Tomorrow When The War Began today!

It’s like a dream! Seriously, I think I need to slap myself because I have literally been dreaming of a movie adaptation of one of my favourite book series of all time – the Tomorrow series. And now it’s coming true! Next you know I’ll be marrying Mark Wahlberg and all my fantasies will come to fruition. Sigh.
Anyway, to celebrate the first book in the series, Tomorrow When The War Began, hitting the big screen I thought I’d give you the comprehensive low down on everything related to the film version. And I do mean everything.

The Plot
If by some chance you have been living under a rock for, like, ever and don't know the plot of arguably the best Australian book series then you deserve a slap. Followed by a kick. Then an explanation. John Marsden’s best-selling series of books, the Tomorrow series has sold nearly 2 million copies in Australia and New Zealand. It spans seven books with a spin-off series titled The Ellie Chronicles across another three novels. As much as I'd love to detail the plot of each of the books, that would contain too many spoilers and ruin things for you down the track. If you want that though . . . check out the Wikipedia entry here. Anywho, the the first novel, Tomorrow When The War Began, follows a group of outback teenagers who decide to wage a guerrilla war after Australia is invaded by a foreign power. It's an amazing book and if you haven't read any of the entries in the series I recommend you get on it.

The Team
Pick me, pick me! Sorry, I couldn't help myself. What an impressive, juicy team! The film is being directed by Stuart Beattie who is making his directorial debut and had this to say;

"I was instantly attracted to this project because I was looking to make a character-based but commercial action movie set in Australia that could compete on the international stage. Tomorrow has all the action, but also has the heart. Ellie and her friends are all wonderful, complex, engaging characters who make the ride worth so much more than the price of admission."

The only way to make this baby is to have it as a teen action blockbuster, and Beattie is certainly the man to do it. He's also wrote the screenplay for the flick and his past screen writing credits include Australia, G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl and Collateral. There’s loads of action, romance, suspense and drama throughout the series making for a promising recipe for box-office success.

The Cast
There’s been only one name confirmed so far and that’s 19-year-old Aussie actress Caitlin Stasey (above) in the lead role of Ellie Linton. Linton is the integral character in all of the books, so Stasey will have her work cut out for her playing the leader of the group. This will be her feature film debut, with her previous acting credits including recurring roles on Neighbours and The Sleepover Club. She also starred as Snow White in the UK's Theatre Royal production of the classic fairytale. Personally, I think she’s a pretty awesome choice as not only is she one of the only decent actresses on Neighbours, it’s also great to have an Aussie lass in the lead role of one of the most popular Australia novel series where the story in itself is so quintessentially Australian. She had this to say on her casting:
"I was ecstatic! I have a lot of respect for Ellie's character and feel privileged to be playing such an inspirational young female role"

Nicely put. Director/writer Stuart Beattie had this to say about Caitlin's casting:

"There was an exhaustive audition process and I have been privileged to see some very talented young actors. Caitlin captured the perfect balance of intelligence, vulnerability and strength that is essential to this character."

No news on who any of the other cast members are yet but fingers crossed mega Queensland talent Matthew Scully (below, right) will land a role as Homer or one of the other lead males. He was amazing in Storage and would be perfect as Homer, no?
Getting It Going
Paramount Pictures will handle distribution and marketing of the film in Australia and New Zealand. Principal investor Omnilab Media, through its production arm, Ambience Entertainment is taking on the first novel in the series. Whether the remaining six novels and three follow-up books will also be made in to films depends on the success of the first, and the ability to chronogenically freeze the lead cast members so they’re not 50 when the franchise finally wraps up. With production investment from Screen Australia and assistance from the
NSW Dept of State and Regional Development, Tomorrow When The War Began will be produced entirely in Australia with production scheduled to commence principal photography in the Hunter Valley at the end of September. It's scheduled with a 2010 release date in Australia and dear lord, I hope it's made properly. If so, it could turn out to be an Australian classic, just like the novels.

You can check out some more info on the flick in a piece I did for Empire online. Enjoy.