I wouldn’t be surprised if the only people excited about Baz Luhrmann’s Australia are women and gay men, given how much the promotion thus far has focused on fabulous clothes, scenery, and Hugh Jackman. And Annie Liebovitz’s photos from the set, featured in this month’s Vogue, probably won’t do anything to broaden the fan base, but holy moley are they gorgeous.
You can read part of the accompanying article about Nicole Kidman and her new life with Keith Urban over at Style.com, or you can skip straight to all of the jaw-dropping photos hosted by Style. Seriously, they give me heart palpitations just looking at them. They’re Liebovitz’s own photos that often mimic shots we’ve seen from the movie, including costumes and some of the sets are already familiar from the trailers. There are lots of high-waisted dresses and jackets for Nicole, with dusty backdrops and travel gear. One surprising photos features Nicole on a soundstage, next to an old-fashioned boat that hasn’t shown up in trailers yet ,and wearing a cinched-waist jacket that seems to defy physics. And, of course, there’s one spectacular sunset, framing Nicole and Hugh in an embrace a la Rhett and Scarlett in Gone with the Wind.
Oh, there I go, making another women-and-gay-men-only movie reference. I can’t really understand what there is not to love about Australia-- an epic story in a beautiful location with two gorgeous stars??—but I know the Vogue spread won’t do much to draw in the menfolk. Presumably that stage of the campaign will come later, when the trailers focus on gun battles and charging horses and Hugh Jackman’s irrefutable manliness. For now, though, it’s time to swoon over the clothes, the scenery and the romance, and wonder if Australia really can live up to my insanely inflated expectations.
Check out a gallery of the photos below, then head to Style to be wowed all over again.
http://www.cinemablend.com/new/Breathtaking-Photos-From-Australia-Set-9299.html
