Background
There were ten episodes, with one devoted to each year from 1990 to 1999. Each episode recalled major events (such as the 1991 Gulf War and 1997 death of Diana, Princess of Wales) from the given year, along with popular or memorable films, television series, music, video games and fashion trends, as well as short-lived fads, and was hosted by a celebrity (or celebrities, or in one stance cartoon characters) connected with one of the items from that year.
The Gulf War, codenamed Operation Desert Shield for operations leading to the buildup of troops and defense of Saudi Arabia and Operation Desert Storm in its combat phase, was a war waged by coalition forces from 35 nations led by the United States against Iraq in response to Iraq's invasion and annexation of Kuwait arising from oil pricing and production disputes. The war is also known under other names, such as the Persian Gulf War, First Gulf War, Gulf War I, Kuwait War, First Iraq War or Iraq War, before the term "Iraq War" became identified instead with the post-2003 Iraq War.
On 31 August 1997, Diana, Princess of Wales died in hospital as a result of injuries sustained in a car crash in the Pont de l'Alma road tunnel in Paris, France. Her companion, Dodi Fayed, and the driver of the Mercedes S280, Henri Paul, were pronounced dead at the scene. A fourth passenger in the car, bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones, was seriously injured but survived.
The final episode, I Love '99, ended with the Baz Luhrmann produced hit single of the year, Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen), whilst a montage of all of the BBC "I Love..." episodes, from 1970 to 1999 was shown.
Baz Luhrmann 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 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.
Beavis and Butt-Head is an American adult animated sitcom created by Mike Judge. The series originated from Frog Baseball, a 1992 short film by Judge originally aired on Liquid Television. After seeing the short, MTV signed Judge to develop the short into a full series. The series originally ran for seven seasons from March 8, 1993 to November 28, 1997.
Mary Theresa Schmich is an American journalist. She has been a columnist for the Chicago Tribune since 1992, winning the Pulitzer Prize in 2012. Her columns are syndicated nationally by Tribune Content Agency. She wrote the comic strip Brenda Starr, Reporter for the last 28 of its 60 years and she wrote the 1997 column "Wear Sunscreen", with the often quoted "Do one thing every day that scares you", frequently misattributed to Eleanor Roosevelt.
William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is a 1996 American romantic crime tragedy directed, co-produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann, co-produced by Gabriella Martinelli, and co-written by Craig Pearce. It is an adaptation and modernization of William Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes in the leading roles of Romeo and Juliet, who instantly fall in love when Romeo crashes a party and meets her, despite being members of feuding families. Brian Dennehy, John Leguizamo, Pete Postlethwaite, Paul Sorvino, and Diane Venora star in supporting roles.
Beavis and Butt-Head Do America is a 1996 American adult animated road comedy film based on the MTV animated television series Beavis and Butt-Head. Co-written and directed by series creator Mike Judge, the film stars the regular television cast of Judge with guest performances by Demi Moore, Bruce Willis, Robert Stack and Cloris Leachman. The film centers on Beavis and Butt-Head as they travel across the country in search of their stolen television set.
"Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young", rarely 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, often erroneously described as a commencement speech given by author Kurt Vonnegut at MIT.
Beavis and Butt-Head: The Mike Judge Collection is a series of three-disc DVD sets from MTV and Paramount Home Entertainment, each containing 40 Beavis and Butt-Head episodes handpicked by series creator Mike Judge plus supplements. The first entry in the series was released on November 8, 2005, while the final two volumes were released in 2006.
Butt-Head is a fictional character from the MTV animated series Beavis and Butt-Head. He is voiced by the show's creator, Mike Judge.
"You and Me Song" is a song by Swedish band The Wannadies. Originally released as a single in 1994, it became the group's biggest hit. In April 1996, it peaked at number eighteen in the United Kingdom.
Australia is a 2008 epic romantic historical drama film directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. The screenplay was written by Luhrmann and screenwriter Stuart Beattie, with Ronald Harwood and Richard Flanagan. The film is a character story, set between 1939 and 1942 against a dramatised backdrop of events across northern Australia at the time, such as the bombing of Darwin during World War II.
No. 5 the Film (2004) is a 180-second short film directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Nicole Kidman and Rodrigo Santoro. Karl Lagerfeld designed the costumes; he also briefly appears in the film. It is part of a new breed of advertising crossover films known as branded content. It had a budget of US$33 million, financed exclusively by Chanel. Visually captivating, the film is an extended television commercial for Chanel No. 5 perfume. The film was initially screened in many North American cinemas during the "Coming Attractions" section preceding the main feature. During the 2006 Christmas season, an edited 30-second TV spot was shown on primetime on many networks in Canada and the United States. Kidman was paid $3 million for her role in the advertisement.
Moulin Rouge! Music from Baz Luhrmann's Film is a soundtrack album to Baz Luhrmann's 2001 film Moulin Rouge!. It was released on May 8, 2001. 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 are left off. The original film versions and extra songs were featured on the second soundtrack.
William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet may be one of the most-screened plays of all time. The most notable theatrical releases were George Cukor's multi-Oscar-nominated 1936 production Romeo and Juliet, Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 film Romeo and Juliet, and Baz Luhrmann's 1996 MTV-inspired Romeo + Juliet. The latter two were both, at the time, the highest-grossing Shakespeare films. Cukor featured the mature actors Norma Shearer and Leslie Howard as the teenage lovers while Zeffirelli populated his film with beautiful young people, and Baz Luhrmann produced a heavily cut fast-paced version aimed at teenage audiences.
Something for Everybody is an album released by Baz Luhrmann in 1998. It contains new ambient versions of music from his films and plays, including hits from William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet, Strictly Ballroom and La bohème. The most popular single from the album is the spoken word song "Everybody's Free ".
The Honky Problem is a 1991 animated short film by Mike Judge. It features an original character, Inbred Jed, who is playing with his country music band somewhere in the desert by a trailer for a small audience of American white trash.
Uber Geek is the fourth studio album by Luke Ski. The album was released in 2002.
The Great Gatsby is a 2013 romantic drama film based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel of the same name. The film was co-written and directed by Baz Luhrmann and stars Leonardo DiCaprio as the eponymous Jay Gatsby, with Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher and Elizabeth Debicki. Jay-Z served as executive producer. Production began in 2011 and took place 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 encounter with Gatsby at the height of the Roaring Twenties on Long Island.
"Everybody's Free " is a song by Zambian-born Zimbabwean singer Rozalla. It was released in September 1991 as the second single from her album, Everybody's Free. The song peaked at number-one on the Hot Dance Club Play chart in the US. In Europe, "Everybody's Free" reached number 2 in Belgium, The Netherlands and Spain. It was also a top-10 hit in Denmark, France, Germany, Ireland, Sweden, Switzerland and the UK. On the Eurochart Hot 100, the single reached number 6. And in Zimbabwe, it peaked at number 4. Today, the song is widely regarded as one of the biggest dance anthems of the 1990s. And it has been remixed and re-released several times.
