ABC RADIO NATIONAL – 31st October 2006
Audio Interview with Fran Kelly and Baz Luhrmann – Duration: Approx 9 minutes
Fran – “Baz Luhrmann is one of Australia’s most distinct and best known filmakers. His credits include Moulin Rouge, Romeo + Juliet and of course Strictly Ballroom. He’s now in pre-production for his next film. It’s a sweeping romance set in northern Australia prior to World War 2 and it will star Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. I spoke with Baz Luhrmann from Kununurra yesterday.”
Baz – “It’s a sweeping romance that is set in a far away time – it’s far away now – which was just before the war. It’s from ’38 right through to the bombing of Darwin. But the sweep and the breadth of the story means the sweep and breadth of the emotions. It’s not naturalism, you know, it’s not a documentary, and in fact the world in which we’ve set the story is factual, but I’ve taken those facts and I’ve made a world that is full of emotion. So it’s about, I guess, the size and scale of the story telling.”
Fran – “Does this untitled Australian Epic have a title yet?”
Baz – “You know, Fran, I’m going to have a title in exactly two weeks otherwise people are going to kill me.”
Fran – “So, you can’t give us a clue here on what it is?”
Baz – “No, actually, it’s about the progress of it. I’ve been working on the script for many years now and to me, the naming of something, it names itself, and I’m very close to that moment. But in the next couple of weeks I’m going to commit.”
Fran – “What about – you’ve given us the broad sweep, as you say – what about the storyline, can you fill it in a bit more for us?”
Baz – “Yeah, it’s very simple really. It’s a classical story and you will recognise a lot of classic story telling in it. But simply, it’s an English, aristocratic woman (I wonder who might play that character?) and she’s in England, you know, and she’s – they land a gentry – her and her husband – but no cash. So her husband is out in Australia selling – he went out there to sell his cattle property the size of Belgium. She thinks he’s out there having an affair so she goes out to sort of bust him. And when she gets out there, the property’s in the north of Australia, so she’s got to journey out there with a sort of rough, hewen drover (I wonder who that character might be – who might play that role?) And they sort of go on and ‘African Queen’ journey out to the station. They get out there and I won’t tell you the surprise of it. But ultimately, she finds herself inheriting that cattle station and to save it, she and the Hugh Jackman character have got to undertake an epic cattle drive to Darwin to save it, and of course on that journey she falls in love with the landscape and the primary character. Now what brings them together though is this child. And there’s an Aboriginal boy between the ages of, say, 8 and 10, and he’s a very very primary character. And in fact, right at the moment, that’s my biggest focus. We are looking all over Australia for this young indiginous actor. And we’ve seen some great boys so far, so we’ve got great possibilities, and in the next couple of weeks, I’m going to be doing some special workshops with groups of boys to try and find this young actor.”
Fran – “You’ve mentioned that you’ve been up in the northern part of Australia, spent some time up there. Have you spent a lot of time there, and how important has that been to you developing the story?”
Baz – “Well, Fran, that’s a really good question, because, you see, George Lucas, who I know well, and who made, of course, Star Wars, said to me ‘Gee, you’re doing a big outdoor epic. You don’t have to leave the studios in Sydney’, because of course he shoots Star Wars and he never leaves the sound stages. And that’s the way most films are made these days. But I really want this to have that feel – like a Laurence of Arabia. I want the audience to really feel that they are in this magnificent landscape that we have. So to do that I’ve been quietly coming and going all over Australia, but particularly up here in the north where it’s set, particularly in the Kimberleys. And living here, with my team, feeling what it’s like, getting to know the people, finding the story, the best way to tell it. And of course the big challenge is how to actually be here. I’ve got to say, in the next couple of weeks we’re going to make decisions about how much we could shoot here, and how much we shoot in other parts of Australia, and that’s all about the sort of help and support we’re getting, you know.”
Fran – “To date, your films, in collaboration with Catherine Martin, have set trends, I think it’s fair to say, particularly with your production values. The music, the costumes, the editing. Can we expect that rich, unique texture that I think people have come to expect from your films in a movie shot in the Australian outback?”
Baz – “Actually, what I will say is this. Those three films we made were specifically evolved along a philosophy. And that philosophy was about reinventing the musical formula, if you like, theatrical cinema. This kind of cinematic story we’re telling also has a pedigree, it has a sort of DNA, if you like, it comes from somewhere, it comes from – and I’ve got to be careful, because I’m not pretending for a second that this is going to be Gone With the Wind or going to be Laurence of Arabia – but those films that were made from the 30′s through to the 50′s that told big emotional stories – big emotions, not naturlism, operatic emotions, but use landscape to tell them – they belong to that period. So, that’s the starting point, but of course it’s not good enough just to copy that style. And so, I am taking that as a starting point and finding our own very particular way of using camera, of interpreting landscape, of telling story, so that it has some of those classic values, but it also has some newly invented values about it.”
Fran – “These are big names, big themes, big moments in history that you’re drawing on here. Are you nervous about trying to wrestle them all into one movie and do them justice?”
Baz – “Yes.”
I mean, to me, that would be a terrifying…
Fran – “Yes, that’s terrifying. But I mean, in a way, I guess it is Fran. I mean, there are films that are about D-Day, or they’re about Pearl Harbour. And in a film like Gone With the Wind, which is really about Rhett and Scarlett, it is set in the world of the fading south. It makes use of and it very much relates to the world where slavery has been abolished and you have got the civil war. So what I’m saying is that yes – I don’t know about being terrifying, but the challenge of it is enormous. But the particular kind of film we’re making is about utilising that world and those facts so that it amplifies the human condition. Ultimately, this isn’t a documentary about exactly what happened on a certain date. What this is about, if it documents anything, it’s documenting the human condition.”
Fran – “And what about music? Your films so far have all had big soundtracks and they’ve been big sellers in themselves. Is there a blockbuster soundtrack for this one?”
Baz – “No, I never… I was just doing the DVD for Romeo + Juliet, in fact it’s a music edition, coming soon, and it had one of the biggest albums of all time, like 8 million copies or something. But I never really set out to make a hit album. I simply set out to tell the story through music. And in fact, when I presented this ecliptic grab bag of music, record companies did not want it. They said this is not a soundtrack album, it’s too European, it’s not American enough. It went on to have it’s own life. But the film didn’t use the music on top. Music was used to tell story. Music will be used to tell story with this epic. It’s interesting at the moment, we’re doing huge research on it. In fact, there’s an actual unique sound that was happening at the time of this film here, which is, as I’m getting into it, which is fresh and alive and unique and belongs to Australia. And it’s just going to be in the film because it tells a good story. Whether it sells records or not, that’s another issue.”
Fran – “So, it’s music from the time?”
Baz – “Yes, it’s music from the time. I mean, it’s really exciting because you had all of the pearlers up here at the time, I mean you had the Japanese pearlers, and there’s kind of a mixture between folk and country and sort of Hawaiian, actually. And they were watching movies all the time. They were in the outdoor cinemas in the film. They’re obsessed with watching westerns and musicals and there’s a big influence coming from Hollywood at the time and you can’t ignore those things.”
Fran – “I feel another soundtrack coming on.”
Baz – “Fingers crossed!”
Fran – “Baz Luhrmann, just finally, when will you start shooting?”
Baz – “Actually, as I speak to you now, I’m in Kununurra, the whole team is at Fox Studios in Sydney, we’re in pre production. And it’s a little bit based on the weather, the actual start date, but no later than the beginning of March.”
Fran – “It’s all about the landscape. Baz Luhrmann, thank you very much for joining us on Breakfast and good luck with it.”
Baz – “Great to talk, Fran. Bye.”
Fran – “Filmaker Baz Luhrmann. I can’t wait for that soundtrack. Hawaiian meets country meets 50′s rock and roll. Fantastic! And, for any young budding Aboriginal actors out there, if you’re interested in trying out for Baz’s film, and you’ll be starring alongside Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, you can call the casting agency on 02 9699 1377.”
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