Baz Luhrmann

Baz Luhrmann
Luhrmann in 2013
Born	Mark Anthony Luhrmann (1962-09-17) 17 September 1962 Sydney, Australia[1]
Occupation	Film director, screenwriter, producer, actor
Spouse(s)	Catherine Martin (m. 1997)
Children	2

Baz Luhrmann (born Mark Anthony Luhrmann, 17 September 1962) is an Australian writer, director, and producer with projects spanning film, television, opera, theatre, music, and recording industries. He is regarded by many as a contemporary example of an auteur^[2] for his distinctly recognizable style and deep involvement in the writing, directing, design, and musical components of all his work. He is the most commercially successful Australian director, with four of his films in the top ten highest worldwide grossing Australian films of all time.^[3][4]

On the screen he is best known for his Red Curtain Trilogy, comprising his romantic comedy film Strictly Ballroom (1992), the romantic tragedy William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (1996), and Moulin Rouge! (2001). Following the trilogy, projects included Australia (2008), The Great Gatsby (2013), and his television limited series period drama The Get Down for Netflix. Additional projects include stage productions of Giacomo Puccini's La bohème for both the Australian Opera and Broadway and Strictly Ballroom the Musical. Luhrmann is equally known for his Grammy-nominated soundtracks for Moulin Rouge! and The Great Gatsby, as well as his record label House of Iona, a co-venture with RCA Records.^[5] Serving as producer on all of his musical soundtracks, he also holds writing credits on many of the individual tracks. His album Something For Everybody features music from many of his films and also includes his hit "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)".

Luhrmann's influence has extended outside the traditional realm of media and entertainment. Deeply involved in the fashion and art worlds, Luhrmann's No. 5 the Film for Chanel not only holds a Guinness World Record for the highest budget for an advertising commercial ever produced,^[6] but pioneered the now commonplace genre of fashion film and branded content. Luhrmann works closely with the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Anna Wintour Costume Center, having chaired its famous annual gala as well as producing a short film for the museum, celebrating Miuccia Prada and Elsa Schiaparelli.^[7] More recently he and wife Catherine Martin have adapted their distinctive style for projects in events, retail, architecture and design with Barneys New York^[8] and developer and hotelier Alan Faena.^[9][10]

Personal life

Luhrmann was born in Sydney. His mother, Barbara Carmel (née Brennan), was a ballroom dance teacher and dress shop owner, and his father, Leonard Luhrmann, ran a petrol station and a movie theatre.^[11][12][13] He was raised in Herons Creek, a tiny rural settlement in northern New South Wales. He attended St Joseph's Hastings Regional School, Port Macquarie (1975–1978); St Paul's Catholic College, performing in the school's version of Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1, and Narrabeen Sports High School, where he met future collaborator Craig Pearce.^[14]

Luhrmann received the nickname "Baz" from his father Leonard, given to him because of his afro hair style, the name coming from the English Basil Brush.^[15] While still in high school, Luhrmann changed his name by deed poll to Bazmark, joining his nickname and birth name together. In 1980 Luhrmann graduated high school and in the same year was cast opposite Judy Davis in the Australian film Winter of Our Dreams.^[16] In 1982 using the money he had earned from film and television experience he funded his own theatre company, The Bond Theatre Company, with future friends and collaborators, Nelly Hooper and Gabrielle Mason. The company performed at the Pavilion at Sydney's Bondi Beach. At the same time he conceived and appeared in a controversial television documentary, Kids of the Cross, where Luhrmann, embedded as a character, lived with a group of street kids.^[17] In 1983, he began an acting course at the National Institute of Dramatic Art. He graduated in 1985 alongside Sonia Todd, Catherine McClements and Justin Monjo.^[18] On 26 January 1997, he married Catherine Martin, a production designer; the couple have two children.

Luhrmann supports the Melbourne Demons in the Australian Football League.^[19]

Films

Luhrmann in 2018

After theatrical successes, including the original stage version of Strictly Ballroom, Luhrmann moved into film and has directed five so far:

• Red Curtain Trilogy:
  • Strictly Ballroom (1992)
  • Romeo + Juliet (1996)
  • Moulin Rouge! (2001)
• Australia (2008)
• The Great Gatsby (2013)

The modern film interpretation Romeo + Juliet, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, defeated Titanic at the BAFTAs for best direction, music and screenplay. The film was celebrated at the Berlin Film Festival, where it was recognised with the Gold Bear award for direction and Silver Bear for DiCaprio's performance. Luhrmann also produced the soundtrack albums for the film.

Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge! (2001) was named one of the AFI's top ten films of 2001^[20] and in 2010 was chosen as the top film of the 2000s decade in a poll of 150,000 respondents in the United Kingdom.^[21] The film also gave birth to a successful soundtrack album, selling more than seven million copies, led by the Grammy-winning number one hit single "Lady Marmalade".^[22]

Luhrmann's 2008 romantic epic Australia starred Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. While achieving modest box office success in the United States, the film was very successful in Europe, maintaining the #1 slot at the box office for many weeks in France, Germany, Spain, Italy and the Scandinavian countries.^[23] It is the second-highest grossing Australian film of all time, next to Crocodile Dundee and ahead of Happy Feet.^[24]

In 2013, Luhrmann adapted F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, shot in 3D,^[25] starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby, Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway, Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan, Joel Edgerton as Tom Buchanan, and Australian newcomer Elizabeth Debicki as Jordan Baker.

Television

Luhrmann at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival

In 2016, Luhrmann collaborated with award-winning playwright Stephen Adly Guirgis on the Netflix series The Get Down about the birth of hip-hop in the 1970s.^[26]

Acting and director credits

Other work

• 1981: A young Luhrmann can be seen in an early acting role in the film Winter of Our Dreams, directed by John Duigan. Luhrmann has a small part playing opposite Judy Davis.
• 1992: Luhrmann directed a video for John Paul Young's "Love Is in the Air", which was rereleased to coincide with the release of Strictly Ballroom in which the song was featured prominently.
• 1993: Luhrmann staged his interpretation of Benjamin Britten's version of A Midsummer Night's Dream, set in colonial India, for the Australian Opera. After successful seasons in Sydney and Melbourne, the production went on to win the Critics' Prize at the Edinburgh Festival. Music extracts can be heard on his album Something for Everybody.
• 1993: Luhrmann assisted in the election campaign of former Australian prime minister Paul Keating.
• 1997: The CD of Something for Everybody was released, featuring music from Luhrmann's films and operas including his version of Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream.^[27] Moreover, Luhrmann created his own company with his wife Catherine Martin: Bazmark.
• 1999: As a music producer, Luhrmann is credited with "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)", a successful spoken word song in Europe and the Americas.
• 2002: Luhrmann brought his production of Puccini's La bohème to the Broadway Theatre in New York City. Originally produced for Opera Australia in Sydney in 1990, once in New York it eventually received seven Tony Award nominations, including Best Revival of a Musical, Best Direction (Luhrmann), Best Orchestrations (Nicholas Kitsopoulos), Best Costume Design (Catherine Martin), and winning Best Set Design (Catherine Martin), Best Lighting Design (Nigel Levings), and the Tony Honors for Excellence in Theatre for the Principal Ensemble Cast.
• 2004: Luhrmann directed a lavish multimillion-dollar commercial for Chanel N° 5 titled N° 5 the Film, inspired by his Red Curtain trilogy, starring Nicole Kidman and Rodrigo Santoro. On the Charlie Rose interview show he told Rose that he based the commercial on the 1953 film Roman Holiday.^[28]
• 2005: Luhrmann was appointed an Ambassador for the Australian Theatre for Young People.
• 2008: Luhrmann was asked by the Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd to make new advertisements to promote Australia as a tourist destination.^[29]
• 2009: At the 81st Academy Awards in February, Luhrmann put together a number dedicated to musicals which consisted of Hugh Jackman, Beyoncé, Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Dominic Cooper and Amanda Seyfried.
• 2009: In September, Luhrmann made an appearance as a guest judge on Dancing with the Stars.
• 2010: Luhrmann and the painter Vincent Fantauzzo embarked on an art initiative which took them to India, where they created artworks on walls of hotels, in the streets of Rajasthan and on 17th century forts.^[30]
• 2017: Luhrmann shot the campaign film The Secret Life of Flowers for the collaboration between Erdem and H&M.^[31]

Collaborations

Luhrmann has cast certain actors in more than one of his films:

	Strictly Ballroom	Romeo + Juliet	Moulin Rouge!	Australia	The Great Gatsby
Veronica Beattie			N		N
Max Cullen				N	N
Leonardo DiCaprio		N			N
Arthur Dignam			N	N	N
Steven Grace	N		N
Nigel Harbach				N	N
Michelle Hopper			N		N
Bill Hunter	N			N
Nicole Kidman			N	N
Jacek Koman			N	N	N
John Leguizamo		N	N
Tara Morice	N		N
Lara Mulcahy	N		N		N
Barry Otto	N			N	N
John Sheerin				N	N
Jack Thompson				N	N
Kerry Walker			N	N
David Wenham			N	N
Peter Whitford	N		N
Matthew Whittet			N	N	N

Influences

Luhrmann has cited Italian grand opera as a major influence on his work and has also given a nod to other theatrical styles, such as Bollywood films, as having influenced his style. Luhrmann was a ballroom dancer as a child and his mother taught ballroom dancing which was an inspiration for Strictly Ballroom. Luhrmann's favourite films are Star 80, 8½, War and Peace, Medium Cool and Fitzcarraldo.^[32]

Awards and honours

Media appearances

In September 2009, Luhrmann made an appearance as a guest judge on Dancing with the Stars.^[42] Luhrmann participated on the NPR radio quiz program Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! in 2013.^[43]

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Baz Luhrmann.

• Official website
• Baz Luhrmann on IMDb