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Kidman upstaged by Aboriginal child star of 'Australia'
2008-11-18
SYDNEY (AFP) - Aboriginal child star Brandon Walters stole the scene from film stars Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman Tuesday as he spoke about working on the country's biggest film, "Australia". Hollywood heavyweights Kidman and Jackman, along with director Baz Luhrmann and some of the cream of Australia's acting fraternity fronted a packed press conference to promote the movie ahead of its world premiere here. But it was Walters -- who had never been outside of western Australia or even heard of Kidman until he was cast in the role of the orphan who wins the heart of her English aristocrat character -- who grabbed the most attention. "I felt a bit scared when I first met her," the 13-year-old admitted to scores of journalists and photographers of his first meeting with the Oscar winner. But Walters, a leukemia survivor who was discovered at a swimming pool in his hometown of Broome in Australia's remote northwest, clearly enjoyed his film-making experience. "Baz came over to Broome and we went out to where my country is, where my grandfather's country is. I took him out fishing," he said. "Baz went out with my dad... and they went out hunting. And they got a turkey. And Baz took a picture of it. And yeah. They came back and then we done a big cook up. And Baz gave me a little present, it's a little harmonica." Asked whether they were peeved that their roles in the drama, set on the brink of WWII and featuring the Japanese bombing of Darwin of 1942, had been upstaged by Walters' performance, Kidman spoke for the cast: "We're fine with it," she said. "I just got to watch Brandon grow into an extraordinary actor," she said. Kidman, who has a baby with country singer Keith Urban and two teenage children from her marriage to actor Tom Cruise, said she felt very maternal towards Walters. "I feel very protective of him," she said. "If the film does really well then he is going to need a lot of protection." With a budget in excess of 130 million dollars (83.4 million US), "Australia" is the most expensive movie ever made here and is being touted as a blockbuster which could revive both the film and tourism industries Down Under. It follows the story of Kidman's character, who inherits an outback cattle station in the mid-1930s and who joins forces with the rugged drover played by Jackman to drive thousands of cattle across the inhospitable country. Director Luhrmann admitted to feeling under pressure over the film, which was delayed by once-in-a-century rains in Australia's north and an equine flu outbreak which curtailed filming of scenes involving horse riding. "I can tell you right now that in America, in the rest of the world, it's not like there's an audience going, 'We must have the next sweeping costume epic'," he said. Luhrmann, who directed "Romeo + Juliet" starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes and "Moulin Rouge!", said he was still putting the finishing touches to the 20th Century Fox production just 48 hours ahead of its premiere. He also said he had written six endings to the film, including two "very funny" versions, before settling on the final conclusion which he said contained a death and a twist. Kidman played down the pressure on the movie, describing it as "a celebration for me and hopefully for this country." "It's not meant to be the second coming, but it is meant to be 'Let's have some fun and enjoy it'," she said. Asked whether she enjoyed her on-set romantic clinches with Jackman, she replied: "Well, obviously we're in character when we kiss. But it was good to go to work." Jackman said creating the drover's character had been his greatest role. "I don't say it lightly. It genuinely was an amazing experience," he said. Jackman also revealed that he allowed his eight-year-old son Oscar to play a small part in the movie, after long resisting the boy's pleas to let him act. "It served the prefect purpose; he did four days of work and he decided it was so boring he never wanted to do it again," Jackman said. "Australia" opens nationally on November 26.
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