MAY 2005
________________________________
12 May 2005
Morgan loves Moulin Rouge!
- While checking for Baz Luhrmann related news online today, I came across a Film Force interview with Morgan Freeman. When asked what his favourite film is, he said it was Moulin Rouge! Morgan Freeman is a brilliant actor, one of my favourites, and I was surprised yet delighted to learn that he held the movie in such high regard. Here was his insightful answer to the question in full:
"My favourite movie that I didn't work on? Moulin Rouge. I just think that movie is fabulous. What Baz Luhrmann did is really amazing. I mean, all of it is just amazing: the dancing, the wardrobe, the music. People tend to fall on either side of that movie. Some people really like it and some people just don't. I think when you have divided opinions like that, that's the sign of art. It's a work of art. It's impressionable, and I think people tend to fall one way or the other because of that. I like the way Moulin Rouge is edited. It has frantic energy to it."
________________________________
6 May 2005
E! Online article
- The following story was posted by E! Online last night and is definitely the most detailed article I've come across. This article sums up all of the information I've posted over the last few days - thanks to Josh for the heads up! :-)
Russell, Nicole Hooking Up?
by Josh Grossberg
May 5, 2005, 11:30 AM PT
If at first you don't succeed…
Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman, who were supposed to team up in the romantic fable Eucalyptus earlier this year before the production was postponed indefinitely, are hoping to hook up again.
The Oscar winners are director Baz Luhrmann's top choices to headline his latest project, an untitled Australian romantic epic for 20th Century Fox that insiders are describing as Oz's answer to Gone with the Wind.
According to the Hollywood trades, a deal isn't yet on the table, but Crowe and Kidman are being targeted for what is expected to be the first in a troika of epics Luhrmann has up his sleeve for the next decade that was originally supposed to kick off with his big-screen version of Alexander the Great.
But after Oliver Stone beat Luhrmann to the starting line with Alexander, the Aussie filmmaker opted to shelve that biopic for now in favor of developing the other two epics--the envisioned Crowe-Kidman period place set Down Under and the other one set in Russia during World War I. The trio of films is envisioned as a companion to his so-called Red Curtain Trilogy of the '90s--Strictly Ballroom (1992), William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (1996) and Moulin Rouge!.
Things were delayed even further when Luhrmann and his Oscar-winning production designer wife, Catherine Martin, announced last summer that they were expecting a child.
According to Baz's Australian-based publicist, Maria Farmer, the Moulin Rouge! maestro is by no means idle.
"Baz has for some time been developing his trilogy of epic works, including the ancient epic based on the life of Alexander the Great. He is cowriting these works with different collaborators," Farmer told E! Online last week. "Currently Stuart Beattie is cowriting with him on the Australian epic and Baz is also working on his own pass of his European epic."
(Beattie is best known for penning Tom Cruise's Collateral, and he also came up with the screen story for Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl.)
"All of these major works are being developed in parallel and Baz intends to commit to a production slate after the birth of his son in June."
At that point, Crowe and Kidman may have an open date on their calendars.
The pair were forced to put Jocelyn Moorehouse's Eucalyptus on hold in February due to script changes that, Crowe claimed, beefed up his supporting role into a lead part and included full-frontal nudity for his character. Fox Searchlight claimed the postponement was a collective decision by all involved.
Crowe, currently plugging the upcoming boxing drama Cinderella Man, has been looking around for a high-profile picture for the fall.
Kidman, meanwhile, has three other films on the drawing board she'll have to work around: Tony Scott's humanitarian aid drama Emma's War; American Darlings, a swing musical costarring Jennifer Lopez; and the romantic comedy Wedding Seasons.
The actress, currently seen in The Interpreter, received an Oscar nomination for her lead role in Moulin Rouge! and has been eager to work with Luhrmann again.
The filmmaker had hoped to cast Kidman as Olympia, mother to Leonardo DiCaprio's Alexander in his Alexander the Great, but with that project in a holding pattern for now, it's likely those roles will be recast.
While the movie reunion is on hold, Luhrmann and Kidman did briefly get together for the new Chanel No. 5 ad campaign."
________________________________
5 May 2005
Kidman and Crowe to star in Oz epic?
- The casting speculation for Baz Luhrmann's Australian epic romance has begun. Today it was reported that Nicole Kidman and Russell Crowe are apparently being wooed by Luhrmann to join the cast, presumably the leading roles. The original story came from Variety, which read as follows:
Inside Move: All the Aussies gathering together
Baz eyes Crowe, Kidman for epic pic
By Michael Fleming
Date in print: Thurs., May 5, 2005, Los Angeles
"Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman, stymied earlier this year in an attempt to make all-Australian pic "Eucalyptus," are poised to try again with a period epic that Baz Luhrmann will direct later this year.
Formal offers haven't been made, but both thesps are being wooed heavily by the filmmaker, who is collaborating with "Collateral" scribe and fellow Aussie Stuart Beattie on a romance being called an Oz "Gone With the Wind" and expected to be made through Fox.
Crowe and Kidman were Down Under and days away from making Fox Searchlight's "Eucalyptus" with director Jocelyn Moorhouse when the plug was pulled over Crowe's dissatisfaction with a script rewrite.
Kidman quickly aligned to star with Robert Downey Jr. in the River Road-financed, Steven Shainberg-directed Diane Arbus
biopic "Fur."
Crowe, busy promoting the Ron Howard-directed "Cinderella Man," has been looking for a big film to topline this fall.
Timing this time favors Luhrmann, who turned to the Aussie epic only after his Alexander the Great project was beaten to the starting line by Oliver Stone's.
Luhrmann and Kidman had a memorable collaboration in "Moulin Rouge," but this pic would be the first together for the director and Crowe."
This is certainly the first I've heard of Kidman and Crowe being linked with Luhrmann's production, although I did wonder what projects they would take up after the sudden axing of Eucalyptus earlier this year. It seems this situation may have indeed helped Luhrmann to talk with both actors about his own project.
The casting speculation has quickly spread across the internet, with other movie sites repeating information from the Variety article. However, I did find one further tidbit of information... Luhrmann's epic is continually being referred to as an Australian Gone With The Wind, and I have wondered how this comparison came about. Contact Music today reported the following: "Luhrmann, who directed Kidman in Moulin Rouge, insists his new project is like "an Aussie Gone With The Wind." If this quote is indeed directly from Luhrmann, this could be a very interesting venture indeed!
Finally, I can't resist posting this humorous article from UK movie site, Empire Online :-)
Aussie Rules for Luhrmann, Crowe and Kidman
Antipodean talent gathers for romantic epic
05 May 2005
"Think Australia, and what comes to mind? Probably kangaroos, hats with corks on them and people who say
"strewth" a lot. But Baz Luhrmann aims to change all that, by bringing together Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman for a sort of Aussie super-film, a Gone With the Wind for Down Under. Forget the Deep South – this is a whole other hemisphere.
The period film is set to be an epic romance, but we don't know anything more about the plot at this point. It's probably too much to hope for a scene where Crowe announces that "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a wallabie's arse", but quite likely that Kidman will appear to have only an 18" waist. Stuart Beattie, of Collateral fame (and a fellow Aussie) has written the script, making this an entirely Antipodean affair.
Formal offers haven't been made to Kidman and Crowe yet, but Luhrmann has apparently been wooing both heavily. He probably doesn't need to go far to convince Kidman, who worked with him previously on Moulin Rouge and a Chanel ad, and was signed up for his aborted Alexander the Great project. Kidman also came close to working with Crowe earlier this year on Eucalyptus, which came within days of shooting before falling apart when Crowe objected to a script rewrite. Hopefully they'll have better luck this time.
We'll keep you up to date as we learn more, but in the meantime the speculation continues – can Crowe and Kidman make a project work together? Will Kidman get to give those crinoline dresses from Cold Mountain another airing? And how do you kiss someone if one of you is wearing a hat with corks hanging off it on strings?"
________________________________
3 May 2005
Epic trilogy confirmed
- I am very pleased to report that Luhrmann's epic trilogy is still being developed and, as speculated last month, it seems increasingly likely that he will embark on his Australian epic as the first instalment. I have recently been contacted by Josh Grossberg, Entertainment Reporter for the excellent E! Online, and he was kind enough to share with me the latest news from Luhrmann's Australian publicist. Here is what she had to say:
"Baz has for some time been developing his trilogy of epic works, including the Ancient epic based on the life of Alexander the Great. He is co-writing these works with different collaborators. Currently Stuart Beattie (an LA-based Australian) is co-writing with him on his Australian epic and Baz is also working on his own pass of his European epic (which is predominantly a WW1 Russian piece). All of these major works are being developed in parallel - Baz intends to commit to a production slate after the birth of his son in June."
We have been waiting for some time for official news from Luhrmann's camp, and I'm sure fellow fans will be delighted to hear that his entire epic trilogy is still very much in development. While the three settings have not changed, I suspect the production schedule has been altered to push back Alexander the Great and bring forward either the Australian or Russian piece. From recent reports, it seems likely Luhrmann will begin his new trilogy with his Australian film, but we will have to wait until the end of June/early July for this to be confirmed when Luhrmann commits to a production schedule. I had suspected Luhrmann was lying low until after the birth of his son, and it is obviously understandable that he is waiting until the time is right to begin a whole new cinematic adventure. :-)
________________________________
HOME
________________________________