The Dressmaker (2015 Film) Jocelyn Moorhouse

Development

Rosalie Ham sold the rights of the novel for film in mid 2000s. She said in an interview, "I had ten offers on the table within weeks of the book coming out. I selected a producer who seemed passionate about the book and determined to make it happen" and even wrote a screenplay for the film but somehow the project never took off.[21][22] While missing out on the rights to begin with, producer Sue Maslin reconnected with the author, whom she had not seen for 30 years since they were at boarding school together. After the initial project was shelved, Maslin optioned the rights of the novel in 2009[23] and brought Moorhouse on board to direct and write the screenplay for the film. Maslin said, "She (Moorhouse) was living in Los Angeles and I flew there twice to talk to her (about coming back to Australia to make the film). It goes back to what she did with Proof, where every scene was on a knife edge between comedy and tragedy. You don't know whether to laugh or cry."[24][25] Screen Australia, Film Victoria, Ingenious Media, White Hot Productions, Fulcrum Media Finance, Motion Picture Lightning, and Soundfirm provided the additional investment for the film.[2]

Moorhouse came on board for the project, saying, "I've waited years to make this movie. It's about my favourite subjects: revenge, love and creativity. I'm deeply grateful to have such extraordinary actors working on this with me."[26] Moorhouse's husband, film director P. J. Hogan, served as the script editor for the project.[8][24]

Casting

Kate Winslet and Judy Davis joined the cast of the film as Myrtle "Tilly" and Molly Dunnage respectively in August 2013.[27] Maslin had Winslet and Davis in mind from the start of the project for the roles but knew that securing both of them would not be easy, saying, "Kate gets sent hundreds of scripts a year, and chooses two or three. She fell in love with Tilly, so it was all down to Jocelyn and her beautiful script"[24] and "I've been trying to get Judy to work with me for about 20 years, I always offer her things and so does my husband. So when I read this character I thought, if only I could get Judy to do this. I was actually scared to send her the script, I kept doing more and more drafts so what she got was the best possible version. I was nervous, but I needn't have been because she seemed to respond to the character pretty quickly."[28]

Liam Hemsworth as Teddy McSwiney, Isla Fisher as Gertrude Pratt and Elizabeth Debicki as Una joined the cast in early May 2014.[29] Speaking about the casting, Moorhouse said, "Kate is perfect for Tilly, she’s beautiful, intelligent, and deeply mysterious on screen. Judy Davis is amongst the great contemporary actresses and she will bring powerful wit and charm to the role of Molly. Liam Hemsworth is a laid back, genuine charmer who’s also tall, dark and movie-star handsome."[30] In early October 2014, Hugo Weaving joined the cast as Sergeant Farrat, a secret cross-dressing police officer of Dungatar.[31][32]

On 10 October 2014, it was announced that Debicki had dropped out of the film to play the lead in The Kettering Incident and had been replaced by Sacha Horler. Fisher also left the project due to pregnancy, and was replaced by Sarah Snook. Additional cast members were announced including Caroline Goodall, Shane Bourne, Kerry Fox, Rebecca Gibney, Shane Jacobson, Alison Whyte and Genevieve Lemon.[25][33]

Ham encouraged the casting of extras from her hometown of Jerilderie, New South Wales, Australia, saying, "It was important to me that Jerilderie locals had a chance to be in the movie."[34] The last portion of filming took place in the Wimmera and more than 100 locals participated as extras.[35][36] For the players in football match scene in the film, casting director Charlotte Seymour hired most of the extras from Wimmera's Laharum Football Netball Club.[37][38] Singer Lanie Lane, who recorded songs for the soundtrack album of the film, also appears as an extra in the film.[39] Ham herself makes an appearance as an extra in the film.[40]

Pre-production

Production was initially planned to start in early 2014, but due to Winslet's pregnancy it was delayed to late 2014.[41][42] Pre-production finally began in September 2014, with the construction of fictional town Dungatar started on 16 September 2014[43] at Mount Rothwell, one hour out of Melbourne.[44][45][46] 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".[47][48] 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’."[49]

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.[50] Sophie Theallet was also asked to design two couture gowns for Winslet for the film.[51] In October 2014, Margot Wilson came on board as the costume designer for Tilly Dunnage's wardrobe worn by Winslet in the film.[52] Additional retro clothes and accessories were provided by a shop named Retropolitan, located in West Annapolis, United States.[53]

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."[54] She used the Singer Sewing Machine Singer 201K2 in the film.[55]

Filming

Principal photography started on 17 October 2014 in Melbourne, Australia at Docklands Studios[56][57][58][59] and finished on 13 December 2014.[60][61] Filming also took place at different towns in Victoria, Australia including Mount Rothwell, Little River, Horsham, and in the Wimmera region.[41]

Interior scenes were filmed at the Docklands Studios, where an artificial silo,[62] and part of Dungatar town, including Molly Dunnage's house, were constructed on the sound stage.[63] On 20 October 2014, filming took place in Docklands Studios with Winslet and Davis.[64] On 5 November 2014, filming took place at Muckleford, Victoria railway station, which was transformed into Dungatar's railway station.[65] In the middle of November 2014, scenes were shot at Mount Rothwell, just north of the You Yangs, near Geelong,[66] and later that month, scenes were filmed with an emu named Elvis, courtesy of the Mount Rothwell Biodiversity Interpretation Centre.[67]

Hemsworth only joined the filming in late November 2014 because of his prior commitment to the promotion of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1.[68] On 2 December 2014, he, along with Gyton Grantley, shot scenes at Little River, just west of the You Yangs. Filming took place in different areas of Yarraville, a Melbourne suburb, including Ballarat Street, and around the Sun Theatre and the Sun Bookshop, on 4 December 2014.[69][70][71] On 5 December 2014, filming took place in Melbourne with Winslet, Hemsworth and Hugo Weaving.[72] A scene was also shot in a hall in the Melbourne suburb of Williamstown, which served as fictional Dungatar.[73]

In second week of December 2014, Maslin, along with a crew of 120 people, moved to Victoria's Wimmera region for further filming.[74][75] Scenes were shot in different parts of Wimmera, including Sailors’ Home Hall at Murra Warra, the grain silo and cemetery at Jung, Laharum Homestead, and Murtoa Hall.[76] Longerenong Homestead, near Horsham, was used for wedding reception scenes and Jung Recreation Reserve for football-match scenes.[74][77] On 10 December 2014, football-match scenes were filmed with Winslet, Hemsworth, and Davis.[78] On 12 December 2014, filming took place at Murtoa, which served as fictional town Winyerp in Ham's novel.[79] Filming concluded with the shooting of wedding-reception scenes at Longerenong Homestead.[80]

Post-production

Post-production started in mid-December 2014, and took place at Soundfirm Melbourne, with Moorhouse, editor Jill Bilcock and music composer David Hirschfelder[81][82] and was finished by 30 June 2015.[14][83][84] Filming had included the use of greenscreen shots to which visual effects were added in post-production.[85]