PJ Hogan’s Mental shoot starts

Production begins Monday 25 July on PJ Hogan’s Mental in Tweed Heads.

The shoot reclaims not only its star Toni Collette, but the same suburban landscape that brought Muriel’s Wedding‘s Porpoise Spit to life.

Written and directed by PJ Hogan it is produced by Jerry Zucker, Todd Fellman and Jocelyn Moorhouse. Joining Collette is Liev Schreiber (Salt, X-Men Origins: Wolverine), Anthony LaPaglia (Without a Trace, Balibo), Rebecca Gibney (Packed to the Rafters), Kerry Fox (Cloudstreet, Bright Star), Caroline Goodall (Dorian Gray), Deborah Mailman (Offspring, Bran Nue Dae) and Sam Clark (Neighbours).

Mental is the story of Shirley Moochmore (Gibney)—a mother who through lack of support by her philandering politician husband, Barry (LaPaglia) is unable to cope with her demanding daughters and suffers a nervous breakdown and is committed to a mental hospital. Desperate and suddenly alone with five teenage girls, Barry impulsively brings a charismatic, crazy, hotheaded hitchhiker Shaz (Collette) home to be the new nanny.