Maybe you love getting away, but hate the possibility of noise echoing through the walls from neighbouring hotel rooms. Perhaps you adore nature, and yet camping doesn't quite float your boat. Or, you could be mighty fond of hitting the water, but you're not so fussed about actually sailing anywhere. For all of these situations and more, the Gold Coast has now a new holiday option: Drift Flotel. What's a 'flotel'? It's exactly what it sounds like — and it's really a luxe houseboat decked out for stays, but you get the idea. And if you're wondering what makes the three-storey, 12-metre-long Drift Flotel different from other seafaring vessels, this one only floats rather than cruises. When you arrive, you'll find it anchored in one spot, and it won't move from there during your entire visit. That means you'll get to slumber on the water without needing to worry about operating the boat. You'll also score both water and national park views, too. When you're not taking in the sights, you and five mates — because the flotel sleeps six — can also hang out on the walkaround deck or up on the rooftop terrace. Naturally, they're great place to take in the scenery as well. Available for $680 per night, the refurbed houseboat features two bedrooms and bathrooms, a fully equipped kitchen, and a lounge and dining space. And, if you're keen to hang out with a few more pals during the day, it can hold 12 all up. Upstairs, there's a bar as well — complete with an ice machine and cocktail-making equipment, aka all the essentials. As for where you'll be anchored, Drift Flotel calls a small inlet 10–15 minutes from Jumpinpin home. To get there, you'll take a 40-minute voyage on a 32-foot flybridge cruiser, leaving from Horizon Shores Marina at Steiglitz near Jacobs Well and travelling through the Southern Moreton Bay Islands National Park. And if you are keen to go exploring by water during your stay, the Drift Flotel comes with a five-horsepower tender — which'll get you to the shore, too, if you're also keen to go wandering on land. For more information about Drift Flotel, or to make a booking, head to the houseboat's website.
Festivals with international headliners are well and truly back, and that doesn't just apply to music. When Antidote — the Sydney Opera House's fest of ideas, art and change — returns on Sunday, September 11, it's bringing an impressive lineup of international names with it. Here's three: Brian Cox, Jenny Slate and Jarvis Cocker. Fresh from spending three seasons yelling about a business empire on one of television's biggest shows, Succession star Cox headlines the Antidote bill. The iconic actor will make the trip Down Under to chat about his career, including his ability to play characters known for their anger, malicious ways and sinister mood — which, yes, spans more than just the hit HBO series. His discussion is called The Evil in Us All, after all. [caption id="attachment_859192" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Katie McCurdy[/caption] As for Slate, don't be suspicious. The Parks and Recreation, Obvious Child, I Want You Back and Everything Everywhere All At Once star, and Marcel the Shell with Shoes On author, will hit Sydney to focus on finding joy and laughter in our weird lives. She also has essay collection Little Weirds to her name, so she'll be on topic. Pulp frontman Cocker isn't playing tunes — no 'Common People' or 'Disco 2000' for you, sorry — but he will be showing folks his attic. His livestreamed conversation is called Good Pop, Bad Pop, just like his recently released memoir, and it'll feature him talking through some of the things he's collected, the tales behind them, and what the objects we hide away say about us. [caption id="attachment_859191" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Tom Jamieson[/caption] Also on the Antidote lineup: bestselling author Mohsin Hamid (Moth Smoke, The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Exit West), chatting about white anxiety, privilege and prejudice — and Olivia Laing (The Trip to Echo Springs, The Lonely City, Everybody: A Book About Freedom), with the award-winner talking about oppression, resistance and bodies via livestream. Or, there's an event called Ukraine Has Changed Us, which'll include Ukrainian poet and recent Nobel Prize in Literature nominee Serhiy Zhadan live from Kharkiv. Responding to our times in a different way, The Atlantic's science writer Ed Yong, a Pulitzer prize-winning journalist, will discuss global biosecurity and potential pandemics beyond COVID-19. He's the last of the fest's four guests that are appearing via video link — and he'll speak with epidemiologist and UNSW Chair of Biosecurity Professor Raina MacIntyre. [caption id="attachment_859193" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jillian Edelstein.[/caption] Looking local, former Aussie Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will chat about disinformation online, while Australian Greens leader Adam Bandt, newly elected independent MP Allegra Spender and former politician Cathy McGowan will discuss the recent Federal Election results — specifically, the record number of Independents and Greens voted in, and what that means for the country. Elsewhere, Gunai artist and writer Kirli Saunders will lead a panel with Gumbaynggirr/Bundjalung man and CEO of the Muurrbay Aboriginal Language and Culture Co-operative Gary Williams about preserving and sharing Australia's Indigenous languages. The full Antidote lineup spans 17 talks, conversations and panels, plus four workshops, and an art activation as well — all of which covers chats about storytelling, balancing living with tragedy with retaining hope, Australia's future from a First Nations standpoint, ditching careers in media to become doctors, campaign reporting and China's growing power, too. And in great news for everyone who can't make it along in-person — such as folks living outside of Sydney — almost all of the lineup will be livestreamed. Yes, that includes Cox, Slate, Cocker, Hamid, Laing and Yong's sessions. [caption id="attachment_859190" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Prudence Upton[/caption] Antidote will take place at the Sydney Opera House, and online, on Sunday, September 11. Ticket pre-sales start at 9am on Tuesday, June 28 — and general sales start at the same time for livestreams, and at 9am on Monday, July 1 for in-person tickets. Top image: Succession, David M. Russell/HBO ©2020 HBO. All Rights Reserved.
Neon Trees is the thinking person's pop rock outfit. Bassist Branden Campbell can quote Henry David Thoreau, lead vocalist Tyler Glenn considers himself a ‘loser loner’, and none of them is willing to sacrifice the band's songs for any old corporate scheme. "We're not just a pop act that's floozy with their music," Glenn explained to diffuser.fm last year. When the Neon Trees last visited the Antipodes two years ago, their song 'Animal' had the crowds on their feet and the critics at their keyboards. It became 2011's most played song on Australian radio. Now they’re on their way back with a single, 'Everybody Talks', which has gone platinum here and multiplatinum in the US, and a sophomore studio album, Picture Show, which Billboard has described as starting with a "half-dozen hook bombs right in a row". They've maintained their infectious, catchy sound but have taken things into slightly darker territory. According to Glenn, this is just the beginning: "We know that we have a sound that's going to continue to expand ... We have more tricks up our sleeves."
So far, 2018 has been a bit of a rollercoaster for both drivers and patrons of Sydney Trains. Employees have been dealing with problems with overtime and vehicle conditions since a new, more extensive timetable was introduced late last year, and commuters have been directly impacted by this through a string of delayed and cancelled services. Earlier this week the Rail, Bus and Train Union (RBTU) called for a 24-hour strike on all rail services this coming Monday, January 29 if it could not reach a negotiation with management. The union then announced that it would be placing a ban on overtime, which saw Transport NSW implement a reduced timetable across the long weekend. Naturally, the NSW Government was not on-board with the strike. The government submitted an application to suspend the industrial action to the Fair Work Commission, which has this afternoon ruled in its favour, citing that the strike threatens to endanger the welfare of Sydneysiders (as seen in the doc below). This essentially bans the union from going ahead with a lawful strike. #sydneyTrains decision pic.twitter.com/x87Bnjjjna — Ursula Heger (@ursulaheger) January 25, 2018 "We have to respect the process, "NSW union secretary Alex Claassens said today, as reported by SBS. "We are a law-abiding union. We've always followed the rules, and we will continue to do that." The order comes into place at 6pm tonight, so it's possible services could resume as usual as soon as this evening. Minister for Transport Andrew Constance has said in a press conference that trains will run as usual on Monday — so looks like you'll be able to go to work, after all. We're still waiting for an official update from Transport NSW, so we'll update this post when we get one. Via SBS. Image: Wikimedia Commons.
Much has happened in the Melbourne International Film Festival's 70-year history. A vast array of movies have flickered across big screens and, via its online program during the past few years, through Australian homes as well. Famous names aplenty have graced the fest on-screen and in-person. Films have brought their glow to the planetarium, dedicated cinephiles have sat through 13-hour rare gems, and plenty of heated discussions about what's great — and isn't — have livened up cinema foyers. But only in 2022 has MIFF awarded a $140,000 to the winner of its very own film prize. That lucky flick: Afrofuturist musical Neptune Frost, which has just been named the Bright Horizons Award-recipient at the fest's closing night. Back in February, MIFF announced that it was launching its own competition — to commemorate the longest-running film fest in the southern hemisphere's huge milestone year, and join the Cannes, Venice and Berlin film festivals, as well as Sydney, in giving out a prestigious gong. Eleven movies were chosen to compete as part of the full 2022 fest program, with the winner receiving the Best Film Award — and, thanks to that $140,000 sum, the southern hemisphere's richest feature film prize. Hailing from poet and musician Saul Williams and playwright Anisia Uzeyman, who co-direct, Neptune Frost is a bold and inventive Rwanda-set sci-fi musical that firmly stands out among the Bright Horizons contenders — which also included Australian films Petrol and The Stranger, the Paul Mescal (Normal People)-starring Aftersun, wild Filipino genre-bender Leonor Will Never Die, weighty American drama Mass and Mexican drug trade drama Robe of Gems. Its MIFF win comes after proving a critical hit at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival, and also after boasting Lin-Manuel Miranda's seal of approval, with the Hamilton creator and star one of the movie's executive producers. Picking the winner: actor and director Shareena Clanton (Fires, Wentworth), the jury president, plus filmmaker and artist Lynette Wallworth (Tender), cinematographer Adam Arkapaw (Animal Kingdom, True Detective) and director/screenwriter Mouly Surya (Marlina the Murderer in Four Acts). Announcing their selection, Clanton said that "Neptune Frost was like nothing we have ever seen before. By disrupting the colonial gaze and connecting the rising influence of technology in all our lives, this film penetrates deeply into your heart and soul to say that you are not too far disconnected from me. It felt at once absolutely specific, and entirely global." The MIFF jury also highlighted one other film from the fest's 2022 lineup for another gong: the $70,000 Blackmagic Design Australian Innovation Award. Also new, it recognises an outstanding Australian creative from one of the festival's movies, and can span span a large number of roles, including the winning flick's director, technical or creative lead, or other craft positions. This year's recipient was indeed a filmmaker, Nyul Nyul/Yawuru director Jub Clerc (The Turning), who emerged victorious for coming-of-age road movie Sweet As — starring Tasma Walton (How to Please a Woman), Mark Coles Smith (Mystery Road: Origin), Carlos Sanson Jr (Bump) and Shantae Barnes-Cowan (Firebite). And, similarly announced at MIFF's 2022 closing night: this year's MIFF Audience Award Winner, which went to Bruce Permezel and Rhian Skirving's Greenhouse by Joost. As the name makes plain, it follows zero-waste activist Joost Bakker and his Future Food System, which resulted in a farm-to-table restaurant in Melbourne's Federation Square. The 2022 Melbourne International Film Festival runs until Sunday, August 21 in-person, and until Sunday, August 28 via MIFF Play, the fest's online platform.
Can logic and science co-exist with the metaphysical and supernatural? "I think that's what I'm exploring in all of my work," says Robert Eggers. A decade on from making his first feature, and marking himself as one of horror's spectacular new voices at the time, the acclaimed writer/director has the filmography — The Witch, The Lighthouse, The Northman and now Nosferatu — to prove it, of course. "And I think that the difficulty with this stuff is if you believe it, it's true. So I think that's why I explore it in the safety of cinema rather than diving into the deep end and ending up in the madhouse." Whenever Nosferatu sinks its teeth into the silver screen, be it in FW Murnau's 1922 original, or when the inimitable Werner Herzog (The Fire Within: A Requiem for Katia and Maurice Krafft) followed in his compatriot's footsteps with 1979's Nosferatu the Vampyre, or now that Eggers has crafted his own take, it unfurls a tale of gothic obsession. Fixation and passion also sits at the heart of how this icon of horror cinema keeps flickering through picture palaces. It all started with an unofficial adaptation of Bram Stoker's Dracula, which is why the narrative is so similar but the names have been changed. When Herzog gave it a spin, it was because he considered the first movie to be "the greatest German film". Eggers himself has been drawn to Nosferatu since childhood, even directing an iteration of it as a play in high school. (He also appreciates that for the generation that grew up with SpongeBob SquarePants, so kids from 1999 onwards, that might now be commonplace given that discovering Nosferatu can spring via the animated show.) As Dracula clearly is as well, Nosferatu is easy to be passionate about. The OG film is a masterpiece — of silent cinema, of German Expressionism, of horror and just in general. Count Orlok, as initially played by Max Schreck, is a hauntingly unforgettable screen presence. There's no missing the fervour that Eggers has for all things Nosferatu in his movie, or how lovingly that he regards the original. But while there's a packed coffin full of nods backwards in his feature, an Eggers film always feels distinctively like an Eggers film. He's been embracing period-set horror from the get-go anyway, and he repeatedly demonstrates again and again that he's only ever interested in realising his own meticulous — and stunning — celluloid visions. Willem Dafoe (Saturday Night), a veteran of The Lighthouse and The Northman before becoming Nosferatu's Professor Albin Eberhart von Franz, knows all about Eggers' way of working. Asked to describe the director's work, the actor who earned a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for portraying Schreck in 2000's Shadow of the Vampire — a riff on the making of Murnau's Nosferatu — notes that the filmmakers' oeuvre is "contact with stories from another time that have a relevance to now. Beautiful shots. Very detailed, not-conventional cutting. Great art direction. Great shooting. Hopefully good actors. That's kind of the checklist." Dafoe continues: "obviously I've worked with Robert three times and I want to work with him some more. I enjoy it so much, because for an actor it's a dream. He gives you fun things to do, and you're sent to a world that is so rich that it's far easier to pretend and entertain a new set of conditions, thoughts, feelings. And for me, as an actor that's always what I'm interested in — to make contact with stuff that's beyond my experience." There's absolutely no 'hopefully' about Nosferatu's excellent cast. After playing Pennywise in IT and IT: Chapter Two, Bill Skarsgård (Boy Kills World) is Eggers' Orlok — and he's a force to behold. The object of his obsession: Lily-Rose Depp (The Idol ) in a physically committed and entrancing performance as Ellen Hutter, who is newly married to real-estate agent Thomas (Nicholas Hoult, Renfield). The latter is dispatched from the couple's home in Wisborg to Transylvania to assist Orlok with purchasing a property. As Ellen remains in Germany — and as her connection to Orlok begins to fester and torment — she stays with Thomas' old pal Friedrich Harding (Aaron Taylor-Johnson, The Fall Guy), his pregnant wife Anna (Emma Corrin, A Murder at the End of the World) and their children. Taylor-Johnson couldn't have been more eager to be involved. "Sometimes I feel like when you get a filmmaker like Robert — firstly I admired his work and was like 'I'll do anything to be a Robert Eggers movie'. And then all of a sudden, you get this this invitation, this letter and a call saying he's doing something and would like you to be a part of it. You can't quite believe that's happening. You can go 'great, I don't even need to read a script — whatever you want me to do'," he advises. Corrin shares enthusiasm for the experience, and for jumping into horror. "I guess it's fun because it's a unique set of challenges. I've certainly found it interesting, how you craft a scene — I think it's a very specific way that you obviously approach shooting scenes to make them have that suspense, and especially if there's a jump-scare onboard." For them specifically, however, a particular gauntlet awaited: rats. "I remember reading that in the script early on, and texting Rob and being like 'hey, man, wondering if the rats are going to be CGI or are they going to be real? Just curious'. He was like 'definitely real, no CGI'. And yeah, it was intense. I had about 20–30 rats on me. I was also topless, which was interesting. It was bleak, if I'm honest. I tried to be quite brave about it." Why Nosferatu fascinates Eggers, what excited Dafoe about collaborating with the filmmaker, digging into tested beliefs and internal conflict, acting opposite Depp's can't-look-away portrayal: all of that also spanned Concrete Playground's chat with Eggers, Dafoe, Corrin and Taylor-Johnson. So did Count Orlok's look, Dafoe's own history with Nosferatu, Eggers' exacting way of working, giving a century-old film a modern lens and more. On Why Nosferatu Has Fascinated Eggers Since Childhood, Including Turning It Into a Play When He Was a Teenager Robert: "It's very hard to say. I think certainly the Murnau film had a major impact on me, and initially it was Max Schreck's performance and just the power of the simple fairy-tale adaptation that Murnau made of the Dracula story. But as I have grown older and learn more about the occult, and vampire folklore from Eastern Europe — and hysteria and 19th-century medicine — the more that I found that it was a story that I was able to really embrace and put many of my interests in, and to use the framework to explore the things that were exciting to me creatively." On What Excites Dafoe About Working with Eggers After Collaborating on The Lighthouse, The Northman and Now Nosferatu Willem: "Just the personal nature of what he does. The detailed nature of what he does. The kind of investment. It's not work, you know. He's playing to his pleasure and his interests. And then I just like being around him. He inspires me, gives fun things to do. I get a little self-conscious — he's sitting right here. Number one, obviously I'm all in. But check the boxes. He's everywhere on the set. The thing that's really impressive, and I know other people that do this, but it's really impressive that on the set there's such detail, that nothing is there for decoration. It's all function. It's all functional. It has a place. It has a history. And when you can feel the origins of things and where they're placed in the world, that really gives you a reality that's easy to enter. It's a reality that you're not covering anything — you're living in it. And it's very easy with a little willfulness to say that our world drops away and you're in that world. It's an exercise in pretending, and he makes it very simple by giving you a very rich world to exist in." On What Corrin Was Keen to Dig Into in the Film, Including Tested Beliefs and Internal Conflict Emma: "I think Anna has an interesting journey, because she is constantly fighting between her love of Ellen and her own beliefs. And there's a lot of conflict between those two things, because she's very devoutly religious and doesn't believe in a spiritual world — especially a spiritual world based on the occult and folklore — and obviously all of everything Ellen's experiencing points to the existence of that world, which would remove the very foundation of her worldview, everything about how she's been raised, and all of her beliefs. And yet she really loves her friend and wants to be there for her. So I think that experience of Anna, of being with Ellen in such close proximity and witnessing this, it gets to the point where she can't — I think for both Anna Friedrich, actually, they can't not see it anymore. It becomes so obvious what's happening, and then it's so confronting. And you see all of their own beliefs and whatever sort of falling away before their eyes, which is a very scary and vulnerable place for them to be in, especially with kids. I think that I, as an actor, I guess I enjoy complexity and internal conflict in a person. It's very interesting to portray." On How You React When Such a Physical Performance, as Lily-Rose Depp Turns in as Ellen, Sits at the Heart of a Film Emma: "You can't help have a really quite visceral reaction to watching someone who, as you say, who's doing such a committed physical piece of acting. It constantly, I think, blew our minds how she was contorting her body, and the choreography and the stamina that she needed to have as a performer to do that take after take after take — and offer so much. It was incredible. It was a real gift to act opposite because we didn't have to — there no acting required. It was very easy to imagine what these two people, how they would react to what they were seeing." Aaron: "It's definitely extraordinary. I feel very privileged to have been in the room witnessing a performance like that, that felt very raw and with no vanity, and it just felt it was disturbing in real life — and I knew it was going to be shocking on film." On Finding the Right Aesthetic for Bill Skarsgård as Nosferatu's Count Orlok Robert: "Bill is playing a folk vampire. He's an animated corpse, and not Frank Langella in a tuxedo. And that was very enjoyable to create. The look of a dead Transylvanian nobleman, we have certain nods, certain details that remind the audience of Max Schreck, because we have to also be respectful of that. But it was really nice. And while the look was completed by myself and David White [who also worked on The Northman], the prosthetics designer, we also had a Transylvanian folklore expert, Florin Lazarescu [Aferim!], who reminded me 'you know, Robert, a lot of times they talk about the strigoi being a red face'. And so if you'll notice, there are moments when you can see blood pooling under the skin after he's been feeding and stuff like that, which are some fun details." On Returning to the World of Nosferatu After Being Nominated for an Oscar for Max Schreck in Shadow of the Vampire Willem: "They're so different, the films, the intentions, what kinds of films they are. That was very important to me. First of all, I love the Murnau film. I had known it before working on Shadow of the Vampire. Shadow of the Vampire was basically a comic performance. And it leaned heavily on the Murnau because, basically, to find the character I copied a lot of what I saw in the Murnau. That was the starting point. So it was a great lesson in working with a mask, because I had extreme makeup, and that's the first time that it really — maybe not the first time, but it reminded me that if you look different, you move different, you start to feel different and you really have a possibility that becomes a trigger for pretending that's very potent. And you can even do things that you couldn't imagine before because you're drawing on something that's intuitive. It's not shaped, it's not indicated, it's not something you control, it's in your imagination. So that was very important. So then when Rob talks about doing Nosferatu, of course he's not talking to me about playing Nosferatu, but he tells me about this fantastic character that I always felt like is the role he would play if he were in the cast of this movie. So I've been working with him before, knowing his interests and having him give me all this rich material to research, to prepare for the role, that was the connection. It all connected to that other experience, but at the same time, you can't force a relationship between those two films because they're so different and when you finish one, you make room for the next." On the Meticulous Detail and Structure — and No Room for Improvisation — That Comes with Working with Eggers Emma: "I think we were lucky because our characters aren't explored very much in the original. But Rob definitely brought them to life in a certain way — in a very particular way — that was important for this film, because they represent this beacon of light against this darkness that envelops everyone. And in that way, we had a bit of carte blanche, I suppose. But then Rob is so specific in the way he creates characters and the backstory — he's very meticulously thought-out back story for everyone, which I think I find really helpful. I don't know if I'm a big fan of freedom. I think I like specific notes and specific ideas." Aaron: "Structure." Emma: "Yeah, structure." Aaron: "Honestly, I agree. He was so thought-out on everything. I mean, the only thing I probably could have brought was that I was allowed to like [ask] 'can I have mutton chops and some a great big moustache'. And I think that was it. That was allowed." Emma: "Was that you?" Aaron: "Well I wanted some kind of facial hair. I think he wanted something distinctive because they'd already started working with Nic, and he wanted me to have a big twizzly moustache, so that grew and grew. I think there's a little bit of conversation about that. I wanted to improv and he was like 'absolutely not'. So I was like 'okay, well I'll just do what you say'." On How Eggers' Nosferatu Brings a Modern Lens to a Century-Old Classic Aaron: "This story is 100 years old, but yet it's still very relevant today. And I think originally that movie came out, came off the back of the Spanish flu, and it became this metaphorical piece of art reflecting, mirroring reality. And being that we've just come through a global pandemic and we've all been through this feeling of this wave of fear that comes through a city and disrupts everybody in such a panic and a way, it felt very much — I remember reading it and being 'whoa, this seems like, it feels like this'. And then Robert goes 'well, that's originally what it was for 1921'. But then at the fundamental core of it, there's a theme throughout that's about love and battling with your demons, and having shame with this deepest, deepest darkest secret that you've carried from a childhood into your adult life — and how it's going to affect your relationship, and all this sort of stuff. So it's very powerful. I think for our characters, when you're saying this modern element, it's like it was the missing piece to the puzzle. So the original one, our characters aren't involved in that, and so Robert created this next three-dimensional world — this family that lives in Wisborg, and Ellen is staying in this household that is very much this beacon of light, and they're a loving family. They've got children. They've got everything that Nicholas' character aspires to be. And so it's just Robert building upon that world and making it more contemporary, and making it more relatable. They're a very grounded family and arguably they are far more loving than you probably would find in that kind of period. They're very passionate. There's a lot of eroticism throughout the movie, and Emma's character is pregnant with their third child. It's interesting." On the Allure of Period-Set Horror for Eggers Robert: "I just enjoy learning about the past. That's how I like to understand who we are and where we're going — by where we came from. It's what has always excited me, even as a kid. And if I wasn't a filmmaker, maybe I would be an archaeologist. This is just what I enjoy, but also, for making these genre films, I think it's easier to tell — like if you're talking about witches and vampires and things like that, it's easier to make them scary if you are in a period where everybody believed in them, more or less. And obviously in this film, in Wisborg, that's not quite the case, but you get my point." On Dafoe's Experience Working with the Rest of the Cast Willem: "I enjoyed it so much because they're so turned on. Sometimes with older actors, they're comparing their experience that they're having to something in the past. While I find younger actors — now, keep in mind someone like Nic and Aaron, actually many of the actors, are very experienced, so let's not get crazy here; they aren't so young and inexperienced, to tell you the truth — but there's just an excitement. There was an excitement that you could feel for them working with Rob. You're just there. You don't make those distinctions. You're playing characters. You're all on the same footing. You're all trying to fold into the story and help each other, and disappear into the story. So I was looking today, we were shooting pictures, and it's a very special group to a person. Really, there's not a stinker in the group. So the simple answer is: I was very happy to work with this cast, because seldom do you have a cast that's so uniformly strong, not only in performing, but also I remember we took portraits in the costumes and everybody had a look that was very believable and very credible. There was no flourish. The look was very rooted. Robert cast them very well, not only for their look, but also for their talent." Nosferatu releases in cinemas Down Under on Wednesday, January 1, 2025. Images: © 2024 FOCUS FEATURES LLC.
The Case Against Adnan Syed did it. Across both its first and second seasons, Dirty John did too. We're talking about TV shows that leapt to the screen from podcasts, because this genre isn't going anywhere soon. The latest example: Dr Death. Obviously, that moniker doesn't bode well from the outset — for the patients treated by Christopher Duntsch, that is. If you've heard the Wondery podcast that shares the series' name, you'll know how this true tale turns out. And if you haven't, prepared to watch a horrific real-life situation unfold in this new eight-episode drama. Working in Dallas during the past decade, Duntsch was originally a rising neurosurgery star. Then, as the series charts, his patients started leaving the operating theatre either permanently maimed or dead. If you've ever faced going under the knife, this is pure, unfettered and deeply disturbing nightmare fuel — and it all really happened. Joshua Jackson plays Duntsch, and is bound to shed any lingering Dawson's Creek-era affection audiences might have for him in the process (and fondness from The Mighty Ducks and Fringe, too). He's joined by Alec Baldwin (Pixie) and Christian Slater (Dirty John) as fellow surgeons who raise the alarm, and also by AnnaSophia Robb (Words on Bathroom Walls) as the Dallas prosecutor who takes the case. As both the initial trailer and just-dropped new clip for the series show, this is quite the bleak story. Whether you already know how it all turns out or you'll be discovering the details fresh, you'll be able to watch Dr Death on Stan from Friday, July 16. It's dropping all of its episodes at once, too, if you're in need of some grim mid-winter binge-viewing material. Check out the trailer below: Dr Death will be available to stream via Stan on Friday, July 16. Top image: Barbara Nitke/Peacock.
The event that floods Instagram feeds with thousands of vibrant flowers has returned to the Southern Highlands. Now in its 59th year, the annual Tulip Time festival features over 75,000 tulips planted throughout Bowral's Corbett Gardens and the surrounding Shire. If the stunning sight of a tens of thousands of the bulbous flowers isn't quite enough for you, you'll be happy to know there's heaps of stuff happening at the garden throughout the two weeks, which is located a 90-minute drive southwest of Sydney. Expect live music, as well as a food-filled festival marketplace, with this year's event taking place between Tuesday, September 24 and Monday, October 7 If you're fond of Mary Poppins — and given that Australia now has a museum dedicated to the character, it seems plenty of folks are — you'll also be in luck. Author PL Travers spent some of her childhood in Bowral, so, with 2019 marking 85 years since the magical nanny made her first appearance on the page, Tulip Time is celebrating the occasion as well. Image: Destination NSW
If, over the weekend, you noticed yellow bikes popping up all over your neighbourhood and happily unchained to poles or bike racks, you weren't hallucinating. Last Thursday, oBike, a dockless bike sharing service started in Singapore, arrived in Sydney. The harbour city is the second in Australia to score oBike — the company hit Melbourne in June. What's more, it's now Sydney's second dockless bike sharing service, following hot on the heels of Reddy Go, which landed in mid-July. To encourage you to get in the saddle, oBike is offering unlimited, free rides throughout August. Get started by downloading the oBike app, signing up and paying a refundable deposit of $49. Use the app to find an oBike near you, scan its QR to unlock it and ride away. Once you're done, park in an appropriate spot (hint: not up a tree or in the water or atop a portaloo or around a lamp post) and lock up manually. Sadly, Melbourne's continued access to oBike was threatened last week, with Lord Mayor Robert Doyle putting the company on notice. Way too many people have been leaving the bikes in all the wrong places, creating clutter and making a general nuisance of themselves. Let's see how Sydney fares.
Coogee Pavilion, Merivale's revamp of the old Beach Palace Hotel, is set to open its first phase on July 24. If you've had mixed feelings about the mega group's growing expansion into Sydney's suburbs, they're determined to charm you: the plans for the ground floor of Coogee Pavilion sound less public house, more funhouse. Overlooking Coogee Beach, the Pavilion will of course focus on seafood dining, with fresh catches, a raw bar and an oyster counter. But then there's Vinnie's Pizzeria (serving up woodfired creations from Merivale's pizza maestro Vincenzo Biondini), a fresh flower stall, Will & Co coffee cart, a cocktail bar, a juice bar and a gift shop. The games area is perhaps the most surprising element of the venue. It's in big part for kids, but the promise of "beautifully refurbished" 1950s ping pong tables, petanque, a giant hand-painted Scrabble board and old-school arcade games suggests they've fun-seekers of more refined tastes in mind too. The area will even include a movie theatrette and barber. The 1887 building encloses 4500 square metres of space, which explains how they're able to promise all these fabulous things. The upper two floors will continue to be developed over the coming months. The ambitious plans for the venue have been developed by a design team including Kelvin Ho of Akin Creative, Amanda Talbot plus Justin and Bettina Hemmes. Coogee Pavilion ground floor will be open for breakfast, lunch, dinner and more from Thursday, July 24. Its opening hours are 11am - 11pm, Monday – Thursday; 11am – 3am, Friday; 7am – 3am, Saturday; and 7am - midnight, Sunday. Update July 22: The revised opening date for the Coogee 'Pav', as we may as well start calling it already, is July 24. Image: Santa Cruz beach promenade, many moons ago.
The #BanTheBag campaign has scored a major win, with New South Wales grocer Harris Farm Markets making good on its promise to ditch single-use plastic bags entirely. As of today, shoppers at all of the retailer's stores will now choose between the more planet-friendly options of bringing or purchasing a reusable bag, or taking advantage of Harris Farm's free paper bags and cardboard boxes. The family-owned store is now the first major retailer to do away with plastic bags at the registers, with competitors Woolworths and Coles expected to phase out their own by the end of the year. Harris Farm has long been a vocal supporter of minimising plastic bag use and and it's continuing the push, calling for the NSW Government to enforce a statewide ban on the single-use bags. South Australia, the ACT, the Northern Territory and Tasmania already have a full ban in place, with Western Australia and Queensland enforcing their own from July 1 this year. Victoria is expected to announce a start date for its statewide ban in the coming months. Here's hoping we won't be waiting too long for other big-name retailers to follow stop stocking plastic bags altogether.
Australia's first large scale city winery, Urban Winery Sydney, has brought a whole new level of local to St Peters' Creative Precinct 75. Owner and winemaker Alex Retief's wines have a strong focus on locality, with many grapes sourced from his parent's biodynamic vineyard in the Gundagai wine region just outside of Wagga Wagga. As he promised upon opening, Retief is now expanding his love of all things seasonal by inviting Aussie chefs with similar homegrown attitudes to join him on the last Sunday of each month for a degustation lunch. Joining Retief this month on Sunday, September 25 is the team from Newtown's Alfie's Kitchen The four-course meal will be paired with six A. Retief Wines, as well as discussion on the chef and winemaker's compatible food and wine philosophies. There's no better way to finish off a weekend then with a long, fine lunch — and this is sure to be one of the finest. To book, email enquiries@urbanwinerysydney.com.au.
When it comes to loving a particular film, not all affection is created equal. There's the type of fondness that inspires a fan to tell all their friends about something great that they've seen, and then rewatch it over and over again. Then there's the kind of adoration that becomes a fully fledged obsession. Kumiko (Rinko Kikuchi) fits the latter bill, but even then her fascination is a little more passionate than most. Joel and Ethan Coen's Fargo is the object of her excessive attention, and she doesn't just fixate over it, she believes it. It's not the bickering hitmen, inept car salesman and determined local sheriff — as anyone who has seen the blackly comic crime classic will be familiar with — that strikes a chord. Instead, it's the briefcase filled with money buried in the Minnesota snow. To understand why she's so intent on thinking the movie is more than fiction is to understand her largely solitary existence in Tokyo. Kumiko is 29 years old and still working as an office lady, a position her boss thinks she should've well and truly outgrown. Her mother only calls to scold her about her dismal personal life, and her only friend is her pet rabbit, Bunzo. So when she happens across a VHS copy of Fargo, embracing its tall tale as truth adds purpose to her days, and trekking across America to find the stack of cash it tells of becomes her destiny. Reality is actually at the heart of Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter, though the filmmaking Zellner brothers — writer, director and actor David and co-writer and producer Nathan — aren't just living this fantasy themselves. They're delving into an urban legend that sprang up around the death of a Japanese woman in the US, which was first chronicled in 2003 documentary This Is a True Story. Indeed, those exact words are the first seen in Fargo itself, sparking reports at the time that it was based on real-life circumstances. Keeping that in mind, Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter makes its own fable out of diving into the strangeness that can stem from both truth and fiction, as well as the tenuous relationship between the two. The basis for its premise aside, the film also offers an offbeat look at isolation, and the lengths someone will go to in order to escape into a dream rather than face their reality. There's no mistaking the magical realism at work in the Zellners' approach, as their gorgeous icy frames make Kumiko's quest seem larger than life, and the atmospheric score by The Octopus Project proves both haunting and hopeful. There's no avoiding the questions it raises about the protagonist's fragile, lonely state, either. Kikuchi plays the titular character with perfection, her performance as slow in building as the movie itself, but also as beguiling the longer she's on screen. It's one of quirks and details adding up to something you can't look away from, even if you're simultaneously enthralled and frustrated. That's the reaction Kumiko, the Treasure Hunter elicits: whole-hearted intrigue in its ideas, and traces of exasperation in its meandering. Well, that, and making you want to rewatch Fargo as soon as possible — and as long as you don't book a plane ticket to America to search for the briefcase yourself, that's not a bad thing.
Inner west dwellers rejoice — you've got a brand-spanking-new food and retail hub in your hood. It may have been in the works for a couple of years, but Marrickville Metro's much-anticipated extension has finally opened. Need a new book to cosy up with now that the cold weather's set in? Or, did you forget that crucial ingredient for dinner and need to swing by the supermarket on your way home? Well, you can pick up both — and much more — from this one-stop spot. The new precinct on Smidmore Street is located right across the road from the OG centre, and adds some colour to the otherwise industrial-heavy surrounds. The former warehouse is now adorned with murals by local artists and, come nightfall, the building glows with neon blue lights. In partnership with Marrickville Metro, we've rounded up five of the retail stores we're most excited about — from a dreamy florist and bakery to a gift oasis championing local makers. HYPMOTIVE Marrickville Road creative space Hypmotive has long been an inner west favourite for artisanal gifts, art and fashion that you won't find anywhere else — and, now, you can conveniently browse the wares at Marrickville Metro, too. The shop is all about connecting the local community with unique designers, makers and brands. So, if you want nab one-of-a-kind pieces and simultaneously support local creatives, head here. Like its sister store, the Marrickville Metro location stocks an eclectic range of jewellery, custom-made art, handmade stationary, candles, ceramics, skincare, essential oils and more. The store also serves as a community hub, with workshops and events regularly on the docket at both stores. HARRY HARTOG Family-owned bookseller Harry Hartog has amassed a cult following among Sydney bibliophiles thanks to its beautifully presented shops that stock an excellent range of new and secondhand titles. Its new location in Marrickville Metro is Harry Hartog's first inner west outpost and, no doubt, will become a go-to for local book lovers in no time. Lining its shelves, there's everything from children's books and teen lit hits to gripping crime titles, new fiction books and biographies galore. You'll also find an extensive range of cards, games and other knick-knacks perfect for a last-minute pressie. Looking for a read but don't know where to start? Check out Harry Hartog's Bibliotonic program, which pairs you with your next great read via a one-on-one bookseller consultation. PANETTA MERCATO The multicultural hub that is Marrickville has more than its fair share of specialist grocers, and Marrickville Metro veteran Panetta Mercato is among the best. Inner west locals, you're probably already familiar with this family-owned grocer and its excellent range of fresh produce and epic deli, which is stocked to the brim with imported cheeses, cured meats, olives, sundried tomatoes and more. But, Panetta has levelled up with its new, bigger site just across the road. As well as the same friendly service and its delicious fare, including meat, gelato, dips and pantry staples, the new store is also home to an on-site cafe, perfect for taking a beat after a big shop. BROBAR Billing itself as 'Australia's first men's skincare lounge', Brobar aims to promote healthy skincare — and self care — among gents. While there are, of course, plenty of other men's grooming and skincare salons around town, Brobar's point of difference is in the experience. Much like a visit to the barber, you can pop into the open-plan, hair salon-style lounge whenever suits for an express 25-minute facial. The treatment is designed to be both relaxing and instantly rejuvenating for the skin, all in just a matter of minutes. The facials are customisable, too, and other treatments like teeth whitening and beard treatments are also on offer. ROSE BREW & COFFEE Flowers, coffee and pastries — could there be a better combination for the senses? You won't have to wonder for too much longer, because that's exactly what's on the bill at new Smidmore Street store Rose Brew & Co. This florist-cum-cafe promises beautiful blooms in a vibrant (and fragrant) setting, as well as a warm cup of java and cheeky pastry while you wait for your dreamy bouquet to be assembled. Whether you're buying flowers for yourself or someone special, you can be sure to find the perfect posie at this delightful concept store. Find out more about the new wing of Marrickville Metro via the official website.
Before they were chasing storms in Twisters, the 28-years-later sequel to one of the disaster-film blockbusters of the 90s, Daisy Edgar-Jones, Glen Powell and Anthony Ramos were no strangers to whirlwinds. Filmmaker Lee Isaac Chung, who directs the Twister follow-up, swirls alongside them in the same category. The last few years have seen the careers of all four rise rapidly. Normal People made Edgar-Jones a star. Powell has enjoyed a Top Gun: Maverick, Anyone But You and Hit Man hot streak. Ramos is a Lin-Manuel Miranda favourite with an originating part — two actually — in Hamilton and a lead role in the big-screen In the Heights adaptation. And Chung is fresh from drawing upon his own life in Minari, which won an Oscar and collected five more nominations, including for Best Director. How did this quartet end up following in the footsteps of Helen Hunt (Hacks) and the late Bill Paxton (The Circle), as well as cinematographer-turned-filmmaker (and Die Hard and Speed veteran) Jan de Bont? Chasing fun, valuing the chance to focus on the human side of weather wreaking havoc, bringing America's Tornado Alley to the screen, not only having a personal connection with the first film but wanting the second to feel personal: they're among the answers that Twisters three leads and its director shared with Concrete Playground. For Chung, growing up on the Oklahoma border means that he's also no stranger to tornadoes IRL. As a teenager in the 90s, he was mesmerised with the original Twister, as the entire world was. "That was a really big deal for me, and for my friends and for my family," he advises. Under his guidance — working with a script by The Boys in the Boat and The Revenant screenwriter Mark L Smith, which started with Top Gun: Maverick helmer Joseph Kosinski — Edgar-Jones, Powell and Ramos play storm obsessives on a mission. Make that missions, plural, beginning in college. At first Edgar-Jones' Kate and Ramos' Javi are on the road attempting to establish that tornadoes can be tamed. Then, tragedy strikes. Five years later, the pair reteam to scan the seasonal gusts that terrorise the US heartland, using portable radars that Javi has built a business around, albeit with now New York-based meteorologist Kate reluctant to be back out in the field and Javi leaving the details of his funding out of their conversation. Also seeking the same squalls is Powell's swaggering Tyler Owens, who prefers livestreaming his crew's exploits — and being a "tornado wrangler", merchandise and all — over taking the ultra-professional ethos sported by Javi's team. As Edgar-Jones and Ramos do with their characters, he ensures that this is a part that feels like only he could've slipped into. Indeed, Twisters doesn't enlist its impressive main on-screen trio just to get them caught up in the well-staged spectacle and action. [caption id="attachment_965979" align="alignnone" width="1917"] Jeff Spicer/Getty Images for Warner Bros.[/caption] No one gets out of the film without battling wild weather, of course, a process that's "like being in a washing machine, really", Edgar-Jones explains. "A great dirty washing machine," Powell adds. That said, the naturalistic imagery that Chung and cinematographer Dan Mindel (Star Wars: Episode IX — The Rise of Skywalker) paint their tale with, favouring an aesthetic approach that makes Twisters visually resemble Minari more than the standard disaster flick, also mirrors the film's handling of Kate, Javi and Tyler. There's always storms to chase, plus run from, with special effects proving both pivotal and phenomenally convincing; however, there's also a genuine sense of character as its key threesome face devastating vortexes alongside their own baggage. Appreciating the communities impacted by destructive gales feels equally as authentic. If it seems like a leap for Chung to hop from Minari to here, he went via an episode of The Mandalorian — and that his latest movie falls in the middle of those two extremes, even if it might appear closer to the latter on paper, also came up in our chat. With Twisters in cinemas Down Under since Thursday, July 11, 2024, we also spoke with Edgar-Jones, Powell, Ramos and Chung about tackling a sequel to a beloved film after almost three decades, perfecting the right look, the human element of the narrative and more, including preparing to play the resident cowboy who wants to shoot flares into the storm. "I always came to set with fireworks and rockets," Powell jokes. "Nobody ever knew when I was just going to fire those things off." On Twisters Falling in the Middle of Minari and The Mandalorian Isaac: "After I made Minari, I was editing Minari and watching The Mandalorian — that's where I decided I'd love to do an episode of The Mandalorian, just because I fell in love with that TV show. When I worked on that show, it was so much VFX work, so much work on these LED screens and on a stage that, in taking Twisters, I wanted to bring our production back out to the field and back out to Oklahoma. So it did feel like it was kind of zigging and zagging and trying to figure out what I've learned from Minari, what I've learned from The Mandalorian, trying to bring those two things together in some way." On the Appeal of Chasing Tornadoes On-Screen Anthony: "It sounds fun — and that's kind of the biggest appeal. It's something that I never thought I'd ever do. And to work with this team has been a dream. It's cool, just the thought of going out into Oklahoma and driving trucks and being in the elements out there, and working with an incredible cast — I think that's what made it so appealing. That's what made it sound like 'hey, this is something I want to do, sounds fun'." On How Growing Up on the Oklahoma Border Influenced Chung's Decision to Direct Twisters Isaac: "That was a hugely influential part of taking on this project. I felt like growing up, there aren't many big films, blockbuster films, that take place in that world. And when Twister came out, that was a really big deal for me, and for my friends and for my family. And I remember that being really special. When I saw that this project was happening, I thought it was just a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to go back to where I grew up with a big tentpole action movie. So absolutely, that was a huge part of that decision-making." On Ensuring That This Is a Disaster Film with a Strong Human Element Daisy: "I think that was a big part of why I was so excited to be involved with this film. I'd watched Minari — I'm such a huge fan of that film and Isaac as a filmmaker — and obviously that's got a very indie sensibilities, very character-driven. And so when I heard he was making Twisters, I was so curious to see what that mixture would be like, someone who has this real interest in detail and interpersonal dynamics, but also this huge scale, this blockbuster feel. And so I think that was what was so exciting when we were involved, that all of the characters feel very beautifully drawn out. It's imbued with a lot of reverence for nature, but it also has this fun, this scale, this adrenaline to it. And I just think Isaac did such a remarkable job of really making all the individual characters feel so grounded in truth. As an actor, that's the thing I'm most excited about: to represent people truthfully." On Taking on a Sequel to a Film That's Widely Adored — and Making It Personal Isaac: "It really makes it very challenging because everybody has their own reason for loving that previous work. I'd encountered that already when I was working on the Star Wars shows, which I think Star Wars audiences are maybe the least forgiving, because I love that world so much. So I got my feet wet already with the idea of 'how do I honour something that a lot of people love for very good reasons, and still try to bring in my personal side and my own spin to things?'. In general, what I find with audiences is that if you really start with that love and appreciation for something, then they come around to whatever you choose to do as long as you're really honouring. So that was my approach with this. I wanted to honour that first film, but also make it personal to myself." On What Goes Into Playing the Resident Cowboy Storm Chaser Who Wants to Shoot Fireworks Into the Wild Weather Glen: "At the end of the day, it's Kate's journey to rediscover something she loves, something that should give her a lot of joy. And so Tyler's role in this movie is just to remind Kate why chasing something that gives you joy is the greatest pursuit of your life. And so it's fun to show up in a cowboy hat and jeans, and cowboy boots and drive trucks across the Oklahoma plains, and shoot rockets into the sky. I recommend it. It's a good way to go to work." On Favouring Naturalistic Cinematography That Grounds the Film Over a Glossy Action-Blockbuster Sheen Isaac: "I worked with an incredible cinematographer named Dan Mindel, and he's a real legend behind the camera. When he came on board, we were already talking about old western movies like The Searchers, we were talking about Kurosawa. We wanted to create a sense of place and space, and also evoke a feeling of a western with this movie. And then when we knew that we were going to be filming a rodeo, we wanted it to really feel like rodeo photography from the 1970s in magazines. So there was a lot of that thought going into the process to bring out the texture of the place. And hopefully that comes through. It was just a real joy working with him." On Filming Action Scenes in a Movie That's Not Only About Tornado Season in Oklahoma, But Was Shot During Tornado Season in Oklahoma Daisy: "Every scene felt quite laced with irony in the sense that we would have to shut down filming pretty constantly for actual weather, to then start filming again to then recreate the weather we had to shut down for. It was so incredible to really be in Oklahoma during storm season. There were a lot of tornadoes that did touch down while we were filming, and weather like I've never seen before, but it really helped us imbue the whole thing with truth. And everybody we met that was there, that were background artists from Oklahoma, they were chasers, they were also Red Cross workers, it really helped, I think, to imbue the film with as much truth as possible. The actual filming of tornado sequences is just sort of wild. It's like being in a washing machine, really. You don't really know what's happening." Glenn: "A great dirty washing machine." Daisy: "You're just hoping that there's some acting happening, but you're just kind of in it." Anthony: "Yeah, if you're getting pelted with wind and your face, you can't help but to make a face because you're getting rained on, there's dirt all over you. I see stills of me in some of the scenes that we shot, and I'm dusty and my clothes are filthy — and that's what you want when you shoot this kind of movie. You want to be in it. You want to feel that, and they were so good about making sure that we did it." Twisters opened in cinemas Down Under on Thursday, July 11, 2024. Read our review.
Finishing work on a Thursday afternoon, you can feel the weekend coming. You might want to hit the town but you're just looking for the right excuse. Powerhouse Museum has been offering up that excuse with a run of free late-night events happening every Thursday since January — and it's now it has extended its run with a fresh lineup for the cooler months. Part of the Culture Up Late initiative funded by the NSW government, the after-dark affair is running till the end of June. The festivities are on till 9pm each week, and you can expect talks on music, art and design, alongside musical performances and exhibitions. Highlights from the new program include a celebration of the LGBTQIA+ community from Queerscreen, with film screenings and live performances on the bill; a night of electro tunes, performances and visual feasts courtesy of Electronic Music Conference (EMC); and the Museum's new exhibition all about the iconic Aussie gum, Eucalyptusdom, which you can be one of the first to check out — and after hours, no less. A pop-up outdoor bar is set up on the Harris Street terrace, featuring a special Campari cocktail menu for Thursday night refreshments. [caption id="attachment_811875" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Jordan Munns[/caption] All exhibitions and events are free but bookings are recommended. Head to the Powerhouse Museum's website to browse the free program — and to book tickets. Images: Jordan Munns
You may have been hanging out with Shag for ages. He might have been in your house, your car and your headphones with his Friday arvo program on FBi Radio with Sweetie Zamora. And as one of those go-getters who's been contributing to Sydney's alternative, independent arts and music community for years, we thought he'd be the perfect insider for Concrete Playground's Hidden Sydney column. We all know the thrill of finding a new view of the city skyline, or a window in a pub that's great for people-watching. Here are your next five discoveries. And keep an ear out for Shag's new podcast later this year with his former co-host Peach, called What's Up With Peach and Shag? 1. City of Sydney Library The Sydney library system is amazing – borrow twenty items at a time for three weeks, borrow and return them to any of the twelve branches, and free membership if you live in the inner city. Best of all is its Network Graphic Novels collection, as it’s pretty complete. From Neil Gaiman, Alan Moore and classic Batman to Harvey Pekar and Fun Home, you’ll find an awesome selection of major titles that you’ve heard of or should have heard of. 2. Sydney Park with a dog I’ve recently become a dog person thanks to my girlfriend’s pound puppy ‘Poppet’, a giant Irish Wolfhound cross who needs a large open area to run around in every once in a while. So when we can, we head to Sydney Park. There are none of those horrible anti-dog signs, no need for leashes, and no precious, over-protective owners – just heaps of space filled with happy pups, running free. 3. Rock Lily at The Star Hear me out. Yes, casinos can be super depressing places, and obviously the name is atrocious. But here’s the thing: Rock Lily is completely surreal. It’s a rock-themed venue (think a milder Hard Rock/Planet Hollywood) that sits IN THE MIDDLE of the main casino floor, like the Tardis. Just slap bang in the middle! Plus, it’s almost never full, or even half full. Does that not sound like a potentially great venue for the beginning (or end) of an insane night out? 4. Cream on King For a cheap, well-fitted vintage t-shirt with a completely unique print, there’s really no better place. 5. Staying in Sydney A friend of mine told me something once that has always stuck with me: Sydney could be as amazing as anywhere else, as long as the good people stay. So instead of dreaming about moving to New York, start thinking about how you can make your mark here.
Sun, surf and sand are all great Australian day-trip staples — but if you're looking to add some ice, snow and a bucket-list destination to your next adventure, that's achievable, too. Fancy ticking the South Pole off of your must-see list? Have a bit of spare cash to burn? Eager to head overseas just for one day? Then you'll be excited to know that Antarctica Flights is now taking bookings for its 2022–23 season. The name does indeed say it all, with these plane trips flying to Antarctica from Australia courtesy of the sightseeing group. Antarctica Flights has been hosting the rare, sky-high, one-day charter tours for a few years now, and will be taking to the skies again from November 2022 through till February 2023. And, because these trips are classified as domestic flights, you don't even need to take your passport with you. Departing Sydney (November 6 and December 31, 2022), Hobart (November 13, 2022), Brisbane (November 20, 2022 and February 12, 2023), Perth (November 27, 2022), Canberra (December 4, 2022), Melbourne (December 31, 2022 and February 19, 2023) and Adelaide (February 5, 2023), these flights will cruise above the dazzling Antarctica Treaty area for around four hours. Each flight path is carefully chosen to maximise viewing from both sides of the plane and to ensure the best views should the weather turn nasty, while some passengers will rotate seats to allow everyone an equal shot at the spectacular scenery below. Travelling on a Qantas 787 Dreamliner, the whole trip clocks in at around 12.5 hours — depending on your departure city — during which you'll hear from expert Antarctic explorers, talking about the polar environment and its fascinating history. Your trip includes all of that, while enjoying some better-than-average Qantas plane food, full bar service and, in the lead-up to the views, a spot of in-flight entertainment — classic flick Happy Feet, or some Antarctic docos, of course. As expected, this kind of plane trip doesn't come cheap. You're looking at $1199 to be seated without direct access to a window, for instance. Other options, including Standard Economy Class ($2199), Superior Economy Class ($3199) and Premium Economy Class ($3999), involve seat rotations throughout the flight, so passengers can spend time both close to the window and further away. Of course, you and your favourite travel buddy could drop $7999 each on Business Class Deluxe tickets to have a window seat and the one next to it all to yourselves for the entire flight. ANTARCTICA FLIGHTS 2022-23: From Sydney: November 6 and December 31, 2022 From Hobart: November 13, 2022 From Brisbane: November 20, 2022 and February 12, 2023 From Perth: November 27, 2022 From Canberra: December 4, 2022 From Melbourne: December 31, 2022 and February 19, 2023 From Adelaide: February 5, 2023 Antarctica Flights' 2022-23 season is open for bookings now, with flights out of Sydney, Hobart, Brisbane, Perth, Canberra, Melbourne and Adelaide between November 6, 2022–February 19, 2023.
How do you make a great show even better? A show that's announces its greatness in its title, for that matter? For its second season, you ramp up everything that worked so well in its initial batch of episodes — and you also add Gillian Anderson. That's what's on the cards when The Great returns in November for another satirical dalliance with Russian history. One of the gems of 2020 — a year that wasn't great in general, but delivered plenty of top-notch new TV shows that we all streamed all year — the series takes a savage yet delightful jump back to the 18th century, to the time of its namesake Catherine the Great. As its first season showed, The Great is filled with the expected lavish costumes, wigs, sets and decor as it explores an immensely famous time that had a significant impact upon the world. Normally, that'd all smack of a certain kind of drama — you know the type — however this is firmly a comedy as well. Starring Elle Fanning (Maleficent: Mistress of Evil) as the eponymous ruler and Nicholas Hoult (Those Who Wish Me Dead) as her husband Peter III, The Great is full of witty, laugh-out-loud lines, sports an irreverent and often cheeky mood, and has ample fun with real-life details — much in the way that Oscar-winner The Favourite did with British royalty on the big screen. That comparison couldn't actually be more fitting, with that film's BAFTA-winning screenwriter, Australian Tony McNamara, using his skills to pen The Great as well. Across its ten-episode, very easy-to-binge, immensely hilarious first season, the series immersed viewers in Catherine and Peter's hardly happy marriage, all the day-to-day dramas in the Russian court, and her plans to push him aside and become the country's ruler in her own right. In its second season — which'll start streaming via Stan in Australia on Saturday, November 20, and just dropped its latest trailer after a teaser a few months back — it'll now chart the aftermath, as well as Catherine's pregnancy. Here are five things that should take your fancy: Catherine and Peter slinging sharp banter back and forth, her preference for eating chicken over sex, the word "huzzah", more chaotic antics and Gillian Anderson joining the cast. Because starring in everything from The X-Files and Hannibal to The Crown and Sex Education isn't enough for latter, she pops up here as Catherine's mother. If you weren't already hooked on all things The Great, that's obviously an excellent — and great, naturally — reason to start watching. Check out the first trailer for The Great's second season below: The Great's second season will be available to stream in Australia via Stan on November 20.
Martin Scorsese has made not one but two documentaries about him. I'm Not There had six actors, including Cate Blanchett (The New Boy), play him. The Coen brothers' Inside Llewyn Davis couldn't take a fictional tour of the 60s folk scene without getting its protagonist watching him onstage. Ever since 1967 docos Don't Look Back and Festival, Bob Dylan has been no stranger to the screen — and now he's getting the music biopic treatment again, this time with Timothée Chalamet (Dune: Part Two) picking up a guitar. With the curls and the gaze — and the early 60s-era wardrobe, too — Chalamet looks the part in the just-released first trailer A Complete Unknown. He also sings the part, busting out 'A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall'. The Wonka and Bones and All star transforms into the music icon at the start of his career, hence the movie's title. The feature's focus: how Dylan became a sensation. In a film directed by Walk the Line helmer James Mangold — swapping Johnny Cash for another legend, clearly — A Complete Unknown charts Dylan's rise to stardom. The folk singer's early gigs, filling concert halls, going electric at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival: they're all set to be covered, with his famous performance at the latter, due to be the narrative's culmination. Take note of the date that this trailer dropped, both in the US and Down Under: the 1965 Newport Folk Festival took place in July, with Dylan performing acoustic songs on July 24 and playing electric on July 25 — so, on the same dates 59 years ago. As well as Chalamet, Mangold (Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny) has enlisted Edward Norton (Asteroid City), Elle Fanning (The Great), Monica Barbaro (Fubar), Boyd Holbrook (The Bikeriders), Dan Fogler (Eric), Norbert Leo Butz (The Exorcist: Believer) and Scoot McNairy (Invincible) among the cast. A Complete Unknown releases in US picture palaces in December 2024, with cinema dates Down Under yet to be confirmed as yet. Check out the trailer for A Complete Unknown below: A Complete Unknown releases in US cinemas in December, but doesn't yet have a release date Down Under — we'll update you with more details when they're announced. Images: courtesy of Searchlight Pictures. © 2024 Searchlight Pictures All Rights Reserved.
There are plenty of ways to pick which music festivals to dance your way through, but one method reigns supreme: the all-powerful lineup. When a fest puts together an A-plus roster of onstage talent — like Charli XCX, Duke Dumont and Sonny Fodera headlining For the Love 2023, for instance — your decision is often made for you. That's one reason to get excited about the event's return next February and March. Here's another: its waterfront locations at its four stops. For the Love pairs its packed bill of dance and pop hitmakers with stunning backdrops, and will hit up the Gold Coast's Doug Jennings Park, Wollongong's Thomas Dalton Park, Melbourne's Catani Gardens and Perth's Taylor Reserve for its 2023 run. Also doing the honours: Cosmo's Midnight, Snakehips, Budjerah and KYE, as well as Sumner and Jade Zoe. And yes, Charli XCX's spot on the lineup means that if you live outside of Sydney and you can't make it to WorldPride next year, you can still catch her onstage. As in previous years, punters will also have the opportunity to kick back in style in one of For The Love's VIP lounges, presented by Aussie streetwear label Nana Judy. Plus, For the Love's Music For Oceans eco-friendly initiative is back, to do once again do the environment a solid. Behind the scenes, the folks at Untitled Group — the same minds behind Beyond the Valley, Pitch Music & Arts, Grapevine Gathering and Wildlands — are running the show, and splashing around their hefty festival experience. If an evening spent cutting shapes by the water sounds like a much-needed addition to your 2023 calendar, you can now register for presale tickets. Those advance tix go on sale from 9am AEDT on Thursday, December 1, with general sales from 4pm AEDT the same day. FOR THE LOVE 2023 AUSTRALIAN DATES: Saturday, February 25 — Doug Jennings Park, Gold Coast Sunday, February 26 — Thomas Dalton Park, Wollongong Saturday, March 4 — Catani Gardens, Melbourne Sunday, March 5 — Taylor Reserve, Perth FOR THE LOVE 2023 LINEUP: Charli XCX Duke Dumont Sonny Fodera Cosmo's Midnight Snakehips Budjerah KYE Sumner Jade Zoe For The Love 2023 tours the country in February and March 2023. Head to the festival's website to register for presale, with ticket presales from 9am AEDT on Thursday, December 1 — and general sales from 4pm AEDT the same day.
Who says Easter egg hunts are just for kids? Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel is hosting an egg hunt unlike any other on Easter Sunday, with their inaugural aqua egg hunt for children and kids at heart alike. Suit up in your best snorkelling gear to find eggs littered on the sandy floor of Watsons Bay and win prizes like free seafood platters or a weekend stay at the Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel, among many others. More fun is on tap for the adult crowd throughout the weekend, with DJs spinning music all weekend long and Sydney band The Silver Lining playing post-egg hunt on Sunday. Don't miss out on the Good Friday feast at the Beach Club, with everything from lobster to paella being cooked up by executive chef John Pye. Watsons Bay Boutique Hotel is also testing out their own water taxi service over the long weekend, offering rides across the harbour for $12 per person. Arrangements must be made in advance.
In the hearts and minds of Marvel Cinematic Universe viewers, Chadwick Boseman will be Black Panther forever. In the upcoming sequel to 2018's excellent Black Panther, however, a new version of the hero is on its way. Thanks to the initial trailer for Black Panther: Wakanda Forever from back in July, Marvel already established that King T'Challa has passed away, his nation is in mourning and his absence is heavily felt — and in the just-dropped new sneak peek, that results in someone else donning the titular figure's suit. As for who that is, Wakanda Forever is keeping coy about the answer even in the new footage, although it's easy to take a few guesses. The latest trailer also keeps reckoning with another question that was always going to linger over this second effort, and will be solved in November when the film hits cinemas: how do you jump back into a superhero saga — a caped-crusader franchise within a sprawling, seemingly never-ending franchise, too — without your star? Given Boseman's death in 2020, this sequel obviously isn't the film that returning writer/director Ryan Coogler (Creed) initially intended, and an unsurprisingly emotional time awaits. That said, while the first sneak peek played up the sorrow across Wakanda — complete with a tribute to King T'Challa among its frames — the new Wakanda Forever glimpse sets an action-packed tone. Plot-wise, the story picks up with Queen Ramonda (Angela Bassett, Gunpowder Milkshake), Shuri (Letitia Wright, Death on the Nile), M'Baku (Winston Duke, Nine Days), Okoye (Danai Gurira, The Walking Dead) and the Dora Milaje (including Florence Kasumba, Deutschland89) charged with protecting their nation from world powers after T'Challa's death — with help from War Dog Nakia (Lupita Nyong'o, The 355) and Everett Ross (Martin Freeman, Breeders). But life on land isn't their only threat. Thanks to a hidden undersea nation called Talokan — and Namor (Tenoch Huerta, Narcos: Mexico), its king — Wakanda seems to have a pressing for a hero like Black Panther. Also among Wakanda Forever's cast: Michaela Coel (I May Destroy You) and Dominique Thorne (Judas and the Black Messiah), with the latter playing Riri Williams ahead of the character's solo Disney+ series Ironheart When the initial trailer dropped, Marvel revealed that Wakanda Forever will wrap up the MCU's phase four — because this ever-growing on-screen superhero world is broken up into different chapters. Obviously, more caped-crusader stories are still in the works, though, with the Disney-owned entertainment behemoth also plotting out its plans across phase five and phase six, taking it up to 2025. Check out the latest Black Panther: Wakanda Forever trailer below: Black Panther: Wakanda Forever releases in cinemas Down Under on November 10. Images: courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2022 MARVEL.
Maybe it's a budget thing. Perhaps you can't get time off work. Your diary just mightn't be able to spare a whole three days in Byron Bay, plus travelling there and back. Can't make it to Splendour in the Grass in 2023? There are plenty of reasons why that might be the case, but the festival's official sideshows are here to help cure your FOMO. This year, everyone from Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Lewis Capaldi to Little Simz and Tove Lo are hitting stages around Australia outside of their Splendour sets — and Loyle Carner, Rainbow Kitten Surprise and Noah Cyrus as well. Keen to see your favourite act do their own show? They might be on this list, albeit with the usual Sydney- and Melbourne-heavy focus. As is almost always the case with sideshows to Byron-based fests, Brisbane doesn't get a look in. If you're located in the Sunshine State and you're keen, Splendour or a trip to the New South Wales and Victorian capitals is in your future. Sam Fender's only sideshow is in Perth, however, and Lewis Capaldi's already on-sale sideshows only have tickets remaining for his Perth stopover. For folks in Adelaide, Loyle Carner is coming to South Australia, and Capaldi as well, but his solo gig is already sold out. That said, Secret Sounds, the crew behind Splendour, is also bringing its winter festival Spin Off back to the City of Churches, complete with SiTG acts Hilltop Hoods, Pnau, Tove Lo, BENEE, iann dior and Noah Cyrus. Yeah Yeah Yeah's sideshows come after the band was meant to make the trip to Australia for 2022's Splendour, complete with their own concerts, but had to drop out. Lizzo's Australian arena tour isn't on this list given that it was announced before Splendour, but that's another way to see the fest's talent without a trip to Byron. SPLENDOUR IN THE GRASS 2023 OFFICIAL SIDESHOWS: YEAH YEAH YEAHS With Automatic Thursday, July 20 — MCA, Melbourne Monday, July 24 — Hordern Pavilion, Sydney SAM FENDER Thursday, July 20 — HBF Stadium, Perth LITTLE SIMZ Wednesday, July 19 — MCA, Melbourne Friday, July 21 — Hordern Pavilion, Sydney TOVE LO With Blusher Wednesday, July 19 — Forum, Melbourne Tuesday, July 25 — Roundhouse, Sydney LOYLE CARNER Saturday, July 22 — Enmore Theatre, Sydney Tuesday, July 25 — Hindley Street Music Hall, Adelaide Thursday, July 27 — Palais Theatre, Melbourne IANN DIOR Wednesday, July 19 — 170 Russell, Melbourne Saturday, July 22 — Metro Theatre, Sydney RAINBOW KITTEN SURPRISE Thursday, July 20 — Metro Theatre, Sydney Friday, July 21 — 170 Russell, Melbourne NOAH CYRUS With PJ Harding Sunday, July 9 — Metro Theatre, Sydney Sunday, July 16 — 170 Russell, Melbourne SUDAN ARCHIVES Saturday, July 22 — Liberty Hall, Sydney Tuesday, July 25 — 170 Russell, Melbourne DEL WATER GAO Friday, July 21 — Howler, Melbourne Saturday, July 22 — Oxford Arts Factory, Sydney LEWIS CAPALDI (on sale now) With Noah Cyrus Friday, July 7–Saturday, July 8 — Qudos Bank Arena, Sydney — SOLD OUT Tuesday, July 11 — RAC Arena, Perth Thursday, July 13 — Adelaide Entertainment Centre, Adelaide — SOLD OUT Friday, July 14–Saturday, July 15 — Rod Laver Arena, Melbourne — SOLD OUT Splendour in the Grass will take over North Byron Bay Parklands from Friday, July 21–Sunday, July 23, 2023. The festival's sideshows are popping up across Australia in July, with tickets on sale from 9am, Tuesday, May 9 — and presales from Monday, May 8.
Our own Sydney Opera House has been given a makeover in a thought-provoking new work by Ukranian Australian artist Stanislava Pinchuk, aka Miso. Specially commissioned for the venue's upcoming All About Women festival (March 7 and 8), The Red Carpet stars a large-scale photography piece showing the Opera House's famed Monumental Steps digitally overlaid with an intricately detailed Ukrainian Bessarabian rug. In hues of red and gold, the 'rug' contains a data map of Kiev's post-revolution Maidan square's ruined topography. Part architectural intervention, part performance work, the piece pays homage to the many women of past who would document their personal experiences of conflict through textiles. It also references the two cities Pinchuk embraces as home. It was no mean feat to create, either, the final piece the result of two whole years of set-building, mapping, camera work and post-production. The Maidan's topography was data-mapped right down to the very millimetre, before being woven together into its rug design. The impressive artwork was co-produced and co-curated by Grace Partridge, founder of Antidote Projects. The Red Carpet photography work will be on show in the Sydney Opera House Lounge — alongside paintings, architectural drawing studies and screen prints — for All About Women, from Saturday, March 7, to Sunday, March 8. Pinchuk will also lead accompanying talk The Thread of War in the Utzon Room at 6pm, March 8. Grab your $33 ticket here. Image: 'The Red Carpet' by Stanislava Pinchuk
Travelling in our own backyard is one of the most sustainable and planet-friendly options we can make when planning a well-deserved getaway. If you're starting to pencil in some strategic long weekends for the latter half of this year, here's one to consider: Port Douglas, a tropical paradise conveniently located just an hour's drive from Cairns. Nestled perfectly between the Great Barrier Reef and the oldest tropical rainforest in the world, Port Douglas offers an alluring long weekend proposition for city travellers looking to put nature at the forefront of their next holiday. Port Douglas is home to a number of sustainable tours, accommodations, and opportunities for conscientious involvement, so here are five ways you can reduce the carbon footprint of your next getaway. [caption id="attachment_913642" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Good Travel with Marriott Bonvoy[/caption] CHOOSE ECO-FRIENDLY ACCOMMODATION Consider camping if you're looking to keep your holiday footprint low. Douglas Shire Council coordinates powered and unpowered camping grounds, along with a range of caravan sites. In order to protect the unique environment, overnight stays are only permitted at licensed caravan parks and camping grounds, so make sure to plan and book ahead. If you're looking for luxury accommodation, The Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort boasts over two hectares of sparkling saltwater pools in Tropical North Queensland. Lagoons on-site include spots with sandy beaches, as well as serene private cabanas nestled on the waterfront. As part of your trip, all Sheraton guests are invited to participate in a conservation activity hosted by Marriott Bonvoy in partnership with Good Travel. The Four Mile Beach cleanup is hosted by a marine biologist, allowing travelers to meaningfully engage with the environment while giving back. [caption id="attachment_888046" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort, Port Douglas[/caption] BOOK WITH ECO-CERTIFIED OPERATORS If you are keen to venture further during your stay, there are a variety of eco-friendly and sustainable tour options you can book. Locally-run and eco-certified Back Country Bliss run swimmable tours through the Daintree Rainforest, which includes a snorkel and float tour of Mossman Gorge. As part of the Mossman Gorge Back Country Bliss tour, guests can experience a Welcome to Country and smoke ceremony with a Kuku Yalanji guide. Acknowledging and paying respects to the Traditional Owners of the lands you are visiting is a great way to show deep respect for the place you're visiting. The Kuku Yalanji People are the Traditional Owners of this land. [caption id="attachment_844375" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Sailaway Reef Cruises - Tourism Tropical North Queensland[/caption] CHOOSE EXPERIENCES THAT GIVE BACK Sailaway is a family business running half-day and full-day charters to Great Barrier Reef, including the Low Isles and Mackay Coral Cay on the Outer Reef. The business holds an advanced eco-certification, meaning they're recognised for their work in conserving and protecting the Great Barrier Reef. A qualified marine biologist attends cruises, so you can learn about the wonders of the Great Barrier Reef as the boats go out. The company also donates $20 from every ticket to its reforestation and carbon offsetting. [caption id="attachment_913718" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] LOOK FOR GREENER TOUR OPTIONS If you want to experience Four Mile Beach from a different angle, adventures with a twist can be booked with locally-operated Port Douglas Segway Tours. Segways use electric power to recharge but produce zero emissions and are extremely energy efficient. Cruise along a trail which features the spectacular Four Mile Beach, rainforest paths and sandy flats. [caption id="attachment_913719" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Image: Tourism and Events Queensland[/caption] SUPPORT FIRST NATIONS COMMUNITIES There are lots of ways you can support First Nations communities and creators during your stay in Port Douglas. Booking tours and experiences with First Nations-owned or operated businesses, purchasing locally-created art and wares or attending a Welcome to Country are all meaningful ways you can pay respect to the Traditional Owners of this land. Concrete Playground travelled to Port Douglas as a guest of The Sheraton Grand Mirage Resort, Port Douglas. If you want to extend your Queensland getaway, check out our curated Whitsundays packages on CP Trips which includes a four-day stay, snorkel and sail adventure with a day cruise. Top image: Good Travel with Marriott Bonvoy.
When Studio Ghibli opened its own theme park outside of Tokyo at the beginning of November, it took a leaf out of Disney's book, gifting the world the new happiest place on earth. Now, it's actually joining forces with the Mouse House on a surprise collaboration. If you've ever wondered what the cutest figure in a galaxy far, far away might look like if it was given the hand-drawn Ghibli treatment — complete with Spirited Away's susuwatari in tow — then wonder no more, because short film Zen — Grogu and Dust Bunnies has the answers. Two pop culture favourites, one epic collaboration, and your delightful weekend viewing all sorted: that's the recipe here. Zen — Grogu and Dust Bunnies will drop on Saturday, November 12 in the US — which usually means 6pm AEST/7pm AEDT in Australia and 9pm in New Zealand — all to celebrate three years since The Mandalorian first hit screens. pic.twitter.com/RZ74q04w7J — スタジオジブリ STUDIO GHIBLI (@JP_GHIBLI) November 10, 2022 pic.twitter.com/31jDkRIXTL — スタジオジブリ STUDIO GHIBLI (@JP_GHIBLI) November 11, 2022 The just-announced news comes after a few days of teasing on social media, including Studio Ghibli posting a short video featuring both the Lucasfilm and Ghibli logos — and another image featuring a statue of Baby Yoda, aka Grogu, with Studio Ghibli icon and founder Hayao Miyazaki in the background. Zen — Grogu and Dust Bunnies hails from director Katsuya Kondo (an animator on Earwig and the Witch, When Marnie Was There, The Wind Rises and more), and will feature music by Oscar- and Emmy-winning composer Ludwig Göransson (Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, The Book of Boba Fett, The Mandalorian). Further details, other than the fact that you'll need to head to Disney's streaming service Disney+ to see it, haven't been revealed. The anniversary also marks three years of Disney+ itself, and the short precedes the long-awaited third season of The Mandalorian — which dropped a trailer back in September, but won't hit streaming until sometime in 2023. Of course, Andor is filling the Star Wars TV gap quite nicely in the interim — and now Zen — Grogu and Dust Bunnies, aka a dream team-up, will help as well. Discover Zen - Grogu and Dust Bunnies, a hand-drawn animation by Studio Ghibli, is streaming tomorrow on #DisneyPlus. pic.twitter.com/ODqHrgIwnB — Disney+ (@DisneyPlus) November 12, 2022 Zen — Grogu and Dust Bunnies will be available to stream via Disney+ from Saturday, November 12.
Not once but twice now, a new sneak peek at The Flight Attendant's second season has hit and dropped some deliciously pointed dialogue along with it. Back in March, when the initial teaser for the show's next batch of episodes arrived, it had Kaley Cuoco's Cassie Bowden exclaiming "I'm still a flight attendant, and I've been making better choices." Now, in season two's just-released full trailer, she's told "you seem very put together." Of course, everything that surrounds those lines of dialogue in both sneak peeks so far immediately contradicts what's uttered — because The Flight Attendant wouldn't be the show it is if chaos wasn't on the itinerary. And this time around, the country-hopping thriller has a new way to dial up the twists. When Cassie escapes into her mind to reflect upon everything that life is throwing her way, which is a lot, she's confronted with multiple versions of herself. Four Cassies — and four Cuocos, too — are better than one, clearly. If you're wondering exactly how that'll play out, you don't have to wait long — with The Flight Attendant's second season arriving in Australia via Binge on Thursday, April 21, and in New Zealand thanks to Neon on Friday, April 22. Obviously, as anyone who quickly found themselves addicted to the extremely watchable series the first time, expecting Cassie to settle into a normal, average, uneventful and calm life is highly unrealistic. In season two, she has indeed moved on from the dramas we all watched back in 2020, though — and moved to Los Angeles, and also started attending Alcoholics Anonymous meetings. That said, Cassie has picked up a part-time job as well, which happens to see her moonlighting for the CIA. And, as this second trailer shows, that new gig comes with consequences. While Cassie is doing great things at both of her jobs — booze-free things, helpfully — it seems that someone else is trying to pass themselves off as her while she's working her side hustle overseas. Cue more globe-trotting intrigue, taking the show to both Berlin and Reykjavik. Cue more of Cassie's inner monologues as well, which is where those four different versions come in. Also new: cast members Mo McRae (Big Little Lies), Callie Hernandez (Under the Silver Lake), JJ Soria (Gentefied), Alanna Ubach (Euphoria), Cheryl Hines (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Jessie Ennis (Mythic Quest), Mae Martin (Feel Good), Margaret Cho (Awkwafina Is Nora from Queens), Santiago Cabrera (Ema), Sharon Stone (Ratched) and Shohreh Aghdashloo (The Expanse). They'll join Golden Globe- and Emmy-nominee Cuoco, obviously, plus returning co-stars Zosia Mamet (Girls), Griffin Matthews (Dear White People), Deniz Akdeniz (The High Note) and Rosie Perez (The Last Thing He Wanted). And if you're coming to this small-screen adaptation of Chris Bohjalian's 2018 novel of the same name with fresh eyes, the first season unravelled quite the tale — starting high in the sky, bouncing around the globe and delivering a hectic murder-mystery. Filled with sudden revelations and reversals, featuring multiple points of interest playing out across a split-screen setup, and also sporting cliffhangers to end every episode, the slick, swift-moving series knew exactly the kind of story it was telling and went for broke. Check out the full trailer for The Flight Attendant's second season below: The Flight Attendant's second season will be available to stream via Binge in Australia from Thursday, April 21 — and is headed to Neon in New Zealand on Friday, April 22. Read our full review of season one. Images: Jennifer Rose Clasen/HBO Max.
For many Sydneysiders, the CBD was synonymous with two things: tourists and office workers. This year, things changed. With those two elements stripped right back, we can see more clearly than ever what makes the CBD such a special part of Sydney: its small businesses. We're talking about the hole-in-the-wall joint that serves your life-giving morning latte, the reliable boutique shop that's become your go-to for last-minute gifts, and the bar you head to for a post-work cocktail and boogie. Every encounter you have with a local vendor contributes to why you love living in Sydney. And they need your patronage more than ever. So, we teamed up with City of Sydney to ask you — Concrete Playground readers — what businesses you love to visit in the CBD, from the beating heart of the city to the harbourside, Barangaroo and The Rocks. And you came up with some absolute gems. Read on to discover some of the most popular picks to visit during the day. Then, flick the switch above and we'll dim the lights to show your favourite things to do once the sun goes down.
Japanese minimalist homeware wizards Muji are moving into the architecture game with a series of new flat-pack houses that are giving us some serious FOMO and YOLO and all manner of acronym envy and inspiration. The best part? They’re economical in both price and space, giving hope to the current generation that perhaps we won’t always have to deal with landlords. Praise be to Muji! Unfortunately, for now, they’re only available in Japan. However, Muji have recently opened stores in Melbourne and Sydney, so surely it’s only a matter of time before they ship em’ into our waiting arms. The houses are incredibly cute and, in classic Muji style, effortlessly minimalist. There are three designs to choose from, starting at US$150,000 for the ‘Wooden House’, US$160,000 for the ‘Window House’, and US$215,000 for the tall, Tokyo-inspired ‘Vertical House’. Incredibly reasonable. The finishes are all white and blonde wood with elegant staircases and cosy nooks. And hey, it may be a bit cookie cutter but moving to Japan is surely better than selling all your internal organs to afford a house in Toorak or Double Bay right? The real estate game is a-changin’ though and other retailers are starting to cater for the penny-saving generation (i.e. us ;_; ). Ikea are experimenting with movable walls (not set to hit the market for a few years but keep at it Ikea) and there are many innovative Aussie architecture firms experimenting with non-traditional and environmentally friendly ways to bring down the cost of building a new home. Firms like iBuild (punny) and the slightly more upmarket modscape design, construct and deliver modular homes and extensions which cost much less than a contractor. And of course, there’s the shipping container community who do some spectacular things with discarded shipping containers. Then there's the slightly earthy young buyers and the Earthship movement, slowly but surely making its way through all the red tape into the Australian construction landscape. Earthship structures use passive heating and cooling techniques, are constructed from indigenous or local materials (including old tyres and glass bottles) and feature an in-house sewerage treatment system, making them somewhat off the grid and cheap to run in the long term. So have faith guys, there are houses in our future, don’t you worry. They just might not be the classic two-windows-one-door type most of us drew in preschool. Via Domain.
Morning brown, morning brown, this bit of news is better than a cup of morning brown — because Aunty Donna is returning to your TV. After gifting your streaming queue one of the best new shows of 2020, aka Netflix's Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun, the Australian comedy group is teaming up with one of the country's national broadcasters on a new sitcom. Yes, Mark Samual Bonanno, Broden Kelly and Zachary Ruane are heading to the ABC. The fact that the network is also known as Aunty is obviously incredibly apt — and it isn't the first time that the two have joined forces, with Aunty Donna's Fresh Blood hitting iView back in 2014. This time, Bonanno, Kelly and Ruane are headed to the ABC for a show called Aunty Donna's Untitled Project, a half-hour series that'll see the trio star in a Melbourne-set comedy. The premise: three best mates run a cafe in one of Melbourne's laneways. Their coffee-slinging establishment is trendy, but the stretch of pavement it's in on isn't. You can expect cups of morning brown to be served. Hopefully, the song about them will get a whirl. Will the cafe be open on Christmas and serve up a little bit of pud, too? You'll have to watch to find out. As soon as Neighbours ended it opened a lot of doors for us. — Aunty Donna (@AuntyDonnaBoys) August 24, 2022 This new show will be replacing the highly rated ABC @BreakfastNews show — Aunty Donna (@AuntyDonnaBoys) August 24, 2022 Announcing the news, Aunty Donna said: "we make show, you will love." Hey, it worked with Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun. Fingers crossed that Aunty Donna's Untitled Project proves just as absurd — although Aunty Donna seem incapable of creating anything else, hilariously so. [caption id="attachment_791048" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Aunty Donna's Big Ol' House of Fun, Netflix[/caption] "ABC audiences first got a taste of Aunty Donna in 2014 in Fresh Blood, so we couldn't be more excited to have them back where they belong and to be the home of their first narrative comedy series. Strap yourselves in... this is going to be a wild ride," said ABC Head of Comedy Todd Abbott. Aunty Donna's Untitled Project is set to air on ABC TV and ABC iview sometime in 2023, with exact dates yet to be announced. In the interim, you can check out the announcement video for the series below: Aunty Donna's Untitled Project is set to hit ABC and ABC iView sometime in 2023 — we'll update you when an exact release date is announced.
Anyone who's been outside at all this winter will have noticed that Sydney's hardly dipped below light jacket weather. Back in July we even experienced one of the warmest winter days on record at a warm 26.5 degrees. This has been both delightful and worrying — we've enjoyed days in the sun, but they've only added to our ever-present anxiety around global warming. And as we start to mentally prepare ourselves for a really, really hot summer, it seems that we're out of time already — this weekend is set to be a bit of a scorcher. Weatherzone reports that a pool of hot air is currently making its way across the country and, when it reaches the eastern states over the weekend, it will raise the temperature by 10 to 15 degrees. That will bring central Sydney up to a maximum of 33 degrees and Penrith up to a sweltering 36 on Saturday, September 23. Northwestern parts of NSW will encroach on 40 degrees. In September. The hot temps will be accompanied by some nasty gusts of wind, so it's likely fire bans will be put in place across the state. Things are expected to cool down by Monday, but this heat in September does not bode well for the rest of the season. Better buy that fan now, then.
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.
Maybe you've always had a Lego collection, because the popular plastic bricks really are for everyone. Perhaps you signed up for a subscription service back when COVID-19 lockdowns first came into effect, because there are only so many puzzles one person can do. Either way, you probably need something to store your Lego in — and, in a collaboration due to hit Australia in 2021, IKEA now has a solution. Obviously, IKEA has plenty of storage on offer. Walk through one of the Swedish retailer's shops and just try to come out without a basket, box, container or other type of storage in your big blue bag — it's virtually impossible. But, when its new Bygglek range arrives, it'll actually feature Lego studs. Keep your bricks in them, or use them to build with (or both). As part of a team-up first announced in 2019, the collection will encompass four different sets: one of three small boxes, two different types of bigger boxes, and one of Lego bricks. All of the above will connect to existing Lego products, too, because of course it will. https://www.facebook.com/ikea.au/photos/a.276205668287/10158652209723288/?type=3&theater IKEA hasn't announced exactly when the Bygglek products will hit Down Under, other than sometime in early 2021. And while they're part of IKEA's children's range, everyone knows by now that Lego isn't just for kids. Nor are creative storage boxes, should you need to a few containers to keep something other than Lego in. IKEA's Lego Bygglek collection will hit Australian stores sometime early in 2021 — keep an eye on the IKEA website for further details.
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.
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.
When Federation Square opened in 2002, its supporters were few and far between. But look at it now. Fifteen years later it's not only a sorta-widely acceptable piece of architecture, but it's also managed to lure in the world's biggest tech company, Apple. The Victorian Government announced today that Federation Square will soon be home to Apple's first Australian global flagship store. This two-level outpost will be bigger than its other Melbourne stores like Chadstone and Highpoint and, like its few other global flagships, will undoubtedly be architecturally significant. Apple has been extremely selective about the locations of its global flagships and there are only four others in the world, including Fifth Avenue in NYC and Regent Street in London. There isn't room for the building in Fed Square at the moment though, so the Victorian Government has agreed to knock down the Yarra Building to make way for it. This will displace the Koorie Heritage Trust, which will have to relocate to the Alfred Deakin Building across the way. Apparently the build of the Apple store will free up 500 square metres of public space. The Victorian Government's tourism body is evidently quite happy with the win, with the Minister for Trade and Investment Philip Dalidakis saying that this "reinforces Melbourne's reputation as the undisputed tech capital of Australia". Construction will start in 2019 with the build expected to be finished in 2020.
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.
Floor-to-ceiling views of one of the world's most infamous barriers, sleeping in sight of an Israeli watchtower and bunking down on abandoned army supplies aren't usually listed among a hotel's features. Nor is a rooftop that no one can set foot upon without prior permission from the Israeli military, everything getting locked down at 11pm each night or buying graffiti supplies to make your mark on an adjacent structure — but, of course, The Walled Off Hotel (not to be confused with the Waldorf Hotel) isn't any ordinary accommodation establishment. Set up in secret over the last 14 months and set to open on March 11, the Bethlehem guesthouse is the latest project from Banksy. "Enough said," you might be thinking — and yes, in keeping with the artist's usual modus operandi, the hotel is designed to attract attention. You don't just unveil a new place to stay not only in the West Bank, but with a clear vantage of the barrier that separates Palestine and Israel, without making a statement. The site follows in the footsteps of his Gaza tourism ad and theme park Dismaland in giving a dark, topical twist to the holiday trappings most of us take for granted. https://www.instagram.com/p/BRMFoDzDbGl/?taken-by=thewalledoffhotelbethlehem Once inside The Walled Off Hotel, visitors can expect to be greeted by "the worst view of any hotel in the world", as Banksy explained in a statement reported by The Guardian. "Walls are hot right now, but I was into them long before [Donald] Trump made it cool," he continued. Converted from a pottery workshop, the venue's ten rooms will definitely feel the impact of their close proximity to so many vertical slabs of concrete, with none receiving more than 25 minutes of direct sunlight each day. Anyone keen to book a stay — and given Banksy's involvement, expect there to be plenty — can choose between four levels of accommodation. Perhaps you'd like to kip in one of the rooms customised by different artists, including Banksy, Sami Musa and Dominique Petrin, or scenic lodgings with those not-quite-million-dollar views? Money conscious travellers can opt for budget digs that come with a locker, personal safe, shared bathroom and complimentary earplugs, while the palatial presidential suite will suit those with plenty of spare cash. It boasts a four-person plunge bath, home cinema, Dead Sea bath minerals and water feature made from a bullet-riddled water tank (or, "everything a corrupt head of state would need"). https://www.instagram.com/p/BRMHvSvBo5_/?tagged=walledoffhotel Throughout the building, Banksy-vandalised oil paintings and statues choking on tear gas fumes line the walls, setting a distinctive tone, but tea and scones are still served daily. Both a gallery and a museum will be open to the public, the former curated by historian and critic Ismal Duddera to showcase many of the most notable Palestinian artists from the past 20 years, and the latter providing a biography of the wall. In case you're wondering, no, this isn't a joke. As made clear on Banksy's website — which has been revamped to showcase the new venture — The Walled Off Hotel is a genuine establishment. The site is expected to run for a year to mark one hundred years since the British became involved in Palestine. Via The Guardian. Images: www.banksy.co.uk.
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.
Glamping is a nice change of pace but if you're looking to truly leave the luxuries of everyday life behind, go on a good ol' fashioned bush adventure in Kinchega National Park, about a 90-minute drive from Broken Hill. Here, you'll find fascinating wildlife, majestic river red gums, the Darling River and a rich Indigenous history. Be sure to pay a visit to the historic woolshed and complete the 2.3-kilometre Homestead billabong walk. Make Emu Lake campground your base for exploring the park. It's pretty bare-bones here, so be prepared to take everything you need. There are picnic tables, barbecue facilities and non-flushing toilets on-site, plus hot showers and bore water are available at the nearby Shearers' Quarters. Make sure to book in advance and keep an eye out on park alerts. [caption id="attachment_852405" align="alignnone" width="1920"] Kinchega Woolshed, Broken Hill City Council[/caption] Top image: Destination NSW
Netflix is making a controversial docu-soap about Byron Bay influencers. Hulu's next star-studded miniseries was shot in the area. And, come June, Stan will unveil a new eight-part series that was also filmed in the coastal town and New South Wales' Northern Rivers region. It seems that streaming services and TV networks everywhere are mighty keen to beam the spot's scenic backdrops into our homes — and, in the latter case, to get everyone hooked on a local mystery-drama. Called Eden, the Stan series begins with a missing person. When 20-year-old Scout (Sophie Wilde, Bird) returns to the titular beach community after a year at Juilliard in New York, she realises that her best friend Hedwig (BeBe Bettencourt, The Dry) has changed. Following a drug-fuelled night that sees them delve into their feelings, Hedwig disappears but Scout can't remember a thing. From there, the show charts the secrets and revelations festering beneath the surface of its small-town setting, all as Scout tries to find her bestie. Also pivotal: flashes back to Hedwig's summer. If it sounds somewhat familiar, that's because plenty of TV shows — Twin Peaks and The Killing, just to name two — have begun with missing people. That type of premise doesn't seem to be disappearing from our televisions anytime soon. Still, in both its first teaser and just-dropped full trailer, Eden tries to find its own look, vibe and mood. Come Friday, June 11, you'll be able to find out how it unfolds — and watch a cast that also includes Keiynan Lonsdale (The Flash), Cody Fern (American Horror Story), Samuel Johnson (Molly), Christopher James Baker (True Detective), Rachael Blake (Cleverman), Leeanna Walsman (Penguin Bloom), Simon Lyndon (Mystery Road) and Maggie Kirkpatrick (The Letdown). Behind the camera, the show stems from head writer Vanessa Gazy (Highway) and writing team Jess Brittain (Clique), Anya Beyersdorf (Shakespeare Now), Clare Sladden (Freudian Slip) and Penelope Chai (Other People's Problems) — and directors John Curran (Chappaquiddick), Mirrah Foulkes (Judy & Punch) and Peter Andrikidis (Alex & Eve). Plus, the creator of Skins, Bryan Elsley, helped created Eden, too, with Fiona Eagger and Deb Cox (Miss Fisher's Murder Mysteries). Check out the full trailer for Eden below: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R0LOYAPh3es Eden will be available to stream via Stan on Friday, June 11. Top image: Every Cloud Productions.
Pier One's harbourfront igloos are back. And, once again, one of them has its very own hot tub. Yes, a hot tub. So if you've been hankering after wintry waterside drinks — but aren't quite willing to brave the cold — this should be a very viable option. In case you're wondering, the igloos aren't made of snow and ice. They're transparent dome-shaped structures that you can hire for yourself and up to 15 mates, as long as you're willing to indulge in a few cocktails, glasses of Champagne and snacks from the Igloos on the Pier menu. To hire out the hot tub igloo, which fits six, you have to spend $300 for 2.5 hours and pay a $200 hire fee (which will end up costing around $84 a head). The hire comes with fluffy robes, towels and a change room — and regular non-hot tub igloos are available too. If you want to go all out, you can also book into one of Pier One's Dream Igloo Suites, a Harbour View room that has its own private igloo on the balcony. It'll set you back around $1500 for the night — depending on dates — and include a bottle of bubbles, a cheese and charcuterie board and views of the harbour. Igloos on the Pier are available to book out at midday, 3.30pm and 7pm daily.
Melbourne's skyline is looking up, with the city gaining another huge tower that's not only the Victorian capital's new tallest building, but also the tallest residential building in the whole Southern Hemisphere. Named Australia 108, the Southbank building features 100 storeys soaring 319 metres high, which is more than 20 metres above the city's previous tallest building, the 88-storey, 297.3-metre-tall Eureka Tower. It comes just under Gold Coast's 332.5-metre-tall Q1, though, which still holds the title of Australia's tallest building. Designed by architects Fender Katsalidis, who also led the design of the Eureka Tower, together with World Class Global, the tower's apartments are currently three-quarters complete. The building also has a two-storey Star Club — within the protruding gold Starburst, inspired by the Commonwealth star on the Australian flag — which is home to two infinity pools, dining rooms, gyms and lounge areas. Apartments are split into the Sky Rise Residences (up to level 67) and the luxury Cloud Residences (from level 72 and above). But, they're going for a pretty penny. According to Realestate.com.au, the main penthouse sold for $25 and a two-storey apartment on level 90-91 was on the market for a bargain $10 million. The building officially took out the title as Melbourne's tallest building when it 'topped out' earlier this week, which means the roof is now complete. Australia 108 is slated for completion at 70 Southbank Boulevard, Southbank by the end of September, 2020. For more information, head to the website.
Writer Osamah Sami draws on his real-life misadventures in Ali's Wedding, a film that's been billed as Australia's first widely released Muslim rom-com. It's an intriguing hook, but one that belies just how good the end product really is. Yes, it's about a Muslim-Australian protagonist, and that's absolutely worth highlighting. It's also warm, smart, hilarious, and one of the most enjoyable movies to come out of Melbourne in years. Set in the northern suburbs and in part at the University of Melbourne, the dings of the Sydney Road tram are a regular feature on the soundtrack, as Sami and director Jeffrey Walker craft a confident feature that knows how to combine comedy with heart, without having to resort to cheap or lazy laughs. Ali's Wedding tells the story of Ali (Sami), a uni student attempting to get into medicine in order to make his father, the local Muslim cleric, proud. The only problem? He's not any good. So when he flunks the entrance exam he decides to pretend that he didn't – a not-so-white lie that ends up resulting in a chain of "oh no" events for him, his family and his mosque. Along the way he does manage to stumble across something real though: love, in the form of actual medical student Diane (Helene Sawires). But love is not what others have in mind for Ali, with his parents planning to marry him to the daughter of another family from the mosque Sami is well supported by the rest of the cast, including Don Hany as his dad bringing the perfect mix of fatherly authority and dagginess. Sawires, meanwhile, is fantastic as Diane, who proves far more than just a love interest. She's a fully formed character; a cool, kick ass gal full of exasperation and self-assurance, who isn't afraid to tell Ali when he's being an idiot. Pleasingly, the film refrains from dipping into farce. Instead, Sami and company provide an entertaining but still insightful look at the stereotyping of Muslim people – seen most blatantly in a sequence in which the mosque's theatre group attempts to perform their play about the life and death of Saddam Hussein in the United States. The movie also serves as a feel-good representation of modern multiculturalism, with scenes jumping from traditional tea ceremonies to eating icy poles and watching AFL. That Ali's Wedding manages to combine all of these elements joyfully, without ever becoming saccharine, helps turn a true tale into a bloody good film. Osamah Sami may have never gotten that medical degree, but he sure knows how to tell a story. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JEMeZDmvYhs
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.
Before writing anything else, we first want to promise that this article is spoiler free. So if you haven't yet had your weekly dose of Game of Thrones then you can still read on safely. Meanwhile, if you have watched Monday's harrowing episode, then you are probably in need of a pick-me-up. Whichever category you fall into, you will enjoy the following artworks from graphic designer Mike Wroebel, who this week provided us with a 20th-century reimagining of the epic HBO fantasy. "I grew up with Fresh Prince, Saved by the Bell," Wroebel says in an interview with the Hollywood Reporter. "I just thought it would be funny ... to appropriate the characters and turn them into something quirky that reflected their personalities". His contemporary appropriations are surprisingly uncanny, so if you are concerned about Joffrey suddenly becoming cool, then you need not worry. "I focused a lot on still making him look like a douchebag," says Wroebel. As you can see, he certainly succeeded. Other characters are also perfectly represented. The broody nature of Jon Snow is captured in his adoption of grunge, Jaime Lannister oozes cool in a Miami Vice suit, Brienne keeps her armour as she takes to the football field, and Sansa Stark portrays Saved by the Bell's Kelly as if she was her double. Our personal favourite, though, is Daenerys Targaryen. Of course there were no dragons in the 1990s, so obviously the Mother of Dragons becomes the Mother of Ferrets. Khaleesi? More like Cooleesi. Check out the others below. Via HuffPost Arts & Culture.
