Hal McElroy
Hal McElroy continues a successful three decade producing career with over 2,000 hours of production to his credit.
Most recently Hal and his wife Di created and produced five seasons of Sea Patrol described as Australia's biggest and most ambitious television series. Shot largely at sea on the Great Barrier Reef, 68 episodes were produced and are now on air in over 100 countries.
Hal has also been responsible for some of Australia's best known and most successful film and television and an extraordinary list of “firsts”. Peter Weir's first film The Cars That Ate Paris the first Australian feature film to appear at the Cannes Film Festival. Peter Weir's next film Picnic at Hanging Rock, Australia's first big international hit. Peter Weir's third film The Last Wave, the first Australian film produced with a US distributor (United Artists).
In television, Hal broke new ground with Australia's first hit mini series in US syndication and foreign distribution with Return to Eden. Then he created The Last Frontier which became the No. 1 mini-series of the year on US television (CBS) - another first! Hal then conceived and produced the first Australian mini-series for HBO (A Dangerous Life) and Turner Broadcasting System (Which Way Home).
Working with the cream of international talent and Australia's best filmmakers and actors, Hal's productions have also been pivotal in developing many careers. Directors such as Peter Weir (Master & Commander), Carl Shultz (Careful He Might Hear You), Simon Wincer (Free Willy) and Russell Mulcahey (Highlander), Producer Tim Sanders (Lord of the Rings/Whalerider) Editor Richard Frances Bruce (Airforce One), Oscar winning cameramen such as Russell Boyd (Master & Commander), John Seale (Harry Potter/Cold Mountain) and Dean Semler (Dances with Wolves). Major stars like Russell Crowe, Jason Robards, Richard Chamberlain, Linda Evans, Cybill Shepherd, Gary Busey and Jack Thompson have all starred in successful Hal McElroy productions.
In 2000 Hal and Di created and produced a world first. A daily topical inteactive strip drama serial called Going Home. After two series and 130 episodes in Australia, it was licenced in Canada (Train 48), France (Le Train) and Italy (Andata e Ritorno - Round Trip), resulting in 1,000 episodes being produced.