BUSINESSES around the country are clambering to position themselves alongside Baz Luhrmann's epic film, Australia, which is now less than six weeks away from release.
BUSINESSES around the country are clambering to position themselves alongside Baz Luhrmann's epic film, Australia, which is now less than six weeks away from release.
Western Australia's tourism industry in particular hopes to benefit from the film, which features beautiful landscapes from Kununurra and the Kimberley region.
Twentieth Century Fox Film Distributors head of promotion, Kate Nicholls, has high hopes for the 170-minute movie, set to hit movie screens on November 26.
"The awareness and excitement that's been generated about the film, it could be up among the highest grossing box office films ever," Ms Nicholls told WA Business News.
"It certainly was one of the most expensive Australian films ever made.
"The film looks so beautiful because they haven't done it in a studio, it is the actual landscape."
Ms Nicholls said the nine official promotional partners aligned with the movie - Telstra BigPond, Qantas, Jacobs Creek, RM Williams, Coopers Brewery, Natio Cosmetics, Kirks and Colonial First State Property Management - recognised the authenticity and integrity with which the film was made.
"The beauty of each of the partners is that they have a different reason for tying in with the film, but fundamentally it's all about celebrating their Australian heritage and the fact that they are proud Australian brands," Ms Nicholls said.
While she wouldn't discuss costs associated with these partnerships, Ms Nicholls admitted it ran well into the millions.
Cooper's Brewery was approached out-of-the-blue to form a co-promotional agreement because it is the nation's only Australian-owned family brewery.
Cooper's Brewery managing director Tim Cooper is excited about his company's involvement with the film.
"It's such a great demonstration as to what Australia is all about, such as the beauty and the history," Mr Cooper said. "And the scenery is breathtaking. It really looks fantastic."
It's this scenery that the tourism industry is hoping to cash-in on, as evidenced by Tourism Australia's recently launched $40 million advertising campaign, featuring two separate television spots directed by Mr Luhrmann.
Tourism Western Australia will launch its own $1.3 million marketing campaign next month and is hoping to secure the rights to use 'Faraway Downs', the homestead owned by Nicole Kidman's character, as a Kimberley tourism attraction.
Tourism Western Australia chief executive, Richard Muirhead said the exposure the destination would receive on the big screen was expected to bring great returns for the state.
"Just look at what the Lord of Rings did for tourism in New Zealand," he said.
In Kununurra, Ivanhoe Village Caravan Park managers Gary and Gail James are expecting big things from the release of the movie.
"Tour operators up here are really into it," Mr James said. "They're telling all the tourists about it because it's such a great talking point."