ambassadors
Screenrights Ambassadors are a group of filmmakers who passionately promote the film/TV production industry, understand Screenrights’ mission, provide intellectual leadership and inspire the next generation of filmmakers. The following people have accepted the Board's invitation to represent Screenrights as Ambassadors. Enquiries about the Ambassadors can be directed to: memberservices@screenrights.org
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Brian BeatonExecutive Producer Brian Beaton has more than 25 years experience in the industry and is a keen supporter of major organisations such as Screenrights, SPAA and ScreenWest. As an ambassador for Screenrights Brian is hoping to expand awareness of the positive activities it undertakes to the wider industry. Artemis International, based in Perth, Western Australia has an international reputation for making outstanding television. Artemis is known for producing classy, original and ‘stand out’ programs, and for bringing the highest standards to everything it delivers. Artemis specialises in making high quality factual programming and has co-produced with leading film-makers and broadcasters across the globe. Recent productions include Bridge Between Two Worlds, Desperately Seeking Doctors, Give Me A Break, Desperately Seeking Sheila and the history series Who Do You Think You Are? Award winning documentaries include Rosie, Inside Australia (Co-produced with Thunderbox TV), Return to Eden and Saving Andrew Mallard (Co-produced with Michael Muntz). |
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Ian CollieIan and Essential Media are long time supporters of Screenrights. “Not only does Screenrights provide an invaluable income stream for Australian producers, but through Enhance TV and other publicity measures it helps promote local programming to schools and bridges the gap between the media and educational sectors”, says Ian. Ian Collie is a producer and partner at Essential Media & Entertainment of television documentary and drama programming. Ian was an executive director of the Arts Law Centre of Australia and then the Australian Directors Guild as well as a former solicitor. His credits include the telemovies Hell Has Harbour Views and Stepfather of the Bride, and various documentaries including Whatever! The Science of Teens, Rogue Nation, The Catalpa Rescue, A Case for the Coroner, Art House, The Shadow of Mary Poppins, and The Original Mermaid. Ian is currently producing the four part TV and on line cross platform social history series The Making of Modern Australia and On Trial a ground breaking documentary series filming criminal trials in the District Court of NSW, both for the ABC. In addition he is producing a 10 x one hour comedy drama series called Rake starring Richard Roxburgh set to commence production in February 2010.
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Melanie Coombs“I am delighted to be an Ambassador for Screenrights. Screenrights is a win-win organisation: it helps audiences find Australian film and screen content, and it helps filmmakers by actually making sure that they get paid. It doesn’t get better than that!” said Melanie Coombs Melanie Coombs founded Melodrama Pictures in 1999 and over the last decade has produced award winning shorts and television documentaries; including double AFI award winning short Break & Enter and Harvie Krumpet, winner of the 2003 Academy Award® for Short Film - Animation. Melanie produced Mary and Max, which opened the 2009 Sundance Film festival, won the Grand Cristal at Annecy 2009 and will be released in France and the USA in late 2009. |
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Veronica FuryVeronica Fury is an independent producer and company director of Fury Productions Pty Ltd. Upon graduating from Griffith University’s acclaimed Film School in 2003 she produced two Odd Jobs mini-docs for ABC TV. After a brief stint at Network Ten she produced Black Soldier with Big Island Pictures for SBS which was short-listed for the prestigious NSW Premier’s Award in 2006. After setting up Fury Productions she completed a two hour series titled The Glamour Game for SBS in 2007 and produced the 2008 AFI nominated Fairweather Man for ABC. She is currently producing The Curse of the Gothic Symphony and Constructive Mob as well as financing The Search for Weng Weng and World Champion Santa for ABC. Fury Productions has a large number of exciting documentary projects in various stages of development including True Crimes of the Lone Avenger, Mysteries of the Human Voice and First Fagin. |
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Megan McMurchyMegan McMurchy is an independent producer with almost thirty years experience in the Australian film and television industry, most recently producing Khoa Do’s feature film Footy Legends. Her other feature credits are Breathing Under Water and Talk, while her documentary productions include Remembering Rain, Mr Patterns, Sadness, Mystique Of The Pearl, For All The World To See, and For Love Or Money. Megan's company, SuitCase Films produced the series Fine Line and Hybrid Life for SBS-TV and was series producer of the multi-platform series Fat Cow Motel for ABC-TV and Austar. She worked for several years as executive producer at Film Australia, and has served as director on the boards of Film Australia and the New South Wales Film and Television Office. She is currently engaged as Enterprise Manager for Screen Australia. Megan enjoys mentoring emerging producers and always emphasises how important it is to register their productions for Screenrights. She comments, “It wasn’t until Fine Line returned so much Screenrights income to its investors that I realised what a difference it can make. I’m really pleased to be an ambassador for Screenrights so I can help spread the message to other producers.” |
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Tony WrightI run December Films, one of Australia’s most experienced companies in factual and documentary production. I have over 25 years experience in documentary, education, drama and animated children’s television development, financing and production. I enjoy what I do even as the times get tougher. For producers our job is to think laterally and always look to ways of getting our shows made and seen by the biggest audience we can. Domestically, our audience love Australian stories and delivering a high rating show I am proud of is a huge reward for all the hard work. Television in all its new forms is a part of the future. It is where most people will watch their movies in far greater numbers than go to the cinema. I have long been a big supporter of Screenrights once I realized that it effectively accesses a kind of ‘box office return’ on TV transmission. Now that Screenrights are not part of gross returns to Screen Australia there are plenty of reasons to sign up our productions. Some of my credits include:
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