First Look At Clive Owen On-Set In Adelaide

Editorial

On Monday, director Scott Hicks started principal photography in South Australia on his new film, The Boys Are Back, starring the incredibly awesome A-lister Clive Owen. We've even got the first image from the set, which shows what new acting talent has to do to take attention away from an internationally acclaimed director and his swarthy star.

With the delightful Adelaide Airport as their location shoot, Hicks and Owen are looking at Nicholas McAnulty, an unknown six-year-old lad who was cast as Owen's on-screen son following an Australia-wide search. We can only presume that his unorthodox "no t-shirt" audition was so revelatory that Hicks decided he had to incorporate it into the movie.

The first film Hicks has made in his home state since his Oscar-winning breakthrough Shine, The Boys Are Back's commencement was buoyed by the news that Miramax has picked up the US and Western Europe distribution rights. Huzzah. Oh, but no mention of Australia or New Zealand. Sob.

"I'm delighted to be making a film in Australia again, and especially with such a talented cast and crew," said Hicks in one of those glowing press releases which film companies happily send out. "This emotional and edgy story really captivated me when I read it five years ago, and I am thrilled to be shooting it at last."

The film, based on a seriocomic novel by Allan Cubitt will see Owen play a widower struggling to raise two kids. His solution is to say "yes" to everything, clearly a parental strategy which could never go bad. While it's title might suggest otherwise, lovely English actress Laura Fraser (A Knight's Tale), as well as emerging Aussie talent Emma Booth (Clubland), are also part of the high-profile Boys production.

Chris Hewitt