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They came, we saw, they conquered. That's the way it's been with a number of directors and actors from Australia and New Zealand: Sam Neill, Judy Davis, Peter Weir, Gillian Armstrong. Their films landed, struck a nerve, and Hollywood quickly came calling. The system worked best for Mel Gibson, who was able to boomerang back to his native U.S. thanks to Australian movies. And the latest crop of Down Under achievers are planning similar round-trips: *Lee Tamahori, 44, made over 100 commercials before directing Once Were ^ Warriors. In April, he starts shooting MGM's Mulholland Falls with Nick Nolte. There's also an Edgar Allan Poe bio in development at Fox. Unawed by Hollywood so far-''It's just a process and it's working very much for me at the moment''- he hopes to make a film about 19th-century land wars back in New Zealand.
*Peter Jackson, 33, earned a cult following with the comical horror of Dead Alive (1993). Now the N.Z. director of Heavenly Creatures has an Oscar nomination for Best Screenplay and a deal at Miramax. He's about to begin shooting Universal's The Frighteners, a supernatural thriller with Michael J. Fox, in New Zealand because he likes to stay close to home.
*Jocelyn Moorhouse, 34, and P.J. Hogan, 31, a married team, created Muriel's Wedding, which opens this week. Moorhouse scripted and directed 1992's wonderfully spooky Proof; Hogan directed popular Aussie children's TV before Muriel's Wedding. Now Moorhouse is stateside directing How to Make an American Quilt, starring Winona Ryder, for Amblin and Universal, and Hogan's writing a new comedy set in Australia. As Moorhouse puts it: ''We want our cake and eat it too.''
*Russell Crowe, 30, made Sharon Stone wait. Stone so badly wanted him as her costar in The Quick and the Dead that she delayed production for three weeks while he finished The Sum of Us. Touted as the next Mel Gibson, Crowe is at home with range: He was an easygoing dishwasher in Proof and a skinhead in 1993's Romper Stomper, winning two Australian acting awards. Now filming Virtuosity, a thriller with Denzel Washington, Crowe would like to work again with Moorhouse. ''We've got a great history of cinema in Australia,'' he says, ''and I want to be a continuing part of it.''
