Baz Luhrmann

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Biography

Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann (; born 17 September 1962) is an Australian film director , screenwriter , and film producer|producer best known for The Red Curtain Trilogy , which includes his films Strictly Ballroom , '' William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge! . In 2008, he released his film Australia (2008 film)|Australia , starring Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman .

Personal life

Luhrmann was born in Sydney , Australia to a mother who was a ballroom dance teacher and dress shop owner, and Leonard Luhrmann, a farmer. He was raised in Herons Creek, New South Wales|Herons Creek , a tiny rural settlement in northern New South Wales , where his father ran a petrol station and a movie theatre, both of which would influence his son's film-making career. He attended St. Joseph's Hasting Regional School, Port Macquarie, New South Wales|Port Macquarie 1975-1978 and Balgowlah Boys Campus . He attended Year 11 at Narrabeen, New South Wales|Narrabeen Sports High School in Sydney, performing in the school's version of Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1 . His nickname was given to him because of a perceived resemblance to the character Basil Brush . Luhrmann first auditioned for the National Institute of Dramatic Art in 1980 but didn't get into the prestigious drama school. He successfully auditioned again two years later, starting the three-year acting course in 1983. He graduated from NIDA in 1985, alongside Sonia Todd , Catherine McClements and Justin Monjo .

Luhrmann married Catherine Martin , the production designer on all of his films, on 26 January 1997. They have two children, Lillian Amanda Luhrmann and William Alexander Luhrmann.

Films

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

Strictly Ballroom (1992), starring Tara Morice and Paul Mercurio

'' William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (1996), starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes

Moulin Rouge! (2001), starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor

Australia (2008 film)|Australia (2008), starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman

The Great Gatsby (2012 film)|The Great Gatsby (2012), starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan

Luhrmann's Moulin Rouge! (2001) was named one of AFI's top ten films of 2001 and was recently chosen as the top film of the 2000s decade in a poll of 150,000 respondents in the UK. The film also gave birth to a hugely successful soundtrack album, selling more than 7 million copies led by the Grammy-winning number one hit single " Lady Marmalade ".

Before this, it was the modern film interpretation of '' William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes which beat out Titanic '' at the BAFTAs for best direction, music and screenplay. The film was celebrated at the Berlin Film Festival where it was recognized with the prized Gold Bear for direction and Silver Bear for DiCaprio's performance. Luhrmann also produced the successful soundtrack albums for the film that collectively went on to sell more than 8 million copies worldwide.

Most recently, Luhrmann's sweeping romantic epic Australia (2008 film)|Australia starred Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman . While achieving modest box office in the United States, the film was hugely successful in Europe, maintaining the number one slot at the box office for many weeks in France, Germany, Spain, Italy and Scandinavia. The film is the second-highest grossing Australian film of all time, next to Crocodile Dundee and ahead of Happy Feet .

His first three films are formally marketed as " The Red Curtain Trilogy ". Luhrmann's next project is an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby , to be shot in 3D, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby, Amitabh Bachchan as Meyer Wolfsheim, Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan, Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway, Joel Edgerton as Tom Buchanan and Australian newcomer Elizabeth Debicki as Jordan Baker.

Acting credits

Name	Year	Character	Notes
A Country Practice (TV)
Winter of Our Dreams (film)
The Dark Room (film)
The Highest Honor (film)
Kids of the Cross (TV documentary)

Theatre

Name	Year	Character	Notes
Are You Lonesome Tonight?
Fanshen
Holiday Makers
'' All's Well That Ends Well
Strictly Ballroom
Dreamplay
Funeral Games
Chamber Music
The Greeks
Lifetime (play)>Once in a Lifetime
The Conquest of the South Pole

Other work

1981: A young Baz 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 re-released 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 (opera)|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 (Baz Luhrmann album)| Something for Everybody .

1993: Luhrmann assisted in the election campaign of former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating .

1997: The CD Something for Everybody (Baz Luhrmann album)| Something for Everybody was released. It features music from Luhrmann's films and operas, including his version of Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream.

1999: As a music producer, Luhrmann is credited with a UK number one single, " Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen) ".

2003: Luhrmann brought his production of Giacomo Puccini|Puccini 's La bohème to The Broadway Theatre in New York City. Originally produced in Sydney in 1990, once in New York it eventually garnered seven Tony Award nominations, including Best Revival of a Musical, Best Direction (Luhrmann), Best Orchestrations (Nicholas Kitsopoulos), Best Costume Design (Catherine Martin) and won 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 . Luhrmann told interviewer Charlie Rose on Charlie Rose (talk show)|Charlie Rose that he based the commercial on the 1953 film Roman Holiday .

2005: Luhrmann was appointed an Ambassador for the Australian Theatre for Young People .

2008: Luhrmann was tasked by prime minister Kevin Rudd to make new ads to promote Australia as a tourist destination.

2009: At the 81st Academy Awards in February, Luhrmann put together a number dedicated to musicals which consisted of Hugh Jackman , Beyoncé Knowles , 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 (U.S. season 9)|Dancing with the Stars .

2010: Luhrmann and 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 seventeenth century forts.

Collaborations

Luhrmann had cast certain actors in more than one of his films.

	Strictly Ballroom	Romeo + Juliet>Romeo + Juliet	Moulin Rouge!	Australia	The Great Gatsby
Leonardo DiCaprio		X mark			X mark
Bill Hunter	X mark			X mark
Nicole Kidman>Nicole Kidman			X mark	X mark
Jacek Koman			X mark	X mark
John Leguizamo		X mark	X mark
Tara Morice	X mark	X mark	X mark
Barry Otto	X mark			X mark
David Wenham			X mark	X mark

Influences

Luhrmann has cited Grand Opera|Italian grand opera as a major influence on his work, and has also given a nod to other theatrical styles like Bollywood films as having had an impact on 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 favorite films are Star 80 , 81/2 (film)|8½ , War and Peace (1965 film)|War and Peace , Medium Cool and Fitzcarraldo .

Awards and honours

Luhrmann received Directors Guild of America and Golden Globe nominations for Best Director - Motion Picture for his work on Moulin Rouge! , but did not receive an Oscar nomination for directing (Academy Award host Whoopi Goldberg joked "I guess it just directed itself"). However it did receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.

AFI Awards , USA – 2002 - Nominated, AFI Film Award; AFI Movie of the Year for Moulin Rouge!

Academy Awards , USA – 2002 - Nominated, Oscar; Best Picture for Moulin Rouge!

Australian Film Institute –

*2001 - Nominated, Best Direction for Moulin Rouge! . Nominated, Best Film for Moulin Rouge!

*1999 - Won - Byron Kennedy Award

*1997 - Nominated, Best Foreign Film Award for '' William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet

*1992 - Won, Best Director for Strictly Ballroom , Won, Best Screenplay, Original or Adapted for Strictly Ballroom

BAFTA Awards –

*2002 - Nominated, Best Film for Moulin Rouge! ; Nominated, David Lean Award for Direction for Moulin Rouge! ; Nominated, Best Screenplay, Original for Moulin Rouge! ;

*1998 - Won, David Lean Award for Direction for ''William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet ; Won, Best Screenplay, Adapted for William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet ;

*1993 - Nominated, Best Screenplay Adapted for Strictly Ballroom ; Nominated - Best Film for Strictly Ballroom

47th Berlin International Film Festival|Berlin International Film Festival – 1997 - Won, Alfred Bauer Award for ''William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet ; Nominated, Golden Berlin Bear for William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet

Bodil Awards – 2002 - Nominated, Bodil, Best Non-American Film (Bedste ikke amerikanske film) for Moulin Rouge!

Bogota Film Festival – 1994 - Nominated, Golden Precolumbian Circle. Best Film for Strictly Ballroom

Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards – 2002 - Won, Critics Choice Award, Best Director for Moulin Rouge!

Cannes Film Festival –

*2001 - Nominated, Palme d'Or for Moulin Rouge! ;

*1992 - Won, Award of the Youth, Foreign Film for Strictly Ballroom

Chicago Film Critics Association Awards – 2002 - Nominated, CFCA Award, Best Director for Moulin Rouge!

César Awards , France – 2002 - Nominated, César, Best Foreign Film (Meilleur film étranger) for Moulin Rouge!

Directors Guild of America , USA – 2002 - Nominated, DGA Award, Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures for Moulin Rouge!

Empire Awards , UK – 2002 - Won, Empire Award, Best Director for Moulin Rouge!

European Film Awards –

*2001 - Won, Screen International Award for Moulin Rouge! ;

*1997 - Nominated, Screen International Award for ''William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet

Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards –

*2009 - Nominated, FCCA Award, Best Film for Australia (2008 film)|Australia ;

*2002 - Won, FCCA Award, Best Director for Moulin Rouge! ; Nominated, FCCA Award, Best Screenplay - Original for Moulin Rouge!

Golden Globes , USA – 2002 - Nominated, Golden Globe, Best Director - Motion Picture for Moulin Rouge!

Hollywood Film Festival – 2001 - Won, Hollywood Movie of the Year for Moulin Rouge!

IF Awards – 2001 - Nominated, IF Award, Best Feature Film for Moulin Rouge! ; Nominated, IF Award, Best Direction for Moulin Rouge!

Italian National Syndicate of Film Journalists – 2002 - Nominated, Silver Ribbon, Best Director - Foreign Film (Regista del Miglior Film Straniero) for Moulin Rouge!

London Critics Circle Film Awards –

*1998 - Nominated, ALFS Award, Director of the Year for ''William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet ;

*1993 - Won, ALFS Award, Newcomer of the Year for Strictly Ballroom

Love is Folly International Film Festival, Bulgaria – 1993 - Won, Golden Aphrodite for Strictly Ballroom

Online Film Critics Society Awards – 2002 - Nominated, OFCS Award, Best Director for Moulin Rouge!

PGA Awards – 2002 - Won, Motion Picture Producer of the Year Award for Moulin Rouge!

Palm Springs International Film Festival – 2002 - Won, Sonny Bono Visionary Award

Phoenix Film Critics Society Awards – 2002 - Nominated, PFCS Award, Best Director for Moulin Rouge!

Robert Festival –

*2002 - Won, Robert, Best Non-American Film (Årets ikke-amerikanske film) for Moulin Rouge!

*1993 - Won, Robert, Best Foreign Film (Årets udenlandske spillefilm) for Strictly Ballroom

Satellite Awards –

*2008 - Won, Auteur Award, Nominated, Satellite Award, Best Screenplay, Original for Australia ; Nominated, Satellite Award, Best Original Song for Australia for the song "By the Boab Tree";

*2002 - Won, Golden Satellite Award, Best Director for Moulin Rouge! . Nominated, Golden Satellite Award, Best Screenplay, Original for Moulin Rouge!

Toronto International Film Festival – 1992 - Won, People's Choice Award for Strictly Ballroom

Vancouver Film Critics Circle – 2002 - Won, VFCC Award, Best Director for Moulin Rouge!

Vancouver International Film Festival – 1992 - Won, Most Popular Film for Strictly Ballroom

World Soundtrack Awards – 2001 - Won, World Soundtrack Award, Most Creative Use of Existing Material on a Soundtrack for Moulin Rouge!

Writers Guild of America Awards , USA – 2002 - Nominated, WGA Award (Screen), Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen for Moulin Rouge!

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