Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962) is an Australian film director, producer, writer, and actor. With projects spanning film, television, opera, theatre, music, and recording industries, he is regarded by some as a contemporary example of an auteur[2] for his 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]
Luhrmann is 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)".
Early and personal life
Luhrmann was born in Sydney. His mother, Barbara Carmel (néeBrennan), was a ballroom dance teacher and dress shop owner, and his father, Leonard Luhrmann, ran a petrol station and a movie theatre.[6][7] He was raised in Herons Creek, a tiny rural settlement in mid-northern New South Wales. He attended StJoseph'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.[8]
Luhrmann received the nickname "Baz" at school, given to him because of his hair style, the name coming from the puppet character Basil Brush. While still in high school, Luhrmann changed his name by deed poll to Bazmark, joining his nickname and birth name together.[9] In 1980, Luhrmann graduated from high school, and in the same year was cast opposite Judy Davis in the Australian film Winter of Our Dreams.[10] In 1982, using the money he had earned from film and television work, he funded his own theatre company, The Bond Theatre Company[citation needed]. 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.[11] In 1983, he enrolled in an acting course at the National Institute of Dramatic Art. He graduated in 1985 alongside Sonia Todd, Catherine McClements and Justin Monjo.[12] On 26 January 1997, he married Catherine Martin, a production designer; the couple has two children.
After theatrical successes, including the short play Strictly Ballroom which premiered at the Wharf Theatre, Luhrmann moved into film. He made his directorial debut with the 1992 film version of Strictly Ballroom.
Luhrmann's modern film interpretation Romeo + Juliet (1996), based on the William Shakespeare play and 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 Golden Bear award for direction and Silver Bear for DiCaprio's performance. Luhrmann also produced both volumes of the soundtrack album, which went triple-platinum.[14]
Luhrmann's Oscar-winning musical Moulin Rouge! (2001), set in the Montmartre Quarter of Paris at the dawn of the 20th century, told the story of an English poet/writer, Christian (Ewan McGregor) who falls in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge, cabaret actress and courtesan, Satine (Nicole Kidman). The film was praised by its adherents, including musical directors Robert Wise and Stanley Donen, as having re-invented the modern musical, blending decades of popular music in remixes and mash-ups.[15] The movie was named one of the AFI's top ten films of 2001[16] and in 2010 was chosen as the top film of the 2000s decade in a poll of 150,000 respondents in the United Kingdom.[17] At the 59th Annual Golden Globes, Moulin Rouge! took home the awards for Best Motion Picture, Best Actress, and Best Original Score.[18] The film also gave birth to a successful soundtrack album, produced by Luhrmann, which sold more than seven million copies and went double-platinum, led by the Grammy-winning number one hit single "Lady Marmalade".[19][14]
Luhrmann's 2008 historical epic Australia featured some of the country's most celebrated actors, including Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, and David Gulpilil. Situated between the two World Wars, the film blended a nostalgic romance with major events from Australian history, including the Bombing of Darwin, and the true story of the Stolen Generations, wherein thousands of mixed-race Aboriginal children were stolen from their families by the state and forcibly integrated into white society. The movie's racial politics were controversial for their time, and notably, its production coincided with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd's 2008 Apology to Australia's Indigenous peoples. Marcia Langton, professor of Australian indigenous studies at Melbourne University publicly supported the film, saying "Luhrmann depicts with satirical sharpness the racial caste system of that time... In his imagined cinema of the 1940s, the spatial and social shape of racism is reconstructed with such exact detail, I felt I had been transported back to my own childhood."[20] 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.[21] It is the second-highest grossing Australian film of all time, next to Crocodile Dundee and ahead of Happy Feet.[22]
In 2013, Luhrmann adapted F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby, shot in 3D,[23] starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby, Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway, Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan, Joel Edgerton as Tom Buchanan, Australian newcomer Elizabeth Debicki as Jordan Baker, and legendary Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan as Meyer Wolfsheim. For the film, Luhrmann and costume/production designer Catherine Martin collaborated with Prada, Brooks Brothers, and Tiffany & Co. to create period-inspired dresses, suits, and jewellery based on their own archives and true to the book's own references to luxury brands.[24] The film grossed over $353 million worldwide, making it the director's highest-grossing movie to date.[25][26] Critic Richard Roeper described the adaptation as "the best attempt yet to capture the essence of the novel" while Fitzgerald's granddaughter praised the movie, saying "Scott would have been proud."[27][28] The following year, at the 86th Academy Awards, the film won in both of its nominated categories: Best Production Design and Best Costume Design.[29] The soundtrack, produced by Luhrmann, Anton Monsted, and Jay-Z, sought to blend the music of the Jazz Age with contemporary hip hop as two historical analogues.[30] Featured artists included Beyoncé, Jack White, Lana Del Rey, Sia, will.i.am, The xx, and Florence and the Machine; the soundtrack also included score from the film's composer and Luhrmann's repeat collaborator Craig Armstrong.[31] The album's sales exceeded expectations, marking the biggest digital sales week for a soundtrack in Billboard history, and peaking at number one on the US Billboard 200 chart.[32][33]
In September 2024, it was reported that Luhrmann's next theatrical release would be an adaption of the life of Joan of Arc, titled Jehanne d’Arc.[42][43] The project was described as “The ultimate teenage girl coming of age story, set in the Hundred Years’ War.”
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.[44] For the series, Luhrmann brought on Nas, Grandmaster Flash, Kurtis Blow and DJ Kool Herc as producers, to help tell the story of the rise of hip hop, punk, and disco during shifting cultural and political transformation through his unique brand of magical realism.[45] The series featured two parts, praised for its vibrant music, fresh cast and authenticity, due to the involvement of many of the era's key historical figures in central roles to the show's development.[46] Part One got a score of 77% from Rotten Tomatoes, while Part Two holds a critic score of 86%.[47][48]
Luhrmann, who started appearing on TV screen in 1981, appeared in Winter of Our Dreams, directed by John Duigan. By 1992, he already can direct a film, thus started with the video of "Love Is in the Air" by John Paul Young. The next year, Luhrmann staged his interpretation of A Midsummer Night's Dream by Benjamin Britten. In 1997 when the CD of Something for Everybody was released, it featured Luhrmann's films and operas. Following the success, he created and managed a company Bazmark[fr] along his wife, Catherine Martin.
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 in 2010.[51] He also shot the campaign film The Secret Life of Flowers. Though mostly hands-off with the stage production of Moulin Rouge!, Luhrmann produced its Broadway cast recording in 2019.[52]
Luhrmann led the jury at the 2023 Red Sea International Film Festival held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.[53]
Influence and legacy
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.[54]
Luhrmann's song "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)" was discussed in March 2020 on the BBC Radio 5 LiveChiles on Friday programme with Charlotte McDonald. It featured an interview from the documentary with Australian voice over artist, Lee Perry.[63]
In culture
In 2022, the Israeli writers of The Jews Are Coming made a tribute in Hebrew to "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)" with Moses standing before the Israelites and quoting the Ten Commandments with the background music from "Sunscreen" and several parts closely translated from Luhrmann's text, such as getting to know your parents before they disappear.[64]
Related Research Articles
Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 jukebox musical romantic drama film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. It follows a Scottish poet, Christian, who falls in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge, cabaret actress and courtesan, Satine. The film uses the musical setting of the Montmartre Quarter of Paris and is the final part of Luhrmann's Red Curtain Trilogy, following Strictly Ballroom (1992) and Romeo + Juliet (1996). A co-production of Australia and the United States, it features an ensemble cast starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, with Jim Broadbent, Richard Roxburgh, John Leguizamo, Jacek Koman, and Caroline O'Connor in supporting roles.
Strictly Ballroom is a 1992 Australian romantic comedy film directed and co-written by Baz Luhrmann in his feature directorial debut. The film is the first in his Red Curtain Trilogy of theatre-motif-related films; it was followed by 1996's Romeo + Juliet and 2001's Moulin Rouge!
Richard Roxburgh is an Australian actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of a number of accolades across film, television, and theatre, including several AFI and AACTA Awards, Logie Awards, and Helpmann Awards.
The Red Curtain Trilogy is a DVD boxed set, released in 2002, of the first three films directed by Baz Luhrmann:
Craig Armstrong, is a Scottish composer of modern orchestral music, electronica and film scores. He graduated from the Royal Academy of Music in 1981, and has since written music for the Royal Shakespeare Company, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra and the London Sinfonietta.
"Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young", commonly known by the title "Wear Sunscreen", is an essay written as a hypothetical commencement speech by columnist Mary Schmich, originally published in June 1997 in the Chicago Tribune. The essay, giving various pieces of advice on how to live a happier life and avoid common frustrations, spread massively via viral email, is often erroneously described as a commencement speech given by author Kurt Vonnegut at MIT.
Tara Morice is an Australian actress, singer and dancer.
Catherine Martin is an Australian costume designer, production designer, set designer, and producer. She is known for her frequent collaborations with her husband, Baz Luhrmann. She has received numerous accolades, including four Academy Awards, six BAFTA Awards, and a Tony Award.
Craig Pearce is an Australian screenwriter and actor.
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Moulin Rouge! Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film is the soundtrack album to Baz Luhrmann's 2001 film Moulin Rouge!, released on 8 May 2001 by Interscope Records. The album features most of the songs featured in the film. However, some of the songs are alternate versions and there are two or three major songs that were left off. The original film versions and extra songs were featured on the second soundtrack.
Moulin Rouge! Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film, Vol. 2 is a soundtrack album to Baz Luhrmann's 2001 film Moulin Rouge! It was released on February 26, 2002. It is the follow-up to the original soundtrack, which was released a year prior. The album features original film versions of some songs, remixes and instrumentals.
Jill Elizabeth Bilcock is an Australian film editor, a member of the Australian Screen Editors (ASE) guild, as well as the American Cinema Editors (ACE) society, and has edited films such as Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge! and Road to Perdition. She occasionally gives seminars at the Victorian College of the Arts in Melbourne, of which she is an alumna.
The Great Gatsby is a 2013 American historical romantic drama film based on the 1925 novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The film was co-written and directed by Baz Luhrmann and stars an ensemble cast consisting of Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, and Elizabeth Debicki. Filming took place from September to December 2011 in Australia, with a $105 million net production budget. The film follows the life and times of millionaire Jay Gatsby (DiCaprio) and his neighbor Nick Carraway (Maguire) who recounts his interactions with Gatsby amid the riotous parties of the Jazz Age on Long Island in New York.
The Great Gatsby: Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film is the soundtrack album to the 2013 film The Great Gatsby, an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel of the same name. Interscope Records released it on May 6, 2013. The album was produced by Baz Luhrmann and Anton Monsted, with Jay-Z serving as the album's executive producer. The soundtrack comprises fourteen songs, including new material and cover versions performed by various artists. It contains a mixture of genre, including hip hop, jazz, and alternative music. Luhrmann specifically selected these styles of music to better immerse the audience into the story of The Great Gatsby.
"Young and Beautiful" is a song by American singer and songwriter Lana Del Rey used for the soundtrack to the drama film The Great Gatsby.
Moulin Rouge! The Musical is a jukebox musical with a book by John Logan. The musical is based on the 2001 film Moulin Rouge! directed by Baz Luhrmann and written by Luhrmann and Craig Pearce.
Elvis is a 2022 epic biographical drama film co-produced and directed by Baz Luhrmann, who co-wrote the screenplay with Sam Bromell, Craig Pearce, and Jeremy Doner. It chronicles the life of the American rock and roll singer and actor Elvis Presley under the management of Colonel Tom Parker. It stars Austin Butler and Tom Hanks as Presley and Parker, respectively, with Olivia DeJonge, Helen Thomson, Richard Roxburgh, David Wenham, Kodi Smit-McPhee, and Luke Bracey in supporting roles.
Elvis (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) is the soundtrack album to the biographical film Elvis, based on the life of American singer-actor Elvis Presley. The soundtrack was released by RCA Records on June 24, 2022, the same day as the film's theatrical release. The album is produced by Baz Luhrmann and Anton Monstead who also worked on the soundtrack of The Great Gatsby.
↑ "The 86th Academy Awards – 2014". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. 7 October 2014. Archived from the original on 17 April 2018. Retrieved 26 February 2019.
↑ The Ten CommandmentsArchived 16 June 2022 at the Wayback Machine Moshe Rabenu - Everybody's Free to Wear Sunscreen, The Jews are Coming, Season 5, chapter 13 (Israeli TV Channel 11 YouTube channel)
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