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Sometimes a movie is worth waiting for. If you know anything about the production of motion pictures you may know that it can take years, sometimes decades, to get a film made. One such Hollywood story was the movie Jacob’s Ladder, the script for which became legendary as having been read by almost every producer, director and actor who works in the production of movies. When it finally did get made, well, if you’ve seen it, you probably know its pretty damn good.

In the 1980s I read Robyn Davidson’s book Tracks about her crossing the Australian Outback with camels starting at Alice Springs, the largest town in the outback. The journey was almost 2000 miles and was covered by a photographer from National Geographic, at Robyn Davidson’s request.

Her book was fascinating, and at the time,( this was in the 1980s,) I thought it would make a great movie.

★★★☆☆ In 1975, Robyn Davidson arrived in a remote Australian town with a crazy ambition to cross the desert to the ocean using wild camels - which she planned to capture and tame - to carry her supplies, accompanied by her faithful dog Diggity. Inspired as much by a dislike of people as a love for the wilderness, Davidson faced adversity and opposition from many, but having secured the sponsorship of National Geographic she was able to begin and complete her adventure. Showing in competition at the London Film Festival, Tracks (2013) is John Curran's retelling of Davidson's own account of events.

Though she arguably seems a shade young for the central role - Davidson was twenty-five at the beginning of her adventure - Stoker star Mia Wasikowska's lead performance is finely balanced and thoroughly convincing. It certainly needs to be, as she basically carries the film, appearing in each and every scene.

Six days after its Australian premiere at the Adelaide Film Festival on October 10, John Curran's Tracks will screen at the Australian International Movie Convention.

Screen Australia and Australian distributor Transmission Films are keen to gain the support of exhibitors as a primer for the adventure/drama's release next March.

Mia Wasikowska stars as Robyn Davidson, the then 25-year-old Queenslander who embarked on a 2,700 km trek across the outback with four camels in 1977. Adam Driver (HBO's Girls) portrays Rick Smolan, the American photographer who documented the journey for National Geographic.

The Weinstein Co. bought North American rights after its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival.

The film will screen at the movie convention at Jupiters Hotel & Casino, Gold Coast on October 16. As a warm-up, producer Emile Sherman, Davidson and Smolan will discuss the film following the Box Office Awards lunch that day.

The convention opens on October 13 with the Australian premiere of Captain Phillips,...

Tracks begins a quote from Robyn Davidson (played in the film adaptation by Mia Wasikowska) saying that most nomads feel at home everywhere, but she was a nomad because she felt at home nowhere. There’s a romanticism and nobility in solitude, but director John Curran can’t capture it in his adaptation of Davidson’s memoir about her lonely trek across Australia. Her extraordinary journey is mostly uneventful, and events are what define journeys. Otherwise it’s just distance. The movie desperately tries to look at her travel from every physical angle, but from an emotional standpoint, we’re left to wonder why a total loner would bother sharing her story with us in the first place. In 1975, Robyn Davidson launches a plan to walk from Alice Springs in Central Australia all the way to the Indian Ocean, a distance of approximately 1,700 miles. After spending two years learning how to ride and train camels,...

In 1975, a soul-searching young Australian woman named Robyn Davidson set out to travel solo from Alice Springs across the vast, empty desert to reach the Indian Ocean some 2,000 miles away. Aided only by a trio of camels and her dog, Davidson eventually completed the voyage and wrote a popular National Geographic article about her experiences with photographs by Rick Smolan, who occasionally accompanied her. The details of that expedition form the core of "Tracks," John Curran's expressionistic adaption of Davidson's voyage. True to the nature of the experience, "Tracks" largely involves its protagonist trekking across a vacant landscape with occasional stops along the way. While "Tracks" certainly does justice to the splendor of the surroundings, it never manages to justify the expansion of the material into a feature. However, with Mia Wasikowska in the lead role, Davidson herself comes across as a wholly believable dreamer whose frustrations with the pat nature of the civilized.

The Weinstein Company (TWC) today has acquired U.S. rights from HanWay Films to John Curran's true Australian odyssey "Tracks," starring Mia Wasikowska and Adam Driver, which debuted at Venice and Telluride to strong reviews and will go on to screen at Toronto. Here's Toh. John Curran ("The Painted Veil," "We Don't Live Here Anymore") tells the true story of Robyn Davidson (Mia Wasikowska), a woman from the city who makes a solo trek in 1977 through 1700 miles of inhospitable Australian desert. Accompanied by only her dog Diggity and four ornery camels, she sets off on a life-changing journey beginning in Alice Springs and ending at the Indian Ocean. Along the way, she meets National Geographic photographer Rick Smolan (Adam Driver) who photographs her voyage.  Julia Roberts was one of many actresses attached to "Tracks" during its long journey to the big screen, but Wasikowska portraying Davidson, an unremarkable 27-year-old.

The first reviews posted for John Curran.s true-life adventure Tracks after its world premiere at the Venice Film Festival are raves, with one notable exception.

Mia Wasikowska gets plenty of plaudits for her performance as Robyn Davidson, the then 25-year-old Queenslander who embarked on a 2,700 km trek across the outback with four camels in 1977.

Mandy Walker.s cinematography is widely praised, as is Adam Driver.s portrayal of Rick Smolan, the gawky American photographer who documented the journey for National Geographic.

Two influential critics are optimistic about the B.O. prospects of the film which doesn.t yet have a North American deal and is due to open in Australia in March.

The Hollywood Reporter.s David Rooney sees the film adapted by Marion Nelson from Davidson.s novel as a .natural for significant exposure through a top-tier specialty label..

Variety.s Justin Chang said, .Prestigious fall festival berths...

John Curran’s film tells the true story of Robyn Davidson’s epic journey across the Australian desert from Alice Springs to the Indian Ocean in 1977, her companions just her dog Diggity and four camels. By happy coincidence the photographic book recounting her journey is entitled From Alice to Ocean as this film stars Mia Wasikowska, who came to our attention in Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland.

Robyn arrives in Alice Springs, looking for work and some camels for her journey. At Posel Camel Farm she makes a deal to work for free in exchange for learning camel taming and two wild camels. When her eight month apprenticeship is up, Farmer Posel reneges on the deal and Robyn is back to square one, albeit with some camel training tricks up her dusty sleeve. Moving on to a camel ranch, she works hard and earns her first camel. It’s...

Rolf de Heer on location for.Charlie's Country with David Gulpilil

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Rolf de Heer's Charlie's Country, Warwick Thornton.s The Darkside and Rowan Woods' The Broken Shore will have their world premieres at the 2013 Adelaide Film Festival, which runs October 10-20. Among the other world premieres unveiled today by the Aff.s new CEO/ Director Amanda Duthie are the Adelaide-shot features One-Eyed Girl and 52 Tuesdays and the documentaries All This Mayhem, Muriel Matters and Sons and Mothers. Duthie ticked off an impressive list of 166 titles from 48 countries, including 28 world premieres, 47 Australian premieres and 34 South Australian projects. The line-up features 14 works including seven features which were supported by the Aff.s investment fund. As announced, the fest will open with John Curran.s South Australian-shot Tracks, the true story of Robyn Davidson.s solo 2,700 km trek via camels across the Australian desert in 1977, accompanied by her dog Diggity. Curran,...

One of the many exciting premieres awaiting fall festival goers is John Curran's "Tracks," starring Mia Wasikowska as Robyn Davidson, the real-life trail blazer who in 1977 at age 27 embarked on a 1700-mile journey across the Australian Outback with four camels and a dog. The film debuts at Venice and Toronto. Watch a first-look clip below. Adam Driver ("Girls") also stars as National Geographic photographer Rick Smolan, who meets up with Davidson on three occasions to document her journey. No sighting of Driver in this first clip, but we do see Wasikowska penning the letter that would eventually entice him to the desert.  The lovely cinematography on display is by Mandy Walker ("Australia," "Red Riding Hood"). Here's the synopsis:In 1977, a twenty-seven-year-old Australian woman named Robyn Davidson set out from Alice Springs to walk across 2,700 kilometers of harsh desert to the Indian Ocean. Accompanied only by her dog and four camels,...

Can you tell we're on the cusp of festival season? More previews are arriving as premieres come closer and closer, and now another has landed, this time giving us a first peek at the Australian film "Tracks" from filmmaker John Curran ("Stone," "The Painted Veil"). And it brings to life a pretty interesting true story. Mia Wasikowska stars as Robyn Davidson, a young woman who trekked across the Australian Outback in 1977, a 1,700-mile journey, accompanied by her dog and four camels. "Girls" star Adam Driver plays photographer Rick Smolan, who meets her on three occasions to document her journey for National Geographic magazine. And in this pretty lovely clip, you'll see Robyn writing a letter to the magazine looking for their support. Here's the official synopsis:  In 1977, a twenty-seven-year-old Australian woman named Robyn Davidson set out from Alice Springs to walk across 2,700 kilometers of harsh desert to the Indian Ocean.

With each passing year, Tiff is becoming more and more prominent on the film festival circuit, with more and more Oscar-primed films making their debut out in Canada. And with the initial line-up announced for the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival, the trend is definitely continuing.

Amongst the many, many films making their presence felt out in Toronto will be Steve McQueen’s highly anticipated 12 Years a Slave, which launched a powerful first trailer earlier in the month. The film sees Chiwetel Ejiofor lead a fantastic cast, with Michael Fassbender returning to work for his Hunger / Shame director, alongside the likes of Brad Pitt, Benedict Cumberbatch, Sarah Paulson, Paul Giamatti, and many more.

Opening the festival will be Bill Condon’s The Fifth Estate, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch as WikiLeaks founder, Julian Assange, alongside Daniel Brühl, Laura Linney, Anthony Mackie, and Stanley Tucci.

And closing it will be Daniel Schechter’s Life of Crime,...

Tracks, the true story of Robyn Davidson.s 2,700 km trek across the outback with four camels and her dog Diggity, will have its Australian premiere at the Adelaide Film Festival in October.

But audiences in other States will have to wait until March to see the adventure which stars Mia Wasikowska as Davidson and Adam Driver (HBO.s Girls) as Rick Smolan, the American National Geographic photographer who joined her on several occasions.

Distributor Transmission Films has dated the film for March 6 after deciding to avoid the cluttered pre-Christmas period and to spend more time on developing marketing materials for the campaign.

The November/December frame is crowded with titles such as August: Osage County, a dramedy that stars Benedict Cumberbatch, Abigail Breslin, Ewan McGregor, Meryl Streep and Julia Roberts, The Carrie remake, The Hunger Games: Catching Fire, Martin Scorsese.s The Wolf of Wall Street, Disney.s Saving Mr Banks,...

Local feature Tracks, starring Mia Wasikowska and Adam Driver, has begun filming in South Australia and the Northern Territory.

The film is based on the inspirational true story of Robyn Davidson.s solo trek from Alice Springs through 2700 kilometres of Australian desert to the Indian Ocean, accompanied only by her loyal dog and four unpredictable camels.

The film is being directed by John Curran (The Painted Veil, We Don.t Live Here Anymore, Praise) and produced by Oscar-winners Emile Sherman and Iain Canning (The King.s Speech, Shame, Oranges and Sunshine). Julie Ryan (Red Dog, Ten Canoes) is co-producer.

Davidson said it was a strange experience to see her book (which has been translated into twenty languages) morphed into another form.

"I could not be more pleased with the people involved in conceiving this new avatar," she said in a statement. "Emile and Iain, unique among producers I think; John,...

• It may be the boy on HBO's "Girls" whose career is getting the sweetest boost. Adam Driver, who plays Lena Dunham's sometimes-boyfriend on the Emmy-nominated breakout show, is headed to Australia to star opposite Mia Wasikowska in John Curran's "Tracks." The film is based on Australian Robyn Davis' 1970s memoir of the same name, inspired by her National Geographic articles. It follows Davis (Wasikowska) as she embarks on a 1700-mile trek across the Outback. Driver will play NY photographer Rick Smolan. Driver already has Spielberg's "Lincoln" and the Coens' "Inside Llewyn Davis" in the pipeline; 2012 has been good to him. - Screenwriter Stephen Gaghan ("Traffic," "Syriana") is set to direct his script "Candy Store," a crime thriller being produced by Lionsgate. Offers are currently out to Brad Pitt and Christoph Waltz, while Christian Bale, Ben Affleck, Matt Damon and Bradley Cooper...

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Adam Driver ("Girls") has been cast as a National Geographic photographer in John Curran's upcoming feature "Tracks" at See-Saw Productions says Deadline.

Mia Wasikowska plays Robyn Davidson, a young Australian woman on a camel trek across the Australian Outback in 1977. Driver plays Rick Smolan, the picture snapper who accompanied Davidson on her 1,400-mile journey.

Shooting kicks off October 8th in locations in South Australia and the Northern Territory. Emile Sherman and Iain Canning are producing.

Following a strong first season outing on the well-received HBO show Girls, Deadline reports that newcomer Adam Driver is planning a collaboration with one of the more under-appreciated filmmakers around, one John Curran (Stone, The Painted Veil, We Don’t Live Here Anymore).

The two are working together on Tracks, a film about how “a young woman, Robyn Davidson, traveled more than 1, 678 miles through the desert from Alice Springs, in the center of Oz, to the west coast in 1977.” The young woman is to be played by Mia Wasikowska, based on the real-life young woman Robyn Davidson‘s book of the same name.

Driver will play a New York photographer Rick Smolan, who trekked alongside Davidson on her journey, taking photos for National Geographic. The two would spark what Davidson would deem an “on again, off again” romance throughout the trip. Davidson also spent a considerable amount of her journey...

Since his breakout turn on HBO's "Girls" as Lena Dunham's love interest, Adam Driver has found himself working with the Coen Brothers on "Inside Llewyn Davis," and with Steven Spielberg on "Lincoln," amounting to a pretty good year for the actor. Driver is also currently shooting rom-com "The F Word," which co-stars Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan among others, and has now lined up another project that'll see him star opposite another young talent: Mia Wasikowska. Driver will play New York photographer Rick Smolan in John Curran's "Tracks," which, based on her own memoirs, retells the story of Robyn Davidson, a young woman who trekked across the Australian Outback in 1977. Wasikowska will play lead Davidson, nicknamed "The Camel Lady," who was joined on the 1700-mile journey by her dog and four camels, with Driver's Smolan meeting her on three occasions to document her journey for...

Update: Adam Driver, whose turn on HBO's Girls has launched him into the film stratosphere, will star opposite Mia Wasikowska in Tracks. Driver will play National Geographic  photographer Rick Smolan who accompanied "Camel Lady" Robyn Davidson on her 1977 trek across the Australian desert. 

Driver is in Steven Spielberg's Lincoln, the Coen Bros. Inside Llewyn Davis and opposite Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan in The F Word ("F" is for friends).

Source: Deadline

May 24, 2012 - Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) will play the woman known as "The Camel Lady" in the biopic Tracks. It will cover how Robyn Davidson traveled nearly 1,700 miles across the Australian desert in 1977 accompanied only by four camels, a dog, and a National Geographic photographer named Rick Smolan who covered the trek. John Curran, the director of the Robert DeNiro-Edward Norton film Stone, will helm. The King's Speech producers Emile Sherman and Iain Canning will produce the indie drama.

Don Groves is a Deadline contributor based in Sydney. Exclusive: Adam Driver, who plays Lena Dunham’s loopy lover in HBO’s Girls, has been cast as a New York photographer in Tracks, the saga of a young Australian woman’s camel trek across the Australian Outback in 1977. Mia Wasikowska plays Robyn Davidson, whose book of the same name is being adapted by writer-director John Curran. Producers are See-Saw Productions’ Emile Sherman and Iain Canning (The King’s Speech) with Julie Ryan (Red Dog) as co-producer. Driver plays Rick Smolan, the National Geographic photographer who accompanied Davidson on her 1,400-mile journey. Driver, whose movie career is gaining momentum, also plays Samuel Beckwith in Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln and has a supporting role in the Coen brothers’ Inside Llewyn Davis. Currently he’s shooting Michael Dowse’s romantic dramedy The F Word with Daniel Radcliffe and Zoe Kazan. Tracks rolls on...

Australian actor Mia Wasikowska is set to star in Tracks, a film from See-Saw producers Emile Sherman and Iain Canning.

Based on the memoir of the same name by Robyn Davidson, the movie will follow the journey of a young woman as she travels 2,700 kilometres through the desert from Alice Springs to the west coast of Australia.

Wasikowska will portray Davidson, who made the epic journey back in 1977, accompanied solely by four camels, a dog, and, on occasion, by American stills photographer Rick Smolan. (Smolan covered the trek for National Geographic magazine.) .

John Curran (The Painted Veil) will direct, with Transmission handling distribution in Australia and New Zealand. Momentum Pictures will release the film in the UK. Rights have also been sold to Switzerland and Italy.

Tracks has received funding from Screen Australia.

This week has been a busy one for Wasikowska. She appeared at the Cannes Film Festival to...

Two bits of casting news today for some lovely leading ladies (although only one of the roles is actually a lead).  Here are the headlines: Mia Wasikowska (Alice in Wonderland) is set to join Tracks for director John Curran (The Painted Veil).  The Australian-set picture is based on Robyn Davidson's trek across the heart of the island continent. Minka Kelly (Friday Night Lights) will join Precious director Lee Daniels' historical drama, The Butler, based on the life of Eugene Allen, who served on the White House staff from 1952 to 1986. Hit the jump for more. Variety reports that Wasikowska is set to play Davidson, a young woman who traveled almost 1,700 miles across the desert of Australia.  Davidson made the trek with four of her camels, becoming known internationally as, "The Camel Lady." Also accompanying Davidson were her faithful dog and Rick Smolan, a National Geographic photographer, who will be cast in the coming months.

Actress Mia Wasikowska has signed on to star in Tracks for HanWay Films and director John Curran.

The project is based on the memoir by Robyn Davidson, who traveled more than 1,600 miles from Alice Springs in the heart of Australia, all the way to the country's west coast in 1977. She made the journey with four camels and a dog, earning her the international nickname, "The Camel Lady." Her expedition was chronicled by National Geographic photographer Rick Smolan.

Emile Sherman and Iain Canning (The King's Speech, Shame) are producing through their See-Saw Films banner, with HanWay Films representing the international rights. Here's what the producers had to say about Mia Wasikowska in a joint statement.

"Having produced films with incredibly powerful central performances, from Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush to Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan, we are so excited to have Mia come on board to play the extraordinary role in Tracks.

Mia Wasikowska is set to lead Tracks , and adaptation of Robyn Davidson's 1980 memoir, Variety reports. Set to be directed by John Curran ( The Painted Veil , Stone ), the film will star Wasikowska as Davidson who, in 1977, took on the 1,700 miles mile journey across Australia with her photographer, Rick Smolan, four camels and a dog. Wasikowska is best known for title roles in Tim Burton's Alice in Wonderland and Cary Fukunaga's Jane Eyre . She can soon be seen on the big screen in John Hillcoat's Lawless . Iain Canning and Emile Sherman ( The King's Speech ) will produce with shooting scheduled to begin in Australia this fall (or spring to those living down under). (Photo Credit: Lia Toby / WENN.com)...

We previously reported that producer Ridley Scott and director Kevin Macdonald (State of Play, Touching the Void, The Last King of Scotland) teamed up with YouTube to create a film described as being the first user-generated feature length documentary.

The film is called Life in a Day and it incorporates footage shot YouTube users from all over the world. The film incorporates about 4,600 hours of footage submitted by YouTube users from 192 countries, 80,000 clips created on 500 cameras distributed to “remote areas of the world” on one single day — July 24th 2010. Macdonald took all of this footage and compiled it into a feature film.

Read the full press release below for all the the details:

YouTube has announced the premiere of director Kevin Macdonald's Life in a Day and that the film will stream live twice online:

Academy Award-winning director Kevin Macdonald (State of Play, Last King of Scotland, Touching the Void...

By Sean O’Connell

Hollywoodnews.com: Calling all up-and-coming documentary filmmakers. YouTube has joined forces with esteemed directors Ridley Scott and Kevin Macdonald in asking people around to world to help them create the first user-generated feature-length documentary film shot on a single day — July 24, 2010.

“Life in a Day” will be an historic global film experiment that enlists the global community to capture a moment of their lives on Saturday, July 24, and to upload that footage to www.youtube.com/lifeinaday.

Academy Award-winning director Kevin Macdonald (“State of Play,” “Last King of Scotland”) will direct, bringing together the most compelling footage into a feature-length documentary film. The project will be executive produced by Scott and produced by his company Scott Free Productions. Individuals whose footage makes it into the finished film will be credited as co-directors and 20 of these contributors will be flown to the 2011 Sundance Film Festival for the film’s world premiere.

Hey, want to work with the guy that made Alien, Blade Runner, Thelma & Louise and Robin Hood, to name just a few of his films? Sir Ridley Scott and Kevin Macdonald, the filmmakers behind The Last King of Scotland and State of Play, are collaborating on a feature-length documentary that will show future generations what life was like on our planet on a single day, that day being July 24, 2010.

Scott and Macdonald are working together with YouTube, the internet's second-biggest search engine, to gather the video content for their documentary. All you have to do to have your content considered for inclusion in Life in a Day is upload it to YouTube on the day in question, July 24.

"Life in a Day is a time capsule that will tell future generations what it was like to be alive on the 24th of July, 2010. It is a unique experiment in social filmmaking,...

Scott and director Kevin Macdonald will compile footage from users all over the world for 'Life in a Day.'

By Eric Ditzian

Ridley Scott

Photo: Jim Spellman/WireImage

After working with Leonardo DiCaprio, Denzel Washington, Susan Sarandon and Russell Crowe, Ridley Scott is gearing up for a new film project, and apparently he wants you to be his star. Really.

Scott, in a producer role, and director Kevin Macdonald ("The Last King of Scotland") announced on Tuesday their plans to team with YouTube to generate what they're calling "the first user-generated feature-length documentary."

Called "Life in a Day," the film will be made entirely of footage shot during the 24 hours of July 24, 2010. Anyone in the world can participate and then upload their content to YouTube.com/lifeinaday. Participants will be credited as co-directors if their footage makes it into the finished film. The doc will premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival,...

Scott and director Kevin Macdonald will compile footage from users all over the world for 'Life in a Day.'

By Eric Ditzian

Ridley Scott

Photo: Jim Spellman/WireImage

After working with Leonardo DiCaprio, Denzel Washington, Susan Sarandon and Russell Crowe, Ridley Scott is gearing up for a new film project, and apparently he wants you to be his star. Really.

Scott, in a producer role, and director Kevin Macdonald ("The Last King of Scotland") announced on Tuesday their plans to team with YouTube to generate what they're calling "the first user-generated feature-length documentary."

Called "Life in a Day," the film will be made entirely of footage shot during the 24 hours of July 24, 2010. Anyone in the world can participate and then upload their content to YouTube.com/lifeinaday. Participants will be credited as co-directors if their footage makes it into the finished film. The doc will premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival,...

Producer Ridley Scott and director Kevin Macdonald are joining forces with YouTube to create what is being dubbed "the first user-generated feature-length documentary."

Titled "Life in a Day," the doc will incorporate footage shot on July 24 that is submitted by YouTube users from around the world. It will have its world premiere at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

Macdonald, whose features include "State of Play" and "The Last King of Scotland," will direct, compiling the best footage into the final film, which will be exec produced by Scott and his Scott Free Prods. Individuals whose footage make it into the finished film will be credited as co-directors, and 20 of them will be flown to Sundance for the movie's bow.

Scott Free will work with Rick Smolan, creator of "A Day in the Life" and CEO of Against All Odds Prods. -- a California-based organization that specializes in the execution of large-scale...

If you’re not busy on July 24th, you may want to get your camera and your YouTube account ready for an ambitious filmmaking project. THR reports that producer Ridley Scott, director Kevin Macdonald (State of Play), and YouTube are teaming up for Life in a Day, “the first user-generated feature-length documentary.” The idea is that footage shot on July 24th and submitted to YouTube for the project will be compiled a feature documentary that will debut at next year’s Sundance Film Festival.

Hit the jump for more details on this fascinating project.

Macdonald will direct the film by selecting what he deems the best footage for the final film. The creators of that footage will be credited as co-directors and twenty of them will join Macdonald and Scott when the film premieres at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. And if you’re worried that this project favors citizens of...