Everything about Baz Luhrmann totally explained
Baz Luhrmann (born
Mark Anthony Luhrmann on
September 17 1962) is an
Oscar and
Golden Globe-nominated
Australian film director,
screenwriter, and
producer. His films are distinguished by their flamboyant theatricality and oversaturated colours.
Biography
Luhrmann was raised in
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 filmmaking career. He attended St. Joseph's Hasting Regional School, Port Macquarie 1975-1978 and Sydney Grammar School. His nickname was given to him due to a perceived resemblance to the character
Basil Brush.
Luhrmann married
Catherine Martin, the
production designer on all of his films, on
January 26 1997. They have two children, Lillian Amanda Luhrmann and William Alexander Luhrmann.
Awards and Nominations
Luhrmann received
Directors Guild of America and
Golden Globe nominations for
Best Director - Motion Picture for his work on
Moulin Rouge!, but didn't receive an Oscar nomination for directing (Academy Award host
Whoopi Goldberg joked "I guess it just directed itself"). He did however receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.
Films
After theatrical successes, including the original stage version of "Strictly Ballroom", Luhrmann moved into film, and has directed three so far:
His first three films are now formally marketed as '
The Red Curtain Trilogy'.
Future projects
Luhrmann has been producing, since March 2007,
Australia, an "outback epic" starring
Nicole Kidman and
Hugh Jackman. The $130 million feature, financed by
20th Century Fox, will tell the story of an English aristocrat, played by Kidman, who settles on an
Outback station in the 1930s and becomes romantically involved with an Outback
drover, played by Jackman. The pair are caught up in the
bombing of
Darwin during
World War II. Australian writer
Stuart Beattie is also involved in the project.
Russell Crowe was once scheduled to star in the film but is no longer involved.
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Luhrmann was working on a
biographical film about
Alexander the Great, tentatively starring DiCaprio and Kidman, but the release (and subsequent box office failure) of
Oliver Stone's
film on the same subject in 2004 has cast doubt over whether the project will be completed.
Influences
Luhrmann has stated
Grand Opera/Italian grand opera as a major influence on his work including
Moulin Rouge!. He has also listed other theatrical styles like
Bollywood films as having had an influence on his work like
Moulin Rouge!. Luhrmann was a ballroom dancer as a child, and his mother taught ballroom dancing, which was an inspiration for
Strictly Ballroom. Luhrmann taught an unusually bright student with autism named Joey Mintz who, he credits with also teaching him in return.
Other work
In 2003 Luhrmann brought his critically acclaimed production of 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 7 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 special award for Excellence in Theater (Principal Ensemble Cast).
In 2004, Baz Luhrmann directed a lavish multi-million-dollar commercial for Chanel N° 5 titled N° 5 the Film, starring Nicole Kidman and Rodrigo Santoro.
Luhrmann is also credited with a 1999 UK number one single, released by EMI's Cataloue division entitled "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)".
He 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).
He assisted in the election campaign of former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating in 1993.
Luhrmann was appointed an Ambassador for the Australian Theatre for Young People in 2005.Further Information
Get more info on 'Baz Luhrmann'.
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