Ned Kelly Australian Ironoutlaw

Hey folks, Harry here with a very very advance test screening of NED KELLY, a film that isn't due out till late Spring 2003, possibly early summer for us in the U.S. I haven't seen a domestic release date yet. Overall, this review describes a very rough print, it sounds like a rough assembly - where they screened it to see what is working and what isn't, to aide with the editting process. However, there does sound like there's a good movie here, if they put it together right. I've a feeling that the final score is going to be VERY VERY key to this one coming off. Here ya go...

Hi Harry, a relatively new reader but big time fan here. Tonight, by sheer luck and coincidence I was able to get into a test screening of the new Heath Ledger movie, "Ned Kelly", in London. I'm a kiwi from Middle Earth, I mean, New Zealand, so I know the basic story behind Australia's most famous outlaw (or folk hero, depending on who you speak to). I haven't heard too much about this film except that that Heath needs to complete this before he can go on to Mad Max 4 (if THAT ever happens).This is my first review so I'll try to keep it simple and spoiler free:We were given the usual introduction to this film as being a work in progress. Some effects were not complete and there were even shots still waiting to be filmed in the British Parliament (we were treated to stills for that segment). I was quite chuffed when it was mentioned that this was the first public screening. But enough about that, you're reading this because you want to know about the movie!The movie itself defiantly feels like a work in progress. The pacing is a little off and the movie flowed like it was a bunch of acts just pasted together. We open in Australia and almost immediately I was thrown by Heath Ledger's terrible Irish accent. Even Orlando Bloom couldn't save himself with his "to be sure" and "top-of-the-morning" quotes. I don't think he even knew where his dialect originated.We meet Ned when he commits his first crime and after a scuffle with a dodgy copper he ends up in prison for 3 years. Two minutes later he's out of the slammer and we're introduced to his family who are just trying to make headway with their lives. From there we learn the all of the coppers are a cowardly lot who abuse their power when it suits them. We establish Ned's relationships with his friends (who later form the Kelly gang) and we get almost meaningless tongue action with Naomi Watts' character, Julia Cook.

Naomi's total screen time is about 10 minutes. She could almost be left out of this film entirely except for one small plot element and that could be explained away elsewhere. She definitely doesn't do anything that warrants a third billing. I couldn't understand why her character was attracted to Ned or felt any loyalty to him (unless he was REALLY good shag).

So from there, a copper tells some lies, Ned becomes a wanted man and his Mother ends up in the slammer. We're then treated to a tasty shootout in the bush where the Kelly's kill some constables. I think we're supposed to feel that Ned was a man pushed into this position but I'm still struggling with that damn dodgy accent. From then on the Kelly gang is wanted dead or alive and we start seeing who their real friends are. Anyone with half a brain can see who's going to betray Ned and his pals but we've got to wait a half hour or so for that. In the mean time we get treated to a humorous bank robbery and seduction. Ned also finds some time to pen a letter to the government demanding justice. I think the writer was hoping for a Bravehearty "Sons of Scotland" speech, but we end up with an ID4 "we will not go quietly into the night?."The police call in Superintendent Hare (Geoffrey Rush) who is another faceless character that we just don't see enough of. He had potential to be someone we could hate as much as The Patriots? Colonel Tavington but I don't think he utters more than 5 lines. He certainly did nothing memorable except get a bunch of coppers together for the Kelly gang's last stand.The final shootout could have been so much more. But we get a rushed job. Maybe it was because I new how this one would end and it seemed that the ten minutes of gun fire we're treated to was just delaying the inevitable. So, what happens? The gang put on their armour and show off how good it is by standing defiantly in-front of 300 coppers who don't have the common sense to shoot out their legs or other exposed body parts. They then return fire briefly and go back inside the pub they were hiding out in. The coppers show little regard for the hostages inside and proceed to tear up place forcing Ned to make a sacrifice. This was my favourite scene. Not Ned's stupid move but how Dan and Steve (Ned's little buds) deal with their impending doom. Dan and Steve felt a little like Merry and Pippin of Tolkien fame and their fate did move me (almost as much as Yoda's last seen in RotJ). But Joes (Blooms) last great act defied all common sense and left me wanting this to end.

In the final scene Ned meets Superintendent Hare who simply asks for his scarf?!?! I don't know why he wanted it; maybe it went well with his eyes. We then get some subtitles that explain what happened to everyone and fade to black.

Now, looking back over my review I can see how one could perceive that I didn't enjoy this movie much. Actually I have to say that I am looking forward to seeing the finished product. With a few tweaks to story and pacing this could be a quiet winner. Most of the acting is passable quality (with the exception of the bad accents) and the colonial setting is fresh and something that we haven't seen in a while. Hope you'll find this review helpful.

09 NOV 2002
NED GETS THE NOD
From Kelly Gang to Ned Kelly
source: news.com.au

There was a lot of thought, much speculation, even some debate, but the makers of a film about legendary bushranger Ned Kelly have played it safe. The film, starring Heath Ledger, Geoffrey Rush and Naomi Watts, will be called Ned Kelly, United International Pictures announced yesterday. The announcement by the film’s distributor followed speculation the film may be released under the titles The Kelly Gang or Our Sunshine, the name of the Robert Drewe novel on which the screenplay is based. Ned Kelly will have its world premiere in Melbourne on March 27 next year.

20 AUG 2002
A NAME CHANGE?
source movies.go.com

The name may be changed to The Kelly Gang. That's because the United States of America distributor of a 1970s version of a Ned Kelly film, starring, of all people, Mick Jagger, hasn't cleared Ned Kelly as a title. Executive producer Tim White said, “We will determine in the near future just which title it's going to go out as.”

29 MAY 2002
NED KELLY RAIDS GOLD TOWN
Luke Dennehy, Daily Telegraph
source heraldsun.news.com.au

Ned Kelly raids Gold Town NED Kelly rides again - or at least a dashing lookalike in Australian star Heath Ledger. The new Ned rode into the town of Clunes in central Victoria on Tuesday for a shooting of a different kind. Dressed meticulously in period costume and brandishing a replica handgun, Ledger was ready for action when yesterday's filming of Ned Kelly got under way. Clunes was buzzing with excitement when the star - sporting a bushy black beard and riding confidently on horseback - took his place for yesterday's scenes.

The set took a month to build in Clunes, but filming took only one day. The town will be used for street scenes. The State Bank is the set for the Kelly gang's Euroa bank hold-up. Fellow Australian actors Rachel Griffiths, Geoffrey Rush, Naomi Watts and Lord Of The Rings' Orlando Bloom also feature in the $30 million movie. The film is directed by Gregor Jordan, who directed Ledger in Two Hands. Ned Kelly is expected to be released next year.

29 MAY 2002
HEATH THRILLS COUNTRY TOWN
Luke Dennehy and Matthew Frilingos, Daily Telegraph
source entertainment.news.com.au

Heath thrills country town AIMING a pistol with a desperate glint in his eye, Ned Kelly warns off curious bystanders. The legendary bushranger took over a small rural town yesterday. And these exclusive pictures show just how Kelly - played by movie hunk Heath Ledger - thrilled the folk of Clunes, Victoria. The town is being used for street scenes in the new movie Ned Kelly. And yesterday filming was in full swing.

Clunes locals - in particular several teenage girls - spent the day outside the set in a bid to catch a glimpse of home-grown heart-throb Ledger, 23. They were clearly not worried by reports that Ledger has rekindled his relationship with an old flame, Melbourne model Christina Cauchi. The film's high-profile cast includes Lord Of The Rings star Orlando Bloom and Australian stars Joel Edgerton, Rachel Griffiths, Geoffrey Rush and Naomi Watts. Rush plays foppish Superintendent Hare, who hunts Kelly, while Watts plays the bandit's love interest Julia Cook.

Orlando Bloom plays his lieutenant, Joe Byrne. Edgerton, recently seen as Owen Lars in Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones, plays one of Kelly's gang members. Ned Kelly, adapted from Robert Drewe's novel Our Sunshine, has attracted international publicity despite being in the early filming stages. It has a budget of $30 million, which is high by Australian standards. The movie, set for release early next year, is backed by Working Title -- the British outfit behind films including Bridget Jones's Diary and Notting Hill. It is directed by Gregor Jordan, who directed Perth-born Ledger in 1999's Two Hands.

28 MAY 2002
THE KELLY GANG aka OUR SUNSHINE
by The Phantom

Heath as Ned Ironoutlaw.com has an insider working on the movie set of Ned Kelly. Latest gossip is that director Gregor Jordan and leading actor Heath Ledger are in a conflict with the producers from the United States over Heath having his beard for the boxing match with Wild Wright. Heath is adamant that he should keep his portrayal of Ned as authentic as possible. It seems the Studio wants him to clip the beard back to get better, more Raging Bull type, close ups of the faces in the fight. Gregor is on Heaths side in this fight.

The “rushes” from the last stand at Glenrowan look amazing. The crew are all very impressed with how it is going. The circus is in the movie, but in the film, as in the book, its main function is to present the audience with the metaphor of the whole thing as a media and political circus, as well as liking Ned to a caged lion.

05 FEB 2002
HEATH ALREADY A STEP AHEAD
source Michael Bodey, Daily Telegraph

ALREADY Heath Ledger has trumped Mick Jagger. The first picture from the set of Australia's latest Ned Kelly film shows Ledger has committed to the outlaw's fully-fledged beard. Jagger could only manage some wispy bum-fluff in the limp 1970 film of the same name. And Ledger's director, Gregor Jordan, disclosed that Ledger will take on the full Irish accent for his portrayal. "It's going to be all Irish," said Jordan. "You realise, when researching his story, Ned was an Irishman even though he'd never been to Ireland."

Yet Kelly remains the quintessential Australian story, still attracting creative types 120 years after his hanging. He's part of the fabric of Australian culture, Jordan said. "He captures a spirit that Australians can really identify with, someone who's been picked on and persecuted and fights back. "He's also someone who's not perfect, rough around the edges and a bit of a wild man. He's sort of the character that people wish they could be."

The Kelly story has attracted filmmakers and novelists since 1906, when the Taits filmed The Story of the Kelly Gang in Melbourne. It is regarded as the world's first feature film. Jordan's Ned Kelly, adapted from Robert Drewe's Our Sunshine, will likely beat two other Kelly films reportedly in development: a low-budget, straight-to-video spoof and an adaptation of Peter Carey's Booker Prize-winning novel, The True History of the Kelly Gang, directed by Neil Jordan. Brad Pitt has been whispered as its Kelly, although the film is now on hold. Previously, Godfrey Cass, Bob Chitty, John Jarratt, John Waters, Yahoo Serious and Jagger played Kelly on screen, with varying success. "I was talking to Bryan Brown about it," said Jordan. "For a young actor, what is there? There's Hamlet, but for an Australian, Kelly is the ultimate role." Ledger, who starred in Jordan's Two Hands, was the only actor considered for the role. "He's the right age for the role, has the level of charisma and the star power to justify the budget, and also he's an Australian. That combination is unique," he said.

"For leading men under the age of 25 there's Leonardo DiCaprio, whose salary is stratospheric, and then basically there's just Heath Ledger and Josh Hartnett." Ledger's commitment ensured this Ned Kelly not only has an unusually large budget for an Australian film, but arguably the highest profile cast ever assembled here. Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush, Naomi Watts, Rachel Griffiths, Joel Edgerton, Peter Phelps, Geoff Morrell, "Bud" Tingwell and The Lord of the Rings' star Orlando Bloom join Ledger on the shoot. "It's actually more about Ned than it is about me," Jordan said of the casting. "I had so much interest from actors around the world about this film because it's a story that captures people's imagination." The last decade has seen that interest peak with a comprehensive biography (Ian Jones's Ned Kelly A Short Life), Drewe's and Carey's novels and a growing interest in art featuring Ned Kelly. Sidney Nolan's River Crossing sold for $261,750 - $60,000 more than expected - this week in Melbourne.

01 OCT 2001
HEATH LEDGER TO PLAY NED KELLY
Who Weekly
source who.com
Hollywood's next big thing and Perth's favourite export, Heath Ledger deserves a big pat on the back. The star of A Knight's Tale and the upcoming Four Feathers has all but signed on for a locally made Ned Kelly yarn, Our Sunshine, directed by Two Hands' Gregor Jordan. Ledger, 22, is taking a pay cut to do the film “a major, major, major pay cut,” said one industry source, adding that the man recently voted by WHO WEEKLY as sexiest man alive, can expect about $50,000 for strapping on the Kelly armour (he banked $US2million for Four Feathers). Last time I spoke to Ledger, he insisted money would never be a consideration when picking roles: “I want to come back and do independent Australian movies.” And true to his word, he is.