'OzGirl' Shoots for Web Love Down Under

Eighteen-year-old filmmaker Nicholas Carlton hopes OzGirl will be “Australia’s first social web show where you get to truly interact with the characters and establish a dialogue with them.” The Aussie-based web series will launch this coming January with two episodes posted per week on Mondays and Thursdays. OzGirl will chronicle the journey of Sadie (Sophie Tilson) as she journeys to the big city in search of love and adventure.

Fans can keep up with Sadie through her blog, Twitter, Facebook, and e-mail. Based on the trailer (above), the series does not look like more than a video confessional, shot as a documentary. But Carlton is well aware of the comparisons when shooting a video blog show (LonelyGirl15, RedEarth88). On his blog, he says the show will avoid death, and instead focus on “good, old-fashioned melodrama.”

Carlton is still in film school, and lead actress Tilson happens to be a high school chum of Carlton’s. “The role was written with Sophie in mind and around her personality.” Carlton says of their working relationship. “I think Sophie and Sadie are very much alike in many ways, and we hope the audience will be drawn to Sophie’s personality which really comes through on camera.” Perhaps a fresh-faced story told from the perspective of someone still exploring the art of filmmaking, and life away from home could actually work, given it’s genuine origins.

Adorably, Carlton picked the title of Oz Girl, comparing Sadie’s fish out of water journey to Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. “Everyone can relate to being a fish out of water,” Carlton says. “Our hope with the show is to create a universal story everyone can relate to.”

As far as Sadie finding her Wizard, only time will tell. The original launch date of December 8th has been pushed back to January to let some buzz grow before releasing.