AceShowbiz -

"Australia" will no longer be an epic tale drama with a tragic ending. News.com.au reported that filmmaker Baz Luhrmann has given in to 20th Century Fox's pressure to change the conclusion of his epic and romantic action adventure by agreeing to rewrite the ending and eliminate the tragic part.

Reportedly, after intense discussions with studio executives, the director of "Moulin Rouge!" was persuaded sometime last week to alter the ending for a more uplifting one. The persuasion for the ending's alteration comes following test screenings which draw negative responses to the movie's more-than-three-hours initial cut.

Of the feedback, one reviewer wrote as quoted by the publication, "If they can tastefully tie this movie up into a solid story, with a nice pace, Baz will have a winner here." The reviewer then continued to complain about the claimed-to-be unnecessary killing of Hugh Jackman's character, The Drover who is left dying in final scenes. "And there is no reason to kill off Wolvie (Jackman) in this one - come on," he added.

Teaming up Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman as a rugged cattle drover and an aristocratic English woman Lady Sarah Ashley, two opposite people forced to work together to drive 2,000 cattle across hundreds of miles of the harsh outback terrain, the movie is set in the land of down under during the World War II. The romantic drama is set to hit the U.S. big screen on November 26.