Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman discuss
Australia with Oprah.
It's the movie that stopped a city and has everyone buzzing. Australia starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman is promised to be as vast as the land, and as epic as our history. It is Baz Luhrmann's romantic postcard to golden Hollywood movies, nourished through years of growing up and watching cinematic greats. And it was enough to excite Oprah Winfrey when she had the two stars perched on her own cattle station porch last week.
The seal of approval from Winfrey is marketing gold. The daytime queen was breathless with enthusiasm for the film. "Was that a movie or was that a movie?" she gushed. "They just don't make movies like that anymore!"
Her audience, who had also been privy to an exclusive screening were squealing with excitement.
Pitched fair and square at middle America, the endorsement was better than any television advertisement or billboard could buy. Winfrey, after all, gets paperbacks to the top of the best seller lists, and she even got Barack Obama to the White House. Well, she didn't hurt his chances anyway….
Nicole Kidman told Oprah about how she signed on to Australia without seeing a script. "It's Baz!" she laughed. At a party she told Hugh Jackman the same thing, when he asked if she'd read a script.
The Oprah audience were weak at the knees over Jackman's presence, particularly a re-screened scene in which the shirtless hunk pours a bucket of water over himself in the outback.
Jackman told Oprah his son joined them on shoots, eating witchety grubs and bush tucker.
"Whatever that is," joked Oprah.
TEN has wisely pushed the Oprah Winfrey episode into primetime, airing 7:30pm Thursday on TEN.
All I can say is that I hope the movie is as good as the hype that has surrounded it. Oh and can I just say that Oprah has not swayed me on this movie, I already wanted to see it!