A Current Affair -
6 April 2007
A Current Affair -
6 April 2007
Baz Luhrmann gave A Current Affair an exclusive look at the sets being built in Bowen before shooting began. The reporter interviews Baz Luhrmann, as well as talking with several of the local residents. We also see many shots of buzzing Bowen, including sets being constructed in the 'old town', such as buildings from the movie's Chinatown, and the point where Lady Sarah Ashley meets the drover for the very first time. Click here to download the video from Nicole Kidman United, or read through my complete transcript below.
A Current Affair Interview with Baz Luhrmann
in Bowen
Date: 6 April 2007. Duration: 5.19 minutes
Host:
"Well, now to the Aussie town that's charmed superstars Nicole Kidman and Hugh
Jackman. Bowen in North Queensland is buzzing with excitement as Hollywood
comes to town for the filming of Baz Luhrmann's outback epic, Australia.
Millions of dollars will be injected into the local economy and just maybe a few
local stars will be born along the way. Ben McCormack reports from Bowen."
Female Local:
"It's just too too too too good. The whole town's excited."
Male Local:
"It'll put us on the map, let know people we're around."
Reporter:
"Are you hoping to meet Nicole or Hugh?"
Female local:
"Oh yes, oh excited!"
Reporter:
"There's a buzz around Bowen. Or should that be Baz."
Baz (sitting in park with reporter):
"Well, it's not a small show and it will be very tough."
Reporter:
"Acclaimed Aussie director Baz Luhrmann is in town making final preparations for
his latest movie simply called Australia, an epic love story that stars two
of our biggest names."
Baz:
"Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman in the beginning of the movie meet, for the
first time the drover meets Lady Sarah Ashley just left of that telegraph pole
over there. And that's what we call Australia Point, and then he says "Welcome
to Australia".
Reporter:
"With a budget of $130 million, this is the most expensive film ever made in
Australia. Baz agreed to give A Current Affair this exclusive first look at the
set which is being built on Bowen's foreshore."
Baz:
"Bowen is suitable for two reasons. It's got a lot of old structures in it. It
has this back lot here where we're building behind us, as you can see, old
Darwin, and this is the pearling world, old pubs, the cattle yards, the cattle
race, and it runs straight on to a deep water port."
Reporter:
"For two years, Baz Luhrmann scouted locations all over the country, including
Port Headland in Western Australia, and Wyndham in Victoria. But he eventually
chose here, the tiny town of Bowen on Queensland's north coast. In the next
couple of weeks, he's going to transform this place into 1940's Darwin. Locals
are so excited, they're telling us, forget Hollywood, forget Bollywood, this is
Bowenwood."
Mayor Mike Brunker:
"Well, we've always been known as an industrial town, so who knows, we could end
up the movie capital of the world, it would be fantastic."
Reporter:
"Mayor Mike Brunker is already laying out the red carpet, even if it's just in
the window of his council office."
Mike:
"One particular day we're going to have 1000 head of cattle coming from the
jetty down the main street and down to the park where they'll all be resting, so
we'll have cowboys and ringers and horses and 1000 cows so it should be a quite
exciting shoot for the day."
(inside a local bakery)
Male local:
"Ah, can I have the Jackman Special please?"
(points to a sign saying, "Jackman's Special Pie - Hunky Australian Beef - $3.30")
Merle:
"Our hunky Jackman beef pie?"
Male local:
"Yeah, that's it."
Merle:
"You'll love this."
Reporter:
"For forty years, Merle Jocheim's been baking her famous Bowen pies. Now,
they're topped with a star."
(We see Merle putting a sign in shop window saying, "Only 40 sleeps to go!")
Merle:
"We've got a Hugh Jackman pie, a Chunky Pie, which we've changed to Hunky Pie,
because we know Hugh likes pies so we just hope he'll come and have a pie,
although he's probably on a strict diet. And we've got a Baz Baguette."
(inside a local hairdressers)
Reporter:
"John, are you expecting to do Hugh's hair while he's here?"
Hairdresser:
"No, I'm not. (smiling) I think I might get a start with the extras maybe."
Reporter:
"Baz is on the lookout for hundreds of extras, and not just the human kind."
Baz:
"We still need 150 superstar short-horn cattle with big horns, very fat. We're
still looking for houses to accommodate the whole cast and crew here in Bowen.
We don't have enough. So if you happen to have a large, seven room mansion in
Bowen, do let me know!" (laughing)
Jane outside her house:
"I'm sure they'd like living on the beach, because we're on the beach, and we're
only a block from the movie set, so it'll be lovely for them."
Reporter:
"Jane has offered her old Queenslander to the stars. So has her sister and next
door neighbour, Joy."
Reporter:
"So Joy, are you just doing this so you can tell all your mates that you've had
Hugh Jackman in your bed?"
Joy:
"Well, I guess it's every woman's dream to have Hugh Jackman sleeping in their
bed and I'm sure any woman would love that."
Reporter:
"Hugh's been practising his horse riding at Sydney's Centennial Park to prepare
for his role as a drover. He and Nicole will be in Bowen by the end of the
month."
"Are you hoping you'll be able to meet Hugh or Nicole when they're in town?"
Local young male:
"Oh, I got other things to worry about. I got a girlfriend so I can't."
Reporter:
"So no having Nicole over for dinner."
Local young male:
"No, no Nicole for dinner. No. I'd probably get in trouble for that."
Reporter:
"Is there a role in this epic for the mayor?"
Mike:
"Actually, history proves that I think Rex from Rocky was the last mayor to play
a role in a film, and at the end of that he got voted out, so I think I
might keep out of this one. Besides, they need skinny extras with hair so I
think that cuts me out."
Baz:
"If we do this half well, we change forever the dynamic of what it means to make
Australian films. There's no kind of Australian film that can't be made."
Host:
"Bill McCormack reporting from Bowen, and filming begins from mid-May."
