ABC Radio National Interview -
31 October 2006
ABC Radio National Interview -
31 October 2006
On 31 October 2006, ABC Radio National featured an in-depth audio interview with Baz Luhrmann about the Australian Epic. This was the most revealing information we had heard about the project to date. It was certainly the most I had heard Luhrmann speak about it, and you could hear in his voice (and even simply by reading his words) just how passionate he was about making this film.
In the interview, Luhrmann revealed a lot more plot information, talked about the start date, and also said he was still searching for a key cast member - an Aboriginal boy aged between 8 and 10. I recall that Luhrmann had been searching for an actor to fulfil this part over a year ago. However, as of 31 October 2006, it would appear that Luhrmann still had not found the right candidate. He seemed close to making a decision, but it would appear that casting was still open for the role at the time of the interview.
Baz Luhrmann also revealed that he would soon announce the title of the Australian Epic. Up until now, the project had been widely referred to as 'The Untitled Baz Luhrmann Project'. However, as Luhrmann said himself - "I'm going to have a title in exactly two weeks otherwise people are going to kill me." The lack of title was a constant source of speculation for a long time. However, I found it quite interesting to read that Luhrmann was still pondering over the title at such a late stage. I had thought he was keeping it a secret, but instead it appeared he simply hadn't made up his mind yet!
The podcast can be listened to by clicking here. The transcript of the entire podcast interview can be read below. Enjoy! :)
Podcast - ABC Radio
National - Audio Interview with Baz Luhrmann
Date: 31 October 2006. Duration: Approx. 9 minutes
Fran Kelly - "Baz Luhrmann is one of Australia's most distinct and best known
filmmakers. His credits include Moulin Rouge, Romeo + Juliet and of course
Strictly Ballroom. He's now in pre-production for his next film. It's a sweeping
romance set in northern Australia prior to World War 2 and it will star Nicole
Kidman and Hugh Jackman. I spoke with Baz Luhrmann from Kununurra
yesterday."
Baz Luhrmann - "It's a sweeping romance that is set in a far away time - it's far
away now - which was just before the war. It's from '38 right through to the
bombing of Darwin. But the sweep and the breadth of the story means the sweep
and breadth of the emotions. It's not naturalism, you know, it's not a
documentary, and in fact the world in which we've set the story is factual, but
I've taken those facts and I've made a world that is full of emotion. So it's
about, I guess, the size and scale of the story telling."
Fran - "Does this untitled Australian Epic have a title yet?"
Baz - "You know, Fran, I'm going to have a title in exactly two weeks
otherwise people are going to kill me."
Fran - "So, you can't give us a clue here on what it is?"
Baz - "No, actually, it's about the progress of it. I've been working on
the script for many years now and to me, the naming of something, it names
itself, and I'm very close to that moment. But in the next couple of weeks I'm
going to commit."
Fran - "What about - you've given us the broad sweep, as you say - what
about the storyline, can you fill it in a bit more for us?"
Baz - "Yeah, it's very simple really. It's a classical story and you will
recognise a lot of classic story telling in it. But simply, it's an English,
aristocratic woman (I wonder who might play that character?) and she's in
England, you know, and she's - they land a gentry - her and her husband - but no
cash. So her husband is out in Australia selling - he went out there to sell his
cattle property the size of Belgium. She thinks he's out there having an affair
so she goes out to sort of bust him. And when she gets out there, the property's
in the north of Australia, so she's got to journey out there with a sort of
rough, hewn drover (I wonder who that character might be - who might play that
role?) And they sort of go on and 'African Queen' journey out to the station.
They get out there and I won't tell you the surprise of it. But ultimately, she
finds herself inheriting that cattle station and to save it, she and the Hugh
Jackman character have got to undertake an epic cattle drive to Darwin to save
it, and of course on that journey she falls in love with the landscape and the
primary character. Now what brings them together though is this child. And
there's an Aboriginal boy between the ages of, say, 8 and 10, and he's a very
very primary character. And in fact, right at the moment, that's my biggest
focus. We are looking all over Australia for this young indigenous actor. And
we've seen some great boys so far, so we've got great possibilities, and in the
next couple of weeks, I'm going to be doing some special workshops with groups
of boys to try and find this young actor."
Fran - "You've mentioned that you've been up in the northern part of
Australia, spent some time up there. Have you spent a lot of time there, and how
important has that been to you developing the story?"
Baz - "Well, Fran, that's a really good question, because, you see, George
Lucas, who I know well, and who made, of course, Star Wars, said to me 'Gee,
you're doing a big outdoor epic. You don't have to leave the studios in Sydney',
because of course he shoots Star Wars and he never leaves the sound stages. And
that's the way most films are made these days. But I really want this to have
that feel - like a Laurence of Arabia. I want the audience to really feel that
they are in this magnificent landscape that we have. So to do that I've been
quietly coming and going all over Australia, but particularly up here in the
north where it's set, particularly in the Kimberley. And living here, with my
team, feeling what it's like, getting to know the people, finding the story, the
best way to tell it. And of course the big challenge is how to actually be here.
I've got to say, in the next couple of weeks we're going to make decisions about
how much we could shoot here, and how much we shoot in other parts of Australia,
and that's all about the sort of help and support we're getting, you know."
Fran - "To date, your films, in collaboration with Catherine Martin, have
set trends, I think it's fair to say, particularly with your production values.
The music, the costumes, the editing. Can we expect that rich, unique texture
that I think people have come to expect from your films in a movie shot in the
Australian outback?"
Baz - "Actually, what I will say is this. Those three films we made were
specifically evolved along a philosophy. And that philosophy was about
reinventing the musical formula, if you like, theatrical cinema. This kind of
cinematic story we're telling also has a pedigree, it has a sort of DNA, if you
like, it comes from somewhere, it comes from - and I've got to be careful,
because I'm not pretending for a second that this is going to be Gone With the
Wind or going to be Laurence of Arabia - but those films that were made from the
30's through to the 50's that told big emotional stories - big emotions, not
naturalism, operatic emotions, but use landscape to tell them - they belong to
that period. So, that's the starting point, but of course it's not good enough
just to copy that style. And so, I am taking that as a starting point and
finding our own very particular way of using camera, of interpreting landscape,
of telling story, so that it has some of those classic values, but it also has
some newly invented values about it."
Fran - "These are big names, big themes, big moments in history that you're
drawing on here. Are you nervous about trying to wrestle them all into one movie
and do them justice?"
Baz - "Yes."
I mean, to me, that would be a terrifying...
Fran - "Yes, that's terrifying. But I mean, in a way, I guess it is Fran. I
mean, there are films that are about D-Day, or they're about Pearl Harbour. And
in a film like Gone With the Wind, which is really about Rhett and Scarlet, it
is set in the world of the fading south. It makes use of and it very much
relates to the world where slavery has been abolished and you have got the civil
war. So what I'm saying is that yes - I don't know about being terrifying, but
the challenge of it is enormous. But the particular kind of film we're making is
about utilising that world and those facts so that it amplifies the human
condition. Ultimately, this isn't a documentary about exactly what happened on a
certain date. What this is about, if it documents anything, it's documenting the
human condition."
Fran - "And what about music? Your films so far have all had big
soundtracks and they've been big sellers in themselves. Is there a blockbuster
soundtrack for this one?"
Baz - "No, I never... I was just doing the DVD for Romeo + Juliet, in fact
it's a music edition, coming soon, and it had one of the biggest albums of all
time, like 8 million copies or something. But I never really set out to make a
hit album. I simply set out to tell the story through music. And in fact, when I
presented this ecliptic grab bag of music, record companies did not want it.
They said this is not a soundtrack album, it's too European, it's not American
enough. It went on to have it's own life. But the film didn't use the music on
top. Music was used to tell story. Music will be used to tell story with this
epic. It's interesting at the moment, we're doing huge research on it. In fact,
there's an actual unique sound that was happening at the time of this film here,
which is, as I'm getting into it, which is fresh and alive and unique and
belongs to Australia. And it's just going to be in the film because it tells a
good story. Whether it sells records or not, that's another issue."
Fran - "So, it's music from the time?"
Baz - "Yes, it's music from the time. I mean, it's really exciting because
you had all of the pearlers up here at the time, I mean you had the Japanese
pearlers, and there's kind of a mixture between folk and country and sort of
Hawaiian, actually. And they were watching movies all the time. They were in the
outdoor cinemas in the film. They're obsessed with watching westerns and
musicals and there's a big influence coming from Hollywood at the time and you
can't ignore those things."
Fran - "I feel another soundtrack coming on."
Baz - "Fingers crossed!"
Fran - "Baz Luhrmann, just finally, when will you start shooting?"
Baz - "Actually, as I speak to you now, I'm in Kununurra, the whole team is
at Fox Studios in Sydney, we're in pre production. And it's a little bit based
on the weather, the actual start date, but no later than the beginning of
March."
Fran - "It's all about the landscape. Baz Luhrmann, thank you very much for
joining us on Breakfast and good luck with it."
Baz - "Great to talk, Fran. Bye."
Fran - "Filmmaker Baz Luhrmann. I can't wait for that soundtrack. Hawaiian
meets country meets 50's rock and roll. Fantastic! And, for any young budding
Aboriginal actors out there, if you're interested in trying out for Baz's film,
and you'll be starring alongside Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, you can call
the casting agency on 02 9699 1377."
