Production Begins on Eucalyptus

Posted on February 18, 2005

Fox Searchlight Pictures announced that production will begin February 7 on Eucalyptus, an imaginative fairy tale about love and life in Australia, starring an Aussie cast led by Oscar winners Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman, and Australian Film Institute Award winners Jack Thompson and Hugo Weaving. Based on the New York Times Notable Book of the Year of the same name written by Murray Bail, the film will be directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse from a screenplay she penned. It is produced by Uberto Pasolini (The Full Monty) and Lynda House (Muriel's Wedding) and executive produced by Crowe.

"With the help of a few friends we envision this movie as a line in the sand, a statement of power through ensemble and therefore of greater impetus to the industry in general. Per capita, Australians and New Zealanders have made an enormous contribution to world cinema. We fight above our weight. This project will prove to our aspiring writers that an Australian director using Australian actors can use international funding to tell an Australian story," said Russell Crowe.

In a world where life and love are fragile, a widower named Holland (Jack Thompson) plants hundreds of Eucalyptuses as a memorial to his wife. Living in this man-made forest, hidden away from prying eyes, is Holland's beautiful and mysterious daughter Ellen (Nicole Kidman). Over the years, men have tried to woo Ellen, to no avail. One day, Holland realizes he can no longer keep Ellen hidden, and devises a seemingly impossible competition -- the man who can name all 800 Eucalyptuses on Holland's property, by sight, will win his daughter's hand in marriage. Men come from all over the land to try their luck. As a brilliant, dashing botanist (Hugo Weaving) approaches the finishing line, Ellen finds herself drawn to a mysterious stranger (Russell Crowe) whose stories of far away places take root in her soul.

"It has long been a dream of mine to come home to make a film telling a uniquely Australian story," said Nicole Kidman. "To be able to do so with my good friend Russell makes Eucalyptus extra special. Jocelyn Moorhouse has written a beautiful script -- a story of love and devotion -- which I am sure has universal appeal. This will be a wonderful collaboration of Australian talent."

Amongst Russell Crowe's many accolades, he won the 2000 Academy Award� for Best Actor for Gladiator and was nominated for his roles in both The Insider and A Beautiful Mind. He will next be seen in Cinderella Man, helmed by Ron Howard and co-starring Renee Zellweger.

Nicole Kidman won the 2002 Academy Award, Golden Globe, BAFTA and the Silver Berlin Bear Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance as Virginia Woolf in The Hours and was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Ensemble. For her role as Satine in Moulin Rouge!, Kidman won a Golden Globe and received an Oscar nomination.

Hugo Weaving won Australian Film Institute Awards for his leading role opposite Russell Crowe in Proof and his leading role in The Interview. He won National Board of Review, Screen Actors Guild and Critics Choice Awards as part of the ensemble for The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King. Weaving's filmography includes the part of Agent Smith in all three Matrix films, the role of Elrond in all three The Lord of the Rings films; as well as AFI Award-nominated roles in The Old Man Who Read Love Stories and The Adventures Of Priscilla, Queen Of The Desert; and the voice of Rex, the Sheepdog, in Babe: Pig In The City. He will next be opposite Cate Blanchett in Little Fish.

Jack Thompson won the Australian Film Institute and Cannes Film Festival Awards for his role in Breaker Morant. His recent film credits include The Assassination Of Richard Nixon, in which he stars opposite Sean Penn, Naomi Watts and Don Cheadle; Original Sin opposite Angelina Jolie and Antonio Banderas; Midnight In The Garden Of Good And Evil with Kevin Spacey and John Cusack; and Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones. His filmography also includes: Excess Baggage, The Sum Of Us, in which he appeared with Russell Crowe; A Far Off Place and The Man From Snowy River, amongst many others.

Director/Writer Jocelyn Moorhouse first worked with Crowe and Weaving on 1991's Proof, which was also produced by Lynda House. Author Murray Bail received the Commonwealth Writers Prize for Best Book for the novel Eucalyptus, which also received the Miles Franklin Award. Bail is also the author of Holden's Performance and Homesickness, which won Australia's National Book Award.

Eucalyptus will be shot in Australia by Director of Photography Mandy Walker. Both the production and costumes will be designed by three-time Oscar nominee Janet Patterson. Claudia Lewis, Executive Vice President of Production for Fox Searchlight, will oversee the project for Searchlight.