Stan rolled out the blue carpet last night at the Sydney Opera House for the world premiere of Kick Gurry’s Stan Original Series C*A*U*G*H*T. Leading the stars was Matthew Fox who flew in from Italy where he now lives.
Series director, producer, writer and actor Kick Gurry was the key attraction for waiting media as he worked the line of entertainment reporters. Gurry also secured attendance from most of the A-list cast Bryan Brown, Ben O’Toole, Lincoln Younes, Alexander England, Mel Jarnson, Fayssal Bazzi, Rebecca Breeds, Erik Thomson, Rob Carlton, Jeremy Lindsay Taylor, Justine Clarke, Karl Stefanovic, Ariel Donoghue and Silvia Colloca.
C*A*U*G*H*T A-list cast members [L to R]: Erik Thomson, Bryan Brown, Ben O’Toole, Lincoln Younes, Matthew Fox, Rebecca Breeds, Kick Gurry, Fayssal Bazzi, Alexander England, Mel Jarnson
Stan Ambassadors Renee Bargh and Beau Ryan hosted the blue carpet. Stan staffers watching the launch of their latest Australian Original production included chief executive Martin Kugeler, commissioners and exec producers for the project Cailah Scobie and Amanda Duthie and head of acquisitions Les Sampson.
With Stan part of the Nine Entertainment group, the parent company was well represented by many including head of drama Andy Ryan, director of communications Vic Buchan, entertainment reporter Richard Wilkins, strategy execs Alex Needs and Jake Mitchell and head of digital content Immy Abdullah.
C*A*U*G*H*T star Karl Stefanovic
Handling international sales for C*A*U*G*H*T is Fremantle Distribution. Plenty of sales interest so far including deals with TVNZ and ITV before the Kick Gurry series is showcased at MIPCOM in Cannes next month. Representing Fremantle at the premiere was SEVP International Distribution Paul Ridley.
Production sector execs checking out the Kick Gurry production included busy Easy Tiger chief executive (and former Stan head of originals) Rob Gibson, Goalpost Pictures chief executive Kylie Munnich and SPA chief executive Matt Deaner.
TV Gold podcast
Bonus episode
Kick Gurry tells us all about C*A*U*G*H*T
Our latest bonus episode features Andrew and James talking to the writer, producer and director of C*A*U*G*H*T, Kick Gurry. All episodes are now available to watch on Stan. Just how did Gurry get some of Hollywood’s biggest stars, who appear alongside Australia’s finest, to work on this Aussie independent production?
Listen now on your favourite podcast platform
The Mediaweek team watching the first two episodes screened last night included editor and general manager Trent Thomas, sales coordinator Natalia Davi, and head of entertainment at Mediaweek and Chattr Anita Anabel.
An impressive guest list included Richard Roxburgh, Damon Herriman, Jackie O, Gemma O’Neill, Luke Mitchell, Tim Minchin, Tom Coquerel, Tai Hara, Tammy Hembrow, Jess Gomes, Bryn Chapman Parish, Justin Hill, Jessica Van Der Leahy, Andrea Solonge, Maddy Macrae, Mark Paguio, Alex Fitzalan and more.
Matthew Fox and Kick Gurry
Kick Gurry’s C*A*U*G*H*T: What’s it all about?
Our troops aren’t safe. Neither are our DMs. After the Australian Minister of Defence (Erik Thomson) texts a ‘secret file’ to the Princess of Behati-Prinsloo, a small island nation, he sends four Australian soldiers (Gurry, O’Toole, England and Younes) into the war-torn country on a secret mission to retrieve the file.
Mistaken for Americans, they are captured by freedom fighters (Bazzi, Jarnson and Nkono) and produce a hostage video that goes viral. When the soldiers reach celebrity status on social media, they realise that being caught might just be the best thing that could’ve happened to them. They’re about to make search history.
Fayssal Bazzi and Catherine Van Davies
See also: How Stan Original C*A*U*G*H*T was a “passion project” attracting Hollywood heavyweights
C*A*U*G*H*T credits
The Stan Original Series C*A*U*G*H*T is created, produced and directed by Kick Gurry. Sean Penn executive produced alongside producers John Schwarz and Michael Schwarz (Stan Original Film Gold) from Deeper Water Films, and Brendan Donoghue. C*A*U*G*H*T is executive produced by Cailah Scobie and Amanda Duthie for Stan. The series is produced in association with Fremantle, who also handles international distribution for the series.
Nine veterans: Star of C*A*U*G*H*T and Today Karl Stefanovic, with star of Stan Les Sampson
Top photo: Alex England, Ben O’Tool, Kick Gurry, and Lincoln Younes on the Stan blue carpet