Baz Luhrmann Used ‘Over Two Million Feet of Film’ to Turn ‘Australia’ Into ‘Faraway Downs’ Series: ‘Episodic Storytelling Has Been Reinvigorated’ by Streaming

Baz Luhrmann is set to world premiere his upcoming miniseries “Faraway Downs” on the closing night of the upcoming SXSW Sydney Screen Festival, closing the loop on a filmmaking journey that began nearly 20 years ago. “Faraway Downs” is the expanded TV version of the director’s 2008 theatrical release “Australia,” an epic romance starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman that flopped at the domestic box office with a gross of less than $50 million.

“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 announcing the film’s premiere. “With over two 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.”

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Colin Daniels, SXSW Sydney Managing Director, added, “We are so happy to be sharing the creative work of Baz Luhrmann and the entire ‘Faraway Downs’ team at Australia’s first ever SXSW Sydney.”

Kidman stars in both “Australia” and “Faraway Downs” as Lady Sarah Ashley, an English aristocrat who travels down under after the death of her husband to sell a cattle ranch in the outback. The property becomes the center of a dispute between a ruthless Australian cattle baron and Lady Sarah, who teams up and falls in love with a local ranch hand (Jackman) to protect her land. Bryan Brown, Brandon Walters and Ben Mendelsohn co-star.

“Australia” had a near three-hour runtime of 165 minutes, while the expanded “Faraway Down” is being released as a six-part series. The film has long been one of Kidman and Jackman’s most prominent flops, with Kidman once saying in an interview, “I can’t look at this movie and be proud of what I’ve done. I sat there and I looked at [husband Keith Urban] and went, ‘Am I any good in this movie?’ But I thought Brandon Walters (an 11-year-old Aboriginal boy) and Hugh Jackman were wonderful. It’s just impossible for me to connect to it emotionally at all.”

“Faraway Downs” will world premiere Oct. 21 at the SXSW Sydney Screen Festival. All six chapters of the miniseries will premiere together Nov. 26 on Hulu in the United States, Star+ in Latin America and on Disney+ in all other territories.

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