Posts filed under 'Media'
The team from Australia are at it again. By now it is widely known that our very own Drover will be hosting the Hollywood night of nights. However an added bonus for Australia fans comes in the news that Jackman’s co-workers have been asked to lend their unique touch to staging the event!
Hugh’s long standing, reputable time on stage and hosting of awards shows such as the Tonys means that he is not only an ideal choice to host the Academy Awards, but that they’d be crazy to let him leave the stage without performing a song or two. Thankfully the powers that be have harnessed his talent and are bringing in the big guns to ensure that everything is dazzling. Who better to ask for assistance than Oscar award winner Catherine Martin and musical director Baz Luhrmann? The creative duo were asked to choreograph and produce a big musical number which will appear at some point during the evening’s telecast.
Without a doubt Hugh Jackman is in safe hands; in addition to Moulin Rouge! the pair have also had ample success on stage through their Bazmark production of La Boheme in both its Australian and Broadway incarnations.
source: fox news
February 1st, 2009
Official news that Australia will be arriving on DVD in the not too distant future! 20th Century Fox have announced that on March 3rd we (possibly USA only, thus far) will receive the film on Blu-ray Disc. For now the DVD extras are limited but, perhaps pending viability, director Baz Luhrmann has mentioned that he hopes to release a supersized version of the film on DVD by December 2009.
Features for the iminent release include:
Deleted Scenes:
- What about the drove?
- Angry staff serve dinner
- Australia: The people, the history,
the location featurette [Blu-ray only]
Behind-the-Scenes: [Blu-ray only]
- Photography
- Production Design
- Costume Design
- Locations
- Cinematography
- Sound
- Editing
- Music
- Visual Effects
source: high def disc news
January 14th, 2009
Time for a revisiting, all the way back to November 2008. Seems so long ago now, which is why it is particularly strange to have an interview released then, but all of a sudden make headlines now. In November, Australia was being premiered and the stars were out doing their usual media interviews.
Nicole Kidman took part in an interview with Australian radio hosts Kyle Sanderlands & Jackie O. Those who have listened to their show in our media section or from the 2dayFM website know that it carries a candid, friendly and jovial atmosphere. Amongst other things she discussed how she is self conscious watching her own performances in all her films, a known trait of this shy but accomplished actress.
It’s interesting to see the amount of times this very site has had to point out the lack of research conducted by the present day media. With all the eyes of the world on this film, Australia still stands tall despite taking many hits to the chest throughout its run, most of them undeserved, particularly the latest in regards to Kidman. The internet is a very powerful tool for spreading information, unfortunately there’s no one to separate fact from fiction. All it took was one small foreign site to mis-translate and state Nicole’s words grossly out of context and before you know it reputable news outlets were actually carrying fanciful stories about Kidman not being proud of her work in Australia, or unable to look at it.
“It is quite ridiculous for anyone to believe the reports if they listened to the actual interview,” a spokeswoman for Kidman said. “It’s hard to believe some of the world’s media have fallen for it.”
But eagerness to tear down a Hollywood star has yet again prevailed over the ability of many to convey a simple act of journalism. Fact checking. For this reason we encourage everyone to listen to the interview in question. Fan of Kidman or not, you’ll quickly see how misrepresented and out of context her alleged statements are. It also serves as a reminder to the consuming public, don’t believe everything you read.
We also recommend this insightful NY Times blog, stemming from the debacle about “The Perils of Candor” and how stars are just going to become more closed up when giving interviews in the future. After the hand that Kidman has been recently dealt with blown out issues from her TV and Radio appearances, one couldn’t blame her from shunning them altogether. Thankfully she’s a professional and continues to allow us insights into her career.
January 13th, 2009
Keen to find out what makes director Baz Luhrmann tick? Click on to your iTunes online store and you’ll be able to download a very special – and FREE – Q&A with the man himself.
Direct from New York City, Apple presents “Meet The Filmmaker” a 56 minute special in which Luhrmann goes in depth to discuss the making of his latest epic, Australia.
Also in a follow up to our article last week, ‘Australia Adds Up‘, detailing the success of Australia at the box office we’d like to draw your attention to this latest press release which includes some very exciting information, including the fact that at home Australia has now outgrossed Luhrmann’s last film Moulin Rouge! and other blockbusters such as Sex In The City, Mamma Mia, Indiana Jones and Qantum of Solice. By the end of it’s run in Oz Australia is set to be one of the highest grossing films in the last 12 months, second only to The Dark Knight.
January 7th, 2009
Only a mere days ago Australia was given wider international release into countries such as the UK, Germany, Italy and France; and filmgoers have flocked to see the epic over the holiday period. As the movie was released less than a week ago full Box Office figures are not yet available, however Variety is already reporting that the film is number one in Spain with a taking of $6.26m AUD, and doing just as well in France and Germany with $11.38m AUD between the pair. Slightly slower on uptake is the UK where the film opened at number 3 reports The Australian.
At home Australia continues to gain an audience. After spending several weeks at number one the film dropped to fifth place this weekend due to the influx of new films being released, but surprisngly against the trend it was the only film to increase its intake by three percent on the previous weekend. Perhaps showing that a lot of the adult target audience had waited until their holidays to catch the film. Based on AUD figures from UrbanCinefile, after five weeks of screening Australia is now at $25,281,120, which is interestingly still marginly ahead of blockbuster Titanic which took $25.8Mil in six weeks of screening down under. Also of note, Australia has replaced Crocodile Dundee II in the Australian Box Office hall of fame as fifth ranked homegrown movie of all time. Next in line for dethroning is Luhrmann’s own Moulin Rouge! with a taking of $27.7Mil it seems entirely possible!
What does all this mean? Overall BoxOfficeMojo states that as of December 30th Australia has currently made apx $91mil USD ($129,493,000AUD). With this fresh and successful wave of foreign market release Australia can enter 2009 with a steady and postive outlook for those who are interested in more than just artistic merit.
with thanks to: jackson_bay_mystery
January 1st, 2009
A round up of video interviews and appearances, compiled over the last few weeks with the help of our wonderful forum members. Hope you’re all having a lovely holiday break and spending time with loved ones.
AMC Shootout: Baz Luhrmann and Hugh Jackman
Rome Press Conference: Nicole Kidman
Paris Red Carpet: Nicole and Hugh – Gala tv
Glamour Magazine: London Premiere / Hugh Interview
Vogue Magazine: Catherine Martin
MovieWeb: Great Set of Cast Interviews
CondeNastTraveller: Hugh Jackman
Movies.ie: Hugh Jackman
Empire Magazine: Baz Luhrmann
The Fabulous Picture Show: Jackman & Luhrmann
Film24: Jackman & Luhrmann
Croatian TV: Hugh Jackman
Be sure to visit our own multimedia section as we’ll be adding a few gems. Please join our forum for detailed reviews, videos, images and if you’ve gained some money over the holidays why not spread the wealth and donate to australiamovie.net?
December 24th, 2008
In one of the first in depth interviews since the reaction to Australia began rippling around the world, director Baz Luhrmann candidly speaks to Steven Zeitchik at The Hollywood Reporter about the intense reaction from some members of the press, the passionate reaction from the audience and what the future may hold.
Baz Luhrmann’s “Australia” may be doing some middling U.S. boxoffice, earning about $38 million since it opened Thanksgiving weekend, but the director is unrepentant as the movie nears its first month of release stateside.
In one of his first interviews since the movie opened, he sat down with The Hollywood Reporter and spoke out against “Australia’s” critics and those he feels call him the “black hole of cinema.” He also said he will move quickly on his next project, “The Great Gatsby,” which he said will be a perfect parable for economic disaster.
“A lot of reviewers like ‘Australia.’ And we’re making people cry; I know because they write to us,” he said. “But there are those that don’t get it. A lot of the film scientists don’t get it. And it’s not just that that they don’t get it, but they hate it and they hate me, and they think I’m the black hole of cinema. They say, ‘He shouldn’t have made it, and he should die.’ “
Asked why he thought the reactions were so passionate, he replied: “I know what it’s about.” The movie’s detractors were used to movies that were neatly defined, he said. “This is not (simply) a romantic comedy for 40-year-old women or action movies for 17-year-old boys, and that’s not OK with some people. It’s not OK for people to come eat at the same table of cinema. But you look at movies like ‘Gone With the Wind’ and Old Hollywood classics, and they don’t fit in any box.
“Corny Hollywood movies from the ’40s freak out (the film scientists),” he added.
Speaking with THR at the Four Seasons, he struck a tone that was as unyielding as many of the creative choices in his movies but was also occasionally conciliatory. “I’m not whining, because when you do what I do, you expect to be covered in mud. But there seems to be a lot of misinformation.”
Among those pieces of misinformation is boxoffice, he said; Luhrmann noted that “Moulin Rouge!” has been on a similar pace as his latest epic, and that sticking it out for the long haul was not an uncommon experience for him. “I’m used to the waves crashing around me. And what I do is stick to a craggy rock as they keep coming. And if you stick to it long enough someone else will stick to it, too, and then someone else and then someone else.”
(Indeed, “Rouge” was at $36 million through three weeks of release and finished with $57 million, though some might say the production budget of “Australia” necessitated a higher return.)
The director, as Risky Biz first reported last month, also said that he has officially acquired rights to “Gatsby.” Luhrmann sees the pre-Depression story as a wake-up call as the economy comes crashing down and another gilded age, as he sees it, comes to an end.
“If you wanted to show a mirror to people that says, ‘You’ve been drunk on money,’ they’re not going to want to see it. But if you reflected that mirror on another time they’d be willing to.”
He added, “People will need an explanation of where we are and where we’ve been, and ‘The Great Gatsby’ can provide that explanation.”
Luhrmann appeared as particularly interested in worsening economic times and attitudes — noting a kind of glib wealth that came with “the Wall Street trader who has a house in the Hamptons as big as an airport” — and he went on to say that the people needed to take the message of hope from “Australia.”
He said that he wants to move quickly on the “Gatsby” project because of that timeliness. “I’m going to move faster than I have before. I’d be surprised if it’s another seven years,” he said, referring to the period between “Rouge” and “Australia.”
The project also might not be with Fox. The director said he’s “talking to everyone, and they’re all interested” — and paused a full 10 seconds when asked if his experience with Fox was a satisfactory one, before offering a noncommittal answer.
Luhrmann acknowledged his vision’s sprawling ambition but said he was not being given enough slack. “There’s this whole thing about he’s all over the map and he’s bonkers. And that may be true. But they’re unwilling to see there might be a plan there.”
He acknowledged that there are flaws in his picture but noted that when “you make a small-scale picture it’s going to be easier. No large-scale movie doesn’t have warts, just by its nature.”
Ultimately, Luhrmann said, the movie’s verdict will be written by many of those he feels have not yet begun to speak. ” ‘Moulin Rouge!’ was supposed to go away,” Luhrmann said. “Not only has it not gone away, but you can’t read about modern musicals without reading about it. ‘Australia’ will not go away.”
December 20th, 2008
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