There’s always one gem hidden inside a box of sparkling diamonds.
For three decades, Baz Luhrmann has brought his singular vision to such gorgeous hits as “Elvis,” “The Great Gatsby” and “Moulin Rouge.” But in 2008, the Australian filmmaker made a rare flop with Australia, which had a $130 million price tag but only grossed $50 million at the U.S. box office.
This historical melodrama, which received mixed reviews, follows Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman), a British aristocrat known as Drover (Hugh Jackman), who sets out to save her late husband’s ranch in the Australian outback. This is a story about the cow’s hand and the hand of the cow. .
Now, Luhrmann is reimagining “Australia” as a six-part, four-hour Hulu miniseries called “Faraway Downs,” which airs Sunday. The show, which was re-edited from 2.5 million feet of existing footage, tells the story of two romantic protagonists and Nula (Brandon Walters), a young boy who is at risk of being taken away by the government because of his mixed race. . .
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Rahman, 61, also features new music and opening credits by young Indigenous artists, which he considers the “greatest joy” of the reimagined project. He recently spoke to USA TODAY about his “Australian” heritage and more. (Edited for length and clarity.)
Question: How long have you wanted to revisit “Australia” as a series?
A: When Tom Hanks famously contracted the coronavirus in “Elvis,” we canceled screenings and didn’t know if the movie would come back. I felt like maybe it was over and I thought, “Well, what can I do?” Since I was shooting in Australia, I started thinking about a lot of the “Australian” themes we were trying to get to and how we could have gone deeper. And when we started looking at the footage, we realized how episodic television was a natural fit to tell this story. It wasn’t a big hit in America, but it’s still my biggest movie to date in Europe. We have to respect the relationships we have with the people involved in the film, so I thought, “Let’s make a variation of that and make a new work.”
What surprised you most about the film’s reception in 2008?
Look, I never think any of my movies are perfect. However, the path we took to land in America was very difficult. There was great conflict over when the film should be released. There was such a big push from the studio to release this movie on Thanksgiving that I thought, “Who in the house is going to go see a movie called “Australia” with gratitude?” ‘What would you say?’ It will be available for streaming (at about the same time). However, episodic television allows everyone to sit and watch at home. There is a universality to it.
Another thing that happened in America, which I was very disappointed in, was that it was literally being sold as Australia’s Pearl Harbor (for a key scene late in the movie) and I thought it was true. I thought not. So when we went to Europe, we started using trailers that really identified what it was. It was an epic, like Lawrence of Arabia, but told from the perspective of an Indigenous child about this truly diabolical moment in our nation’s mixed history. Children of the race were separated from their families. I wanted to make a film that used romance and adventure to open the door to this (atrocity) to a wider audience.
Nicole said in a 2009 interview that while Hugh and Brandon in the film were “great”, she was not “proud” of her acting. Has she ever expressed those feelings to you?
She said so, and it becomes this kind of clickbait. I look at[these headlines]and think, “That’s annoying.” Because she would have said it out of her own humility. But one thing I can tell you is that Nicole does the dialogue (dubbing) on Faraway Downs and we talk all the time. She called me about three years ago and said, “Oh, Buzzy, we watched ‘Australia’ for my family and it’s their favorite movie.” “I couldn’t see it at the time,” she said. She was in a place where there was a lot of media noise for some reason. I can’t speak for her feelings, but I can tell you that she considers this movie her family’s favorite. We have all just embarked on an amazing journey together. In fact, I’m planning to talk to Hugh in a few days.
After your experience with “Faraway Downs,” did you ever think about making another series? (Lerman previously co-created Netflix’s “The Get Down,” which was canceled after one season.) )
I will always be No. 1 in devoting myself to movies. There’s nothing I can do. That’s me. But let’s see how this goes. I don’t want to do an episodic version of “Moulin Rouge”! Because it’s a very tight movie. But there’s a movie I recently worked on that works as a theatrical experience and can be revisited as an episodic version.
Perhaps you are referring to “Elvis”? You previously talked about the potential for a 4-hour reduction.
Yeah. I can’t tell you how many “Elvis” fans have asked me to “give me the 4-hour version,” so I have to be careful. I’ve seen a four-hour rough cut, and the idea that I might do[a longer edit]someday is totally real. But I think time needs to pass because the movie has a life of its own. Elvis as a canvas for exploring American culture, toxic relationships, and flying too close to the sun are all present in this film. But there are other layers to the four-hour version that I can lean into.
Have you seen Sofia Coppola’s “Priscilla,” about Elvis’ wife?
No, I haven’t seen it yet, and I would love to see it. Sophia is my friend. My whole attitude towards it is that it just emphasizes the point that Elvis Presley’s life was quite extraordinary. Although very grand, he still lived for a very short time. I hope that many movies will be made about Elvis at different times and from different perspectives because his influence on the world was so great.
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