page_title: The Dressmaker (2015 film)
section_title: Pre-production
hierarchical_section_title: The Dressmaker (2015 film) / Production / Pre-production
caption_attribution_description: English: Sign proclaiming that "You are entering the Mallee" at en:Birchip, Victoria
context_page_description: The Dressmaker is a 2015 Australian revenge comedy-drama film co-written and directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse, based on the 2000 novel of the same name by Rosalie Ham. It stars Kate Winslet as a femme fatale in the title role of the dressmaker, Myrtle "Tilly" Dunnage, who returns to a small Australian town to take care of her ailing, mentally unstable mother. The film explores the themes of revenge and creativity and was described by Moorhouse as "Clint Eastwood's Unforgiven with a sewing machine".
  The project was first developed in 2000, and Ham wrote a treatment herself. After initial attempts failed, Sue Maslin bought the rights to the novel and hired Moorhouse to direct and write the screenplay. Production took place in Melbourne and across Victoria, Australia in late 2014. The film had its world premiere at 2015 Toronto International Film Festival on 14 September 2015 and had a theatrical release on 29 October 2015 in Australia and New Zealand. It opened at the number 1 spot at the Australian and New Zealand box offices and became the second highest-grossing Australian film of 2015 and eleventh highest-grossing film of all time at Australian box office.
context_section_description: Production was initially planned to start in early 2014, but due to Winslet's pregnancy it was delayed to late 2014. Pre-production finally began in September 2014, with the construction of fictional town Dungatar started on 16 September 2014 at Mount Rothwell, one hour out of Melbourne. According to Maslin, after looking at many small towns around regional Victoria with Ham and Moorhouse, they decided to set the location of Dungatar "in the wheat-growing area of Victoria's Wimmera-Mallee". Maslin added, "Rosalie is definite about it being in a wheatbelt but on a hill. We drove around Victoria, NSW and into South Australia for three years looking but never found all the elements. Then one day the location department at Film Victoria rang up and suggested the back of the You Yangs near Geelong, where Heath Ledger had filmed Ned Kelly. It had a granite outcrop and a landscape of dead trees. Our DOP Don McAlpine took one look and said ‘We have to shoot here’."
  The Emmy Award-nominated Marion Boyce was announced as the costume designer for the film. Maslin expressed excitement about working with Boyce on a film in which dressmaking plays an important role. Sophie Theallet was also asked to design two couture gowns for Winslet for the film. In October 2014, Margot Wilson came on board as the costume designer for Tilly Dunnage's wardrobe worn by Winslet in the film. Additional retro clothes and accessories were provided by a shop named Retropolitan, located in West Annapolis, United States.
  Winslet bought a sewing machine and learnt to sew for the film, she explained that "the one we used in the film, it was mine, the one that I had learnt on, and I took it over to Australia so that we could use it in the film." She used the Singer Sewing Machine Singer 201K2 in the film.
caption: Victoria's Wimmera-Mallee, place of setting for fictional town Dungatar
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