Titanic-How It Sank

James Cameron's Pal Killed in 'Copter Crash

Andrew Wright & James Cameron

The writer and producer of the Australian film Sanctum, Andrew Wright has been killed after a helicopter he was piloting crashed just outside Nowra on the NSW south coast yesterday.

The 3D movie was a huge world-wide box office success in 2011 and sealed a partnership between Wright and Avatar director James Cameron who announced two days ago that he was moving to New Zealand.
Sanctum starred Richard Roxburgh, Ioan Gruffud, Rhys Wakefield and Alison Cratchley. 

Filmed on the Gold Coast it followed the adventures of a group of  divers exploring underground mines and was to be the beginning of a long term partnership between Cameron and Wright.
Andrew Wright was filming scenes for a documentary when he and associate Mike DeGruy's chopper suddenly dived and crashed , killing the pair outright.

Hollywood beckons for Abe

   At only 19 young actor Abe Forsyth has won the 18th Tropfest short film festival with his movie about a radio DJ-Shock .  How scary-tSS went to the very first Tropfest at the Tropicana Cafe in Kings Cross all those years ago when Abe was just a baby !.

John Polson, Abe Forsyth, Elijah Wood (c)

    From a night at the coffee shop Polson's baby has grown to a phenomenal size that attracts Hollywood stars to judge the 15 finalists in the short film festival. Polsons own film career is blooming and Tropfest has a life of it's own. Sponsors fall over themselves to get involved and 75,000 people attended the festival in the Domain on Sunday night. Similar numbers likewise in Melbourne, Perth , Brisbane and so on. (tSS received an email on Friday from a previous judge-Jamie Foxx asking if we were attending and to request we pass on our regards to Polson!)

  Polson  has a New York version underway in association with Robert de Niro 's Tribeca Film Festival-tropfest@tribeca and will be launching a European version next year.

    And previous winners have gone on to great success. 1995 winner Gregor Jordon directed Two Hands, Buffalo Soldiers and Ned Kelly with the late Heath Ledger. His latest thriller Unthinkable with Samuel L. Jackson and Carrie-Ann Moss will be released this June.

Bryan Brown

Elijah Wood (c)

  

 2005 winner of the Tropfest best comedy Alister Grierson is currently directing his first feature, the 3D film Sanctum staring Richard Roxburgh and Welsh star Ioan Gruffudd. Sanctum is being produced by Avatar director James Cameron who chose Grierson after watching him work on Avatar.

   

Part of Forsyth's prize includes a trip to LA to meet some film bigwigs. Amongst this year's judges-Toni Collette, Elijah Wood and Bryan Brown.

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## What Would Warhol Blog?

see the answer to one of the great mysteries :

What would Andy Warhol think of the internet ?

Fomer friends from The Factory ponder on what the artist would have thought of the WWW.

what a difference a year makes..

A year ago he was a happy-go-lucky young actor about town but now armed with a Hollywood publicist actor Sam Worthington has returned to Oz and is refusing all photograph opportunities as he rides the Avatar publicity circuit.

The December world-wide release of the James Cameron's 3D space epic is certain to catapult Worthington into instant international stardom and make Sam a new movie heart throb. Avatar is predicted to be the blockbuster's blockbuster. Here is an earlier Shuttle snap of Worthington-he hasn't changed much. He's still a nice chap.