MEDIA RELEASE

MATTHEW SAVILLE ANNOUNCED AS DIRECTOR OF CLOUDSTREET

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE – TUESDAY 27 OCTOBER 2009 – Multi-award winning director Matthew Saville has been selected as the Director of CLOUDSTREET, a Screentime production for SHOWTIME Australia, it was announced today.

With credits including Tangle, The King, The Surgeon, The Secret Life of Us, We Can Be Heroes and the feature Noise, Matthew is one of Australia’s most celebrated directors.

 

Screentime’s Des Monaghan said “We are delighted to have Matt on board for this incredibly important production of Tim Winton’s iconic novel.  We are all aware of everyone’s high expectations and we believe that, in Matt, we have someone with the talent and track record who is right for this challenging assignment.”

 

With pre-production commencing on November 16, Screentime has also announced the appointment of Perth based Herbert Pinter as Production Designer.   One of Australia’s most outstanding production designers, Pinter’s previous credits include Mao’s Last Dancer, The Contract, Paradise Road and Black Robe.

 

“We are thrilled with the calibre of crew Screentime is gathering to realise CLOUDSTREET.  Momentum is growing for this exciting project, slated for production early next year” said SHOWTIME Australia’s Executive Producer Kim Vecera.

 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION:                   Catherine Lavelle

                                                                                T 02 8374 6827

                                                                                E Catherine@clpr.com.au

 

Or                                                                           Lori Killesteyn 

                                                                                T 02 8374 6820

                                                                                E lkillesteyn@showtime.com.au

 

About SHOWTIME AUSTRALIA:

SHOWTIME is the provider of Australia's premium suite of movie and original television channels: showtime premiere, showtime premiere HD, showtime two, showtime action, showtime action HD, showtime comedy, showtime drama, showcase, showcase HD and showcase two. Jointly owned by four of the world's leading film studios NBC Universal, Paramount Pictures, Sony Pictures and 20th Century Fox as well as Liberty Global International, the SHOWTIME channels are available on and exclusive to FOXTEL and AUSTAR.

 

About CLOUDSTREET

An Australian classic, Tim Winton’s CLOUDSTREET was first published in 1991.  The winner of three major literary awards – the NBC Banjo Award for Fiction, the West Australian Fiction Award and the Miles Franklin Award - CLOUDSTREET has been published in eleven countries and has been adapted for radio and published as an audio book. Studied at secondary and tertiary levels around Australia, Nick Enright and Justin Monjo adapted it for the stage and CLOUDSTREET THE PLAY enjoyed sold-out seasons both nationally and internationally.

 

About MATTHEW SAVILLE

Matthew Saville rose to prominence directing comedy. He worked on both skitHouse for Channel Ten and the Big Bite for the Seven Network. His short comedy feature Roy Höllsdotter Live screened in 2003 at the Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane, Adelaide, Locarno, Cork and Montreal and Commonwealth International Film Festivals and on SBS. In 2002, the script for the film was shortlisted for the Victorian Premier’s Literary Award and in 2003, the film won the Dendy Award for Best Short Film (over 15mins) at the Sydney Film Festival, and Best Original Script for Television at the 2003 Australian Writers’ Guild Awards, and was nominated for a Film Critics’ Circle of Australia and two AFI Awards. The film was voted Best Short Film at the 2003 Lexus IF Awards, where Matthew was also honoured with the Best Rising Talent Award.

 

In 2005 Matthew directed We Can Be Heroes (aka The Nominees), which recently aired on the Sundance Channel. The series was nominated for four AFI awards, and was awarded two Logies. It also won the Rose d’or for Best Comedy Series and Best Comic Performance. Matthew made a successful crossover to drama directing The Secret Life of Us and The Surgeon.

 

In 2007, Matthew directed The King, a telemovie about Australian television iconoclast, Graham Kennedy. The telemovie won three AFI Awards for Best Direction, Best Actor and Best Telemovie, and the Logie Award for Outstanding Male Performance (Stephen Curry).

 

Noise, his first feature length film, was awarded the Village Roadshow Award for Best Screenplay at the 2006 Victorian Premier’s Literary Awards. The film premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival, and was released theatrically to strong reviews. Noise was nominated for nine AFI Awards including Best Film, Best Actor, Best Screenplay and Best Director. The film was voted best Australian Film of 2007 by the Australian Film Critics’ Association, and won six Film Critics’ Circle of Australia Awards, including Best Direction and Best Film.