Taglines: Where were you when everything changed?
A small group of Australian teens team up to take back their country after an occupying army sweeps in and takes over in this adaptation of John Marsden’s best-selling novel. 17 year old Ellie Linton (Caitlin Stasey) and her friends live in the quiet coastal town of Wirrawee.
As the holidays draw to a close and school looms on the horizon, Ellie longs for one last adventure before heading back into the classroom. Her wish comes true when her parents agree to let her use the Land Rover for a week camping adventure in Hell, a secluded paradise with a deceptive name. At first, everything is perfect. Ellie and best friends pass their time basking in the sun, and wading in a picturesque waterfall. But the fun comes to a sudden end when the group notices a fleet of unidentified jets cutting through the night sky.
Shaken, they return home to find that the entire population of Wirrawee has vanished, and all power has been cut off. The teens’ greatest fears are confirmed shortly thereafter, when they discover that the local showgrounds have been transformed into a makeshift prison camp, and that everyone they know has been imprisoned by the invading military. Upon realizing they have been discovered, the teens decide to strike back against the occupiers with everything they’ve got.
Tomorrow, When the War Began is a 2010 Australian action-adventure war drama film written and directed by Stuart Beattie and based on the novel of the same name (the first in a series of seven) by John Marsden. The film was produced by Andrew Mason and Michael Boughen. The story follows Ellie Linton, one of seven teenagers waging a guerrilla war against an invading foreign power in their fictional hometown of Wirrawee. The film stars Caitlin Stasey as Ellie Linton and features an ensemble cast including Rachel Hurd-Wood, Lincoln Lewis , Ethan Burns Dederer and Phoebe Tonkin. Production began in September 2009.
Principal photography began on 28 September 2009, and concluded on 6 November 2009; filming took place in the Hunter Region and the Blue Mountains, in New South Wales. The teaser trailer for the film was released on 31 March 2010. The film was released in Australia and New Zealand on 2 September 2010. It was later released on 15 April 2011 in the United Kingdom, and on 24 February 2012 in the United States.
About the Production
Development
In June 2009, Screen Australia announced that it would fund the development of the feature film to be produced based on the novel, to be written and directed by screenwriter Stuart Beattie. The film was released on 2 September 2010. Critical response to the film was mixed and it failed to find an overseas audience.
Filming and locations
Filming began in the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia on 28 September 2009 with early shooting in Dungog. Raymond Terrace was chosen as a major location for producing the film as it is “a great country town”. Historic King Street, the former main street of the town, was transformed from a normally quiet location into Main Street, Wirrawee.
The street began its transformation in September 2009, with set areas including the “Wirrawee Cinema” and the Lee family’s Thai restaurant. Filming began in King Street on 21 October 2009 and continued until 27 October 2009. Filming in other locations in the town ended on 6 November 2009. Other filming locations included Maitland, the Blue Mountains and the Luskintyre bridge. The Fox Studios site in Sydney was also used. The explosions of the house and bridge were filmed, scaled-down, at Terrey Hills in northern Sydney.
Despite not coming close to its A$27 million budget, the film was popular at the Australian and New Zealand box office, though internationally it was far less successful. In Australia, the film debuted at No. 1 and made $3.86 million during its first weekend and grossed NZ$358,653 in its No. 1 debut in New Zealand. Within two weeks, the film grossed over $7.7 million in Australia to become the highest-grossing domestic film of 2010.
Paramount acquired distribution rights for the UK, Russia, South Africa, Portugal and Scandinavia and said upon its acquisition that they “look forward to bringing this story to international audiences.”[28] Despite earning over $13.5 million at the Australian box office, the film “failed to find an international audience” and earned a total of under $3 million in the rest of the world combined. This included $341,995 in the U.K. and $1,026,705 in New Zealand.
Tomorrow, When the War Began (2012)
Directed by: Stuart Beattie
Starring: Caitlin Stasey, Rachel Hurd-Wood, Lincoln Lewis, Deniz Akdeniz, Phoebe Tonkin, Ashleigh Cummings, Andrew Ryan, Colin Friels, Olivia Pigeot, Dane Carson, Stephen Bourke
Screenplay by: Stuart Beattie
Production Design by: Robert Webb
Cinematography by: Ben Nott
Film Editing by: Marcus D’Arcy
Costume Design by: Terry Ryan
Set Decoration by: Beverley Dunn
Art Direction by: Damien Drew, Michelle McGahey
Music by: Reinhold Heil, Johnny Klimek
MPAA Rating: R for some violence.
Distributed by: Paramount Pictures
Release Date: February 24, 2012
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