New Australian drama: LA-based actor Adam J Yeend, Winmalee writer Travis James Annabel and director Paul Joe Johny during a break from shooting at Springwood Sports Club on Monday.
Two former Winmalee High School students filmed scenes in the Blue Mountains this week for a television pilot that could become Australia’s next drama hit.
Fresh from working with Lindsay Lohan in the US last month, LA-based actor Adam J. Yeend returned to Australia to play one of the leading roles in the drama created by his old school friend, Travis James Annabel.
“Part of the reason I left [for LA] was because of the limited amount of work in Australia . . . so if I get asked to come back and work here, I’m going to do it,” he said. “And I don’t have to do an American accent.”
With the tagline ‘Welcome to the sordid lives of everyday people’, The Carousel is a contemporary drama about a group of thirty-somethings trying to make their way in life.
Created and written by Annabel, the gritty drama series has already attracted early interest from television networks.
“It’s a very inconsistent industry [but] we think what we’re doing is very different to everything else that’s on Australian TV at the moment so we are quietly confident that we’re going to get picked up by a network,” he said.
After spending three years developing the idea, the Winmalee resident said it was a big moment to finally start filming this week.
“It’s been daunting and terrifying, but it’s also been exciting and exhilarating as well,” he said.
For Yeend the role in the potential series came hot on the heels of a job on the high-profile Lohan telemovie about Liz Taylor and Richard Burton .
The 31-year-old landed his small role after almost four years living in Los Angeles.
“It’s a stepping stone, it’s not a huge break, but it’s definitely opened so many doors for other shows and films . . . [plus] I got to work with Lindsay Lohan and [Australian actor] Grant Bowler,” he said.
Yeend recently auditioned for a role in a Gary Oldman movie and will fly back to LA this Sunday.
The cast and crew of The Carousel filmed at Springwood Sports Club on Monday before moving to other locations in the Blue Mountains and Sydney.