“Faraway Downs” will use post-production and visual effects facilities in New South Wales to bring the project to life.
The six-part series is an extended director’s cut of Baz Luhrmann’s 2008 film “Australia” which starred Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman.
The series will stream on Hulu in the U.S. and Disney Plus in Australia later this year.
Luhrmann told The Sydney Morning Herald that reworking the movie into this format would enable him to tell the story he wanted to tell in the first place.
“For various reasons that aren’t worth going into, I never got to finish it ultimately the way I wanted to,” he said.
“People go ‘Well it’s long anyway’, but actually the reason it felt long was a lot of crucial plot material wasn’t in it. And being able to work with a lot of young, Indigenous artists, doing the graphics and the music, was really fulfilling.”
Ben Franklin, NSW’s minister for the arts, said “Faraway Downs” provides valuable screen industry jobs and upskilling opportunities in the state.
“The NSW Government is proud to support Baz Luhrmann’s ‘Faraway Downs’, which we know is making the most of the state’s highly skilled post production and VFX talent, putting their skills on display to the world,” he said.
Franklin also used the opportunity to spruik both the Post, Digital and Visual Effects Rebate and the wider opportunities that the state offers the sector.
“As Australia’s leading state for screen production, NSW is home to 60% of the nation’s screen industry – directly employing more than 9,600 people and generating an annual income of more than $1.6 billion,” he said.
“Incentives like the Post, Digital and Visual Effects Rebate are important to ensuring our state retains its strong competitive advantage and we are proud to continue to attract productions like ‘Faraway Downs’.
“This is a project that is expected to deliver $3.8 million in economic benefits to the state economy, delivering up to 40 jobs for the local screen industry and providing seven valuable traineeships, as well as work for several NSW post production and VFX houses.”
Luhrmann’s latest film “Elvis” will have its local premiere on the Gold Coast next month.
Disney Plus declined to comment further.
