Tomorrow, When The War Began follows the journey of eight high school friends in a remote country town whose lives are suddenly and violently upended by a war that no one saw coming. Cut off from their families and their friends, these eight extraordinary teenagers must learn to escape, survive and fight back against hostile military forces.
Stuck helping her parents on their country farm, 17-year-old Ellie Linton (Caitlin Stasey) plans one last adventure before school holidays end - a camping trip to a remote vegetated sinkhole located in the bush that the locals have ominously dubbed "Hell".
With her parents agreeing to lend the family Land Rover, Ellie gathers her school mates for the trip: Best friend Corrie McKenzie (Rachel Hurd-Wood) and her amorous, sporty boyfriend Kevin Holmes (Lincoln Lewis); school beauty queen Fiona Maxwell (Phoebe Tonkin); larrikin troublemaker Homer Yannos (Deniz Akdeniz); straight-laced, religious Robyn Mathers (Ashleigh Cummings) and Lee Takkam (Chris Pang), whose parents run the local Thai restaurant.
Upon reaching their destination, the group discover "Hell" is anything but: The lush, idyllic sinkhole turns out to be a hidden paradise, complete with a stream and waterfall - the perfect location for friendships to be forged and romances to blossom. During their weeklong stay, the outside world becomes a distant memory - that is until a several squads of low-flying jets make an unexpected appearance in the night sky.
Returning to their small hometown of Wirrawee, the seven teenagers soon discover something is amiss: Power to the town has been cut, pets and livestock have been left dead or dying and, most alarmingly of all, everyone's parents have vanished.
After splitting into teams, Ellie, Corrie and Kevin make a shocking discovery: The local showground has been turned into a prison camp and the entire population of Wirrawee are being held captive by a foreign military force.
When the hostile armed forces become alerted to the presence of the teenagers, Ellie and her friends - along with a new recruit (apathetic stoner Chris Lang, played by Andrew Ryan) - must band together to escape, outwit and strike back against the mysterious enemy that has seized control of their town and imprisoned their friends and loved ones.

FROM THE PAGE TO THE SCREEN: THE ADAPTATION PROCESS
In a twenty-one year writing career John Marsden has written and edited more than thirty books, which have sold four million copies world-wide and been translated into fourteen languages. His novels include So Much to Tell You and Tomorrow, When the War Began, and his non-fiction titles include Secret Men's Business and Everything I Know About Writing.
John has won every major writing award in Australia for young people's fiction. Internationally, he has twice been named among Best Books of the Year by the American Library Association and once by Publishers' Weekly (U.S.A.). He recently became only the fifth author to receive the Lloyd O‟Neill Award for lifetime services to Australian publishing, the other four being Peter Carey, Ruth Park, Morris West and Tom Keneally. John has also won the Grand Jury Prize as Austria's Most Popular Writer for Teenagers, and in Germany, the coveted Buxtehuder Bulle: an award given biennially for the best young person‟s book in the world for the preceding two years.
The popular Tomorrow series of seven titles has sold over 2.5 million copies and has been translated into seven languages. Since its release in 1993, Marsden always knew there was something about Tomorrow, When The War Began that seemed to jump off the page.
"I did realise writing Tomorrow, When The War Began and the other books that there was a very visual quality to them that not many of my other books have. Even as I was writing it I could see a movie in my head and that made it different from my other books. In this book the characters seemed very real to me from the moment I started writing them and they were jumping off the page and seemed almost three-dimensional."
One of the reasons Marsden wrote the novel was to portray young people as being capable of achieving great things. He believes that a key difference between young Australians in the 1940s and today is that children today are not growing up with the imminent threat of war and conflict.
"The fact that people nowadays aren't given the chance to be heroic doesn't mean that they can‟t be heroic - it just means that the opportunities don't come along. No-one wants a war and no-one wants to be caught in a bushfire or a flood or some really demanding situation, but at the same time when you are in those situations it's important to know that you do have the right stuff, that if you dig deep you will find a kind of resilience and stamina and capacity for heroism that you may never have been aware of in yourself."
Marsden believes that one of the most powerful themes for any writer is people moving through stages of their life and evolving to the next stage. Marsden says, "For me, adolescence was a very powerful time and I have been fascinated by the turmoil and stress that our lives experience during those years. By putting that into the context of a war, it's like the stresses become tangible and external, so it‟s like a representation of what's happening inside you is then put out into the landscape."
Producer Michael Boughen was originally drawn to the project on two levels: "Firstly the enormous success of the book series made this project an ideal platform for a feature film. My son Matthew had asked me to make a film of it back in 2000 so I was aware of the popularity of the books. The amazing literary success meant there is a large potential audience who hopefully want to see the film. The second reason I was attracted to the project was to produce a film with a budget that would allow me to do justice to the story. It's a big, bold story and needed to be a big, bold film."
Producer Michael Boughen says, "I think John Marsden is a very clever writer who clearly identified that teenagers, who intrinsically weren't big readers, wanted stories targeted to their needs. All teenagers really want to break away from adults and make their own decisions, so he created a situation where our teenagers are torn from their families and have to adapt and deal with their newfound independence. Pump in action, drama and all the pressure of teenage romances and relationships and you've got, as John has proved, a winning formula."
Originally, Marsden wasn't keen on turning the novel into a movie. "I strongly resisted having it turned into a movie and in the end probably got approached by around 120 or 130 film companies", Marsden recalls. "Every few weeks there would be another letter or email or phone call from someone enquiring if the rights were available and expressing interest and I kept turning them down because I wanted it left alone. I wanted the book to be able to stand by itself. But in the end I got talked into it by people who really had a commitment to the books, who really loved the stories, loved the characters and talked about the books with passion. I thought if it's ever going to happen, Stuart Beattie would be someone I would trust to do it and so here we are now."
When he came around to the idea of a film adaptation, Marsden toyed with the idea of writing the screenplay himself. "I did have ideas about writing a screenplay for it or getting involved in the making of the movie but I knew if I did that I would have to go through a very long process because writing a screenplay is as different as writing a poem is to writing a short story. It's like getting a psychiatrist to revive you when you have had a cardiac arrest - even though they are all doctors it doesn‟t necessarily mean that one will have any expertise in the other field."
Executive Producer Christopher Mapp and director Stuart Beattie had been friends since their school days and it was Christopher who introduced Stuart to producer Michael Boughen. Boughen says, "I sent Stuart the books and he read them all within a fortnight and said he was in. He wrote the script and then said he would like to direct. The rest, as they say, is history."
When accomplished screenwriter Beattie met with Marsden about adapting the novel, Marsden finally felt comfortable handing over the film and leaving its on-screen portrayal up to Beattie.
Marsden says, "I have the greatest respect for Stuart, I think he is a tremendous human being and his integrity and his skill is undoubted. If someone has both of those things going for them I am pretty comfortable with whatever comes out of that."
Once Omnilab Media secured the rights to Marsden's books, director/screenwriter Stuart Beattie, producers Andrew Mason, Michael Boughen and executive producer Christopher Mapp travelled to Marsden's school in Victoria (In 2006 Marsden became Founding Principal of an alternative school, Candlebark, on his property north of Melbourne) to discuss the screenplay in more detail.
Producer Michael Boughen says of Marsden, "John is a wonderfully clear thinker who right from day one realised we were never going to bring everything in the book to life in 100 minutes. It was a film, a very different medium to anything he had worked with before, but he was extremely comfortable with handing over his book and allowing us to adapt it. I have had a lot of contact with John over the years regarding this project and get on well with him. Stuart had written a wonderful script, so I organised a trip for us to meet with John. I think I was most nervous when we were all sitting in John's office at his school. I remember he had the script on his lap and he looked up and said 'I have a few comments; page one' and I thought „Oh no, he doesn‟t like anything!' He had a small comment on a word on page one. He then flicked through and said 'Page 42'. You couldn't have wiped off the smiles on all our faces from them on. He had some small comments and ideas but overall was really happy with the adaptation."
Beattie says, "We met with John and talked with all his students about the movie and how we were going to make it and what we were going to do and he was very pleased. We went through the script together and he had about three notes in the whole script and they were all little words and we changed them and we were done and so now he is very excited about it. John is great, he is a lovely man and he is the reason why we are here."
Marsden says of Beattie, "I have always had the attitude since Stuart started filming that whatever he does is up to him and even though it might make me uncomfortable at times, I am not going to convey that to him because I don't want to interfere with what he is doing anymore than I don't want someone peering over my shoulder as I am typing out a novel telling me how I should end that chapter. So I have stood well back and watched him go about his work."
Tomorrow, When The War Began isn't the first time that Stuart Beattie has brought much loved material to the screen, having previously adapted popular source material including Pirates of the Caribbean and G.I. Joe. It's a responsibility that Beattie doesn't take lightly. "It's exciting to have such popular and beloved source material because it means that there is an audience out there that really wants to see your movie and I take the fan response very seriously."
Beattie continues, "I am a fan myself of these things so I am not going to make a movie that I don't want to see. I just try and make the best movie that I can and hope everyone agrees. The idea that people actually know the story and have thought about these characters is great. It means you are not working in a vacuum so much; you are working in a world that people already know and love and are interested to see. You make movies for other people and you want audiences to want to come and see them so the idea of having a title out there that everyone knows and a story that everyone knows and characters that everyone knows is fantastic because that means there is innate curiosity and I welcome it, I love it. It's a wonderful challenge.
"It's a very faithful adaptation of the book, John Marsden has signed off on it and is very happy so I think if you loved the book you will love the movie."
Tomorrow, When The War Began touches on a number of universal themes including the loss of innocence, friendship and leadership and Marsden believes the story remains relevant today and has found success because of the key concepts touched on in the novel.
Marsden says, "What keeps these books attractive to people is the concept that good people working together in small groups can overcome great odds if they show spirit and if they act heroically. It answers a question that's deep inside us which is how would I cope if I were in that situation? Would I be okay? Would I come through? Would I deliver? Every time we hear about great events in history we imagine would I cope with that? If it was World War I could I have coped in the trenches? Would I have got trench foot and died or would I have been shot by the first German sniper?
"It's that kind of imaginative situation that we want to put ourselves in and measure ourselves against the characters. Tomorrow, When The War Began gives people that opportunity."
Producer Michael Boughen says, "John came to the set when we were filming and was an inspiration to the cast. They loved him and visa versa. Apart from that, John has left us to make the film and I look forward to him seeing his book up on the big screen."
Marsden says the experience of meeting the actors was a strange experience: "They kind of all came towards me at once and I'm thinking, „Which one is which?! I suppose you don't often get a book or a movie with eight characters who all have strong roles.
"I think in the end, to my own surprise, I didn't care much what they looked like. I thought I would have cared but I didn't so much. It was their spirit I was interested in and what struck me was their energy, which was fantastic. When they came into the room there was this tremendous sense of energy and that was very exciting for me. I thought, „Well, these guys could really make this happen.!"
Stuart Beattie remembers watching John on the set: "It was the first film set John had ever been on so that was fun for him. These characters that he has had in his head for god knows how many years, to see them on stage like that it was just very moving for him. He was watching one of the scenes that he had come up with years ago be shot and he was commenting on just how tense it was and he was thrilled. He sent us a lovely letter after saying how excited he is about seeing the movie. He can tell that we all love and respect the book and we all know we are all here because of the book."

ABOUT THE PRODUCTION
For screenwriter Stuart Beattie, the decision to make his directorial debut with a much-loved novel was an easy one: "I was instantly attracted to this project because I was looking to make a character-based but commercial action movie set in Australia that could compete on the international stage. Tomorrow, When The War Began has all the action, but also has the heart. Ellie and her friends are all wonderful, complex, engaging characters who make the ride worth so much more than the price of admission."
Once Omnilab had secured the rights to the novel and their production arm Ambience Entertainment was ready to move ahead with the John Marsden approved script by Stuart Beattie, the time came to start pulling the best team possible together.  Read more

STUART BEATTIE - Director & Screenplay
In 2003, Stuart Beattie wrote the Walt Disney Pictures worldwide blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, starring Johnny Depp and Geoffrey Rush. Beattie went on to share story credit for both Pirates Of The Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest, which broke all-time box office records in 2006, and Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End.
Stuart's original screenplay for DreamWorks Collateral, released in August 2004, was directed by Michael Mann and starred Tom Cruise, Jamie Foxx, and Mark Ruffalo. The film garnered Beattie Golden Satellite, Edgar, Saturn, and BAFTA award nominations as well as earning an Academy Award nomination for Jamie Foxx.
Stuart Beattie also adapted The Weinstein Company‟s first theatrical release, Derailed, starring Jennifer Aniston, Clive Owen and Melissa George. The thriller was helmed by Academy Award-nominated director Mikael Haftsrom.
Other films written by Beattie include the western 3:10 to Yuma, directed by acclaimed filmmaker James Mangold and starring Russell Crowe, Christian Bale and Peter Fonda; the Sam Raimi produced horror film 30 Days of Night, directed by David Slade and starring Josh Hartnett, Melissa George, and Danny Huston; the romantic epic Australia for Baz Lurhmann, starring Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman; and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra, based on the popular toy line.
Beattie has several movies in pre-production, including Tarzan: Lord Of The Jungle with director Stephen Sommers at Warner Brothers; The 89th War with director Ron Howard at Universal; Bra Boys with director Russell Crowe at Universal; Tom Clancy's Without Remorse at Lionsgate; Universal‟s Spyhunter (based on the classic video game) with Dwayne „The Rock' Johnson attached to star; The Weinstein Company's production of Eoin Coiffer‟s best-selling children's fantasy series Artemis Fowl; and Schooner, a romantic adventure set in the Australian outback that is being produced with Greg Coote and Hugh Jackman's Seed Productions.
Beattie is also a producer on four films that he has written: Man Without A Gun, The Kill Martin Club, Truce, and The Lost American with Harrison Ford attached.
Tomorrow, When The War Began, based on the best-selling Australian book series, is Beattie‟s directorial debut for Ambience Entertainment.
Beattie's early career milestones include winning the Diane Thomas Screenwriting Award at UCLA in 1994 and writing the Village Roadshow Australia film Joey in 1997. Joey was nominated for a 1998 People's Choice Award for Best Australian Film. He also wrote the indie Kick, starring Paul Mercurio, Martin Henderson, and Radha Mitchell.

JOHN MARSDEN - Author, Tomorrow, When The War Began
In a twenty-one year writing career John Marsden has written and edited more than thirty books, which have sold four million copies world-wide and been translated into fourteen languages. His novels include So Much to Tell You and Tomorrow, When the War Began, and his non-fiction titles include Secret Men's Business and Everything I Know About Writing.
John has won every major writing award in Australia for young people's fiction. Internationally, he has twice been named among Best Books of the Year by the American Library Association and once by Publishers' Weekly (U.S.A.). He recently became only the fifth author to receive the Lloyd O'Neill Award for lifetime services to Australian publishing, the other four being Peter Carey, Ruth Park, Morris West and Tom Keneally. John has also won the Grand Jury Prize as Austria's Most Popular Writer for Teenagers, and in Germany, the coveted Buxtehuder Bulle: an award given biennially for the best young person's book in the world for the preceding two years.
In 2006 John became Founding Principal of an alternative school, Candlebark, on his property north of Melbourne.

THE ART OF ADAPTATION

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