HOMEGROWN SUCCESS STORIES

AUSTRALIAN NOVELS HAVE A REPUTATION FOR MAKING IT BIG ON THE SCREEN

BIG LITTLE LIES

The first season of Liane Moriarty’s novel was a huge hit for actor-producer team Nicole Kidman and Reese Witherspoon, scooping up a string of Emmys. The new series is set to return in June and follows on from Perry’s apparent murder, with a new cast member, Meryl Streep.

THE BOOK THIEF

Markus Zusak’s 2005 novel, set against the backdrop of the Second World War and the horrors of Nazi rule, became a film of the same name eight years later. Starring Emily Watson and Geoffrey Rush, the production made over $100 million at the box office worldwide.

THE YEAR OF LIVING DANGEROUSLY

Christopher Koch’s 1978 novel about an Australian journalist in 1960s Indonesia became the 1982 romantic drama of the same name, starring Mel Gibson and Sigourney Weaver. But it was Linda Hunt who won the Academy Award for her role as a Chinese-australian photo-journalist.

THE DRY

Production on the movie starts at the end of the month. Starring Eric Bana as Aaron Falk and directed by Paper Planes’ Robert Connolly, Jane Harper’s murder mystery is being filmed in Victoria, where the book is set.

MY BRILLIANT CAREER

Adapted from the semi-autobiographical 1901 Miles Franklin novel, Judy Davis won a 1981 BAFTA for her Gillian Armstrong-directed role as a free-spirited 19th century woman who chooses a writing career over love.