The Black Balloon won the following Australian Film Institute Awards:

• Best Film (Tristam Miall)
• Best Direction (Elissa Down)
• Best Original Screenplay (Elissa Down & Jimmy the Exploder)
• Best Supporting Actor (Luke Ford)
• Best Supporting Actress (Toni Collette)

The Black Balloon opened in the US and can be seen in limited release.  Please check out the official US site for The Black Balloon for places and dates.  (It hasn’t made its way here in my part of the US, but when it does, I’ll be there!)

Read all about it – Erik’s latest gig on the film The Boys are Back in Town, starring Clive Owen.

And I found this image online here.

with Krystal Forscutt on Packed to the Rafters

Packed to the Rafters’ Erik Thomson on family life

• ‘Packed to the Rafters’ a warm family drama on Seven
• Packed to the Rafters
• Packed To The Rafters rates big on Seven
• Seven’s Schedule is Packed to the Rafters

The Australian Television Information Archive has a Packed to the Rafters section with an episode list (with pictures!) and an articles page.

I’ve also added a few cast photos to the images section of the site.  Sorry I don’t have anything bigger!

Prizes of the Generation 14plus Youth Jury 2008

The members of the Generation 14plus Youth Jury Roman Akbar, Zadora Enste, Hans Hirsch, Nora Kubach, Zo? Martin, Linda Moog, and Lavan Vasuthevan give the following awards:

The Crystal Bear for the best feature-length film goes to

The Black Balloon by Elissa Down (Australia)

We were very moved by the close to life story portraying the everyday life of an extraordinary family in this film. We were especially impressed by the way in which joyous and serious moments were expertly interwoven, and also by the actors’ excellent performances.

The official website for The Black Balloon has photos and the trailer for your viewing pleasure. I’ve also added a couple of pictures from the official website to The Black Balloon gallery here at Erik Thomson Central.

The Black Balloon MySpace page also has new photos from the Berlin Film Festival. So far there is one picture with Erik in it.

Trailer for The Black Balloon, upcoming Australian film with Gemma Ward, Rhys Wakefield, Luke Ford, Erik Thomson, and Toni Collette. It will have its World Premier at the Berlin Film Festival in Feb 2008. And it will be in Australian cinemas March 6, 2008.

Seven’s Director Of Programming and Production Tim Worner said today:

“There is no better time to launch a show on Seven than right now. We’ve generated incredible momentum in 2007 and our aim in 2008 is to keep it rolling.

“We see our victory this year as just the start of something and we’re now setting about making it something special. These are only the shows we’re prepared to announce now and there will be more Australian productions in 2008.

“It’s especially thrilling to give the green light to Packed To The Rafters. It’s a wonderful premise with some great scripts. Australian drama is woven into the fabric of Seven and we aim to continue to deliver really good Australian stories really well told.”

PACKED TO THE RAFTERS:

Meet Dave and Julie Rafter (Erik Thomson and Rebecca Gibney) – just your average Australians with three grown-up children. On the eve of their twenty-fifth wedding-anniversary it seems they’re at last about to have the house to themselves. Offspring Rachel, Ben and Nathan (played by newcomers Jessica Marais, Hugh Sheridan and Angus McLaren) have all developed into well-rounded and out-going, if exceptionally different and complex, individuals, with a raft of their own conflicts and dilemmas. But home can seem a very welcome refuge when unforeseen problems loom.

Second, a couple of links of interest:

• The Black Balloon – The Black Balloon myspace site has the official trailer up.  It looks great!  The movie is slated to open March 6th in Australia.  Not sure about the rest of the world.
• We’re Here to Help – I’ve added a few more official shots (two are repeats, but one is new) to the gallery here.  Thank you to the official site for providing the images to the website. 

Third, a most wonderful holiday season to everyone out there!  Merry Christmas and here’s to a most wonderful 2008!

~ Valerie

• will be released New Zealand wide on November 8, 2007.
• For images and more info, as well as the trailer, head out to the movie’s official site – http://www.heretohelp.co.nz/
• a couple of images can be seen in the gallery here at Erik Thomson Central

I’ve added a couple of more roles to Erik’s credits.  As soon as I know more about them, I’ll post. 

Erik’s feature, We’re Here to Help (formerly BVA formerly Be Very Afraid) has a website up at http://spp.co.nz/default,525.spp. I’ve also copied the article to the website and you can find it here.

Thank you for all the comments here at Erik Thomson Central. Although Erik does know about this website, I’m not sure that he is a frequent enough visitor to read all the wonderful words visitors have written. So do please keep that in mind.

Thank you!