Patrick White wanted Ken to direct the film of his novel Voss.
"Voss is based on the story of Ludwig Leichhardt, the Prussian naturalist who made several explorations of the Australian interior in the mid-1840s. Leichhardt aimed to pioneer an overland route from Brisbane to Perth but he vanished without trace in the infinite vastness of the interior."
"Voss has also been adapted into an opera with a David Malouf libretto. White himself wanted Voss to be produced for the cinema, directed by Ken Russell and, later, Joseph Losey, but the film was never made."
From The Guardian 100 Best Novels, No 77
www.theguardian.com/books/2015/mar/09/patrick-white-voss-100-best-novels-robert-mccrum