MARCH 2008
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24 March 2008
Easter with Nicole Kidman
- It was widely reported that Nicole Kidman and Brandon Walters became close during filming of Australia. It is therefore lovely to read that Kidman spent Easter with her young co-star, as detailed in the following article:
How Nicole Kidman spent her Easter
Courier Mail/Daily Telegraph, 23 March 2008
With the new baby she's expecting due in a few months' time, Nicole Kidman spent Easter Sunday dusting off her parenting skills. Juggling the care of her sister Antonia's two eldest children, Lucia and Hamish Hawley, and her Australia co-star Brandon Walters, the mum-to-be certainly had her hands full, guiding the youngsters to an early morning church service yesterday. Hamish threw a friendly arm around Walters' neck as they arrived at North Sydney's Blessed Mary MacKillop Church, showing he has inherited the protective nature of his famous aunt, who has taken the young Aboriginal actor under her wing. After beating leukaemia at the age of seven, the 11-year-old will make his big-screen debut in Baz Luhrmann's epic. Hand-picked by the Moulin Rouge director for a pivotal role in the outback drama, he has charmed his celebrity co-stars, especially Kidman. "She's really taken Brandon under her wing. She and Hugh (Jackman) have looked out for him and eased him through the whole film-making process," a set source said. After church, the West Australian boy was welcomed back to the leading lady's Darling Point home for lunch. On Saturday, the lucky lad was shown the Harbour sights during a cruise aboard the Oscar-winner's luxury boat.
UK Release Date
- The UK site for 20th Century Fox has now added a release date for Australia - 26 December 2008. This means that Britons may have to wait six weeks after Australia and the US. It has become clear that the film is not aiming for a simultaneous worldwide release, and is instead following a six week path, starting with Australia, then the US, and then across European countries. The timing of the release in the US makes it eligible for Oscar consideration. As we already know, Baz Luhrmann is aiming for 'Oscar glory', and there has already been Oscar buzz surrounding the movie in trade papers and also online. It is going to be very interesting to watch as the publicity for Australia continues to build over the coming months.
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10 March 2008
More 'Australia' Release Dates
- It has been widely reported
that the US release date for Australia is currently expected to be 14
November 2008. The
Internet Movie Database page for Australia has recently posted
other release dates for some other countries, as stated below:
Australia - 13 November 2008
USA - 14 November 2008
Russia - 4 December 2008
France - 24 December 2008
Germany - 25 December 2008
Sweden - 25 December 2008
Finland - 26 December 2008
Baz Luhrmann has previously indicated that he would like the world premiere to
be in Australia, and so the expected release dates currently tie in with this.
However, there has been no official confirmation regarding dates as yet, and
release dates are always subject to change. But at the moment, we are looking
forward to November, and hopefully we will begin to see more promotion within
the next few months, perhaps even a teaser trailer? For a movie of this scale,
and with Oscar prospects already being rumoured, one would think that more
extensive promotion will start soon.
'Australia' Vogue Shoot
- In February 2008, Nicole Kidman was pictured by ninemsn.com.au taking part in a 'secret' photo shoot, which will apparently be featured in an upcoming edition of US Vogue magazine. (Click here to view larger versions of the above images.) Kidman was photographed portraying her Australia character of Lady Sarah Ashley, and part of the set of Faraway Downs was recreated for the shoot, as revealed in the following articles:
Kidman fronts secret
Leibovitz photo shoot
ninemsn.com.au, 11 February 2008
Acclaimed photographer Annie Leibovitz has whisked Nicole Kidman away to a bush
location west of Sydney for a secret photo shoot, ninemsn can exclusively
reveal. The session was shot on a paddock near the suburb of Richmond and
appears to recreate the setting from Kidman's upcoming local epic Australia. In
footage captured by a National Nine News helicopter, the 40-year-old actor can
be seen standing on a wooden pavilion looking over her shoulder at the camera
with her back balanced against a rail. Kidman wears an elegant long blue dress -
typical of her character's pre-WWII English aristocrat - with a long split in
the middle that runs down her leg. Around 50 workers including make-up artists,
set builders and a behind-the-scenes film crew can be seen working on the set.
Leibovitz is a legendary portrait photographer whose work has included a number
of famous magazine covers, most notably the celebrated Rolling Stone image of a
naked John Lennon wrapped around Yoko Ono. She also immortalised a heavily
pregnant Demi Moore, captured Whoopi Goldberg immersed in a bathtub full of milk
and controversially photographed Queen Elizabeth II while on her visit to the US
in 2007. The Baz Luhrmann-directed Australia co-stars fellow Aussie Hugh Jackman
and is due out later this year.
Back on set for the glossies
Sydney Morning Herald, 15 February 2008
Nicole Kidman has a varied relationship with photographers. While she goes to
great lengths to escape Sydney's paparazzi, there are other snappers she is only
too happy to accommodate. With Kidman leaving Sydney to present at the Academy
Awards and free herself of the paps for a few weeks as she enters the next phase
of her pregnancy, the star has been busy posing for uber-snapper Annie Leibovitz.
On Monday the American photographer was in Sydney to shoot Kidman for a coming
issue of US Vogue, with Kidman decked out as her WWII character from Australia,
Lady Sarah Ashley. An elaborate set recreating the mythical Faraway Downs
homestead featured in the film was constructed in Richmond, with spies reporting
a crew of more than 50 assistants including Australia's creative genius
responsible for much of the film's "look", Catherine Martin, on set. They were
joined by hordes of make-up artists, lighting experts and stylists to assist in
the shoot, which was conservatively estimated to have cost several hundred
thousand dollars.
'An Inconvenient Truth'
- Although this is rather old news, the above cartoon brought back memories of filming of Australia. The cartoon was recently spotted on a blog, and made me smile :) Inside Film Magazine apparently published the above cartoon entitled 'An Inconvenient Truth' back in 2007 when production was taking place. Apparently the accompanying blurb read, "Filming was delayed on Baz Luhrmann's film Australia due to the freak flooding of their rural on-location set, 'Faraway Downs'"
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