July 26, 2009
‘BENEATH HILL 60’ STARTS PRODUCTION IN TOWNSVILLE
Beneath Hill 60 starring Brendan Cowell, directed by actor/director
Jeremy Sims, written by David Roach and produced by Bill Leimbach - will
commence production in far north Queensland today for seven weeks.
This never-before told Australian story is set in 1916, when Queensland
miner Oliver Woodward, under-trained and having never faced hostile fire
before, finds himself on the Western Front, the bloodiest battlefield in
history.
Beneath Hill 60 will be filmed entirely on location, where replica trenches
have been created to bring this battle story to life. Along side Brendan
Cowell (Noise, Love My Way) in the lead role of Captain Oliver Woodward
are other stars of our screens, including actors Gyton Grantley
(Underbelly), Harrison Gilbertson (Accidents Happen), Steve Le Marquand
(Kokoda), Bella Heathcote (Acolytes, Neighbours), Anthony Hayes (The
Square, Suburban Mayhem), Aden Young (Black Robe, Mao’s Last
Dancer), Leon Ford (Katoomba, The Aftermath), John Stanton (Mission:
Impossible, Through My Eyes), Bob Franklin (Macbeth, The Extra), Warwick
Young (Wolverine, The Battle of Long Tan).
The film is based on the writings of Captain Oliver Woodward the
Queensland tunneller whose heroic efforts contributed to the drama and
the success of the campaign and won him the Military Cross. It will shed
light on this untold story of the Australian miners with a finely tuned
dramatic script and some of Australia’s best actors, working in
underground sets built in association with the mining community of North
Queensland.
Director, Jeremy Sims said “We are so excited to be in production on this
very special Australian story – to have the support of great partners and to
be working with a team of incredibly talented actors and crew means we
feel confident we will honour the memory of the tunnellers in World War
1”.
Beneath Hill 60 is due for theatrical release April 2010. “We are delighted
to be working with Jeremy, Bill and the team and our partners at
Transmission to release this amazing true story of courage and triumph”,
said Mike Selwyn, Managing Director, Paramount Pictures Australia.
Richard Payten and Andrew Mackie said "From the very first pitch we
were hooked by this remarkable Australian story. We feel very privileged
to be on board as the distributor to play our part in bringing it to the
screen for all Australians to see."
SYNOPSIS
It’s 1916 and Oliver Woodward must tear himself from the woman he loves
to go to the mud and carnage of the Western Front. Deep beneath the
German lines, Woodward and his secret platoon of Australian tunnellers
fight to defend a labyrinthine tunnel system packed with high explosives.
For further information:
Victoria Buchan
The Lantern Group
02 9383 4033 / 0408 114 864
Niki White
The Lantern Group
02 9383 4038 / 0403 176 988
About Paramount Pictures Corporation
Paramount Pictures Corporation (PPC), a global producer and distributor of filmed
entertainment, is a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), a leading content company with
prominent and respected film, television and digital entertainment brands. The
company's labels include Paramount Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Paramount
Classics, MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies. PPC operations also include Paramount
Digital Entertainment, Paramount Famous Productions, Paramount Home
Entertainment, Paramount Pictures International, Paramount Licensing Inc., Paramount
Studio Group, and Worldwide Television Distribution.
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