“Addictively Good” “Totally Binge- Worthy” “Addictive” “Absolute Treat
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
“Addictively Good” - The Guardian “A wild road trip that “Absolute treat “Totally binge- begs to be binged” of a series” worthy” - The Telegraph - Evening Standard - The Independent “You must not miss” “Addictive” - TV Choice - The Times PREMIERED IN THE U.S. AT THE ATX TELEVISION FESTIVAL FOLLOWED BY Q&A MODERATED BY EMMY® AND BAFTA®-WINNER JUDD APATOW (KNOCKED UP, GIRLS) Upright Upright is a bold, touching, darkly funny and moving drama about the unlikely friendship of two misfits thrown together by chance in the middle of the Australian desert. The eight-part series follows the hugely talented but damaged 40-year-old Lucky Flynn (Tim Minchin), and fiercely intelligent, tough-as-nails teenager Meg Adams (Milly Alcock) on a life-changing road trip across the beautiful Australian outback, with more than a few bumps along the way. When he learns that his mother only has days to live, Lucky sets off in a hire car to drive the 4000km from Sydney to Perth to say goodbye to her, taking with him his only cherished possession in the world – a battered and scarred upright piano. Meg is running away from her small town family in search of a better life, and has plenty of scars and secrets of her own. Each on their own journey, Lucky and Meg’s lives come crashing together on a long stretch of the Australian highway. When it becomes apparent that Lucky has no money and no transport, and Meg needs Lucky in order to go unnoticed as a teenager on the run, they join forces in a quest to get a precious piano from one side of the country to the other. Along the way they encounter feral camels, a magical pink lake, highway thieves, clifftop parties, a speed-loving truckie, a roadkill collector, an underworld fight ring, suspicious cops, and the world’s most musically appreciative motorcycle gang. Over eight hot days, Lucky and Meg drive, hitch and scam their way across the scorching desert continent - on an adventure that will ultimately make them both feel more at peace with everything in life that they’ve been kicking against. Produced by Lingo Pictures for Foxtel (Australia), Sky Atlantic (UK), SundanceTV (USA) Season 1: 8 x 30’ “The best thing Minchin has ever done.” - THE SYDNEY MORNING HERALD - THE TELEGRAPH About Tim Minchin Tim Minchin is an award-winning Musician, Comedian, Actor and Writer, known for his critically-acclaimed comedy shows and award-winning musical composition. In 2005 “Minchin’s charisma and talent have never Minchin’s show Darkside launched him onto the international stage, achieving critical success at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Minchin is the composer and lyricist of the been in question...The guy is on a roll” Olivier Award and Tony Award-winning and Grammy Award-nominated Broadway and - THE INDEPENDENT West End hit Matilda the Musical, based on the Roald Dahl book Matilda. His musical Groundhog Day, based on the 1993 film, won his second Olivier Award, which opened in London’s West End in 2016 and opened on Broadway in 2017. His screen acting credits include critically-acclaimed performances in Robin Hood (2018), Californication (Showtime) and The Secret River (ABC). Award-Winning Award-Winning Actor Composer & Songwriter • Californication (Showtime) • Composer of multi-award • Robin Hood (2018) winning Broadway and West End hit Matilda the Musical • The Secret River (ABC) • 55 awards including 7 Olivier Awards, 5 Tony Awards Award-Winning & Grammy Award-Nomination Comedian • The most Olivier Awards ever • Melbourne International won by a single show tying Comedy Festival Award with Hamilton in 2018 “Insanely gifted... • Edinburgh Fringe • Composer and lyricist of Olivier Festival Award award-winning Broadway all in all, musical Groundhog Day • HBO US Comedy a thing of Arts Festival Award jaw-dropping wonder” - THE TELEGRAPH 1.5 MILLION 721K 203K TWITTER FACEBOOK INSTAGRAM “So refreshing” AUDIENCE FANS FOLLOWERS - THE NEW YORK TIMES “From the moment I heard about the idea for Upright, Lucky I knew it was the show I’d been waiting to make” - TIM MINCHIN (Tim Minchin) If ever there was a man who didn’t live up to his name, it would be musician Lucky Flynn. His talent for music is matched only by his talent for self-sabotage. Nine years ago Lucky left Perth for Sydney after a brutal argument with his beloved brother and has not spoken to his family since. His mother, devastated by the fallout, insisted that Lucky take the precious family piano with him when he went. When Lucky learns that his mother is dying, he hires a car to drive the 4000km accompanied by the only thing of value he owns: his cherished piano. (Milly Alcock) Meg’s bravado is a suit of armour, but her cheeky, expletive-strewn diatribes are really just a front. Buried underneath is a profound sadness, the source of which Lucky will eventually uncover. When Meg and Lucky meet, she avoids the question of what she’s doing driving across the Australian outback by herself. She certainly doesn’t tell Lucky she is 13 – knowing that if he finds out, he will surely call the cops and she’ll be sent home. Awful things happen in her hometown – she’s seen it too many times – so she tells Lucky she’s 16, and driving to visit her mother in Kalgoorlie. Meg is bawdy and offensive, and in many ways disturbingly mature for her age, but she is also innocent, naïve and scared. Lucky slowly but surely becomes her trusted confidant, and she, in turn becomes his. “There’s never been a character this big for a young woman on Australian television before” - TIM MINCHIN “The piano is a cross he’s The Music and The Piano carrying across a desert While Upright is not a musical, music plays a pivotal role in this story. Original compositions by Tim Minchin, along with an eclectic soundtrack of hip-hop and rock classics, weave their way through the series. for his sins - it’s epic” An important character in itself, Lucky’s upright piano is his passion and his burden; it represents his family’s history, its body carries the reminders of the - TIM MINCHIN journeys it has taken, its keys are chipped and yellowed, its wooded casing is scarred, but it still sounds beautiful when Lucky plays it. His music has a transformative, spellbinding effect not just on Meg and all who hear it, but also on Lucky himself, who finds a joy in playing that otherwise eludes him. Despite Meg’s constant questions, Lucky won’t explain why he is taking the piano to Perth until the final episode, and why it is so important that he gives his beloved instrument away. The Setting Set on the Nullarbor plains, the longest stretch of straight road in the world from South to Western Australia, and covering three time zones, Australia’s vast and beautiful landscape offers a striking contrast to the intimacy and humour of Lucky and Meg’s relationship. From sweeping deserts and magnificent clifftops to breathtaking sunsets and eccentric wildlife, the setting plays an intrinsic role in this unfolding story of friendship, loss, and what home really means for Lucky and Meg. When your most cherished possession is a battered upright piano, you only have one option if you need to travel across Australia: take it with you .