In a recent interview with Variety, Elvis filmmaker Baz Luhrmann explained the reason why he decided to change Australia‘s ending scene in Faraway Downs — Hulu‘s six-episode version of the 2008 movie.
“The ending at the time, through the whole process of getting it out into the U.S., was also the time of the economic crash,” Luhrmann said. “Everyone had end-of-the-world feelings. And I think I was just wondering if this would just be too much tragedy. But if you have more time to tell it episodically, then the amount of loss has more rise and fall. It allows us to really go there with this. We are not pulling any punches.”
The original ended with a much more hopeful scene, as all three lead characters — Nicole Kidman’s Lady Ashley, Hugh Jackman’s The Drover, and Brandon Walters’ Nullah — are seen together against all odds. However, for Faraway Downs, Lurhmann decided to showcase an alternate ending, featuring Lady Ashley on her own after Drover gets killed during the 1942 Japanese attack on the town of Darwin.
What is Faraway Downs?
“The story centers on an English aristocrat, Lady Sarah Ashley who travels halfway across the world to confront her wayward husband and sell an unusual asset: a million-acre cattle ranch in the Australian Outback called Faraway Downs. Following the death of her husband, a ruthless Australian cattle baron, King Carney, plots to take her land and she reluctantly joins forces with a rough-hewn cattle drover to protect her ranch,” reads the synopsis.
“The sweeping adventure romance is explored through the eyes of young Nullah, a bi-racial Indigenous Australian child caught up in the government’s draconian racial policy now referred to as the ‘Stolen Generations.’ Together the trio experiences four life-altering years, a love affair between Lady Ashley and the Drover, and the unavoidable impact of World War II on Northern Australia.”
Faraway Downs is directed by Baz Luhrmann from a screenplay he co-wrote with Stuart Beattie. The six-episode miniseries stars Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Brandon Walters, Bryan Brown, Ben Mendelsohn, Jack Thompson, Essie Davies, and more. It is executive produced by Catherine Martin, Schuyler Weiss, and Catherine Knapman.
During its theatrical run, the original 2008 epic adventure drama received a total gross of over $200 million at the box office. Martin was nominated for an Oscar for Best Costume Design.
