NOV29

Once upon a time Aussie actors couldn't get arrested in Hollywood. How things have changed.

Turn on the tele and chances are the lead in the new US drama you're watching is actually an Australian: Rose Byrne, Julian McMahon, Toni Collette,  Mia Wasikowska, Rachel Griffiths, Simon Baker, Ryan Kwanten and Alex O'Loughlin are just some of the Aussie actors who've been working their little butts off in TV studios across America. Our latest offering to the gods of USTV is NIDA graduate Matt Passmore, who's just wrapped shooting season 1 of The Glades.  It's a huge break for the boy from Brisbane, best known to local audiences for his roles on McLeod's Daughters, Underbelly and Last Man Standing.

But fortune wasn't always so forthcoming for our small (and big) screen stars. Apart from Livvie, Hoges and Mel, it wasn't really 'til the 1990's that Australian actors started to consider the possibility of a career beyond our shores.  Actors like Graeme Blundell, despite wild success in the Alvin Purple films and TV series such as The Box, were left to eke out an existence within the limited confines of the local industry.

We thought it might be interesting to get Matt Passmore and Graeme Blundell in for a chat. 


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LABELS:    GEM    Roadshow Entertainment    Universal    W.

NOV26

2010 Kodak IF Awards

The Inside Film Awards are known for being short, sweet and snappy - a genuine novelty in a universe of over-long and overblown award ceremonies that seem to clog broadcast schedules with alarming regularity.

Now in their 10th year, the IFs have added a new TV award that caught our eye: the Out of the Box IF Award - an accolade designed to recognise an emerging Aussie actor likely to take a leap soon from the small screen to film. It's a traditional notion that an actor hasn't made it 'til they've made the transition, but with Aussie film actors taking the lead in so many quality TV dramas these days we wonder if the award should perhaps be re-considered as the Into the Box award instead?

This year's Out of the Box nominees are: Hugo Johnstone Bird (Underbelly: The Golden Mile and Cloudstreet), Firaas Dirani (East West 101 and Underbelly: The Golden Mile), Eva Lazzaro (Underbelly, Satisfaction, The Pacific and Tangle), Katherine Hicks (Out of the Blue and Rescue Special Ops), Richard Davies (Offspring) and Ryan Corr (Tangle and Packed to the Rafters) 

Andrew talks with IF Awards GM and Producer, Clare Sawyer and this year's host (and one of TV's hardest working thesps) the endearingly mammalian Angus Sampson.


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LABELS:    ABC    Seven    Showcase    W.