In December we were given a list of 15 movies that were in consideration for the 2008 Visual Effects Oscar, and now that list has been narrowed down to 7.

Here is the list in alphabetical order:

Australia
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
Iron Man
Journey to the Center of the Earth
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor

On January 15th members of the visual effects branch will watch excerpts from the movies, and the list will then be narrowed down to 3. The winner will then be announced during the award ceremony on January 22nd.

Which movie do you think deserves the Oscar?

Last years winner was The Golden Compass

As well as announcing Hugh Jackman as the new host for next February’s Oscars, the Academy have revealed the 15 movies in the running for the 2008 visual effects Oscar.

Here is the list in alphabetical order:
Australia
The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian
Cloverfield
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
The Dark Knight
The Day the Earth Stood Still
Hancock
Hellboy II: The Golden Army
The Incredible Hulk
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
Iron Man
Journey to the Center of the Earth
The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor
Quantum of Solace
The Spiderwick Chronicles

This award is probably the one people care about the most, seeing as though this category contains movies people actually see.

In early January the list will be narrowed down to 7, then on January 15th members of the visual effects branch will watch excerpts from the movies, and the list will be narrowed down to 3.

Which movie do you think deserves the Oscar?

The ‘epicness’ that is Australia continues with the final trailer that has Youtubed it’s way online.

“Australia” is an epic and romantic action adventure, set in that country on the explosive brink of World War II. In it, an English aristocrat (Nicole Kidman) travels to the faraway continent, where she meets a rough-hewn local (Hugh Jackman) and reluctantly agrees to join forces with him to save the land she inherited. Together, they embark upon a transforming journey across hundreds of miles of the world’s most beautiful yet unforgiving terrain, only to still face the bombing of the city of Darwin by the Japanese forces that attacked Pearl Harbor. With his new film, Luhrmann is painting on a vast canvas, creating a cinematic experience that brings together romance, drama, adventure and spectacle.

Latino Review uncovered a new poster for Baz Luhrmann’s Australia.

“Australia” is an epic and romantic action adventure, set in that country on the explosive brink of World War II. In it, an English aristocrat (Nicole Kidman) travels to the faraway continent, where she meets a rough-hewn local (Hugh Jackman) and reluctantly agrees to join forces with him to save the land she inherited. Together, they embark upon a transforming journey across hundreds of miles of the world’s most beautiful yet unforgiving terrain, only to still face the bombing of the city of Darwin by the Japanese forces that attacked Pearl Harbor. With his new film, Luhrmann is painting on a vast canvas, creating a cinematic experience that brings together romance, drama, adventure and spectacle.

I’m not really into that romantic mumbo jumbo, however I am actually quite looking forward to Baz Luhrmann Australia. The previous trailers and imagery we have seen have been quite something, but this latest trailer has confirmed that I will be seeing this when it is released. The trailer starts off casually, exploring the predictable relationship between Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman, and then BAM! The trailer switches. The epic music kicks in and then it gets exciting.

Watch it below!

20th Century Fox have announced they are pushing the release of Baz Luhrmann’s Australia from November 14th, back to November 26th. The film stars Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman and is a romantic epic set in northern Australia before World War II.

The move is likely to be another ripple effect from the Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince shift from November 21st to next summer. Variety also say it will give Baz Luhrmann a bit of extra time to get the film finished.

The film will now go head to head with Transporter 3, Four Christmases, The Road, Bolt and The Time Traveler’s Wife.

MovieCityNews got the first set of posters for Baz Luhrmann’s Australia starring Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman. We have seen the same images before, however they have now been converted into teaser poster form.

The filming for this movie took a few days less than that of Titanic, which was 20 days short of 6 months. Fox is gearing up a major campaign for this film, which will likely have the full power of the studio behind it.

Australia will be released on November 14th in the US.

The teaser trailer for Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman’s Australia is now online. After watching it I thought it looked good, but not as good as the featurette’s we have been getting. Apparently they were only a few days short of Titanic’s filming length, so no doubt they will have tonnes of footage to show us in future trailers. More amazing scenery please Mr. Baz Luhrmann!

Up until 5 minutes ago the only thing I knew about Australia was that it was the reason filming for X-Men Origins: Wolverine was pushed back. The film had already been filming for around 6 months, but apparently that isn’t enough for big budget epics set in the middle of nowhere anymore, so Hugh Jackman had to get back on set, delaying the start date of the Wolverine spin-off. However, Wolverine is now a month or two into filming, so I no longer detest the film. Intact I think I am in love with it.

The film is set in Australia, is called Australia, has an Australian writer, along with Australian leads (Jackman and Nicole Kidman). I would also put money on the extras been Australian, along with every other member of the crew. Director Baz Luhrmann (yep..Australian) has decided to give people a behind the scenes look at the filming process, via a series of “Set to Screen” podcasts. You can see the first two below, with the first one being an introduction to the film by the director. The second follows the on-set photographer who has to take pictures of everything that happens everywhere. I never knew they had such a demanding job. They are extremely interesting if you are into what goes on behind the camera. The scenery and landscape shown is amazing, and I know it is early but the word ‘Oscar’ comes to mind.

Check them out! Now!