Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Faraway Downs,’ his new take on 2008’s ‘Australia,’ will debut in November
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Baz Luhrmann’s 2008 feature “Australia” is coming back this year in a new format and with a new title.
Luhrmann has re-edited “Australia” into a six-episode limited series called “Faraway Downs.” The project will debut at the inaugural SXSW Sydney Screen Festival on October 21 before arriving on Hulu and Disney+ starting on November 26.
More from GoldDerby
“I was inspired to re-approach my film ‘Australia’ to create ‘Faraway Downs’ because of the way episodic storytelling has been reinvigorated by the streaming world,” Luhrmann said in a statement. “With over 2 million feet of film from the original piece, my team and I were able to revisit anew the central themes of the work. I am honored to world premiere ‘Faraway Downs’ in Australia, the place that has inspired me and my work my entire life, and with a partner like SXSW who deeply recognizes the intersection of film, television, and music with storytelling.”
“Australia” and its new television version starred Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Bryan Brown, Brandon Walters, and Ben Mendelsohn. The project “centers on English aristocrat Lady Sarah Ashley (Kidman), who travels halfway across the world to confront her wayward husband and sell an unusual asset: Faraway Downs, a million-acre cattle ranch in the Australian outback. Following the death of her husband, a ruthless Australian cattle baron, King Carney (Bryan Brown) plots to take her land, and she reluctantly joins forces with a rough-hewn cattle drover (Hugh Jackman) to protect her ranch. The sweeping adventure-romance is explored through the eyes of young Nullah (Brandon Walters), an Indigenous Australian child caught up in the government’s Draconian racial policy now referred to as the Stolen Generations. Together, the trio experiences four life-altering years, a love affair between Lady Ashley and the drover, and the unavoidable impact of World War II on Northern Australia.”
Luhrmann’s interest in coming back to “Australia” was revealed during his press push for “Elvis” last year.
“I originally set out to take the notion of the sweeping, ‘Gone With the Wind’-style epic and turn it on its head — a way of using romance and epic drama to shine a light on the roles of First Nations people and the painful scar in Australian history of the ‘Stolen Generations,’” said Luhrmann in a statement in June of last year, right around when his Best Picture nominee had arrived in theaters. “While ‘Australia’ the film has its own life, there was another telling of this story; one with different layers, nuances, and even alternative plot twists that an episodic format has allowed us to explore. Drawn from the same material, ‘Faraway Downs’ is a new variation on Australia for audiences to discover.”
“Baz is one of the world’s great auteur storytellers, so revisiting ‘Faraway Downs’ and experiencing his incredible film ‘Australia’ in this unique, new episodic format has been a revelatory and unique adventure,” said Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment president Craig Erwich in his statement at the time. “We look forward to taking viewers into the ranch and experiencing all of the stories that are both held within and continue to unfold there.”
“Australia” was released with great fanfare in 2008 but struggled at the box office and was castigated by critics. It has been widely reported that Kidman thought the film featured one of her worst performances, but that’s not entirely true. In a 2009 radio interview in Sydney, Australia, Kidman said she “squirmed” while watching the film, but only because she rarely watches her work onscreen, and seemingly – at least at the time – only made exceptions for Luhrmann. (The pair had worked together previously on “Moulin Rouge!”)
Asked in the same interview if she could watch “Australia” and say “I did a really good job” as a performer, Kidman said no. “I sat there at Keith [Urban] and went, ‘Am I any good in this movie?’ But I thought Brandon and Hugh were wonderful. I did! Because I have no objectivity at all.”
When it was suggested Kidman was her own “worst critic,” the actress said watching herself is tough and that “it’s impossible for me to connect to it emotionally at all.”
“Faraway Downs” is set to premiere in the U.S. on Hulu starting on November 26. Globally, the project will stream on Disney+ (and on Star+ in Latin America).
PREDICT the 2024 Oscar nominees through January 23
Make your predictions at Gold Derby now. Download our free and easy app for Apple/iPhone devices or Android (Google Play) to compete against legions of other fans plus our experts and editors for best prediction accuracy scores. See our latest prediction champs. Can you top our esteemed leaderboards next? Always remember to keep your predictions updated because they impact our latest racetrack odds, which terrify Hollywood chiefs and stars. Don’t miss the fun. Speak up and share your huffy opinions in our famous forums where 5,000 showbiz leaders lurk every day to track latest awards buzz. Everybody wants to know: What do you think? Who do you predict and why?
SIGN UP for Gold Derby’s free newsletter with latest predictions
Best of GoldDerby
Sign up for Gold Derby's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
