Baz Luhrmann Discusses Rumors About Australia
November 13th, 2008
Following reports of numerous problems with his new epic movie ‘Australia’, writer/director Baz Luhrmann opens up about the reported scrapped ending, the length of his masterpiece and the supposed budget blowout.
In an interview with the Los Angeles Times, Luhrmann addressed the numerous stories about his new movie, which stars Australia’s Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman in the lead roles.
Luhrmann disputes rumors of Fox demanding a new ending for the film after test audiences hated his original one saying, “What’s interesting is I wrote, I think, six endings in all the drafts I did, shot three, and I ended up concluding the film in a way in which I — probably more than anyone — least expected… Incidentally, the two endings, by the way, tested completely the same essentially, you know? They really did in the numbers…
“But I came up with a third ending, and the ending that I’ve created about the film came from a place of a response, actually, to the thing that I wanted the movie to be — the important, big idea of the movie — how to amplify that big idea… Sending a movie out there that can leave people with a sense that, despite it all, you can go back to Faraway Downs, or that you can go on, and a sense of hope, is something I really felt personally I wanted the movie to give out… it’s something quite surprising. And it found itself, really.”
Other criticisms point to the length of the feature, reported to be in excess of 3 hours, with Luhrmann explaining, “The length is the length that I want it to be… And it’s probably — once I finish with it — gonna end up around two and a half hours, and I like that length.”
Describing the feeling of helming a project with such a large budget, the writer/director asks, “Will the film succeed? I cannot guarantee that. But is there a hunger for a movie like this? Yes. I mean, I am inviting all of America to “Australia” for Thanksgiving, and we’re gonna serve a cinematic banquet.”
‘Australia’ opens in cinemas worldwide on November 26.
Read the rest of the LA Times article here.