Quantcast

Oprah Goes All Out for Australia

Posted by Susan Thea Posnock On November - 11 - 2008

Thanks to reader Josh for tipping us off that Oprah went nuts for Australia on Monday’s show.  Here is what she said:

“I have not been this excited for a movie since I don’t know when.  I’m telling you, have I got the movie for you.   It’s the best movie I’ve seen in a long, long, long, long time.  It literally swept me off my feet.”

While this might be due to a shirtless Hugh Jackman it doesn’t really matter, does it?  She also said “They don’t make movies like that anymore!”  And she kept repeating “was that a movie?  Was that a movie?”

She also said “This is the movie to see over Thanksgiving. it is epic, it is majestic, it is romantic, and the scenery is so gorgeous you can barely stand it – it’s everything a great movie should be.”

And then Nicole Kidman was interviewed – tall, gorgeous, plumped up in the face, Botoxed within an inch of her life.  I’m sorry to be so petty but it freaks my shit out.  I still love her and I’ll probably plotz for this movie too.  More on Oprah.com.

Casino Online



No Response for "Oprah Goes All Out for Australia"

  1. Rob Y November 11th, 2008 at 11:36 am 1

    Oprah goes all out for Australia? Well then, it is decided. Australia will win Best Picture. We can now move on to next year’s Oscars.

    Move along, there’s nothing to see here.

  2. Rob Y November 11th, 2008 at 11:40 am 2

    BTW, Oprah was literally swept off her feet? Hurm!

  3. Drew November 11th, 2008 at 11:46 am 3

    Oh, I think this is a Best Picture contender. Not so sure about Kidman or Jackman.

  4. Sasha Stone November 11th, 2008 at 11:52 am 4

    I don’t know. We have to wait and see how critics respond – I can’t find a single review for the film yet.

  5. Walter November 11th, 2008 at 11:53 am 5

    I swear she used these same words last year for Hairspray. Which probably means I’m going to love it.

  6. MARK November 11th, 2008 at 11:55 am 6

    i have said this on numerous oscar blogs how can you take kidman seriously in a period pic with millenium surgery,she looks weird and i used to love old nicole but this new bat shit crazed creature i
    see really upsets me because is know one close to her saying “STOP NOW”

  7. RichardA November 11th, 2008 at 12:00 pm 7

    What movie did Oprah campaign for last year?

    Is there a movie our there that can ride the coat tails of Obama’s feel good win??? It’s all about zeitgeists, y’alls!!

  8. the_movie_guy November 11th, 2008 at 12:12 pm 8

    It definitely looks awesome. Beautiful imagery.

  9. Sasha Stone November 11th, 2008 at 12:43 pm 9

    Oprah’s track record? She was much more for Crash than Brokeback, as I recall, she wasn’t much of a Departed fan but loved Dreamgirls. Last year she wasn’t much for No Country but she is a Cormac McCarthy fan – I don’t recall which movie or actress she loved last year. She loved Juno.

  10. Alfredo November 11th, 2008 at 12:47 pm 10

    I think if it were up to Oprah Dreamgirls would have won Best Picture.

  11. Rob November 11th, 2008 at 1:06 pm 11

    Yeah, I think its going to make a lot of impact in the technicals, and recent quibbles about the ending aside (there was similar controversy when Christopher lee was cut from Return of the King), I think it will make Best Picture and Director. That alone makes it worthy of consideration in the acting catergories….. BP nods usually drag an acting nod in somewhere.

    I’m excited. It opens Boxing Day in the UK. Hurrah!

  12. backto1960 November 11th, 2008 at 1:19 pm 12

    So, I was undecided about this movie but since Oprah loves it, I’m going to see it. Oprah has good taste and I had her instincts.

    Give it up for the Big “O”

  13. Chance November 11th, 2008 at 1:24 pm 13

    I know, crazy right…I was gonna completely avoid it, but now…geez, it’s true what they say about her, isn’t it?

  14. kezza November 11th, 2008 at 1:41 pm 14

    I am very excited and I can’t stand Oprah but I am an Aussie so Australia is a must for me to see anyway.

    And also living in Queensland I won’t get to see the interview because Oprah is on in the middle of the day and I am at work. I have seen 10 minutes on youtube – I thought the little I saw of Nicole she looked gorgeous and she seems very down to earth.

    I cannot wait!

  15. S.T. Stevens November 11th, 2008 at 2:21 pm 15

    What was that? Oprah gushed over something to the point of ad nauseum? She’s never done that before! Stop the presses!

  16. Habsburg November 11th, 2008 at 2:31 pm 16

    I hope this is great. Only a matter of days before some reviews. Debut in Oz next week!

  17. Tufas's Dogs - Also Showing! Click Here November 11th, 2008 at 3:32 pm 17

    Pass

  18. SaltireFlower November 11th, 2008 at 4:14 pm 18

    I used to have no interest in watching this. Now I actually would willingly pay money to see this. Curse you Hugh Jackman.

  19. backto1960 November 11th, 2008 at 4:22 pm 19

    @ Kezza

    Finally someone who acknowledges Nicole. All these lunatics on this site seem to be more occupied with her botox supplements

  20. JR November 11th, 2008 at 6:45 pm 20

    I don’t need Oprah to tell me what’s good or not. I will see the film because I want to see the film and I will like/hate a film for the same reason.

    As for Nicole Kidman. I think she’s a decent actress, but you have to admit she’s done something to her face and at some point it’s gonna be difficult to watch her onscreen.

  21. Wael November 11th, 2008 at 6:55 pm 21

    I just want some Tim Tams now. Damn that Jackman

  22. Alan of Montreal November 11th, 2008 at 7:08 pm 22

    I never really noticed the botox until this photo–she’s really starting to head into Cher territory (or Joan Rivers, if she’s not careful).

  23. Michael November 11th, 2008 at 8:46 pm 23

    I’m sorry to be so oblivious (I can never tell which celebrities have had plastic surgery)—but I cannot see what aspects of her face indicate the tell-tale Botox look. What features look obviously Botox-ed to you?? How do you know?

    Michael

  24. backto1960 November 11th, 2008 at 8:49 pm 24

    Enough with this talk about Nicole Kidman and botox. What is wrong with you people?

  25. Michael November 11th, 2008 at 9:48 pm 25

    I just don’t understand it. On what grounds (based on that photo) can we speculate that Kidman has actually had Botox injections? (Not that I would want to suggest making any value judgment regarding its use).

    I think she looks fine…

  26. SaltireFlower November 11th, 2008 at 11:49 pm 26

    Michael: her face never moves. It has been frozen since Cold Mountain came out.

  27. Edward Douglas November 12th, 2008 at 7:56 am 27

    Screw you, Oprah… I’m going to see Transporter 3… Jason Statham for Best Actor in a Rut!

  28. jake November 12th, 2008 at 12:16 pm 28

    Ummm, you can see wrinkles in her face during the interview and in recent pics.

  29. Paul Outlaw November 12th, 2008 at 12:59 pm 29

    All I’m sayin’…

  30. Drew November 12th, 2008 at 1:34 pm 30

    Australia will be shown to critics early next week. We will have some reviews by the 18th or 19th. I am sure some critics will criticize Nicole. Either her wooden acting or frozen face. I have a feeling that Jackman and the little boy will get most of the good acting reviews. And of course, many critics will give praise to Baz for his vision and ambition to make this epic. Time magazine won’t get a chance to review this film way in advance like they did “Titanic” which they gave a mediocre review on. We will have to wait and see if this film sinks or swims.

  31. Gold Derby nuggets: Oprah goes wild for ‘Australia’ | ‘Defiance’ gets mixed kudos reax | Harvey Weinstein follows Scott Rudin from Broadway to screen | Gossip Gaby November 13th, 2008 at 6:44 am 31

    [...] ? Sasha Stone reports that Oprah Winfrey went gaga over “Australia” when she hosted stars Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman on her daytime talkfest Monday. Even though she saw the original downbeat ending, Winfrey enthused, “I have not been this excited for a movie since I don??t know when. I??m telling you, have I got the movie for you. It’s the best movie I??ve seen in a long, long, long, long time. It literally swept me off my feet.” Given the resounding success of Oprah’s last endorsement, rival studios might well wonder if Fox has a winning candidate here. Awards Daily [...]

  32. Diana November 13th, 2008 at 6:48 am 32

    Nicole looks gorgeous but she would look even better without the botox. It would be interesting to see her natural face again.

  33. martha November 13th, 2008 at 9:31 am 33

    I’m glad hearing that Oprah loved the movie. She really went crazy about it. That means Australia is indeed an amazing film. I was always feeling that this epic would be majestic and breathtaking. I’ve seen all the trailers and podcasts of Australia and it always seemed to be something really special. Of course, you can’t tell for sure until you see the movie yourself. But would Oprah Winfrey react that way if it wasn’t good? Also, now that Baz answered to these rumors about the ending of his film, saying that he did shot 3 different endings, including the happy one and the ‘Drover’s death’ (both test-screened to audience) but finally decided another ending which hasn’t been screened and it’s quite a surprising twist, I feel really confident for Australia’s success, at least as far as it concerns the artistic result.

  34. martha November 13th, 2008 at 9:35 am 34

    Here is a really interesting, though a bit spoiling, extract from Baz Luhrmann’s interview to LA Times:

    LAT: Addressing reports that the ending had to be changed due to a poor response from test audiences…

    BL: “What’s interesting is I wrote, I think, six endings in all the drafts I did, shot three, and I ended up concluding the film in a way in which I — probably more than anyone — least expected. And there is a death in the ending of the film, by the way — it’s a bit of a twist and I won’t give it away… And, incidentally, the two endings, by the way, tested completely the same essentially, you know? They really did in the numbers. But I came up with a third ending, and the ending that I’ve created about the film came from a place of a response, actually, to the thing that I wanted the movie to be — the important, big idea of the movie — how to amplify that big idea. And, essentially, that’s, as the little boy says, “The rain will fall. The grass grows green. And life begins again.” And that idea — that in a world that is so full of fear, and things are falling down, and people are somewhat concerned — Sending a movie out there that can leave people with a sense that, despite it all, you can go back to Faraway Downs, or that you can go on, and a sense of hope, is something I really felt personally I wanted the movie to give out… But I think the big story is how the actual ending I came up with, which is quite unusual — it’s not easy to say it’s ‘the happy one’ or ‘the death one’ — it’s something quite surprising. And it found itself, really.”

    LAT: Addressing rumors that the runtime of the film is much longer than expected…

    BL: “The length is the length that I want it to be. It’s the length that I think is the right length to be as inclusive as possible. I mean, my rough-cut, by the way, wasn’t that long; it was only about three hours. I mean, for an epic, it was quite nothing. And the running length of it was always between two hours-forty and three. And it’s probably — once I finish with it — gonna end up around two and a half hours, and I like that length. And, you know, it’s kind of what I had in mind, really; I thought the film, ultimately, would be at two-forty. It’s not really long for an epic work. I mean, ‘epic’ doesn’t just mean long, you know? It means big in its scale and its ideas, you know?”

    LAT: How he feels going into the release, responsible for a film with a massive budget…

    BL: “Will the film succeed? I cannot guarantee that. But is there a hunger for a movie like this? Yes. I mean, I am inviting all of America to “Australia” for Thanksgiving, and we’re gonna serve a cinematic banquet. And what I mean by that is that the film goes from comedy, to tragedy, to action, to drama — and yet, underneath it all is a big, emotional idea. And if it in any way puts out there for an audience a sense of hope, and uplift, and the possibility of going on stronger in times of adversity, then we haven’t wasted our time. Now I think the film has a chance of doing that.”

  35. martha November 13th, 2008 at 9:54 am 35

    Oh, and I agree with backto1960: stop talking about Nicole’s face!! She was really sweet in this interview and looks very down-to-earth.

    As for Hugh, he is my favorite actor and I hope this will be the film that will really work for him at last! I mean, ok, Wolverine was a smash success that boosted his career, sure X-Men Origins will be an even greater hit than the previous X-flicks but I think he is an actor with more capabilities and wider range. He has to move on, show to people what he is able to do like he’s already done with his stage career. He tried to show more in The Prestige, even more in the Fountain, but these films didn’t always worked with critics, specially the second one. He was prety good in Kate & Leopold but anyway this was too a failure. What makes me feel optimistic about Hugh is his new musical film ‘Cleo’. But first is Australia… Personaly, I’ve invested much on him. Hope he won’t disappoint. We’ll see…

  36. martha November 13th, 2008 at 9:57 am 36

    Er, I just saw my comments posted… Sorry for the spelling mistakes!! Just a rush issue!!

  37. martha November 13th, 2008 at 10:07 am 37

    Just came across another Luhrmann response on the Australia-ending rumors, this time at the Sydney Morning Herald newspaper:

    Claims that the final scenes of Australia were re-shot to spare Hugh Jackman’s character from a tragic death have been vigorously denied by the film’s director, Baz Luhrmann.

    “Are you kidding?” said Luhrmann when asked to comment on rumours that 20th Century Fox had forced him to change the ending. “It’s really simple: on a Baz Luhrmann film, I decide.”
    The director said a story suggesting that he had been instructed to resurrect Jackman’s character, The Drover, after the studio backing the film was spooked by negative test screenings was “naive” and ” profoundly misinformed”.

    “You’re talking about a studio [20th Century Fox] that has the highest-grossing film of all time [in which] the guy dies at the end,” he said. “It’s called Titanic.

    “Do you think they came to me and said ‘whatever you do, please don’t have an ending like Titanic? That’ll never make any money? To be honest, it’s rubbish.”

    Luhrmann was speaking from New York where he attended a tribute dinner in his honour at the Museum of Modern Art. He flies to Sydney today where he will spend about seven hours in a mixing suite completing Australia.

    The film will have its world premiere in Sydney on November 18 and goes on general release on November 26.

    Luhrmann said he shot three endings, screening two of them for test audiences – one happy, the other featuring The Drover’s tragic death. While both recorded almost identical test results, he had already decided on a third ending three months ago.

    “There was always a struggle within me,” he said. “There’s the way Titanic ends and there’s the way Gone With The Wind ends.

    “It’s neither of those. It’s an ending specific to this moment and it’s what I want the film to give out and what I need in my own life. It’s what I want to feel. On that level, it’s completely personal.”

    Luhrmann said he also dictated the length of the film, which he estimates at about 2½ hours.

    “I think the credits run for an hour and 20 minutes,” he joked. “That’s because everyone in Australia is in the movie.”

    Luhrmann conceded the budget had run significantly above $US100 million ($148 million), but had been cushioned by the federal government’s 40 per cent rebate on film production. “It’s been an epic experience and life-changing and very, very testing.” he said

  38. Rosebud é o trenó! » Notícias do Trenó November 14th, 2008 at 7:07 am 38

    [...] sobre quem tem a informação certa sobre o filme, e no meio de tudo a Oprah é a única que viu uma primeira versão e amou. – Paris Hilton vai estar no novo filme de Todd Solondz. O filme é uma espécie de continuação [...]


Leave a reply


All comments should respect the Awards Daily House Rules. If you think a particular comment breaks these rules then please let us know, quoting the comment in question.



  • 82nd Oscar Ceremony

    Hosts: Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin
    Producers: Adam Shankman, Bill Mechanic
    Director: Hamish Hamilton
    Music: Marc Shaiman

    Quentin Tarantino
    Pedro Almodovar

    Ampas Breakdown

    Actors-1,205
    Producers-462
    Executives-436
    Sound-405
    Writers-382
    Art Directors-373
    Directors-375
    Public Relations-370
    Members at Large-254
    Shorts/Feature Ani-335
    Visual Effects-272
    Music-233
    Editors-227
    Cinematographers-201
    Original Score-234
    Documentary-145
    Makeup-115
    Total Voting Members -approx 5,777


  • 82nd Oscar Ceremony

    Hosts: Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin
    Producers: Adam Shankman, Bill Mechanic
    Director: Hamish Hamilton
    Music: Marc Shaiman

    Quentin Tarantino
    Pedro Almodovar

  • Tuesday, December 1, 2009: Official Screen Credits forms due

    Monday, December 28, 2009: Nominations ballots mailed

    Saturday, January 23, 2010: Nominations polls close 5 p.m. PT

    Tuesday, February 2, 2010: Nominations announced 5:30 a.m. PT, Samuel Goldwyn Theater

    Wednesday, February 10, 2010: Final ballots mailed

    Monday, February 15, 2010: Nominees Luncheon

    Saturday, February 20, 2010: Scientific and Technical Achievement Awards presentation

    Tuesday, March 2, 2010: Final polls close 5 p.m. PT

    Sunday, March 7, 2010: 82nd Annual Academy Awards presentation



  • Twitter
    Facebook
    RSS





  • Words

    “I think, of all the films this year… maybe “The Hurt Locker” too… “Up in the Air” will be considered the definitive film of 2009 when we look back in 2019. It’s too raw for people to appreciate now. I’m thinking of 1976 when the Best Picture Award went to “Rocky” over both “Network” and “Taxi Driver” which are far superior films, but “Rocky” struck the populist chord (“Avatar”). “Up in the Air” is similar to “Network” in that regard, because it’s taking a very sharp knife to the world it’s trying to dissect, yet still conveys fairly human emotions. In ten years we’ll be thinking, “how did they not pick ‘Up in the Air’ for best picture?” Of course I’m assuming it loses, but maybe it still has a chance… who knows.

    I for one was absolutely captivated and riveted by it, and would love for it to get recognition it deserves. Great Film.”
    by jnow
  • Recent Comments

  • Contender Tracker

    Awards So Far

    NBR Winner+
    /top ten*
    LAFCA Winner+
    BFCA Critics Choice Win+/Nominee*
    NYFCC Winner +/*
    SEFCA Winners+/*
    Golden Globes Nominee+/*
    SAG Winner+/Nominee*
    National Society of Film Critics winners+
    Producers Guild Winner+/Nominees*
    Directors Guild Winners+/Nominees*
    Art Directors Guild Nominees*
    Writers Guild Nominees*
    American Cinematographers Society*
    American Cinema Editors*
    Cinema Audio Society*
    BAFTA Nominations*


    Best Picture
    The Hurt Locker*+++**+++******
    Avatar*+********
    Inglourious Basterds***+****
    Up in the Air+*+*******
    Precious******
    District 9*****
    A Serious Man*****
    An Education*****
    Up****
    The Blind Side

    Best Actor
    Jeff Bridges, Crazy Heart++++*
    George Clooney, Up in the Air+*++***
    Jeremy Renner, The Hurt Locker**+*
    Colin Firth, A Single Man****
    Morgan Freeman, Invictus+***

    Best Actress
    Sandra Bullock, The Blind Side+++
    Meryl Streep, Julie & Julia++++**
    Carey Mulligan, An Education+****
    Gabby Sidibe, Precious****
    Helen Mirren, The Last Station**

    Best Supporting Actor
    Christoph Waltz, Inglourious Basterds+++++++*
    Woody Harrelson,The Messenger+***
    Stanley Tucci, The Lovely Bones****
    Matt Damon, Invictus***
    Christopher Plummer, The Last Station*

    Best Supporting Actress
    Mo'Nique, Precious+*+++++*
    Anna Kendrick, Up in the Air+****
    Vera Farmiga, Up in the Air****
    Penelope Cruz, Nine**
    Maggie Gyllenhaal, Crazy Heart

    Best Director
    Kathryn Bigelow, The Hurt Locker++++*++*
    Jim Cameron, Avatar*+**
    Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds****
    Jason Reitman, Up in the Air***
    Lee Daniels, Precious**

    Best Original Screenplay
    Quentin Tarantino, Inglourious Basterds+*
    Joel and Ethan Coen, A Serious Man+*+*
    Mark Boal, The Hurt Locker***
    Bob Peterson, Pete Docter, Up*
    Oren Moverman, The Messenger

    Best Adapted Screenplay
    Jason Reitman, Sheldon Turner, Up in the Air+++++*
    Armando Iannucci, In the Loop+
    Geoffrey Fletcher, Precious**
    Neill Blomkamp, Terri Tatchell, District 9**
    Nick Hornby, An Education*

    Best Editing

    Stephen Rivkin, John Refoua, James Cameron, Avatar+**
    Chris Innis, Bob Murawski, The Hurt Locker***
    Julian Clarke, District 9**
    Joe Klotz, Precious
    Sally Menke, Inglourious Basterds**

    Best Cinematography
    Mauro Fiore, Avatar+**
    Christian Berger, White Ribbon+++*
    Barry Ackroyd, The Hurt Locker***
    Robert Richardson, Inglourious Basterds***
    Bruno Delbonnel, Harry Potter

    Best Art Direction

    Avatar+**
    Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus*
    Nine*
    Sherlock Holmes
    The Young Victoria

    Best Sound Mixing

    Avatar+**
    The Hurt Locker***
    Star Trek* **
    Inglourious Basterds
    Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen*

    Best Sound Editing

    Avatar
    The Hurt Locker
    Up
    Star Trek
    Inglourious Basterds

    Best Costume Design
    Sandy Powell, The Young Victoria +*
    Catherine Leterrier,Coco Avant Chanel*
    Janet Patterson, Bright Star**
    Colleen Atwood, Nine*
    Monique Prudhomme, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus

    Best Original Score
    Michael Giacchino, Up+*
    Marco Beltrami and Buck Sanders, The Hurt Locker!
    James Horner, Avatar*
    Alexandre Desplat, The Fantastic Mr. Fox
    Hans Zimmer, Sherlock Holmes*

    Best Foreign Language Film (submissions)

    A Prophet, France+*
    The White Ribbon, Germany**
    El Secreto de Sus Ojos, Argentina
    Ajami, Israel
    The Milk of Sorrow, Pru


    Best Documentary Feature

    The Cove++**+
    Food, Inc.**
    The Beaches of Agnes++*
    Burma VJ*
    The Most Dangerous Man in America
    Which Way Home


    Best Animated Feature
    Up+++**
    The Fantastic Mr. Fox+*+***
    Coraline****
    The Princess and the Frog***
    The Secret of Kells

    Best Visual Effects

    Avatar+*
    District 9* *
    Star Trek**

    Best Makeup

    The Young Victoria**
    Star Trek*

    Il Divo*


    Best Song
    The Weary Kind – T Bone Burnett, Ryan Bingham, Crazy Heart ++
    Down in New Orleans, The Princess and the Frog
    Almost There – Randy Newman, The Princess And The Frog***
    Loin de Paname, Paris 36

    Best Live Action Short
    The Door
    Instead of Abracadabra
    Kavi
    Miracle Fish
    The New Tenants


    Best Animated Short
    French Roast
    Granny O’Grimm’s Sleeping Beauty
    The Lady and the Reaper (La Dama y la Muerte)
    Logorama
    A Matter of Loaf and Death


    Best Documentary Short

    China’s Unnatural Disaster: The Tears of Sichuan Province
    The Last Campaign of Governor Booth Gardner
    The Last Truck: Closing of a GM Plant
    Music by Prudence
    Rabbit a la Berlin