Baz Luhrmann’s 2008 epic Australia is getting a second life — as a limited series.
The Elvis filmmaker will expand and reimagine the film as Faraway Downs, a six-part series that will run on Hulu in the United States and Disney+ and Star+ internationally. The project will be assembled entirely from footage Luhrmann shot for Australia, with a new ending and updated soundtrack. It’s slated to premiere in the winter. (At the time of Australia’s release, Luhrmann said he had filmed three endings.)
“I originally set out to take the notion of the sweeping, Gone With the Wind-style epic and turn it on its head — a way of using romance and epic drama to shine a light on the roles of First Nations people and the painful scar in Australian history of the ‘Stolen Generations,’” said Luhrmann in a statement. “While Australia the film has its own life, there was another telling of this story; one with different layers, nuances and even alternative plot twists that an episodic format has allowed us to explore. Drawn from the same material, Faraway Downs is a new variation on Australia for audiences to discover.”
Like the film, Faraway Downs will tell the story of an English aristocrat, Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman) who inherits a large cattle ranch in Australia after her husband dies. When Australian cattle barons plot to take her land, she joins forces with a cattle drover (Hugh Jackman) to protect her ranch. The story is explored through the eyes of young Nullah (Brandon Walters), a bi-racial Indigenous Australian child caught up in the government’s draconian racial policy now referred to as the “Stolen Generations.” The trio experiences four life-altering years, a love affair between Sarah and the drover and the unavoidable impact of World War II.
“Baz is one of the world’s great auteur storytellers, so revisiting Faraway Downs and experiencing his incredible film Australia in this unique, new episodic format has been a revelatory and unique adventure,” said Hulu Originals and ABC Entertainment president Craig Erwich. “We look forward to taking viewers into the ranch and experiencing all of the stories that are both held within and continue to unfold there.”
The theatrical cut of Australia has a running time of two hours, 45 minutes. There’s no word yet on how long the full six-episode series will run.
Disney’s 20th Television is producing Faraway Downs (20th Century Fox released Australia). Luhrmann executive produces with Catherine Martin, Schuyler Weiss and Catherine Knapman; Knapman was a producer and Martin a co-producer of the 2008 film.
Source: Hollywood
