RSS 2.0 - News feed for Australia

Hugh Jackman on Australia, marriage and religion

Tue, 27 Jan 2009 00:00:00 PST

Times Online has interviewed 'Australia' star Hugh Jackman. Jackman talks about spending new years with co-star Nicole Kidman, and the Aussie charm and laid back swagger of director Baz Luhrmann. He also talks about his body transformation for Wolverine, and his strict diet, insisting he gets up at 4 am to have egg whites on dry toast. The Australia born actor goes on to talk more about his character and working with Kidman. 'Australia' is out in theaters now.

"...The former gym-phobe (“I never understood why people went to the gym; I thought it was ridiculous,” Jackman says) undertook a gruelling routine — up to two hours of weightlifting, five days a week. Ditto for Australia, for which the lean actor needed to pack on the thick muscle of an outback cattle drover. “Hugh’s amazing because he has such athleticism,” says Kidman. “He could barely ride at the beginning of the film, but by the end he was a great horseman.”..."

Read the full interview here.

Catherine Martin talks about designing for 'Australia' and working with her husband, director Baz Luhrmann

Wed, 3 Dec 2008 00:00:00 PST

The Star-Telegram has interviewed 'Australia' costume designer Catherine Martin. Martin has collaberated with her husband and director Baz Luhrmann on award winning wardrobes like Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet, and Moulin Rouge. Martin talks about collaberating with Luhrmann in 'Australia', including the times they strongly disagreed. She also discusses how she went about designing the WWII-era costumes, and where she took the inspiration from. We also find out what's next for the Australian costume designer. "Australia" is out in theaters now.

"...[For Kidman], we had the opportunity to workshop clothes 18 months before they were on camera. We needed a contrast between an uptight English aristocrat and someone in Australia, so we needed two wardrobes to clash against each other..."

Read the full interview here.

An exclusive Interview with 'Australia' cast member Hugh Jackman

Tue, 2 Dec 2008 00:00:00 PST

Moviehole has caught up with 'Australia' star Hugh Jackman. Jackman talks about taking the role in the current time of his career and prepping for the physical intensity of his character. He also touches on reinforcing his 'Austrailan-ness', working in Australia again and being named sexiest man alive by People magazine. Jackman also dishes on wether we can expect to see him as Wolverine once again. 'Australia' also stars Nicole Kidman and is in theaters now.

"...I think even with this film, it's important to note that of course it's important to Australia. But for the rest of the world, it is a movie that is no more about Australia than Casablanca is about Casablanca. You know? It is a metaphor for the frontier, for the remote, and a place where you can have an experience, and kind of lose yourself, in a way. So - as to what's next, or what other films, I will always have a leaning towards that, and will make my choices - if there's two films, an Aussie one and a non-Aussie one that I'm tossing up, it'll always be the Aussie one that wins out..."

Read the full interview here.

Interview with Bryan Brown

Tue, 2 Dec 2008 00:00:00 PST

Bryan Brown has taken some time out to chat with Moviehole on his latest role in 'Australia'. Brown talks about getting older and finding more interesting characters with age - even in the Australian film industry. He also chats about his character, and Baz Luhrmann. Brown discusses Australia, his home country and what's next for actor. 'Australia' also stars Hugh Jackman, and Nicole Kidman. 'Australia' is out in theaters now.

"...all the younger characters that they write are pretty much the same. They're all sort of - got to have a certain edge. Older characters have got - they've been through things, and there's a complexity to the characters. Everything's a bit grayer than it was black and white..."

Read the full interview here.

Exclusive: Australia Director Baz Luhrmann

Thu, 27 Nov 2008 00:00:00 PST

Baz Luhrmann has taken some time out to talk about his newest film 'Australia'. 'Australia' is set in WWII and star Nicole Kidmna, and Hugh Jackman in a romantic epic. Luhrmann talks about why making the movie was a deep personal journey and his own related experiences to the aboriginal lore. He also touches on his long time relationship with Nicole Kidman, who didn't even read the script before she accepted the role. 'Australia' is out in theaters now.

"...We built the sets and all of that and then we used CGI very kind of paintly. For example, the house is on a real location and it's all mountains - it's all real. When we did the stampede, we shot it on a real location, but the rock formation was quite sacred that we wanted to shoot around. So we did a sort of paintly version of it. We brought the cliff face close to the rock formation. We used CG like we would have in the '30s..."

Read the full interview here.