Power Rangers (2017), A Feature Film

Newcomer Dacre Montgomery Is The Red Ranger In Power Rangers Reboot

The Christian Post
Aarati Shah
Wednesday, October 28, 2015 2:50 AM

Lionsgate has announced via its Twitter account that newcomer Dacre Montgomery has been cast as the Red Ranger in the upcoming “Power Rangers” reboot. Previously, the studio had cast Naomi Scott as the Pink Ranger. Naomi Scott has starred in “The Martian” and “Terra Nova.”

The Twitter post reads, “Every #PowerRangers squad needs a leader.
Welcome Dacre Montgomery as the Red Ranger in the 2017 #PowerRangersMovie! — Power Rangers (@PowerRangers) October 20, 2015.”

Dean Israelite will be directing this reboot. He had previously directed “Project Almanac.” He is excited and has described the film’s script as “mature but still playful” to IGN.

Zack Stentz and Ashley Miller who worked on “Thor” and “X-Men: First Class” have co-written the screenplay.

The first two ‘Power Rangers’ movies by 20th Century Fox were “Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie” in 1995 and “Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie” in 1997.

The “Power Rangers” Reboot in 2017 will be a ‘modern reinvention’ of the original “Power Rangers” that was created by Haim Saban, who will also be the producer of the movie along with Brian Casentini and Allison Shearmur.

“Power Rangers” is a long-running franchise created by Haim Saban way back in 1993 and features a group of ordinary high school students who discover that they can transform into Power Rangers and save the world by their super powers, which they get when they transform.

The hit franchise has been seen by 150 countries and is still one of the top-rated live-action TV series for young boys in the US.

The role of ‘Red Ranger’ is Dacre Montgomery’s first major role in a studio film. It is all the more significant as ‘Red Ranger’ is the leader of the team.

Wish Upon (2017), A Feature Film

.Hollywood wish comes true for Langford

The West Australian
Jessie Papain
Tuesday, January 31, 2017 10:44AM

Landing a role in a feature film alongside a bill of well-known Hollywood names is something most young actors could only dream of.

But this was precisely how budding Perth ingenue Josephine Langford made her international movie debut.

The 19-year-old recently returned home from Canada, where she was shooting teen horror-thriller Wish Upon alongside 90s heart-throb Ryan Phillippe, The Conjuring’s Joey King, American Hustle’s Elisabeth Rohm, Maze Runner’s Ki Hong Lee and Shannon Purser from Stranger Things.

Although Phillippe is perhaps the most famous of the bunch, Langford admitted she was not starstruck by him as she did not recognise him at first.

“I didn’t actually know who he was — I had seen Crash and know Reese Witherspoon and Cruel Intentions but I really only knew his name,” she told AAA.

“Joey was the one I got starstruck with, and Shannon because she played Barb in Stranger Things.

“(Phillippe) was very chill. It’s good because you expect a lot of big actors to be egotistical but he was very down to earth.”

In the movie, described as “Mean Girls with a lot of death”, Langford plays high school queen bee Darcie Chapman, who is the antagonist of King’s character.

“I got to throw a lot of frappaccinos at Joey, which was fun,” she laughed.

“It was so great to be able to work with a cast that was so nice. Everyone got along so well, which is rare.”

Scoring the role was a long time coming for the Subiaco-raised actress, who had spent the previous 18 months sending self-made audition tapes to the US in the hopes she would land a part.

Langford also had callbacks for Neighbours and Home and Away that did not progress — something she said was all part of the job.

“There are certain roles that you really want to get but you need to learn to deal with the rejection,” she said.

“Now I am at a point where I realise that 90 per cent of the time you don’t get a job not because of your acting but because of your look, so you can’t take it too personally.”

As Langford, who is represented by Actor’s Management International, awaits the release of Wish Upon later this year, she plans to travel to Los Angeles to seek out more projects.

Three Summers (2017), A Feature Film

Ben Elton tackles racism and immigration in new film comedy Three Summers

The Sydney Morning Herald
Garry Maddox
Saturday, October 15, 2016

It takes a loud shot from a starting pistol to scatter a flock of squawking black cockatoos.

Once the noise clears at dusk on the set of Ben Elton’s new film, the comedy Three Summers, Michael Caton launches into a touching speech from a tent in a camping ground.

He is playing a morris dancer returning to an annual folk music festival with his adult daughter (Caroline Brazier from Rake) and teenage granddaughter (newcomer Nichola Balestri) after his wife’s death.

When the scene finishes, Elton charges over to the actors beaming.

“Another magnificent effort from the acting department,” he says cheerfully. “And thank you background artists. Much appreciated.”

The perpetually chatty comedian, writer and director is making his first Australian film, shooting at Pinjarra, an hour’s drive from his home in Fremantle, in Western Australia.

Watch the Official Trailer!

It’s the latest development in an impressive comedy career that has included such hit television series as The Young Ones and Blackadder, the musicals We Will Rock You and Love Never Dies, 15 novels and the British film Maybe Baby.

Three Summers takes place over three consecutive years at a West Australian festival called, cutely, Westival.

Elton is filming at the venue for the real life Fairbridge music festival, which inspired the film. After going along regularly with his family, he has now become one of its patrons.

“I was sat at the festival for the second year thinking this is deja vu, Groundhog Day,” Elton says between scenes. “But it struck me that, of course, everyone has moved on.

“My life has moved on and last year’s buskers are this year’s grumpy teens. Last year’s lovers are this year’s young parents.

“I thought wouldn’t it be fun to track a few stories over a number of summers.”

Elton calls the film “a multi-story, quirky comedy” centring on a love story between two young musicians, played by former Home and Away actress Rebecca Breeds and Robert Sheehan, an Irish actor best known for the TV series Misfits.

The cast also includes Magda Szubanski as the festival announcer, Deborah Mailman, Jacqueline McKenzie and John Waters.

Around the love story, Elton is tackling such subjects as racism and immigration in Australia with the characters including a forced child migrant from Britain (Caton), a young Aboriginal dancer (Joseph Pedley) and a fostered Afghan refugee (Amay Jain).

“I wanted it to be Australia in a tent,” he says. “The stories that swirl around that romance – and connect to it every now and then – some of them have got some real edge to them.

“Clearly the refugee issue is crucial to the Australian psyche – who we are is really being defined at the moment by the change in the global climate and in particular the refugee crisis … and, of course, the nightmare experience for the Aboriginal community.”

Shooting his first film since Last Cab To Darwin, Caton describes his character as “the classic migrant who resents Aborigines and resents other migrants” but he responded to the heart in the story.

“There are heaps of characters and everyone gets a go,” he says.

Life in Pieces (2015-17), US TV Series

Perth actress Holly J Barrett stars in CBS’s new family comedy Life in Pieces

news.com.au
Amy Martin
Saturday, July 2, 2016, 3:46PM

BASED in Los Angeles at just 14 with a major acting role in a new prime time sitcom, pulling in more than 10 million viewers, life is sweet for Perth-born Holly J. Barrett.

The CBS’family sitcom Life in Pieces has been renewed for a second series and Australian television viewers will be introduced to the comedy series when it airs on Network 10 later this year.

Holly, who began her acting career at the tender age of eight in Perth, brings to life the character Samantha Hughes in the Modern Family-esque Life in Pieces, alongside I am Sam actor Dianne Wiest, Breaking Bad’s Betsy Brandt and King Kong actor and Tom Hanks’ son, Colin Hanks.

The show’s pilot attracted 10.58 million viewers when it aired in the US.

Holly landed her first acting gig in Black Swan State Theatre Company’s performance of Cat on Hot Tin Roof in 2011 and spent 2014 working with Sex and the City’s Kristin Davis in Fatal Attraction on London’s West End

“The first time I met with anyone that was ‘big’ was on the West End with Kristin Davis and that alone made me feel like I had come a long way, but I didn’t realise how much further it was going to go,” she told The Sunday Times this week.

“I was so nervous to meet them because obviously they’re people that I’ve seen on TV and heard their names before so I was anxious because I didn’t want to be the fangirl.

“Luckily they all made me feel comfortable and were friendly.”

Her success means that Holly will be based in Los Angeles for the foreseeable future, but the teenager is looking forward to returning home later this year to celebrate an Australian Christmas.

Originally published as ‘Perth teen’s Hollywood life’

Heartbeat (2016), US TV Series

Perth actress Melissa George stars in new US TV series Heartbeat

PerthNow
Amy Martin
Saturday April 10, 2016 12:00am

MELISSA George couldn’t have known it at the time, but walking the wards of Perth hospitals as a schoolgirl was perfect preparation for the biggest role of her career.

The 39-year-old this week told The Sunday Times how as a youngster growing up in Perth’s northern suburbs she would often visit her mother Pamela, a nurse, at work.

Now a mum of two herself, George is the star of new US TV series Heartbeat and splits her time between Paris and New York, but said she still felt “most complete” when she comes home to Australia.

The medico-drama sees George adorn the medical scrubs as leading lady Dr Alex Panttiere, an outspoken, world-renowned heart transplant surgeon.

“I used to spend a lot of time with my mum in the hospital, just visiting her when she was at work,” George said.

“I can’t remember which hospital actually, Princess Margaret maybe? But I think my whole lifetime has led up to this point and this experience.”

It’s been more than a year since George returned to Perth.

Although she has since given birth to her second son, Solal, in November, the former Home and Away star doesn’t have any plans for a WA break with her family.

“(Australia) is where I’m most complete. If I’m to be honest, everything just feels right,” George said.

“When I come home, it’s almost like my shoulders go down, I take a big deep breath. It’s the best, it’s my home.

“I lived in Sydney when I was 16, when I was doing Home and Away. It was the most pivotal time in my life, the most incredible time in my life, but I grew up in Perth.

“I got the best of both worlds.”

Heartbeat premiered on Foxtel’s Universal Channel this week.

For the full interview with George, see today’s The Sunday Times Guide.

Hemlock Grove (2013-15), A Netflix Original

Perth Teen’s Horror Run To Fame

The West Australian
Lindsay McPhee
Wednesday, May 16, 2012 8:32AM

After landing a lead role in a new US horror TV series alongside X-Men star Famke Janssen and Hollywood heart-throb Dougray Scott, 18-year-old Perth actor Freya Tingley looks set to become our latest hit export.

Tingley, who narrowly missed out on the lead role in block- buster The Hunger Games, will fly to Toronto next month to begin filming Hemlock Grove, a series based on Brian McGreevy’s gothic horror novel, which has all the hallmarks of a cult classic.

The Mt Claremont teenager will play 14-year-old Christina Wendall as her co-stars – a werewolf and a vampire – attempt to solve the murder of a young girl.

Now based in Los Angeles where she lives with her mother, Coppelia, Tingley has also starred in short films and played Hat Lamb in the TV adaptation of Cloudstreet. The former Methodist Ladies’ College student has the grit and determination to make it in Hollywood.

“I always wanted to do something creative and I was dead-set on becoming an actress,” Tingley said. “I’m very determined.

“I’ve read the first episode and I’ve read the book and I just loved it. There’s a large fan base out there for vampires and werewolves but the show isn’t aimed at teenagers. It’s more like True Blood.

“It’s great being able to work with people so respected in the industry. I’m really excited.”

Netflix, which will screen Hemlock Grove next year, anticipates immediate success and bypassed making a pilot to test support.

There are also two more books in the pipeline so Tingley won’t be short of work if a second series is commissioned.

Tingley’s mother said her daughter had worked hard and sacrificed many “regular teenage things” for a shot at the red carpet.

“It’s a bit surreal,” she said. “You always wonder what your children are going to be when they grow up and then you wake up one day and realise she is going to be a Hollywood actor.”