DECEMBER 2006

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29 December 2006

New Workshop Images

- On 23 December 2006, the Sydney Morning Herald published an article regarding the Australia workshops, which was detailed in my previous news update. The online article was accompanied by an image of Hugh Jackman. However, the article in the newspaper itself was accompanied by two further images, pictured above. One is of Baz Luhrmann with two 'mystery' men at Camelot, and the other is of Nicole Kidman riding a horse at an equestrian centre at Moore Park.

I have now expanded my Australia section of this website to include several different pages, including Locations and Cast and Crew. I have also added a Pre-Production Images Page, where you will find larger images of the above pictures. Feel free to have a look around, and please e-mail me if there is any further information you would like to see added to this website :)

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25 December 2006

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from Baz the Great! :)

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23 December 2006

'Australia' Location Information

- The Sydney Morning Herald today published the first picture of Hugh Jackman since he arrived in Sydney earlier this week. Jackman was pictured wearing a holster, which implies he was perhaps being fitted for costumes this week. The photograph was taken at a house called Camelot in Camden, which is a suburb on the outskirts of Sydney, and it was revealed that Camelot will be a location for the movie! The article says the house and surrounding property are to be used for early scenes in Luhrmann's Australia. Based on the description given in the article, I can only assume that the property will double as the grand England home where Kidman's character is based before she travels to Australia.

The article implies that filming for the movie has already begun. However, I am quite sure that any filming that took place would have been for rehearsal uses only. Hopefully, some of the footage filmed will turn up in the extras of the film's eventual DVD release! We shall have to wait and see! In the meantime, it is great to find out this further location information, and also to hear that Kidman and Jackman have been busy rehearsing all week.

The full article reads as follows:

Hollywood comes to town but leaves locals in the dark
Angela Cuming and Christine Sams, Sydney Morning Herald

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.

Jackman 'fine' with Crowe

- In a recent interview with the Sunday Herald Sun, Hugh Jackman was asked about his role in Australia. The interview was posted online on 21 December and the relevant question and answer reads as follows:

I found it interesting to read that Jackman has talked to Crowe about the film. I didn't know if they'd talked about it one-on-one, and it's really good to hear they have and they're both fine with it. I admire Jackman's attitude towards work, and I am sure that he will be brilliant in the role. As he keeps saying, it is indeed the role of a lifetime.

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20 December 2006

Kidman and Jackman in Sydney

- The Australia workshops are now well underway this week in Sydney. Nicole Kidman was pictured entering the House of Iona on Monday. The Daily Telegraph reported that Kidman arrived "for a leisurely read-through of Luhrmann's new film epic Australia... Ever the professional, the superstar reported for work promptly at 8.45am, before heading to Fox Studios just before noon with the Moulin Rouge director for more production meetings."

And today, The Daily Telegraph reported that Hugh Jackman arrived in Sydney on Tuesday to join Kidman in the pre-production workshops. (The article was accompanied by the above picture, which turned out to be an old image of Jackman at a premiere for Flushed Away). Now that both stars are in town, work will surely be progressing behind the scenes. Hopefully we'll hear more news about the workshops soon!

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17 December 2006

'Australia' Workshops

- The Herald Sun has reported that Nicole Kidman arrived in Sydney on Saturday and will begin the Australia workshops on Monday. She is expected to fly back to the US before Christmas, which means the workshops will last for the next week or so. Last week, the Sydney Morning Herald reported:

"The location for the workshops - which will involve everything from going through scripts to formalising costumes - is being kept secret, but some of the workshops will probably be at Fox Studios and the nearby Equestrian Centre. Horse riding is a big theme in the romance, set in the outback in the lead-up to the bombing of Darwin, with Kidman playing an aristocrat who inherits a cattle station while Jackman plays a drover."

I had previously assumed that a workshop would take place within Baz Luhrmann's production studio, the House of Iona. However, it appears there will be more than one workshop, perhaps taking place at both Fox Studios and the nearby Equestrian Centre. Let's hope there's more news reported throughout the week, and if we're lucky, perhaps some images too? :)

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13 December 2006

Baz reveals more about 'Australia'

The beachside town of Bowen
(Photo: TouristAustralia.com)

- Yesterday, Baz Luhrmann took part in a press conference in Brisbane, Australia, and revealed further exciting details about his upcoming movie. The news was reported in various Australian online news articles, transcripts of which I have posted in full on my 'Australia' Development Page.

It has been known for some time now that Bowen was expected to double for Darwin during the shoot. However, Luhrmann has now officially announced that filming will take place in Bowen from April onwards, with the shoot there expected to last around 10 weeks, and the footage expected to make up around a third of Australia's total screen time.  Speaking of Bowen, Luhrmann said, "It's environmentally gorgeous. The film we're making is about the way in which the landscape of Australia transforms this English character (Kidman), 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."

There will be a crew of around 200, including the two leading actors, Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman. All cast and crew are expected to stay in Bowen for the duration of the shoot. Luhrmann has advised that more than 100 locals will play roles such as Japanese pearlers and cattlemen, and students will also be encouraged to take part in a bid to encourage young talent to stay in Australia. Luhrmann said, "That is part of what I think Hugh, Nicole and I really share. 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."

Luhrmann said he searched every major coastal town around Australia to find the perfect location, but the Queensland town of Bowen won him over because of the enthusiasm of the locals. Of the town itself, Luhrmann said, "Bowen has a deep water port, gorgeous water and it also has a lot of great historical buildings." However, Luhrmann has also admitted that it was a AU$500,000 payment from the state government that played a big part in him choosing to film in Queensland. Indeed, the Courier Mail revealed that the one-off grant was negotiated this week after Bowen had been dropped as the preferred site from a shortlist of locations around Australia. Luhrmann has been scouting locations over the past two years, including Wyndham in Victoria and Port Headland in Western Australia. However, State Premier Peter Beattie met Luhrmann in Brisbane yesterday to discuss the grant, and this is where the press conference took place announcing Bowen's involvement in the production.

Luhrmann said in the Courier Mail, "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. 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."

Luhrmann was also quoted by Yahoo News as saying, "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. We said, 'look, if the Queensland Government can give us this trigger, we can today say we're done. 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'."

The Gold Coast Bulletin reports that Luhrmann said the title of the film was 'really a metaphor for a state of mind'. He said, "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. While she is there, the landscape, people and experiences of this faraway exotic country bring renewal to her life." Luhrmann also dismissed rumours he had had trouble getting finance for the production, and advised, "I am what they call in the business, locked and rocked, we are in pre-production ... we were green lit." Luhrmann went on to say Australia would be different from his previous films, "The visual language of this film, while not naturalistic, will look more like an absolute classic romance. It will be inventive but the invention won't be the same as that we used in the last three films."

Jack Thompson to star in 'Australia'?

- Among the news articles released yesterday, there was one particular publication, the Courier Mail, that reported the following snippet of information, "Luhrmann plans to start filming in Bowen with Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman and Jack Thompson over almost three months from April."

This is the first ever media mention of Australian actor Jack Thompson being involved with this film. There is now speculation that Thompson may play the role of the third lead character, Lady Sarah Ashley's husband. Thompson is 65, which does make him rather old for the role, but still a possibility. Alternatively, Thompson may have been cast in a supporting role. There were no direct quotes from Baz regarding the mention of Thompson's name, so we do not know for sure what his involvement may be. As always, all we can do is await confirmation that Thompson will definitely be in the film.

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11 December 2006

'Australia' workshop update

- As previously reported, a workshop for Australia is scheduled to take place some time this month at Baz Luhrmann's Sydney production studio, the House of Iona (pictured above). Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman are both supposed to be meeting up with Baz and his team to take part in the workshop in preparation for next year's shoot.  It appears likely that the workshop is set to begin within the next few days, and will finish up before Christmas. The Herald Sun today reported the following snippet entitled Nicole to miss again:

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08 December 2006

Baz and CM at AFI Awards

Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin pose backstage at the L'Oreal Paris 2006 AFI Awards at the Melbourne Exhibition Centre on December 7, 2006 in Melbourne, Australia. The awards are the premier event on the Australian Screen Industry calendar, and are the Australian Film and Television Industry's oldest and most prestigious awards, now in their 48th year. (Photo by Simon Fergusson/Getty Images)

- Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin attended the 2006 Australian Film Institute Awards in Melbourne last night to present awards at the high-profile event. Hugh Jackman's wife, Deborra-Lee Furness, also presented and was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the film, Jindabyne. Unfortunately, Jackman could not attend the event, as he is currently busy filming The Tourist in New York. However, he is expected to return to Sydney at some point this month to take part in rehearsals for Australia.

Elton John to work on 'Australia'?

- The Daily Telegraph today reported a snippet of information that suggests Elton John may work on Australia. His music was featured in Moulin Rouge, and it would appear that he met with Luhrmann this week at the House of Iona. The following snippet was reported as a 'murmur' in Sydney Confidential, which is a gossip column, but which often dishes the local dirt in Sydney, where Luhrmann is based. As the snippet says, anything is possible! ;)

"He waved his musical wand over Baz Lurhmann's Moulin Rouge, so could Elton John be set to make his mark on Australia? Following his gig on Tuesday night, Confidential hears the Rocket Man popped over to Baz's Darlinghurst digs for a chinwag before he flew to NZ on Wednesday. There is no word on whether Elton will collaborate on Baz's outback epic, but anything is possible."

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03 December 2006

Nicole Kidman speaks about Australia

- Nicole Kidman has spoken in detail about Australia for the first time. There has recently been some media speculation suggesting she was pregnant, and that this would interfere with the shoot. Kidman felt it was necessary to quash those rumours and, while doing so, she has explained how much Australia means to her.

Kidman an epic Australian
The Courier Mail, By Sarrah Le Marquand, 2 December 2006

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."

Australia - New Fansite

- Click here to visit Australia: A Baz Luhrmann Movie, a new fansite dedicated to the film. As well as running Baz the Great, I am now also one of the webmasters of this new website devoted to the upcoming film. 

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