American Cinematographer - November 2008 - (Page 54)

Under Mandy Walker, ACS lends sweep and scope to Baz Luhrmann’s period drama Australia. by Simon Gray Unit photography by Douglas Kirkland aristocrat who inherits a huge cattle station called Faraway Downs in the remote northern end of Western Australia. Battling the unforgiving terrain, English cattle barons and her own sense of isolation, Ashley and a stockman known only as “The Drover” (Hugh Jackman) drive thousands of cattle hundreds of miles. Marking a new beginning for Luhrmann, whose “Red Curtain” trilogy comprised Strictly Ballroom, William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge (AC June ’01), Australia is the first of what the director proclaims to be a trilogy of epics. “This film’s DNA comes from the same stock as Gone With the Wind, Lawrence of Arabia and Giant, but it has its own point of view,” says Luhrmann. “The bottom line is that Australia has romance. There’s a mixture of visual language; it’s not super-theatrical, but it’s not naturalism. The cinematic experience should make the audience feel the texture of what it’s like out in those vast spaces, trudging through the middle of the desert under the scorching sun.” Donald McAlpine, ASC, ACS provided the energetically dazzling visuals of Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge, and Luhrmann calls his collaborations with McAlpine a “true learning experience. Don’s extraordinary ability to realize a dynamic visual language while leading and inspiring large crews has had such a strong influence on me.” In 2004, when Luhrmann began prepping an elaborate commercial for Chanel No. 5 that would star Kidman, McAlpine proved unavailable, and Luhrmann decided to work with another fellow Aussie, Mandy Walker, ACS, whose feature credits include The Well, Shattered Glass and Lantana (AC Feb. ’02). “Her work was so good I simply couldn’t ignore it,” says Luhrmann. Thunder Down irector Baz Luhrmann’s vision of cinema as the “grand opera of life” is perfectly suited to the vast emotional landscapes of his latest feature, Australia. Starting off in the mid-1930s, the saga concludes several years later, after the 1942 bombing of Darwin in Australia’s “Top End.” The film follows the fortunes of Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman), an English D 54 November 2008

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American Cinematographer - November 2008 Contents Editor’s Note Letters Short Takes Production Slate Forging a Bond The Making of a President Thunder Down Under Habitat for Inhumanity Saluting Television’s Top Talents Post Focus New Products & Services International Marketplace Classified Ads Ad Index Clubhouse News ASC Close-Up

American Cinematographer - November 2008

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