Cirrus@Austlit

Script-writer and occasional director.

Armstrong was born and raised in Dalby, which he and his long-term writing partner S.P. Krause describe on their website as 'a small country town that would provide David Lynch with a glut of material'.

Both Armstrong and Krause say (on their website) of their childhood that

'As children, they were lovingly overfed a steady diet of Hammer Horror films, Eerie Comics and BBC sci-fi. But it was their love of the visceral horror, thriller and crime cinema of the 70′s that cemented their future writing career directions. Early near brushes with the Angel of Death failed to dampen their spirits (Krause was treated to a bug's-eye view of a car windshield when he was four; Armstrong was (prematurely) pronounced clinically dead during a botched tonsillectomy at age seven).'

In a joint interview with Fangoria, Krause emphasises that their upbringing in Dalby is a strong influence on their writing, noting that George Miller grew up in nearby Chinchilla, 'and it's no surprise at all that something as brutal as MAD MAX came out of the guy. We're similarly inspired by the horrible place we're from, and we'll be mining that vein for many years to come.'

After making a series of what Krause calls 'unwatchable shorts' together in high school, Armstrong and Krause separated for university, but began collaborating as script-writers in Brisbane in their 20s. Their first feature film was the serial-killer film Acolytes (2008), directed by Jon Hewitt. Between 2009 and 2010, they developed the animated children's series K9 (based on the Doctor Who character) for television, as well as writing seven of the twenty-six episodes, for two of which they won major writing awards: the Queensland Premier's Literary Awards (for Best Television Script) for 'Regeneration' and the John Hinde Award for Science Fiction (AWGIE Awards) for 'The Fall of the House of Gryffen'.

In 2011, they collaborated on the animated children's film Johnny Bravo Goes to Bollywood, and American-Indian co-production distributed by the Cartoon Network. In 2012, they contributed to the script for shark-based horror film Bait. Their most recently released project is the short film Huge (2012).

According to their website, they have also 'worked as scriptwriters and creative consultants for DISNEY CHANNEL, JETIX, NICKELODEON, CARTOON NETWORK and FOX TELEVISION'.

The pair have a number of other forthcoming projects in development or pre-production. 18 is a low-budget ghost film made with the assistance of Steve Boyle, chief of special effects for Daybreakers. Krause notes in his Fangoria interview that the process involved bartering work: 'Steve reduced his fee for 18, and in exchange we're producing a dark and clever little short that he wrote called MULLET GUT, which Steve is also directing'. 6 Miranda Drive is a Greg McLean-produced film, which Armstrong describes in his Fangoria interview is something of a suburban equivalent to Wolf Creek. Murder of Crows (in production with Prodigy Films) is, according to Armstrong in his Fangoria interview:

'a Western—albeit a Gothic Western with supernatural elements and some truly demented characters and gruesome violence. Set in the Australian goldfields at the turn of last century, it follows the arrival of a stranger—a Chinese drifter known only as The Celestial—to a chaotic mining town ruled by a cruel mining magnate, his Lady Macbeth-esque wife and his three monstrous sons (they're each aberrant in their own way—physically, mentally or sexually).

Black Echoes, also in production with Prodigy Films and to be directed by Greg McLean, is described on the production company website as '"The Descent" meets "Aliens":

A group of tourists are taken off the beaten path in the Vietnamese jungle. There they are promised a Viet Cong tunnel crawl experience that makes the famous Cu Chi tunnels seem like a kids' playground. [...] Linking with the Viet Cong tunnels are a system of larger passageways too long and complex and smooth for man-made construction - the creation of something gigantic and powerful and inhuman.

The pair will also be responsible for the forthcoming The Dreaming, an adaptation of a horror manga.

Further Reference

'About'. Armstrong & Krause: Screenwriting Partnership. (http://armstrongkrause.wordpress.com/about/). (Sighted: 17/10/201).

Black Echoes. Prodigy Movies: in development (http://www.prodigymovies.com/in-development/page/10/). (Sighted: 17/10/2012).

A Murder of Crows. Prodigy Moves: in development (http://www.prodigymovies.com/in-development/page/8/). (Sighted: 17/10/2012).

Timpone, Tony. '(Bloody) Thunder from Down Under: Part 1'. Fangoria. 16 June 2011. (http://www.fangoria.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4809:bloody-thunder-from-down-under-part-one&catid=36:demo-articles&Itemid=56). (Sighted: 17/10/2012).

Timpone, Tony. '(Bloody) Thunder from Down Under: Part 2'. Fangoria. 16 June 2011. (http://www.fangoria.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4821:bloody-thunder-from-down-under-part-two&catid=36:demo-articles&Itemid=56). (Sighted: 17/10/2012).

Timpone, Tony. 'Exclusive: Spooky '18' Pics'. Fangoria. 5 May 2011. (http://www.fangoria.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=4377%3Aexclusive-spooky-18-pics&catid=1%3Alatest-news&Itemid=167#comments). (Sighted: 17/10/2012).