AC/DC inspires new Australian road movie

The Film Finance Corporation Australia (FFC) will invest in a feature film about the adventures of a group of friends who make a pact on the greatest night of their lives - the 1991 Sydney concert of rock band AC/DC.

Ten years later they take to the road to keep their promise that if one of their number dies before they turn 40, they will bury his body next to the grave of their idol, singer Bon Scott. Putting the plan into action proves more difficult than any of them had imagined.

The team behind Thunderstruck includes executive producers Al Clark (producer of one of Australia's most famous road movies, The Adventures of Priscilla: Queen of the Desert) and Andrena Finlay (Me Myself I, Paws). It is the first feature for each member of the creative team that generated the project: director/co-writer Darren Ashton, co-writer Shaun Angus Hall and producer Jodi Matterson. The cast is yet to be confirmed but the songs of AC/DC will be a strong presence in the film.

The FFC has also approved investment in two new children's drama series: Snobs, produced by Noel Price for Southern Star Entertainment, and written by Graeme Koetsveld and Robert Greenberg; and Fergus McPhail, from executive producer Ewan Burnett, producer Alan Hardy and writer David McRobbie.

Two new documentaries have been approved by the FFC. Missing Millions deals with the tantalising subject of unclaimed money - from superannuation funds languishing in banks to lottery windfalls never claimed - and follows the detectives and public officials who have the difficult job of restoring these funds to their rightful owners. The producer/director is Phillip Tanner, executive producer of the long-running TV series Wonder World.

The President Versus David Hicks deals with the case of young Australian David Hicks, who joined the Taliban and was captured last December by the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan and handed over to the United States. Hicks has been held without trial for more than nine months and his lawyers have taken out a writ against US President George Bush for wrongful imprisonment. The award-winning producer/director of the film is Curtis Levy (Hephzibah, High Noon in Jakarta).

Details of all the FFC's new projects follow.

For more information, contact:

Fiona Nix
Nix Co
Ph: 02 9380 4933
nixco@bigpond.net.au

Feature Films

THUNDERSTRUCK
Eddie Wong Films
Executive Producers: Al Clark, Andrena Finlay
Producer: Jodi Matterson
Director: Darren Ashton
Writers: Shaun Angus Hall, Darren Ashton
Distribution/presales: Icon Film Distribution, Showtime, BV International Pictures, Legend Films
Synopsis: After a near-death experience, five boys, all devoted AC/DC fans, make a pact to bury whoever dies first next to their idol Bon Scott. Eleven years later, these misfits have to fulfil the promise.

Children's Television Drama

FERGUS McPHAIL (26 x 30 minute Children's Television Series)
Burberry Productions Pty Ltd
Executive Producer: Ewan Burnett
Producer: Alan Hardy
Director: TBC
Writers: David McRobbie
Distribution/presales: Network Ten, BBC, Nickelodeon, Fireworks
Synopsis: This 26-part comedy series features teenager Fergus McPhail (and his irrationally optimistic alter-ego), stumbling from crisis to crisis mostly of their own making. The stories cover a year in his life, showcasing Fergus at home with his erratic family, at school among friends, at play and sometimes, just sometimes, having a win in the steeplechase of adolescence.

SNOBS (26 x 30 minute Children's Television Series)
Southern Star Entertainment Pty Ltd
Executive Producers: Noel Price, Kris Noble, Nick Wilson
Producer: Noel Price
Director: Tbc
Writers: Graeme Koetsveld, Robert Greenberg, Mark Shirrefs
Distribution/presales: Nine Network, Channel 5, Southern Star
Synopsis: Set in the picture postcard community on Sydney's northern beaches, SNOBS is the story of unlikely friends - Abby, the daughter of a wealthy, middle class traditional family and Marian, a boy from a group of modern day nomads who have been come to be known as Ferals - the arrival of the whom upsets the peace of the community and is the catalyst for conflict, adventure and intrigue.

Documentaries

MISSING MILLIONS (60 minute Channel 10 Accord Documentary)
Total Perception Pty Ltd
Producer/director: Phillip Tanner
Distribution/presales: Network Ten
Synopsis: MISSING MILLIONS is a documentary about the investigation of unclaimed money. How much money, where it is and how, even with modern technology, people can simply forget or not know about it. The film will follow two detectives from a private investigation agency as they locate unclaimed monies and then set about trying to source the owners.

THE PRESIDENT VERSUS DAVID HICKS (52 minute SBS Accord Documentary)
Olsen Levy Productions Pty Ltd
Producer/director: Curtis Levy
Distribution/presales: SBS Independent
Synopsis: David Hicks is a young Australian who joined the Taliban. Last December he was captured by the Northern Alliance in Afghanistan and handed over to the US Military and is now being held without trial and without access to lawyers and family. No charge has been laid against him and it is not known what evidence, if any, the American Government has to warrant his incarceration.