Ban on Fetish Sex Depictions in Film Should End, Australia Government Report Recommends

Welcome to another edition of Deadline’s International Disruptors, a feature where we shine a spotlight on key execs and companies outside of the U.S. shaking up the offshore marketplace. This week we’re talking with British indie film veteran Phil Hunt, who is the founder of a raft of companies including production outfit and film financier Head Gear, international sales business Bankside and, more recently, New Zealand and Australian distribution genre label (Yet) Another Monster Company. 

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Sydney Film Festival will present ‘Jane Campion – Her Way,’ a retrospective of films by the pioneering director. Campion herself will appear in conversation with David Stratton on June 10 at the 2023 edition of the festival, its 70th anniversary presentation (June 7-18). Held in association with ACMI and the National Film and Sound Archive, ‘Jane Campion – Her Way’ will encompass screenings of all nine of Campion’s feature films, as well as a selection of her short films. The selection will go on to tour the ACMI in Melbourne (June 15 – July 2) and at NFSA in Canberra (July 20-30). “For our 70th edition, we wanted to present a retrospective commensurate with the milestone, reflecting the audacious and boundary pushing filmmaking synonymous with our festival and region. Campion is a ground-breaking filmmaker who has made a profound impact on cinema with her daring and unforgettable films,” said Sydney Film Festival director Nashen Moodley.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief A new study published Friday by Screen Australia shows that the country’s on-screen television diversity has increased significantly in the past six years, but there remains more to be done. “Seeing Ourselves 2: Diversity, Equity and Inclusion in Australian TV Drama” examined the diversity of the main characters in 361 scripted Australian TV and online dramas broadcast between 2016 and 2021. It compared that data with the Australian population and a previous report “Seeing Ourselves” published in 2016. The new report shows that there is higher representation for First Nations people (7.2% of characters, compared with 4.8% in 2016), disabled people (6.6% from 3.6%), LGBTQI+ people (7.4% from 4.5%), and non-European people (16% from 6.9%).

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Competition reality TV format “Lego Masters” has been picked up by Tokyo Broadcasting System for adaptation in Japan. The deal is the 19th for the Banijay Rights-represented format and the third in Asia. Production is currently underway for the show, which will see pairs compete against each other to wow judges with inspiring designs and brick builds. “I am looking forward to working with Banijay Rights and not only learn about the production of the show, but also to closely examine the essence of creation behind it,” said Aso Kunihiro, producer, contents solution department at TBS in a prepared statement.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Wanda, the Chinese conglomerate that once threatened to take over Hollywood, has put up for sale the Hoyts cinema chain in Australia that it bought in 2015. Hoyts is Australia’s second largest movie theater operator with 46 multiplexes housing 412 screens, according to 2022 data from Screen Australia. It also owns Val Morgan, Australia’s biggest cinema advertising firm.Wanda Cinema Line, itself China’s biggest theater operator, has appointed Credit Suisse and Nomura to handle the sale. Bidders are understood to have access to a “stapled debt” package (a line of agreed financing arranged by the banks) if the potential buyer cannot arrange sufficient finance of their own. A first deadline for bids is set at the beginning of May, with final offers to be submitted by the end of June.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief A growing range of Thai, Japanese and Chinese-language films and TV shows are reaching global audiences – joining the by-now well-established international viewership for South Korean shows.Netflix’s Global Top 10 for the week April 3-10, sees made-for-streaming Korean title “Kill Boksoon” on top of the non-English-language films list, with 27.5 million hours watched in its second week of release. It is immediately followed by Thai film “Hunger,” about a young woman apprentice in an upmarket restaurant working under a tough boss. The film is directed by Sitisiri Mongkolsiri and stars “Bad Genius” breakout Chutimon Chuengcharoensukying.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief U.K.-based sales agent Mister Smith Entertainment has picked up international rights to “Grafted,” a New Zealand-set horror film which marks the feature directing debut of Sasha Rainbow. The film is now in production. Mister Smith will launch sales next month in Cannes. The film tells story of a Chinese student who travels to New Zealand to complete the scientific work of her deceased father only to find a new way of achieving popularity, one body at a time.

Jennifer Garner is not a fan of memes involving her family, including her ex-husband Ben Affleck. The actress revealed that she hasn’t seen any of the viral reactions online, as she doesn’t feel like seeing the actor being turned into a meme.The former couple, who share 17-year-old Violet, 14-year-old Seraphina, and 11-year-old Samuel, are currently on good terms and have made a wonderful job at co-parenting.“I really work hard not to see either of us in the press,” the Hollywood star admitted during a recent interview with the Australian magazine Stellar.

Out of sight, out of mind. Jennifer Garner revealed she doesn’t look for Ben Affleck memes online.

Married At First Sight Australia has already got the nation hooked, having sparked drama from the very first few episodes, from explosive dinner parties to cheating scandals, alter blunders and everywhere in between.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The Sydney Film Festival, which this year will celebrate its 70th edition, has unveiled its first dozen selections. Seven are feature films, five are documentaries. “The 2023 program will expand on this legacy, promising to ignite stimulating dialogues and present powerful ideas that will broaden audience perspectives,” said festival director Nashen Moodley. He noted that over the previous 69 editions the Sydney festival has showcased more than 10,000 films. Highlights among the documentaries are two Australian titles. “Rachel’s Farm” follows actor-director Rachel Ward as she revitalizes her beef farm using sustainable farming practices. In “The Last Daughter” Wiradjuri woman Brenda Matthews documents her search to uncover the truth about her government-ordered abduction as a child and to find her white foster family. Both Matthews and Ward will attend the festival in person.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief C More has commissioned a second, six-episode season of ITV Studios Finland’s glossy detective drama “Helsinki Crimes” (aka “Harjunpää”). The first season of Helsinki Crimes became one of C More’s most-watched crime series to date. After its launch on Netflix last year, in regions across CEE, Benelux, Austria and the Nordics, the series was one of the top ten most-watched series, and the third most-watched in Finland.  In the new season, Chief Constable Timo Harjunpää, portrayed by Olli Rahkonen, and his murder team investigate bloody clashes between street gangs, love scams and a wave of burglaries.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief Richard Roxburgh (“Elvis,” “The Crown”) and Rebecca Gibney (“Halifax: Retribution,” “Back to the Rafters,” “Wanted”) star in Prosper, a Lionsgate-Stan series about a family with huge wealth that builds a powerful mega-church. Production has now started in Sydney, Australia. First announced in September last year, “Prosper” follows the founding family of an Australian church as it is poised to break into the U.S. and harvest yet more wealth and power. But, while preaching a message of faith, love and acceptance to their followers, behind closed doors the Quinn the family is protecting shameful secrets.

Sky and AMC’s upcoming Mary & George adaptation has found its King James I.

Nearly three months after Us Weekly confirmed that Riley Keough and husband Ben Smith-Petersen welcomed their first child, the actress has shared her first statement about motherhood.

Naman Ramachandran Australian stars Jason Donovan and Peter Andre will return to Jim Jacobs and Warren Casey’s iconic musical “Grease” at the Dominion Theatre in London’s West End following their acclaimed performances last year. Donovan will play the role of Teen Angel at some performances from Aug. 14-Oct. 28. Andre will play the roles of Vince Fontaine and Teen Angel at certain performances from Aug.29-Oct.19. Louise Redknapp will play Teen Angel from June 2-July 29, excluding Mondays. “Grease,” directed by Nikolai Foster and choreographed by Arlene Phillips, follows the Burger Palace Boys and the Pink Ladies as they navigate the trials and tribulations of their senior year at Rydell High. Transfer student Sandy Dumbrowski speaks of her whirlwind summer romance with heartthrob Danny Zuko. Little does Sandy know that Danny’s also at Rydell High.

Aristomenis Tsirbas’s ‘Timescape’ Sells WorldwideBudapest-based sales outfit Luminescence has unveiled a slew of deals for Canadian director Aristomenis Tsirbas’s adventure film Timescape. Newcomers Sofian Oleniuk and Lola Rossignol-Arts star as two youngsters who travel back in time to prehistoric times, where they encounter dinosaurs while trying to escape from an approaching asteroid. Luminescence took the film to the EFM where it secured deals to Australia (Eagle), France (Factoris), Hungary (ADS), Italy (Plaion), Japan (Nikkatsu), Korea (Yejilim), Latin America (Leda Films), CIS (,Nashe Kino), Middle East (Front Row), South Africa (Filmfinity) in Taiwan (Cola Films) and the UK (Dazzler). The film was released theatrically in Canada via TVA Films in late 2022. XYZ Films acquired all U.S. rights earlier this year. The film was produced by David-Alexandre Coiteux at Fullum Films and Faisal Toor at Empress Road Pictures.

Bindi Irwin and family celebrated her daughter's second birthday during a garden party at their Australia Zoo.The zookeeper and TV personality shared some adorable snaps of her daughter, Grace Warrior as she and her husband Chandler Powell held a private garden party for the tot on Sunday. In the sweet photos, Grace can be seen in a blue striped dress with flowered frills and a bow at the front as she holds a party hat and birthday sign. In the garden is a birthday table set up complete with pug dog decorations, a large colourful cake and paper plates and cups.

Patrick Frater Asia Bureau Chief The gig economy, and the food delivery industry in particular, are set for scrutiny in “Appetite,” an Australian short-form series that will debut next month at Canneseries, the TV festival that runs alongside the MIP-TV rights market (April 14-19). “Appetite” is a mystery-comedy in which three penniless food delivery riders are brought together after their housemate mysteriously vanishes on the same night as a rider has a fatal roadside accident. They set out to discover the truth behind the accident and expose multinational food behemoth, Appetite. “Appetite” was created by Mohini Herse (“Hair”) who wrote, directed and produced the series under her Fell Swoop Pictures banner. She worked with fellow writers Neilesh Verma (“Letters Home”) and Grace Tan (“Lucky Peach”), director Neil Sharma (“Heartbreak High”), and producer Karen Radzyner (“Paper Giants: The Birth of Cleo”).

Last summer, it was announced that Flying Lotus would be returning with a new feature film, a sci-fi thriller titled “Ash.” At the time, names like Tessa Thompson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt were reported as starring in the film. Well, things have changed, months later, but have no fear, the filmmaker has found some great stars for “Ash.” According to XYZ Films and GFC Films, Flying Lotus is about to begin production on his new film, “Ash.” And set to star in the two leading roles are none other than Eiza Gonzalez and Aaron Paul.