Robert Pattinson And Guy Pearce Say Hello From ‘The Rover’ Set

Robert Pattinson and Guy Pearce, who are currently shooting The Rover in South Australia, surprised Aussie film fans attending Tropfest 2013 with a video shout-out on Sunday.

Tropfest, which bills itself as the world’s largest short film festival, provides a platform for homegrown talent and is now in its 21st year. Held at Sydney’s Royal Botanic Gardens, live satellite links enable thousands in Australia to watch as sixteen finalists compete for a cash prize.

The festival was in fact won by Nicolas Clifford’s We’ve All Been There.

Pattinson and Pearce’s message was short but sweet, and no doubt intended to throw a little publicity on The Rover. Australian actor, Pearce, kicked off the simple greet, saying:

“Hi everybody at Tropfest, I’m Guy Pearce.”

“I’m Rob Pattinson,” said a certain Brit actor next to him, as he batted away an incoming insect.

“Have a good night,” Pearce piped up, which triggered a burst of laughter from Pattinson, who asked, “Am I to continue?”

“I think you are,” Pearce replied drolly.

And with that, it was over.

With filming on The Roverunderway, underlined by a recent press release, more windows into the production can be expected.

Directed by David Michod (Animal Kingdom), who penned the script based on an idea co-conceived with Joel Edgerton (Zero Dark Thirty), The Rover has been described as an “existential,” “futuristic western” and a “slow burn thriller.”

Joining Pearce and Pattinson on set are Scoot McNairy (Argo, Killing Them Softly), Gillian Jones (Oscar and Ludinda), David Field (Chopper), Susan Prior, and Anthony Hayes, both of whom starred in Animal Kingdom.

Nutshelled, the plot tells the story of Eric (Pearce), a lone traveler in the Australian desert, who is forced to pursue a ruthless gang of criminals after they steal his car — and something invaluable in it. Along the way, Eric enlists the help of Reynolds (Rey, Pattinson), described as “the naïve and injured junior member of the gang” who was left behind after a robbery.

Recent sneak peeks of a fight scene with Pattinson shot near Quorn, a small coastal town close to Adelaide, revealed some of the grueling action the film will feature.

Variety reports that the seven week shoot is slated to complete Mid-March with some filming taking place in the mountainous Flinders Ranges, before post-production in Sydney.

From the look of the video, Pearce — who previously described Pattinson as “bright and sensitive” — appear to be in the early throes of “bro-dom,” which bodes well for fun on the promotion trail when The Rover is released.

Check out the actors’ video message below.