"Strangerland" Nicole Kidman mystery drama starts shooting in Australia

PanARMENIAN.Net - Production on upcoming Australian indie feature, Strangerland, starring Nicole Kidman, is getting under way in Sydney this week, with Joseph Fiennes replacing Guy Pearce as Kidman’s husband in the film, The Hollywood Reporter said.

Pearce had to quit the film last month due to scheduling conflicts.

Filming will also take place in the outback towns of Canowindra and Broken Hill for the mystery drama, which tells the story of Catherine (Kidman) and Matthew Parker (Fiennes), whose relationship is pushed to the brink when their two teenage children disappear into the remote Australian desert and they are forced to confront the mystery of their children's fate. Hugo Weaving plays the policeman leading the investigation.

Other cast include Lisa Flanagan, Meyne Wyatt, Nicholas Hamilton and, in her first major acting role, model Maddison Brown.

"I am always looking for the right script to bring me home to Australia. The moment I read Strangerland I knew this was a film I couldn't say no to. I'm looking forward to working on a film in Australia and I’m very excited to be working with Joseph Fiennes and Hugo Weaving," Kidman said

Strangerland sees Kidman to return to her homeland to shoot her first independent feature since Dead Calm. She starred in Jonathan Teplitsky’s Railway Man last year but shot all her scenes in Scotland and Thailand.

Andrew Mackie from distributor Transmission Films said, “It is thrilling to have Nicole Kidman appearing in her first independent film to be shot here and to have such fine actors as Hugo Weaving and Joseph Fiennes also taking central roles. Attracting such an A-list cast is a testament to the film’s gripping and beautifully written script, the creative vision of our director Kim Farrant and the passion and determination of producers Naomi Wenck and Macdara Kelleher. Transmission Films is very proud to be the domestic distributor.”

Farrant is directing her feature debut from a script by Fiona Seres and Michael Kinirons. Farrant has previously worked on TV series, Rush, and made the documentary Naked on the Inside.