Fox Searchlight's decision, announced Friday, to shut down "Eucalyptus," the film which was to have starred Russell Crowe and Nicole Kidman, has sent shock waves through the Australian film industry, and some of the actors involved are voicing their own theories about why the project was postponed indefinitely. Lawrie Zion, writing in the Weekend Australian newspaper, said, "After a horror 2004 for the Australian film industry, 'Eucalyptus' ... was seen as one of the big local hopes this year, especially with its Oscar-winning leads." The film's demise has left 80 crew members without jobs and the small town of Bellingen in northern New South Wales reeling because the locals will lose three months' worth of accommodation bookings and associated business.

Subscribe to the Hollywood Reporter and see the entertainment industry from its best angle: the inside looking out. Complete access to real-time news and exclusive analysis that goes behind the scenes from film to television, home video to digital media.

   Subscribe now.