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Aussie Rules To Hit Big Screen
Local director Richard Gray is tackling an AFL tale for his third feature and a whole host of acting talent has just been cast...
Loved Friday Night Lights? How about Bend It Like Beckham? Well now Australia's most loved and watched pastime, AFL, is getting the big screen treatment. Blinder starts its ten-week shoot in Torquay, Victoria mid-February before heading over to Boston in the US to wrap up.
"I grew up holidaying with family on the Great Ocean Road and always dreamed of shooting a film there. We have locations from Torquay to Apollo Bay - and they're just stunning," announced co-writer/director Richard Gray who made his directorial feature debut with 2010's romantic drama Summer Coda.
Producing the film alongside fellow co-writers Scott Didier and Michele Gray are AFL legends Glen Archer, Adrian Gleeson and Sam Kekovich. "An Aussie Rules film has been a long time coming," Archer says of the project. "There are millions of people that tune into the games every week, attend local footy and judge how their weekend was depending on the result of their team's match. Blinder will encapsulate everything great about that game, insights into the life and times of footballers and hopefully inspire people."
Adds Kekovich: "There's three things I'm passionate about: lamb, wine and football. Blinder is the latter and it's about time we had a film like this! It's un-Australian not to get onboard."
The film will see an ex-footballer and rising star Oliver Ackland (pictured, The Slap, Cloudstreet, Wasted On The Young, The Proposition) return home after a long absence to clear his name and reignite an old flame. It's set to be a sports drama brimming with romance and scandal.
Joining Ackland in the cast is Rose McIver (The Lovely Bones), Steve Bisley (Red Hill), Anna Hutchison (Wild Boys), Zoe Carides (Death In Brunswick), Bob Morley (Road Train) and Angus Sampson (Insidious).
Photo credit: Oliver Ackland, courtesy of Getty Images/Jesse Grant.