JUNE 2003

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30 June 2003

Mel Gibson to star in ATG?

- Mel Gibson may be set to play Alexander's father in Luhrmann's Alexander the Great. Yesterday, the possible casting of Gibson was announced by Variety.com in an article called 'Epic off to a 'Great' start', which reads as follows:

"SYDNEY -- Dino De Laurentiis and Baz Luhrmann met the press in Sydney on Friday to talk up their "Alexander the Great" opus, dropping broad hints that it will shoot in the New South Wales outback if the Oz government gives them a bit of help --namely, the services of 500 soldiers for at least eight weeks, as well as 1,000 horses.

The producer and director were not, however, willing to discuss the rival "Alexander" project from Intermedia/Warner Bros., which Oliver Stone aims to crank up in September.

"We don't want to talk about our competition; they are two different movies," said De Laurentiis, flanked by Luhrmann in a screening room at the Fox Studios, where Luhrmann shot "Moulin Rouge" (and which hopes to snag the interiors for "Alexander").

The two flew to Canberra Friday afternoon to meet Prime Minister John Howard to plead their case for government assistance; Luhrmann noted that other, unspecified, countries had already offered soldiers and horses.

The vet producer confirmed the budget is $150 million and said that sum was fully covered by Universal (which has U.S. rights) and DreamWorks (which took foreign but has agreed to let the producer sell off some key territories, subject to approval).

He disclosed Gaga has pre-bought Japanese rights to the pic, which will topline Leonardo DiCaprio and Nicole Kidman. Tobis has acquired the rights for Germany, and De Laurentiis said he is closing deals for Italy, Spain and the U.K. He added that he met Aussie distrib Roadshow at Cannes and named his asking price, but Roadshow said it was too high.

Asked whether Mel Gibson is in the frame to play Alexander's father, Luhrmann declined to comment and De Laurentiis playfully covered the helmer's mouth, but the latter's broad grin suggested this casting coup is in the cards.

They said filming of some digital scenes will start in November and principal photography is due to commence in March.

Both enthused about the New South Wales mining town of Broken Hill and nearby desert, which they visited earlier in the week. "Potentially, the town is a fantastic base for our movie," said De Laurentiis. The director indicated an abandoned mine in the center of town would make a great open-air studio.

Luhrmann said he's wanted to make a film about Alexander for 10 years, seeing the character as a fascinating example of a person who is driven to success, which in turn leads to failure.

The helmer described De Laurentiis as the great general he needs to help him realize his vision."

Meanwhile, it seems there is some bitterness over at Intermedia, which is helming Stone's separate Alexander film. Despite Baz and Dino not wanting to comment about Stone's project, Variety.com yesterday published an article called 'Intermedia deep into 'Alexander', which featured the following excerpt:

"Borman is clearly exasperated by what he sees as the spoiling tactics of De Laurentiis.

"Dino is behaving like a sore loser," claims Borman. "He's going round to everybody giving them indications to try and derail ours, but he can't. Of course he's talking to all the foreign distributors, saying everything that's bad about our film, our company, Oliver and Colin. We're well on the way to making our movie, but I do think Dino is stepping over the line by not behaving in a more gentlemanly way."

De Laurentiis won't give way easily, and he's got some pretty powerful supporters, including Steven Spielberg, who want Luhrmann to realize his vision of Alexander.

Even Borman confesses that's a movie he would like to see -- just so long as Stone gets his chance to prove he can do it better first."

More cities for 'La Bohème' tour!

- Yesterday, Luhrmann's La Bohème closed on Broadway, but plans are in place for a large-scale tour beginning in January 2003. Dates for Los Angeles and London have already been announced, and yesterday Playbill.com revealed more possible cities. The following is an excerpt from an article called, 'Addio, Mimi: La Bohème Ends June 29 on Bway, But L.A. & London Offer Life After Death':

"Kevin McCollum, one of the producers of La Bohème, told Playbill On-Line many scenarios for future mountings of the production are being explored, including limited engagements in North America. The staging would seem to be the perfect project for co presentation by those who run local opera seasons and those who book Broadway tours into regional houses.

"The good news is that we're looking forward to Los Angeles and London, and cities such as Chicago, Detroit the Twin Cities, Berlin," McCollum said. "Now that the show is available in its Broadway incarnation and they can offer a limited run, we feel it will be very, very popular. There is great interest in the show [regionally]."

This article has been added to my La Bohème News Articles page, which has recently been updated and now contains over 70 articles regarding the production.

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28 June 2003

Luhrmann pitches to Australian PM!

- The Australian media has been closely following the progress of Luhrmann's location scouting in Australia, and there has been some very promising developments since my last update a few days ago. After Luhrmann and De Laurentiis met with representatives of Broken Hill to discuss the possibility of shooting there, Luhrmann was quoted as saying, "The potentiality of it is deeply exciting to us. There are real hurdles we've got to overcome but if we can overcome those hurdles, you could be our number one (location)."

However, as enthusiastic as Luhrmann is about shooting in his native Australia, it seems that there is one key factor that may hinder an Australian shoot - the involvement of Australian troops. Yesterday, it was revealed that Luhrmann met with Australian Prime Minister, John Howard, to speak with him personally about the possibility of making Alexander the Great in Australia. The Adelaide newspaper, The Advertiser, reported the following article called "We need real troops, says film director":

"AUSTRALIA'S deal to clinch the epic film Alexander the Great hangs on one thing – the provision of hardened soldiers to play the conqueror's army.

Moulin Rouge director Baz Luhrmann said yesterday that without manpower from the Australian Defence Force the film would go overseas.

"If we knew we had these 200 troops tomorrow, it's a done thing," he told The Advertiser yesterday. 

"Without it, we're gone, we can't really do it. This isn't just a `gee, wouldn't it be nice', this is technical reality."

The Outback town of Broken Hill is the hot favourite to stage the $300 million blockbuster which will star Leonardo DiCaprio as the king of ancient Macedonia and Nicole Kidman as his mother, Olympia.

But the man who reinvented the movie musical said he needed the real thing to portray Alexander's tough invading army – extras and actors would not do."We have one singular problem – New Zealand was able to give some military support to Lord of the Rings – and without some military component we'll never be able to make it because you can't actually fake that element.

"We need a few hundred soldiers, or cadets, or police . . . we really need guys who can bivouac down and be in the desert, otherwise we just can't do it."

Luhrmann met Prime Minister John Howard yesterday to make his pitch, accompanied by Hollywood producer Dino De Laurentiis.

A spokesman for Mr Howard said the Government wanted to see the film made here and was seriously considering the request for troops.

The already stretched ADF would have to be consulted before any decision were made.

Who pays the soldiers' costs would be worked out once the support was guaranteed, Mr Luhrmann said.

Still in enthusiastic pitch mode, he warned other countries were lobbying aggressively to host the movie and the jobs and industry dollars it would bring.

"This is our home and we want to make films from here," he said.

"To the extent that he (Mr Howard) can look into it and help out . . . everybody's enthusiastic because it's about focusing on the town of Broken Hill and embracing that town."

Yesterday, The Courier Mail further reported in an article called 'Baz needs Diggers to film here':

"The film director met Prime Minister John Howard yesterday afternoon to personally make his pitch, accompanied by Hollywood producer Dino De Laurentiis, wife Catherine Martin and Arts Minister Rod Kemp. 

A spokesman for the Prime Minister said the Government wanted to see the film made here and was seriously considering the request.

The already stretched ADF would have to be consulted before any decision was made."

While I am pleased that the Australian Government is "seriously considering the request", I am actually extremely puzzled as to why Mr Howard did not immediately pledge his support for this project. Luhrmann has always wanted to film at least some of ATG in Australia, and the possibility of the the entire production taking place on Australian soil would bring many obvious benefits to the people of Australia. I can only hope that Mr Howard has paid attention to what I'm sure would have been a most enthusiastic pitch from Luhrmann and co, and that he sees what an incredible opportunity this is for his country. I will be greatly disappointed if Luhrmann cannot film in Australia just because Mr Howard concludes that he cannot spare a couple of hundred troops for the duration of the shoot. I now am eagerly awaiting further updates and have my fingers tightly crossed that Mr Howard has not dashed Australia's hopes for the production of this film! 

Stone's 'Alexander' update

- With all the exciting news surrounding Luhrmann's location scouting for ATG, it has been a very quiet few weeks for news regarding Stone's Alexander. However, the following snippet of information was reported by TheJournalNews.com in an article called 'The reluctant empire':

"Meanwhile, Oliver Stone is in pre-production in London for his feature film "Alexander," about the questing Macedonian king Alexander the Great. Actual shooting begins in mid-September in Morocco with Colin Farrell in the title role and Anthony Hopkins as Ptolemy, the general who would found a dynasty in Egypt."

At the end of this snippet, the article also adds "(Another Alexander film, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and directed by Baz Luhrmann, is slated to begin filming next year.)" Somehow, I think that the hype surrounding Luhrmann's ATG will continue to build right up the release of Stone's film. Therefore, I think it seems inevitable that wherever Stone's film is mentioned, there will also be reference made to Luhrmann's project. It is therefore going to be interesting to see how the media continues to react to the progress of the two films over the coming months and, as always, I will continue to follow their progress right here on this site! :-)

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24 June 2003

ATG to film in Broken Hill?

- As previously reported, Baz Luhrmann and Dino DeLaurentiis are currently scouting for Alexander the Great locations in Australia. My home town newspaper, the Adelaide publication The Advertiser, has revealed that Baz and Dino are currently in South Australia and will meet with representatives of Broken Hill to discuss the possibility of filming taking place in the region. This meeting will take place on the morning of Wednesday, 25th June, and the people of Broken Hill are eagerly awaiting the outcome. Indeed, I too am obviously excited about the prospect of ATG filming in my home state of South Australia! The article is called 'Alexander the Great eyes Broken Hill' and begins:

"It's a Hollywood secret of epic proportions and is on the lips of 21,000 Broken Hill residents – will the Outback mining city be the site for a big-budget film of Alexander the Great?

They hope their question will be answered early today, with the hugely anticipated arrival in their midst of celebrated Australian director Baz Luhrmann and veteran Hollywood producer Dino De Laurentiis.

They hope the film heavyweights have come to deliver good news – that the film about one of history's greatest figures, to star Nicole Kidman and Leonardo DiCaprio, will be filmed in their backyard.

Andrew Plumer, project co-ordinator of Film Broken Hill, established last year to promote the region as a film destination, said Luhrmann and his location manager Phillip Roope visited Broken Hill in March.

"Today (Wednesday) we are having a meeting to welcome Baz and Dino to town and let them know that we are very, very interested in hosting the film, should it come here," he said.

"This is the culmination of a series of location surveys in the region and will take in potential sites in and around Broken Hill.

"This is a significant milestone for Film Broken Hill, but we are not there yet and there is still a long way to go."

Click here for the full article, and best of luck to SA! Hopefully, I will have more location news to report soon! :-)

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21 June 2003

'Alexander' Casting News

- There has been some news circulating about the casting of Stone's Alexander. On 18th June, Dark Horizons reported the following: "Alexander: An 8 year old boy with brown hair, brown eyes and a 16 year old with the same were auditioned this week in Dublin to play young versions of the conqueror. Apparently their filming will require around four months work."

Additionally, special thanks to my friend, Kate, who informed me that Jonathan Rhys Meyers has now been cast, according to the following snippet that was reported in The Daily Telegraph on 12th June 2003. The news was included under the heading "Lisa's unlucky in love again" in the 'London Spy' section of the online version of the newspaper (click here for the direct link):

"Jonathan Rhys Meyers's career certainly seems to be proceeding apace: he has just landed a plum role in Oliver Stone's forthcoming Alexander the Great. "I've got to grow my hair, and put on weight so that I can fit into the suits of armour,'' he told Spy at the launch of Osia restaurant in London. "I'm playing Cassander, one of Alexander's closest friends, but fortunately I won't have to go into the homosexual stuff. That'll be for Colin Farrell, who is playing the lead."

If anyone has any further news about these casting developments, please feel free to contact me.

In regards to Luhrmann's Alexander the Great, the IMDb ATG page has recently added the name of Damian Golden to its cast list. There is no character name listed, and the actors webpage has no further details or previous credits. A new production company has also been added called Little Studio Films. As the IMDb has reported quite a lot of misleading information on its ATG page in the past, I cannot say whether or not this new information is accurate, and I will not be adding this information to my ATG pages until there is confirmation from additional sources.

There has been no further news about casting for Luhrmann's ATG. I have received several e-mails recently from people asking if I know who is responsible for casting for the film and how they can get in contact to submit their details. All my ATG information is obtained from internet sources, and all the information I know about casting has already posted on this site. I can only say that as soon as I learn anything more, I will be sure to post it right here in the News Updates section and on the 'Cast and Crew' page of my ATG section.

Entertainment Magazine ATG Snippet

- Special thanks to Trinity at the 'Spectacular! Spectacular! Message Board' for finding this snippet about Luhrmann's Alexander the Great in the June 2003 edition of the Canadian magazine, Entertainment:

To my knowledge, this is the first printed article that has mentioned Maria Hatzis in the cast list of ATG. The article also includes a brand new quote from Nicole Kidman regarding her enthusiasm about working with Luhrmann again after Moulin Rouge. She says: "Baz's process is his process, and there's nothing like it. It will be what it's going to be and obviously I will do anything for that man."

It was also Nicole Kidman's 36th birthday yesterday so I would just like to add - Happy Birthday, Nic! :-)

Pete Postlethwaite in Australia

- The Age has reported an article called 'For Pete's sake...', which highlights the success of actor Pete Postlethwaite. The article has been compiled during Pete's first visit to Australia, and begins by stating that Steven Spielberg has called him "the greatest actor in the world". The article reveals that when playing a character, "Pete searches the play or the script for every clue to the character; but it is usually one line, perhaps even a single word, that provides the motivation". Pete starred in Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet and the article features the following quotes about how he perceived his character of Friar Laurence:

"All right. What happens, then, with a character who is known. Father Laurence, in Romeo + Juliet, for example? An updating, to be sure, but someone still speaking Shakespeare. "Baz sat me down and asked, 'Where's he come from?' I said, 'I'll tell you exactly, Baz. He was a medic in Vietnam for many years. He's done every kind of drug possible. He's a drunken, absolutely washed-out tramp from a town in the midwest and he woke up one morning and there were two doors, one was a bar and one was a convent. He went into the convent. From then on he became a priest and has found the right place to be, in this city, with the Capulets and Montagues, advising the kids, cleaning their needles, making sure they're not taking the wrong drugs. That's his story. Amen'."

Unperturbed, Luhrmann asked Pete, "Why does he marry them?" Again, Pete knew exactly. "If you were a Catholic priest in Northern Ireland and a Protestant girl came to you and said she wanted to get married and for a brief moment you thought could this be the beginning of the resolve to this problem? So you'd marry them."

For more about Pete, click here to read the full article. And for more about the wonderful Romeo + Juliet, feel free to head on over to my R+J section.

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12 June 2003

'La Bohème' to close on 29th June

- Today it was announced that Baz Luhrmann's production of La Bohème will close on Broadway at the end of the month. This somewhat surprising news has swiftly spread across the media, particularly in Australia and the US. While La Bohème opened to fantastic reviews, the closure of the production has been attributed to a 'disappointing' run at the box office over the past seven months. News of poor box office returns has been circulating for a while now, and it seems the producers were waiting for the results of the Tony Awards before making a decision about whether or not to keep the show open. The following article called 'Luhrmann's La Bohème to close' was reported in all major Australian newspapers by the AAP:

"Baz Luhrmann admitted it was a risk, and now the Australian director's Broadway version of "La Boheme" will close on June 29 after a disappointing seven-month run.

While a critical success, Luhrmann's opulent production of the Puccini opera will end with losses of about $US6 million ($A9.2 million).

"We just didn't reach the suburban, traditional musical theatregoing audience," producer Jeffrey Seller said today.

"We reached the cognoscenti, we reached the kids, we reached the Baz fans, we reached art lovers in New York City, particularly Manhattan."

Last week, "La Boheme" played to only 55 per cent capacity at the Broadway Theatre, one of Broadway's largest houses, and grossed $US519,526 ($A794,000), below its break-even of $US560,000 ($A856,000).

According to Seller, the show recouped about $US2.5 million ($A3.8 million) of its production costs, which had ballooned to about $US8.5 million ($A13 million) by the time it opened in December.

"La Boheme" will have played 228 performances by the time it finishes its run at the end of the month.

The reviews were largely favourably, although theatre critics were more generous than opera reviewers in their praise of the production, which uses youthful, sexy singers and transplants the opera to Paris of the late 1950s. The opera was sung in its original Italian with English subtitles projected on screens.

In an interview last year, the 40-year-old Luhrmann, director of such movie hits as "Moulin Rouge" and "Strictly Ballroom," said: "Bringing Italian opera to Broadway is not the easiest way to have a hit.

"Everything I've ever made has been an enormous risk - with people saying, 'Are you crazy?' I'm not that heroic or brave. But there are things that for very personal and vivid reasons I want to go and do."

On Sunday, "La Boheme" lost the best revival-musical Tony award to "Nine," although it did manage to win prizes for its lavish sets, designed by Catherine Martin, Luhrmann's wife, and for lighting by Nigel Levings. A special Tony was also awarded to the 10 principals who rotate performances in the show.

"What drew Catherine Martin and me to mount our production of 'La Boheme' on Broadway was not only the challenge to make Puccini's most popular of operas more accessible to a broader audience, but also the opportunity to live and work in our second home, New York City, and to be part of the Broadway experience," Luhrmann said in a statement from Australia, where he is working on his next project, a film based on the life of Alexander the Great.

"La Boheme" will have a life beyond Broadway. It will play the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles early next year, January 9 - March 7, and then travel to London for a run between May 30 and October 30, 2004.

"The lesson is: go to the major cities and do a sit-down (engagement) but don't overstay your welcome," Seller said."

While I am saddened by the news of La Bohème's closure on Broadway, I was comforted by Baz's comments about the production being an opportunity to live and work in New York and "be part of the Broadway experience". In effect, Baz and CM did exactly what they set out to achieve by producing a wonderfully lavish production of La Bohème that made it accessible to all. It was a fantastic achievement to get La Bohème onto Broadway in the first place, and I'm sure that the production will be fondly remembered by many for years to come.

And it's not over yet! As previously reported, it was suggested that La Bohème would go on tour to Los Angeles and London - and now this has been confirmed! Personally, I am absolutely thrilled that La Bohème will be coming to London. I will always regret not being able to get to New York to see the show, but now I will definitely be travelling down to London next year and intend to book tickets for opening night!!!

News of La Bohème's closure and subsequent publicity means that I have a lot of work to do on the La Bohème section of this site this weekend! I am very glad that I have had the opportunity to record information about La Bohème's journey here on my site. Like Baz said last year, " there are things that for very personal and vivid reasons I want to go and do." Now that he has achieved the dream of bringing La Bohème to Broadway, he can now focus on bringing Alexander the Great to the big screen.

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9 June 2003

'La Bohème' wins two Tony Awards!

- Congratulations to CM for winning the Best Scenic Design Tony Award for La Bohème! Congratulations also to fellow Australian Nigel Levings for winning Best Lighting Design. La Bohème won two out of six award nominations, which were as follows (winners are in bold):

- Best Revival of a Musical: Gypsy, La Bohème, Man of La Mancha, Nine
- Best Direction of a Musical: David Leveaux, Nine, Baz Luhrmann, La Bohème, Jack O'Brien, Hairspray, Twyla Tharp, Movin' Out
- Best Scenic Design: John Lee Beatty, Dinner at Eight, Santo Loquasto, Long Day's Journey Into Night, Catherine Martin, La Bohème, David Rockwell, Hairspray
- Best Costume Design: Gregg Barnes, Flower Drum Song, William Ivey Long, Hairspray, Catherine Martin, Angus Strathie, La Bohème, Catherine Zuber, Dinner at Eight
- Best Lighting Design: Donald Holder, Movin' Out, Nigel Levings, La Bohème, Brian MacDevitt, Nine, Kenneth Posner, Hairspray
- Best Orchestrations: Billy Joel and Stuart Malina, Movin’ Out, Nicholas Kitsopoulos, La Bohème, Jonathan Tunick, Nine, Harold Wheeler, Hairspray 

Previously announced award:
- Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre: The principal ensemble of La Bohème

Unfortunately, Baz Luhrmann missed out on the much-deserved Best Director award. CM and Angus also missed out on awards for their lavish costume designs and Nicholas Kitsopoulos for his orchestration. It was also unfortunate to hear that, despite a strong indication from their publicist that they would be flying to New York to attend the ceremony, Baz and CM did not attend the Tony Awards. The couple are presumably still in Sydney where they are busy working on preparations for Alexander the Great.

I was not able to watch the Tony's, but I have read that a La Bohème musical number was performed live on the night. This performance was introduced by John Leguizamo, who starred in both Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge, and apparently he had a lot of nice things to say about Baz and co., as did William Ivey Long, the winner of Best Costume Design during his own acceptance speech! :-)

I will soon be adding some articles to my La Bohème News Articles section regarding the Tony's - I will be sure to make an announcement right here when these are uploaded later in the week.

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8 June 2003

Tony Awards announced tonight!

- The Tony Awards will be announced tonight in the US but, due to the time difference, I will be reporting the results on this site tomorrow afternoon (UK time). Best of luck to La Bohème with six nominations, including two for CM and a much-deserved Best Director nomination for Baz! Meanwhile, the Sydney Morning Herald has reported an article highlighting the involvement of Aussies in this year's awards. The article is called 'G'day, here are the Tony nominees' and reads as follows:

"Perhaps they should change the name from the Tonys to the Bruces - given the high-profile involvement of Australians in this year's Tony Awards in New York.

The boys (and women) from Oz are expected to make a splash in this year's ceremony, which takes place tomorrow morning, Australian time.

Actor Hugh Jackman is co-hosting the big night, while Oscar-winner Catherine Martin and her husband Baz Luhrmann are hoping to win up to six awards for their Broadway adaptation of La Boheme.

Martin has two personal nominations for best costume design (shared with her Oscar-winning collaborator Angus Strathie) and best scenic design.

Luhrmann was said to be thrilled about his nomination for best director (musical), after being ignored by the Academy for his directorial efforts on Moulin Rouge.

The couple were expected to travel to New York early yesterday for the awards. They were working in Sydney as late as Friday, on pre-production for their latest epic film project, Alexander The Great.

"Baz and CM [Martin] are doing all they can to try and be there," said Luhrmann's publicist Maria Farmer. 

It's unlikely the couple will miss the glittering awards ceremony because of their ongoing passion for theatre, and the success of La Boheme.

Martin, who is at least four months pregnant, was expected to accompany Luhrmann on the flight.

The ceremony, which is being held at Radio City Music Hall, will be co-hosted by Jackman before he appears in the Broadway production of The Boy From Oz. The 34-year-old, who has just had another smash-hit film success in his role as Wolverine in X-Men 2, is set to reprise the stage role made famous by Tod McKenney in Australia.

Jackman first gained recognition as a musical performer in London, when he played Curly McLain in Oklahoma.

Despite his stardom in Hollywood, he hotly pursued the role of Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz, the musical which centres on the life story of the late Australian singer.

Allen was a favourite among New Yorkers, and US commentators are already predicting Jackman will be among nominees at next year's Tony awards.

Jackman will share the stage this year with presenters Melanie Griffith, John Leguizamo and Benjamin Bratt.

Other Tony nominees include Antonio Banderas, Paul Newman and Vanessa Redgrave. 

Luhrmann's La Boheme is nominated for three other awards, including best musical revival, best lighting design and best orchestrations.

It is the first time an opera has been nominated in the musical category."

Baz and CM top of PR wish-lists!

- Last week, the Sun Herald reported an article regarding the rising star power of Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin. The following is an excerpt from the article called 'Who's who, times two' and highlights just how far the couple have come since the days of Strictly Ballroom over a decade ago.

"... But at the top of every PR wish-list at the moment, one married couple is prominent: Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin.

Back home preparing for the movie epic Alexander The Great, director Luhrmann and costume designer CM - as she's known to friends - have swiftly assumed the mantle of Sydney's number one power couple.

As distinct from your common or garden variety celebrity couple, power couples exist in a separate universe where scads of money, equally powerful friends and perhaps an international profile set them apart. Luhrmann and Martin not only have those attributes, they also have the added cachet of exclusivity. 

They're so hard to get that everyone simply has to have them, the A-list couple that can't really be bothered with the A-list.

But when they're about, you soon know it. At the recent Australian Fashion Week they appeared at several showings, including Akira Isogawa, Easton Pearson and shoe queen Terry Biviano. 

When the Rolling Stones were in town, they had dinner with Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts at Bondi Icebergs. When it was time to celebrate millennium New Year's Eve in 1999, they did so with mates like Nicole Kidman and then-husband Tom Cruise, Ewan McGregor, Collette Dinnigan, Lachlan Murdoch and Sarah O'Hare. 

They are also discreet supporters of causes that are important to them. Martin is the principal sponsor enabling eight NIDA design students to travel to the Czech Republic this month for the 10th Prague Quadrennial International Exhibition of Sceneography and Theatre Architecture, and the couple recently opened up their Darlinghurst mansion, Iona, for a Cancer Council fundraiser and a launch function for the Australian Theatre for Young People. Powerful and classy.

Long may they reign."

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3 June 2003

'ATG' to film in South Australia?

- An article was published by an Adelaide newspaper today regarding the possible inclusion of South Australia as a location for Alexander the Great. Adelaide is my home town and the capital of South Australia, and so I was happy to read this article reported by The Advertiser called, "Will it be SA's Alexander The Great?" Excerpts are as follows:

"... Luhrmann made it known he would prefer to move the film – which begins shooting in mid-2004 – to Australia and that location scouts had already visited SA."

"... While Ms Crombie believed SA offered valuable film-making resources of natural and human talent, she stressed it was difficult to pinpoint actual locations suitable for Alexander the Great without having seen a script. "SA can offer locations for anything except snow... With Alexander's campaign taking in Greece, Turkey, Egypt and India, SA's landscape – particularly the Far North – could act as an ideal backdrop."

Celebrated SA film-maker Rolf de Heer, who made use of the Flinders Ranges in The Tracker, believed this state could accommodate Alexander's adventures. "Areas of the state have vegetation that feels similar to Greece, for example. We have olive trees and stuff like that. If they were looking at Morocco, obviously they're looking at desert-type stuff; we've got that as well."

Following last week's announcement that ATG may film in Australia, an article called 'Baz sets record straight' was published by the Australian media with direct quotes from Baz himself about his hopes for the project. The full article reads as follows:

"Baz Luhrmann has set the record straight about rumours throughout the film industry concerning his next film Alexander the Great.

Yes, it is starring Nicole Kidman and Leonardo diCaprio and is backed by Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg. Yes, like other films, the production has been moved from Morocco because of potential terrorist threats. And yes, it may be filmed in Australia. 

"From the first decision of looking to do Alexander the Great we have wanted to shoot it in Australia," Luhrmann said in Sydney yesterday. 

"We don't see Australia as a place on a list of locations, it's our home. We want to work and have worked here ... from our point of view there's no question it's what we want." 

There has been much speculation surrounding the Australian director's version of the epic tale, which is based on the Valerio Manfredi novels. 

Producer Dino de Laurentiis (Conan The Destroyer, War And Peace) last week told Daily Variety he was pulling production out of Morocco after the recent suicide bombing in Casablanca. 

Luhrmann, who said production of the film had initially been postponed because of DiCaprio's unavailability, agreed with the safety risk of shooting in Morocco despite the enormous incentives being offered to film his epic in the country, but said a final decision was yet to be made. 

"The reality is it's a very economical film. So there's a reason why Jordan, Morocco and other countries are going for it," he said. 

"The King of Jordan said: 'Here's 6000 soldiers for six months for free', and that offer was matched by Morocco. We (Australia) don't have 6000 soldiers who don't have a day job." 

Luhrmann, who made Strictly Ballroom and Moulin Rouge here, said when De Laurentiis arrived in Sydney next month "we'll look at how we can make it in Australia". 

The director has already scouted Australian locations such as Broken Hill (where the original Mad Max was filmed) and towns in South Australia and the Northern Territory as possible film locations when production starts shooting in mid-2004. 

He said pre-production, which begins in October, the start of digital photography in November, and post-production -- possibly around the end of next year -- would happen in Australia. 

As for the reported race against American director Oliver Stone to get his version of Alexander to the box office first, Luhrmann said: "The bottom line is I have my Alexander, I have two studios and I have $US100 million. 

"It's not a race. We will do it in our way, in our time frame and our take on what we're going to make ... creative freedom is our No 1 thing."

Countdown to Tony Awards

- With only days until the Tony Award winners are announced, The Advertiser today reported some positive speculation regarding La Bohème's chances. The following is an extract from the article called 'Brush with fame beckons as Tony hopefuls count down':

"Leading the Aussie charge in many respects is Baz Luhrmann, Catherine Martin and Nigel Levings for La Boheme, which has scored six Tony nominations, including for best revival of a musical, best direction and best scenic design.

Martin won an Oscar at last year's Academy Awards (along with Angus Strathie) for Moulin Rouge and, given the coup de theatre of the Cafe Momus scene and the overall luminous look of La Boheme, I'm sure she'll triumph again. And if an Oscar eluded Luhrmann on that occasion I doubt the Tony will, not when you consider how heart-rending, sensuous and imaginative his version of the Puccini opera is. Levings, one of our best lighting designers, is also in with a firm chance, and deservedly so.

The signs of success for La Boheme are looking good as it has already won Tony Award honours for excellence in the theatre for the show's principal ensemble, hair and wig designer, Paul Huntley, the Broadway casting agency Johnson-Liff Casting Associates and The Acting Company, America's foremost touring theatre organisation."

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Compiled by Vanessa
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