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Tony Barry, the veteran Australian film and television actor who starred in cult Kiwi comedy Goodbye Pork Pie and had a long-running role in the television drama series The Time of Our Lives, has died. He was 81.

Barry’s friend, the New Zealand filmmaker Gaylene Preston, wrote on Facebook that the actor had died in Murwillumbah, Australia after a long illness. “He was one of a kind. A fierce fighter for the underdog, working for indigenous rights and as part of rehabilitation [programs] in the justice system and for the environment,” Preston wrote.

“Tony Barry gone – lovely man, terrific actor and hero of mine. Sad today,” tweeted Sam Neill who starred with Barry in Michael Blakemore’s Country Life.

Born on Aug. 28, 1941, in Queensland, Australia, Barry made his screen debut in 1968 in the television series Skippy: the Bush Kangaroo, which he followed with appearances...

BFI, in partnership with British Council, has released India on Film: 1899-1947, Treasures from the BFI National Archive, an unparalleled collection of extremely rare films of India, (250 Newly digitised Films), which have survived from the earliest days of cinema. This visual record of early twentieth century offers a unique factual account giving new audiences an eye opening insight into the people, places, traditions and most famous landmarks of India.

India on Film: 1899-1947 consolidates the BFI’s commitment to preserving and sharing world film heritage, by making these significant collections accessible for audiences globally. Newly digitised specifically as part of UK/India 2017, a year-long celebration of the long-standing relationship between India and the UK, can be seen both on the BFI Player (for UK viewers) and the BFI YouTube Channel, enabling audiences in India and internationally, an opportunity to access and engage with the online collection online.

Highlights includes the...

Mongrel International handles sales outside Us and Canada.

Kyle MacLachlan, star of Showtime’s recently revived Twin Peaks, has joined La and Toronto-based euclid431’s Ya drama Glo, which is currently shooting in and around Sault Ste. Marie in Ontario, Canada.

The star of the recently revived Twin Peaks on Showtime joins previously announced Maria Bello and Josh Wiggins on the Ya drama.

Keith Behrman wrote and directed Glo, also known as The Giant Little Ones, about two popular teenage friends whose lives and families are turned upside-down after an unexpected incident occurs at a 17th birthday party.

Darren Mann, Taylor Hickson, and Peter Outerbridge round out the cast. Production in Ontario is scheduled to continue through August.

Telefilm Canada, Storyboard Entertainment, Omdc, Nohfc, Mongrel Media, CBC, Urban Post, Bell Media’s Harold Greenberg Fund, and Tmn are financing the project.

euclid431 founder Allison Black produces the film, and executive producers are Bello, Patrice Theroux, [link...

The Other Half, a romantic drama starring Tatiana Maslany and Tom Cullen, has gotten a release date in the U.S.

Brainstorm Media will release the feature from writer-director Joey Klein on March 10, both in theaters and on VOD.

The Other Half tracks the relationship of a grief-stricken man (Cullen) and a bipolar woman (Maslany).

JoBro Productions’ Jonathan Bronfman, Motel Pictures’ Nicole Hilliard-Forde and Joey Klein produced the film, with Prodigy Pictures' Jay Firestone executive producing.

Cullen and Maslany also executive produced, along with David Miller, Mark Gingras, John Laing, Hussain Amarshi, Julia Sereny, Jennifer Kawaja and Andra Gordon.

American Entertainment Investors negotiated...

It's all about the sound! The Motion Picture Sound Editors unveiled the winners of the 2016 Golden Reel Awards and "Mad Max: Fury Road" and "The Revenant" tied for the Best Sound Editing: Feature English Language . FX/Foley. For my Oscar predictions, I chose "Mad Max" for both Sound Editing and Mixing! See my full Oscar predictions here.

Here's the full list of winners of the Golden Reel Awards:

Feature Film

Best Sound Editing in Feature Film: Music Score

Star Wars: The Force Awakens (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

Supervising Music Editor: Ramiro Belgardt

Music Editor: Paul Apelgren

Best Sound Editing in Feature Film: Music in a Musical

Love & Mercy (Roadside Attractions)

Music Editor: Nicholas Renbeck

Best Sound Editing: Feature English Language . Dialogue/Adr

Bridge Of Spies (Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures)

Supervising Sound Editors: Richard Hymns, Gary Rydstrom

Supervising Dialogue Editor: Brian Chumney

Supervising Adr Editor: Steve Slanec

Best Sound...

Exclusive: Survival thriller is set to start shooting in New Zealand this week and stars Dominic Purcell.

Premiere Entertainment Group has acquired worldwide rights to Abandoned.

The survival thriller is directed by John Laing and stars Prison Break’s Dominic Purcell. It is set to start shooting in New Zealand this week.

Based on a true story, Abandoned centres on four men who face almost certain death when their yacht capsizes.

The deal was brokered by Elias Axume, CEO of Premiere, and Grant Bradley on behalf of the producers.

Premiere Entertainment’s svp Jack Campbell commented: “We’re extremely excited to introduce this film to the worldwide market. Survival stories have always been a very commercial and sought after genre and this one really delivers. We cannot wait to show buyers a sneak peek promo at the Cannes Film Festival in May.”

Abandoned is being produced by Tvnz by James Heyward, Liz Difiore, [link...

The Bitter Ash

A rather precious thing happened in Montreal in the mid 1970s. Canadian cinema had been dominated by the National Film Board since its formation in 1940, and the generally-perceived character of Canadian film was all educational documentary, and not a lot of fun. Directors such as Claude Jutra, Don Owen, and Gilles Groulx struck off on their own to make the first Canadian new wave fiction films (A tout prendre [1963], Nobody Waved Goodbye, and Le chat dans le sac [both 1964] respectively), on the back of independents like Sydney J. Furie’s groundbreaking A Dangerous Age (1959) and Larry Kent’s student feature The Bitter Ash (1963), but for all their youthful, semi-bohemian trappings, these were still quite po-faced affairs. Then came the “genial loser” films of the 70s, led by Owen’s Goin’ Down The Road (1970), and others such as The Rowdyman (Peter Carter, 1972) and Paperback Hero (Peter Pearson, 1973), for the...

More Canadian distribution news has come in for the upcoming terror tale Solo, and we have it for ya right here! Check it out, and look for more on this one as soon as we get it.

From the Press Release

Indiecan Entertainment has acquired the Canadian distribution rights to Isaac Cravit’s debut feature length thriller Solo. Solo is written and directed by Cravit and produced by Chris Bennett and Robert Budreau for Lumanity Productions.

In Solo, a tense psychological thriller, Annie Clark plays a teenage girl who is terrorized when she spends two nights alone on a remote island as part of her camp counselor initiation.

La-based Continental Media acquired worldwide rights ahead of Cannes and sold the Us to The Orchard, who are partnering with horror specialist Shock Till You Drop on a late October release.

Solo was produced by Lumanity Productions in association with Gyro Park...

Today, the nominations for Canada's 2010 Directors Guild Awards have been announced. These awards are meant to give awards for some people who work behind the camera to give outstanding films and TV series. Besides, the gala will be hosted by Canadian comedian Dave Foley. So, without further ado, here are the nominations.

Best feature film:

* Cairo Time.

* Chloe.

* The Trotsky.

* Love & Savagery.

Best television movie/miniseries

* Darwin Darkest Hour.

* Keep Your Head Up, Kid: The Don Cherry Story.

* Sea Wolf.

* The White Archer.

Best dramatic TV series:

* Being Erica.

* Flashpoint.

* Sanctuary.

* The Bridge.

Best comedy TV series:

* The Kids in the Hall: Death Comes to Town.

* G-Spot.

* Less than Kind.

* Little Mosque on the Prairie.

Best family TV series:

* Degrassi: The Next Generation.

* Heartland.

* How to Be Indie.

* Overruled!

Allan King Award for Excellence in Documentary:

* Ballet High - Elise Swerhone (Director), Robert Lower (Picture Editor).

* The Experimental Eskimos -...