Baz Luhrmann has only managed to direct two movies in ten years, so whenever he annouces a new project it is big news. His next movie is set to be titled
Australia and is an epic set around the period prior to World War II down under starring
Nicole Kidman and
Hugh Jackman. More info from
Coming Soon...
".. centers on an English aristocrat (Kidman) who inherits a ranch the size of Maryland. When English cattle barons plot to take her land, she reluctantly joins forces with a rough-hewn cattle driver (Jackman) to drive 2,000 head of cattle across hundreds of miles of the country's most unforgiving land, only to still face the bombing of Darwin, Australia, by the Japanese forces that had attacked Pearl Harbor only months earlier".Russell Crowe was originally cast in Hugh Jackman's role but the actor reportedly said...
"I do charity work, but I don't do charity work for major studios." in regards to the salary offered for his role in the film. I've said it before... one of the greatest actors that ever lived (IMO) but an absolute asshole. With it's $100 million budget the epic will be one of the most expensive movies ever made and will be entirely shot in Australia, with mostly an Australian cast. On the choosing of the title "Australia", Luhrmann said...
"When you say 'Casablanca' or 'Oklahoma!' it means big. It means vast... I'm not saying this film is Australia. It's a metaphor for a state of mind, for the faraway". Whether you like Luhrmann's films or not, you have to sit up and take notice whenever he is working on a new project.
Romeo and Juliet and
Moulin Rouge are spectacular films that are visually stunning and although both riddled with problems, when you watch them you are transported into another world completely. Expect Australia to be in the same vein. source -
cinematical,
coming soon