MOVIE DEVELOPMENT:
November 2006 - April 2007

The following is a detailed summary of movie news and speculation that was reported from November 2006
(when the title of the film was announced) until April 2007 (just before filming of the movie began).
All news is accompanied by the name of the media source, and links to original articles.

Click here to return to my Australia page on my main website.
 

28 April 2007

Source: The Townsville Bulletin - Last chance look

This is your last chance to catch a glimpse of Hollywood. The Townsville Bulletin yesterday visited the set of Oscar nominee Baz Luhrmann's next movie project before it is blocked off from prying eyes for good. The small coastal community of Bowen is bustling with construction workers as more than eight town blocks are taken back in history to the early 1900s for Australia. As Bowen braces for an onslaught of Hollywood A-listers, their minders and the papparazzi, tourists and locals alike are peeping through the wire fence to watch a village of a bygone era come to life. Stockyards, shacks, old-fashioned cottages, shops and even a hotel have been erected at the oceanfront site. Visitors to the set yesterday were amazed at how quickly parkland had become a glimpse of yesteryear. Filming is due to begin on May 10 or 11 as everyone eagerly awaits the arrival of the movie's stars, Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, to arrive. Bowen Mayor Mike Brunker said he was among the sightseers. "Every morning I drive past the set and check it out," he said. "It's all coming together so quickly and it looks fantastic. The movie is the talk of the town and there's lots of tourists down there taking photos and pulling over to have a look. (Yesterday) we just had an application put in for an additional set site. They're looking at building a church on Quay St and as long as the neighbours are happy with it that should be approved soon."

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20 April 2007

Source: The Townsville Bulletin - Hoping for little extra

Ayr residents look likely to be starring on the big screen. They will line up alongside Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman in the not too distant future. Casting recruiters for the new Hollywood movie Australia touched down in the farming community on Saturday and were inundated by more than 200 hopefuls. Bazmark Film extras casting director Gabrielle Healy said people from all races and backgrounds vied for a role. "People were very keen. We were extremely happy with the result," Ms Healy said. People aged from 16 years-old are wanted as extras for the film which will start filming in Bowen on May 14. "I definitely think there will be some Ayr people in it – there is no doubt about that," Ms Healy said. The casting staff were also impressed by patrons of the Black River Rodeo on Saturday night. Bowen will be transformed into a 1940s-era Darwin for the film, which follows English aristocrat Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman) who finds herself in an unlikely partnership with a cattle drover (Hugh Jackman). The duo must fight to save her cattle station from failing into the hands of local beef barons, while trying to survive the upheaval of the Japanese bombings in Darwin. Filming hasn't started, but the production is creating a buzz of excitement in the region and across the country.

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18 April 2007

Source: The West.com.au - Broome boy rides high in Aussie blockbuster

Brandon Walters had only seen a handful of movies and had never heard of Nicole Kidman or Hugh Jackman when he auditioned for a starring role in the latest Baz Luhrmann blockbuster. Now the 11-year-old from Broome, who has beaten leukaemia, will be catapulted on to the world stage after landing a major role alongside Hollywood's hottest stars. His mother, Janie Wright, said her son auditioned for the role of a young Aboriginal musterer after a casting director spotted him with his father at the local pool last year. "We got a letter from the director (Luhrmann) saying he was very, very interested in him," Mrs Wright said.  The family, who had never left WA before, were whisked away to Sydney this month where Brandon began rehearsing at Fox Studios alongside Kidman and Jackman.  "Nicole looked really natural, like a normal woman and she and Hugh Jackman are very nice people," Mrs Wright said. "Even though they're always busy, they always smile."

The family's lavish new lifestyle couldn’t be further from their home life in the old Kimberley pearling town. Brandon, along with his parents, siblings and cousin, stay in a $520-anight, two-bedroom apartment and have been to a string of glamorous events and their first AFL football match between Sydney and Brisbane. The young actor has spent his time working with a voice coach, learning to ride and will soon start school between rehearsals. More interested in racing cars and looking after animals, Brandon had never sung in public or ridden a horse before his audition and Mrs Wright said it worried her when she learnt the skills were required for the role, but her concerns were quickly dispelled by her son's enthusiasm. "He'd never been on a horse before but he just loved it," Mrs Wright said. "He said walking was boring and just went off galloping through the trees and I was so scared for him but now I'm used to it." She said Brandon learnt to face challenges head on after he spent a tough year at a hospital in Perth undergoing gruelling treatment for leukaemia in 2003. He could barely contain his excitement when he met Kidman, Jackman and Luhrmann and said when the family were approached by the director, they took him fishing and kangaroo shooting so they could show off some of the stunning Kimberley region. "My brother shot a roo and he chucked it on the roo bar and we took (Luhrmann) to Mandorah Station where we grew up and he loved it," Mrs Wright said. Brandon has seen few films but counts The Matrix and Toy Story among his favourites, his mother said. "He always loved to do kung-fu and jump around a lot and when he was really small, he loved watching racing cars on television," she said.  "He didn't know who was Hugh Jackman and he didn't know Nicole Kidman." The film, which could turn the youngster into a star, centres on an English aristocrat, played by Kidman, who becomes a cattle station owner before World War II. She enlists the help of Jackman and young Brandon to drive 2000 cattle across the Top End to Darwin, where they get caught in the Japanese bombing of the city.

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16 April 2007

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald - Other Tom gives Nic saddle tips

Bowen, welcome to Australia
Welcome to Bowen - sleepy seaside town one day; miniature Hollywood the next. Production in Bowen is scheduled to start on May 14, and the population of the Queensland town is rapidly increasing as new crew members arrive each day. Most crew members are in town to transform the waterfront area into 1940s Darwin, where part of the film is set. "At the moment they are building an entire set to represent Darwin during World War II," Tourism Bowen manager Therese Saad said. "That's well and truly under way and it looks amazing." Film fans wanting to get a look at the stars when they arrive next month could be in for disappointment, however. It's understood that Kidman and Jackman will be travelling with a heavy security contingent and have insisted bodyguards be continually stationed at their accommodation in town.

Expect plenty of bull
Up in Bowen, however, the locals have greeted the Australia crew with open arms, even erecting a sign welcoming the cast and crew. Bowen Shire Mayor Mike Brunker clearly realises the value of having a $184 million film in his town and is keen to make everyone feel at home. "We put the signs up for the crew but also for visitors," he said. "People like to look at the places where famous movies have been made and I have no doubt that we'll see a huge increase in tourist numbers due to this film." While locals are hoping to get their own 15 nanoseconds of fame with roles as extras in the movie, the strapping Brunker reveals his celluloid career was over before it even began. "I think they need extras with hair and in the 1940s they were a little bit shorter and slimmer than I am," he said. "So I got the flick. I could be a body double for one of those cows they are bringing in to the main street." One of the big scenes in the film involves running 1000 head of cattle down the main drag.

Will the pie shop get a credit?
Enterprising Bowen residents are banding together to work as volunteer tour guides once the cameras start to roll. The idea has been supported by 72-year-old town matriarch Merle Jochheim, a descendent of Bowen's founding father and the owner of Jochheim's Pies. In fact her pie shop played a pivotal role in Luhrmann's decision to film Australia in the town. "We're having volunteers rather like the Sydney Olympics," she said."We're getting a group of locals together. We will be able to tell people when they arrive what's happening on the day, where they are filming, where they can go and where they can't go, what they can do and what they can't do." Mrs Jochheim was behind the counter of her shop in March last year when she saw a stranger standing in the main street with a look of intense concentration on his face. He came inside to ask why the street was so wide and she explained they were designed that way to allow bullock carts to do a U-turn. "I didn't recognise him but we started chatting and it turned out it was Baz Luhrmann," she said. Luhrmann later returned with wife and creative collaborator Catherine Martin to show her the historic photos in the pie shop. The people pictured in the photos have inspired the look of the film.

Share the love
Bowen is not the only small town buzzing over Baz and co. A crew from the film flew to Kununurra in Western Australia's Kimberley region on Wednesday to check out locations for the epic. Faraway Downs, the homestead on the station inherited by Kidman's character, Lady Sarah Ashley, is to be built at the Carlton Hill station outside Kununurra. The team will be filming there for at least one month after the WA Government lobbied heavily to be involved, throwing in $500,000 as an incentive. Interestingly, Luhrmann toyed with the idea of calling the film Faraway Downs before settling on Australia. The jury's out on whether that was a sound decision.

Show ponies
It's not just the human stars of Australia who are getting special treatment. The equine stars of the movie are enjoying the benefits of a Clydesdale Pavilion that has just had a makeover. The Centennial Parklands Equestrian Centre threw a cocktail party on Friday night to celebrate the completion of refurbishments to the facility and the reopening of the pavilion, where the Australia cast have been going through their paces. Centennial Parklands Equestrian Centre manager Dee Vodden said the production company has been renting stables at the centre, although they have brought in their own trainers and horses. "They have all sorts of horses but they are mainly stockhorses," she said. "They're all beautifully taken care of so I'm sure they will all look good in the film."

Quiet on the set
Contrary to reports, rising star Joel Edgerton has not been cast in one of the supporting roles in Australia, alongside Bryan Brown, Jack Thompson and David Wenham. This should mean no awkward moments in the catering queue between Edgerton and Barry Otto, who has also scored a role in the film. Otto's daughter Gracie is involved with Matthew Newton, who has been charged with assaulting Brooke Satchwell while she was working on the television series Dangerous with Edgerton. Newton moved into the Otto family home in Lewisham following the alleged assault and Barry has spoken out in defence of the young actor. Officers from Leichhardt police station sought statements from the cast and crew of Dangerous as part of their investigations last year. The matter is scheduled to be heard in Downing Centre Local Court in June. Edgerton, meanwhile, has won a role in the coming local film Acolytes, playing a serial killer.

Cast expands
Ben Mendelsohn has been cast as the third romantic lead in Australia. Other new cast members to be announced include screen veterans Ray Barrett and Bill Hunter along with indigenous cast members Lillian Crombie and Ursula Yovich. Australia's first indigenous film star, David Gulpilil, has also been cast, which may explain why he failed to appear in Darwin Magistrates Court last month where a 12-month apprehended violence order was placed on him to protect his wife, Miriam Ashley, whom he has been accused of assaulting.

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13 April 2007

Source: The Sydney Morning Herald - Grand start for Baz's Aussie epic

It might be a case of following the horse poo for Sydney's paparazzi as they seek shots of Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman during filming of Baz Luhrmann's epic Australia. And the steaming piles will be leading them to historic Strickland House in Vaucluse, judging by a development application lodged with Woollahra Council to film at the heritage-listed mansion from late this month to early next month. Documents filed with the council say the filming will take place over two weeks and will consist mostly of exterior shots. The property is protected by strict heritage rules, but Luhrmann's production company, Bazmark, has informed the council that it will be stringing up some canvas awnings and bringing in a few potted plants to dress up the grand residence. There will also be a few marquees set up in the surrounding areas for cast and crew. After filming wraps at Strickland House, the production moves to Bowen in Queensland and then Kununurra in Western Australia. It will be a special day in Bowen on June 20 when Nicole celebrates her 40th birthday. No doubt Baz and the gang will have something fabulous planned.

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12 April 2007

Source: The Australian - Kidman back in saddle

People riding horses around Sydney's Centennial Park is an everyday event; Nicole Kidman being one of them is not. Equestrian skills figure highly in her role as an aristocratic Englishwoman in Baz Luhrmann's epic romance Australia and yesterday she got in some practice. She looked more like a contestant in a dressage event, however, than a woman pushed to the limits of her physical and emotional endurance in Australia's outback 60 years ago. Rehearsals and other preparations have been under way at Fox Studios Australia, next to Centennial Park in Sydney's inner-eastern suburbs, for weeks. It is believed that cameras roll on the long-awaited film - it was originally going to start shooting this time last year - on April 27. Cast and crew will warm up at several Sydney locations before heading for northern Australia for five months. Earlier this week, Kidman's minders scotched persistent rumours she was pregnant when publicist Wendy Day said: "She's looking forward to going outback and riding a horse and being here for seven months making a film."

Australia opens with Kidman's character journeying halfway around the world to confront her philandering husband. Instead, she finds him dead, and that leaves her in control of a huge cattle station. Hugh Jackman plays a rough stockman as cut off from the world as she is until they fall for each other. Luhrmann and Kidman last worked together on Moulin Rouge, which was set in the Paris club scene early last century. Australia takes place partly in Darwin but mostly in vast landscapes, which will amplify the drama in the same way that the desert gave Lawrence of Arabia an epic quality. Locations include Kununurra in Western Australia and Bowen in Queensland. Twentieth Century Fox is footing the bill, which is believed to be more than $100million.

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4 April 2007

Source: Screen West - Attachment Opportunities with Bazmark Films

Three Western Australian filmmakers will have the opportunity to work on the Baz Luhrmann feature film Australia to be partly shot in the Kimberley later this year. ScreenWest has joined forces with Bazmark Films to offer three professional attachments in the assistant director, sound and camera departments, on the Western Australian component of the shoot scheduled for late July/August. Applications close Monday 16 April 2007. Culture and Arts Minister Sheila McHale said three professional attachments would be offered while Baz Luhrmann undertook the six-week Kimberley shoot. "This is a fantastic opportunity for three local filmmakers to work with one of the best directors in the business," Ms McHale said. "Working on such a high-profile, big-budget film with Baz Luhrmann will be an enormous career boost for these filmmakers. The filmmakers will gain valuable skills and get a professional credit working on principal photography with some of the world's leading film professionals."

Baz Luhrmann said the State Government had been extraordinarily supportive in helping him to reveal to the world, the unique locations of WA's East Kimberley. "We feel strongly that it's not enough for a film company to just make their movie and return home, it's important to leave something behind for both the local community and the State," Mr Luhrmann said. "With this in mind, the WA Government has approached us to make opportunities for young, up and coming technicians in the local film industry, to be formally attached to the production for the shooting period while in WA." ScreenWest is seeking expressions of interest from early to mid-career filmmakers who are genuinely seeking a career in the assistant director (AD), sound or camera departments. Some professional experience in the attachment position you are applying for (ie AD, camera or sound) is necessary, as reflected in your CV, and only those who are genuinely looking to pursue a career in one of these crew areas are invited to apply.

As this is a key professional opportunity to gain skills on an international film shoot, a training wage will be offered at the Professional Attachment rate of $500 per week. Accommodation, airfare and per diems will also be funded by ScreenWest. Applicants must be available for a four week period from late July through to the end of August 2007 and must be a Western Australian resident, (ie. someone who has been resident in Western Australia for the six months prior to submitting the application and is on the WA electoral role). Please send your letter expressing your interest in one of the crew areas listed above, along with an up to date CV to Liz Sward at ScreenWest by no later than 5pm on Monday 16 April 2007. Please note that applicants are not to contact Bazmark Films.

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3 April 2007

Source: Townsville Bulletin - The Bowen epic

Australian film producer Baz Luhrmann doesn't hide the fact that he wants his movie Australia, due to start production in Bowen next month, to take the world  by storm. He wants it to go all the way and by that he means straight up the red carpet to Hollywood's Academy Awards and Oscar glory. And if that happens it could mean a tourism stampede for Bowen. The famous movie maker, with hits like Moulin Rouge, Romeo and Juliet and Strictly Ballroom under his belt, is staking a lot on the $130 million Australia becoming a worldwide hit. Asked if the movie was going to be the great Australian cinematic epic, he replied that there were no guarantees. But, clearly, he is hoping to create a masterpiece, a love story surrounded and embellished by the vast beauty of the outback and the mayhem of wartime Darwin. "'I can't guarantee that (it will be the great Australian epic). I'm reaching out. We're all reaching out. I've got the best actors and the best crew. This is the Olympics of cinema and we are going for gold," he said.

Parts of the movie being shot in Bowen are meant to represent Darwin in the 1920s-1940s. Bowen, with its long timber wharf and undeveloped esplanade, is providing the perfect place to build a faux Darwin waterfront. The potential for Bowen and Queensland to benefit from the movie if it becomes a worldwide success is not lost on Mr Luhrmann. Yesterday he pointed to a spot near the wharf to be called Australia Point in the movie. It is here at Australia Point where the characters played by Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman will meet for the first time in the film. Mr Luhrmann said he was still looking for extras including Chinese, Japanese, Aborigines, soldiers and experienced stockmen. "We need great soldiers, great cattlemen, people who can really ride. We need every shape and form that made up Australia at that time. We are looking for Aboriginal extras and we have to match them with the world we are creating in Darwin," he said.

Cattle yards are being constructed in front of the wharf and some of the timber posts being used have come from the old timber stockyard next to the Strathmore Station homestead outside Collinsville. Mr Luhrman is planning on having more than 2000 cattle down on the wharf area. "In those days the Darwin cattle yards ran right on to the wharf. There's a scene here with over 2000 cattle on the wharf and we're driving cattle up on to big military ships," he said. He said he felt confident about finding top notch stockmen and added that the greater Bowen area extending out into the western hinterland was a legendary area for stockmen and women."When you think about where the Stockman's Hall of Fame is, there is no doubt that this is an important place in the story of the Australian cattleman. We're excited about that," he said.

It is still not clear if the film's leading lights will be staying in Bowen while filming takes place. Mr Luhrmann said it was not easy to find accommodation for everyone. "Accommodation is one of our great issues. We're still looking for people who will rent out houses. We're still looking for housing," he said. He said Australia, because of its logistic demands, was becoming a collaboration between himself and the people of Bowen and to a wide extent, the people of Queensland. "It's an enormous undertaking. It has to be a collaboration," he said. He is struggling to find enough extras to act as World War Two soldiers. Asked if he had contacted the Department of Defence to see if soldiers from Townsville's Lavarack Barracks could be made available, he said: "Actually I've got to say we have not clarified all of that yet, but I know Premier Beattie has been extraordinarily supportive and I've had several meetings with him," he said. Mr Luhrmann said special days would be set aside during filming to allow tourists to watch production from public galleries. He said bus tours would be conducted from centres such as Mackay and Townsville.

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31 March 2007

Source: The Herald Sun - David Wenham fit for Spartan role

... In saying that, Wenham didn't think twice when the script for Australia, Baz Luhrmann's follow-up to Moulin Rouge!, landed in his lap. "It's not as though there are a huge array of incredible scripts that I would like to be involved in . . . it's really rare that I read a script and think 'I'd love to do that'," he said. "But there is only one Baz Luhrmann. I'm incredibly excited to go on this adventure. "There is no downer or negative in this film. To be involved in any project that Baz directs . . . you would give your left foot if you had to." Wenham will portray station manager Neil Fletcher in the film, alongside Oscar winner Nicole Kidman and Jackman. Set in northern Australia before World War II, Australia is a romantic tale of an English aristocrat (Kidman) who inherits a sprawling station and reluctantly makes a pact with a drover (Jackman) to protect it from a plot to steal it. While Wenham admits there may be pressure on Luhrmann for the film to succeed on an international scale, he isn't feeling the heat. "It's going to take us places I have never been in Australia," he said. "Australia is a phenomenally beautiful country and every time I go away and come back it never ceases to amaze me. "It's incredible, so I am looking forward to it." Australia is likely to keep Wenham in the country for the rest of the year, and the father of one has no qualms with that.

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31 March 2007

Source: The Sunday Telegraph - The star of David

...But Diver Dan and Faramir may soon be consigned to the past, for some fans at least, thanks to Wenham's role in Baz Luhrmann's upcoming epic, Australia. Set in the 1930s and '40s, the film will tell the story of an English aristocrat (Nicole Kidman) who inherits a huge Northern Territory cattle station, her journey across the country with an enigmatic drover (played by Hugh Jackman) and their subsequent experience of the bombing of Darwin in 1942. Wenham will play the film's antagonist, station hand Neil Fletcher, who plots to relieve the aristocrat of her inheritance.

With filming commencing in locations around the country only this month and the release date not expected until at least the latter half of next year, the buzz surrounding the film is akin to that of the Second Coming. "Well, it's going to be the biggest Australian film ever made," says Wenham, who first worked with Luhrmann on Moulin Rouge!  "He asked me if I'd like to be involved and, after considering his offer for all of about two seconds, I said I was in." Working with the cream of Australia's acting talent also has its appeal. "Nicole and Hugh may be megastars, but they're also terrific people, so it will be great to do this project with them," says Wenham, who starred alongside his friend Jackman in Van Helsing and worked with Kidman on Moulin Rouge!  "Actors in the States have openly said they'd give their left arm to be involved in this project, but Baz was adamant that he wanted to make a big Australian film with an Aussie cast and crew."

Hooking up with Jackman and Kidman in Sydney just before Christmas to read through the script, David recalls that excitement levels among the starry cast were high. "Nicole was like, 'I want to do this film now!'" laughs Wenham, who says the vibe on set will be similar to that of a high-school reunion. "We're all really looking forward to spending at least the next five months at home in Australia," he says. "Nic and Hugh, I know, are especially thrilled about it. We were talking about it at the read-through and neither of them could believe they’d be home for such an extended period. It's a definite bonus."

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30 March 2007

Source: The Daily Mercury - Bowen prepares for movie role auditions

It's the biggest thing to happen to Bowen since the mango – and residents are in there for the pickings. Bowenites are practising their walks, their talks and their charismatic smiles in the hope of snagging a part as an extra in Baz Luhrmann's latest blockbuster-to-be, Australia. Auditions begin today to find the hundreds of extras needed for the film. It's not quite the same as a starring role (Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman have already snaffled those honours) but plenty of people are putting their hands up for a part as one of 100 marching foot soldiers or a multitude of town folk and the opportunity to grace silver screens across the world. To recreate 1930s Darwin, scouts will also be seeking out people to play Japanese, Chinese and Aborigines. "I don't think I'd make a very good Japanese pearl diver," hospitality worker Gary Times said. "But I'll definitely be trying out for something – just to say Nicole and I starred in a film together."

And it's not just starry-eyed amateur actors looking to cash in on the glamour and be part of the $130 million production. As construction on the facades that will be the film's Chinatown escalate, the rest of the town is beginning to get excited about the film and the opportunities it represents. Stores are offering 'Baz burgers' and other paraphernalia in the hope of cashing in on an increased number of visitors who will visit the town in the hope of seeing a red carpet star during the filming. "Business is starting to be very clever about cashing in on the hype around the movie," Bowen Mayor Mike Brunker said. "It's going to be a fantastic thing for Bowen – it's already put us in the spotlight. The print media and TV stations are already arriving and Sunrise is talking about coming up for broadcasts – as well as the international coverage. If the stars like Bowen as much as we do, they might even buy real estate here and if the film is the kind of blockbuster Baz Luhrmann says it will be this could go on for years."

At this stage, crews are not filming; they are constructing all the necessary elements to turn the town into bustling 1930s Darwin. However, Mr Brunker said the big-name stars would begin to arrive in mid-May. And although there are no confirmed sightings of Kidman or Jackman yet, there are plenty of rumours to suggest they are not far away. Whispers they'll be staying on the LazyZ luxury cruiser moored at Abel Point are beginning to circulate and there are reports of an Airlie Beach restaurant receiving orders for a massive $4000 worth of top-end seafood (including a request for the very best locally caught coral trout, Spanish mackerel and prawns, oysters, calamari and southern crayfish, flown in with a $80/kg price tag). The film follows an English aristocrat (Kidman) who finds herself unexpectedly in the north of Australia from the mid 1930s until the bombing of Darwin.

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29 March 2007

Source: The Daily Telegraph - Saddling up for big role

... Next up Wenham takes on another, similarly daunting challenge - trading spear and shield for a saddle and a parched landscape thanks to a starring role in the upcoming Luhrmann project, due to begin shooting in early May. "I'm a good horse rider. I'm using this project to turn good into great. The one thing I've never got on top of - and I am going to see somebody about, I have an appointment this week with Mr Horse Whisperer - I never feel like I have a total connection with the animal. This man can apparently achieve this in a two-hour period, so I look forward to that.'' According to Wenham, Luhrmann wants his actors to select the horse that fits their character. Co-stars Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman are both accomplished riders. Wenham says he is excited to be part of one of the biggest and most ambitious film projects ever to be undertaken in Australia. "Just before Christmas we rehearsed for a couple of weeks and then did a reading. It was terrific to actually sit around the table and hear this story come to life with some fantastic actors involved and Baz at the helm.'' Wenham is reluctant to say too much about emerging reports that he might be the villain of the piece. "Maybe,'' he grins. "Let's just say it's more likely than not.''

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29 March 2007

Source: The Australian - From old church halls to Hollywood blockbusters

... Just to mix the comic book and fantasy characters, Wenham begins training and rehearsals today with Nicole Kidman and Jackman for Baz Luhrmann's upcoming romantic epic, Australia. Unlikely as it sounds, Wenham's value in Hollywood will rise as he goes bush with Luhrmann for six months. "It's not a bad thing, actually." Wenham said. "To be involved in the biggest blockbuster in the world currently, and then going into Baz's next film, my agent likes that. That you're not available makes you attractive, and especially if you're not available because you're working for Baz Luhrmann with Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman." Not that there are any expectations associated with the $100million-plus Australia, which will be shot in Sydney, the Whitsundays and the Kimberley. "No, that's good," he smiled. "It's a small independent film that you're obviously aware of because you hunt these things down, but nobody knows this film is happening in Australia and it will be sight unseen until we're finished."

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28 March 2007

Source: The West Australian - Wenham trades gore for Luhrmann's outback adventure

Soon we'll see David Wenham as a Spartan warrior in the bloodstained epic 300. Next year, in Baz Luhrmann's project Australia, he'll be playing a cattle station manager. This is the kind of diversity craved by the Australian actor, who has made his name in roles ranging from Diver Dan in SeaChange to Faramir in The Lord of the Rings. For Wenham, a seasoned professional who chooses his roles wisely, playing station manager Neil Fletcher alongside Oscar winner Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman was a no-brainer.  "It's tricky ... it's really rare that I read a script and think I would love to do that," the 41-year-old actor said in Sydney while promoting 300, the ferocious retelling of the ancient Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC.  "There is only one Baz Luhrmann, there's no one you can compare him too, he's unique. I am incredibly excited to go on this adventure. "There is no downer or negative involved in this film. To be involved in any project that Baz directs ... you would give your left foot if you had to." Set in northern Australia before World War II, Australia is a romantic tale of an English aristocrat (Kidman) who inherits a sprawling station and reluctantly makes a pact with a drover (Jackman) to protect her new property from a plot to steal it. Hesitant to give too much away, Wenham alluded to a tale of back-stabbing, lies and deceit when asked about the film.  "I play a guy who manages a cattle station. It's a very, very large cattle station and without giving too much away. He likes it so much he wants the cattle station for himself," Wenham said. "Nicole and Hugh's characters may also have something to do with that."

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26 March 2007

Source: Sydney Morning Herald - Kidman an 'excited schoolgirl'

Nicole Kidman was held up by work commitments in the US last week, so couldn't accompany hubby Keith Urban back to Oz. But insiders say it won't be long before the Oscar winner arrives back on our shores. Kidman will be here soon to begin working on her new film, Australia, under the guidance of Baz Luhrmann. Friends of Kidman say she's thrilled about finally returning Down Under to make another feature film (it's been years since she was here in a professional capacity, working on Moulin Rouge!). "Honestly, she sounds like an excited schoolgirl," said a source close to Kidman. "She can't wait to come back here and make this movie." Kidman was terribly disappointed when Eucalyptus - the small-budget film opposite Russell Crowe - didn't work out. While few clues have surfaced about Baz Luhrmann's script for Australia, the Kidman insider said "it's an adult's film, a beautiful script, an emotional, lovely story". Under the watchful eye of dual Oscar winner Catherine Martin, the costumes are said to be lavish and stunning.

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25 March 2007

Source: 7News - Jackman in Oz for new movie with Kidman

Aussie actor Hugh Jackman flew in from the US this morning to prepare for his new movie with Nicole Kidman. The star, and his actress wife Deborah Lee-Furness, had a bite to eat and did some shopping in the rocks with their two adopted children Oscar and Ava. Shooting for his new film, Australia, begins shooting next month. Nicole Kidman is expected to arrive in Sydney for pre-production on the film next week.

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20 March 2007

Source: The Western Australian- Keith, Nicole to spend more time in Oz

Following his promotional duties, Urban said the couple would return to Australia in April for Easter, with Kidman expected to stay on to begin production on Baz Luhrmann's epic Australia, co-starring Hugh Jackman. Kidman's Australian publicist Wendy Day said she would be based here for at least six months. "She is really looking forward to making an Australian film in Australia and also seeing a bit of the Australian outback, which she hasn't been able to do because of her overseas commitments," she said.

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11 March 2007

Source: Herald Sun - Hugh to star at Fox Bash

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02 March 2007

Source: Daily Mail - Kidman follows the herd

Nicole Kidman laughed and said she won't have much need for a Balenciaga gown when she's rounding up cattle in the outback.  "In seven weeks I'll be riding a horse and chasing young bulls," Nicole told me when we ran into each other on the Oscars red carpet. Fittingly, Nicole was wrapped in a swathe of dramatic red, specially created for her by the House of Balenciaga.

The actress told me she'd been preparing for months to shoot Baz Luhrmann's epic World War II-era movie Australia, which will film on location. Nicole will play an English aristocrat who travels to Australia after she inherits a cattle station the size of Belgium. Hugh Jackman stars with her as an Aussie cattle baron who comes to her aid when rival ranchers attempt to thwart her. They then drive 2,000 cattle across country and, on the way, witness the two Japanese bombing raids on Darwin in 1942.

Nicole picked up a few horse tricks a year ago, but the film was put on hold when Russell Crowe withdrew from the project after problems over the size of his pay cheque. Over the past 12 months, Nicole told me, she has learned how to round up cattle — and castrate young bulls. "I don't know if I'll have to do that, but it's best to be prepared," she said. Australia will shoot for five months and go on release next year.

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22 February 2007

Source: Towsville Bulletin - Plenty of rust just what Baz wants

To some people they may be rusting eyesores, but to Collinsville's Chick Searle they are beautiful works of art and what's more, a few of them will play leading roles alongside Nicole Kidman in Baz Luhrmann's movie Australia to be filmed in Bowen in May. Chick, 78, who talks about Blitzes and Chevy one-tonners the way a gallery director might talk about a rare Rembrandt or Picasso, cut his teeth on the back axle of his old man's horse-drawn coal wagon. Old Damper Searle used to haul coal from the Collinsville mine to the railhead in the days before World War I. A round trip would take him a day. Damper was a tough nut and Chick followed in his dusty footprints. Trucks and machines have never been far from Chick's reach. In 1954 he hauled the first overburden and the first coal from Collinsville's first open cut mine. Before 1954 all of the mining had been underground. Over the years Chick has indulged his passion for collecting old vehicles and has a back paddock full of rust-coloured Blitzes, Chevys and Studebaker trucks.

Geoff Naylor, the action vehicle supervisor from Bazmark Films Pty Ltd, the production company behind Australia, has already been to see him and has booked seven of Chick's vehicles for the film. He's even booked Chick himself in for a part. "I haven't told Chick, but he'll be an extra," he said yesterday. Mr Naylor said he was after vehicles from pre-1938 and pre-1942. "And we're still looking for larger military type vehicles backwards from 1942. There's a big scene of a military convoy leaving Darwin after the bombing," he said. Mr Naylor said Bowen was being used to represent Darwin in 1936-38 when the character played by Nicole Kidman arrives to take possession of a cattle station left to her in the Kimberley. "So we need vehicles back from 1938 and we'll dress the streets of Bowen with these vehicles to make it look like Darwin," he said. He said Nicole Kidman's character does not return from the Kimberley until 1942 when Darwin is bombed.  "That's why we need vehicles and military type trucks from 1942 backwards," he said.

Mr Naylor said Chick's vehicles would be repainted and some would be used to illustrate the devastation in Darwin after the bombing. "Some of them will be painted to make them look as though they've been burnt out. They'll be on their sides and will look like they've taken a hit. There will be a lot of craters in the street," he said. Mr Naylor hopes to also source a locomotive from CSR's Victoria Mill at Ingham and steel rail track from CSR and the Proserpine Mill. If you have a vehicle you think Mr Naylor might be interested in phone 0418 485 036.

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17 February 2007

Source: Townsville Bulletin - Bowen gets a taste of Baz

He snuck in and out of the small community without a whisper. World famous director Baz Luhrmann was in Bowen yesterday – and hardly anyone knew. It is believed Luhrmann dined at the Yacht Club on Thursday night before heading to Sinclair Bay yesterday to source further filming locations for his forthcoming epic Australia. Bowen Mayor Mike Brunker said Luhrmann had been in the town since Thursday on a visit to do some 'workshopping' for the film.

"He was in Bowen with a few crew to pull a few things together before filming starts," Cr Brunker said. Cr Brunker said he believed Luhrmann had arrived in Bowen via Mackay.  "He was on a different flight to the (technical) crew, and the crew plane ended up in Townsville because it got cancelled from Proserpine and had to be diverted," he said.

Townsville Airport transport provider Noel Evans said he was the lucky man who had to drive the crew from the Townsville Airport to Bowen. "I took eight of them, they were from Fox Studios in Sydney and were were all part of the film crew," Mr Evans said. "There were cinematographers and props men with their silver equipment boxes and they were going down to get some final things done before they start actually taking the cast down there," he said.  Mr Evans said he knew Luhrmann was in Bowen because the crew had told him. "When I dropped them off at their accommodation in Rose Bay and Horseshoe Bay they said they were going to meet up with Baz for lunch."

So the question on everyone's lips now is whether Luhrmann is still in Bowen for the weekend?  "I think he was leaving today (Friday)," Cr Brunker said.  As for when the director will be back in town with his stellar cast including Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, Cr Brunker said it would be at least two weeks later than the originally scheduled date of April 29.

"The filming has been put back two weeks because the actors were on other commitments which stuffs the race day up," Mr Brunker said.  The gala race day was expected to be held over the May Day long weekend.  "It was going to be a meet and greet for the cast and crew of the movie and for the Bowen community to get to meet them," Cr Brunker said.  He said if Queensland Racing could accommodate the later date, Luhrmann would try to get Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman to go along. "Baz (Luhrmann) said he can't get the stars to Bowen early but once the shooting starts he said he could get them to the races," Cr Brunker said. "If that doesn't happen we will run a meet and greet seafood festival that will showcase the seafood industry and let the stars mix with the locals."

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7 February 2007

Source: Townsville Bulletin - The sign says it all: Bowen's buzzin'

Baz will get a buzz out of these welcome signs, soon to be put up around Bowen. Bowen Tourism has created the signs as a way of welcoming the cast and crew of Baz Luhrmann's flick, titled Australia. The celebrity sideshow – including Nicole Kidman, Bryan Brown, Jack Thompson and Hugh Jackman – are expected to arrive on April 29 to begin filming. "We're just trying to add a bit of buzz for Baz," Bowen Tourism Manager Therese Saad said. Ms Saad said Bowenites were 'extremely excited' about the start of filming and the town's 15 minutes of fame.

Accommodation was yet to be finalised for the Holywoods A-listers, Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman, she said. But there has been no shortage of residents willing to give up their homes for the stars. "As far as accommodation goes, there is a lot of cast and crew that are coming but it's looking like we can house them all here in Bowen," Ms Saad said. "We have some beautiful homes here. We even have people offering their homes up for them."

Bowen Mayor Mike Brunker said the movie countdown was on. "We're still looking over the fence waiting to see them all coming," Mr Brunker said. He said representatives of Mr Lurhmann's were expected to arrive later this month in Bowen, to begin talks with the community. "We're working out things for the main street . . . they'll have a town meeting to talk with affected businesses in regards to road closures and power outages, and the public will be invited along as well," Mr Brunker said.

The Main St will be transformed to replicate Darwin in the 1930s. Mr Brunker said power lines would be removed for the filming and construction of the 'shanty town' should start in early March. Power outages are a possibility. "But people are really excited – they really don't mind," Ms Saad said. Ms Saad said once filming was complete, Tourism Bowen would push for a 'mini premier' in the beachside town: "I'll be first in line for Hugh," she laughed.

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3 February 2007

Source: LA Daily News - Luhrmann's landscapes

- How does [having children] relate to your new film?
Having children is a journey in itself, but it's having an immediate effect on the work I'm doing. You can't not be affected by that. ... The film "Australia," set in the '30s, is about a woman who thinks that it's all over, thinks that she can't feel anymore. And she's trapped out in the far deserts of northern Australia. Then she gets involved with a rough-hewed cowboy played by Hugh Jackman, and in the quest they go on, she discovers that her life can be reborn. She chooses to feel, but it takes a degree of risk.  We relate to that in our own lives. That's the best you can hope for - to find what you're dealing with in your own life in the work you're creating.

- You did some very inventive things musically with "Moulin Rouge" and "R+J." Are you going to go with a traditional score for "Australia"?
I guess in the same way "Out of Africa" had a very romantic score. John Barry brilliantly took indigenous music and didn't just layer it in. He interpreted it. That is what we're going for in this film. "Australia" ends when the attack force that hit Pearl Harbor came down and wiped out the northern city of Darwin. At the time there was a lot of country-and-western influences from America in the music, a lot of folk influences, Hawaiian influences and jazz band music was the rage. But yet it will be a rather lush romantic score.

- You're in Australia for your new shoot, so you should be on safer ground.
I don't know. Where we're shooting is some of the most brutal landscapes in the world. And we're doing something people really don't do anymore. We're going out in tents. ... It's going to be a test.

- But you got some great actors again. Hugh Jackman ...
He's always really good, but he's really going into new territory. There's something real Clint Eastwood about him at the moment.

- Will you disappear after this film?
I have more projects than I'll ever live long enough to do. But I am driving on. I usually take many years to make a film, but now that we have our children, CM and I will be as creative as we can for the next 10 years, and then we might disappear again. Finally become recluses.

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25 January 2007

Source: The Hollywood Reporter - Wenham is Luhrmann's Ranch Hand

David Wenham will appear opposite Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman in Baz Luhrmann's "Australia" for 20th Century Fox. The film, written by Luhrmann, is set in pre-World War II northern Australia and follows an English aristocrat (Kidman) who inherits a sprawling ranch and reluctantly pacts with a cattle driver (Jackman) to protect her new property from a takeover plot. As the pair drive 2,000 head of cattle over unforgiving landscape, they experience the bombing of Darwin by Japanese forces. Wenham is playing the antagonist in the film, a station manager who is plotting to possess the ranch, called Faraway Downs. Shooting begins in April in northern Australia. Australian actor Wenham worked with Luhrmann in "Moulin Rouge." He is best known stateside as Faramir in "The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" and "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King." He next appears in Warner Bros. Pictures' "300," due out in March. He is repped by Endeavor and Artists-Independent Management in the U.S. and Shanahan Management in Australia.

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25 January 2007

Source: News.com.au - An epic showcase

While guests at the gala were treated to the first sneak peek of the film, Confidential can reveal further details on the colourful characters set to be portrayed by the cast of A-list Aussies in the historical feature, set from 1930 to the Japanese's World War II bombing of Darwin. Kidman will play an English aristocrat who inherits the cattle station Faraway Downs and hires Jackman to move the herd across the country.

In a role almost seems penned especially for him, Thompson has been announced to play Kipling Flynn, a drunken accountant and flamboyant bon vivant.

Bryan Brown's suitably weathered features will perfectly suit the role of cattle baron King Carney, the single greatest landholder in the country's north.

Finally, it is understood David Wenham has joined the cast as the third lead, and will raise the dramatic stakes of the plot as Neil Fletcher, a station manager who plots to possess Faraway Downs.

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21 January 2007

Source: Sydney Morning Herald - Baz gives US a peek at outback epic bigger than Texas

Baz Luhrmann's new film will be the biggest made in Australia, its star, Hugh Jackman, says. "This is going to be on a scale never seen before. It's by far the biggest Australian film ever made," Jackman told an Australian gala dinner in New York. The actor will play opposite Nicole Kidman. Bryan Brown, Jack Thompson and David Wenham will also star in the film, titled Australia. A promotional clip was shown at the dinner at the end of the week-long G'Day USA promotion. "It's so good to see Aussies in tuxedos," a jocular Jackman told the assembled Australians. "It's like the cast of Happy Feet." Speaking on the clip, Luhrmann said that when he was growing up American films showed dramatic landscapes in the US and he had always wanted to make a film that showed dramatic landscapes in Australia. "The project is billed as an outback epic, with Kidman playing an English aristocrat who inherits a cattle station and, to combat a plot to take her land, reluctantly enlists the help of a drover [played by Jackman] to move a herd across the country," Jackman said. They then face the World War II bombing of Darwin.

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21 January 2007

Source: Sunday Telegraph - Aussies Take New York

Jackman treated the audience to the first sneak peek of the epic Baz Luhrmann movie that he is making with Nicole Kidman, called Australia. On two large screens, the audience of 800 people saw black and white images of Jackman and Kidman in the film.  Jackman said the film was set from 1930 to the Japanese World War II bombing of Darwin. "It's a story set in Australia about Australian characters. It's about our great land, and it's about our history. It's about who we are,'' Jackman said.  "It's been funded by an Australian, Rupert Murdoch.''

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13 January 2007

Source: Townsville Bulletin - Bracing for fame

"In the future everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes" – Andy Warhol, groupie to the superstars. If the famous pop artist from the 60s and 70s with the shock-white wig and cadaver-like frame were alive today he might cast his eye over Bowen and say 'hmmm, my 15 minutes call was spot on'.  Everyone in Bowen wants their 15 minutes and just like the cargo cultists from the New Guinea Highlands, they are waiting for that big silver bird to drop down from the sky – in this case read Baz Luhrmann – to pick them up on wings of fame and fly them down the yellow brick road.  With world famous director Baz Luhrmann bringing stars like Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman to Bowen for six weeks of filming from April 29 for his latest movie project Australia, Bowenites want a bite of the action. When the Townsville Bulletin went in search of aspiring Nicole Kidmans and Hugh Jackmans in Bowen's main street yesterday, asking the question: 'Do you know someone who wants to be in the Baz Luhrmann movie?' The answer was the same from everyone, as in 'duh, just about everyone in Bowen'.

Luhrmann's movie project Australia is the biggest thing that's happened in Bowen since the meatworks closed in 1997 and Ben Bolt won the Caulfield Cup back in 1886. Bowen's promotional savvy mayor Cr Mike Brunker has the whip out and is in the saddle riding the movie publicity home like a winning jockey coming up the final straight in the Melbourne Cup. But the Mayor, who would promote a boil on his left buttock if he thought it might rate a mention in the Kimberley Echo, says there's no casting couch in his office and stresses that he not a casting agent for the movie.

Cr Brunker says he has been taking calls from all over Queensland from hopefuls trying to break into the movies.  He said once word went out that Baz Luhrmann would be filming in Bowen, hopefuls with stars in their eyes from Bowen to Brisbane and Bowen to Bamaga hit the phone looking for their big break.  "I am not the casting director, so people please stop ringing me," he pleaded yesterday.  "I've had calls from all over Queensland from people wanting parts and wanting to be extras." He said representatives from Baz Luhrmann's production company would be in Bowen about two weeks before filming starts. "They will advertise for extras and that will be the time for people to make contact," he said.

Cr Brunker said there was a major headache in trying to accommodate the 280 cast and crew for six weeks. "So far we have 140 people accommodated, but we've got Abbot Point Stage Two in progress and rooms in town are already in short supply as it is," he said.  He said what could make it even worse was the start of the tourist season when the grey nomads started heading north. Compounding this was the start of the vegetable picking season in April which draws hundreds of backpackers and pickers into the district.  Cr Brunker said there would be demand for executive style housing to accommodate Nicole Kidman and other stars said to be travelling with their families. Cr Brunker said he did not know if Ms Kidman would be travelling with her husband, country singing star and rehab veteran Keith Urban.  "We will be advertising for executive houses," he said.  He said the stars would have their own security details, but added police numbers in Bowen were expected to swell to ensure the safety of the famous visitors.  Cr Brunker said he also expected a large media contingent to be in town while filming was going on.  "We could end up with 100 media people here," he said.  And what that adds up to as far as promotion-mad Cr Brunker is concerned is good media vibes for Bowen. He's just hoping it's going to last longer than 15 minutes.

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11 January 2007

Source: Townsville Bulletin - Kidman Cup set to be a real bolter

LADIES and gents get ready to place your bets on the Nicole Kidman Cup at Bowen's Ben Bolt Park. Hollywood is coming to Tomato Central and they're going to the races.  The gala race day, expected to be held over the May Day long weekend, is expected to attract movie stars Nicole Kidman, Bryan Brown, Jack Thompson and Hugh Jackman. The quartet of moviedom royalty will be in Bowen filming the Baz Luhrmann epic, Australia.  Mayor Mike Brunker and and Bowen Turf Club vice-president Cyril Vains are quietly preparing for what they are sure will be the biggest racing event in Bowen's history. Paul Brennan from Queensland Racing Ltd told the Townsville Bulletin yesterday that the race day was '99 per cent' certain to happen. Bowen is already allocated four race meetings a year, but needs the green light from Queensland Racing to run what a fifth to coincide with the six weeks of filming scheduled to start on April 29.

Both Mr Vains who came up with the idea of the Nicole Kidman Cup and Cr Brunker have only one concern if it goes ahead and that is ticketing.  "We want to make sure that local people from Bowen and Collinsville can get tickets, but there are going to be a lot of people from Mackay to the south and Townsville to the north who will want to come," Cr Brunker said. Both Cr Brunker and Mr Vains said that if the race meeting did go ahead as planned tickets may have to be pre-sold in order to keep some sort of cap on numbers.

Mr Vains said the turf club accommodates about 3000 people at its biggest race of the year, the Bowen Cup.  He thinks that by moving fences and making more space available, the grounds could be extended enough to hold 5000 racegoers, but was doubtful 6000 could be accommodated.  "I think we'll probably end up turning people away," Mr Vains said.  Cr Brunker hopes that either Nicole Kidman or Hugh Jackman will judge Fashions on the Field and that Ms Kidman will be on hand to present the owner of the winning horse with the cup. "Obviously we have to work around Baz Luhrmann's shooting schedule, but Baz has said the stars would undertake some meet and greet activities while they were in Bowen," he said.  Mr Brennan confirmed that Queensland Racing had received submissions from both the Bowen Shire Council and the Bowen Turf Club and that all 'feedback' from industry and sponsors about the race day was positive.

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23 December 2006

Source: Sydney Morning Herald - Hollywood comes to town but leaves locals in the dark

Camelot, a grand house at Camden on Sydney's outskirts, was the secret location for filming during the week of Baz Luhrmann's Australia, featuring Australian superstars Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. A source close to the set revealed that Kidman and Jackman were in Camden for interior and exterior scenes on Wednesday and Thursday. But filming was so secret that Camden Mayor Chris Patterson, who lives four doors away from the house, didn't even know the stars were in town. Mr Patterson said he had no idea Kidman and Jackman had been just down the road. He said filming was not subject to council approval. But it's understood the house and property were used for early scenes in Luhrmann's movie about an English aristocrat who inherits a property in the Northern Territory during World War II.

"Nicole and Hugh were both here," a source from the set said last week. "They were both very nice, very charming. Nicole is a very beautiful, friendly lady and Hugh was great. He sat down with the owner and had a chat with him for about an hour." It is understood the actors were flown into Camden by private helicopter, landing at Camden Airport, which is near Camelot.

The house was brought by Camden businessman Brendan Powers and his wife, Rachel, in 1999 for $2.6 million. "It is a really beautiful house, lovingly restored ... and the gardens are looking just amazing," the film source said. Kidman had earlier practised her riding scenes at the equestrian centre at Moore Park. Jackman, who was pictured wearing a holster on the Camden set, is also expected to ride horses extensively in the film.

Camelot is set among rolling green pastures with horses and well-established cottage-style gardens. Entry to the main house is by a winding, tree-lined drive. The historic mansion was built in 1888, was constructed from brick and has a romantic silhouette of turrets, chimney stacks, gables, arched verandas and projecting bays. Kidman remained in Sydney yesterday, spending most of the morning inside her Darling Point home. The actor received a handful of visitors at her house before lunchtime.

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13 December 2006

Source: Townsville Bulletin - Starring role for Bowen

Hollywood superstars Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman are set to become Bowen's most famous residents. The Australian icons will call the seaside town home for almost three months while they film Baz Luhrmann's latest epic – tipped to be a blockbuster – by the beach. A $500,000 Queensland Government sweetener sealed the deal yesterday, but Bowen Mayor Mike Brunker said he was always confident his town would win over the famous director.  "I'm over the moon," he said last night. "It's exciting times for us in Bowen."

Mr Luhrmann yesterday confirmed around a third of his new film Australia, to star Kidman and Jackman, would be shot in Bowen from April next year.  Cr Brunker said the movie had the potential to launch Bowen into the international tourism spotlight, just like The Lord of the Rings trilogy did for various New Zealand towns. "Hopefully we can just sit down and have a beer and a chat," the laidback mayor said. "Maybe some of the (movie's stars) will love the place and decide to buy some real estate here."

It was a portion of vacant land, earmarked for development, near the jetty as well as the town's picturesque setting that was the clincher for Luhrmann, Cr Brunker said. He said he expected the entire town would be buzzing with the news today. The movie's crew of 200, including its two major stars, are expected to stay in Bowen during the 10 weeks of shooting.

But there's a lot of work to be done before then.  Cr Brunker said the council was currently looking at accommodation options to ensure most of the cast and crew could be housed locally during filming. Herbert St will also need a massive makeover before filming to resemble pre-war Darwin, complete with a cattle yard and Chinese shanty town. Cr Brunker said Luhrmann had given assurances that locals would be invited to movie star meet and greets, with the director also keen to involve local students and residents where possible.

Luhrmann said the $500,000 contribution was a 'trigger' to bring the epic to Bowen, which is particularly famous for its giant fibreglass mango monument.  "It's environmentally gorgeous," the director of Moulin Rouge, Romeo+Juliet and Strictly Ballroom said of the town.  Luhrmann, speaking in Brisbane, said he scoured every major coastal city and town around the country to find the perfect location.  But it was eventually Bowen's deepwater port, 'gorgeous water' and historical buildings that clinched the deal.  "That is part of what I think Hugh, Nicole and I really share," Luhrmann said.  "We've been very fortunate. This country gave us an opportunity to play around the world. And now at the point in our careers we are, we feel naturally like you want to give something back."

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13 December 2006

Source: Gold Coast Bulletin - Bowen Bazamatazz

There will be no red velvet curtains or neon lights. But there might still be some of those distinctive Baz Luhrmann touches when the famed director takes over Bowen next year to make his epic Australian movie called, well, Australia. Mr Luhrmann and Premier Peter Beattie yesterday confirmed industry rumours that the small north Queensland coastal town would be transformed into 1930s Darwin for the movie, which will star internationally acclaimed Australian actors Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. Luhrmann was persuaded to film part of his movie in Bowen this week only after the Queensland Government gave him a $500,000 taxpayer-funded sweetener.

The film's crew will begin moving into Bowen in January, with Kidman and Jackman due a couple of weeks before filming begins in April. The production, which is expected to have a cast and crew of more than 200, will shoot for five weeks and be based in Bowen for three months in total. The economic benefits to the region are estimated to be about $7 million. More than 100 lucky locals will also get small roles in the making of the film. Luhrmann said the film would trace an aristocratic English woman, played by Kidman, as she finds herself in a cattle-drive across Australia in the 1930s. He said he had looked at many port towns and cities throughout the country but the deciding factor to choose Bowen, besides the $500,000 incentive, was the locals' enthusiasm for the project. "Bowen has a deep water port, gorgeous water and it also has a lot of great historical buildings," he said. Luhrmann said the money allowed him to get out of the Sydney sound stage where much of the film would be made, and shoot some of it on location in Bowen, which is standing in for a 1930s Darwin.

"The film we are making is about the way in which the landscape of Australia transforms this English character and I really wanted to go old school in a sense of the film like Lawrence Of Arabia or Giant, where the landscape transforms," he said. "I wanted to express the romance and beauty of Darwin in the 1930s." Luhrmann said the film title was 'really a metaphor for a state of mind'. "Nicole Kidman's character, Lady Sarah Ashley, an English aristocrat, finds herself unexpectedly in the north of Australia from the mid 1930s until the bombing of Darwin," he said. "While she is there, the landscape, people and experiences of this faraway exotic country bring renewal to her life."

He dismissed rumours he had had trouble getting finance for the production.  "I am what they call in the business, locked and rocked, we are in pre-production ... we were green lit," he said. Luhrmann, whose stylishly distinctive films include Moulin Rouge, Romeo And Juliet and Strictly Ballroom, said his new movie would be different. "The visual language of this film, while not naturalistic, will look more like an absolute classic romance," he said. "It will be inventive but the invention won't be the same as that we used in the last three films."

Mr Beattie said if the Government had not provided the money, the movie would have gone elsewhere. "Baz's decision to feature Bowen will create local jobs and generate significant tourism opportunities for the region upon the film's release," he said. "In addition to the financial support we are providing, the Queensland Government through the Pacific Film and Television Commission will provide support to the production while they are in Bowen."

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12 December 2006

Source: Yahoo News - Luhrmann to film 'Australia' in Bowen

Renowned director Baz Luhrmann has confirmed he will shoot part of his next movie in the north Queensland town of Bowen. Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman will star in the romantic epic, to be called Australia. Bowen will be used to portray Darwin in the 1930s. Kidman will play an English aristocrat who joins forces with a rough cattle driver (Jackman) to drive her 2,000 cows across the country, only to face the Japanese bombing of Darwin. Luhrmann says a Queensland Government incentive of $500,000 was a significant attraction. "The 500 up front trigger tells our financier that allows me to go into a new box and say I can bring the principle actors on location for this portion of the film because a lot of it we're still doing in Sydney," he said.

Luhrmann says Bowen has the look he needs to portray Darwin in the 1930s. "We said, 'look, if the Queensland Government can give us this trigger, we can today say we're done," he said. "And we are done and we're on our way. "From next week on, there'll be increasing numbers of people in Bowen. "We shoot at the end of April - actual film rolling at the end of April - but from January, we'll have large teams of people there. "I am what they call in the business, 'locked and rocked'."

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12 December 2006

Source: Courier Mail - Grant Lures Baz

Queensland taxpayers will fund $500,000 of the $130 million budget for director Baz Luhrmann to shoot part of his Australia epic at Bowen in north Queensland next year. Lurhmann – responsible for a string of hits around the world – admitted it was the money that brought favour to Queensland as a shooting location. The one-off grant was negotiated this week after Bowen had been dropped as the preferred site from a shortlist of locations around Australia. The events to be filmed in Bowen will account for about a third of Australia's screen time. It is understood the majority of the film will be shot in Western Australia, which also has contributed $500,000 to the project.

Premier Peter Beattie, Arts Minister Rod Welford and Co-ordinator-General Ross Rolfe met Luhrmann in Brisbane yesterday to discuss the film grant. Luhrmann plans to start filming in Bowen with Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman and Jack Thompson over almost three months from April. He said the public funds finalised the shoot for Bowen after scouting other options around the country over the past two years, including Wyndham in Victoria and Port Headland in Western Australia. "It is still set, from a global point of view, in a faraway place, it's an Australian film and the budgets for productions like that have certain limits," he said. "The $500,000 is an up-front trigger that tells our financier . . . I can take the principal actors on location for this portion of the film."

He said the production would also employ more than 100 local people. Mr Beattie said the Government was keen to encourage the local film industry. "Baz's decision to feature Bowen will create local jobs and generate significant tourism opportunities for the region upon the film's release," he said. A crew of about 200 will work on the film set in northern Australia at the outbreak of World War ll. Oscar-winner Kidman, who appeared in Luhrmann's last film, Moulin Rouge, in 2001, will play an English aristocrat who teams with an Aussie drover (Jackman) to drive a mob of 2000 cattle across the Top End before becoming caught up in the Japanese bombing raids on Darwin. Bowen will stand-in for Darwin in the film, which Mr Beattie said would boost the town's economy by up to $7 million over the 10-week filming. "Hopefully we can just sit down and have a beer and a chat," he said.

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12 December 2006

Source: Ninemsn.com - Luhrmann epic to be shot in Bowen

A north Queensland town best known for its mangoes has clinched a role in a Baz Luhrmann-directed outback epic, following a $500,000 sweetener from the state government. The Australian director has confirmed around a third of his new film Australia, to feature Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, would be shot in Bowen from April next year. The epic centres on an English aristocrat, played by Kidman, who becomes the proprietor of a cattle station before World War II. She enlists the help of a "rough-hewn" drover, Jackman, in a fight against cattle barons who plot to take over her land. The couple drive 2,000 cattle across the Top End and get caught up in the Japanese bombing of Darwin.

Luhrmann said the $500,000 contribution was a "trigger" to bring the epic to Bowen, which is particularly famous for its giant fibreglass mango monument. "It's environmentally gorgeous," the director of Moulin Rouge!, Romeo+Juliet and Strictly Ballroom said of the town. "The film we're making is about the way in which the landscape of Australia transforms this English character, and I really want to go `old school' in a sense of a film like Lawrence of Arabia or Giant, where the landscape transforms. "I wanted to express the romance and the beauty of Darwin in the 1930s."

The crew of 200, including its two major stars, are expected to stay in Bowen during the 10 weeks of shooting. Luhrmann, speaking in Brisbane, said he scoured every major coastal city and town around the country to find the perfect location. But it was eventually Bowen's deep water port, "gorgeous water" and historical buildings that clinched the deal. Luhrmann said more than 100 locals would play roles such as Japanese pearlers and cattlemen, while students would be encouraged to take part in a bid to encourage young talent to stay in Australia. "That is part of what I think Hugh, Nicole and I really share," Luhrmann said. "We've been very fortunate. This country gave us an opportunity to play around the world. And now at the point in our careers we are, we feel naturally like you want to give something back."

Premier Peter Beattie said the production would pump $7 million into Queensland. Bowen Mayor Mike Brunker, who earlier this year said Australia would do for Bowen what Mad Max III did for Coober Pedy, said he hoped to meet the film's stars, particularly Kidman. "Hopefully we can just sit down and have a beer and a chat," he said.

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2 December 2006

Source: The Age - Kidman an epic Australian

A day after being crowned Hollywood's highest-paid actress, Nicole Kidman has reaffirmed her desire to make a film in the country that made her a star. Kidman said she was looking forward to returning home to star opposite Hugh Jackman in Baz Luhrmann's upcoming epic, Australia. We can also bring you a comprehensive look at a stunning collection of photos she has done for US magazine Vogue.

This is the first time Kidman - who has endured a year of highs and lows with husband Keith Urban admitting himself into rehab just four months after their fairytale Sydney wedding - has spoken about the film. "I think I've been wanting to come back and make a film in Australia for years now - since Moulin Rouge (in 2000)," she said. "This film is in my blood and, as I said to Baz, I have to make it, there is no choice involved."

Kidman will play an uptight English aristocrat who undergoes a complete transformation as she travels across northern Australia with a rugged drover (Jackman) during WWII. With a rumoured budget of $100 million, the romantic epic is one of the most expensive - and ambitious - films made in Australia. "At the same time you just want to make a good film with great characters rather than dealing with the magnitude of it and just look at it as a good story that I am proud and excited to be involved with," Kidman said.

The Sydney-raised actress has long been hoping to work with Luhrmann again and was reportedly bitterly disappointed by last year's collapse of Eucalyptus, another local film in which she was set to star. "There is something comforting to come back and work with the same people," Kidman said. "I feel privileged to be working with great Australian actors and a great director and as Baz said, I can't wait to get on the horse." Filming will begin in March, though Kidman and Jackman will come to Sydney this month for a pre-production workshop. Luhrmann said: "I know that Nicole, Hugh and I and all the various creatives are really excited and honoured to be part of that exchange and are all keen to showcase our country in Australia."

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23 November 2006

Source: Sydney Morning Herald - Luhrmann's never, never epic begins to take shape

Baz Luhrmann paused before revealing the title of his epic outback romance for the first time outside his inner circle. "The name is shocking," the director said with a laugh. "It's called Australia." After a long delay and months of speculation, the first film for the Sydney director since Moulin Rouge has been given the green light by the Hollywood studio 20th Century Fox. Luhrmann has overcome the withdrawal of Russell Crowe and budget concerns by the studio to begin pre-production.

There will be a workshop at Sydney's Fox Studios before Christmas, with the cast working on riding, costumes, the script and test scenes. Then filming will start in the Kimberley region in March and take five months. The budget is believed to be capped at $US100 million ($130 million), which would make it, along with the new penguin animation Happy Feet, one of the country's most expensive films.

Sitting on the terrace of the stately Darlinghurst mansion Iona, which is both home and production company headquarters, Luhrmann said the film centred on an English aristocrat, played by Nicole Kidman, who comes to northern Australia to sell a cattle property the size of Belgium in the 1930s. After an epic journey across the country with a rough-hewn drover, Hugh Jackman, they are caught in the bombing of Darwin during World War II.

The surprising title was chosen over Great Southern Land and Faraway Downs, the name of the homestead in the film. "I'm taking the perspective of the rest of the world to this film - how they might view Australia," Luhrmann said. "When you say Casablanca or Oklahoma! it means big. It means vast ... I'm not saying this film is Australia. It's a metaphor for a state of mind, for the faraway in the '30s."

After Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge, Luhrmann tried to make the ancient epic Alexander The Great, even building a studio with the producer Dino de Laurentiis in Morocco. But that film lapsed when Oliver Stone jumped ahead with his own Alexander project. Life also intervened, with the director and his wife, the production designer Catherine Martin, having two children - Lily, three, and William, one. "We're a circus family," he said. "We had our children and I fell in love with that. That became the new life." That life has contributed to Australia. "This film is about, in a way, the importance of family, whatever the manifestation of that family is ... It's fundamentally about the importance of fighting to keep those that you truly love together despite the difficulties."

Inside Iona, Luhrmann showed books of drawings and reworked historical photographs that place Kidman and Jackman in scenes from the film. Moving to the screening room, he showed footage from scouting visits that includes epic landscapes from the Kimberley and a rodeo. "As George Lucas said to me, you could shoot it all in Sydney stages," he said. "But I want it to be at least predominantly shot on real locations ... We're definitely shooting no less than a month in Western Australia at [a cattle station]. And to the extent we can, we're trying to shoot as much as possible in other parts."

The film draws on a range of sources including personal research, historical texts, the novels Poor Fellow My Country, Capricornia and We of the Never Never and the 1940s droving film The Overlanders. Survivors of the bombing of Darwin by the Japanese have been interviewed. "What people tend not to know is that more tonnage of bombs were dropped by the same attack force on Darwin as Pearl Harbour," Luhrmann said. "They bombed Darwin 64 times. We were completely lied to in the south about it."

When Crowe withdrew from the film, he blamed budgetary concerns, saying: "I don't do charity work for major studios." Luhrmann confirmed the dispute was between the studio and Crowe, denied there was any rancour about creative control and said he remained good friends with the Oscar-winning actor. "There came a point where if Russell and Fox could not resolve it, rather than lose the film ... Hugh was a road forward." Despite her husband Keith Urban's stint in rehab, Luhrmann said Kidman was definitely ready for Australia. "I'm never going to comment on Nicole's personal life but she's certainly in the picture," he said. "She can't wait to get on a horse."

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23 November 2006

Source: The Australian - Baz sees the big picture in Australian landscape

Director Baz Luhrmann's next film is to be called, simply, Australia. "I couldn't take the title away if I tried because it named itself," said Luhrmann. The film is a grand romance starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman but, in the tradition of Casablanca and the television series Dallas, the setting is integral. The backdrop for Luhrmann's film is the cattle industry in the 1930s and Darwin before and after it was attacked by the Japanese in World War II. "The film is not didactically about this country - the title represents the main character's journey, her state of mind," said Luhrmann from his base in Sydney's inner-city Darlinghurst.

Cameras will roll for five months from March. As was the case with his previous two films - Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge - the key backer is 20thCentury Fox. Kidman plays Lady Sarah Ashley, a highly strung English aristocrat, who arrives in Australia to find her cad of a husband dead and her only assets a piece of land the size of Belgium and thousands of cattle. As she drives the cattle overland to sell in Darwin, her disdain for the rough drover at her side (Jackman), and for the country, disappears. "That land which seemed brutal and foreboding is now achingly beautiful, and, through the way she starts to relate to that land, she comes alive and finds her inner strength," said Luhrmann. Landscape will amplify the drama and emotion of the story in a way not seen in film for some time because of cost, technical challenges and its perceived lack of appeal to 17-year-old boys.

Luhrmann would not comment on the budget but it is understood to be just under $US100million ($130million), making it the most expensive Australian story committed to the big screen. At least four weeks of the five-month shoot will happen near Kununurra in northern Western Australia, with the state Government contributing $500,000. Luhrmann emphasised the tourism benefits of two of Australia's biggest stars acting against its landscapes and said he was negotiating with other governments. He said the films The Overlanders and Giant had inspired Australia and also, in the "magnificent" way it used the landscape, Jedda. But the biggest influence, he said, was Leo Tolstoy's novel War and Peace.

Luhrmann will gather his main cast, including an indigenous boy who will play the third key character, for a workshop in Sydney next month. They will have riding lessons, script discussions and work on costumes. Luhrmann said he was surprised by what the two years of research unearthed. "Darwin was attacked 64 times in six months ... The government (disguised) the truth: 2000 whites were killed and non-whites were not counted, so the toll was far greater," he said. "But everything in the film will be in service to a great romance ... Facts will be moved around but not in a way that fundamentally disturbs the truth."

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23 November 2006

Source: The Age - Luhrmann to parade Australia's epic scale

Baz Luhrmann paused before revealing the title of his epic outback romance for the first time outside his inner circle. "The name is shocking," the director said with a laugh. "It's called Australia." The first film for the Sydney director since Moulin Rouge has been given the go-ahead from Hollywood studio 20th Century Fox. Luhrmann has overcome the withdrawal of Russell Crowe and budget concerns by the studio to begin pre-production. There will be a workshop at Sydney's Fox Studios before Christmas, with the cast working on riding, costumes, the script and test scenes. Filming will start in the Kimberley in March and take five months. The budget is believed to be $US100 million ($A130 million), which would make it, along with the new penguin animation Happy Feet, one of the country's most expensive films.

Luhrmann said the film centred on an English aristocrat, played by Nicole Kidman, who comes to Australia to sell a cattle property the size of Belgium. After an epic journey across country, she and rough-hewn drover Hugh Jackman are caught in the Japanese bombing of Darwin during World War II. The title Australia was chosen over Great Southern Land and Faraway Downs, the name of the homestead in the film.

"I'm taking the perspective of the rest of the world to this film how they might view Australia," Luhrmann said. "When you say Casablanca or Oklahoma! it means big. It means vast ... I'm not saying this film is Australia. It's a metaphor for a state of mind, for the faraway."

"What people tend not to know is that more tonnage of bombs were dropped by the same attack force on Darwin as Pearl Harbour. They bombed Darwin 64 times. We were completely lied to in the south about it."

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