Cannes: ‘Blue Dog’ On Same Trail As 2011 Australian Hit ‘Red Dog’

Production is under way on “Blue Dog,” a follow-up to 2011 Australian smash hit “Red Dog.”

Kriv Stenders is again set as director. Nelson Woss returns as producer and Daniel Taplitz again provides the screenplay.

The family film is an original story, separate from the wandering red dog story. Set in the late 1960s, “Blue Dog” is the story of a young boy (Levi Miller) and his dog, growing up on a cattle station in the middle of nowhere. The boy prepares himself for a life of dull hardship but instead finds adventure and friendship with a scrappy, one-of-a-kind pup.

Established Australian actors Bryan Brown (“Australia,” “Beautiful Kate”), John Jarratt (“Wolf Creek”), and U.K. actor Jason Isaacs (“Fury,” “Harry Potter,” “Black Hawk Down”), head the cast, along with newcomer Miller (“Pan,” “Terra Nova”) in the lead as the boy, Mick.

Roadshow Films will distribute “Blue Dog” in Australia, alongside Good Dog Distribution — a new distribution and sales entity. Roadshow Films and Good Dog Distribution are also selling the film worldwide. Release is anticipated in 2016.

Roadshow execs Graham Burke and Joel Pearlman are executive producers on the film.

As with “Red Dog,” “Blue Dog” is significantly supported by Australian mining companies. Stakeholders include Rio Tinto, Woodside, Pilbara Development Commission, Raw Hire and Steel Blue Boots.

Finance comes from ScreenWest, Film Victoria, and Screen Australia’s Feature Enterprise program as well as Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Institutional support comes from Ngarluma Aboriginal Corporation (NAC), Ngarluma Yindjibarndi Foundation (NYFL) and Film Victoria.

Director of photography is Geoffrey Hall (“Anzac Girls,” “Red Dog,” “Chopper”); costume designer is Anna Borghesi (“Mao’s Last Dancer,” “Pitch Black”); production designer is Sam Hobbs (“The Kettering Incident,” “Beneath Hill 60”); art director is Emma Fletcher (“The Turning”); and composer is Cezary Skubiszewski (“The Sapphires”).

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