert Film will hit cinemas in the US on Friday, October 13, but doesn't yet have a release date Down Under — we'll update you if and when one is announced.
The crew behind Marrickville's Grifter Brewing Co just unveiled new environmentally 'friendlier' four-pack holders so you can enjoy a more liberated conscience with your tins of Serpent's Kiss. Grifter has the lofty ambition of developing a packaging solution across the business that is 100% renewable. And while they're not quite there yet, according to Grifter co-founder Matt King, the switch to these first-to-market four-pack holders — made with 93.5% renewable resources — will save five tonnes of plastic waste per year. "These new holders will start to roll out across our whole range from this week," said King. "So keep an eye out, pick one up, take it home, rip into it and let us know what you think!" Since 2018, the team has been trying to improve their packaging and now that they've invested in getting to a more sustainable option (made locally in Sydney), they're hoping other local brewers jump on board. Lately, I've been fantasising about knocking back a few middies of pink lemonade sour at the bar of Grifter's Marrickville digs. In the meantime, a slab of takeaways tinnies will be that drop more satisfying. To check out Grifter Brewing Co's full range of beer and merch, head to the website.
Let the games begin: Squid Game: The Challenge, that is, and IRL rather than in a fictionalised thriller. When Squid Game became one of Netflix's biggest successes, a reality show that riffed on the concept was always going to happen. There's no death here, but there's still 456 players competing for a huge cash prize while wearing green tracksuits, being overseen by red-clad figures, and playing hopscotch, marbles, sugar honeycombs and tug of war. The reality competition TV show received the green light back in 2022, after the streaming platform had also confirmed that a second season of Squid Game itself was on its way. In June 2023, Netflix also announced that Squid Game: The Challenge would arrive in November. Then, it locked in Wednesday, November 22 as the spinoff's launch date, and dropped a teaser trailer. Now, a full sneak peek is here — and, sans murder, it looks exactly like its inspiration. If you're one of the hordes of viewers who watched Squid Game when it instantly became one of the best new TV programs of 2021, as we all are, then you'll understand the concept at the heart of Squid Game: The Challenge. As seen in the two glimpses at the show ahead of its arrival, the whole pesky compete-to-the-death angle is missing, obviously, but everything about the series is as everyone expects. The outfits, the games, the decor, the music and, yes, the notorious Red Light, Green Light doll: they're all accounted for. And the prize? $4.56 million, aka the biggest cash prize in reality-show history. How does it work? Again, you already know the details. Those 456 folks — all ordinary people, and not actors — will try to score the $4.56 million by playing a series of games inspired by the extremely fictional South Korean thriller, as well as a few new additions. Also, competitors will be eliminated as the games go on, and forming strategies and alliances will play a huge part. So, Squid Game: The Challenge is clearly designed to get as close to the OG Squid Game as possible, just without the body count. It's all being overseen by a Front Man, too, because of course it is. The results will unfurl over ten episodes, in what Netflix has dubbed "the biggest reality competition series ever". Well, it certainly has the biggest cast. Making a gripping and brutal TV show that satirises capitalism, then bringing its games into real life does sound like something that might happen in Squid Game itself if the show was getting meta. "This is a savage game," one of the contestants in the new trailer offers — but, again, viewers already know that. Check out the trailer for Squid Game: The Challenge: Squid Game: The Challenge will stream via Netflix in on Wednesday, November 22, 2023. Squid Game's first season is available to stream via Netflix . Images: Netflix.
Laneway festivals in Sydney and Melbourne are getting an extra special treat on top of their music bills this year — the organisers have somehow wrangled renowned Australian chef David Moyle (Longsong, Franklin) into curating the festival's food and cocktail offering, with each pairing priced at $25. Dubbed 'Royal Moyle', the lineup sees some of the country's best chefs come together to give festival-goers a gourmet foodie experience. Moyle will head a stand in both cities, with Melbourne's selection also including food by chefs Dave Verheul (Embla), Shannon Martinez (Smith & Daughters), Josh Murphy and Rory Coucher (Harley & Rose); and Sydney's offering up dishes by Restaurant Hubert's Daniel Pepperell and 10 William St's Enrico Tomelleri. Each dish has been paired with a specialty cocktail by expert mixologist and gin guru Shaun Byrne (Gin Palace). At both, Moyle will be cooking up coal-grilled aged beef with saltbush and horseradish, paired with Byrne's ginger tea spritz. The Melbourne menu includes Smith & Daughters' meaty vegan cheeseburger paired with a pickleback, Harley & Rose's hot sauce-topped margarita pizza paired with something called a Laneway Juice and Embla's 'chickpeazza' — a combo of an Italian chickpea pancake and a spicy nduja pizza — paired with a Moroccan style gin and tonic. In Sydney, 10 William Street is turning out a particularly tasty-sounding local squid bruschetta, which has been cooked over coals and flavoured with fermented chilies, capers, oregano and anchovy powder. It's all served on tomato water-dipped and -charred bread, and paired with Byrne's Martini Mary mashup. Not to be outdone, Hubert's chicken roti is topped with a complex Cafe de Paris butter sauce and paired with an alcoholic coconut mango lassi. Considering food prices at festivals are always hiked up, it's an especially sweet deal to get a high-end, 'chef-ified' dish with a legit cocktail for what normally gets you a warm beer and sub-par burger. Oh you fancy, huh Laneway? Check out the full Royal Moyle menus on the Sydney and Melbourne Laneway Festival sites.
Whether you're checking into a nearby spa for the day or heading further afield for a lengthier stint of bliss, visiting a wellness retreat is supposed to be relaxing. But that doesn't seem to be the case in upcoming miniseries Nine Perfect Strangers. The star-studded show was shot in Byron Bay, so it looks the scenic part — but the nine guests who turn up in search of a new lease on life all appear set to get much more than they've bargained for. That's how the series' new trailer unfolds, at least, with the latest sneak peek offering a bigger glimpse at the show following a very brief clip back in April. Given the cast involved — including Nicole Kidman (The Undoing), Melissa McCarthy (Thunder Force), Michael Shannon (Knives Out), Luke Evans (Crisis) and Asher Keddie (Rams) — Nine Perfect Strangers is easily one of the big series of the year, and that long list of famous faces will be navigating quite the eerie and creepy situation. Also part of the show: Bobby Cannavale (Superintelligence), Regina Hall (Little), Samara Weaving (Bill & Ted Face the Music), Melvin Gregg (The United States vs Billie Holiday), Asher Keddie (Rams), Grace Van Patten (Under the Silver Lake), Tiffany Boone (The Midnight Sky) and Manny Jacinto (The Good Place), who'll all navigate a ten-day retreat overseen by Kidman's Masha throughout the drama's eight episodes. The latter oversees a resort that promises to transform nine stressed city-dwellers — but, clearly, things aren't going to turn out as planned for the show's titular figures. As with Kidman's last two miniseries — Big Little Lies, which like Nine Perfect Strangers, was also based on a book by Liane Moriarty; and The Undoing — David E Kelley (LA Law, Ally McBeal, Mr Mercedes) is leading the charge behind the scenes. He's the show's co-writer and co-showrunner, with Long Shot's Jonathan Levine directing every episode. And if you're wondering where and when you'll be able to see the results, Nine Perfect Strangers will stream Down Under via Amazon Prime Video, with the series set to debut on Friday, August 20. Check out the full trailer below: Nine Perfect Strangers will start streaming in Australia and New Zealand on Friday, August 20 via Amazon Prime Video — starting with its first three episodes, with new episodes then dropping weekly afterwards. Images: Vince Valitutti/Hulu.
Perhaps you enjoyed Netflix's Heartbreak High revival and can't wait for its second season. Maybe you're fond of Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun instead. Or, via Stan, Bump, Black Snow, True History of the Kelly Gang and Nitram might've sat among your homegrown highlights. When you're getting cosy on the couch streaming something filled with Australian faces, accents and places, these titles likely stood out, too, because they're a rarity. Aussie content comprises a tiny portion of digital platforms' catalogues, which has been the case since Netflix officially launched in Australia back in 2015; however, that's about to change thanks to Australia's new streaming content quotas. First, some background: for Aussie commercial free-to-air television and pay TV stations, programming is subject to quotas requiring a certain contingent of each channel's content to hail from Australia. Such rules haven't applied to streaming services so far, though, even as more and more have popped up Down Under. So, for years, there's been a hefty to push to change the situation, placing the likes of Netflix, Disney+ and more under similar content rules. A green paper on the topic was published in late 2020, and a heap of well-known Aussie talents helped raise attention to the cause back in 2021. Now, the Australian Federal Government has confirmed that streaming content quotas are coming as part of its just-announced National Cultural Policy. "It's been ten years since the last National Cultural Policy. During that time, online streaming platforms have taken off, but our Australian content obligations haven't. I know we can do better," said Minister for the Arts Tony Burke on social media. Accordingly, the new $286-million National Cultural Policy locks in streaming content obligations, which it deems pivotal given there is "an increasing consumer trend away from broadcast and subscription television services to online subscription content". "In 2020–21, for the first time, Australians were more likely to have watched an online subscription service than live or recorded free‑to‑air television," the policy continues — saying what plenty of us already know from our own viewing habits. As a result, the Federal Government has committed to introducing "requirements for Australian screen content on streaming platforms to ensure continued access to local stories and content", and will do so by July 1, 2024. Beforehand, Burke will consult further with the industry, which'll be the focus for the first half of 2023, before legislation implementing the Aussie content quota for streaming platforms is put in place. What the quota might look like in terms of hours of Australian shows and movies required, or percentages of streaming services' roster of content, hasn't yet been revealed. Still, the aim is clear: more Aussie series and films on all of those platforms constantly competing for your eyeballs, and in the near future. Past proposals, including the Make It Australian campaign with backing from Blaze's Simon Baker, Hungry Ghosts' Bryan Brown and Justine Clarke, and Ellie and Abbie (and Ellie's Dead Aunt)'s Marta Dusseldorp — and more — have lobbied for all streaming services operating in Australia that have at least 500,000 subscribers to spend 20 percent of their local revenue on new Aussie dramas, documentaries and content for children. Some streamers have put more cash into developing original local stories already, doing so voluntarily, but now they'll all be required to — and to boost an overall buffet of movies and TV shows that has noticeably lacked new Aussie content from the get-go in the process. Indeed, it took more than two years for Netflix to finally announce that it was making its first Australian series, Tidelands, after it launched on our shores. For more information about Australia's new National Cultural Policy, head to the Australian Government's website. Top image: Heartbreak High, Netflix.
For plenty of Aussies, this long weekend will be all about collecting sleep-ins, hot cross buns and chocolate bunnies. But one Sydney artist is offering a different kind of Easter egg hunt, swapping the foil-wrapped choccy for some interactive street art and a solid dose of political satire. In the wake of the recent stoush between Senator Fraser Anning and our now famous Will 'Egg Boy' Connolly, prolific street artist and muralist Scott Marsh has devised a multi-city easter egg art hunt. Hidden at various locations across Sydney, Brisbane and Melbourne this weekend will be 12 'bunny' artworks — that is, Marsh's own design of Anning, wearing a set of rabbit ears with the word 'egg' splashed across his forehead. View this post on Instagram #Eggstravaganza - Easter Egg Hunt 🥚🐰😄 Over the course of the Easter long weekend (Friday April 19th to Sunday April 21st) I will be putting on an 'Easter Egg Hunt', hiding a dozen bunnies and eggs across 3 cities; Brisbane, Melbourne & Sydney. If you are the first person to locate a bunny and 'feed' him some eggs, you will win one of a dozen limited edition Easter Bunny fine art prints. Follow my Instagram for the location of each Bunny throughout Friday, Saturday and Sunday. How to win: - Find an Easter Bunny - Be the first to DM me a video of you feeding him one of his Easter eggs 🎁 There is a Golden Egg bonus prize. 2 eggs contain gold paint - if you 'feed' the bunny a Golden Egg, you'll be able to choose any original artwork from my web store ( www.scottmarsh.com.au ), valued up to $4000. The Easter Bunny loves his eggs! Feel free to get into the spirit of Easter and BYO eggs to feed the bunnies. 🥚🥚 1 bonus print will go to the most creative egg video. Use hashtags #eggstravaganza #scottmarsh Happy hunting! ✌🏼😁 #feedhim #easteregghunt #easterbunny #freeshit #auspol *VISIT LINK IN BIO FOR MORE DETAILS* A post shared by Scott Marsh (@scottie.marsh) on Apr 15, 2019 at 11:01pm PDT The first punter to locate each Senator Anning 'bunny' and video themselves 'feeding' it an egg from the accompanying basket will score one of Marsh's limited edition Easter Bunny fine art prints, created especially for the hunt. The artist will be dropping location clues via his Instagram on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, and keeping an eye on his DMs to catch the prize-winning videos as they come through. Get ready for a smashing weekend and a few egg-covered walls around town. Whoever finds the two special gold paint-filled eggs among the bunch will take out a Golden Egg bonus prize, winning their choice of any of Marsh's original prints, up to the value of $4000. The street artist is also encouraging BYO egg action and extra creative videos. View this post on Instagram Im giving away thousands of dollars worth of art this weekend 👌🏼🥚 #eggstravaganza Easter egg hunt. Visit link in my bio for all the details #easter #easteregg #auspol A post shared by Scott Marsh (@scottie.marsh) on Apr 16, 2019 at 2:52pm PDT Marsh's Sydney-based street art includes well-known portraits of George Michael, Mike Baird, George Pell, Bob Hawke and stacks more. He's also the mind behind the city's Egg Boy mural, painted outside the Lord Gladstone Hotel to celebrate the 17-year-old who filmed himself smashing an egg onto Anning's head at a press conference on March 16. Scott Marsh will drop hints for the 'egg hunt' this Friday, April 19, Saturday, April 20 and Sunday, April 21. Keep a close eye on his Instagram for details.
Much like its seemingly ageless leading man Keanu Reeves, the tale of The 47 Ronin is both several centuries old and beloved in Japan. Combining some of the most startling exemplars of courage, loyalty and honour, it's a sort of Kelly Gang meets Custer story in which a group of disavowed and banished Samurai (known as Ronin) stoically vow to avenge their master despite its absolute promise of death. From a production standpoint, 47 Ronin unexpectedly delights, with the costumes in particular showcasing the very best union of imagination and authenticity. Alongside some extraordinary set design, the extravagant armour of the Samurai, ornate dresses of the concubines and opulence of the Shogun all inject dazzling colour into an otherwise entirely dark affair. Even the cinematography feels more dramatic and dour than might be assumed for an action movie, which largely represents both 47 Ronin's strength and failing. That's because this is an entirely joyless film, and while no one should expect a story about retribution and mass suicide to be a laugh riot, there's almost always a little wriggle room for fun in an epic tale of witchcraft and warriors such as this. Truly, there is perhaps only one moment of levity in the entire movie and it comes at the expense of a fat man's 'moobs'. As a result, there's a certain lifelessness to 47 Ronin which saps it of the potential to be a tremendously enjoyable movie. It is, instead, a bleak and brooding affair that plods from scene to scene instead of gallopping. Much is made up for in the final battle which, to be fair, is excellent and one of the better set pieces seen in recent times; however, it leaves you wishing the rest of the film had been delivered in a similarly spectacular manner. https://youtube.com/watch?v=47_-pqoPDVQ
The award-winning Stomping Ground Brewing Co. is set to become the first brewpub in Collingwood to go solar, joining a growing number of Australian craft breweries on the vital sustainability bandwagon. With installation underway and completion expected by the end of the month, owners Guy Greenstone and Steve Jeffares (The Local Taphouse and GABS) are proud to increase their eco-friendly factor. "We're extremely passionate about the products we produce and know that many of our customers share our commitment to environmental sustainability," says Greenstone. "Installing a solar system is another big step towards becoming as sustainable and environmentally-friendly as possible. It also helps that this will reduce our energy costs as running a brewery is a very energy intensive operation." The brewery has been well on its way towards solar panelling for some time, having previously implemented numerous sustainability measures including a rainwater irrigation system, spent grain recycling, use of biodegradable eco-straws and serving wine from the barrel. To get technical about their new efforts, Beon Energy Solutions is installing a 96.39 kW system, which features 357 solar panels and will generate about 130,000kWh a year. Or, in other words, that's enough energy to power 20 homes. Stomping Ground have also teamed up with Yarra Energy Foundation (YEF), an independent organisation that helps guide individuals and businesses through the transition to solar energy. The number of solar-powered Australian breweries continues to expand, and includes Victoria's Bright Brewery, Sydney's Young Henrys and Brisbane's Helios Brewing, among others. Independent breweries aren't the only ones looking at sustainability, either — AB In-Bev has also announced its commitment to make the company's purchased electricity 100 percent green by 2025. The largest brewing company in the world, AB In-Bev has also been busy snapping up independent breweries lately, adding both 4 Pines and Pirate Life to its arsenal in 2017.
If you've ever been to a gig featuring an Australian band, streamed their tracks, read a book by a local author, hit your nearest theatre for a play or musical, wandered through an exhibition, or enjoyed an Aussie movie or TV show — and, of course, you've done some and probably all of the above — then you've interacted with Australia's arts industry. These aren't the only ways that the nation's creatives have an impact, and this country of ours wouldn't be the place it is without them. So, the Federal Government has unveiled a hefty package of support: a new $286-million National Cultural Policy. Announced on Monday, January 30 by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese and Minister for the Arts Tony Burke, the fresh policy has been badged "a new chapter in Australia's cultural story". The aim: to help boost the $17-billion industry that's generally been underfunded in the past, and has suffered through a particularly tough period during the pandemic — an industry that employs around 400,000 Aussies. Today we've got big news for the Australian arts and entertainment industry – and for fans of the incredible work we produce here. We're supporting the industry and the hundreds of thousands of jobs it creates, after a decade of neglect and missed opportunities. pic.twitter.com/MVV5wjFLFK — Anthony Albanese (@AlboMP) January 30, 2023 The National Cultural Policy outlines the government's plan for Australia's arts, entertainment and cultural sector over the next five years — and it's full of big inclusions, from upping support, creating new institutions and helping ensure that Aussie stories reach our screens in today's streaming-heavy times. "Our new cultural policy Revive will provide the support Australian artists need to thrive and grow," said the Prime Minister. "I am excited by the potential it will unleash, and to see our extraordinary and diverse Australian stories continue to be told with originality, wit, creativity and flair. It builds on the proud legacies of earlier Labor governments that recognised the importance of art and culture to Australia's identity, social unity and economic prosperity." [caption id="attachment_836832" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Alice Springs gallery, Tourism NT[/caption] Among the big-ticket items, a new National Aboriginal Art Gallery in Alice Springs and an Aboriginal Cultural Centre in Perth are worth getting excited about — with the former receiving $80 million in funding and the latter $50 million. The policy puts a significant and needed focus on First Nations art, including legislation to stop fakes and their impact. A creative workforce strategy specifically for Indigenous Australians will be developed as well, and $11 million will go towards establishing a First Nations Languages Policy Partnership between First Nations representatives and Aussie governments. Also on the list: creating four new bodies in the arts space, including a First Nations-led body to give Indigenous Australians autonomy over decisions and investments. It'll be part of a new organisation called Creative Australia — aka the Australia Council for the Arts, but renamed and upgraded, and given an extra $199-million in funding over four years. Creative Australia will also span Music Australia, which'l be dedicated to contemporary music industry and receive $69.4 million; Writers Australia, for writers and illustrators creating new works, nabbing $19.3 million in funding; and a new $8.1-million Centre for Arts and Entertainment Workplaces, which'll be devoted to making sure creative workers get fair wages, work in safe spaces and are protected from harassment and discrimination. [caption id="attachment_885816" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Genesis Owusu and members of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra by Alex Turley.[/caption] And, in important news for Australia's screen industry, a long-sought-after Aussie content quota for streaming platforms is also part of the National Cultural Policy, starting no later than July 1, 2024. "During that time online streaming platforms have taken off, but our Australian content obligations haven't. I know we can do better," said Burke on social media, noting that there's currently no requirements for the array of streaming services available Down Under to invest in Aussie movies and shows. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Tony Burke (@tony_burke_au) Among a hefty list of inclusions, the National Cultural Policy also covers an extra $11.8 million in funds for the National Gallery of Australia to tour its collection around the country; a $12.9-million digital lending rights scheme, which'll earn money for authors, illustrators and editors when their works are borrowed from libraries; splashing $8.5 million in more cash into the Regional Arts Fund; and continuing Festivals Australia. For more information about Australia's new National Cultural Policy, head to the Australian Government's website. Top image: Splendour in the Grass, Savannah van der Niet.
It's currently spring in the Northern Hemisphere, including in The Netherlands. And, as every tulip fan knows, that means one thing. At this time of year, bulbous flowers are blossoming across the European country — but, due to COVID-19, the usual throngs of tourists can't head along to see these gorgeous blooms in person. At Keukenhof Flower Exhibition, the country's biggest tulip garden, the powers-that-be are doing what so many other museums, landmarks and famous real-life sites have been: bringing Keukenhof's scenic sights to the masses via online means. Flower lovers can now take a 360-degree virtual tour of the huge venue and check out plenty of other videos of its colourful blooms, all via its YouTube channel. Given that the iconic garden spans 32 hectares in the town of Lisse, there's plenty to see. Around seven million tulip bulbs are planted annually, resulting in a sprawling floral sea — all at a site that dates back to 1857, and has been open to the public since 1950. The tulip garden is usually open to visitors for eight weeks between March and May, attracting more than 1.5 million visitors each year — with blooms at their peak now, in April. Check out Keukenhof's 360-degree tour below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SNgj9agkbB0 To check out Keukenhof Flower Exhibition's videos, head to the garden's YouTube channel. Images: Keukenhof.
Once again, St Kilda is set to kick off January 26 with a special dawn ceremony commemorating the rich, diverse culture of our land's First People. Back for its fifth edition, We-Akon Dilinja will see the Boonwurrung Land and Sea Council (BLSC) present an inclusive, reflective morning of music, readings and a smoking ceremony at St Kilda's Alfred Square from 5.45am. Speaking to this year's theme of 'Remembrance, Reflection and Recognition', BLSC Chairman N'arweet Jason Briggs said, "The mourning ceremony will celebrate through song and performance the resilience of the Boonwurrung People and invite fellow citizens to share the acknowledgement of the past and present, acknowledging what we can learn from the past — rather than being chained by it — in order to create a better future". The morning will feature a Welcome to Country and introduction by Parbinata Dr Carolyn Briggs AM, along with traditional Boonwurrung songs and performances, a tribute to past elders, readings and a smoking ceremony led by Willie Pepper. Once again, the We-Akon Dilinja Ceremony is being supported by The National Australia Day Council and will be live-streamed online for those who can't make it in person.
Ditch the generic candle and comfy socks this year and give your loved ones a gift they'll remember next Christmas. Show your partner that you've been paying attention to their love language with a surprise picnic, road-trip adventure or cosy date night. Take the little ones on a rural family escapade, or liven up your next group hang with a murder mystery game. For all the do-ers out there, AmazingCo has you covered with a broad range of unforgettable experiences that you can enjoy at home or across your city. We've pulled together five one-of-a-kind adventures for everyone on your nice list, so you can enjoy a hassle-free giving season. MYSTERY PICNIC Turn up the romance with a picture-perfect picnic for your partner. Or, you can choose to treat your friends and family with a group picnic instead. Explore a new pocket of your city with a morning of activities that ends with a picnic in a surprise location. Choose an area — either close by or even a day-trip drive away — and you'll receive a full itinerary of places to explore at your own pace. Follow a series of clues to pick up gourmet snacks from local producers and eateries, all pre-paid for as part of the package, while bonding with your partner over conversation starters and games. Then, you can enjoy your nibbles and drinks with a picnic at a chosen location. The Mystery Picnic starts at $150, but you can upgrade to a premium package or add extra goodies, such as dessert or a bottle of wine. It can also be adapted to suit most dietary requirements. MYSTERY REGION ADVENTURE Discover even more local gems in a half-day voyage with the Mystery Region Adventure. Enjoy an easy cruise to destinations such as the Hunter Valley, Yarra Valley or Sunshine Coast Hinterland. Once you've arrived, solve puzzles to uncover each stop along the way, where you'll be treated to wine, produce and chocolate tastings, as well as exclusive discounts and offers. This charming experience will only set you back $80–100, depending on which regional location you choose. AT-HOME DATE NIGHT If your partner prefers quality time at home, spice up your next night in with an At-Home Date Night experience. For only $30, you'll get two hours of puzzles, challenges and games designed to bring you closer together. The activity pack is delivered digitally, so you can enjoy it wherever you are. Take your pick of themes, from the tasty Foodie Date Night or action-packed Activity Date Night to the indulgent Chocolate and Games Hamper and limited-edition New Year's Eve Date Night. Who knows? After this, your relationship might even be strong enough to tackle building that IKEA dresser together. FARM TO TABLE Suited to couples, families and friends, the Farm to Table experience will take you on a food-fuelled day through regions such as the Hawkesbury, Mornington Peninsula or Scenic Rim. Work through clues and riddles to source produce from regional farms and businesses, where you'll learn about sustainable farming techniques, meet some of the animals and connect with the community over snacks and sips. Your efforts will be rewarded with a barbecue back at home, using the ingredients collected throughout the day and the digital recipe book included in the package. Level up your experience with a tasting paddle (or non-alcoholic cider for kids). Most dietary modifications can be accomodated. MURDER MYSTERY PARTY Live out your Knives Out dream and trade the usual dinner and drinks catch-up for a themed Murder Mystery Party. Take your pick from the spooky mayor's mansion, 80s high school reunion or doomed wedding. The experience includes everything you need to host the event, from character bios and invitations to decor tips and printable evidence, so all your friends have to do is show up with outrageous hairstyles in unflattering fluro. Pricing ranges from $40–55 based on the event format (virtual or in-person). It's designed for groups of 8-12, so the more the merrier! If you want more memorable gift ideas, check out the full guide or purchase a gift card on the AmazingCo website.
Your winter streaming plans just got better — and brighter, bolder, fiercer and sassier, too — because RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under has locked in its return date for season two. Last year, after the debut Australian and New Zealand version of the show, Stan in Australia and TVNZ OnDemand in New Zealand confirmed that the series would sashay our way again. Now, that's set to happen from Saturday, July 30. Exactly who'll be donning eye-catching outfits, navigating dramas and vying for glory next hasn't been revealed, but a new lineup of drag queens will endeavour to follow in Kita Mean's footsteps — after Mean took RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under's first season. Whoever gets the gig, they'll be joined by RuPaul, of course — who takes on hosting duties again — as well as fellow returnees Michelle Visage and Rhys Nicholson. Also yet to be revealed: 2022's lineup of celebrity guests, after 2021 saw Kylie Minogue, Dannii Minogue and Taika Waititi all pop up. Still, fans already know the format, which features fashion challenges, workroom dramas and lip sync battles aplenty. If you're a newcomer to all things Drag Race, you'll watch the next batch of Australian and NZ competitors work through a series of contests to emerge victorious, and join the likes of Mean and US contenders Jinkx Monsoon, Sasha Velour and Sharon Needles in being crowned the series' winner. Before it made the leap Down Under last year, the US version of RuPaul's Drag Race had already been on the air for more than a decade, first premiering in 2009 — and wholeheartedly embracing its mission to unearth the next drag superstars ever since. The original US series just aired its 14th season this year, so this is a program with proven longevity. It has also spun off international iterations before, including in the UK — where it's also hosted by RuPaul — plus in Thailand, Holland, Chile and Canada. While details might still be thin regarding who's competing and guesting on RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under's second season, RuPaul has still done the honours on the show's date announcement video. It wouldn't be a big piece of Drag Race Down Under news without a RuPaul clip, of course — check it out below: RuPaul's Drag Race Down Under will return for a second season in 2022 on Stan and TVNZ from Saturday, July 30.
An exploration of an exiled poet. The Australian premiere of legendary filmmaker Alejandro Jodorowsky's latest feature. An effort that's being called Peru's first bona fide horror movie. They're just three of the films in first-ever Cine Latino Film Festival lineup, as Australia's first national fest dedicated to showcasing the best in Latin American cinema tours the country in August. While the complete program features more than 30 movies from Mexico, Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, Cuba, Uruguay, Colombia, Venezuela, Chile, Guatemala and Puerto Rico, there's a reason that the first of the flicks mentioned above, the Pablo Larraín-directed, Gael García Bernal-starring Neruda, has been plucked straight from Cannes to open the festival. The last time the filmmaker and actor worked together, the excellent No was the end result, so expect another insightful look at Chilean politics from their second collaboration. Jodorowsky's Endless Poetry should rank among the festival's just-as-eagerly-anticipated titles, especially by fans of the director's '70s cult classics El Topo and The Holy Mountain and his most recent effort The Dance of Reality — or anyone who marvelled at what could've been when they watched the entertaining documentary Jodorowsky's Dune. And while The Womb doesn't come with quite the same pedigree, it does boast a chilling storyline involving one of the horror genre's favourite topics: motherhood. Elsewhere, a chronicle of the pop star known as the 'Mexican Madonna', an insight into current state of a formerly luxurious Havana hotel, and more than a couple of soccer-themed efforts all feature among the feast of Spanish and Portuguese-language fare, as do Peruvian road movie Solos and Venezuelan beauty queen black comedy 3 Beauties. Just perusing the program is enough to make you want to jump on a plane for Latin America, however for those who can't enjoy an overseas holiday at the moment, immersing yourself in the films of the region really is the next best thing. [competition]583085[/competition]
UPDATE, March 31, 2021: Bill & Ted Face the Music is available to stream via Stan, Google Play, YouTube Movies, iTunes and Prime Video. When it comes to goofy and sweet movie concepts handled with sincerity, the Bill & Ted franchise has always proven most triumphant. In 1989's Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure, the big-screen comedy series introduced the world to Californian high schoolers Bill S Preston, Esq (Alex Winter) and Ted 'Theodore' Logan (Keanu Reeves), who are apparently destined to write the rock song that unites the universe — if they can first pass their history exam by travelling back in time in a phone booth to recruit famed past figures like Beethoven and Socrates to help, that is. The idea that Bill & Ted's affable, air guitar-playing slackers would become the world's salvation was a joke that the film itself was in on, and the movie struck the right balance of silliness, earnestness and affection as a result. So, the end product was joyous. How could a flick that makes the absolute most of Reeves exclaiming "whoa!" multiple times, tasks its titular characters with spreading a message of kindness and sends Napoleon to a water park called Waterloo be anything but giddy fun? Actually, Excellent Adventure was something else: the reason that 1991's even loopier but still entertaining Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey exists, complete with evil robot versions of the eponymous duo and Twister games with Death (William Sadler) in hell. Now, almost three decades after that first sequel, the franchise has spawned a third entry — and Bill & Ted Face the Music delivers yet another dose of warm-hearted lunacy. Bill (Winter) and Ted (Reeves) are back, obviously. They're older, definitely not wiser, and yet again take a few leaps through time. The fate of life as everyone knows it is still at stake, of course. And, as always, the loveable pair's clear motto — "be excellent to each other" — is pivotal. Bogus Journey told viewers that Wyld Stallyns, Bill and Ted's band, would achieve the success that futuristic emissary Rufus (George Carlin) had promised since the beginning of Excellent Adventure. When Face the Music returns to the duo, they've enjoyed the spoils of fame and subsequently crashed back into obscurity, gigs on cheap taco night, and combining a theremin with throat singing in the world's least romantic wedding song. Settled into suburban San Dimas life with their wives and children — medieval princesses Joanna (Glee's Jayma Mays) and Elizabeth (Medical Police's Erinn Hayes), and chip-off-the-old-block daughters Theadora (Ready or Not's Samara Weaving) and Wilhelmina (Atypical's Brigette Lundy-Paine) — they're still certain they'll write the tune the changes the future. Well, they're still trying to. But when they're given a 77-minute deadline by Rufus' daughter Kelly (The Last Man on Earth's Kristen Schaal), Bill and Ted decide to jump forward and steal the fabled track from themselves after they've already penned it. There's a purposeful sense of familiarity to Face the Music's main plot; watching Bill and Ted hurtle through time is what this franchise is all about, after all. Teaming up with director Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest), returning original writers Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon triple down on the setup, however, with Thea and Billie also leaping through history — and their unhappy mothers, who can't quite convince Bill and Ted not to be so codependent, similarly riding the circuits of time on their own trip. Layering all of the above gives Face the Music an overt excuse to rehash many of the franchise's beloved aspects, including bringing Bill and Ted face to face with themselves again and again, and sending the younger B and T on a mission to collect music icons like Mozart, Jimi Hendrix and King Cudi. And yet, while anyone who has seen Excellent Adventure and Bogus Journey will spot the easy nods — even extending to a new robot (Barry's Anthony Carrigan) sent to foil the current plans — Face the Music isn't merely trying to relive past glories. In fact, the very idea that some dreams don't come true — or, to the benefit of everyone, they evolve and get passed along — sits at the core of this tender and loving movie. That's its best feature, and it's far from bogus. Naturally, it's a delight to see Winter and Reeves reprise their roles. They step back into Bill and Ted's shoes with ease, expertly conveying the characters' lingering immaturity, middle-aged malaise and ever-present kindness. They're also clearly having a blast as different versions of the duo, and their enthusiasm is infectious. As the next generation, both Weaving and Lundy-Paine are spot-on as well (the latter couldn't channel late 80s/early 90s-era Keanu more convincingly), while Carrigan steals every scene he's in. But without thoughtfully pondering what it truly means to be excellent to each other, showing that in action and demonstrating the impact that pulling together communally can have, Face the Music could've felt like it was just strumming the same hit notes again. They're also known for spouting "party on!" with frequency, but Bill and Ted's most famous catchphrase has never simply served up empty words. No one can escape the straightforward piece of advice, because "be excellent to each other" is uttered often, but it also means something. Indeed, Bill and Ted approached their lives with goodwill and consideration back in Excellent Adventure as a method of coping with their troubles — with the former's sleazy dad marrying one of their classmates, and the latter's stern father constantly threatening him with military school — and, here, they continue to illustrate the merits of their optimistic and warm mindset. It's no wonder, then, that Face the Music feels like such a nice hug of a movie. It's silly, because that's a given. It relies upon a template, but knows how to twist it in new directions. It occasionally feels repetitive, and a tad unintentionally chaotic. The heartfelt happiness it brings, though, is 100-percent excellent. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hAL7emClFM
When you're a former child actor turned Transformers star turned performance artist and activist, it's pretty easy to make a statement. With his various performance projects around the world, Shia LaBeouf has been doing just that. Alas, his efforts to mount a four-year protest against the current President of the United States haven't gone smoothly, with #HEWILLNOTDIVIDEUS shut down for the fourth time. Liverpool's media arts centre FACT has ended the project's current run based on police advice after "dangerous, illegal trespassing," according to a statement on their website. It lastest a mere three days in its latest iteration, which involved flying a white flag emblazoned with the project name and live-streaming the results. #HEWILLNOTDIVIDEUS moved to the UK after three attempts in the US, including hoisting the flag in an undisclosed location. https://twitter.com/FACT_Liverpool/status/844939997363015682 LeBeouf actually started the four-year-long anti-Trump-focused piece in New York in January, using a different concept: a camera was mounted on a wall outside the Museum of Moving Image, below a printed version of the titular phrase. Participants were asked to stand in the requisite spot and repeat those words as many times as they liked, and for as long as they desired. The project started at 9am on January 20, 2017, timed to coincide with the day of new US President Donald Trump's inauguration, with LeBeouf intending keep a live-stream going 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the four years that followed — or the duration of Trump's time in office. While designed to act "as a show of resistance or insistence, opposition or optimism, guided by the spirit of each individual participant and the community", and garnering plenty of interest — including from the project's first participant, Jaden Smith — #HEWILLNOTDIVIDEUS quickly started to attract not just attention but opposition, leading the Museum of Moving Image to abandon the work on February 10. Eight days later, the piece was relocated to a wall outside the El Rey Theater, Albuquerque, before moving to its latest version in March. https://twitter.com/thecampaignbook/status/822443598771785732
Practise your Cockney accent, rehearse your favourite drunken London tale and prepare for high tea: the British Film Festival has arrived in Australia for the first time ever. There'll be a dozen contemporary features, five 20th-century classics (The Third Man and Lawrence of Arabia among them) and a chance to quiz Eric Bana during a live Q&A session, and a simply smashing opening night party. One film not to miss is Jump, a massive hit at the Toronto International Film Festival that captures the stories of three troubled individuals, who find themselves entangled by doomed romance, theft and revenge. Another much-talked-about feature is eccentric rock movie Good Vibrations, which comes to the British Film Festival following sold-out sessions at the 2013 Melbourne International Film Festival. Set against Ireland's Troubles of the 1970s, it follows the story of rebellious, maverick music lover Terri Hooley, Belfast's 'godfather of punk', and his determination to show the world the power of the seven-inch single. The star power is in Dom Hemingway, a gangster film in the style of Sexy Beast. It stars Jude Law as the outrageous, volatile Dom and Richard E. Grant as his best friend, Dickie. Following Dom's release after 12 years of imprisonment, the two travel from London to the south of France, encountering all number of misadventures along the way, from a car accident to an inevitable femme fatale. There's also the latest offering from Uberto Pasolini (producer of The Full Monty), Still Life, a drama in the British humanist tradition. The British Film Festival is on in Melbourne (November 20 to December 1), Sydney (November 21 to December 1), Brisbane (November 27 to December 8) as well as other cities around Australia. Thanks to the festival, we have 15 double in-season passes to give away. To be in the running, subscribe to the Concrete Playground newsletter (if you haven't already), then email us with your name and address. Sydney: win.sydney@concreteplayground.com.au Melbourne: win.melbourne@concreteplayground.com.au Brisbane: win.brisbane@concreteplayground.com.au
Foggy skies are causing plenty of drama in Melbourne — and around the country — today, especially for those travelling to or from the airport. As The Age reports, the heavy haze has disrupted flights going in and out of Melbourne Airport and has caused delays of up to two hours. Virgin has already cancelled one flight from Sydney to Melbourne this morning, with more Tiger and Jetstar flights on the same route also set to experience delays. Two of Jetstar's return flights to the Gold Coast have also been cancelled, along with eight Qantas flights scheduled to fly out of Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. But a spokesman from the airport told Fairfax that skies were set to clear by later this morning, saying "we are also hearing predictions that the fog will lift earlier than expected". Even if you're not travelling to the airport, it goes without saying that you should take caution on and near the road this morning as visibility is low. The Bureau of Meteorology has tweeted about the 'pea soup', suggesting northerly winds will help push it away in the next few hours, giving Melbourne clear, sunny skies for the rest of the day. For the 4th day in a row #Melbourne has woken up to a thick blanket of fog, will clear later this morning - unlikely to see another pea souper around the city tomorrow, as northerly winds pick uphttps://t.co/POnouPMIRA pic.twitter.com/c0SECqDebB — Bureau of Meteorology, Victoria (@BOM_Vic) April 22, 2018 Via The Age. Image: Bureau of Meteorology via Twitter.
UPDATE, January 13, 2022: Yotam Ottolenghi's Australian tour has been postponed again due to the pandemic. New dates have not yet been announced — we'll update you when they are. If you're a vegetarian, worshipper of eggplant or just a keen home cook, chances are Yotam Ottolenghi has had some impact on your life. In fact, we bet you've got at least one of his bestselling cookbooks in your cupboard. Next year, you'll be able to learn a few more tips and tricks from the renowned Israeli chef as he heads to Australia for a speaking tour. The trailblazing chef, author, TV personality and restaurateur whose name has become its own cooking style is touring the country in 2022 off the back of his recent book Ottolenghi Flavour, which builds on his love for innovative vegetable-based recipes. And yes, this'll sound familiar, as he was planning to head Down Under in 2021 — but we all know how this year turned out. Yotam Ottolenghi — Flavour of Life will hit Sydney, Canberra, Adelaide, Brisbane, Hobart, Melbourne and the Gold Coast in January — and, as well as dishing up a few spicy secrets behind mouthwatering hits like miso butter onions and spicy mushroom lasagne, the show will provide an opportunity to hear directly from the man himself about his influences and experiences. It also promises to delve into Ottolenghi's experience as the owner of famed London restaurants Nopi and Rovi, how he approached home cooking during the COVID-19 pandemic and how you can dial up the flavour in your own kitchen. [caption id="attachment_768174" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Flickr/Stijn Nieuwendijk[/caption] YOTAM OTTOLENGHI 2022 AUSTRALIAN TOUR: Sunday, January 16 — Darling Harbour Theatre, ICC, Sydney Monday, January 17 + Wednesday, January 19 — Canberra Theatre Centre Tuesday, January 18 + Tuesday, January 25 — Adelaide Convention Centre Thursday, January 20 + Monday, January 24 — QPAC Concert Hall, Brisbane Friday, January 21 — Wrest Point Entertainment Centre, Hobart Saturday, January 22 — Hamer Hall, Arts Centre Melbourne Sunday, January 23 — The Star, The Gold Coast The Yotam Ottolenghi — Flavour of Life will tour Australia in January 2022. For further details or to buy tickets, head to the tour website.
The adventurous trio of foodies behind Chapter 53 (and August's Winter's Burial dinner) are hosting their second Melbourne pop-up event. This time with a multi-course vegetarian feast, in celebration of all things spring. Held this Sunday, November 27 in a beautiful converted church in Fitzroy, Spring: The Garden of Good & EVOO will see diners treated to the most lavish of meat-free degustations. Locally-grown produce and Manna Hill Estate extra virgin olive oil will be the stars of this five-course, plant-based spread, with head chef Nicola Romano celebrating the state's seasonal best through a parade of thought-provoking dishes. Each clever course has been carefully matched to some top-notch local booze, with Victorian wines sitting alongside a Yarra Valley gin, and a saison brewed in Alphington. As with Chapter 53's launch event, diners can expect to hear from some of the producers whose goodies feature on the menu, and to enjoy a few nifty surprises throughout the evening.
Open the cinema doors, HAL, because a new film festival is heading to Australian screens. You won't need someone to strap you to a chair and force your eyes open with a specula to get you to watch this fantastic movie lineup — and you won't have to wander around a maze-like haunted hotel to get there either. Hot on the heels of the Alfred Hitchcock Film Festival, Sydney's Hayden Orpheum and Melbourne's Cinema Nova are turning their attention to celebrating another movie master. This time, the one and only Stanley Kubrick is in the spotlight. From October 6-19, the two cinemas will unleash all 13 of the British filmmaker's full-length features upon eager cinephiles. That means everything from his under-seen anti-war debut Fear and Desire to the controversial Lolita to his final completed effort, the Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise-starring erotic thriller Eyes Wide Shut. Discover why "I am Spartacus!" became such a famous cinema phrase, find out how Dr Strangelove learned to stop worrying and love the bomb, and plunge into the horrors of the Vietnam War with Full Metal Jacket — and even catch special screenings of A.I.: Artificial Intelligence, which Kubrick started developing in the '70s before handing the project over to Steven Spielberg in the '90s. Sure, 2001: A Space Odyssey, A Clockwork Orange and The Shining pop up in retrospective programs around the country quite often, but there's never a bad time to see these classics the way they were meant to be seen. Plus, catching every one of Kubrick's features in one lineup is quite rare. So rare, in fact, that the fest is calling itself a world premiere. The Stanley Kubrick Film Festival runs from October 6-19 at the Hayden Orpheum in Sydney and Cinema Nova in Melbourne. For more information, head to the Orpheum and Cinema Nova websites.
Keen to see Oasis onstage Down Under when Liam and Noel Gallagher reunite for the reformed band's 2025 tour? Don't look back in anger at paying more than you should for a ticket to their Melbourne shows. As it did with Taylor Swift's Eras tour — and with the 2024 Meredith Music Festival, too — the Victorian Government has declared the British group's upcoming trip to the state a major event, meaning that the gigs now fall under anti-scalping laws. Under Victoria's major-event ticketing declarations, tickets to the two concerts must legally be available for a fair price, not the hefty costs that they can be flogged off for on the resale market. There's a specific figure specified under the law, in fact, with tickets to a declared major event unable to be resold for more than ten percent more than their original value. [caption id="attachment_975202" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Simon Emmett[/caption] Other requirements include ticket package sellers needing authorisation from the event organiser, plus individual ads for tickets including both ticket and seating details. If a ticket seller flouts the rules, the penalties are steep, ranging up to more than half-a-million dollars. [caption id="attachment_975640" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Batiste Safont via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] While the major-event declaration clearly benefits Melbourne Oasis devotees eager to get a ticket to see the band play at Marvel Stadium, it's also great news for fans elsewhere that are hoping to head to the Victorian capital for the Friday, October 31–Saturday, November 1 shows. Oasis are only making two stops on their visit Down Under, two doing gigs in Melbourne and two in Sydney. So, also like the Eras tour, there'll be plenty of concertgoers flying and driving in from interstate. 2025 marks 20 years since Oasis last toured Australia, but that's where the lengthy gap between the band's Down Under shows is ending. There's comeback tours and then there's Britain's most-famous feuding siblings reuniting to bring one of the country's iconic groups back together live — aka the biggest story in music touring of 2024 since Liam and Noel announced in August that they were reforming the band, and also burying the hatchet. Initially, Oasis locked in a run of shows in the UK and Ireland. Since then, they've been expanding their tour dates, also confirming visits to Canada and the US. From London, Manchester and Dublin to Toronto, Los Angeles and Mexico City, the entire tour so far is sold out. Oasis broke up in 2009, four years after their last Australian tour, and following seven albums from 1994's Definitely Maybe through to 2008's Dig Your Soul — and after drawing massive crowds to their live gigs along the way (see: documentary Oasis Knebworth 1996). If you're feeling supersonic about the group's reunion, you can likely expect to hear that track, plus everything from 'Live Forever', 'Cigarettes & Alcohol', 'Morning Glory' and 'Some Might Say' through to 'Wonderwall', 'Don't Look Back in Anger' and 'Champagne Supernova' when they hit Australia. Oasis Live '25 Australian Dates Friday, October 31–Saturday, November 1 — Marvel Stadium, Melbourne Friday, November 7–Saturday, November 8 — Accor Stadium, Sydney Oasis are touring Australia in October and November 2025, with Melbourne tickets on sale from 10am AEDT and Sydney tickets from 12pm AEDT on Tuesday, October 15. Head to the tour website for more details. Top image: Raph_PH via Flickr.
At skate parks around the world — and on consoles in lounge rooms, too — many an hour has been spent kickflipping and ollieing because of Tony Hawk. He's the professional skateboarder who became a household name, and the man whose licensed video game series had everyone sliding and grinding just by furiously mashing buttons. And, come 2024, he's coming to Australia to chat about his career. The skater icon is taking part in a talkfest aptly called An Evening with Tony Hawk. If you've ever wondered how he landed his famous '900', becoming the first skateboarder to complete two-and-a-half mid-air revolutions — or if you just want to know why Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, its sequels and spinoffs are so damn addictive — head along to the Enmore Theatre in Sydney on Friday, January 19, or The Athenaeum in Melbourne on Monday, January 22 and The Triffid in Brisbane on Thursday, January 25 to find out. Hawk's Brissie trip comes with a caveat, however: his discussion has already sold out, but he's also going to turn the Fortitude Music Hall into an immersive Tony Hawk's Pro Skater experience for one day only on Saturday, January 27. [caption id="attachment_924147" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Joshua Cutillo[/caption] In the chats, as well as discussing life, turning skating into a job, career highlights, his pop culture prominence and more — and maybe even his on-screen appearances in everything from the first xXx movie to Sharknado 5: Global Swarming — Hawk will be joined by Birdman: Or the Unexpected Virtue of a Tony Hawk Pro Skater Cover Band. Setting the vibe through tunes from the games, their setlist includes Rage Against the Machine, Millencolin, Goldfinger and more. In Brisbane only, Hawk's THPS25 event will drop in to celebrate a quarter century of the games series, with Fortitude Music Hall turned into a replica of one of the levels from the game. Yes, Hawke will hop on a board on an 11-foot-plus vertical ramp that'll sit in the centre of the venue. Joining him from the Birdhouse skate crew, including Lizzie Armanto, Elliot Sloan Felipe Nunes and Reese Nelson. The THPS25 event will be split into two sessions, with the daytime slot an all-ages affair and the evening session only for over 18s. Birdman: Or the Unexpected Virtue of a Tony Hawk Pro Skater Cover Band will pick up their instruments at both, too, as joined by DZ Deathrays doing a DJ set at each. Yours Truly and Teenage Joans will also take to the stage during the day, and Bodyjar and Alex Lahey at night. If you're keen to play Tony Hawk's Pro Skater while you're there, that's understandable and will also be an option. Show off your moves on a five-metre video wall, plus console stations set up around the venue. [caption id="attachment_924146" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Vans[/caption] [caption id="attachment_576145" align="alignnone" width="1280"] Tony Hawk's Pro Skater[/caption] TONY HAWK AUSTRALIAN TOUR 2024: Friday, January 19 — An Evening with Tony Hawk, Enmore Theatre, Sydney Monday, January 22 — An Evening with Tony Hawk, The Athenaeum, Melbourne Thursday, January 25 — An Evening with Tony Hawk, The Triffid, Brisbane — SOLD OUT Saturday, January 27 — THPS25, Fortitude Music Hall, Brisbane Tony Hawk is touring Australia in 2024. Head to the tour website for further details and tickets for An Evening with Tony Hawk. For the THPS25, join the waitlist at the event website, with tickets presales from 9am AEST on Wednesday, November 1. Top image: Victor Solanoy via Flickr.
If you've been hanging out for the opportunity to go deep with virtual reality, we've got news that will delight you. This year Melbourne Fringe has announced a unique new program of virtual reality shorts as part of their lineup. The brand new Virtual Reality Fringe Festival will run from September 14 to October 1 and show a series of films in a small shopfront on Johnston Street in Collingwood. The program is a mix of local and international short films and documentaries, music clips and a group VR experience — so prepare yourself for some weirdness. The venue seats a dozen movie-goers at a time, straps them into VR headsets and 360-degree rotating swivel chairs. You'll then be transported to Rapa Nui (the enigmatic island better known as Easter Island), jump into the studio with Melbourne muso Didirri, cruise the streets with graffiti artist Adnate and take a terrifying ride on Joel Zika's Alabama ghost train amongst other weird and wonderful experiences. The program combines both live action and abstract motion graphics, covering a broad range of film techniques and styles. Get around it — literally. Virtual Reality Fringe Festival runs September 14 to October 1 at 178 Johnston Street, Collingwood. The experience runs for around 20 minutes and tickets are $14 at virtualrealityfestival.com.au.
A vibrant laneway culture might be one of the things that's put Melbourne on the map, but if you've explored the dingier corners of the city, you'll know that some of our laneways have more in the way of creepy corners and bin stench, than of hip, hidden bars. One lane that used to be in this aesthetically-challenged camp is Mornane Place, which runs along the back of Bourke Street's Grossi Florentino, Pellegrini's, and Ombra. But the future's now looking bright for this little thoroughfare, thanks to a bit of TLC from its neighbours, some improvements facilitated by the City of Melbourne's Love Your Laneway program, and best of all, the addition of its own laneway bar. The Grossi team took over this petite space across from their back door during last year's renovations, popped in some shelves, and have been using it as a cellar to house their wine collection. But now that the exterior is being spruced up with new lighting, street art, and pavement repairs, the space is set to do double time as a cosy wine bar called Arlechin. Punters can expect a warm, moody drinking spot, with plenty of intimate date-night corners and walls filled to the brim with bottles. There'll be an oft-changing wine list, clever reinventions of some classic cocktails, and a food menu that lends itself just as well to snacking as to feasting. And best of all, you won't have to pick your way down a smelly laneway to find it. Until then, this is as much as we get: Arlechin is set to open early April in Mornane Place, Melbourne CBD.
Director Terry Gilliam goes back to the future in the third and final chapter of his so-called Orwellian triptych. An existential tragedy in the guise of a sci-fi black comedy, The Zero Theorem explores many of the same dystopian concepts seen in Brazil in 1985 and 12 Monkeys a decade later. This is unmistakably the weakest of the trio, although in fairness the other two are amongst the best science fiction films of each of their respective decades. It's a messy and sometimes frustrating film, full of big ideas that don't always get the treatment they deserve. You certainly can't fault Gilliam's ambition though, nor the quality of the pieces with which he's working. Christoph Waltz, minus his eyebrows, plays an agoraphobic computer programmer by the name of Qohen Leth. Employed by the omnipresent ManCom Corporation, Leth's sole duty is crunching the numbers on the Zero Theorem, an intricate mathematical equation that, if solved, will prove that life in inherently meaningless. For the shut-in Leth, whose nightmares are already dominated by a terrifying black hole, the task soon transforms into an obsession. Theorem sees Gilliam, a satirist at heart, aim his guns squarely at the commercial establishment. Bucharest masquerades as futuristic London, a city in which advertisements will literally chase you down the street. Visually, the director draws on everything from Metropolis to Lewis Carroll, not to mention, of course, a healthy dose of Nineteen Eight-Four. The world he creates is full of absurd whimsy, yet a lingering sense of oppression always remains. It an environment we only see in glimpses, however. The bulk of the film takes place in Leth's home, a dank, rat-infested, fire-damaged church. It's here that he toils, the Quasimodo of the future, observed via surveillance camera perched atop a headless statue of Christ. It's not what you'd call a subtle visual, but then again, no one ever accused Gilliam of being subtle. Nor would you call him a particularly focused filmmaker. At times there's a sense he's throwing everything at wall in the hope that some of it will stick. Questions of faith, purpose and reality are interesting in their own right, but never quite coalesce into an entirely satisfying whole. In his first true starring role, Christoph Waltz gives a fantastic performance that's quite different to what we've seen in his collaborations with Tarantino. French actress Melanie Thierry, meanwhile, seems likely to break out as Leth's potential love interest, a mysterious cyber-seductress named Bainsley. Their dynamic gives the film some much-needed emotional stakes. Yet the plot that surrounds the relationship remains oddly lacking in momentum. The Zero Theorem is nowhere near Gilliam's best. At the same time, in a lot of ways it feels like his most definitive film, in that it represents all of his good and bad tendencies simultaneously. It's as bold and intriguing as it is cluttered and confused. In the end, it contains just enough interesting elements to justify the cost of a ticket. https://youtube.com/watch?v=rae7_O_6EtU
In 2020, Netflix's Enola Holmes asked a question: what if Sherlock Holmes had a teenage sister who was just as good at sleuthing as he is? Now, in 2021, the streaming platform has another query for fans of the famed detective: what if there was actually a team of teens who were tasked with solving his mysteries, all while Sherlock gets the credit? That latter train of thought provides the premise for The Irregulars, Netflix's next dalliance with the character created by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. Set in Victorian London, the eight-part series meets its motley crew of adolescents as they're asked by Doctor Watson (Royce Pierreson, The Witcher) to work for Holmes (Henry Lloyd-Hughes, Killing Eve). As the just-dropped trailer shows, they're also enlisted for their new gig as the city and the world comes under threat from insidious supernatural forces — which only they can stop. Yes, it sounds like something that an algorithm would concoct (and probably has) after seeing how many people stream both Stranger Things and the multiple other iterations of Sherlock Holmes that have reached screens over the years. But at least part of the concept does tie back into Conan Doyle's work, with the Baker Street Irregulars even popping up in 1887's A Study in Scarlet, the first novel to feature Holmes and Watson. When the series hits Netflix on Friday, March 26, you'll be watching Thaddea Graham (The Letter for the King), Darci Shaw (Judy), Jojo Macari (Sex Education), Mckell David (The Gentlemen) and Harrison Osterfield (Catch 22) as Irregulars members Bea, Jessie, Billie, Spike and Leopold — and Clarke Peters (His Dark Materials) as The Linen Man. Check out the trailer below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lTE5MAGpflw The Irregulars starts streaming via Netflix from Friday, March 26.
Prepare yourself for a night of whimsy, wonder and a weird, scaly, hermaphroditic fish man named Old Gregg. Noel Fielding, the androgynous co-lead of the surreal British comedy series The Mighty Boosh, is bringing his live show, An Evening with Noel Fielding, to a capital city near you. Combining stand-up comedy with animation and original music, as well as special appearances from some of Fielding's most beloved and baffling characters, including Fantasy Man and The Moon, the April 2015 show marks Fielding's first time in Australia since his sold-out tour in 2012. This time he'll also be joined by his younger brother Michael, best known for his recurring role on The Mighty Boosh as Naboo the Enigma, an alien shaman from the planet Xooberon. Fielding previously played the part of Richmond in The IT Crowd, appeared as a team captain on the music comedy panel show Never Mind the Buzzcocks, and helped create the comedy sketch program Noel Fielding's Luxury Comedy. He is also a member of the band Loose Tapestries along with Kasabian guitarist Sergio Pizzorno, whose music will be featured in the tour. Tickets to An Evening with Noel Fielding go on sale at 9am on Wednesday, December 17. The show begins in Auckland on Monday, April 6, following by Wellington on Friday, April 10, and Christchurch on Sunday April 12. Fielding then crosses the ditch, first to Melbourne on Wednesday April 15, then Adelaide on Friday April 17 and Canberra on Monday April 20. He'll be at the State Theatre in Sydney on Wednesday April 22, before finishing up with Perth on Friday April 24 and Brisbane on Monday April 27. For more information, head to the promoter website.
Looking for a place to kick back this long weekend? Brunswick Street Cider House has you covered. The Fitzroy bar is opening a picket-fenced pop-up cider garden, complete with music, dining and plenty of things to sip. Set up behind the bar’s regular premises at 386-388 Brunswick St, the cider garden will operate Saturday through Monday, giving you ample opportunity to relax and enjoy the sunshine. The backyard tavern will include six beers and ciders on tap – just a sample of the more than two dozen available inside. There will also be a food stall slinging slow cooked pork rolls, served right off the red hot spit. The temporary space will also play a key role in AusFest 2015, the bar's annual Australia Day celebration. For $28, ticketholders get their own personal stein filled to the brim upon arrival, with $10 refills on offer. You'll also get a free pork roll, plus a serving of apple crumble with vanilla ice cream and crème anglaise. Vegan options are also available. The bar will be blasting triple j’s Hottest 100 throughout the day, because of course they will be. Alternatively, there'll be DJs and live bongos in the cider hall downstairs. For more information on Brunswick Street Cider House and AusFest 2015, head to their website.
Chilli fiends, listen up. Can you eat Belle's Really F**kin Hot chicken wings without batting an eyelid? Choose the three chilli-rated menu items at Dainty Sichuan for a laugh? Well, have we got news for you. The team behind Hobba has recruited some of Melbourne's top food trucks to bring you the inaugural Melbourne Chilli Festival. Held on the vacant lot next to Hobba in Prahran on Saturday, June 4, each truck will create a special chilli offering just for the night. So what can you expect to be eating? Well, perhaps a few Dos Diablos tacos, a Little Mushroom Co. veggie burger, Soul Kitchen wood-fired pizza and some souvas from Hobba — all laden with chilli, of course. Billy Van Creamy will be there too, serving an intriguing chilli ice cream we're most keen to try. For the serious chilli eaters (and we mean serious), a chilli eating competition will be held on the night too — and it's set to test even the bravest, most numbed of tastebuds. If you're not a spice fiend though, they've got your kind covered too. As well as All The Chilli there will be non-chilli, vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free options available, so you won't have to go home crying from the spice of it all. The night isn't simply for the love of chilli, either — the gold coin donation entry fee will go to Prahran Mission, which is committed to assisting those with mental illness and extreme social or economic hardship. Now that's some spicy eating we can get behind. Image: Colin McMurry.
For a long time the western suburbs have been left off the grid. Cultural maps showing the best dining spots in Melbourne usually stop at North Melbourne, as if there weren't anything beyond Racecourse Road. And while these areas — think Kensington, Footscray, Yarraville, Flemington — have been traditionally frequented by those who actually live there, the western suburbs are slowly falling into the hands of our old friend and foe: gentrification. The resulting western scene is a brilliant mix between the old and the new. The demand for new wave cafes and restaurants has seen modern dining make more of an appearance, while the old institutions still remain tried and true. Western establishments now serve gourmet burgers and artisan doughnuts to go with our long-loved dumplings, laksa and injera. The suburbs left of the centre have been bubbling with brand new ventures lately, so we've put together the best of the west. No excuses for neglecting this side of town — Kensington is only two stops out of the city, after all. Eat8bit It's hard to believe there's room left in Melbourne for another burgeoning burger joint, but there's always a place for any kind of themed food venture – especially one with a digital edge. Eat8bit is Footscray's latest and greatest (and only) burger outlet and patties are already being downloaded by the dozen. Setting up shop on Droop Street's corner complete with Space Invader-esque burger prints and Yoshi, Pac-Man and Mario table numbers. it's best to seek these guys out early in the day if you want to nab a table and an 8bit with cheese. Take a big ol' byte of this little spot. 8 Droop Street, Footscray; (03) 9687 8838; www.eat8bit.com.au The Rusty Fox The Rusty Fox cafe, deli and foodstore is a favourite hangout for the discerning locals of Kensington. It's not somewhere you'd necessarily plan to sit and linger — The Premises down the street attracts the big brunch crowds — instead the idea here seems to be to drop in, order a coffee to go, but not before you fill your boots with delectable local deli produce. But co-owner Rebecca Creighton is a long-time pastry chef and boy can the lady bake some fine-tasting cakes, with gorgeous presentation to boot. Creighton often bakes whatever feels right on the day; some days might be more of the apricot frangipane or white velvet lamington kind, with others lending themselves to a plum and ricotta tart or gluten-free rhubarb cinnamon teacakes. Take a deep breath in — we haven’t even mentioned the home-made sauces, jams, curds, dulche de leche and cafe de paris butter. 501 Macaulay Road, Kensington; (03) 9372 1218; www.therustyfox.com.au Frying Colours This is owner and chef Min Hui Lee's first restaurant and, boy, is it off to solid start. It's clear that this establishment is focused on creating a flawless balance between the flavours of soy, bean paste and chilli that make Korean food so distinguishable. Frying Colours' dark wood surfaces with heavy industrial lights give off an intimate and sophisticated feel for nighttime dining, while the large entrance windows ensure plenty of light during the lunchtime rush. While Korean barbecue can be a messy affair, the FC Mixed Grill is no hassle and ready to serve; with chicken thigh, marinated scotch fillet and the soy pork belly, all flame grilled. Induldge in FC fried chicken, eggplant skewers and the unmissable wasabislaw, best washed down with Korean soju or an experimental cocktail. 520 Macaulay Road, Kensington; (03) 9939 9679; www.fryingcolours.com.au I Love Dumplings No fancy metaphors, clever pop culture references or humorous double entendres here... just an exclamation of something to which most Melburnians can relate. I Love Dumplings is certainly not trying to be coy, and if you too love steaming hot morsels of flavour, then this is the place for you — it's not often you find a dumpling house this good beyond the CBD. This relatively new little gem, tucked inconspicuously on the Kensington-Flemington border that is Racecourse Road, is already proving to be a neighbourhood favourite. Striking a great balance between the frenetically no-frills style of some dumpling houses and the high-end, high-price style of others, this is a solid, well-priced local haunt for the inner west. There's more to love here than just the dumplings, but they are worth the trip alone. 311 Racecourse Road, Kensington; (03) 9372 5218; www.ilovedumpling.com.au Cobb Lane Matt Forbes' latest venture, Cobb Lane, has been open for business in Yarraville for a short while now and we're dedicated, happy little eaters. Found down Anderson Street, Cobb Lane is a small cafe. Think 15 seats, a rack for the freshly baked breads, a small cabinet full of cakes — the main event, let's be honest — and a kitchen that can be seen in all its glory. The menu is small, but covers a lot. Think bircher muesli, house made gin-cured salmon and poached eggs and a full black pudding-focused British breakfast. But it's really all about the sweets. The carrot cake is sizeable and perfectly moist, the peanut butter and chocolate chip cookie is gluten free, salty, sweet, crisp and chewy all at once — both works of art. Pair your sweets with a pony blend from Clement Coffee and get your hips and shoulders ready — prepare to load up. 13 Anderson Street Yarraville; 03 9687 1538; www.cobblane.com.au Words by Lauren Vadnjal, Bryanna Perriam, Julia Gaw, Hannah Valmadre and Amy Collins.
Each year, the folks at Sydney-based film festival organisers Queer Screen ask an excellent question, and answer it in the best way possible. That query: what's better than one queer-focused film festival popping up every 12 months? The response: two, of course. Here's another train of thought that the crew have been posing, too: what's better than two celebrations of LGBTQIA+ cinema in Harbour City picture palaces? The solution here: sharing the love by taking the movie-worshipping online nationally. Queer Screen runs the Mardi Gras Film Festival during the first half of every year, so that's been and gone for 2023. It also gives cinephiles the Queer Screen Film Fest later each year — and that's next on the agenda. This isn't any old QSFF, either. It's the event's tenth anniversary, and the fest is marking that milestone with more than 30 films, plus that online component for audiences across Australia. For those playing along in-person, the physical fest runs from Wednesday, August 23–Sunday, August 27 at Event Cinemas George Street. For people on the couch, you'll have until Sunday, September 3 to get streaming. And that 30-plus films includes ten narrative features, three documentary features, four retrospective flicks getting encores, two TV shows and 19 shorts from 11 different countries. There's more range if you hit up a cinema rather than your television, but it's a mighty impressive lineup all the same. Opening the Sydney sessions is Blue Jean, a four-time British Independent Film Award-winner about a lesbian teacher in Thatcher's England — and, at the other end of the fest, Theatre Camp will close out QSFF 2023 with a crowd-pleasing comedy about loving the stage, as starring and co-written and co-directed by Booksmart and The Bear's Molly Gordon. Elsewhere, the lineup includes Cannes Palm d'Or-winning Shoplifters filmmaker Hirokazu Kore-eda's Monster, which picked up this year's Queer Palm; Marinette, about soccer legend Marinette Pichon (and, yes, arriving just after the Women's World Cup); Busan International Film Festival hit Peafowl, about a Korean trans woman's homecoming; and Medusa Deluxe, which jumps into a hairstyle competition. There's also the Berlin-set Drifter, page-to-screen drama Lie with Me and Indigo Girls doco It's Only Life After All, plus the AIDS in Hollywood-focused Commitment to Life. Or, heading back into sports, Equal the Contest follows regional women's Australian rules football team Mount Alexander Falcons in an exploration of the barriers still faced for women and gender-diverse people on the field. And those retro titles? They span Anchor & Hope, about a trio's complicated relationship; German coming-of-age romance Centre of My World; rom-com Nina's Heavenly Delights, focusing on a woman reuniting with her Indian family in Scotland; and the southern Chile-set The Strong Ones. "Queer Screen is celebrating not only its 30th year of existence, but also the tenth edition of our mini festival. It's an incredibly exciting year and I'm thrilled to be bringing such an outstanding selection of films to Sydney to continue the celebrations," said Festival Director Lisa Rose. "Ten years ago, when the first Queer Screen Film Fest began, we only screened seven films and the whole thing was run by volunteers. This world-class program is a very fitting tribute to how much we have grown and to how LGBTIQ+ stories have found their place, front and centre, on the international stage." Queer Screen Film Fest 2023 runs from Wednesday, August 23–Sunday, August 27 at Event Cinemas George Street in Sydney — and online nationally until Sunday, September 3. For more information, visit the festival's website.
Who doesn't like a trip to Tassie? The riesling is crisp, the oysters are fresh and the landscapes are stunning. It's a popular destination, with eager travellers regularly making the trip across the Bass Strait in search of rolling vineyards, empty beaches and contemporary art. This weekend, an adventure down to the island state will be a lot more affordable thanks to Spirit of Tasmania's first ever Black Friday sale, with 30 percent off passenger fares. Over the Black Friday weekend sale, starting Friday, November 29, and ending at midnight on Monday, December 2, you can secure tickets for the ship from just $62 per adult, or $21 for kids, each way. All you have to do is select travel dates between February 3 and June 30, 2020 (with exceptions over the Easter period). Those of you planning on going to Dark Mofo 2020 will notice those dates cover the 12-day winter festival. So, round up the crew to bag a Mofo bargain — well, at least on the travel. Perks of travelling with Spirit of Tasmania include the ability to drive your car onto the ship, so you can embark on a dream Tassie road trip without the hassle of hire car fees and luggage restrictions on planes. Plus, your holiday starts as soon as your feet hit the deck. If you're looking to save on accommodation costs, book a night voyage and make the most of the three bars, restaurant, two cinemas and live music on board, too. If you don't want to let this offer sail you by, jump online between Friday, November 29 and Monday, December 2 to snap up tickets.
Prepare to stare at the moon in all of its glory — up close, without a telescope and without zooming into space. Measuring seven metres in diameter and featuring renderings of the celestial body's surface based on NASA imagery, the Museum of the Moon is a detailed installation by UK-based artist Luke Jerram. The giant sculpture has been touring the world since 2016, displaying in New York, Hong Kong, Mumbai and plenty of spots around Europe. Between December 1, 2018 and April 28, 2019, it'll add Melbourne to its orbit. Inspired by Jerram's time living in Bristol and "noticing the huge tidal variation as he cycled over the Avon Cut each day" according to the Museum of the Moon's website, the artwork recreates the moon at a scale of approximately 1:500,000, with each centimetre equating to five kilometres of the lunar surface. And if you're wondering just how intricate the 120dpi imagery is, the high-resolution NASA photograph that it uses is 21 metres wide, and was taken by by a satellite carrying the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter Camera. The spherical sculpture is lit from within, so it'll add a glow when it comes to Scienceworks for five months. It also combines its imagery and light with a surround sound piece created by composer and sound designer Dan Jones, and just how each venue displays it is up to them. Basically, it's never the exact same installation twice. Jerram has multiple moons, with several touring simultaneously — so the Museum of Moon will also be on display in Newcastle in the UK across some of the same period. Its stint at Scienceworks will mark the Museum of the Moon's second visit Australia, following 12-day showing on the Gold Coast during the city's Commonwealth Games-adjacent arts festival earlier this year. Museum of the Moon comes to Melbourne's Scienceworks from December 1, 2018 to April 28, 2019. Keep an eye on the sculpture's website for further details.
Every autumn, a the Eta Aquarid meteor shower sets the sky ablaze. It might not be as famous as Halley's Comet, but the Eta Aquarids are actually a distant relation — the bits and pieces you see flying around were on Halley's path a really, really long time ago. And, rather than only being visible every 75 years (the next Halley's Comet sighting is in 2061), you can catch the Eta Aquarids annually. This year, the shower will be at its most spectacular this weekend — here's how to catch a glimpse. WHEN TO SEE IT The shower will reach a peak in the early morning of Saturday, May 6, but will still be able to be seen for the another day or two. The best time to catch an eyeful is just before dawn after the moon has set, so around 4am. At that time, you'll be in the running to see as many as 30 meteors every 60 minutes. Each will be moving at about 225,000 kilometres per hour, shining extraordinarily brightly and leaving a long wake. The shower's cause is, essentially, the Earth getting in the comet's way, causing stardust to fry up in the atmosphere. WHERE TO SEE IT Being in the southern hemisphere, we get some of the best views in the world. So, if you're living in the city, it could be time for a last minute trip to a clear-skied camping spot. The trick is to get as far away from light pollution as possible. For Sydneysiders who don't mind a long drive, this could mean a trip to the Far South Coast. We reckon Picnic Point campsite in Mimosa Rocks National Park might be a winner. Or, if that sounds too far away, Booderee National Park in Jervis Bay is pretty light-free. Alternatively, head west — after all, you'd be hard pressed to find better views than at The Dish, just outside of Parkes. Melburnians might consider a journey to Wilsons Promontory or along the Great Ocean Road, as far as Killarney Beach. For somewhere closer, there's Heathcote, which is just an hour from the city, but is an excellent vantage point. For a real escape, head to Snake Valley in the Central West, where there's hardly a light in sight. For a quick trip out of Brisbane, try Lake Moogerah, Lake Wivenhoe or Lake Somerset, which are all rather dark, considering their proximity to the city. If you have a bit more time, head two-and-a-half hours west to Leyburn, which has come of the busiest skies in Queensland, or eight hours west to the tiny town of Charleville in the outback. HOW TO SEE IT The shower's name comes from the star from which they appear to come, Eta Aquarii, which is part of the Aquarius constellation. So that's what you'll be looking for in the sky. To locate Eta Aquarii, we recommend downloading the Sky Map app — it's the easiest way to navigate the night sky (and is a lot of fun to use even on a non-meteor shower night). If you're more into specifics, Time and Date also have a table that shows the direction and altitude of the Eta Aquarids. They've been updating this daily. Apart from that, wear warm clothes, take snacks and be patient. Happy stargazing.
Next time you peer at the Sydney Harbour Bridge — whether you're a local who passes it daily, or just an occasional visitor to the city — you'll spot the Australian Aboriginal flag flying atop the iconic structure. The New South Wales Government has today, Monday, July 11, announced that the flag is now in place permanently on the landmark. The flag was already waving above the structure for NAIDOC Week which, historically, has been among the rare occasions that it has graced the Sydney Harbour Bridge. Indeed, before now, tje Aboriginal flag was only on display above the harbour for 19 days annually, including on Australia Day, Sorry Day and during Reconciliation Week. "From today, one of Australia's most recognisable landmarks will celebrate our Indigenous people and provide an everyday reminder of our nation's rich history," said NSW Premier Dominic Perrottet, announcing the news. "Our nation's story is rich and enduring, and flying the Aboriginal flag permanently above the Sydney Harbour Bridge is a celebration and acknowledgment of that. Honouring this commitment is part of our ongoing commitment to recognise the history, culture, excellence and achievements of Aboriginal people, and is a fitting end to NAIDOC Week 2022." [caption id="attachment_858129" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Boyd159 via Wikimedia Commons[/caption] To fly atop the bridge permanently, the Aboriginal flag replaces the NSW State flag, which'll be relocated "to a place of prominence as part of the revitalisation of the Macquarie St East precinct redevelopment," the NSW Government advised. The move comes after an eventful few months involving the Aboriginal flag, after the NSW Premier originally pledged to give it a permanent berth atop the country's most famous man-made structure back in February, then announced in June that it'd become a reality by the end of 2022. Last month, when that last promise was made, it was also revealed that a third flagpole would be added to the bridge, allowing the Australian flag, NSW State flag and Aboriginal flags all to top the structure side by side. But, that was set to come with a hefty price tag, with $25 million committed in the 2022–23 NSW budget. Instead, those funds will now be allocated towards Indigenous initiatives. "This builds on the NSW Government's commitment to improve outcomes for Aboriginal people across NSW, following a $716 million investment in this year's budget to prioritise Closing the Gap initiatives," said NSW Minister for Aboriginal Affairs Ben Franklin. "I am proud to be part of the government that will permanently fly the Aboriginal flag above the Sydney Harbour Bridge and I am happy that a further investment will be made to deliver real outcomes for Aboriginal people across NSW." VICTORY!!! A proud moment & a powerful ending. I want to extend appreciation for everyone fighting injustice. Don't stop until you're proud & stay persistent 👊🏽@MayorDarcy @IWCouncil @david4wyong @AIA_SydneyCBD Aboriginal flag to replace NSW flag https://t.co/A1q26dx3lR — Cheree Toka (@Chereetoka) July 10, 2022 The move to fly the Aboriginal flag permanently follows a five-year-long campaign by Kamilaroi woman Cheree Toka, who also launched a Change.org campaign in 2020 to continue to call on the NSW government to make this exact move. "The Aboriginal flag is a reminder that the country has a history before European arrival," Toka said two years ago. "I think it's really important to have a symbolic gesture on the bridge that identifies the true history of Australia, which is a starting point for conversation around greater issues affecting the Indigenous population." After the first three years of Toka's campaign, she had amassed more than 157,000 digital signatures and the required 10,000 paper-based signatures to bring the issue to NSW parliament. However, when it was debated in the final NSW parliamentary session of 2019, the result then was that it would cost too much to construct a third flagpole to see the Aboriginal flag flying daily — which was what sparked her crowdfunding campaign to raise the $300,000 quoted by the government to 'fund the flag'. Also in Aboriginal flag news this year, the Australian Government unveiled a copyright deal at the end of January with Luritja artist Harold Thomas, who designed the symbol, to make it freely available for public use. The Aboriginal flag is now flying permanently on the Sydney Harbour Bridge, effective Monday, July 11. Top image: Mary and Andrew via Flickr.
The Arts Centre is opening its summer season with the hit Broadway musical Evita and it's bringing the show's Buenos Aires setting to life with Stomping Ground La Boca — a pop-up beer garden that will take over the Forecourt from December 4 through February 24, 2019, showcasing Argentinian booze, food and music. As the name suggests, Collingwood's Stomping Ground Brewing will be manning the beer side of things. On tap, the brewery's core range will be joined by an Argentinian-inspired lager — brewed exclusively for the beer garden — and a range of Argentinian wines, too. For food, Argentinian eatery Asado (the brand new venture by the San Telmo team) will be slinging a menu of classic street eats, such as beef and cheese empanadas, steak sandwiches and choripan (chorizo and chimichurri on a roll). Plus, a coal-roasted vegetable salad with chickpeas and ancient grains will be available for vegos, and dulce de leche-spiked soft serve and cookies will be up for dessert. The colourful fit-out will be accompanied by lively Argentinian bands that channel the sounds of Caminito in Buenos Aires, with tango lessons and cultural performances also on the docket. Though the beer garden is open to both theatregoers and non-theatregoers alike, the space is best enjoyed before or after a show — especially, before or after Evita. The award-winning musical, by Tim Rice and Andrew Lloyd Webber, stars Tina Arena and follows the extravagant life of Eva Perón, the wife of Argentinian director Juan Perón. It's a worthy summertime excursion and it opens on Wednesday, December 5. The Stomping Ground La Boca beer garden will open at the Arts Centre Melbourne's Forecourt from December 4 through February 24, 2019, 10am until late daily. For more details, head to the Arts Centre website.
There aren't many upsides to winter in this town, but one of them is the return of the Melbourne International Film Festival. Running for two and half weeks from July 29 through to August 14, Australia's oldest and most prestigious film festival will once again bring some of the biggest names in world cinema to the screen. And if that's not enough to get you out of the house, then how do you like the sound of a little pre-film tipple? This year's MIFF is sponsored by Grey Goose, who've teamed up with Flinders Lane bar Mary Fortune on an exclusive festival drinks list. Bibulous film lovers can swing by the Flinders Lane bar any time after 5pm throughout the course of the festival, where they'll find a number of cinema-themed cocktails, including the beef bacon and thyme-infused Dick Tracy, the Bloody Pulp Fiction (with spiced tomato juice, no less), a hazelnut and butter martini named The Man with the Golden Goose, and classy A Streetcar Named Desire, which stars the Amarena cherry. If you want the full fancy film-goers' experience though, order the classic Grey Goose Le Grand Fizz, which is a simple concoction of vodka and St Germain. Mary Fortune is open 5pm till 1am Tuesday to Saturday.
You've seen the TV series, following an incredibly relatable tale of trying to balance work, life, love and the like. Now, see the play that inspired the show. Before Fleabag was winning TV awards all over the UK, including a BAFTA for best female performance in a comedy for writer/creator/star Phoebe Waller-Bridge, it was a similarly applauded one-woman stage piece. And it's heading to small screens across the country. From Friday, April 10 till Sunday, May 31, you can watch Phoebe Waller-Bridge stepping through the story of Fleabag's titular character online via Soho Theatre's on-demand streaming site. Recorded at London's Wyndham's Theatre and broadcast as part of National Theatre Live in 2019, the show will cost £4 (about $8 AUD and $8.30 NZD) to stream, with all proceeds going to charities supporting those affected by COVID-19. Funds will be split across the National Emergency Trust, NHS Charities Together, Acting for Others and the Fleabag Support Fund, which provides grants to out-of-work freelancers in the theatre industry, If you're unfamiliar with the theatre or TV show, Fleabag's existence is perhaps best described as chaotic. Friends, family, job interviews, keeping a guinea pig-themed café afloat...they're just the beginning. The idea behind it came at one of Waller-Bridge's pal's storytelling nights, as a challenge to create a character for a ten-minute slot. If you're a fan, you'll want to see where it all began. If you've just heard everyone talking about Fleabag, and haven't watched it yet, here's your chance to jump on board. Top image: Fleabag at National Theatre Live by Matt Humphrey Updated May 11.
As a teenager, owning an actual doughnut shop would surely be the realisation of all your sugar-filled fantasies. So we're betting that 15-year-old Morgan Hipworth is pretty popular at school these days, as today, Tuesday, December 20, he's opening the doors to a new, permanent space that will showcase his much sought after doughnut creations. The launch of Windsor's Bistro Morgan follows a wildly successful pop-up hosted by the young entrepreneur in September, and appearances in many a café cake cabinet over the past two years. Known for throwing down imaginative, new-school riffs on the classics (re-imagined Golden Gaytime, anyone?), it's not hard to see why this talented teen has been dubbed 'Melbourne's doughnut prince'. Of the new space, Hipworth says he's most pumped about "having the freedom to explore new ideas, as well as getting to interact with the customers". Five different artisan doughnut varieties will be on offer each week, alongside five milkshakes to match the creations. Fans can expect plenty of other tasty surprises to come out of Bistro Morgan too, with word a 'doughnut degustation' may be just around the corner. Bistro Morgan opens Tuesday, December 20 at 190 High Street, Windsor. For more information, visit bistromorgan.com.au.
In what resembles a scene from a high-end gangster rap video, guests at London's Cadogan Hotel will be able to bathe in 122 hand-poured bottles of Dom Pérignon. Since cleaning yourself with water is for plebs and commoners, a range of champagnes will be avaliable for guests to bathe in. These include Louis de Custine Brut, Perrier-Jouët Grand Brut, and other alcoholic beverages with extravagantly opulent European titles. This bathing option will be available from Valentine's Day, and will run for a year at the Cadogan. Purchasing this cleansing experience will also give you the benefit of a butler to serve you complimentary champagne and chocolate-covered strawberries. Customers may also choose to have the champagne set at whatever temperature they prefer. The Dom Pérignon bath will set you back a mere £25,000 for two people. Lee Jones, the sales and marketing director for the Cadogan, states that one customer has already placed a deposit for this super-expensive soak. Slightly less rich people can opt for a bath as cheap as £4,000. Chump change. Replacing water with champagne in traditional cleaning rituals is a definitive sign that you have officially achieved ultimate baller status. If you grab a bath for two for Valentine's Day, you better be sure that she's the one. https://youtube.com/watch?v=XK-KFfYA2Vk [via PSFK]
A backstage tribute to an iconic TV series. The sequel to a huge horror hit. Amy Adams transforming into a dog. A portrait of an indie band as unique as the group itself. Disquieting filmmaking becoming a family affair. If you're heading to SXSW Sydney in 2024, you'll be able to tick all five of the above boxes, all in the SXSW Sydney Screen Festival's headline slots. When it returns for its second year, the film- and TV-focused fest within the broader SXSW Sydney will feature Saturday Night, Smile 2, Nightbitch, The Front Room and Pavements. Everything except the latter is a new addition to a program that's been unveiling titles on its roster for a few months, so you've now got more movies to fit into your schedule across Monday, October 14–Sunday, October 20. Directed by Juno, Young Adult, Tully and Ghostbusters: Afterlife's Jason Reitman, Saturday Night recreates how SNL's first-ever episode came to be. The Fabelmans' Gabriel LaBelle plays Lorne Michaels, leading a cast that includes Dylan O'Brien (Fantasmas) as Dan Aykroyd, Ella Hunt (Horizon: An American Saga — Chapter 1) as Gilda Radner, Matthew Rhys (IF) as George Carlin and Matt Wood (Instinct) as John Belushi as well. Also featuring in Saturday Night: Finn Wolfhard (Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire), Rachel Sennott (The Idol), Kaia Gerber (Palm Royale), JK Simmons (The Union), Cooper Hoffman (Licorice Pizza), Lamorne Morris (Fargo), Nicholas Braun (Dream Scenario) and Willem Dafoe (Beetlejuice Beetlejuice). And yes, at SXSW Sydney, the film is indeed screening on a Saturday evening. If you got creeped out by Smile back in 2022, you won't be surprised that the unnerving flick has spawned a new chapter. This time, Naomi Scott (Anatomy of a Scandal) stars as a pop star caught up in the chaos around the worst grin you can see. To chat about it, returning director Parker Finn is heading to the fest to present the film, too. Nightbitch hails from The Diary of a Teenage Girl, Can You Ever Forgive Me? and A Beautiful Day in the Neighbourhood filmmaker Marielle Heller, and stars Amy Adams (Dear Evan Hansen) as a stay-at-home mum who turns canine. And as for the already-announced Pavements, it sees filmmaker Alex Ross Perry (Her Smell) focus on the band Pavement via an experimental blend of documentary, narrative, musical and more. Then there's The Front Room, aka one of two upcoming pictures from the Eggers family. While The Witch, The Lighthouse and The Northman's Robert Eggers has his own take on Nosferatu on the way, his siblings Max and Sam have made their feature directorial debut with this A24-backed and Brandy (Best. Christmas. Ever!)-led affair about a pregnant woman doing battle with her mother-in-law (Kathryn Hunter, Poor Things). One of Saturday Night, Smile 2, Nightbitch, The Front Room and Pavements will screen nightly across the fest's Tuesday–Saturday dates. Wondering about the Monday? There's more news to come, with SXSW Sydney's 2024 Screen Festival opening-night film still to be announced. Elsewhere, as seen in past lineup announcements, 2024's SXSW Sydney Screen Festival spans cults, cat-loving animation and Christmas carnage thanks to Azrael, Ghost Cat Anzu and Carnage for Christmas. Movie lovers can also look forward to Ilana Glazer (The Afterparty)-led mom-com Babes; Audrey starring Jackie van Beek (Nude Tuesday); coming-of-age tale DiDi; the maximum-security prison-set Sing Sing with Colman Domingo (Drive-Away Dolls); and Inside, which features Guy Pearce (The Clearing), Cosmo Jarvis (Shōgun) and Toby Wallace (The Bikeriders). There's also doco Omar and Cedric: If This Ever Gets Weird, spending time with At the Drive-In and The Mars Volta's Omar Rodriguez-Lopez and Cedric Bixler-Zavala; Teaches of Peaches, which goes on tour with its namesake; the Lucy Lawless (My Life Is Murder)-directed doco Never Look Away about CNN camerawoman Margaret Moth; Peter Dinklage (Unfrosted) and Juliette Lewis (Yellowjackets) lead western-thriller The Thicket; and Aussie documentary Like My Brother, about four aspiring AFLW players from the Tiwi Islands. The list goes on, with The Most Australian Band Ever! about the Hard-Ons, That Sugar Film and 2040 filmmaker Damon Gameau's Future Council, and Slice of Life: The American Dream. In Former Pizza Huts from Barbecue and We Don't Deserve Dogs' Matthew Salleh and Rose Tucker also set to screen. SXSW Sydney 2024 runs from Monday, October 14–Sunday, October 20 at various Sydney venues. Head to the SXSW Sydney website for further details.
A few years ago I invented a drinking game for people wanting to give up booze. It was very simple: you only drank when Johnny Depp played an American. Almost overnight, global alcohol consumption dropped to near-prohibition levels, even when many of Depp's non-American roles were actually inclined to drive people to drink. So far down the zany Tim Burton/Jack Sparrow character hole had Depp descended that the very notion of him playing a serious role again seemed as ludicrous as his daily jewellery selections. Then, from out of nowhere, came the chilling Black Mass trailer, and it was as if all might suddenly be right in the world again. To hell with the drinking game, we wanted to see Depp actually act and it looked like that might just be what was happening. Yes, he was still in some intense makeup (complete with vampiric blue eyes and slicked back white hair), and yes, there was a thick Boston accent at play, but at its core this looked like gritty, dramatic Depp back to his legitimate best. Thankfully, the trailer wasn't lying. Black Mass is the true story of Boston’s infamous crime lord James ‘Whitey’ Bulger (Depp) and his astounding protected status as a secret tier-one informant for the FBI. The more you learn about Bulger, the more remarkable his tale becomes. For one, his brother William (played by Benedict Cumberbatch) was the longest-ever serving senator from Boston, and Bulger's childhood friend John Connolly (Joel Edgerton) became a key figure in the FBI’s anti-mafia division. The short of it was that Connolly convinced Bulger to rat on his competition (primarily the Italians) in exchange for what amounted to a free run from police and the FBI regarding his own illegal operations. That arrangement saw Connolly rise in the ranks, but also allowed Bulger to transform from small-time hood to a national player in organised crime, and for years there seemed to be nothing anyone could do to stop him. The strength of Black Mass is in its cast, which — along with its leads — boasts the likes of Kevin Bacon, Dakota Johnson, Adam Scott, Corey Stoll and Peter Sarsgaard. There’s no weak link on the acting front, and even the bit parts turn in solid performances (Juno Temple’s brief appearance as a naive hooker the standout). Instead, it’s the story where the film is found lacking. For such a remarkable tale of corruption and secret allegiances, the focus on Bulger’s crimes feels wasted and misdirected, if only because the 'Boston gangster saga' has already been done many times over, and — it should be said — better (The Departed topping that list). Arguably the most intriguing dimension to the entire Bulger story is the Bulger dimension — the brothers, one a gangster and the other a powerful politician — yet it barely rates a mention, and Cumberbatch’s screen time is among the smallest in the film. How, in the modern era, one brother's affairs did not bring down the other’s raises compelling yet frustratingly unanswered questions that would have given the story a meatier emotional narrative and greater momentum. Still, take nothing away from the performances and please, raise a glass to the long overdue return of Johnny ‘Dramatic' Depp.
