by FilmInk Staff
Winner of 34 International Awards across Best Picture, Best Director, Best Writer
“The thriller looks brilliant, and the cast stuns” Film Threat
“…a tense and thought-provoking exploration of consequences and morality.” Cinedump
“his (Pivan) loud, vulgar, horrifically aggressive screen presence ends up being the most intriguing part of whatever scene the man’s in” UK Film Review
“…emphatically edgy, darkly dramatic, unrelenting dive into the deep reassesses of scientific goals gone severely astray” One Film Fan
“beautifully executed narrative, visuals, and other technical aspects” The Muse Culture
This August, James Clarke, Australian filmmaker, will premiere his debut thriller feature film NUMBERED LIVES at Village Cinema Crown. The Australian feature film from production companies Clarke Films and Cardinal Motion Pictures stars Jeremy Piven (ENTOURAGE, GROSS POINT BLANK, MR SELFRIDGE), Luke Patrick (MEASURES, SHORTLAND STREET) and Matthew O’Sullivan, who makes his debut.
Shot on location in South Australia, over 21 days, the film features numerous iconic Adelaide locations. These include Ward Z, the former criminally insane ward of the old Parkside Lunatic Asylum and the abandoned Old Adelaide Gaol. NUMBERED LIVES follows the story of Noah (O’Sullivan), a young man who, after finding himself on the wrong side of the law, awakens in a mysterious facility run by a shadowy pharmaceutical executive (Piven) and an eccentric warden. As a medical researcher draws closer to the truth, everyone involved must question their identity, morality, and the consequences of their choices.
“We made this film more like musicians than narrative filmmakers,“ said James Clarke, Writer, Director, Producer, Clarke Films. “I want the audience to progressively move through colour and sound to confront what price they might pay to save a loved one who is suffering.”
The film is loosely based on the Arkansas Prison Blood Scandal and the UK Infected Blood Scandal, where prison inmates infected with hepatitis and HIV were used as blood donors to treat unsuspecting patients. Occurring in the 1970s and 1980s, this was a significant tragedy and formed the basis of inspiration for Clarke’s film. Jeremy Piven plays the role of the cutthroat pharmaceutical executive out to get what he can from the scheme.
“Having Piven onboard was extraordinary,” said Clarke, “he is a master of his craft. He embodied his character Edgar in an ethereal way that was somewhere special – somewhere between fiction and truth, between art and reality”.
Piven is known for Entourage where he made the role of Ari Gold iconic, playing the fast-talking, acerbic Hollywood agent in the HBO series. Piven himself is a household name and has nabbed 2 Golden Globes with 3 Emmy Award-winning performances in ENTOURAGE. Piven is an actor, comedian and podcast host and also achieved significant success playing the title role in the British/PBS television drama series MR SELFRIDGE, based on the life of the founder of Selfridge’s, London. Piven has also appeared in numerous successful films, including SINGLES, VERY BAD THINGS, THE FAMILY MAN, BLACK HAWK DOWN, THE KINGDOM, HEAT, PCU, OLD SCHOOL, ROCK N ROLLA, SERENDIPITY, SMOKIN’ ACES, LAST CALL and RUNAWAY JURY. Piven will also tour Australia with his stand-up comedy show JEREMY PIVEN LIVE this coming August, kicking off on the 8th in Melbourne.
“Studios love to tell us that audiences just want to leave the cinema happy and satisfied,” said Clarke, “but I want them to leave with a feeling that the film is eating at them, gnawing at their sense of the world.”
The film has won 34 awards across the categories of Best Picture, Best Director and Best Writer and will have a 100-cinema distribution release across Australia by The Backlot Films.
NUMBERED LIVES will have its Australian premiere at Village Cinema’s Crown on Friday, the 1st of August, with Jeremy Piven in attendance. Red carpet arrivals will take place at 7 pm, and the film will commence at 8 pm. More details regarding the cinema release will follow.
