QLD town back in the spotlight in ‘Australia’ reimagining

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Baz Luhrmann's 2008 movie 'Australia' catapulted the north Queensland town of Bowen onto the international stage. The film is now being re-imagined as a miniseries, and locals hope it'll help 'Bowenwood' reach even greater audiences.

Transcript

00:00 It's been 16 years since Hollywood came to the tropics.

00:06 I love being here in Bowen. I'll never forget it. My family will never forget it.

00:10 My son wants us to live here full time.

00:12 Baz Luhrmann's wartime epic Australia transformed Bowen's waterfront into 1940s Darwin.

00:19 Locals were cast as extras and the film's stars, Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman, attracted the eyes of the world.

00:27 To walk around the little village they had built, to covering the roads with red dirt and coming down on a Sunday afternoon

00:35 and watching a hundred head of longhorn cows being trained how to run around the town down your main street, it was unbelievable.

00:44 Ben DeLuca owns the local cinema and was responsible for showing the day's rushes to the cast and crew.

00:51 They'd say, "Oh, how did you get up at four o'clock every day and go put them on?"

00:57 I'd say, "It was great fun, you know? I wouldn't have missed it for the world."

01:02 While the Hollywood production left an indelible mark on this coastal town,

01:06 locals are excited by the prospect of a second chance to showcase Bowen to the world.

01:12 It's probably a whole new generation that can come and have a look where the movie was made.

01:16 Mel Jokheim still treasures her time with the stars who visited her pie shop.

01:21 They've become like a family, living with them for six months.

01:25 Far Away Downs premieres this weekend.

01:28 [BLANK_AUDIO]

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