Baz Luhrmann Baz Luhrmann i(A919 works by) (birth name: Mark Anthony Luhrmann) (a.k.a. Bazmark Anthony Luhrmann)
Born: Established: 1962 ;
Gender: Male
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BiographyHistory

Director, producer, writer, actor.

Raised as a child in the small rural New South Wales township of Herons Creek, Baz Luhrmann moved to Sydney at age 15 to live with his mother. His parents had separated several years previously. He completed his education at Narrabeen High School (later Narrabeen Sports High), and then applied unsuccessfully to the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA). Luhrmann's passion for all things associated with cinema came about largely as a result of spending a great deal of time at his father's picture theatre in Herons Creek. He and his siblings had also grown up in a very creative family atmosphere, much of it revolving around music and dance (notably ballroom dancing). Although rejected by NIDA he continued to pursue a career as an actor and was cast in the 1981 film The Winter of Our Dreams (starring Bryan Brown and Judy Davis, qq.v.). He also appeared in television series such as A Country Practice and the docu-drama Kids from the Cross. A few years later Luhrmann again applied to be accepted into NIDA and this time succeeded.

In 1986, while a student at the National Institute of Dramatic Art, Luhrmann devised the first stage version of Strictly Ballroom with other students and directed the production. Around this time he also became involved in experimental theatre, primarily through re-inventing new ways to stage classic opera. With composer Felix Meagher he created Lake Lost for the Australian Opera. The production not only earned him the Victorian Green Room Award for Best Director, but gave him the opportunity to meet his future wife and business partner, designer Catherine Martin. In 1989 Luhrmann and Martin created a large scale 1940s retro musical spectacular at the Sydney Town Hall called Dance Hall. His 1990 production of La Boheme for the Australian Opera (winner of a Mo Award for Best Operatic Performance) was followed by a Hindu version of Shakespeare's Midsummer Night's Dream. After seasons in Sydney and Melbourne it played the 1994 Edinburgh Festival (winning the Critic's Prize).

Baz Luhrmann's first feature film was an adaptation of his theatrical piece, Strictly Ballroom. Released in 1992, the film won the Cannes Film Festival's Prix de Ia Jeunesse and went on to gross more than US $80 million dollars. Soon afterwards Luhrmann signed a deal with 20th Century Fox that saw him make Romeo and Juliet (1996). A modern interpretation of Shakespeare's classic love tragedy, performed with the original dialogue, and starring Leonardo Di Caprio and Clare Danes, the film grossed more than US $140 million and won numerous awards (including four BAFTAs). The soundtrack achieved platinum status.

In 1997 Luhrmann and Martin worked on the concept album Something for Everybody. It subsequently went platinum in Australia. Two years later he began working on the ambitious feature film Moulin Rouge. Released in 2001, and starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, Moulin Rouge grossed over US $170 million and won three Golden Globe Awards. It was also nominated for eight Academy Awards (winning Best Costume Design for Catherine Martin). Despite its mixed critical reception, many within the international film industry acknowledged Moulin Rouge's significant impact in revitalising the musical film genre.

Luhrmann presented his theatrical version of La Boheme to Broadway audiences in 2002 (the production ran until June 2003). He later began working on pre-production for a film about Alexander the Great, but this was eventually cancelled as Oliver Stone's film Alexander was then in production. In 2006 Luhrmann began working on the epic feature Australia. Starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman the film premiered in 2008.

Most Referenced Works

Notes

  • Luhrmann officially changed his Christian name from Mark to Bazmark sometime around 1979.

  • Filmography

    Feature films :

    Other:
    2009: 81st Annual Academy Awards (various sketches)
  • At January 2012 Luhrmann's three films Australia, Moulin Rouge, and Strictly Ballroom were ranked in the top seven in a list of Australian feature films of all time, ranked by total reported gross Australian box office takings.
    Source: Screen Australia http://www.screenaustralia.gov.au/research/statistics/mrboxaust.asp (Sighted 03/04/12)
  • Luhrmann was nominated for the 2013 AACTA Best Direction Award, Feature Film for The Great Gatsby.

Personal Awards

2009 Inside Film Awards Living Legend
2003 nominated Tony Awards Best Direction of a Musical for  La boheme
1999 Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards Australian Film Institute Awards Byron Kennedy Award with Catherine Martin, for their process of ‘Total Filmmaking’.

Awards for Works

form y separately published work icon Elvis ( dir. Baz Luhrmann ) United States of America (USA) Australia : Bazmark Films Roadshow Entertainment The Jackal Group , 2022 23639431 2022 single work film/TV

'A look at the life of the legendary rock and roll star, Elvis Presley. '

2022 nominated Film Critics Circle of Australia Best Film
2022 nominated Film Critics Circle of Australia Best Director
2022 nominated Film Critics Circle of Australia Best Screenplay - Original or Adapted
2023 nominated Golden Globe Awards (USA) Best Director - Motion Picture
2023 nominated Golden Globe Awards (USA) Best Picture - Drama
2022 nominated AFCA Film Awards Best Director
2022 nominated AFCA Film Awards Best Screenplay
2022 nominated AFCA Film Awards Best Film
2023 nominated Academy Awards Best Picture
2023 nominated British Academy of Film and Television Arts Awards Best Film
2022 nominated Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards Best Screenplay
2022 winner Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards Best Direction in Film
2022 winner Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards Best Film
form y separately published work icon The Great Gatsby ( dir. Baz Luhrmann ) Australia United States of America (USA) : Warner Brothers Village Roadshow A&E Television Networks , 2013 Z1934236 2013 single work film/TV An adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's Long Island-set novel, where Midwesterner Nick Carraway is lured into the lavish world of his neighbor, Jay Gatsby. Soon enough, however, Carraway will see through the cracks of Gatsby's nouveau riche existence, where obsession, madness, and tragedy await.
2014 shortlisted AFCA Film Awards Best Director
2014 shortlisted AFCA Film Awards Best Film
2013 winner Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards Best Adapted Screenplay Feature Film
2013 winner Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Awards Best Film Feature Film
Last amended 23 Sep 2021 12:04:36
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