"Australia"

Baz Luhrmann 's " Australia " may be doing some middling U.S. boxoffice, earning about $39 million since it opened. The director is unrepentant as the movie nears its 1st month of release stateside.

In one of his 1st interviews, he spoke out against "Australia's" critics. He spoke against those he feels call him the " black hole of cinema." He said that he will move quickly on his next project, an adaptation of " The Great Gatsby ," which he described as a perfect parable for economic disaster.

"A lot of reviewers like 'Australia," he told during an interview at the Four Seasons Hotel. "But there are those that don't get it. A lot of the film scientists don't get it. And it's not just that that they don't get it, but they hate it and they hate me, and they think I'm the black hole of cinema. They say, 'He shouldn't have made it, and he should die.'"

Asked why he thought the reactions were so passionate, he replied: "I know what it's about."