As the sun sank into the Surry Hills cityscape, and glowing yellow Chinese Lanterns dotted sparkled in the fading light, the stage was perfectly set to finally announce the winner of the OPTUS ONE80 Project on Sunday. The night was an overwhelming success as over 1200 people flooded into Harmony Park to watch the top 10 short films from some of the countries most promising Cinematic Virtuosos by twilight.
Both of this years winning entries came from Sydney, with ‘Wauchope’ being voted as the Judge’s Choice Winner which will be made into a one hour TV drama to be shown on MTV Australia and Optus ZOO. ‘Staying’ was voted as the Viewers’s Choice Winner, earning them a prize pack to help them develop their pilot further.
The OPTUS ONE80PROJECT panel of judges (including acclaimed actors Teresa Palmer, Sibylla Budd, Marcus Graham, first year OPTUS ONE80PROJECT winner, Ben Briand and The Managing Director of Paramount Pictures Australia Michael Selwyn) and Rebecca Batties (MTV Networks Australia, General Manager of Music Brands) had a tough job picking just one overall winner from the high standard of pilots. It took three weeks of deliberation but finally “Wauchope” was selected as the pilot they would like to see developed into a one hour TV drama. “Wauchope” is a joint collaboration from Sydney-siders Reuben Field and Dean Bates.
“The judges were unanimous in their decision to pick "Wauchope" as the pilot to be developed into a one hour drama. Once again we were delivered a great idea which was brought to life with very few resources.” Said Rebecca Batties, MTV Networks Australia, General Manager of Music Brands “The story is classic, but creators Ruben Field and Dean Bates have breathed new life into the story of Australian school kids with seemingly no hope and the teacher who wants to change their fate.”
The public was also given the chance to vote for their favorite entry online and on mobile over 11 weeks. When voting closed, “Staying” was the clear winner. The pilot was developed by Andrew Garrick who hails from the Sydney suburb of Darlinghurst.
Both the Judge’s Choice and Viewer’s Choice OPTUS ONE80PROJECT winners will receive an amazing LG prize package from LG Mobile Phones including the stylish new Black Label Series Mobile - Secret, a 52 inch LCD TV, Home Theatre System, Notebook and DVD Recorder. In addition, the Judges Choice will get the opportunity to work with MTV production experts and MTV Australia’s production facilities to develop and shape their original pilot into a full-length multi-platform drama. The completed final episodes will be shown first on the Optus ZOO web and mobile portals and later shown on MTV Australia in 2009.
Congratulations to all who entered OPTUS ONE80 Project – the level of competition was truly astounding. Stay tuned for an exclusive interview with Judge Marcus Graham and the winners in days to come.
