by Dov Kornits
It’s a long way from Wagga for Australian filmmaker Louise Alston, who has been living in between LA and Sydney over the past few years, in an attempt to further her directing career. Following last year’s slick and affecting Australian tween film, Back of the Net, she has landed her next directorial assignment, and in a sign of the times, it has been commissioned by a streaming platform, the recently launched PASSIONFLIX whose MO is that it ‘brings an empowering focus to the female gaze’.
The film is The Will, the first part of the Magdalene trilogy of books written by Kristen Ashley, and follows Josephine Malone (Megan Dodds, CSI: NY, Ever After), who has ‘learned the hard way that the only person she could love and trust was her grandmother, Lydia. Out of necessity, Josephine donned a disguise to keep others at bay. While Josephine was traveling around the world, retired boxer Jake Spear [Chris L. McKenna, One Life to Live, Young and the Restless], was living in the same small town as Lydia. There was nothing private about Jake’s life, including the fact he had a habit of making very bad decisions about who to give his love.
But for Josephine and Jake, there was one person who adored them. One person who knew how to lead them to happiness, and one person who was intent on making it happen, even if it was the last thing she did on this earth’. Hence ‘The Will’, we imagine.
“Honoring an existing audience who love Josie and Jake is a thrilling responsibility,” said Alston about adapting the book. “You should read the online fan boards. Talk about passion! I love the world of the Magdalene series and building it onscreen is extremely satisfying.”
Check out more about PASSIONFLIX here.
