The producers and the director of the Nicole Kidman-Hugh Jackman epic Australia are on the same page — just days before its Australian premiere on Tuesday, Australia isn't done. Luhrmann renewed the debate over exactly how unfinished the film is on the LAT's The Envelope blog, revealing that at the end of the "emotional cinematic banquet" there will be a death of some kind, even if he's not quite sure yet who buys it. Meanwhile, Fox co-chairman Tom Rothman tried to dismiss the controversy over the $130 million dollar film's "six endings." This barely counts as optimism when it comes to the film's still-ongoing editing process. Since they are shutting down a street in Sydney for the premiere, should the local authorities prepare for a riot or can Luhrmann deliver in time?
When Luhrmann was palling around at the MoMA the other night, he was either joking about how pressing the situation was, or speaking the frightening truth: "We're right up against it, I literally have to on Friday night push that button." He admitted he's given himself 24 hours at the 'mixing desk' to put the film together. "This is really dangerous, I hope there's no problem with the plane going back," he managed.
There's still considerable question how exactly how many endings the film has had during its four years of production. Luhrmann admits to six written ones and four filmed endings in total. Fox co-chair Tom Rothman counted six altogether, and says the studio didn't pressure the director, positing that "you couldn't possibly characterize the ending as happy or sad...I'd call it deeply satisfying but that's because it's very complex."
Since he reported this before the movie is even entirely finished, consider us skeptical. Luhrmann also feebly stuck to the same script:
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.
Hopefully that seventh ending will be complete by Tuesday.
Two weeks before Australia's Nov. 26 release date, Moulin Rouge! director Baz Luhrmann, who's worked four years on the $130 million dollar production set in the Outback, still doesn't know what movie he's making. After a rough cut was recently screened for critics who hated the film's downer ending, the studio reacted by putting pressure on Luhrmann to alter Australia. Fox is more keen on recouping the film's massive budget with what it hopes is a traditional crowd-pleaser. It appears Luhrmann has already complied with their demands, but is Australia destined to die even if its lead characters don't?
Luhrmann himself has voiced concerns 
AP science reporter Seth Borentstein has either been spending too much time cooped up in the lab, or he just has a thing for hurricanes. 
Oh, Julia! The editors have some advice after the jump.
