• Australia, a war drama movie set in northern Australia during World War II, stars Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman.

  An upper-class woman (Nicole Kidman) travels to Australia where she meets and ultimately falls in love with a cowboy (Hugh Jackman). Despite cultural and class differences, they fight for their love and her ranch while struggling to survive World War II bomb attacks.Official Site: Australia Movie Trailer

  The film garnered an Oscar nomination for Best Costume Design in 2009, but the award went to Michael O'Connor for his work on The Duchess.

• Fast Facts

  1. Release date: November 26, 2008
  2. Director: Baz Luhrmann
  3. Writers: Baz Luhrmann and Stuart Beattie
  4. Producers: Baz Luhrmann, G. Mac Brown and Catherine Knapman
  5. Studio: 20th Century Fox
  6. Baz Luhrmann's first new film since [[Moulin Rouge!]] (2001), which also starred Nicole Kidman
  7. The most expensive Australian movie ever madeTHR: Film Review: Australia (November 18, 2008)
  8. Film run time: 165 minutes
  9. MPAA: PG-13

• Quotes

  • "The film is also a mea culpa, in a vast popular-entertainment format, for the cruel racial policies once imposed by the Australian government upon Aboriginals in general and, specifically, half-castes, who were aggressively swept out of sight. It was one of (Baz) Luhrmann's best ideas to make the film's narrator the prepubescent Nullah (Brandon Walters), a charming boy who not only observes the vast sweep of the story but provides its fulcrum."—VarietyVariety: Australia Review (November 19, 2008)

• Cattle Drives and Cast Changes

  • British aristocrat Lady Sarah Ashley (Kidman) inherits a cattle station near the town of Darwin and hires an Australian man (Jackman) to move the animals before cattle barons can take her land.

  Actor Russell Crowe was originally cast as The Drover but left the film during pre-production. Director Baz Luhrmann then tapped Heath Ledger for the role, but Ledger dropped out to play The Joker in the upcoming Batman movie, The Dark Knight. Ultimately, the leading role went to Hugh Jackman.

• Cast

  • Brandon Walters: Nullah
  • Nicole Kidman: Lady Sarah Ashley
  • Hugh Jackman: The Drover
  • David Wenham: Neil Fletcher
  • Bryan Brown: King Carney
  • Jack Thompson: Kipling Flynn

• Related Pages on Mahalo

  Australia Trailer | Australia Reviews | Nicole Kidman | Hugh Jackman | Baz Luhrmann | [[Moulin Rouge!]] | Australia | Deborra Lee Furness | Brandon Walters

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