Trivia / Australia

• Awesome, Dear Boy: Hugh Jackman told 60 Minutes that Nicole Kidman agreed to star in the film without reading the script. According to Jackman, she told him at a Super Bowl party that she had to be in the movie. When Jackman told her he didn't even have a script, Kidman told him to forget the script, because Baz Luhrmann was directing.
• Creator Backlash: In one interview, Nicole Kidman said she wasn't proud of this film.
• Fake Brit: Real Australian Nicole Kidman as the British Lady Sarah Ashley. You hire an Australian to make a film in Australia called Australia and then have her pretend to be British. Otherwise, she sounds just like Kylie Minogue.
• Focus Group Ending: Several endings were filmed. An ending that featured the death of Drover was screened for a test audience, but proved unpopular.
• Prop Recycling: Large amounts of the Japanese air raid effects were re-used from Tora! Tora! Tora!, resulting in footage showing ships that were not present and showing the use of torpedos instead of the 600kg bombs the Kate bombers historically dropped.
• Troubled Production: Filming began in spring 2007 and went on for nine hard months. Baz Luhrmann constantly re-shot scenes until he got things just the way he wanted. The project went well over budget, causing several scheduling problems. Australia itself was not very cooperative. Filming was delayed for days because of bad weather or poor lighting. The largest and most expensive set was completely flooded when huge rain showers hit a part of the country that rarely gets rain. Luhrmann was forced to secure more funding and make some compromises. Shooting of the final scenes moved from Darwin to Bowen because the local government provided 500,000 dollars to film there. Nicole Kidman saved Hugh Jackman from a poisonous scorpion on the set. When she was about to join Hugh in the bag, she noticed a poisonous scorpion crawling up his leg. She calmly told him not to move, squatted down, scooped the arachnid into her hat, walked over to the woods, and released it. Everyone applauded, then asked why she hadn't just stomped on it. She replied, 'I would never kill an animal. Every creature here has its purpose. This one just didn't belong in Hugh's bag!"
• What Could Have Been: Heath Ledger was originally cast as Drover, but backed out to do The Dark Knight. Russell Crowe was attached during pre-production but left when 20th Century Fox executives tried to stay within budget by reducing Crowe's salary.

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