There are so many professionals of so many different backgrounds on Vendetta 19, and one of the key players is without question, Deb Robinson, head historian of the Geelong Gaol Museum and host of historical true crime podcast Locked up with History, has been an irreplaceable participant of the making of Vendetta 19! Her wisdom, her historical and cultural advice has all helped to make this project so much more authentic and accurate than it would have been otherwise. Make sure you follow Deb, and enjoy her other historical true crime work on serial killers and murder stories.
We want to take a moment to thank the Herald Sun for their support. As an independently funded project, the support of the Herald Sun has expanded our opportunities to hopefully find a streaming platform who will help us make the last step to seeing Vendetta 19 put into full production. The pilot episode will be available in select cinemas this summer, with cast and crew present, and we look forward to seeing you all there!!
It hasn’t been lost on us how evocative the scenes of Vendetta 19 are, and we have been so lucky to have two professional photographers on set, documenting the making of V19 with us!! Our first amazing photographer is none other than Tim Henshall.
In the interview, Tim explains that he loves movies but especially ones that have incredible lighting! “That’s the thing I see when I watch them, and now getting to see how Stuart does it, it’s just so good. He and I discussed this yesterday. He has a film bug, mine is stills, but the lighting is very similar in many respects. I’m learning from him just watching, it’s so good. I knew this would be something I would love, which is why I asked you if I could get on board. Timing is everything, and when I was camping and sharing tunes with mates at Framlingham, I played them the black dog song, and straight up Simon mentioned you and Vendetta 19 and here we are.”
Tim spent 5 years at PSC and graduated with a Bachelor of Photography, giving him his unique understanding of the art form.
Please make sure to comment on and like the photos below and let us know which is your favourite!!
From Tim “Just in case anyone is up for a listen to a track, the backstory here is that while on a camp out with some likeminded musician songwriters, I played a song called “Black Dog” . My friend Simon Mac Mccullough said I should send it to a guy who was making a film as he thought it was a perfect fit. Unfortunately, it was a bit late on the scene to make the cut for the trailer but you never know what can happen down the line.”
Today we’d like to give a shout out to our amazing crew!! Although what we will see in the finished product is the actors, the crew are the people who have made this into a reality with us. Thank you to all of you!
Making a screenplay is a massive exercise. Preparing a single shot with one person saying only one line can take up to half an hour before the director can call for action. In our team we have been blessed with a powerhouse of highly trained people who each bring incredible skills to the project, and without them we would have nothing. In amongst the numerous people who have made this incredible project come to life are Producer Gracie Kay, and head of Cinematography, Editor and Colourist Stuart Jaymes. With their teams of makeup, hair, props, gaffs, stagehands and wardrobe people to name a few, we have been able to bring the mountain to Mohammed and make something that will truly do justice to this amazing story!
We have been so incredibly lucky to have landed. The cast of actors we have landed who will play the prison offices in Vendetta 19. In the group photo below, from left is an inspirational young man named Tom Kay, next to an incredibly generous historian of the race track named Steve Caroll. Next to Steve is our head officer, and the man who inspired us to write prison offices into the script, Matt Jackson. Adding a final compliment to the crew is none other than AFL and Carlton Football Club legend, Anthony Koutoufides.
Initial script of Vendetta 19 certainly had a Pentridge prison officer present in it, however, they were restricted to visible roles that had no speaking dialogue. During the interview process though, when we auditioned Matt Jackson, his performance was so impressive that we realised the strength and potency he could bring if given the opportunity to shine properly. Once Matt was secured and he had signed his papers, we were easily able to convince Roy Maloy to embellish the importance of the Pentridge officers in the narrative.
A late arrival in the casting process was Tom Kay. As the youngest member of the Prison officers, he is an amazing candidate. Outside of his stunning looks, piercing eyes and chiselled features, he is a real life FitnessGuru and Mental Health advocate. His stoic and strong disposition in real life adds to an incredible depth of character as a prison officer in the screenplay.
As typical in real life prisons, the role of prison officers is one of the longest lasting job types in the country today. The average duration of an officer in a Gaol is between 20 to 30 years in the job. As a favour to the author, Steve Carroll agreed to play the role of a longtime prison officer with a short temper. As an expert in Australian harness racing and horse racing history, Steve and Roy have been good friends for quite some time. Steve brings to the role the typical look of a prison officer who had returned from any number of 20th Century wars and found their way into a similar role in a prison.
Bringing in the last part of our team is none other than Carlton Football Club legend, Anthony Koutoufides. Anthony’s willingness and generosity to participate in this role as a favour to longtime supporter and patron of the arts, Ricky Nixon, has gone on to create what we will become some of the most memorable scenes in Vendetta 19. During the fight choreography in the screenplay, they could be no question that the Italian superman is still every bit as powerful as he ever was.
One of the most untold stories in Australian History is that of the women who ran Melbourne’s Underworld in the lead up to the 1919 Fitzroy Vendetta.
In a time when women were enslaved and victimised openly, Dolly Gray organised a landscape that would support her ability to support and empower working girls to have slightly more control over their industry and fates. Her role through the story of the 1919 Vendetta is such that if she were not a part of it, the Vendetta would never have escalated to the bloodbath it became. The role of people like Dolly in our community is as important as the suffragette movement and it has been imperative therefor that we were able to find and cast an actor who could do justice to the role. And we can proudly say that we have found the perfect candidate in Shylie Arzouan.
Enchanted by the magic of storytelling, Shylie Arzouan first fell in love with theatre as a little girl. This early passion grew into a dedicated pursuit, leading her to become a dynamic actor.
Reviews describe Shylie as an “actor that brings all her characters to vivid life regardless of stage time”, “one of the evening’s highlights” and “the most startling, unexpected impact”, and we look forward to seeing high praising reviews of her work in Vendetta 19.
Shylie has embodied a variety of roles in the independent theatre scene, playing the lead as Cleo in “Cleo’s Stratos” (2023) and Lola in “Hunger” (2023), presented by She Writes at Theatre Works. Shylie showcased her versatility with a one-woman performance as Ros, playing multiple characters in Cracked Actors Theatre Script in Development Award-winning production of “Happy Ever After” (2022).
Her supporting roles include Emmylou in “Rain Falling on the Abattoir” (2022), as well as Rosa in “The Family Tree” (2022) and the comedic caricature of mother in “The Fly” (2022). Shylie also played Throat in “Kill All Climate Deniers” (2022), written by Greenroom award winner, David Finnigan.
Outside of acting, Shylie is studying psychology, enjoys working with children as a nanny, a high school musical director as well as making art in her spare time. Her creative heart and passion for learning enrich both her personal and professional life.
Staying true to the narrative of Dolly Gray’s life is equally as important to us in the production of Vendetta 19 as the casting of the characters in the screenplay. The story of Dolly Gray travels alongside a number of women from all walks of life. As is the case in the modern era, working girls come from all walks of life, and it was important to us to depict the truth as seen in the bordello scenes to show a variety of women who were filling these roles.
Joining the cast is an impressive actor named Amber Louka, who will be representing the women who take on such work, while finding it extremely difficult to do so. No easy fete, and her acting skills have been put to the test throughout the rehearsal period to bring magic to the screen.
Amber Louka is an Egyptian-Australian actress and creative based in Naarm/Melbourne.
Graduate from the National Theatre Drama School (Australia) with an Advanced Diploma of Acting, she was also the recipient of the Cybec Scholarship Award in her final year of study. She has studied at other highly acclaimed acting institutions, including; The National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA), The Australian Film & Television Academy and 16th Street Actors Studios.
Since her graduation, Amber has performed in a number of stage and screen productions; Colony, a passion film project with Lilydale Films (directed by Ric Forster), A Tomb With A View, a theatrical production which received rave reviews at the Essendon Theatre Company (directed by Les Morley-Hart), Jinx, a short film that made its debut on the Melbourne International Film Festival streaming service MIFF Play (directed by Harry Brakha), and Cabin 217, which received several film festival nominations (directed by Julia Sammut & Stacey-Lea Clark).
Amber’s always had an immense dedication to the arts and a passion for bringing truthful stories and relationships to audiences. Her next endeavour on the highly anticipated Vendetta 19 series will be no different.
Award winning author Roy Maloy will make his directional debut, with Gotcha Productions, in the infamous world of Squizzy Taylor. The pilot episode drops in October 2024, and is not one to be missed!
The casting of Vendetta 19 was never going to be easy. Critical to the production was the casting of the role of none other than Squizzy Taylor. It was also a difficult casting project for the sake that the role was casting a young Squizzy Taylor. However, as fate would have it, we were lucky enough to land an actor who we think is the absolutely ideal candidate for the role.
Tom Levi was born and raised in the countryside of Ballarat, Victoria and has resided there ever since. Tom first came into the acting scene at the age of 15 when he began studying with an international acting coach.
Two years later came Tom’s first acting role in a bit part for the feature film ‘The Dealer’. Ever since then Tom has acted in many short films, small parts in multiple indie feature films, commercials and many other projects. In the last year and a half however, things have started to go on the rise for Tom as he’s been cast in two feature films in major roles. One being the role of Harry Osborn in ‘Spider-Man: Seasons of Fate’ which is currently in production, the other being a horror slasher film currently in pre production. And to add to that list, Tom is now playing one of the most infamous gangsters of all time, as Squizzy Taylor.
Besides acting, Tom has co-created a small indie production company with two friends called Melbourne Underground Cinema Kollective (MUCK) where they are currently working on multiple short films and will eventually branch into feature films.
Production began a week ago, and we can now say that Tom’s acting skills are far above and beyond those we were expecting, and we are blown away by how well suited to this role he is.
In the biography of Dolly Gray we see a character glance off by the main story that unfolds in Bendigo in 1905 when Dolly and Hettie Williams are arrested for selling sly grog. Later we see Hettie re-emerge alongside equally infamous gangster Minnie Clark, who would go on to become Squizzy Taylor’s enemy.
Hettie is one of a number of working girls whose story has never truly been told, until now.
Playing the role of Hettie Williams will be an unusually talented actor named Sophie Graham. She hails from Aotearoa (New Zealand), where she completed a BPA and a BA in Theatres at the University of Otago. During her time at university and the years following, Sophie was involved in the performing arts scenes in both Dunedin, and Wellington NZ, and a highlight from this time was playing the role of Bernadette in Arcade Theatre Company’s production of “Lemon Lemons Lemons Lemons Lemons” in 2019. In 2022, Sophie relocated to Melbourne to attend the Full Time Professional Actors Programme at 16th Street Actors Studio, as well as the Postgraduate Programme “The American Way.” Since graduating, Sophie has continued to develop her craft by completing a variety of short courses for the stage and the screen, including a MasterClass with Miranda Harcourt. In 2023, she worked on several short films, as well as the web series “My Personal Lycan King.” In 2024 so far, Sophie has played the role of Cariola in Arrant Knaves Theatre Company’s production of “The Duchess of Malfi” by John Webster, as well as the role of Tiffany in CG Production Company’s production of “Blackrock” by Nick Enright. Her commercial credits include campaigns with Schweppes, Savers and Pure Blonde. Sophie is currently shooting the web series “Let Me Taste Your Husband,” has a role in the upcoming feature film “It’s Showtime, Dan,” and is rehearsing for the role of Kayleen in an upcoming production of “Gruesome Playground Injuries” by Rajiv Joseph. Alongside her acting pursuits, Sophie teaches drama with Stage School Australia and studies Youth Work.
We are extremely keen to see Sophie in this role, which she has even committed to a Hair colour change for!!
