Picnic at Hanging Rock

Foxtel announces Picnic at Hanging Rock

The classic Australian story arouses a bold, new television event drama

Foxtel has green lit Picnic at Hanging Rock with FremantleMedia Australia to produce this new, premium drama as a trailblazing re-imagining of the timeless Australian novel by Joan Lindsay.

Foxtel Chief Executive Officer Peter Tonagh announced the new drama commission today in his keynote address at the 2016 ASTRA Conference in Sydney.

Picnic at Hanging Rock is in pre-production as a 6 x 60 minute event drama which has secured production investment from Screen Australia.

The drama will plunge viewers into the mysterious disappearances of three schoolgirls and their governess on Valentine’s Day 1900 and the far-reaching aftermath.

Foxtel Head of Drama Penny Win said “We are very proud to commission this exciting television event drama exclusively for Foxtel subscribers. Like many others, I am a fan of the 1975 Australian film which was pivotal in establishing the modern Australian film industry. This series, based on the classic novel, will take viewers on a new and in depth journey into this incredibly iconic Australian story.

“Our aim is to provide a rich and diverse slate of Australian drama for our viewers and Picnic at Hanging Rock is a story that we feel will intrigue and enthral a contemporary audience.”

FremantleMedia Australia Director of Drama Jo Porter said "We are delighted to be continuing our partnership with Foxtel, Screen Australia and our distributors FremantleMedia International to bring this iconic and timeless Australian classic story to the screen for a new generation.

“It is testament to the originality of author Joan Lindsay that her novel, charting the chilling mystery of the inexplicable disappearance of the three school girls and their teacher at Hanging Rock and the secrets this event lays bare in its wake, still feels just as fresh, unsettling and relevant today.

“Bea Christian and Alice Addison’s incredible scripts are both brilliant renderings of this mystery and provocative explorations of the underlying themes of gender, control, identity and burgeoning sexuality. The producer is the highly esteemed Antonia Barnard.”

Screen Australia Chief Executive Office Graeme Mason said: “Picnic at Hanging Rock is one of the true icons of the Australian film industry, having launched careers for the likes of Jacki Weaver and John Jarratt. The opportunity to again see this mythic tale on screens for a whole new generation was irresistible, especially in the capable hands of Australian producer Antonia Barnard and FremantleMedia executive producers Jo Porter and Anthony Ellis. With the recent success of The Kettering Incident, we’re thrilled to again be working with Foxtel to bring more premium Australian drama to television screens.”

Picnic at Hanging Rock’s executive producers are FremantleMedia Australia’s Jo Porter and Anthony Ellis and Foxtel’s Penny Win, the producer is Antonia Barnard and writers are Beatrix Christian and Alice Addison. FremantleMedia International is distributing the series worldwide. Casting is underway.

Picnic at Hanging Rock will premiere on Foxtel’s showcase channel in 2017.

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I hope the show will be filmed on location, at and near Hanging Rock/Sunbury/Macedon Ranges region in Victoria.

Foxtel announces cast gathering for Picnic at Hanging Rock

Foxtel today revealed the first details of the Australian and international cast gathering for Picnic at Hanging Rock, with cameras set to roll in Victoria later this month on the bold event drama produced by FremantleMedia Australia and with production investment from Screen Australia and Film Victoria.

Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Parts 1 and 2, In Darkness) will star as English headmistress Mrs Hester Appleyard in the re-imagining of Joan Lindsay’s timeless Australian novel.

The teachers of Appleyard College for Young Ladies will be played by French actress Lola Bessis (Cassandra, Swim Little Fish Swim) as Mademoiselle Dianne de Poitiers, mistress of French Conversation, Music and Dance; Yael Stone (Orange Is The New Black, Deep Water) as Miss Dora Lumley, mistress of Deportment and Bible Studies; Anna McGahan (The Doctor Blake Mysteries, Anzac Girls) as Miss Greta McCraw, mistress of Geography and Mathematics and Sibylla Budd (Tomorrow When The War Began, Winners & Losers) as Mrs Valange, mistress of Art and Literature.

The roles of the students of Appleyard College are filled with an exciting contingent of rising stars, including Lily Sullivan (Camp, Jungle) as Miranda Reid, Madeleine Madden (Tomorrow When The War Began, High Life) as Marion Quade, Samara Weaving (Monster Trucks, The Babysitter) as Irma Leopold, Ruby Rees (Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries) as Edith Horton and introducing Inez Curro as Sara Waybourne.

Other characters both inside and beyond the college walls will be played by Don Hany, Harrison Gilbertson, James Hoare, Marcus Graham, Mark Coles Smith, Jonny Pasvolsky, Philip Quast, Emily Gruhl, John Flaus, Ros Gentle, Julie Nihill, Kaarin Fairfax, Randall Berger, Mayah Fredes, Alyssa Tuddenham, Kate Bradford, Bethany Whitmore, Markella Kavenagh, Felix Johnson, Ines English, Huw Higginson, Rob Jacobson and Kim Gyngell.

Picnic at Hanging Rock will plunge viewers into the mysterious disappearances of three schoolgirls and one teacher on Valentine’s Day 1900, taking the audience on a new journey into the revered Australian novel through the six part drama.

Foxtel Head of Drama Penny Win said: “The accomplished cast who have been secured for Picnic at Hanging Rock will give new forms to Joan Lindsay’s iconic characters as the actors take up the scripts our writers, Bea Christian and Alice Addison, have drawn from the provocative spirt of the original mystery.

“Though the story remains in 1900, Picnic at Hanging Rock will be 21st century storytelling for the premium Foxtel drama audience.”

FremantleMedia Australia Director of Drama Jo Porter said: "Picnic at Hanging Rock is celebrated as an iconic, female-led story and we are thrilled to be announcing our strong and diverse cast who will bring the characters to life in the most vivid manner.

“We have an exceptional mix and depth of established names and exciting young Australian talent who will redefine these characters for a new generation. The strength of the scripts, the appeal of the story and our directors’ vision has drawn an incredible calibre of actors to the project including Natalie Dormer. Natalie is known for her bold choices in playing powerful, smart and fearless women. Her rendering of Mrs Appleyard is sure to be just as intriguing and complex.

“Hot off her listing in Interview magazine’s ‘Hollywood’s Most Wanted’, we look forward to audiences seeing French actor Lola Bessis join us to play Mademoiselle de Poitiers.”

Picnic at Hanging Rock’s executive producers are FremantleMedia Australia’s Jo Porter and Anthony Ellis and Foxtel’s Penny Win, the producer is Ewan Burnett, writers are Beatrix Christian and Alice Addison, directors are Larysa Kondracki, Michael Rymer and Amanda Brotchie. FremantleMedia International is distributing the series worldwide.

Picnic at Hanging Rock will premiere on Foxtel’s showcase channel at a date to be confirmed.

That’s big news.

The Adelaide Advertiser is upset that the Victorian set Picnic at Hanging Rock will not be made in South Australia. The original movie was shot in South Australia.

Calm down advertiser, the film could’ve easily been made in Vic too.

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Foxtel releases first look at Picnic at Hanging Rock

L-R: Samara Weaving (Irma Leopold), Madeleine Madden (Marion Quade), Natalie Dormer (English headmistress Mrs Hester Appleyard) and Lily Sullivan (Miranda Reid).

Foxtel and FremantleMedia Australia have released the first official image from the set of the new Australian event drama Picnic at Hanging Rock, in production in Victoria.

The first look image reveals Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Parts 1 and 2, In Darkness) as English headmistress Mrs Hester Appleyard alongside Samara Weaving as Irma Leopold, Madeleine Madden as Marion Quade and Lily Sullivan as Miranda Reid.

“I am thrilled to be in Australia working with an exceptional creative team on Picnic at Hanging Rock,” Ms Dormer said. “This re-imagining of the iconic story will no doubt grab a contemporary audience with its mystery, emotion and wide range of complex, smart female characters. To play Hester Appleyard is a joy.”

Picnic at Hanging Rock will plunge viewers into the mysterious disappearances of three schoolgirls and one teacher on Valentine’s Day 1900, taking the audience on a new journey into Joan Lindsay’s revered Australian novel through the six part drama which has production investment from Screen Australia and Film Victoria.

The extensive cast includes Lola Bessis as Mademoiselle Dianne de Poitiers, mistress of French Conversation, Music and Dance; Yael Stone as Miss Dora Lumley, mistress of Deportment and Bible Studies; Anna McGahan as Miss Greta McCraw, mistress of Geography and Mathematics, Sibylla Budd as Mrs Valange, mistress of Art and Literature, Ruby Rees as Edith Horton and introduces Inez Curro as Sara Waybourne. Other characters will be played by Don Hany, Harrison Gilbertson, James Hoare, Marcus Graham, Mark Coles Smith, Jonny Pasvolsky, Philip Quast, Emily Gruhl, Ros Gentle, Julie Nihill, Kaarin Fairfax, Huw Higginson, Ron Jacobson and Kim Gyngell.

Picnic at Hanging Rock will premiere on Foxtel’s showcase channel at a date to be confirmed.

Foxtel’s Picnic at Hanging Rock sold to Amazon U.S.

Foxtel’s upcoming event drama series, Picnic at Hanging Rock is the latest series to be added to the Amazon Prime Video US line-up following a deal with FremantleMedia International. The epic new series, starring Natalie Dormer (Game of Thrones, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Parts 1 and 2, In Darkness) as English headmistress Mrs Hester Appleyard, is a re-imagining of Joan Lindsay’s timeless Australian novel.

Picnic at Hanging Rock will have its world premiere on Foxtel in Australia in 2018. It is a FremantleMedia Australia production made with key production investment from Screen Australia. The series was shot in Victoria, Australia, with the significant assistance of the Victorian Government through Film Victoria.

“The sale of Picnic At Hanging Rock marks the largest U.S. commercial deal ever for an Australian television series," said Brian Walsh, Foxtel’s Executive Director of Television.

"Negotiations between Foxtel, the distributor, Fremantle, and four major American based networks/streaming services, have been in train for many weeks. The partnership with Amazon marks the most lucrative programme sale ever struck for a locally produced television series and Foxtel is delighted with the outcome. The placement ensures that U.S audiences will see the outstanding craftsmanship of the Australian film and television industry on display, including the performances of an illustrious group of acting newcomers, who will now have their careers launched on the world stage.

“This is a landmark moment for our industry and for Australian storytelling. We are absolutely thrilled for everyone involved," he said.

Picnic At Hanging Rock is Foxtel’s third major Australian drama series to be sold to the U.S market. All five seasons of prison drama Wentworth are seen in North America on Netflix, The Kettering Incident is available on Amazon Prime U.S. and long running rural drama A Place To Call Home is screened on Acorn and American Public Television.

A major sale of TV Week Logie Award-winning political thriller Secret City is expected to be concluded soon.

That’s big news. Also good that Secret City will be seen be a wider audience too.

Oops. Posted the wrong link via my phone.

http://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/entertainment/sydney-confidential/picnic-at-hanging-rock-reboot-goes-international-as-the-popular-drama-gets-picked-up-by-the-us/news-story/9740d8171e8d9cc65db10dee3c12d488

The remake has been sold to French premium cable channel Canal+ and will be called Pique-Nique au Rocher Suspendu.

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Foxtel’s Picnic at Hanging Rock to screen at the 68th Berlin Film Festival

Foxtel’s highly anticipated drama series, Picnic at Hanging Rock has been selected to screen at the prestigious 2018 Berlin Film Festival “Berlinale Series” next month, only the second Australian drama to receive this honour.

Picnic at Hanging Rock, produced by FremantleMedia Australia with production investment from Screen Australia and Film Victoria, will headline the “Berlinale Series” with the first two episodes opening the series, followed by episodes from six other productions from around the globe.

“Foxtel congratulates the cast, directors, producers and creative team at Picnic at Hanging Rock, this selection at the Berlinale is testament to the world class quality of the series" said Brian Walsh, Foxtel’s Executive Director of Television.

The six-part series starring acclaimed British actress Natalie Dormer along with a plethora of Australian rising stars including Lily Sullivan, Samara Weaving, Madeleine Madden and Ruby Rees, has already garnered significant international attention with Amazon US, BBC and Canal + (France) all set to showcase Picnic at Hanging Rock in the coming months.

“This incredible acknowledgement of an Australian production from such a prestigious international festival honours the creativity, skill and hard work of our writers, directors, cast and crew. I’m delighted to see Foxtel’s belief in this project be recognised like this. Picnic at Hanging Rock is event television that is resonating around the world.” said FMA’s Director of Drama and Executive Producer of Picnic at Hanging Rock, Jo Porter.

The first two episodes will be screened on February 19 and 23 during the Berlinale Series, according to the Berlin Film Festival website.

Picnic at Hanging Rock

World television premiere on Sunday 6 May

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Foxtel today revealed the world premiere airdate for its much anticipated event drama series Picnic at Hanging Rock will be Sunday May 6 at 8.30pm on the showcase channel and available to Foxtel customers On Demand.

Picnic at Hanging Rock is a FremantleMedia Australia production made with key production investment from Screen Australia. The series was shot in Victoria, Australia with the significant assistance of the Victorian Government through Film Victoria and has already garnered global attention with – Amazon Prime Video in the US, BBC for the UK, Canal+ in France and SKY New Zealand’s premium entertainment channel SoHo, all set to premiere this year.

The international spotlight will continue to focus on Picnic at Hanging Rock when it opens the prestigious ‘Berlinale Series’ of the Berlin International Film Festival next week featuring alongside six other dramas selected from around the world.

Brian Walsh, Foxtel’s Executive Director of Television said “The fascination with Picnic at Hanging Rock continues to captivate people around the world and we are delighted to bring the world premiere of this iconic Australian story to Foxtel subscribers. It is a watershed moment for the talented creatives involved and testament to Foxtel’s unwavering commitment to Australian storytelling. The reaction we have received from broadcasters and video platforms in many countries is an enormous boost of confidence for our local industry and paves the way for the Australian film and television community to take its skills and expertise to audiences around the globe,” he said.

The six-part series, a re-imagining Joan Lindsay’s iconic novel, stars acclaimed British actress Natalie Dormer along with Australian rising stars including Lily Sullivan, Samara Weaving, Madeleine Madden and Ruby Rees, whose debut screen performances will be seen by audiences throughout the world.

Picnic at Hanging Rock is a FremantleMedia Australia production for Foxtel. Executive producers are FremantleMedia Australia’s Jo Porter and Anthony Ellis and Foxtel’s Penny Win, script producer and establishing writer is Beatrix Christian, Writer Alice Addison, producer Brett Popplewell, directors are Larysa Kondracki, Michael Rymer and Amanda Brotchie. FremantleMedia International is distributing the series worldwide.

Picnic at Hanging Rock world premiere Sunday May 6 at 8.30pm on Foxtel’s showcase channel and available to subscribers On Demand* and streamed on Foxtel Now.

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The screening of the first two episodes received a solid ovation at the Berlin Film Festival overnight. Australia’s ambassador to Germany was among the guests.

Picnic at Hanging Rock - bingeable

Stream all six episodes of Picnic at Hanging Rock

All six episodes of Picnic at Hanging Rock will be available to stream from Sunday. 6 May at 8.30pm

In a major announcement today, Foxtel has revealed that all six episodes of its hugely anticipated drama series Picnic at Hanging Rock will be available for customers to stream On Demand* from Sunday, 6 May at 8.30pm.

For the first time ever with the launch of a new, local production on Foxtel, viewers will be able to binge-watch the entire series with all episodes available to stream on Foxtel Now**, On Demand, and on internet-connected iQ set-top-boxes. Alternatively, they can savour it with weekly episodes every Sunday night at 8.30pm on showcase.

Brian Walsh, Foxtel’s Executive Director of Television, said: “Picnic At Hanging Rock has generated incredible buzz since we commenced production over a year ago. Now that the telecast is imminent, we are delighted to announce that Foxtel subscribers will be able to watch the series in its entirety from May 6. This is the first time that we will drop all episodes at once for a Foxtel Original Series. We think it’s a great message. We are putting customers first and giving them the choice to watch it either weekly, on a Sunday night, or all at once and anytime it suits them. It really is gifting the scheduling to the viewer and letting them decide what suits. This is the way the world is watching drama,” he said.

“Foxtel is incredibly proud of this ground-breaking event series and we’re sure viewers will embrace the brilliant performances and superbly crafted six episodes that re-imagines an iconic Australian story.”

Picnic at Hanging Rock has received international and local critical acclaim ahead of its world premiere on Foxtel – it was celebrated at the Berlin Film Festival where it opened the TV Section, and will soon screen at the coveted Tribeca Film Festival in Manhattan, NY.

Hollywood Reporter: “Hats off to the creators of this glossy six-part TV adaptation —this new version, by contrast, is a simmering nightmare drenched in lush colour, energetically shot with a propensity for psychologically unsettling Dutch angles, and powered by a surging contemporary score.”

Variety : “Not Your Grandfather’s – or Grandmother’s – ‘Picnic at Hanging Rock’ TV reworking of the Australian literary and film classic strives for “sophisticated storytelling.”

News.com.au: “From the dazzling, colour-saturated first frame this original, world-class production is quite literally, gold. This remarkable six-part TV drama takes extraordinary risks — from experimental camera angles and a soaring soundtrack, to costumes and cinematic styling that, at times, takes the viewer down the rabbit hole, Alice In Wonderland style… it delivers on all of its promise.”

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Natalie Dormer appeared on The Graham Norton Show last week to talk about her role in Picnic at Hanging Rock, which is coming soon to the BBC. This episode will be shown on Ten tomorrow (Friday) at 8.35pm.

C21 reports Russian SVOD service More.TV has bought the rights to Picnic at Hanging Rock from distributor Fremantle.