Devil’s Kitchen Announcement

More news about Matt Wallace’s work!

Collaroy, NSW, Australia, October 1st, 2007 — Independent Australian production companies Thinktank Digital and Precision Pictures have announced a joint feature film project they hope to begin shooting in early 2008. The film, entitled DEVILS KITCHEN, will be a period horror/thriller based on the legendary journey of early 19th century Irish convict Alexander Pearce.

Pearce fled the notoriously hellish penal colony on Sarah Island in 1822 with seven other convicts. Recaptured alone over 100 days later, he told a story that has become the subject of books, documentaries, the stage, and made Pearce a controversial figure in Australian history and popular culture referenced in songs by such bands as Weddings Parties Anything and The Drones. Attempting to cross the hostile Tasmanian wilderness, the titular Devil’s Kitchen, Pearce and his cohorts were faced with nearly impassable terrain, harsh weather, and the threat of starvation. One by one, the escaped convicts killed and cannibalized each other until only Pearce remained.

Producer Robin Newell will also direct from a script co-written with multi-award winning author Matt Wallace. Newell, who’s been developing the project over a number of years, has directed and produced documentary programs in over 30 countries and received accolades that include the United Nations Documentary Film Award and the ATOM for Unique and Outstanding Production.

“This is a great story of survival – of the depth a man will go to survive,” Newell says of his dream project. “It is also a horror film. More shocking when you realise that this is a true story. The images we will re-create are real. These men really did embark on a perilous journey through some of the worlds most impenetrable terrain. They really did kill and eat each other along the way and Alexander Pearce really did come out the other side to tell his story. He was the first white man to travel from one side of Tasmania to the other. It is one of the greatest stories of survival, ever.”

Pearce’s tale is also the inspiration for new film DYING BREED starring SAW franchise co-creator Leigh Whannell. While DYING BREED, scheduled to be released next year, is said to be a contemporary take on the material, Newell and crew hope to tell a more factually based story.

DEVILS KITCHEN will be shot on-location in Tasmania with an estimated budget of $3 million AUD.