Movie: Things Happening?

Hmmm. When I saw this Herald Sun story, I briefly considered doing a news story on it. Then I decided not to – after all, it’s hardly ANTHING NEW AT ALL. I’ll quote it in full here, seeing as Herald Sun have a tendency to remove articles after a while:

Dwarf shoot
15dec04

Red Dwarf: The Movie may be shot in Australia next year, according to the actor who played Kryten in the cult BBC comedy.

Robert Llewellyn said Red Dwarf writer-director Doug Naylor spent time on the Gold Coast last year looking at the possibility of basing the production there.

“He (Naylor) would love to do it out here,” Llewellyn said from Queensland where he is visiting family.

Red Dwarf was on the BBC for eight series from 1988 to 1998.

Nothing new there. But it’s interesting that more Australian news outlets have picked up the story; firstly, the the National Nine News (with a shorter version appearing in The Daily Telegraph):

Red Dwarf set to engulf Australia
07:39 AEDT Wed Dec 15 2004

Red Dwarf: The Movie may be shot in Queensland next year, according to the actor who played Kryten in the cult BBC comedy.

Robert Llewellyn said Red Dwarf writer/director Doug Naylor spent time on the Gold Coast last year looking at the possibility of basing the production there.

“He (Naylor) would love to do it out here, certainly because of the facilities, because of the location possibilities and the finance,” Llewellyn said from Queensland where he is visiting family.

“If he raises the money in the UK, then every pound goes further in Australia.”

Red Dwarf screened on the BBC for eight series from 1988 to 1998.

It starred Llewellyn as Kryten, Chris Barrie as Arnold Rimmer, Craig Charles as David Lister, Danny John-Jules as The Cat and Norman Lovett as Holly.

According to entertainment website IMDB, Red Dwarf: The Movie will be set in the distant future where Homo Sapienoids, a fearsome combination of flesh and machine, have taken over the solar system and almost wiped out the human race.

The only survivors are the crews of long-haul space freighters that left Earth before the conflict began.

The Sapienoids attempt to wipe out all remaining humans and it is left to the Red Dwarf crew to save the day.

Llewellyn said Naylor had received several offers from larger movie houses for the film but he wanted to keep the project independent.

“We all had lunch with him (Naylor) just before I came out (to Australia) and he is so completely committed to the film,” Llewellyn said.

“The script is brilliant.

“It is very frustrating from our point of view because we would really love to do it and it has been a long struggle for him to find the money because it is not a cheap film to make.”

Llewellyn said the film would have a budget of roughly $30 million and would be shot at the Warner Brothers complex on the Gold Coast.

Red Dwarf has a strong cult following and is featured regularly at science-fiction conventions around the world.

Now, I would just take all this as nothing. Robert Llewellyn talking up the Movie is nothing new. But this is the most intriguing report, from ABC News Online:

Qld set to turn around film production woes

Queensland’s film and television production drought could soon be over.

The Pacific Film and Television Commission says while it has been a “horror” year for the industry, production on two major television series will begin on the Gold Coast early next year.

It says there is also a chance of a movie adaptation of the popular TV series Red Dwarf being filmed at the Warner Roadshow studios.

Chief executive officer Robyn James says they are significant productions.

“We are probably looking at round about $40 million in terms of production expenditure,” she said.

“But the most important thing is it sends a message about production being back in a very significant way.”

Now, the question is this. Is Robyn James simply doing her bit for Queensland film production PR? Or is something happening behind the scenes that means that the Dwarf movie may finally be on its way? After all, the last time I talked to the PFTC, they said “as yet there is no confirmation of where Red Dwarf will be filming”.
Clinging on to a shred of hope, here.