10..9..8..7… The Countdown To Shooting Has Begun.

Baz Luhrmann has recently snuck in and out of Bowen for another preliminary scouting tour of vacant land. Recall the pictures we exclusively showed you earlier this year? Well that’s precisely where Baz and Co. were to finalise some ideas for the shooting. It seems, unlike the residents of Bowen, the local wildlife weren’t as impressed by presence of Hollywood names. Click on the image to see a cartoon of Baz being swooped by a pair of nesting plovers, and visit our gallery for photographs of the event. As we all know it takes more than a few birds to stop Baz and he dutifully continued working.

However, on an unrelated note, wife and co-worker, Catherine Martin told Today in a TV interview that shooting has now been postponed a fortnight and will see filming begin in ten weeks. Visit our media section to download the interview.

Do you house a lot of rusty old cars from the 30′s and 40′s in your yard? Are people always saying that you’re crazy for keeping them? Well, Geoff Naylor, the action vehicle supervisor from Bazmark Films Pty Ltd, is looking for vehicles from pre-1938 and pre-1942.

“…we’re still looking for larger military type vehicles backwards from 1942. There’s a big scene of a military convoy leaving Darwin after the bombing”.

Bowen is being used to represent Darwin in 1936-38 when Lady Sarah Ashley (Kidman) arrives to take possession of a cattle station left to her in the Kimberley. “So we need vehicles back from 1938 and we’ll dress the streets of Bowen with these vehicles to make it look like Darwin,” he told the Townsville Bulletin. He also revealed that Nicole Kidman’s character does not return from the Kimberley until 1942 when Darwin is bombed.

If you have a vehicle you think Mr Naylor might be interested in please phone 0418 485 036. Please, legitimate vehicle enquires only.

sources: Townsville Bulletin, The Bowen Independent, BowenGirl

February 22nd, 2007