by FilmInk Staff
It’s been four years since Jeffrey Walker’s [left in pic with Todd Fellman] feature film 1-2 of Ali’s Wedding and Dance Academy: The Movie, not that he hasn’t been extremely busy directing episodes of Modern Family, The Commons, Lambs of God, and TV movie Riot, and most recently Young Rock, which he also exec produces. But finally, his home state of Queensland has ushered him back into the feature film director’s chair with the comical fantasy The Portable Door.
“Leon Ford’s wonderful script has helped us attract an amazing cast and creative team led by our exceptional director, Jeffery Walker,” said producer Todd Fellman (Jungle), who has been developing the project for the past 6 years.
“We promise… a wildly entertaining film that showcases our extraordinary local talent and finds its own unique place within the incredible world of The Jim Henson Company.”
The Portable Door is about a university drop-out who discovers that his new employer is a front for a sinister organisation.
“Todd has worked hard over many years as a Queensland-based producer,” said Screen Queensland’s CEO Kylie Munnich. “It’s encouraging to see him team up with The Jim Henson Company to make this epic feature film, set in a timeless world with a dazzling array of fantastical characters including Sam Neill as a shape-shifting goblin.”
The Portable Door will shoot at Gold Coast’s Pinnacle Studios, which Fellman used recently on the action thriller Black Site.
“This is what it means to have a mature and booming screen industry in this state, with Queensland creatives at the helm, working in partnership with global production companies to make films for an international market,” said Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk. “Talented creatives like Todd Fellman and Jeffrey Walker are part of a burgeoning trend for large-scale projects to be made in our state, with the help of incentives provided by my Government via Screen Queensland.”
The Portable Door financing and distribution partners include Sky Studios, Stan, Madman Entertainment, MEP Capital, Fulcrum Media Finance and Arclight Films International. With development and production support provided by Screen Queensland, Create NSW, Film Victoria and Screen Australia.
