Hugh Jackman to replace Crowe in blockbuster

08 June 2006

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Hugh Jackman has replaced Russell Crowe in a new�80 million blockbuster being made by 'Moulin Rouge' director Baz Luhrmann.The 'Gladiator' star was dropped from the project after he reportedly annoyed producers by constantly demanding script rewrites.His role was initially offered to 'Brokeback Mountain' actor Heath Ledger, but he passed on the film.Now Jackman - who is currently starring as metal-framed mutant Wolverine in 'X-Men: The Last Stand' - has accepted the part easing the producers fears they would not be able to find a replacement.The actor will star opposite Nicole Kidman in the film, which is set in Australia in the build-up to World War II.Kidman plays an English aristocrat who inherits a massive ranch in northern Australia who is forced to join forces with a cattle driver, 37-year-old Jackman, when British cattle barons try to steal her land.

The pair, who later become lovers, are forced to herd their animals away from the land to Darwin only to be confronted by the Japanese bombing the city.

Shooting on the project starts in February.

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