Ladies (and gentlemen), start your drooling. Entertainment Weekly has two new photos from Baz Luhrmann's romantic epic Australia, and if the photo to your right is any indication; this is going to be one sexy flick. Back in June the film was the subject of a photo shoot for Vogue, and those images were stunning (and pretty romantic). This latest photo, though, has a little more carnality on the brain. Mind you, I'm not complaining; anything that facilitates a half-naked Hugh Jackman is okay by me.

News about the film has been pretty scarce, but we do know that Stuart Beattie's (G.I. Joe: Rise of Cobra) script centers on an English lady (Nicole Kidman) left in control of a cattle station in Australia during WWII. When a drover (played by Jackman) shows up to help her bring the cattle across the country, their relationship becomes something more -- and judging from that photo, there's going to be a lot more.

Its been a bumpy road for Luhrmann's epic; there have been casting changes, and the occasional act of god. But don't feel bad, the film also has a lot of things going for it: namely that epic romances sell, especially during Oscar season. Australia will arrive in theaters on November 14th, 2008.

Now it's your turn, do you think Australia could be the landlubber's Titanic at the box-office this fall? Sound off below...

Occasionally Hollywood cobbles together random members of the A-list to play family members on film, even if their genes obviously come from opposite ends of the earth. If the actors are good enough or if the chemistry is there, sometimes the combo can work, such as Ethan Hawke and Philip Seymour Hoffman as brothers in Before the Devil Knows You're Dead or Colin Farrell and Ewan McGregor in Cassandra's Dream. Other times, it stretches credibility, such as Adrien Brody, Owen Wilson and Jason Schwartzman in The Darjeeling Limited. My all-time favorite oddball casting is in Sidney Lumet's Family Business (1989), with Sean Connery, Dustin Hoffman and Matthew Broderick playing grandfather, father and son. (Huh?) At the same time, there are actor combos out there who just scream to be paired up in a family capacity. Remember Julia Roberts and Kyra Sedgwick in Something to Talk About? Well, neither do I, but that pairing was perfect. Here are a few others that could work:

1. Helen Hunt & Leelee Sobieski

They're so similar it's spooky, from their hair and foreheads, right down to the tonal quality of their voices. Anybody check the hospital records for mixed-up babies? (Helen is about 20 years older.) Not too long ago, both careers hit a peak: Helen won an Oscar while Leelee was working with Stanley Kubrick and playing Joan of Arc on TV. Now they're both in decline. For some reason, whenever Helen's name comes up, I hear "I HATE Helen Hunt!" And Leelee's last movie was for Uwe Boll. Now would be the perfect time for these two to team up in a mother-daughter drama. If they cooked up something along the lines of Terms of Endearment, with a good, solid writer and/or director, it could be interesting. Or better yet, how about something really strange and kooky with Spike Jonze or Harmony Korine? (Note: apparently the two once went head-to-head on "Celebrity Death Match.")

Gallery: Actors who could play relatives

I guess we won't be seeing the first female President of the United States in 2009, but we could at least see the first female cinematographer nominated for an Academy Award (in the cinematography category, that is). In the 80 years of the Oscars there hasn't been one female nominee for Best Cinematography. Shocking, isn't it? But fortunately there's a chance for next year's ceremony: Mandy Walker, who shot Baz Luhrman's war epic Australia, could be a shoo-in for one of the five nomination slots if the film is Oscar-worthy in general.

The Oscar blog In Contention points out the possibility in a recent post celebrating Walker's reception Tuesday evening of the Kodak Vision Award at the Women in Film's Crystal + Lucy Awards (other honorees included Salma Hayek, Sherry Lansing, Ginnifer Goodwin, Jeffrey Katzenberg and Diane English and the ensemble of The Women). Clearly we only need to look at the trailer to see that Walker's work on the film is gorgeous and might have a shot. In Contention also notes Walker's previous achievements, such as her Independent Spirit Award nomination for Shattered Glass.

Well, we have the first snippets of footage from Baz Luhrmann's Australia, currently occupying the plum November 14th slot this fall, and surprise! It looks pretty. The trailer's now up at Apple. It's a lovely little piece, giving away none of the story but setting the mood nicely. It's not clear (at least not from the trailer) what Kidman and Jackman are talking about when they agree that "we can't let them win," but I'm ready to root for them.

Australia looks surprisingly placid for a Luhrmann film -- the camera seems to stay still for entire seconds at a time, and the outdoor settings don't (always) look like freakish circus versions of themselves. Weird. Has Luhrmann made a normal, Academy-friendly prestige period piece? Maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing: I loved Moulin Rouge! the first time I saw it, but found myself irritated by its resemblance to a hyperactive puppy when I saw it again on DVD. I wouldn't begrudge the man his style, but nor would I object to him drinking some decaf.

Meanwhile, those Australia "Set to Screen" podcasts are still coming out every couple of weeks over on iTunes. (Here's their home base.) There, you can hear about the movie's production straight from the crazy Aussie and his underlings.

So Nicole Kidman might have already proven she can sing (a little), but is she really good enough to tackle the White Queen of Soul? Michael Cunningham, writer of The Hours and A Home at the End of the World, told NY Magazine that Kidman will star as singing legend Dusty Springfield in a music biopic that he is currently writing the screenplay for.

Springfield began her career at the tender age of 11, and by 1963 she had recorded her first major hit, I Only Want to Be With You. By 1967, the star had tired of show business and proceeded to record a string of flops from 1971 to 1986. Her comeback came in 1987 when The Pet Shop Boys asked her to sing on their hit What Have I Done to Deserve This? Springfield passed away from breast cancer in 1995 at the age of 60.

I will say it's about time that some more female vocalists got the biopic treatment (because Lady Sings the Blues and Coal Miner's Daughter are just not cutting it). Springfield had a tumultuous life full of addictions to drugs and alcohol, not to mention the pervasive stories of her struggles with her sexuality -- plenty of fodder for a juicy biopic. Considering working with Cunningham earned the actress her first Oscar, this project seems like a slam dunk for Kidman. Lord knows, she could use a hit.

They're still in talks, but everyone is reporting the deal as done, so I will too. Nicole Kidman and Judi Dench are joining Nine, Rob Marshall's film adaptation of the 1982 Broadway musical. The Hollywood Reporter says they'll be joining the already impressive cast of Javier Bardem, Penelope Cruz, Marion Cotillard and Sophia Loren.

Bardem will be playing the lead, a film director juggling the demands of several women in his life. The musical is an adaptation of Federico Fellini's autobiographical 8 1/2. Shooting was supposed to have begun in March, but due to the recent loss of Anthony Minghella, it has now been delayed to September. As Kidman is due to become a mother this summer, it would give her a nice maternity break.

Who among us hasn't wanted to get Nicole Kidman in a similar pose? But I digress. The February issue of Vanity Fair is boasting an exclusive photo and a jam-packed sidebar promoting the November release of Australia, but there's not a hell of a lot of new information here. Anyone who has been following the progress of the film since its filming began last year already knows the basics of the plot and characters, and that's mostly what gets re-hashed in the sidebar. Baz Luhrmann is quoted as saying that his ambition was to make a movie with "big emotions, big comedy, big stars, big stories and big landscapes." In a word, big. The sidebar then goes on to insult Kidman by declaring her character to be "a middle-aged (!) and childless British aristocrat." Come on now -- it may be true, but was that necessary?

This is one of the first Australia teases since a December 23 piece in the Herald Sun that detailed the conclusion of filming and talked up a sex scene between Kidman and co-star Hugh Jackman, for which Jackman helpfully reports that he "brushed his teeth five times" before commencing. Even though the big summer blockbusters are presumed to own the advertising airwaves over the next few months, Fox has so much money tied up in Australia that I would imagine you'll start seeing posters and teaser trailers -- and get more info on that rumored Elton John soundtrack -- over the next two months.

[via Australiamovie.net]

Quick: Name the last live-action film starring Nicole Kidman that absolutely rocked the box office? Okay, that's a tough one, I know, so how about the last live-action Nicole Kidman film that was any good? Hmm, that's also pretty tough. Fine, how about you just name the last live-action film that starred Nicole Kidman. That's pretty easy. The Golden Compass. It debuted last month. Yes, it's pretty clear that Kidman's appearance in a film is not all that it used to be, and fans aren't exactly flocking to the theater just because a film includes her name in the credits. Straight off filming the latest Baz Luhrmann epic, Australia, comes word from the sometimes-reliable Page Six that Kidman has dropped out of her next flick, The Reader, which was due to begin filming this month.

The reason? Well, they claim it's because the gal is pregnant, and she doesn't want to take on any work that could potentially harm her unborn child. Of course, Kidman, nor her reps, have confirmed that she is pregnant, and so I wouldn't go and take this news as official word. Page Six describes The Reader as being about "a man who carries a longtime sexual obsession for an older woman who's later prosecuted for war crimes after it emerges she was a member of the SS and a guard at Auschwitz." The film is based on Bernhard Schlink's book, and it co-stars Ralph Fiennes and Bruno Gatz. A rep for The Weinstein Co. said the "status on The Reader has not changed," so who knows what the real truth is.

As Page Six points out, perhaps now is a good time for Kidman to take a much-needed break. Her last three films, The Invasion ($15 million), Margot at the Wedding ($1.8 million) and The Golden Compass ($59 million) didn't exactly break any box office records, and so some time away to nurse that bun in the oven might be the appropriate move.

On the same day filming on Baz Luhrmann's Australia wrapped, the production released the first three official stills from the movie. Of course, clever photographers haven't been sitting around on their hands waiting for anything official -- they've been shooting candid photos all along, of everything from action shots of Nicole Kidman on horses and riding dinghies at sea to detailed photos of the set. But there's something to be said for photos that the director actually wants you to see. After looking at these three pictures, I can't say I'm discerning anything special though, except maybe for the one of Kidman seemingly about to twirl around while standing on a gazebo of some kind. It looks very 'Gone With the Wind' if you ask me. The other two are just a double headshot of the two leads and one gentleman who I'm going to guess is playing a native.

Meanwhile, perhaps sensing that The Golden Compass wasn't going to be all it was cracked up to be, Kidman was recently circumspect when talking to journalists about why she chooses her film roles. "I just choose off the cuff a lot of times, but primarily this was because Philip Pullman wrote me an amazing letter telling me that when he was writing the novels, he had me in mind," she said. "So that's hard to turn down. He's such a good novelist." Oh, so it's all his fault, huh? Let's hope she has a better answer for the studio bosses, next time they ask why they should continue forking over $15 mil per film.

A massive wrap party took place on Saturday night for Baz Luhrmann's romantic war epic Australia, which began its long filming schedule back in April and will finally wrap this coming Friday. The film tells the story of Lady Sarah Ashley's (Nicole Kidman) journey from England to the Australian outback to visit her husband's ranch, Faraway Downs. Once there, she meets a rough cattle driver played by Hugh Jackman and an ensuing love triangle situation ultimately culminates with the Japanese bombing of Darwin during the war. (I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess that someone dies.) The film shoot is coming in around a month over schedule and also reportedly well over budget, The Herald Sun reports. There are also apparently still some interiors that will be shot during the coming year, but Jackman and Kidman both have new commitments that they must attend to first, he Wolverine and she that movie with Ralph Fiennes.

Also, several outlets are reporting that Luhrmann is courting Elton John to contribute to the movie's soundtrack. John is known to have visited the Australia set last week to watch some filming and while there, he was taken to a screening room to see an early assemblage of footage. When asked for comment, he reportedly declared that the film could be "like Titanic on dry land." John's visit to the set coincided with the filming of some kind of big ballroom sequence and Luhrmann arranged to have the band play one of John's old songs, as part of this musical seduction dance. Australia is currently scheduled to arrive in theaters in November, 2008.

At an admitted production cost of $250 million, which may not even include marketing, The Golden Compass needed a smashing domestic opening weekend just to allay fears that it would cause major long-term problems for a struggling New Line Cinema. Instead, it pulled in an alarmingly low $26 million this weekend at a whopping 3,500 theaters, much closer to Eragon's disasterous $23 million opening weekend last Christmas than the $65 million opening weekend for the first Chronicles of Narnia film or the routine $90 and $100 million openings for the Harry Potter films. (The lowest opening weekend for a Lord of the Rings film was $47 million.) With muted buzz at best, expect Golden's numbers to plummet next weekend, especially with a new crowd of pre-Christmas contenders packing in, and total domestic box office to top out at around $80 million. Ouch.

Over at Nikki Finke's blog, she's declaring Golden a "wildly expensive flop" and specifically citing a low per screen average, which is another indicator that this thing will have no legs and certainly won't do well enough to warrant those two sequels. In fact, coming on the heels of other huge disappointments for New Line like Shoot em Up (a $5 million opening weekend) and Rendition (a $4 million opening weekend) and Mr. Woodcock (an $8 million opening weekend), this will likely spell the end for New Line chairman Bob Shaye, who shareholders already want to dump because of his ridiculous feud with golden goose Peter Jackson.

If there's any saving grace for this boondoggle, it will be international box office, which is important for a film like The Golden Compass. Even though the film may need to pull in over $700 million internationally just to be in the black, the Guardian is reporting that first day grosses in British cinemas were very healthy. The film has already grossed $4.3 million in Britain, which is very substantial, and a good indicator of how it will fare across Europe.