Archive for July, 2007
Australian author Richard Flanagan, is a historian, novelist and film director from Tasmania, Australia. The 1998 film The Sound of One Hand Clapping, directed by Flanagan, was nominated for best film at the Berlin Film Festival and his latest work is a novel entitled The Unknown Terrorist.
Past accreditations aside, he is also Baz Luhrmann’s co-writer for the screenplay of Australia. Recently during a promotional interview for The Unknown Terrorist Flanagan discussed the task of working with Luhrmann and describes how he met Nicole Kidman during costuming screen tests. Visit our multimedia section and listen to a snippet of his interview with ABC North Coast radio.
Additionally, with thanks to curious_cookie and Project Mugetsu we’ve got a batch of new scans in the gallery. Be sure to check in all the time for the latest additions.
If you have any pictures of the cast, crew, set or scans from local newspapers regarding the filming of Australia, please feel free to send them in to 
source: abc.net.au
image: (top left) Jane Munro
July 29th, 2007
The cast and crew of Australia are back in the big smoke, Sydney. They have returned to film at Fox Studios for the next two weeks. Following this they’ll head off to Kununurra in Western Australia’s Kimberly region.
Kidman and Jackman have been spotted around town over the weekend, taking advantage of the downtime with their families.
“It is just beautiful for me to be making a film here and him (Keith Urban) touring here at the same time . . . that’s a pretty big deal for us,” Nicole told The Courier Mail. “It’s just lovely that coming from the same country gives you so much to draw from and bonds you in a way that people just don’t understand. When you come from different countries you really don’t bond in the same way,” Kidman said of her relationship with Urban.
While in town Nicole has spent time catching up with her sister Antonia Kidman. The pair, who share a love of horse-riding, saddled up over the weekend for an outing in Centennial Park along with Nicole’s husband, singer Keith Urban.
Meanwhile Hugh took advantage of a morning off. He bundled up children Oscar (7) and Ava (2) and headed out to breakfast on a crisp Sydney morning with wife, Deborra-Lee Furness.
+ A new video has been added to the media section of Hugh, Nicole & Baz filming their brief stint in Darwin.
sources: The Courier Mail
July 23rd, 2007
Check out the multimedia section for the latest on location. Two new videos have been added of Hugh’s arrival and presence in Darwin, as well as some great audio downloads.
If any Darwinites were lucky enough to be involved in, catch some of the filming at Stokes Hill Wharf or meet Hugh and Nicole around the traps, be sure to shoot us off an email. We’d love to hear from you, particularly if you have photographs!
Speaking of photographs, be sure to check out our gallery for a new batch of images from down at the wharf. Beware, the gallery images may now contain spoilers.
For the latest info, especially some rather delicious images of Lady Sarah Ashley & The Drover, be sure to drop by the forum for images, articles, plot discussion and news as it breaks!
July 13th, 2007
After a whirlwind visit, filming ended in Darwin last night, with the crew working throught the night to pack up the set.
Last night director Baz Luhrmann wrapped up on location by holding a Q&A at a special screening of Moulin Rouge! at the outdoor Deckchair Cinema.
The 300 attendees had an opportunity to quiz Baz on his creative ideas and film making skills. As we’re increasingly hearing throughout this whole pre-production venture, Lurhmann’s passion and enthusiasm for his work proved winning.
Of course the latest work was also discussed, Luhrmann revealed that he expects Australia to be released in November 2008.
“Filming finishes in November, and post production takes about a year,” he said. “So if I don’t fall horrendously behind it should be out in November next year.”
source: NT News
image: justin sanson
July 12th, 2007
After a quick stint in Los Angeles to fulfil other shooting commitments, Hugh Jackman is now back on the set of Australia joining the cast and crew in Darwin, Northern Territory. But first he made sure to stop and say hello to the hoardes of fans in wait.
Over the last few days Nicole Kidman, Bill Hunter and co have been on location at Stoke’s Hill Wharf shooting additional scenes for Lady Sarah Ashley’s arrival into Darwin. Many reports of alleged near hit and miss incidents with cast and crew members have been floating about. True or not, it does bring to light what a potentially dangerous environment all are in.
Regarding other planned disasters, film location manager Carl Wood says people should not be alarmed if they see smoke billowing out of Darwin’s wharf precinct.
“We’ll be having a fishing boat with flames on it and lots of smoke around,” he said. “The flames are very controllable, they’re non-toxic. We have what we call flame bars on the steel hull of the boat. They’ve welded on these steel bars and we pump propane gas through there.”
sources: NT News, abc.net.au
image: brad fleet
July 9th, 2007
Filming of Australia has now moved to Darwin with filming expected to take place on Stokes Hill Wharf from 2nd until 5th July, and on the 10th and 11th July. Filming will also take place in a warehouse on 6th and 9th July.
Local Darwin residents should note that Stokes Hill Wharf will remain open for business throughout filming, but it will be a closed movie set; access to the area is now limited. A shuttle bus will leave every 5 minutes from a temporary car park on the corner of McMinn St and Frances Bay Drive from 8.30am to 11pm until 13th July. Assistance will be provided by volunteers, identifiable by their ‘Australia’ hats and shirts. For an access map and details see here.
On June 29th, Baz Luhrmann spoke to members of the press from Stokes Hill Wharf and discussed the reasons for filming on location in Darwin. Luhrmann revealed that filming on location was dramatically more expensive than shooting in a Sydney Studio, but nothing could come close to recreating the beauty of the real thing.
He laughed off suggestions that his decision to film in remote parts of Australia was a public relations exercise.
“Are you saying to me that you think that I’ve got 20th Century Fox to spend multi- multi-millions of dollars because I want to be liked in northern Australia …It’s an artistic issue, not a political one.”
Sources: Northern Territory News, TVNZ.co.uk, NT News
image: joanne osborne
July 1st, 2007
