Susie Porter as Marie and Kate Jenkinson as Allie in Wentworth. The show’s drama revolves around a women’s prison. Fremantle Media Australia/Xinger Xanger Photograph

Inside the story: writing the powerful female world of Wentworth

In the popular Australian TV series Wentworth, the setting of a women’s prison is a pressure-cooker for drama. The setting also allows for greater representation of diverse female characters.
Got a problem with your script? This man, script consultant Robert McKee, can save it. AAP Image/dmcpr media

It’s not working! Script consultants are the go‑to gurus for film

If you’ve seen Brian Cox playing Robert McKee in the 2002 film Adaptation, you probably know what a script consultant does. Following in the footsteps of other internationally-renowned script consultants…
A fundamental aspect of drama is the need for rising tension. Maria

Tepid TV? Australia needs to sharpen its cutting edge

A special thing happened in August this year: Foxtel launched BBC First, a premium channel showcasing the best of contemporary British television drama. As a global channel that chose Australia as its…
The hero’s journey in three stages - separation, initiation, return - offers a narrative framework for understanding character progression. Pineapples101

Are you monomythic? Joseph Campbell and the hero’s journey

When you tell someone a story, do you plan it out beforehand so that it’ll sound good? Do you carefully plot what you’ll say, in a specific order? Or does the story find a way of telling itself, the plot…
The reimagining of previous Prisoner characters brings depth and empathy to a world of female criminals. FOXTEL

Why Wentworth is raising the bar in Australian TV drama

There’s no escaping it. Wentworth, FremantleMedia’s reimagining of the Reg Grundy cult classic TV series Prisoner, is packing a punch far above its weight – and probably all industry expectations. A project…
Films such as The Grand Budapest Hotel offer more than style over substance. Fox Searchlight

Wes Anderson is one of cinema’s great auteurs: discuss

Ford or Welles, Scorsese or Coppola, Altman or Campion? One of the most passionate cinema conversations we can enter into is discussing the work of a director we’re heavily invested in. The talk can get…
Does Aim High in Creation! create the conditions for active resistance to fracking in Australia? Production still from Aim High in Creation!

Kim Jong Il says … always Aim High in Creation!

The history of revolutionary cinema has been marked by a number of mercurial manifestos. Sergei Eisenstein, for example, believed in the brute potential of editing to activate the political senses. Fernando…
Philomena – an example of storytelling at its best. Alex Bailey © 2012 Pathe Productions Limited, British Broadcasting Corporation, British Film Institute and Philomena Lee Limited

No SFX please, we’re British! Why Philomena deserves its Oscar nominations

What do we expect from Oscar “Best Picture” nominations? A star-studded cast and breathtaking performances? Action sequences and special effects that blow our minds? Or a story so big we’ll remember it…

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