Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor in the sumptuous Moulin Rouge . The club - so fabulously atmospheric. As Moulin Rouge nears completion in Los Angeles, the business of selling the ambitious musical is under way around the world. On the face of it, getting cinema audiences interested should not be too hard at a time when quality releases such as Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and Traffic are succeeding.
Films based on music are traditionally difficult to pull off.
The studio also needs a hit. The share price of its parent, News Corp, fell more than 5 per cent this week after an influential American analyst slashed earning forecasts amid concerns about a poor film line-up last quarter and a weaker advertising market. Not that Moulin Rouge is the studio's biggest gamble in the next few months. But much still rides on a film that missed its planned Christmas release after shooting started in Sydney and ended in Spain. Missing that deadline came after three unforeseen delays Luhrmann's father died suddenly on the first day of filming then Kidman was injured twice.