In 1992 Mark took a script-writing course at the University Of Technology Sydney, which unearthed his edgy, hard-hitting style.
Mark has continued to sharpen his skills by writing an incredible 18 feature film scripts and 4 stage plays.
Mark’s writing abilities cover a wide array of genres, from comedic short films to a hard-hitting documentary, that was filmed inside a maximum security jail.
His feature film script, ‘The Nothing Men’, received 3 Australian Film Commission grants, before going into production in 2008. This same script attracted offers from top Hollywood producer Gale Anne Hurd (Alien, The Terminator, Armageddon, The Abyss). Though tempted by a lucrative offer, Mark felt that his script would benefit by being made in Australia, so he took the helm as director.
His recent feature screenplay, ‘Descendance’, commanded the attention of Hollywood producers, David Ladd and J. Todd Harris, now both on board the project.
Recently, 3 more of Mark’s scripts have been optioned. ‘Frank’s Mother’, ‘Crisis’ and ‘The Bigot Tree’. All are currently in development.
As a hardened crew of factory workers struggle to see out the last two weeks before their redundancy windfalls, panic runs through the ranks with the arrival of a mysterious man sent to join them.
Suddenly fearful that their drinking and gambling will be exposed by the head-office "spy" and rob them of their money, top dog Jack (Colin Friels) and the men descend into a compelling world of antagonism and brutality.
The intrigue and anxious second-guessing is only enhanced when the pacifist of the group, Wesley (Martin Dingle Wall), befriends the seemingly normal outsider, David (David Field).
When Wesley discovers David is hiding a much darker secret, however, the seeds are planted for an explosive finale that seals the fate of The Nothing Men.
Destiny calls many, but few have the courage to answer. Some have to be dragged. So it is with Kurung's story.
Wrenched from the blistering heat and dust of the Australian outback, Kurung and his beloved sister Dell embark on a journey that will take them into an underworld of pain and sorrow and the kind of despair that tests the soul to breaking point, only to find an unlikely chance of redemption and a destination so extraordinary, so dazzling, that it couldn't possibly have happened…
Only it did.
This is the real life story of how an Aboriginal man, stolen from his family as a child, raised in an orphanage, and fighting every kind of rejection and prejudice, helps build one of the greatest indigenous dance troupes in the world - then with his sister Dell at his side, meets the Queen of England…
Yes. This is one of those stories where only the impossible is true.
http://www.descendancethemovie.com
The NFL playoff is about to start. Three vicious criminals escape from San Quentin Prison. Detective Knowles just wants to get home to watch the game.
At a bar across town Tony Zerko wallows in his beer, He's a rogue ex cop who was engaged to American sweetheart Brenda, a top fashion model, until her brutal attack.
Brenda now lingers in an isolated mental institution in San Francisco Bay, right where the escapees are forced off the road, and into the water. Their only lifeline is the institution.
And the siege begins...
Knowles must control the city now. He must negotiate the siege and the playoffs. But nothing could prepare him for the incredible events about to unfold, as Tony learns of the siege from the television above the bar… and now he's gone.
Tony shows just how crazy he is when he masquerades as a patient and sneaks onto the island to rescue Brenda. Knowles flips out when he discovers Tony is inside the institution. He knows his antics and the mayhem he is capable of.
So unfolds an extraordinary night of simultaneous nail-biting events, as the televised siege halts the football playoff and has the whole country on the edge of their seats.
Angus Kimmorley is a struggling screenwriter working volunteer at a Crisis Centre for ideas. When he finds himself in his own real life crisis he relapses into alcoholism. Sodden and twisted he tells a frantic caller to kill her abusive husband, in turn insanely deals with his own crisis.
A nation wide hunt begins for the woman, oblivious to Angus who is now himself wanted by police. When events lead them both on a collision course suspicions grow that maybe things aren't what they seem.
Based on the best seller by Tim Priest and RichardBasham. A startling true story of how a high ranking British cop came to Australia totake over the New South Wales Police Force. He was soon found wanting and crime raged out of control. Cabramatta became a cesspit of drugs, gangs and murder, out of control with Political cover-ups and Police disfuncionality.
Seeing his precinct descend into a ghetto of misery, dead addicts and raging gang warfare rebel cop Tim Priest can take no more. He blows the whistle. Tim is driven to despair by a government hellbent to cover up the truth and discredit him. With nobody to turn to Tim finds himself alone.
Twelve thousand miles away in a tiny San Fransisco apartment sits an unlikely Alli. Richard Basham has just downloaded The Daily Telegraph. He has vital information and must get to Tim. Together they take on the entire New South Wales government... and win.
From his criminally insane unit Billy starts his biography. What unfolds is his undying love for his brother Danny, how they were inseparable. How his dear mother endured a family secret that brought about horrific consequences. How he refused to blame his father.
Like a lot of Vietnam vets Billy's father returned psychologically damaged, instilling in his boys his own biases and bent philosophy. However, when he learns of the family secret it's Billy whose brain switches to overload.
Samuel is the loving son of wealthy historians. When they are found butchered in their new country home he sets out to find their killer by occupying the house. He encounters a mysterious book that leaves him haunting messages.
When fresh murders are committed, the book tells Samuel to check his diaries. Staggered, he reads graphic details of the murders in his own handwriting that only the killer would know. When he discovers the horrifying truth there's no turning back.
Frank is released from prison after doing ten long years. He is as ruthless and callous as Chopper. All he wants to do is go home to see his mother.
On his way home he meets a childhood friend, Vernon, and is invited to his house for a catch-up drink. What Vernon doesn’t know is his wife has arranged a surprise party for his birthday and his house is full of old friends hiding behind furniture.
Their joy and excitement turns to a numb silence when Vernon enters with Frank. They all stare back with faces like portraits of horror.
Something is terribly wrong here.
So begins an unexpected evening where the past and present collide, bringing with it the wreckage that has been buried so deep. Now they are face to face with the wrecking ball himself… Frank.
Vernon has lived in Melbourne for the past twenty years where he gained a reputation as a brilliant psychiatrist, and now upon his return to Sydney, and on this special night he seizes the opportunity to experience his most brilliant moment.
It’s up to him to reopen all the wounds, have them relive the horror Frank has caused in their lives, and to make him accountable. But there is nobody on Earth like Frank, and he gives as good as he gets as we are transported back to see for ourselves the Frank they so vehemently despise.
Vernon begins to feel his challenge is futile, until something is revealed about Frank that he himself doesn’t know. The legacy he had left on others may have come back to become his own, and when Vernon picks up on it he digs deeper into his psyche.
What it revealed is so shocking it stuns them all.
But the night is not over, nor is the surprises. They all watch the tide ebb back on Frank as Vernon strikes the right nerve. It seems he has found a way into his soul through… Frank’s Mother.
Tony is a young champion boxer forced to retire fearing one more blow could be fatal. Gangsters always controlled his career and now he’s forced to join them.
It’s Tony’s recurring visions of a robbery gone wrong ten years ago that haunts him, where the occupants of the house were killed. Although only a lookout, and an unwilling participant he still feels the waves of guilt.
His train ride to and from his mother’s house is where his vision is hit hardest. On one of these rides, he meets a mentally impaired teenage girl Emma whose vulnerability makes her a constant victim to seedy characters who also ride the train.
Tony’s pity for her turns to horror when he discovers her parents were murdered ten years ago in a robbery, Tony instantly flashes back to the little girl standing frozen in the doorway, her sanity forever taken from her.
Tony’s remorse hits fever pitch and when the gangsters find out they must stop him and her from going to the Police. Their train rides now become a roller coaster of survival.
Allan is a young runaway who cannot return; his troubled life sees him in and out of juvenile and adult prisons. It’s his seedy encounters with the wrong people that have him on the run in three states with a mad man and a sixteen-year old girl.
An act of betrayal and his yearning for his mother’s love plummets him into a world of violence, pain and the kind of despair that tests the soul to breaking point.
Then it happened… Allan’s life is a miracle story, an inspiration for those in need, those seeking redemption. This is the legendary true story of Allan Davies an Anglican Priest who takes us on a journey that is his life.
Allan’s story will turn your life around.
Andy is a sports star forced to retire with a bad knee injury and when he turns to alcohol his young family is torn, adding to his wife’s concerns their son has cardiomyopathy and requires a heart transplant.
A vivid recurring dream of war and tragedy constantly awakes Andy at night, and when he witnesses his son acting out his exact dream with his toy soldiers he knows it can’t be coincidence.
This supernatural tale is a love story between a man and his son whose souls are linked to a tragedy three generations ago. Now they must deal with a tragedy in this life.
Seth is an out of work actor living in a dilapidated building he shares with other dysfunctional tenants; he’s also living with schizophrenia. To make ends meet he teaches acting classes down in the basement where his students are even more dysfunctional.
When Seth is culled by his agent his illness takes over and past traumas come back to haunt him, so does the little boy who is constantly telling him to kill the old man in the end room.
A new student, Alice arrives and she is everything he hates, but it’s her that steadies his ship and helps him realize that through her own tragic past they can finally deal with a better future together.
Luke is a hot-headed young man who is always striving to seek approval from his harsh mother who openly shows her shame and intolerance to him. He is the black sheep and he knows it.
When he meets a young migrant girl, Gina he learns through her folks what family really means. This only burns a greater desire for his mother’s love and acceptance. Gina convinces him to live his own life, not in the ruins of his mother. He turns his wild life around and strives for greatness.
Many years later with his fame and respect his mother watches an interview with him on television and it’s here she realizes the mother she has never been.
A football star is sent to prison for avenging the rape and murder of his only child. His best friend, a Policeman, tries everything to get him out.
It’s in prison that Ray comes face to face with his daughter’s real killer, but doesn’t find out until the man is released. With the help of his Policeman friend he escapes and tracks down the killer. He then leads a life of seclusion in a very different way.