'It’s been a decade since acclaimed Australian filmmaker Phillip Noyce was first linked to a film adaptation of Tim Winton’s 2001 novel Dirt Music. Winner of the Miles Franklin Award and short-listed for the Booker Prize, the book was a prime candidate for the big screen, and the perceived cultural value of the project is reflected in the A-list names who became attached to it at different times during its long development history – including Rachel Weisz, Nicole Kidman, Russell Crowe, Colin Farrell and the late Heath Ledger.' (Introduction)