The story takes off after Joe Warr (Owen), a sports writer, becomes single dad to a six-year old (Nicholas McAnulty) upon the death of his wife (Laura Fraser). He institutes a just-say-yes regime but this world without rules swiftly deteriorates, especially when the 15-year-old son (George MacKay) of his first marriage decides to rejoin his dad.

The Australians in the cast besides McAnulty include Emma Booth (Clubland) and Julia Blake (Innocence).

Boys light up as Hicks drops in

October 01, 2008

ADELAIDE is all aflutter now that Scott Hicks's The Boys are Back has begun filming there. The film, which is being shot in Adelaide and the Fleurieu Peninsula, stars one of cinema's real men, Clive Owen, as a sportswriter who must tend alone to his young sons after the death of his wife. Owen, who starred in Closer, Sin City and the sublime Children of Men, heads a cast including newcomer Nicholas McAnulty, A Knight's Tale's Laura Fraser, Clubland's Emma Booth, Julia Blake and George MacKay. Hicks, who hasn't shot a film in South Australia since Shine, researched the lead character with a number of sportswriters from The Australian who, despite their world-weary gaits, lifted a notch in the director's presence.

Unfortunately, Owen is unlikely to need their services now the film is shooting, but the expectation of meeting the British star was enough. The Boys Are Back caps a productive year for the South Australian film industry, particularly given that the film, adapted from British author Simon Carr's memoir, was due to be shot elsewhere before the South Australian Film Corporation and state Government stepped in and splashed some cash. South Australia has hosted a rush of local features in the past year, including Glendyn Ivin's Last Ride starring Hugo Weaving; Dean O'Flaherty's Beautiful, starring Deborra-Lee Furness, Peta Wilson, Tahyna Tozzi, Asher Keddie and Aaron Jeffery; Rachel Ward's Beautiful Kate, starring Rachel Griffiths and Ward's hubby Bryan Brown; and Coffin Rock, starring Robert Taylor and McLeod's Daughters' Lisa Chappell.

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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.