By Brendan Swift
Pictures in Paradise is set to begin pre-production on its $8 million musical-comedy feature A Heartbeat Away in August.
Casting for the Queensland-based film, which is being directed by theatre stalwart Gale Edwards, will begin next week.
“She’s one of the jewels of the theatre world as a director – she’s just directed Jerry Springer at the Opera House,” producer Chris Brown said.
The film marks a change of direction for Pictures in Paradise which largely concentrates on the horror genre and has two major films due to be released this year: ocean thriller Triangle and vampire movie Daybreakers.
A Heartbeat Away tells the story of a young man obsessed with becoming a rock guitar legend who is instead forced to become musical director of his father’s brass band.
The film will be distributed by Mainline in the US and Hoyts in Australia, which have also invested in the movie alongside Screen Australia, the Pacific Film and Television Office and Crystal Palace.
Meanwhile, Mr Brown said Pictures in Paradise is continuing to work with Italy’s Barbablu Films after signing a major five-year co-production deal around August last year.
Its first co-produced film, Dark Door, remains in script development and is now due to enter pre-production around September. The film was originally set to be shot in the first quarter of this year.
“Getting the material right is terribly important. These days the market is so selective,” Mr Brown said.