Apparently Baz Luhrmann's epic Australia is just not enough: South Australian Tourism and STA Travel have decided that they want South Australia, the Movie too.

The state of South Australia, that often overlooked bit in the middle of Oz, is famous for its outback, a great wine region, Kangaroo Island and even cheap deals for redheads. Film a mini-movie of your ideas on South Australia and you could win a two-week trip around the state that will be filmed by a real film crew.

The contest opens today and you have to get your video in by December 1. Judges say that making them laugh will give you a good chance at the prize, so we're pretty sure that making fun of redheads will be part of the winning entry.

Related Stories:
· Stars of South Australia Contest [Official Site]
· Hair Color Travel: Good Deals for Redheads Down Under [Jaunted]
· South Australia Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: Sentience] ]]> amandak 2008-11-03T09:30:07-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/10/12/143017/10

We're just over a month away from the release of Baz Luhrmann's latest epic film, Australia, which the country is hoping will boost its profile as a travel destination (witness this cool Aussie tourism ad). Based on the trailers, the story looks pretty interesting - Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman portray lovers caught in the turmoil of the 1930's - but the real star of the film is the land itself. In a recent interview with National Geographic Adventure magazine (not online), screenwriter Richard Flanagan talked about his childhood in Tasmania and the northern outback region that inspired him to pen the script.]]> Victor Ozols 2008-10-12T14:30:17-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/10/8/85133/7401

Seen the new ads promoting the great Down Under land of Australia? Two "mini-movie" ads created by Baz Luhrmann have just started showing in 22 countries so keep an eye on your screens. (Or watch it after the jump.)

After the Where the bloody hell are you? campaign turned into a bunch of web clicks, no extra visitors and a lot of complaints, Tourism Australia had to get something pretty good in the pipeline.]]> amandak 2008-10-09T09:30:42-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2008/6/20/45654/5288

When the "Lord of the Rings" movies came out, Australia sat by and watched neighboring New Zealand steal millions of tourists eager to see the scenery where Frodo Baggins frolicked. Now that "Australia" is nearing release, it's time for the Aussies to get their revenge.

As for the tourism marketing campaign, it should be pretty easy to connect the film to the nation, since the movie is simply called "Australia." It's set around World War II times, but the landscape still looks pretty sexy. Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman don't look half bad either.

Australia's tourist board has put together a huge "See the movie, see the country" advertising campaign, including movie maps and location guides, so once the movie's released in November this year, nobody will be able to escape the mysterious pull to visit Australia. And that probably includes us.

Related Stories:
· Kidman to Help Australian Tourism [BBC]
· Australia Movie [Official Site]
· Movie Set Travel coverage [Jaunted]

[Photo: mikegoat]]]> amandak 2008-06-20T09:30:01-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/