Encore magazine has compiled its top 50 list of power players in the film, television and TVC industries. For its second consecutive year, the online magazine has handpicked Australia’s most influential audio/visual/entertainment dynamos, whose achievements in 2010-2011 have seen them become key players in determining the direction of the industry.
Taking out first place is Sydney producer Emile Sherman, who scored an Oscar for The King’s Speech making him the country’s first ever Best Picture Academy Award recipient. The film, starring Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush beat out a hefty number of other quality films including The Social Network, The Fighter, Black Swan, True Grit, Toy Story 3, Inception and 127 Hours to take out the title.
The King’s Speech has grossed over $405 million worldwide and has become one of the most acclaimed independent films of all time. Sherman’s most recent film, Oranges and Sunshine (with Hugo Weaving and Emily Watson) is already gaining critical momentum and under his belt he has several other notable projects he’s worked on including Candy, Rabbit-Proof Fence and Oyster Farmer.
“Winning the Oscar certainly gives you a glow in the eyes of the industry, so it’s about trying to use that to work with the best writers, directors and actors, and to make better movies. I want to be involved in telling Australian stories, and I also want to make great movies. I feel like I can do both,” says Sherman.
Check out the Power 50 list below.
1. Emile Sherman – producer (The King’s Speech, Oranges and Sunshine, Candy, Oyster Farmer, Rabbit-Proof Fence)
2. Baz Luhrmann – director, writer, producer
3. John Edwards – producer (Offspring, Paper Giants, Rush, Spirited, Tangle)
4. Ruth Harley – CEO, Screen Australia
5. Andrew Mackie and Richard Payten – managing directors, Transmission Films
6. George Miller – medical doctor, director, producer (Mad Max, Happy Feet)
7. Bob Campbell/Des Monoghan – executive directors, Screentime
8. Gary Hamilton – managing director, Arclight Films
9. Julia Leigh – writer, director (Sleeping Beauty)
10. Christopher Mapp – managing director, Omnilab Media Group
11. Shaun Tan – director (The Lost Thing)
12. Bevan Lee – network script executive, Seven Network (Packed to the Rafters, Winners and Losers)
13. Troy Lum – managing director, Hopscotch Films
14. Tim Worner – head of programming, Seven Network
15. Chris Lilley – writer, producer, actor (Angry Boys, Summer Heights High, We Can Be Heroes)
16. Rachel Perkins/Darren Dale – directors, Blackfella Films
17. Brendan Dahill – Controller, ABC1
18. Tracey Robertson and Nathan Mayfield – Directors, Hoodlum
19. Martha Coleman – head of development, Screen Australia
20. Geoff Brown – executive director, SPAA
21. David Mott – head of programming, Network Ten (Masterchef Australia)
22. Andrew Denton and Anita Jacoby – directors, Zapruder’s Other Films (AFP, Hungry Beast)
23. Al Clark – producer (Red Hill, Chopper, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert)
24. Tony Forrest – CEO, Movie Network Channels
25. Mikael Borglund – managing director, Beyond International
26. Stuart Beattie – writer, director (Tomorrow, When the War Began)
27. Zareh Nalbandian – managing director, Animal Logic
28. Kim William – CEO, Foxtel
29. Mark and Carl Fennessy – CEOs, Shine Australia
30. Joe and Ken Connor – executive producers, Renegade Films
31. Ewan Burnett – CEO, Burberry Entertainment
32. Sally Riley – head of the Indigenous department, ABC TV
33. Erica Glynn – head of Indigenous, Screen Australia
34. Jeffrey Walker – director (Angry Boys, Dance Academy, Wild Boys)
35. Mark Sarfaty – CEO, Independent Cinemas Association of Australia
36. Richard Moore – head of screen culture, Screen Queensland
37. Nelson Woss – producer (Ned Kelly, Red Dog)
38. Michael Taylor – CEO, Rising Sun Pictures
39. Kriv Stenders – director (Red Dog)
40. Enzo Tedeschi/Julian Harvey – director (The Tunnel)
41. Mario Andreacchio – producer (The Dragon Pearl)
42. Brian Beaton – executive producer, Artemis International
43. Jason Bath – executive producer, Fuel VFX
44. Greig Fraser – cinematographer (Bright Star, Cogan’s Trade, Snow White and the Huntsman)
45. Katrina Sedgwick – director, Adelaide Film Festival
46. John Collee – writer (Happy Feet, Master and Commander, Walking with Dinosaurs, The Drowner)
47. Allanah Zitsermann – director, Dungog Film Festival
48. Peter Castaldi and Anupam Sharma = directors, An Australian Film Initiative
49. Andrew Lesnie – cinematographer (Bran Nue Dae, The Hibbit)
50. Dany Cooper – editor (Beneath Hill 60, Oranges and Sunshine, December Boys, Candy, Battlestar Galactica US series)
