Baz Luhrmann

“Hugh [Jackman] is so at peace with himself—like a John Wayne or a Clint Eastwood—and she’s like electricity. Together, they are such a classic couple. And, well, he is the sexiest man alive!” said Australia director Baz Luhrmann, glancing in the direction of actors Nicole Kidman and Mr. Jackman (who People magazine recently deemed the "Sexiest Man Alive") at the premiere of his new film on Monday, Nov. 24, at the Ziegfeld Theatre. 

Mr. Luhrmann revealed that during filming on location, the temperature was so high, and the scenes so action-filled, that both actors suffered fainting spells. Ms. Kidman, wearing a black and gold sequined dress, confirmed her director’s story.  read more »

Yesterday we were able to catch an early screening of the highly anticipated Australia. This is the first film from Baz Luhrmann since 2001’s Moulin Rouge! and there’s been an awful lot of chatter among those who like to chatter about such things (Oprah loves it!) over whether or not this film was going to bring it come award show time. We’ll leave the proper reviewing to the distinguished Rex Reed and Andrew Sarris next week, but we'll throw in a couple cents in of our own in the meantime.  read more »

The new trailer for Baz Luhrmann's Austrailia has us a little dumbfounded. The film, Mr. Luhrmann's first since striking the fancy of Oscar voters seven years ago with his multiple nominated revisionist musical Moulin Rouge!, features so many references to other movies that it's actually hard to keep up.

Mostly Australia culls from African Queen; Hugh Jackman actually appears to be wearing Humprhey Bogart's wardrobe from the John Huston film, while Nicole Kidman seems to be reading Katherine Hepburn's dialogue. But there are also bows towards Casablanca, especially when the film kicks into World War II mode with massive aerial combat scenes and Mr. Jackman costumed in a white tuxedo.

We could go on naming other films referenced here too. The English Patient. Titanic. Raiders of the Lost Ark. Pearl Harbor. Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow. Back to the Future Part III. Dances with Wolves. The entire trailer feels like an advertisement for one of those AFI top-100 lists.  read more »

Despite talk of marital strife, Nicole Kidman and husband Keith Urban are expecting their first child. According to Britain’s Daily Mail, the 40-year-old actress and the country musician—who has, since they married in June of 2006, been dealing with substance abuse issues—broke the good news to their families over the Christmas holiday.

If all goes well, the child will be Ms. Kidman’s first successful delivery. During her marriage to Tom Cruise, the divorced couple adopted two children together—Isabella, 14, and Connor, 12. In a recent interview with Vanity Fair, The Golden Compass star also revealed that she suffered a miscarriage when married to Mr. Cruise. “[T]that was really very traumatic,” she told the magazine at the time.

The actress and Mr. Urban spent Christmas together in Sydney, where Ms. Kidman finished working on director Baz Luhrmann’s forthcoming Australia.

UPDATE: Since the Daily Mail story broke, an Australian publicist for Ms. Kidman has publicly denied that the actress is pregnant.