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By David Poland poland@moviecitynews.com

Posted Wednesday, August 27th, 2008 - 16 Comments »

And Now, Australia Puts Itself On The Turkey Day Barby

Fox Press Release -
BAZ LUHRMANN

16 Comments »

16 Responses to “And Now, Australia Puts Itself On The Turkey Day Barby”

  1. Noah says:
    August 27, 2008 at 11:26 pm

    Moving from one crowded weekend to another. Instead of facing Quantum of Solace, it’s gonna go head to head with Australia’s own John Hillcoat and the Road as well as Milk, Transporter 3 and Four Christmases with Reese Witherspoon and Vince Vaughn. Not to mention the repeat business for Twilight and Bolt. I think they might have been better off moving up a week to November 7th to face Madagascar 2.

  2. KamikazeCamelV2.0 says:
    August 27, 2008 at 11:46 pm

    I think Transporter 3 is pretty much nil competition, but how wide are The Road and Milk going on that weekend? It’d be interesting if they’re both limited whether one eats up the other? I would hope not.
    Nevertheless, this may even have something to do with the recent reshoots they did. Maybe they won’t actually be ready by the original release date?
    Nevertheless… 12 bloody days! I don’t wanna wait 12 more days. Aagh. Baz is such a tease.

  3. Jeremy Smith says:
    August 27, 2008 at 11:49 pm

    I can’t wait to see the latest from the one filmmaker Tom Rothman isn’t allowed to micromanage to death.

  4. KamikazeCamelV2.0 says:
    August 27, 2008 at 11:58 pm

    Does anyone else find it ironic that a movie called Australia is being released on Thanksgiving in America? Not exactly the most patriotic of choices an American cinemagoer could make, huh?

  5. LexG says:
    August 28, 2008 at 12:00 am

    HILLCOAT OWNS. PROPOSITION = TOTAL OWNAGE, so no way I’m seeing this instead of THE ROAD.
    The Road is going to OWN YOU.
    And speaking of ownings, Kristen Stewart and TWILIGHT are going to serve “Nic” and Jackman a world-class box office beatdown.
    I like the stars but get they should get ready to be served.

  6. Nick Rogers says:
    August 28, 2008 at 9:03 am

    Perhaps instead of holding on to some date of prestige, “Australia” should open when it actually has a shot at some business … like Dec. 5.
    I realize it’s a weekend after the Thanksgiving glut, but I have a hard time believing a reportedly problem-production sequel to a film that made only $33 million four years ago is something of which to be afraid.

  7. PanTheFaun says:
    August 28, 2008 at 9:03 am

    “The Road” is going wide on November 26th (it opens limited on the 14th, and expands a bit on the 21st), while “Milk” will only be in NY/LA/SF, as it’s not going wide till December 12th.
    I also doubt whether 11/26 is the best date for “Australia.”
    While Baz’s flick may not share any target-audience in common with “Transporter 3,” I fear he may lose much of the female demo to that Vaughn-Witherspoon garbage, and those looking for well-reviewed highbrow stuff might be torn between this and “The Road” (though based on America’s indifference to “Children of Men,” I’d bet they’ll go with a romantic epic over a post-apocalyptic downer).

  8. Rob says:
    August 28, 2008 at 10:25 am

    Let’s be honest: This movie has flop written all over it, even if it’s great.

  9. don lewis (was PetalumaFilms) says:
    August 28, 2008 at 1:52 pm

    I agree with Rob. From what I’ve seen of it, AUSTRALIA looks like your typical Oscar pandering epic that jumped the shark (or “Nuked the Fridge” as the new AICN wannabe site would say)right when THE ENGLISH PATIENT won Best Pic. Further, it just doesn’t look that great.

  10. Pwrgirl says:
    August 28, 2008 at 3:43 pm

    Kristen Stewart is going to open a can of whoop ass on Nic. Both Nics. Haaa. No really, this is going to be Stewart’s breakout to major stardom. And it’s going to happen with a sweet, little vampire film. Pretty wild.

  11. LexG says:
    August 28, 2008 at 5:28 pm

    Prwgirl…
    HELL YEAH! Awesome post! Kristen Stewart is going to OWN the entire winter when Twilight drops to record numbers that are going to catch everybody off guard. I’ve been telling everyone to watch for this thing being as huge as anyone could possibly conceive.
    KRISTEN STEWART = TOTAL OWNAGE and future screen LEGEND.
    I am glad to see someone knows their facts!

  12. Aladdin Sane says:
    August 28, 2008 at 6:07 pm

    Lex I wholeheartedly agree on your position regarding The Proposition. John Hillcoat as director of The Road is one of the main reasons that I have faith for this adaptation. It was a great read, and Viggo at this point seems like a perfect choice as the father. Hopefully the film does McCarthy proud.

  13. Scott Mendelson says:
    August 28, 2008 at 10:12 pm

    Am I the only one who thinks that Entertainment Weekly probably ought to do a ‘revised’ edition of its Fall Movie Preview? What is this, six or seven major moves in the aftermath of Potter’s departure? I’ve never seen so many aftershocks.
    And, still no word on the smartest potential move, getting Star Trek done for a Thanksgiving/Christmas release (as was intended) and getting it the hell away from the ‘second movie of summer’ death slot that is May 9th. In the ‘second movie of summer’ category, only Troy has opened number one since 1996. The years are littered with costly flops or modestly budgeted also-rans that followed up the mega-kick off movie. Unless Paramount would be happy with Horse Whisperer/Daddy Day Care/Monster In Law numbers, they better move fast.

  14. LexG says:
    August 28, 2008 at 10:25 pm

    I don’t know, Scott, isn’t the season full enough as it is? I realize I don’t represent the average audience member, who goes to maybe one movie every month or two.
    But I’m already fretting how I’ve gonna get in FIVE OR SIX MOVIES A WEEKEND to keep caught up in November and December. Especially heavy hitters like Milk, Bond, Australia, The Road, which will likely all run long… and that’s before you get into the December endurance tests.
    This is my consistent gripe, that the BIG TICKET summer season is so leisurely, with ONE BIG MOVIE every weekend for three months, then when fall hits it’s like 6 to 10 movies PER WEEKEND that I want to see.
    That’s why it would rule to be a film critic. I have to squeeze all these movies in while working 60 hours a week. It’s nerve racking.

  15. Joe Leydon says:
    August 29, 2008 at 12:49 am

    I know that Appaloosa will be, at the very least, exceptional. And I have every reason to believe that Australia will be extraordinary. This fall should be… interesting.

  16. KamikazeCamelV2.0 says:
    August 30, 2008 at 3:17 am

    Lex, you can spread those movies out ya know. Maybe see one during the week after work or wait a weekend or so later to see one on a weekend when no interesting new releases are out? Christ, you have the choice to spend all your non-work time at the movies so don’t complain when – oh boo hoo – too many movies are out at once. At least you get them all! And, face it, the only reason you would see all these movies on one weekend is so you can claim how much they OWN without any extrapolation for the few days that an entry about them at The Hot Blog sit at the top of the page.
    I don’t really know why so many people expect Australia to be bad. Everything about it says it’s gonna be good.

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