Ned Kelly

From Dark Horizons:
Ned Kelly:The new Ned Kelly movie starring Heath Ledger is currently shooting in and around Melbourne, and 'Eden' was on set with this extensive report on what's been happening:

"As most of you know it stars Heath Ledger and Orlando Bloom, but is also stars such Aussies as Geoffrey Rush, Bud Tingwell, Rachel Griffiths, Naomi Watts and Joel Edgerton. Today they were only filming 4 scenes with Bud, Joel, Geoffrey and a few other extras at Stonington Mansion which used to be the Governor's residence in the 18th century. The rooms they used were all painted to look authentic 1800's and many many antique books and maps of Victoria were used as props. The crew is huge, I was told it numbers around 110-130 and most of them are from either Lord Of The Rings or Queen Of The Damned, but are really excited about this movie as it is apparently one of the biggest ever shot in Victoria in terms of budget, crew and star power. There were also people from the production company Working Title (Notting Hill, Bridget Jones' Diary, About A Boy) there who told me they are hoping that Heath and Orlando will help sell the film overseas.
The cast members I met were Geoffrey, Bud, Joel and I quickly got to meet Orlando too who was there for a meeting of some kind. They were all very nice to talk to and said they were excited about the movie. Geoffrey said he's working very hard so as to get all his scenes done in the first 3 weeks (they've been shooting since April 29th) as he has another commitment. None of them gave really anything away regarding plotlines or anything, just said who they were playing etc. The crew also didn't talk a lot about the actual plot (which is basically the last 10 years of Ned Kelly's life), just about how the costumes and make-up are working (I was told by one of the make-up van drivers that if he ever sees another fake beard he's gonna kill himself), where their next locations are gonna be and how Heath is working out. The cinematographer seemed really nice (though picky with amazing attention to the littlest detail!) and I got to glimpse a few storyboards for Monday's shoot which involves Ned on a train running away from someone. I'm not sure where they're shooting that, but much of their exterior stuff is being shot near Lara in rural Victoria. Though I was told to tell anyone that anyone hoping to scope out the set "Good luck finding us!" The majority of the remaining location filming will be done at the Old Melbourne Gaol.
The crew said there is another 10-12 weeks of filming left to go (the shoot is set to wrap up in late July), and the movie will probably be released here in about a year and then overseas after that. All in all, the movie looks and sounds like it's going to be great. The costumes and sets are great, and the few performances I saw were very good also. And from the buzz on the set Heath is perfect in the role as Ned. I for one can't wait to see it"