Monday, December 08, 2008

"Australia" death watch

So, Australia took $7 million in its second weekend in the US, for a total take of $30 million. (It looks like in Australia it might have taken around $8 million?) Still, hard to see it recouping its budget of $130 million, even though it essentially hasn't opened in other markets. (I suspect that there might be some bad but enjoyable reviews yet to come from England.)

Surprisingly, Frank Devine liked it, but is his article's title a pun based on something about Luhrmann that is common knowledge? Actually, Devine seems to like it because it at least looks like a movie, unlike most Australian films. (I think I have posted somewhere here before - although I can't quickly find where - that Australian films often look "empty", in that they just don't have many people on the screen, even in street scenes. Someone wrote at Unleashed recently that most Aussie films look more like television, which I think is pretty much another way of saying the same thing.)

Tim Train has yet to provide a review. Hurry up Tim.

Meanwhile, Martin Ferguson of the strangely untouchable Rudd government is looking increasingly like he blew $40 million on a movie related campaign that is going to get "less bang for our dollar". Talk about understatement. (Actually, was this campaign decided on only after the last Federal election? I would have guessed it would have been a deal worked out earlier than that.)

3 comments:

TimT said...

I saw this last night but don't really feel like doing a review! I do like what Baz Luhrmann does, but 'Australia' was just too long and too contrived. He got a multi-million dollar budget and stuffed it up. Pity.

There was some interesting stuff in there though about Aboriginal kinship, and some fabulous sets and artwork.

Steve said...

The fictional Japanese land invasion on the island where the half cast kiddies were put in harm's way didn't bother you then? For a story that purports to be enlightening the world about the stolen generation, I find that pretty reprehensible.

TimT said...

Not really, he set out to dramatise his understanding of history, and he did it in his usual melodramatic/romantic way. Probably the most offensive was the accent he gave Nulla - I don't think I've come across that sort of stereotypical 'Aboriginal' accent since reading some old 1940s copies of 'Joliffe's Outback' that I got hold of once.