Cinematical
February 4, 2007
Ryan Stewart

The only thing I know for sure about the casting situation with The Tender Hook is that it's an Australians-only affair. An article in this morning's Herald Sun is re-affirming most of what we've already known -- that Rose Byrne has replaced Radha Mitchell as Iris, a woman in a noir-stylized 1920s Sydney who is fought over by two opposing boxers. Hugo Weaving, Ray Winstone and Matt Le Nevez are also still attached to the project, although official announcements have yet to be made. The project is being written and directed by Jonathan Ogilvie, whose last film, Emulsion, was unseen by me. Still, I have high hopes for any film that self-identifies as film noir, one of my favorite genres.

Byrne, who was the Duchesse de Polignac in last year's Marie Antoinette, has a full slate of high-profile films for 2007, including the sequel to Danny Boyle's 28 Days Later and the starring role in Boyle's highly-anticipated 'the sun is dying, what do we do?' science-fiction film, Sunshine. The paper also reports that The Tender Hook is set to be shot in Melbourne, which has recently become one of the hottest filming spots in all of Australia.