Australia Movie Preview

Baz Luhrmann first started seriously talking about making an epic romantic tale back in 2005 after his planned Moulin Rouge! follow-up project hit a snag. Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge! launched into theaters in 2001 and immediately following its release, Luhrmann had started preparing for an Alexander the Great movie with Moulin Rouge!'s Nicole Kidman and his Romeo + Juliet star Leonardo DiCaprio. Oliver Stone tossed a wrench into the works when he beat Luhrmann to the punch with his version of Alexander's life (a critically panned pic starring a blonde-haired Colin Farrell in the title role). Setting aside that project freed Luhrmann up to make an epic Australian tale he'd been thinking about for years.

But it wasn't always smooth sailing for Australia which, with its estimated $130 million budget, is Luhrmann's largest production to date by a wide margin. Russell Crowe unexpectedly dropped out of the project, supposedly over the size of his paycheck. Kidman was committed to playing the leading lady, but Luhrmann had lost his leading man. Fortunately, Aussie Hugh Jackman (X-Men's Wolverine) was available to step in for Crowe. And if the photos and trailer are in any way indicative, Kidman and Jackman do have real chemistry on screen so maybe the loss of Crowe worked out all around.

The Story
Set in Australia near the beginning of World War II, Australia follows an upper-class British woman who teams up with a cattle driver in order to save the ranch she inherited from ruthless English cattle barons.

Australia wants audiences to embrace life down under on November 26, 2008.

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