I'm not sure if you have heard (I read it a couple of days ago, but neglected to mention it, stupidly) but Baz Luhmann has decided to go against titles such as Great Southern Land (another nickname for our country, like "Down Under" *shudders*) and Faraway Downs (one of the settings) and name his upcoming romantic epic... er, Australia.
Very simple. I'm not sure if I like it (atm I would have prefered Great Southern Land but that's just me), but I definitely see where he's coming from in trying to express the grandoise nature of it all and Australia has pathetic state names ("South Australia", "Western Australia", "Northern Territory") and he couldn't very well name it one of those, could he?After an epic journey across country, she and rough-hewn drover Hugh Jackman are caught in the Japanese bombing of Darwin during World War II.
I'm a huge fan of Baz, as if y'all didn't already know, and am eagily awaiting Australia but I know not to get too excited because it won't be out until 2008 at the earliest. I trust him doing this. Hugh Jackman totally fits into this plot and while Nicole sorta fizzled in Cold Mountain (probably the most comparable), I'm sure Luhrmann (ever the perfectionist, I assume) wouldn't cast her purely out of gratitude.
"I'm taking the perspective of the rest of the world to this film how they might view 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."
Check out the entire article at The Age, by clicking here
6 comments:
I don't know how I feel about this. I mean, how would we all feel if some French filmmaker went and decided to film an epic called France? Or if some American filmmaker named their epic America? I mean, can't you be a little bit more creative and/or less self-important?
I dunno. I love Baz, but this title makes me uncomfortable. I really want this thing to get oscar noms across the board, especially for Kidman and Jackman. Is it filming now?
But how could a Baz Luhrman epic called Australia not win every Australian film award? If it doesn't, that would register as kind of a disappointment.
1. I was totally gonna write that Oklahoma! isn't called America! and Casablanca isn't called Morocco. That's why I preferred the other title Great Southern Land.
2. They start preproducion in January I believe. They all need to learn riding and all that stuff and then there's all the design stuff (costumes, sets, etc) that is sure to be extensive.
3. The way a movie like Australia could lose is if a movie like Lantana comes along. Check it out. Plus, there are still people out there who degrudge the fact that Luhrmann gets a lot of international financing, which gives his films a boost over small locally financed product. Even if said large budget only helps promote Australian films and filmmakers (as Moulin Rouge! and now Happy Feet are examples of)
1. I actually prefer Australia to Great Southern Land. That souns kinda pretentious. Can't he just call it Eucalyptus like that other one?
2. I'm pretty sure Jackman already learned to ride for Kate & Leopold, but I could be wrong. He knows all sorts of cool actorly skills, as does Kidman by now. So that's a little less time they'll have to spend!
3. But it's called Australia. How does it not win???
4. See The Fountain when you can. It's brilliant, and basically one big Jackman orgasm.
p.s. Hugh looks SO hot in this pic, and so Australian. I guess that is the point.
Adam! That picture of Hugh is from Oklahoma! so, er, he's not meant to look Australian I suppose (Oklamohian?) but it was the best picture for the job.
I'm pretty sure the horse riding in Kate & Leopold was more controlled (I haven't seen it). In Australia it's going to be in the bush and it's gonna be harder and much longer.
Oh, and trust me, I'm seeing The Fountain ASAP. Alas, for us I believe that's in January/February.
Oh OK I guess Jackman will have to learn a lot of new stuff then. I just feel like he would be the types who rides horses already, though. But you would know better than I.
And that's funny that the pic is from Oklahoma and yet you used it for this. I guess he just looks very wilderness-y in it. Very Crocodile Dundee or something.
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