JULY 2006
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28 July 2006
Aussie Epic News
- It's been a rather slow month for Baz news, hence the lack of news updates. However, there have been a couple of articles that have made reference to the Australian Epic.
The first article was entitled 'Jackman ready for outback flick'
from 6 July 2006. In this article, Hugh Jackman mentions his excitement at being
involved with the film:
"Multi-talented Hollywood actor Hugh Jackman says he is ready to sink his teeth into director Baz Luhrmann's next extravaganza.
The A-list stage and screen performer who has made his mark on Broadway as a talented song and dance man will star opposite fellow Aussie Nicole Kidman in the yet to be named outback flick.
"Nicole and I are doing a movie with Baz ... it's very big and very Australian," Jackman told reporters in Sydney on Thursday, as he promoted the Australian season of his hit stage musical, The Boy From Oz.
The arena spectacular begins its national tour in Sydney on August 3.
"I haven't done an Australian movie in a while, to do it with Nicole is a dream come true."
But it won't be the first time Jackman and Kidman have worked on the same film.
The pair recently wrapped production on the animated, adventure/comedy Happy Feet.
"We were both penguins in that, so it will be nice to work with her in person," said Jackman, 37, who sang at Kidman's Sydney wedding to country music star Keith Urban on June 25.
Luhrmann, who directed Kidman in Moulin Rouge, will be happy to learn that Jackman is convinced his musical work helps fine tune his on-screen performances. :D
"Contrary to common belief, acting through song is the hardest thing to do," Jackman said.
"Having energy, hitting certain emotional or vocal marks ... it makes you sharper. It sharpens your instincts."
He said he'd gained new confidence from playing the late Peter Allen in The Boy from Oz during a year on Broadway.
"He (Allen) is definitely a role model and Peter has made me more confident," he said.
"I have grown by playing Peter, as a performer and as an entertainer. I started as an actor. I was quite nervous playing Peter at first. I can definitely say (I have) more confidence and I think that confidence goes into films too."
The high-energy dance routines in The Boy From Oz leave a muscle-toned Jackman exhausted and 1kg lighter after every show.
Jackman is on a strict no dairy, exercise packed, calorie counting diet to maintain the stamina required to play Allen.
"I treat it like I am an athlete," Jackman said.
"It's the hardest job I have ever had, but also the most rewarding."
Critics lauded Jackman's portrayal of Allen - the flamboyant and energetic boy from Tenterfield in north-western NSW, who helped define the disco era in the 70s and 80s, before succumbing to AIDS in 1992 - in the Broadway production.
Jackman last performed on the Australian stage eight years ago, playing screenwriter Joe Gillis in Sunset Boulevard.
Since then he has focused on his film career with roles in Hollywood flicks X-Men, Swordfish and Van Helsing.
Jackman's portrayal of Peter Allen showed his versatility as a performer, winning him a Tony Award and an Emmy.
The actor says he aspires to be the man Allen was or men like him.
"Peter Allen is a very strong man ... men who aren't afraid to march to the beat of their own drum and don't care about what other people think, that's the kind of man I would like to be," Jackman said.
"That idea of being true to what you want to do regardless of what everybody thinks about you is maybe a unifying quality to some of the characters I play."
The second article was based on an overheard conversation by an Australian reporter. It should therefore be treated as entirely speculative. However, it is an amusing article that has got some fans wondering what Luhrmann might have meant by saying, "The world needs corny" :)
Corn of a new era, says Baz
Sydney Morning Herald, 16 July 2006
Living up to his reputation as one of our most flamboyant, creative film directors, Baz Luhrmann has revealed the mantra behind his new romantic film epic: "The world needs corny."
Luhrmann, who will direct a sweeping romance starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, has obviously decided filmgoers need a good old-fashioned love story on the big screen.
A Sun-Herald operative spotted Luhrmann at the East Village pub in Darlinghurst last week, where he was waxing enthusiastically to a companion about his big-budget project. During the conversation with his industry colleague, Luhrmann used the "world needs corny" line as a selling point for his new movie.
The director was obviously trying to convince his pub buddy to come on board the project behind the scenes, saying most of the filming would take place on a cattle station owned by an indigenous community in the Northern Territory. He said cast and crew would be living in contained quarters on site.
The pair had a low-key chat about the creative fall-out between Luhrmann and actor Russell Crowe, who was removed from the film, but Luhrmann seemed in good spirits nonetheless, at one stage cheerfully declaring "time for another g and t".
The director, who looked suave and relaxed during preparations for Kidman's wedding earlier this month, is back in peak creative form - spilling out ideas and visions for his sweeping epic film.
For the project, Luhrmann is expected to continue his extraordinary creative partnership with his wife, Catherine Martin, who won an Oscar for her work on Moulin Rouge!. The dynamic Sydney-based pair have two young children, Lillian and William.
Although an official filming date is yet to be announced - as is the title of the film - Kidman and Jackman have cleared their schedules for later this year, with both stars expected to spend at least six weeks filming in the Northern Territory.
The word 'corny' means silly or campy, but it can also have a sentimental
meaning. If what this reporter heard was true, I think that Luhrmann was simply
trying to say that the world needs more light-hearted yet sentimental
entertainment. The Australian Epic will probably encompass a lot of different
emotions. Look at Moulin Rouge, one minute you're feeling sad as Satine lays
ill, and the next you're laughing outloud at that hilarious Like a Virgin
sequence! Baz Luhrmann has a way of incorporating many different cinematic
styles into one film, and with that comes the ability to convey a lot of
different emotions. His films can be light hearted, and yes, even verging on
corny, but they all still have serious underlying messages. The Australian Epic
will probably be similar to his previous films, but hopefully also take on a
brand new scope of adventurous film making.
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