Baz Luhrmann (Elvis) revisits his Australia feature film and transforms the nearly three-hour epic into the six-episode series Faraway Downs. The limited series will include an hour of footage that didn’t make the film’s final cut, as well as a different ending.
“I got the idea and started to relook at the footage and realized I’ve shot enough to do it as episodic storytelling through a revisiting of the piece, not necessarily as a better film than Australia, but a different variation on the themes,” explained Luhrmann in an interview with TheWrap. “I was able to use the strengths of episodic storytelling to breathe those things out and explore them in a stronger way.”
The feature film, and now the Hulu limited series it spawned, stars Hugh Jackman, Nicole Kidman, Bryan Brown, Brandon Walters, and Ben Mendelsohn. 2008’s Australia, which currently sits at 54% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, was budgeted at $130 million and grossed $211 million worldwide before exiting theaters.
Faraway Downs premieres on Hulu on November 26, 2023.
Hulu released this description of the plot:
“The story centers on an English aristocrat, Lady Sarah Ashley (Nicole Kidman) who travels halfway across the world to confront her wayward husband and sell an unusual asset: a million-acre cattle ranch in the Australian Outback called ‘Faraway Downs’. Following the death of her husband, a ruthless Australian cattle baron, King Carney (Bryan Brown), plots to take her land and she reluctantly joins forces with a rough-hewn cattle drover (Hugh Jackman) to protect her ranch.
The sweeping adventure romance 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.’ Together, the trio experiences four life-altering years, a love affair between Lady Ashley and the Drover, and the unavoidable impact of World War II on Northern Australia.”
Baz Luhrmann produced, directed, and co-wrote the screenplay with Stuart Beattie, Ronald Harwood, and Richard Flanagan. Luhrmann, production and costume designer Catherine Martin, Catherine Knapman, and Schuyler Weiss served as executive producers on Faraway Downs.
