While the most recent new wave of Australian cinema has mostly been led by directors such as David Michod, Cate Shortland, and John Hillcoat, there are plenty of veteran actors from Down Under who have been carrying the torch for some time. As part of a substantial $32.3M deal for a package of six feature films that will unite some of Australia's best directors and actors together, and the most promising of which will bring together the talents of Nicole Kidman, Hugo Weaving, Guy Pearce.
Variety reports the trio will return to their native home for
Strangerland, an Aussie mystery about a couple whose relationship crumbles when their children mysteriously go missing in the Outback. The film marks the feature directorial debut by Kim Farrant (
Naked On the Inside), with a script by Fiona Seres and Michael Kinirons.
Certainly it sounds promising, and it will be good to hear all three in their native accents rather than ducking behind American ones. Screen Australia describes the film as having “strong creative potential and massive A-list festival potential.”, which is something that also could have been said for Kidman's biopic,
Grace of Monaco. The Grace Kelly film was meant to arrive this fall and likely would have secured Kidman a place in the Best Actress race, but
The Weinstein Company bumped it into next year, saying the film simply wasn't finished. Think that's the end of the story? Not when Weinstein is involved.
According to director Olivier Dahan, the real flap is over the final cut of the film, and yes Harvey "Scissorhands" Weinstein has his paws all over this one as well. Dahan tells
Liberation (via
THR) that he's basically fighting to put out the version he always intended....
Dahan:
"The film that I am in the process of finishing is complicated to finalize, although actually, for me, it is finished. What's complicated at the moment is ensuring that you, the critics, can review my version of the film and not that of somebody else. It's not over yet. I haven't given up."He went on to add that Weinstein is essentially trying to back him into a corner to agree on the studio version of the film, but based on his answers this could be a long battle....
Dahan:
"It's right to struggle, but when you confront an American distributor like Weinstein, not to name names, there is not much you can do. Either you say 'Go figure it out with your pile of shit' or you brace yourself so the blackmail isn't as violent … If I don't sign, that's where the out-and-out blackmail starts, but I could go that far. There are two versions of the film for now: mine and his … which I find catastrophic."So who knows how this will turn out, but Kidman should be good to go either way. Besides
Strangerland she also recently agreed to produce and star in an adaptation of best-selling novel,
The Silent Wife.
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