Australia's leading independent DVD distributor Madman Entertainment are proud to announce the acquisition of several key titles by leading American director Jim Jarmusch. The acclaimed director is noted for his ironic wit, laconic style, and his gorgeous black-and-white photography, characterised by such noted works as "Down by Law" (Official Selection -Cannes 1986) and "Dead Man" (Nominated - Golden Palm, Cannes 1995) that starred Johnny Depp and the late Robert Mitchum.

This stylish, worldly, and thoroughly hip collection of American Independent Films from the legendary director will commence DVD distribution into the Australian Home Entertainment market, via Madman's Director's Suite imprint in June 2005.

The first release of the collection will be the double disc edition of Jarmusch's cult classic 'Down by Law' starring Roberto Benigni (Life is Beautiful) , Ellen Barkin (Sea of Love) and renowned musician Tom Waits.

Complete with a new high definition transfer supervised by Jarmusch himself, the double disc set will feature a 'Thoughts & Reflections by Jim Jarmusch' segment, a new interview with director of photography Robby Mueller (Paris, Texas) A Cannes Film Festival press conference with Jarmusch and stars John Lurie, Roberto Benigni, and Nicoletta Braschi, and a music video of Tom Waits directed by Jarmusch, plus outtakes , Jarmusch's phone calls to the cast, and more!

Jim Jarmusch lives and works in New York. After his first feature, which gained a cult as well as a critical following in Europe, Jarmusch made Stranger Than Paradise which won the Camera dor (Cannes, 1984) and was voted Best Picture of the Year by the National Society of Film Critics (USA, 1985). His third feature, Down By Law (1986), was selected for the main competition of the 1986 Cannes Film Festival, received many foreign film awards and remains in theatrical distribution worldwide. Mystery Train , starring the late Screaming Jay Hawkins and Joe Strummer won the Prize for Best Artistic Contribution in Cannes 1989. Night on Earth (1991) was collection of five stories involving cab drivers in five different cities- LA, New York, Paris, Rome, and Helsinki starring Benigni and Winona Ryder, whilst 1995's Dead Man starring Johnny Depp was briefly banned in Australia before going on to receive a string of critical plaudits all over the country.

All these acclaimed features will be released as part of Madman's Jarmusch Collection, through their 'Director's Suite" imprint in 2005.

Down by Law : June 15 2005
Dead Man : July 2005
Permanent Vacation : July 2005
Stranger than Paradise : date tba
Mystery Train :date tba
Night on Earth : date tba

Production on Heath Ledger and Geoffrey Rush's new Australian film, CANDY will begin in Sydney tomorrow.
The film, which also stars Abbie Cornish, is based on Luke Davies' critically acclaimed best seller of the same name and marks the big screen debut for theatre director Neil Armfield.
The film will be shot in and around Sydney in suburbs including Erskineville, Centennial Park, Kings Cross, Alexandria, Petersham, Manly, Botany, Wallacia and Austral.
Candy tells the story of Dan (Ledger), a man who falls in love with two types of candy - a woman named Candy (Cornish) and heroin.
Armfield describes the film as "a convention-defying romantic tragedy that is at once inspiring and heartbreaking".
"Abbie Cornish's inherent charisma and fragility convinced me that no other actress could better handle the transformation required to tell this very human story," he explains.
Through the eyes of a narrator, Dan changes from a smart-alec to someone trying to find a vein to inject, while Candy changes from an actress to a call-girl, a streetwalker and a madwoman.
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Dan and Candy's story begins in Sydney with the couple moving to Melbourne in an attempt to go clean. Failing that, they turn to finding money to score heroin.
"It is imperative that Dan, despite his flaws, is a compelling character that audiences can empathise with and respond to," producer Emile Sherman said.
Ledger's film credits include Two Hands, A Knight's Tale, Monster's Ball, The Patriot and Ten Things I Hate About You.
His upcoming releases include The Brothers Grimm with Matt Damon, Casanova with Jeremy Irons and Brokeback Mountain with Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway.
Academy Award winner Geoffrey Rush has signed on to play Casper, an academic.
Rush joins a strong Australian support cast including Noni Hazlehurst, Tony Martin, Nathaniel Dean and Tara Morice.
The actors have been in rehearsals for the film since early February.
Candy will be released in theatrically in Australia by Dendy Films & home video by Madman Entertainment early next year with international sales to be handled by Renaissance Films.

TIME IS RUNNING OUT!!

Limited Edition
FULLMETAL ALCHEMIST V01 WITH COLLECTOR'S TIN & SOUNDTRACK
(MMB155)

Fullmetal Alchemist follows the harrowing adventures of the heroic Edward Elric and his younger brother, the metallic Alphonse, as they search for the fabled Philosopher's Stone in their quest to regain their original bodies!

Only 150 units left... 1st in, best dressed!

Released April 13th 2005
ONLY $49.95 SRP inc GST

Don't Delay! Get your orders in NOW to ensure a shipment!

Call your AV Channel Sales Rep on
03 9419 5444 today

Madman Entertainment are proud to announce the acquisition of SMASHING MACHINE .

Directed by John Hyams, SMASHING MACHINE is a no holds barred tale of the physical and emotional price paid by Extreme Fighting's top competitor Mark "The Smashing Machine" Kerr.

A sport so dangerous it was once banned in the US, No Holds Barred (NHB) fighting is simple in concept and savage in execution.

Likened to a modern version of gladiator fights and human
cockfighting, it consists of one ring, two fighters.....and no rules.

In this exciting, graphic documentary, the camera takes an unflinching look at the world of extreme fighting.

SMASHING MACHINE has been invited to screen at both Sydney and Melbourne Interntional Film Festivals.

View the trailer at the link below

Khoa Do, the young director of the critically acclaimed film "The Finished People" has been named "The Young Australian of the Year".

As a writer, director, actor and teacher he has carved an impressive niche for himself in the Australian film industry. As a two-year-old, Khoa left Vietnam on a fishing boat with his parents. Khoa and his family arrived in Sydney and based themselves in Bankstown.

While he explored his love for theatre, film, and comedy, Khoa worked as an English teacher and job-seeking-skills volunteer among youth living on the streets of Cabramatta.

In 2001, Khoa was nominated for an AFI Award for his screen play for the short film Delivery Day.

A year later, Khoa commenced voluntary work with disadvantaged kids at Cabramatta's Open Family Welfare Centre. He was asked to teach film-making to these ?at risk' youth and saw no better way to teach them than to go ahead and make a film with them.

A script was developed based on the experiences of those in the class including drug addiction,homelessness and crime, with all the major cast members first time actors. The end result is the now the internationally acclaimed film, "The Finished People" which was released by Madman/AV Channel in 2004 on DVD, after a successful theatrical season.

Madman/AV Channel take this opportunity to congratulate Khoa Do on this significant acheivement and wish him all the very best in his future endeavours.

Praise for 'The Finished People'

"Few films deserve to be
called "important", this one does."
(4 stars) EMPIRE Magazine

'The Finished People is not only the best Australian film of the year; it's the best in many years.' Brisbane News

'One of the most important Australian films of the past few years, The Finished People is a work that should change lives.' The Sunday Telegraph

'A totally engrossing, heartfelt and immediate movie experience that needs to be seen'. Filmink Magazine

HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE, the latest film from Hayao Miyazaki and Studio Ghibli, has topped 350,000 admissions in France in its opening week of theatrical release.

This makes it the best opening for a Miyazaki picture in France.

HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE has also been given the honour of closing the Roetterdam International Film Festival on February 5.

Visit the URL below to see the trailer - Madman will release HOWL'S MOVING CASTLE in cinemas late 2005.

Please note that the format of all invoices from The AV Channel will change from Monday.

The changes include:

- the inclusion of a BACKORDER column detailing items from that order placed on backorder
- Items will be listed in reverse alpha-numerical order
- all descriptives, freight information, backorder numbers and so on will now appear grouped at the end of the invoice.

We hope these changes assist you in your dealings with The AV Channel!

**PIRACY RAID IN SYDNEY**
On December 24, Yash Raj Films, Eros Multimedia and MG Distribution conducted a major raid on a Harris Park video shop selling illegal copies of films such as Swades, Veer Zaara and Dhoom.

Over 250 illegal copies of these films were confiscated.

The owner of the shop will face legal proceedings in the Federal Court.

Yash Raj Films, Eros Multimedia and MG Distribution will continue to protect their films from piracy with more raids scheduled nationally over coming months.

On Wednesday 5 January 2005, THE AGE A3 published a double page spread with an excerpt from Peter Carey's travel tale WRONG ABOUT JAPAN. This book chronicles Carey's journey to Tokyo with his son Charley. It is a fascinating read that takes us into Japanese culture through the lens of Charley's obsession with manga and anime. The more Carey looked, the more he was hooked... You will be too. Follow the link for everything you need to know on Carey's book and his passion for anime.

Peter Carey: "On AKIRA's graphic pages i found images so artful i could have hung them on my wall."

"In Japan, anime is as much respected as live-action films, and not at all limited to a specific age group. The first anime I saw was based on AKIRA and I was struck by the artistry of their frames, their combination of realism, exaggeration, something ineffably and inarguably 'Japanese'... I was as hooked as Charley and I wanted more." pp.3-4

All valued customers and clients of The AV Channel should note that our company's distribution facility will be closed for stock take and renovations on Tuesday 4th and Wednesday 5th January 2005.

Subsequently, no orders will be processed on either of these days.

We appreciate that this will cause a small delay in shipping of stock and thank you for your patience and ongoing patronage.

We again take this opportunity to wish all AV Channel customers a merry Christmas and peaceful New Year.