News Archive 2009
Toni Collette participates in Australian bush fire benefit
Posted: 2009-03-17 |
Over 120,000 people have attended the Sound Relief fundraising concerts in Sydney and Melbourne
to help aid victims of devastating fires and floods in Australia. Artists including Kings
Of Leon, Coldplay, The Bee Gees’ Barry Gibb, Olivia Newton-John, Gabriella Cilmi, Taylor
Swift, electro-poppers Architecture In Helsinki and The Presets played the concerts, which
were held simultaneously at the Sydney and Melbourne cricket grounds. The event raised
thousands of dollars, with all of the profits going toward appeals in Victoria for victims
of the recent bushfires that killed over 200 people in February, and to Queensland for
people affected by ongoing flooding. Possibly the most poignant moment of the day, was when actress Toni
Collette united both cities in a minute’s silence to remember those that did not survive
Black Saturday, immediately following the Princes’ historic address.
"Mary & Max" receives special mention at the Berlin Film Festival
Posted: 2009-02-15 |
The Generation youth jury at the 2009 Berlin Film Festival awarded "Mary & Max" with a special
mention. The Australian animated work voiced by the likes of Philip Seymour Hoffman, Toni
Collette and Eric Bana, about the relationship between two pen pals, an 8-year-old girl
from Melbourne and a 44-year-old New Yorker afflicted by autism, is, according to the jury,
"ironic, endearing and has an unrivalled aesthetic. Who am I and why am I? What is the
meaning of friendship and how do I find my way to love and to my own self? Five years of
production at the rate of five seconds a day definitely paid off."
More "Tara" for Showtime
Posted: 2009-02-11 |
Showtime has given a second season to "United States of Tara." The premium network has
renewed the Toni Collette comedy about a woman with multiple personalities for another
round. "Tara" has averaged 2.1 million per week, including repeat airings, which is better
than "Dexter" and "Weeds" in their first seasons (the "Tara" number also doesn't include
DVR use or on-demand viewing). Helping matters: Sunday night's fourth episode climbed 15%
over the previous week.
"Mary and Max" to open Sundance
Posted: 2009-01-16 |
As reported earlier, the animated "Mary and Max", voiced by Toni Collette, Philip Seymor
Hoffman and Eric Bana, opened this years Sundance Film Festival. Unfortunately, none of
the stars attended the premiere (on the other hand we're getting plenty of Toni these days
anyway ;-) but the director of "Mary and Max", Adam Elliot, and producer, Melanie Coombs,
were in attendance, as was Sundance boss Robert Redford. You can find a couple reviews on
the film at
Variety,
Cinematical and
Coming Soon.
"Mary and Max" will be shown next month at the Berlin Film Festival.
