Release Date: 26 November 2008 (USA)

Trailer:
http://www.alltrailers.net/australia.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=05zTnDTpbHI

Plot Summary:
Luhrmann's film is set in northern Australia prior to World War II and centers on an English aristocrat (Kidman) who inherits a cattle station the size of Maryland. When English cattle barons plot to take her land, she reluctantly joins forces with a rough-hewn stock-man (Jackman) to drive 2,000 head of cattle across hundreds of miles of the country's most unforgiving land, only to still face the bombing of Darwin, Australia, by the Japanese forces that had attacked Pearl Harbor only months earlier.

Cast:
Nicole Kidman as Lady Sarah Ashley, an English aristocrat who inherits the cattle station Faraway Downs in Australia.
Hugh Jackman as an Australian drover who helps Lady Sarah Ashley move the cattle across the property.
Essie Davis as Katherine
David Wenham as Neil Fletcher, a station manager who plans to take Faraway Downs from Lady Sarah Ashley.
Jack Thompson as Kipling Flynn, an alcoholic accountant who enjoys a luxurious lifestyle.
Bryan Brown as King Carney, a cattle baron who owns much of the land in northern Australia.
Brandon Walters as the drover's assistant Nullah, a young boy who helps drive the cattle for Lady Sarah Ashley.
David Gulpilil as King George, a magic tribal elder.
Yuen Wah

Crew:
Director - Baz Luhrmann
Writers - Baz Luhrmann & Stuart Beattie
DP - Mandy Walker
Production Designer - Catherine Martin
Editors - Dody Dorn & Michael McKusker

Images:














I'm really excited about this. Baz makes a film every few years (Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge!) and for the longest time this was "Untitled Baz Luhrmann Project". This seems to be a passion project of some sort so I'm guessing it'll be sensational.

More pictures here

Is it a musical? Because Hugh Jackman has a great voice I want to hear him sing^^ I also like Nicole Kidman so I am excited for this.

I saw a few articles on this movie. I'm looking forward to seeing this! Nicole and Jack look good together =D

I don't think this is a musical. From thepictures I've seen so far, it looks gorgeousssss. I really want to see it. This is good for the Aussie film industry.

It's not a musical.
I can't wait for this movie.
When is the release date?
Two of my favourites.

Baz Luhrmann! That's the Romeo and Juliet guy.. ahaha

.. sorry

release date for the us is 26 november. which i will add to the first post.

Yes, I have been looking forward to this film ever since I saw the trailer and some pictures! It looks absolutely gorgeous. I love touching, tragic war movies with some heavy romance. It's from Baz Luhrrman, and to be honest, I don't like his works . I absolutely HATE musicals, such as his previous <Romeo + Juliet> and <Moulin Rouge>. And honestly, I don't think 'singing' is appropriate for this movie (and its genre). It will definitely look weird. But now I feel relieved after reading you guys' posts about <Australia> not being a musical. And LOL at Yuen Wah. He also plays in this movie? That's funny x) -- however I'm happy for him to be able to participate in such a (big budget) blockbuster. Though the CG looks funny and a little bit fake..

--
Is Nicole wearing a qipao there? I watched the trailer and there was a scene with paper lanterns (with some Chinese characters on it - <貴> if I have not mistaken), so I assume they were in .. Chinatown or something? xD It really looks like a qipao..

For those who haven't seen the trailer, here it is: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISfAmSYD59c

personally i try to avoid defending directors, but romeo + juliet was not a musical although it did have diegetic musical performances (not "numbers" per se). australia will not be a musical, either, although jackman and kidman can definitely sing they are actors first and foremost. on that note, i hope jackman is good because for the longest time (back when it was 'untitled baz luhrmann project') russell crowe was supposed to star in it, but left when they decreased his salary. also, i didn't see a whole lot of cg in the trailer, more of a painted background. i'm guessing it's not supposed to look or feel realistic, it's a stylistic choice (similar to what he did on moulin rouge!). baz luhrmann's films are based on fairytales--strictly ballroom is the ugly duckling while moulin rouge! is david and goliath, for example. this one is no different, as indicated in the beginning of the trailer (nicole going "would you like to hear a story?") that's why he always goes for the stylistic, it enhances the tale aspect of the film.

regarding the qipao-looking gown, it might be just a chinoiserie thing. the film is set pre-world war 2, and in that time period we have the art deco and with that came interest in anything exotic-looking so chinoserie kinda resurfaced. or maybe they'll mention other british colonies around australia like hong kong or singapore, who knows.

i'll put a trailer on the first post, thanks for reminding me.

^ Yea, lol, I'm not familiar with directors and stuff. But from his movies I have seen so far, I have to admit that I didn't receive good impressions of his works. No offense though. I'm not a professional reviewer, so yea, I might be a little bit shallow and superficial xD. I guess I don't know how to appreciate a film and its directing.

And yes, I do know that Romeo + Juliet isn't a musical, I'm sorry if I said it was. But you know what I mean? Those singings that suddenly appears in a film. I just hate that. And yea, about the CG, I was actually talking about the bombardments and stuff. I don't know, somehow, it just looks fake, perhaps due to the bright colors? Everything else looks absolutely breath-taking though!

Back to the qipao. Yea, I was just wondering whether it was a qipao. To me, it looked like a qipao, but I wasn't sure. So just merely a question. But yep, who knows .

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For some reason, I think this is going to be a flop among the movie critics. Don't know, just a feeling.

i think critics will be divided, but i have a feeling (which i hope is wrong) that it'll be a box-office flop.

I LOVE BAZ. A lot of his movies have the critics split--some say they are nauseating pieces of pop-culture drivel, and others say that they are innovative, stunning, and brilliant. I side with the latter group.

I have to say, though...I am not a fan of Mrs. Kidman's new botoxed face. It's too tight. When I saw the trailer, I freaked out because she looked so different.

-ginger

omg. I saw this trailer while watching Project Runway. I totally want to see it!
Nicole Kidman is absolutely beautiful and Hugh Jackman's hot. <3
It's pretty cool that Baz Luhrman is directing the movie too.

actually i started a thread about this film a few weeks ago: http://www.soompi.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=249550

and yes, it does look awesome.

The bottle tree with all the ornaments hanging from it looks so beautiful. <3

I thought that it was weird that a thread wasn't started yet...
It wasn't on the movie thread index, so I just started one.
Can someone delete this thread? Or at least merge it with another one?

^ And I agree. This movie just looks gorgeous!

Looks Great~ Love Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman~

Indeed, can someone please merge the two threads?

Gah ~ I feel so sad, I've accidentally read a MAJOR spoiler on IMDB. Honestly, I was looking in the news archive of this movie to look for some updates, and I just bumped into this spoiler - gosh ~ I will never go to the news section of IMDB anymore. Hate it. (Don't worry, I won't tell the spoiler)

Have you guys heard it? Baz is probably going to change the ending due to the negative feedback from the test screenings. Plus, 20th Fox Century wanted a "happier ending". The original ending is said to be quite a downer and a happier ending would save some Kleenex tissues from the audience. The "studio bosses" found it too sad *Sigh* To be honest, I'm really looking forward to a sad one. I wished for a sad one. I really really hope Baz won't change it .

A new trailer is out! It looks absolutely amazing, gorgeous, breath-taking, beautiful, touching and whatever. Really.. I can't stand the waiting. However, I have a feeling that this trailer revealed a lot, and somehow, I kinda regret after I have watch it IMO. Your choice to watch it or not:

New Australia Trailer

I absolutely adore that trailer! It just looks so epic! My favorite part was when they ran to hug each other... both of their facial expressions were perfect!

Anyway, I read that article, but Baz said that the news was a complete rumor. Thank God... I wouldn't want to see a half-baked, tacked-on happy ending anyway. So, I'm with you on that point. I'm just praying that this movie will be amazing.

You can go here for the news:
http://moulinrouge.yuku.com/forums/14

i haven't really heard of this movie, but i ABOSLUTELY LOVE the director, Baz Luhrmann. he did Romeo & Juliet, with Leonardo DiCaprio & Claire Danes, absolutely wonderful. But nicole kidman & hugh jackman were pretty HOT in king kong.

he hasnt actually finished the movie completely:



source: news.com.au

http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/files/2008...z-luhrmann.html



This part stuck out to me. Anyways, apparently, the director had to change the ending because of the bad response?

This looks like such a beautiful movie.
It has that Classic sort of look to it.

ok i added the new trailer and basically bumped this so the moderators can finally figure out what to do.

This film looks pretty epic..the first Australian movie and production I've actually looked forward into watching hahaha.

Can I just say that I love that they used Explosions in the Sky in the preview?

I absolutely love Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, and Baz Luhrrman, but this movie does not interest me at all ><

Just a little heads up... the new updates on the official site is AMAZING to say the least. I absolutely love going through the site trying to find the hidden videos. It's really addicting after a while... .

Here is the link: http://www.australiamovie.com/main.html

Movie looks good. Pictures and everything. I'm definitely going to see this.

So Hugh Jackman is also Australian? I didn't knew that.

bet you any money, it will be a related text for English in australia

Dude, this movie looks ballin'

ROFL! Omg, I so second you on that. I can so imagine English or History classes in the future to be studying this movie as a text. LOL



This has been overhyped way too much in Australia though. It's the most expensive Aussie film ever made and it's like 3 hours long!

BUT despite the overhype of this film, I probably wouldn't mind giving it a look. I didn't actually know that the Japanese bombing of Darwin would be involved in this movie cause looking at the trailer I was thinking, "As if that stuff ever happened or would happen in Australia!". But yeah, I was ignorant to the fact that it had stuff relating to the Darwin bombing so it's changed my view a bit on the film.

Plus the title of the film sounds cheesy; another reason why I didn't like it as much the first time.

as a HUGE fan of moulin rouge and hugh jackman, i was really looking forward to this movie. but after watching the trailer, my enthusiasm has totally died down for some reason. i'm not sure why...

reviews have come back saying that the movie is good but not great.

landscape and cinematography looks awesome, but it also looks quite theatrical (true to baz luhrmahns style eg. moulin rouge, romeo+juliet etc) which is kind of weird considering that its being filmed against a harsh australian backdrop.

i'll check it out anyway.. gotta show my patriotism.

I have to admit the trailers really didn't interest me that much either... But don't judge a movie by it's trailer. I remember being so let down by a couple of movies where the trailer was amazing but the movie was the subpar (Spider-man 3, PotC 2-3, and more recently, Quantum of Solace).

And like what fantasian said, the reviews for this movie is in the "good-but-not-great" range for the critics, which will probably make the the public love the movie. At least I hope so...

BTW, I ADORE Mouline Rouge too! It's actually my favorite Baz Luhrman film... so far.

I JUST came back from the movie theaters and let me tell you, oh my god, you NEED to watch this movie.

This movie is absolutely beautiful. It pulls at your heartstrings in every way; makes you laugh, cry, feel your heart tear in two. The scenery is amazing. Nicole Kidman performs beautifully, and let me just tell you- if you aren't in love with Hugh Jackman already, this movie will push you over the edge.

Hugh Jackman is an amazing actor, and freaking beautiful to boot.

The movie's a bit long, but eh. I didn't really notice it because I was either sobbing inwardly or smiling outwardly like a fool. I enjoyed it immensely, and the characters are very well chosen and played out. (: Must see!

I've heard positive reviews on this movie. Will definitely go to the cinemas next week to watch it.
I like Baz Luhrmann's films.