SYDNEY — Australia’s favorite mother and daughter duo, Kath and Kim are readying for the big screen with the announcement Tuesday that Riley Turner Productions is to make their debut feature, The Kath and Kim Filum.
The film will follow the suburban Melbourne gals on a whirlwind trip overseas which “becomes a vajazzling tale of love, lust and revolution.”
It marks a return to production for Kath and Kim creators and stars, Jane Turner and Gina Riley, since they worked on the short-lived U.S. version of their hit Aussie sitcom for NBC in 2008.
Like the TV series, production of the film is being kept in-house at Riley Turner Productions, with Turner and Riley penning the script and producing alongside Rick McKenna.
Longtime associate
Ted Emery will direct, with Roadshow Films to release the film here in conjunction with Royalty and Distribution Services, which will also handle
international sales
There’s no word yet on production dates and locations and how extensively supporting characters will feature in the film.
The feature comes a decade after the pair launched their sitcom in Australia, quickly becoming an audience favourite. they made a telemovie in 2005 and the reversioning of the show for the U.S. market that starred Selma Blair and Molly Shannon followed.
The Kath and Kim Filum will receive production investment from Screen Australia. CEO Ruth Harley said “Australia’s comedic sensibility is world renowned and is a distinctive part of our cultural identity. The Kath and Kim Filum represents iconic Australian comedy.”
“Screen Australia is committed to providing support for well-crafted and innovative screen productions,” Harley added.
The Kath and Kim Filum is one of 15 projects that will receive AUS$9 million ($9.1 million) in direct funding from the agency. A total of four feature films, a low budget TV series and 10 documentaries received will funding from the agency triggering AUS$29 million of production.
Two other features including Jeremy Hogarth’s The Last Great Apes, an IMAX feature documentary and Peter Templeman’s debut feature, The 20-Something Survival Guide, a romantic comedy about a guy in his 20s who finds out his fertility runs out in a month,got the greenlight.
Low-budget TV series God Squad, an animated send-up of gritty police dramas in which the gods of past and present religions play cops and criminals, will be made for SBS.
