Australia (2008 film)

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This article or section contains information about one or more scheduled or expected films.
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For other uses, see Australia (disambiguation).

Australia

Directed by	Baz Luhrmann
Produced by	Baz Luhrmann Catherine Knapman G. Mac Brown
Written by	Baz Luhrmann Ronald Harwood Stuart Beattie Richard Flanagan
Starring	Nicole Kidman Hugh Jackman David Wenham Bryan Brown
Cinematography	Mandy Walker
Editing by	Dody Dorn
Distributed by	20th Century Fox
Release date(s)	13 November 2008 (Australia)^[1] 14 November 2008 (USA)
Country	Australia United States
Language	English
Budget	$120,000,000
IMDb profile

Australia is an upcoming period epic film directed by Baz Luhrmann. Written by Luhrmann and screenwriter Stuart Beattie with Ronald Harwood also later credited, Australia stars Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. The story takes place during the bombing of Darwin in Australia during World War II. Production took place in Sydney, Darwin, Kununurra, and Bowen. The movie will be released on November 13, 2008 in Australia,^[1] and on November 14, 2008 in the United States.^[2]

1 Premise
2 Cast
3 Production
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Premise

During World War II, Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman) is an English aristocrat who is left in control of a cattle station in Australia. She is assisted by an Australian drover (Hugh Jackman), with whom she becomes romantically interested. He helps to drive the cattle across the property as they are under the threat of nearby Darwin being bombed.

[edit] Cast

Nicole Kidman as Lady Sarah Ashley, an English aristocrat who inherits the cattle station Faraway Downs in Australia.
Hugh Jackman as an Australian drover who helps Lady Sarah Ashley move the cattle across the property.
Essie Davis as Katherine
David Wenham as Neil Fletcher, a station manager who plans to take Faraway Downs from Lady Sarah Ashley.
Jack Thompson as Kipling Flynn, an alcoholic accountant who enjoys a luxurious lifestyle.
Bryan Brown as King Carney, a cattle baron who owns much of the land in northern Australia.
Brandon Walters as the drover's assistant Nullah, a young boy who helps drive the cattle for Lady Sarah Ashley.
David Gulpilil as King George, a magic tribal elder.

[edit] Production

In May 2005, Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman entered negotiations to star in an untitled 20th Century Fox project written by director Baz Luhrmann and screenwriter Stuart Beattie, with Luhrmann directing the film.^[3] For her role, Kidman learned to round up cattle.^[4] In May 2006, due to Crowe demanding personal script approval before signing onto the project, Luhrmann sought to replace the actor with Heath Ledger.^[5] According to Crowe, the actor did not want to work in an environment that was influenced by budgetary needs.^[6]

Australia sign board

The following June, Luhrmann ultimately replaced Crowe with actor Hugh Jackman.^[7] The untitled project was scheduled to begin production in September 2006, but scheduling conflicts and budget issues postponed the start of production to February 2007.^[6]

Filming of Australia at Stokes Hill Wharf

In November 2006, Luhrmann explored The Kimberley to determine the amount of production to be shot there. He also began searching for an actor to play an Aboriginal boy of 8-10 years old. The director planned to begin filming in March 2007.^[8] Principal photography would last five months. Later in the month, Luhrmann titled his project Australia. Two other titles that he considered for the film were Great Southern Land and Faraway Downs.^[9] In December 2006, Bowen was chosen as a filming location for a third of the production, portraying the look of Darwin.^[10] Bowen was chosen as a prospect due to the financing of $500,000 by the Queensland government.^[11] In January 2007, actors Bryan Brown, Jack Thompson, and David Wenham were cast into Australia.^[12]

In April, Kununurra was chosen as another location for Australia, this time to serve as Faraway Downs, the homestead owned by Kidman's character.^[13] Later that month, 11-year-old Brandon Walters was cast into the role of the Aboriginal boy that Luhrmann was seeking.^[14] Principal photography began on April 30 in Sydney,^[15] and moved to Bowen on May 14.^[13]

Principal photography wrapped at Fox Studios, Sydney, on 19 December, 2007.^[16]

On April 17^th 2008, the film began its first wave of online promotion with an extensive behind the scenes series of 'Set to Screen' Podcasts. In conjunction with apple and iTunes, every three weeks a new behind the scenes documentary is released focusing on a different element of movie making. This promotional venture also ties into the highschool and university classroom as it comes with coursework and competitions.^[17]

As of May 23^rd 2008, a trailer is available online.^[18]