October 2, 2026 — 5:00am
Save
You have reached your maximum number of saved items.
Remove items from your saved list to add more.
AAA
Be alert but not alarmed seems to be the message for when Oscar-winning actor Jamie Foxx hits Melbourne in hero mode next week as the headliner in an international film with elaborate siege scenes planned for Docklands.
Foxx, who won the 2005 Best Actor Academy Award for playing musician Ray Charles in the film Ray, is the lead in Deadlocked, a fictional hostage drama set in a courtroom in New York.
Jamie Foxx, pictured in Los Angeles in June, is headed for the streets of Melbourne to film Deadlocked.Getty Images
The film is certainly going to get under way with a bang – more like dozens of loud bangs – when one of the first major set pieces is filmed at Docklands, in and around the former NAB building next week.
With the building doubling as the New York courthouse, siege scenes where fictional jury members are taken captive, will be shot over various days between October 10 and 20.
On Thursday, CBD obtained a letter from the production that was dropped to residents and business owners around Docklands which informed them that imitation firearms would be used during scenes.
“There will be imitation firearms used in the scenes with firing of ‘blanks’ expected during filming ‘takes’,” it read.
“Firing of blanks will take place on the weekends only, and only during daytime hours. A fully qualified, licensed film armourer will control and implement the use of imitation firearms.”
Foxx in his Academy Award-winning role as Ray Charles in the movie Ray.
Universal
It added that the production would liaise closely with Victoria Police and emergency services.
Victoria Police confirmed to CBD it was working with the production to ensure public safety during filming and said the production company would be charged for police assistance under the government’s user-pays scheme.
Deadlocked, which is destined for Amazon’s Prime Video streaming platform, will be filming around the Melbourne CBD, Port Melbourne and the Docklands Studios for nine weeks from October 10 through to mid-December.
The City of Melbourne confirmed it was working with the production on filming and associated reserved parking permits.
The film will create more than 855 jobs and roles for 1000 extras and inject more than $36 million into the Victorian economy, according the state government.
Luke Hemsworth has been cast in the Jamie Foxx film Deadlocked which will be shot in Melbourne. Jessica Hromas
Foxx is one of the producers of the movie, while Melbourne filmmaker Paul Currie is among the executive producers.
Currie said he expected the Docklands scenes would draw a crowd.
“It’s the opening of the movie where the siege happens, and it will be a full Hollywood spectacle of gun fire, vans and trucks pulling up, and some great stunts,” Currie said.
“I am sure there will be a bunch of Melburnians come and have a look as we create a New York courthouse siege in downtown Docklands.”
Naturally, a Hemsworth is among the cast, in this case neither Chris nor Liam, but Luke.
Valance replaces Silvagni after a decade
Jo Silvagni has been officially replaced by former Neighbours actor Olympia Valance as one of the faces of Chemist Warehouse.
Silvagni, whose husband is Carlton great Stephen Silvagni, parted ways with the discount chemist giant at the end of August having been one of the main faces of the Healthy Break project for a decade.
Olympia Valance, who made her name on Neighbours, is the sister of Holly Valance, now Holly Candy.Arsineh Houspian
The polished TV presenter had been notably absent from the omnipresent TV and online advertorials since December, when her son Tom was found guilty of rape.
Tom Silvagni was sentenced that month to six years’ jail, with a three-year and three-month non-parole period, after a jury found him guilty of two charges of rape.
The case played out over a two-week trial in the County Court of Victoria, but it wasn’t until Tom’s conviction that it attracted significant public attention as his identity, and that of his famous family, had been previously suppressed.
In January, the former AFL player agent filed an application to appeal his conviction.
“Jo Silvagni has elected to step away from her role,” a spokesperson told CBD at the time.
Silvagni’s exit has opened the door for Valance – who made her name on Neighbours and is the sister of London-based Reform Party supporter and mate of Pauline Hanson, Holly Valance – to enter the retailer’s ecosystem.
Valance has something in a common with Silvagni – footy. She is married to former Essendon player Thomas Bellchambers.
Ron Barassi’s iconic St Kilda home changes hands
The St Kilda home of Melbourne legend Ron Barassi and his wife, Cherryl, has been sold less than a month after CBD first reported it was coming to market, three years after the footy great’s death.
The home, located in the heritage-significant Marli Place terraces on the St Kilda esplanade, attracted strong interest with a sale that “delighted the family” after being finalised this week.
The historic St Kilda home owned by Ron and Cherryl Barassi has been sold. Justin McManus
Barassi’s family told CBD in August it was finally time to “time to pass the torch” and part ways with the three-bedroom, two-bathroom property following Ron’s death in 2023 and Cherryl’s death in December 2025.
The house was presented for sale almost as a time capsule of the life of the Barassis. A half-full bottle of Bacardi, a tipple they enjoyed, was on a side table in the library and an easel which Cherryl used for drawing was in a downstairs room.
Parkinson Prestige’s Frank Mlikota, also known as the Barefoot Agent, handled the sale, with the home having a price guide of $2 million to $2.2 million.
“It was a privilege to sell such a distinguished Melbourne property for the Barassi family who were so supportive of my unconventional and barefoot approach,” Mlikota told CBD.
“Given its heritage and unique character, we pursued a discreet strategy … to secure a sale in a very tough market on terms that delighted the family and even impressed myself in the process.” Job done, Mlikota is now heading back to Byron Bay – footwear optional!
Save
You have reached your maximum number of saved items.
Remove items from your saved list to add more.
Fiona Byrne is the CBD columnist for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via email.From our partners