It’s official! The Water Diviner is Australia’s top film of 2014.

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Andrew Anastasios, Andrew Mason, Andrw Knight, Keith Rodger, Russell Crowe, The Water Diviner, Troy Lum

Box office figures just released for the last week in Australian cinemas have The Water Diviner as the country’s highest grossing film of 2014. Karl Quinn at Sydney Morning Herald is saying the film took $5.65M in Australia from Boxing Day to the year’s end – just six days. It has added nearly another $3M since. His full report is here.

The figures are really pleasing – after all movies do take money to make – but what is most exciting as a writer is how many Australians have gone out of their way to see The Water Diviner story this summer. And it’s not just here. Box Office Turkiye has posted attendances for Son Umut (The Water Diviner in Turkey) in excess of 500,000 for the first week, making it Turkey’s top film since its Boxing Day release.

In the last few hours papers have been leading with the news.
News.com.au says, “Russell Crowe’s The Water Diviner smashes record after just six days in release.”
Variety.com says, “Russell Crowe’s Water Diviner is top Australian film of 2014.”
Daily Mail.co.uk leads with “Top that!”

In a statement Universal said,’It’s that time of year when people are thinking about the future, and The Water Diviner reminds us of the possibility of hope.’ Hear, hear.

To Russell, the producers Andrew Mason, Troy Lum and Keith Rodger, and the teams at Universal and eOne – great job guys.

Another AACTA Nomination for The Water Diviner

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AACTA AWARDS, Andrew Anastasios, Andrew Knight, Russell Crowe, The Water Diviner

Congratulations to David Booth, Prue Fletcher, Mark Varisco, Adam Paschke and all the VFX Team for their recently announced AACTA nomination. It’s the film’s ninth so far. The VFX team have been tapped for the amazing dust storm sequence in The Water Diviner which you can see here.

Dust storm from Official The Water Diviner site

For anyone in any doubt about whether these sorts of storms occur in Australia, check this real one out. from outback Queensland.

AACTA Voting Closes this Monday 5th January at midnight.
Click here for a link to the voting site for AACTA members.

Turkish audiences “flock” to see The Water Diviner

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Andrew Anastasios, Gallipoli, Russell Crowe, sabah, Son Umut, The Water Diviner

The Turkish newspaper, Sabah, is reporting that unprecedented numbers of Turks are “flocking” to see Son Umut (The Water Diviner). They say on their website, Dailysabah.com, that the film ranks number one in the weekend box office rankings. Click here for the full story.
Thanks Turkey!

If anyone is interested in a look behind the scenes during the shoot in Turkey, here is an article I penned for Gourmet Traveller’s December issue in Australia.

Andrew Anastasios in Turkey (with son Roman)

The Water Diviner Number One in Turkey

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Andrew Anastasios, Andrew Knight, Fear of God, Hopscotch, Russell Crowe, Son Umut, The Water Diviner

What great news to receive on the cusp of a new year. Son Umut (Last Hope), as the film has been called in Turkey, was Turkey’s most viewed cinema release for the Boxing Day weekend, passing the latest Hobbit instalment as well as a couple of popular local films. Mars, the Turkish distributor, released the film in 600 cinemas and I can happily say have been vindicated in their confidence. It is really pleasing to see audiences in both Australia and Turkey, both sides of the Gallipoli-Canakkale campaign, embracing our story. Past enemies finding common ground is after all what our film is about.
Just as an aside, the film did over $5M in Australia in the first 5 days which makes it the strongest local release all year. Akubras off to Russell Crowe and the producers, Hopscotch and Fear of God. Not that we’re obsessed with the monetary return but it is the best way to gauge how many people are seeing our film. Thanks to everyone who has supported The Water Diviner so far, and a Happy New Year!

Source: boxofficeturkiye.com

Here is a link to the Turkish stats, at BoxOfficeTurkiye.com courtesy of Mine Gursel, thanks Mine G.

Click here for the Daily Telegraph article called Turkish Delight!

Turkish premiere invitation for Son Umut

The biggest opening weekend for an Australian film in 2014.

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Andrew Anastasios, Andrew Knight, Australian Film, Russell Crowe, The Water Diviner

Hey, I just received some exciting news from Deadline.com.

“Russell Crowe’s The Water Diviner debuted through Universal in Australia and New Zealand this weekend and grossed $3M at 334 dates. In Oz, the epic historical drama was No. 4 with $2.9M at 252 dates. Although it didn’t best The Hobbit in its arrival in the market, it is the biggest opening for an Australian film this year. It will now play as the key adult drama going into the Down Under summer. In Crowe’s native New Zealand, The Water Diviner was also No. 4 with $173K at 82 dates. Universal will release in 11 further markets next year.”

There was no beating the Hobbits but The Water Diviner was just pipped by Big Hero 6 and Night at the Museum 3 for 4th spot. I’ll be very interested to hear how things went in Turkey over the last weekend. A big thank you to everyone who saw the film in Australia and New Zealand and supported a local story.

For the entire Deadline article click here.

Water Divining not just in the imagination

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Andrew Anastasios, Andrew Knight, Gallipoli, Russell Crowe, The Water Diviner, water divining

Wow, a lot of Australians have seen The Water Diviner over the weekend – not quite as many as have been Hobbiting but still I think we ended up being fourth most popular film on Boxing Day behind three Hollywood flicks and have had sessions sold out all over the country. So I hope you all enjoyed it.

I haven’t seen the figures from December 26 in Turkey yet but here is a recent article from Zaman (Today) newspaper in Istanbul where I have a crack at explaining the thinking behind, and the genesis of, a number of the scenes. Hope your Turkish is good! It should be available in English in a day or two. When it is, I’ll post it.

While we were sitting in air-conditioned comfort munching popcorn some genuine water diviners in Western Australia were doing what they do best. For tips on how to water douse and some provocative explanations for the phenomena, click here for a Sydney Morning Herald article from earlier today. Like I’ve always said, I’d be as sceptical as the next bloke if my grandfather Keith Liston hadn’t been a water diviner in NSW for 40-50 years. I’ve seen him do it, and seen the wells and bores he’s dug.

Keith Liston water diviner

Free Double Passes to The Water Diviner.

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Andrew Anastasios, Andrew Knight, booktopia, Meaghan Wilson-Anastasios, Russell Crowe, The Water Diviner, The Water Diviner book

Keen to see the movie and read the book? I’ve just noticed that Booktopia is offering free double passes to The Water Diviner when you purchase a copy of the novel * (Make sure you check the offer details as there’s an asterisk. There’s always an asterisk isn’t there!). The book is 20% below RRP too, so it sounds like a pretty good deal. Click here for the link to Booktopia.

The book is written by myself and my wife Meaghan Wilson-Anastasios, based on the original script by Andrew Knight and I. Meaghan worked as researcher on the film.

Meaghan Wilson-Anastasios and Andrew Anastasios at the Sydney Premiere.

The Water Diviner opens Boxing Day.

Forget the Boxing Day Sales crushes in Australia – the pushing and shoving, the queues, the undignified haggling. Wouldn’t you rather be sitting, relaxing with friends in the dark, eating popcorn in an air-conditioned cinema as the curtain is drawn on the first sessions of The Water Diviner?

Here are a couple of recent reviews from the News.com.au and The Sydney Morning Herald to give you a hint of what to expect.

The Water Diviner also opens in 600 cinemas across Turkey today, December 26. I for one am very excited to see how Turkish audiences respond to our film. Here is a recent interview I did with Jane Akatay of the Fethiye Times, if you’re are interested in the writing process and the genesis of the story.

Writing The Water Diviner

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Andrew Anastasios, Andrew Knight, Bolinda, film victoria, Pan Macmillan, Russell Crowe, The Water Diviner

Film Victoria recently asked Andrew Knight and myself(Andrew Anastasios) about the writing process for the film and the various elements that inspired the story. The Q&A by Larissa Manski is included in their December newsletter here.

Charlie Carmen from Film Victoria was one of the first people to read The Water Diviner. The investment from Film Victoria, when the project was in its infancy, made the development of the script possible. Without that initial encouragement and assistance the film may not have seen the light of day, so thank you Film Vic.

The Water Diviner opens on December 26, in Australia, New Zealand and Turkey.

The Water Diviner book, published by PanMacmillan, is now available through all good book stores in Australia, and as an ebook at amazon.com.au. The audio book by Bolinda will be instore for the film release in three days.

Happy watching, reading and listening.

More preview sessions this week.

For those who missed out on the previews tonight there are also advance screenings showing in NSW through Event Cinemas. See the details here.

If listening to vinyl and drinking local craft beers is more your speed, catch the film at the Classic Cinema in Elsternwick, Melbourne. They are also running previews starting on Friday 19th in the afternoon. Click here for session times.

The shows I mentioned in the last post are also continuing-see below and enjoy.

There are preview sessions this Wednesday 17th at Village Cinemas in Victoria and Tassie. Tickets are limited. Link to the Village sessions here.

Palace Cinemas are also running advance screenings from Friday December 19. For sessions times click here.

One of the local faves, the Sun Theatre in Yarraville, is also running previews from Friday December 19th. See details here.

The film opens nationally on December 26th.