Marks Brothers Production in South Melbourne, Victoria | Film/Television studio

Marks Brothers Production

Locality: South Melbourne, Victoria

Address: 228 Dorcas Street 3205 South Melbourne, VIC, Australia

Website: http://www.themarksbrothers.com

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• Arts and entertainment
• Film/Television studio
• Music production studio

25.01.2022 Kat Stewart in the Chat Cave...

25.01.2022 The idea that tickets are being sold to a film screening in Hollywood, where my work is playing, is surreal. When the film was in the can (movie speak for finished, not that it was in the toilet), and I set about strategising a festival submission map, I had my sights aimed high. I've always believed in the whole, aim for the moon & you might just fall amongst the stars trope. You may not know it, but the cost of festival submissions is rather high. Yes, there is a cost for ...festival submissions. So, once you've completed your (very likely) self funded piece, you need to continue pumping the money out to get it seen. I say this to illustrate that one cannot simply just blanket bomb a festival circuit (unless you have unlimited funds... but then you may not need a festival circuit in the first place!), you have to be smart with how you are submitting. In saying that, I wanted to aim for the top, so I just started submitting to all the top tier festivals - the A-list, and the oscar qualifying. Festival submissions can be quite a disheartening process - for this piece, there was about 9 months worth of rejections before it found it's home at Dances With Films. For other projects, it can be years (case and point, the Sweatshop post I made earlier, which has now, finally, found a launch pad at Melbourne WebFest). So, it's time to celebrate this win in style. This win came with great joy (and relief), for not only was it a top tier festival that has given The Wind Cries a home, but it is one in Hollywood - the spiritual centre of movie making. Tickets in the link, if you happen to be in LaLa Land.

23.01.2022 Here's our Tropfest Finalist Film, Waste Of Time! A huge thanks to a stellar cast, crew and group of collaborators. We are very proud of this film. What do you think?

22.01.2022 When WWE sent Sheamus down under to promote their Aussie tour, we were lucky enough to produce this video with them. Good grief!

22.01.2022 Little known fact - SWEATSHOP was originally conceived as a feature film. I was working on ABC tv series, PROBLEMS, in 2012, and was going through a bit of a rough patch personally (read: break up). The film was originally based on my own experiences of going to the gym, and being immersed in acting classes. There seemed to be this cross over between the two worlds - so I put pen to paper. Well, finger to keyboard. At about the halfway mark of the film, it seemed to take a bi...zarre, psychadelic turn... a turn that didn't seem to fit with a feature film model. Around the same time, I had started to collaborate with long time friend, Phil Spencer on a project of his. I brought the concept of SWEATSHOP to him, and presented the possibility of turning it into a series. He took the idea with two hands, sprouted a third, and before long, a fucking weird 70 page feature film, had become a very susinct, quirky, 6 episode series. On day three of our pilot shoot, I got to put on a Gorilla costume, and step into a moment of blurred reality. All for the art, right? Alistair. PS. If you're free Wednesday (Dec 5th), why not join us for our online release?

22.01.2022 Thanks to the AJN for a tremendous article featuring MBP's Alistair Marks!

22.01.2022 Only a week to go! Some more awesome from about Alistair, Ben & team #WasteofTime, on their Tropfest finals film. Getting EXICTED!!

21.01.2022 Thrilled to share some more brilliant news, as our sweaty series has been selected as part of the Spotlight line up for this year's Melbourne WebFest! Sweatshop has long been in the pipeline, and we're beyond excited about [finally] having it out & about in the world.

21.01.2022 Marks Bros is undergoing a much needed facelift - huge thank you to Lauren Basser for designing the 2018 goods.

20.01.2022 With the pilot in the can, cut, coloured and ready to rock, the show was taken to market in mid 2015. However, the edgy and often quirky tone of the show couldnt find a home. Network television wasnt interested in producing comedy, and the SVOD market had only just begun down unda. Patience boiled over into frustration. Comedy gurus (and Logie winners) Ruby Entertainment, had come on board, and together, we sought to exhaust every avenue possible to get the show seen...... Finally, we conceived of a web pilot run. The produced episode divided into four webisodes, to be independently distributed (read: uploaded to YouTube), and made available for the first time for all those who have contributed to the life of the program. Join us on TOMORROW (Dec 5th) for the launch of the first webisode on social media (with the whole season being made available on www.sweatshoptv.com from midnight). The show the people demanded will finally get to see the light of the sweaty day. There's probably not enough tags to thank everyone who helped to make the show, so a general show of gratitude will have to do - to everyone who put their blood, tears, and (most signifcantly), sweat into getting this show up and running, thank you.

19.01.2022 YOU be the judge - vote for our film, WASTE OF TIME, for the Tropfest People's Choice Award! Follow this link, download the app, and give us a 10 (+ you could win an HP Spectre x2) - voting closes THURSDAY NIGHT!

18.01.2022 Get ready, coz things are about to get sweaty! In 2014, we launched a very ambitious crowd funding program to raise the money to shoot a pilot for a TV series. The series was called Sweatshop, and was about a personal trainer, the affable everyman, Jackson Silver, who dreamed of opening his own mind & body wellness centre (against every conceivable obstacle). You, the people of the Sweatshop Nation, spoke - the crowd funding campaign was a resounding success. We smashed throu...gh our first target, and then we stretched, and stretched... and raised more than twice what we had set out to do. Over 5 days, with the help of a tremendous cast and crew, who all worked for the love of the project, we put together a remarkable pilot episode. And, like everything in life, the process from there became a slow burn. Post production took it's time. Getting the word out proved harder than anticipated. It was somewhere in 2015 that a production company called Ruby Entertainment came along. They'd just won a couple of Logies for Secret River, and were the blokes behind some of Australia's most iconic comedy (including Fast Forward, and Kath & Kim). And, they wanted to help us get Sweatshop up & running. So, we all put our heads together. But still, time seemed to mostly frozen through 2016 and 2017. People loved the show, but it couldn't seem to find a home... Until late in 2017, when we had a brain wave. The pilot, while well executed, was obviously lacking in something. It was just slightly missing the mark, somewhere. We needed to go back to the drawing board. Armed with Adobe Premiere Pro, the show was recut and repurposed, and out of that was born a web series - Sweatshop V2.0, for a 2018 audience. We submitted the show to a series of Web Series Festivals, and by god, if our first pick didn't come back and say "Hell Yeah!". It is with great joy that we invite you to celebrate with us at the Melbourne WebFest, next Friday June 29th, at the State Library Theatrette, where Sweatshop will be premiering as a part of the Spotlight series. The show starts at 6pm, and tickets can [only] be purchased at the door (unless you want to buy a festival pass, why not?). Our cast & crew will be in attendance, so, if you feel like basking in some delicious sweaty madness, back a protein bar, and get ready to innovate, motivate, and activate!

17.01.2022 Ok, maybe we're a little guilty...

16.01.2022 With Sweatshop in the can, the next step in the process was (obviously) to get it seen. In its TV30 (minute) format, and with Netflix fresh on our shores, along with new competitor Stan (and Presto), we thought wed struck at the perfect moment. However, it wasnt to be, there and then. We had designed & produced something which we believed would have a broad appeal, both at home & internationally, but we couldnt get arrested. There was a feeling though, that persistence was... going to go a long way here. Ive always been tenacious, if nothing else, with patience a valuable tool in my arsenal. And, lucky for us, it wasnt long before we met the guys behind Ruby Entertainment - and Sweatshop found its Godfathers. Our combined effort over the next few years has lead to a number of opportunities, but, unfortunately, nothing concrete. And then in the middle of 2016, I had an opportunity to go and live in London. And this was an opportunity I took with both hands. The next 12 months, I would spend working on some of the biggest features in the studio space. At the end of that year, I produced and directed a short film in London. And then, I had a brain wave. What if we repurposed Sweatshop, for a short form generation? The jokes are still all there, they just pop a little bit harder. The story remains the same, it just draws you in a little more. The old leave them wanting more, is hopefully the last impression now. I dunno. You tell me. And then let me know if you want to see more? Premiere Details: https://tinyurl.com/sweatshopmwf

15.01.2022 The Wind Cries - Behind The Scenes When I moved from Melbourne to London in July of 2016, all I knew was that I had a place to live, and a 4 week job on Ready Player One. Fast forward to July 2017, and I had worked on some of the biggest films of the year, capped off by making my own short film - The Wind Cries. The short was brought to life by people who worked on all the various studio productions I'd been a part of - the next generation of film & tv pros. Over two days in... the middle of the English summer, we shot this logistically (kind of) straight forward, but technically (very) challenging, psycho thrill ride of a short. The short was conceived and written somewhere around 2010. It was one of those scripts that just poured out of me, without too much conscious thought required. However, I could never find a suitable shooting location in Melbourne. Fortunately, London had the perfect spots, and now it was just a matter of finding one that fit both the billing & the budget... As we prepare for the premiere in a month's time at the Dances With Films festival, in Los Angeles, here are a selection of BTS stills (shot expertly by www.luxphotographics.com), which go someway to showing you just what a rabbit this tremendous crew pulled out of a Croydon-Town-Hall shaped hat. -- Alistair

14.01.2022 The Wind Cries MBP 2017, UK

14.01.2022 I would say that at LEAST 80% of directing is who you surround yourself with in the cast and crew, and by god, did the stars align for Sweatshop. It is a real joy and I feel great nachas (the Jewish tortilla) to have such wonderful creative talent to make the work with. These legends were repping our sweaty show at the premiere of Melbourne WebFest, where the show was birthed in public last night, with much aplomb. ... Which is just a great word to say with your mouth. Aplomb. Thanks to everyone who got us to the start line, now we race ahead.

13.01.2022 What an exciting couple of days we've had with Sheamus, producing the promo material for the WWE's upcoming tour of Australia in August! Stay tuned, fella!

12.01.2022 Excited to announce a WRAP on our first UK based production, The Wind Cries. A tremendous amount of gratitude to the wonderful cast & crew who brought this [crazy] script to life. Photo Cred: www.luxphotographics.com

12.01.2022 Our REEL! Thanks to all that have contributed & collaborated over the years, we're super proud of the work that we produce together.

11.01.2022 WEDNESDAY! Remember that show you helped us make a few years ago..?

11.01.2022 Ever wanted to know what makes our director, Alistair Marks, silly? Get caught up on the latest Coming Up Next Podcast, with episode 50, where Sweatshop actor Michala Banas Fansite, turns the tables. Metaphorically. There isn't actually a table.

10.01.2022 Premiere Details: https://tinyurl.com/sweatshopmwf It's almost time to: Innovate, Motivate, Activate! Sweatshop came as the apex of some real life circumstances circa 2012. Having just gone through a break up, I was spending most of my time at the gym or in the acting class room (if I wasn't working with Samuel Johnson on his Love Your Sister charity).... I could draw a lot of parallels between the lives I was experiencing in the gym and the class room, and, spurred on by my heartache, felt compelled to put pen to paper. With the help of long time collaborator, Phil Spencer to shape the piece, Sweatshop was born. Originally written as a feature, the show took on a few different shapes and sizes before finally finding it's form as a series. And this Friday, it departs from the embryonic phase, and steps out into the world.

09.01.2022 The Wind Cries has been selected for competition at Oscar accredited film festival, Dances With Films!! We couldn't be more excited to be premiering our psychotic thrill ride in Hollywood next month. Trailer dropping soon!

08.01.2022 Trop of the day to you! Remember to tune in TONIGHT to SBS2 from 9pm- our film (#WasteofTime) is in the FIRST block!!

08.01.2022 Hey, sweaty people! Don't forget that Episode 2 is about to drop in a little over an hour! Can't wait? Head on over to www.sweatshoptv.com to see all our episodes!

08.01.2022 Don't fall into the booby trap, be breast aware. And for all the men out there, save a life, grope your wife. Remembering the mother of it all. Your love & sacrifice has erected a village, captured a nation, and promoted a significant shift in the search for a cure. Love Your Sister. Rest in power. https://loveforconnie.org.au

07.01.2022 #FlowersFilm is in bloom!

07.01.2022 Composer Nick is at it again! Click here for his latest self produced jam. Would you believe he recorded it in his bedroom?

06.01.2022 ~ When Tennessee Lee & his wife, Jane, subjugate the Franklin Private Bank, it is not the riches in the vault they are after, but the legacy that their act will leave behind. ~ Premiering June 10th 2018 at Dances With Films, Los Angeles.

05.01.2022 Premiere Details: https://tinyurl.com/sweatshopmwf See Jackson Silver in his quest to open his own mind & body gym, save his relationship, do his best to hide his secret from the world... and make the best Star Wars reference, of course. It's Clerks, meets Wilfred, set in a gym.... This Friday, June 29th, at 1800, SWEATSHOP, the series you funded, makes it's World Premiere as part of Melbourne WebFest. Tickets only available at the door. Our cast & crew will be in attendance, so, if you feel like basking in some delicious sweaty madness, back a protein bar, and get ready to innovate, motivate, and activate!

04.01.2022 From Marks Brothers Production, to all of our followers & supporters, we hope that 2017 has been a year filled with making the shit you keep thinking about. Although we're absent from social media (which is definitely on our list of shit we keep thinking about), both Nick and myself, as well as the greater MBP family, are working away in the creative game. While Nick is forging a musician's life in New York City, I've spent most of this year working on films in the UK (inclu...ding Paul Thomas Anderson's latest flick, The Phantom Thread), and coming back to Australia to continue my work with Samuel, Connie, and team Love Your Sister. We're working away, shaping and moulding, what we hope is going to be a pretty spectacular documentary. It's already 7 years in the making... Here's to a tremendous 2018 - we'll be raising a glass to your creative endeavour. And eventually getting our website back online.

04.01.2022 Today is the day resident Mr. Nice Guy, Jackson Silver, gets the loan to open his own Mind & Body wellness gym. He's just gotta get through a totally normal morning... WATCH THE FULL SEASON NOW: www.sweatshoptv.com

03.01.2022 CUN turns two tomorrow! Subscribe to listen!

01.01.2022 Something we've been working on for a while - we're finally live and sweaty! #sweatshoptv