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.
It's baby time! Oscar winner and "Golden Compass" villainess Nicole Kidman announced she's pregnant by country-music husband Keith Urban. Meanwhile, reality-TV star Nicole Richie is due any day now and taking her boyfriend, Joel Madden, to hypnotists to calm her pre-labor fears.
We're not in the sanctimommy business, but here are some tips for Mrs. Keith Urban as she enters this new and exciting phase: WebMD reminds you to get up and stretch your legs and drink plenty of fluids when you fly. BabyCenter.com suggests a cut-off of 36 weeks for expectant moms in the air (and some airlines may require a doctor's letter), but iVillage points out that no major studies have shown that air travel is unsafe for fetuses. So go ahead, book those flights for Memorial Day Weekend! But it never hurts to check with your doctor first since, disclaimer, we're not doctors.
Nicole Kidman and husband Keith Urban recently took a break in St. Barts, where the stalking opportunities for paparazzi abound. The two were photographed strolling along the waterfront, eating at a cafe, and lounging on a private yacht. The newly rehabilitated Urban got a pole dance from Kidman, plus a bevy of gross kisses--gross when zoomed in on at the wrong moment by a camera lens, at least. The vacation started out as a solo trip for Kidman, before her husband joined her for some couple's quality time.
Urban heads for Europe next month for a tour leg that will take him through Germany and the UK. He'll then take a break before heading to his native Australia, taking another break, and then kicking off a gigantic North American tour in June. The European routing is pretty sensible, and a superfan looking to follow the whole thing could easily snap up budget air tickets or a rail pass (passes, really, because British travel always requires its own product) for transportation between the cities. Then again, the craziest of Keith Urban fans would pay anything and travel any way to see the guy, so sensible routing isn't such a concern.
When not doing as the Kosovars do, Nicole Kidman does instead as the Romans do, and parties in Rome. She opened up the first annual Rome Film Fest on October 13 with her movie Fur, before jetting back to the States to tend to her troubled hubby. The event, described as a party for the people of Rome (rather than a traditional, elitist sort of affair), wrapped up on Saturday.
The festival is an official partner of the Tribeca Film Festival, so it's no surprise that Robert DeNiro and his buddy Leo DiCaprio showed up. Also in attendance were Harrison Ford, Monica Bellucci, and Sean Connery, who received this year's lifetime achievement award. Not in attendance: Sophia Loren, who was accidentally snubbed when organizers forgot to invite her. Of the snafu, Rome's mayor commented: "We didn't invite her this year because we hoped she would be the guest of honor next year, just as Sean Connery was this time." Right.
Robert DeNiro unveiled a 20-minute snippet of his upcoming movie, "The Good Shepherd," which stars Super World Traveler herself, Angelina Jolie. Sadly, Borat didn't win any awards, though it did screen there. Top honor went instead to a Russian adaptation of Hamlet called Playing the Victim.
Looks like Keith Urban has cancelled his trip to Australia to promote his new album, Love, Pain & The Whole Crazy Thing, because he's set to stay in Nashville at the Cumberland Heights rehab clinic, a facility near the Cumberland River. Nothing like a stint in rehab to screw up your travel plans. And to think he could have lapped up the last bits of shoulder season goodness Down Under!
Urban, aka Mr. Nicole Kidman, checked into the clinic on Thursday night, just four months into his new marriage to Nicole. Keith's battled addictions to cocaine, booze, and sex(!) in the past.
His Australian uncle, Brian Urban, seemed pretty pissed at Keith and told an Aussie paper, "I'd like to get hold of him...I'd scrag (wring his neck) him," he from his home in New Zealand. Nice one, Keith! Looks like he'll remain in Nashville for at least, oh, 28 days.
Newly married Nicole Kidman pissed off the locals this week in Rome-and paid for it- while filming in the city's Testaccio district. Apparently Kidman, who jetted into town from London, was filming a tv commerical for Sky Italia, and producers assumed they could just set up shop without warning.
Residents awoke to find their narrow streets clogged with cameras and annoying PA's wearing headsets telling them to stay inside for fear of ruining the shot. They called in a local spokesperson who denied Kidman's group access to a certain picturesque street, forcing the production team to pay about $30,000 to locals before they even turned cameras on.
Watch out Nicole, Italians make better friends than enemies!
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by amandak
