Though he has made only five films in two decades—
Strictly Ballroom, William Shakespeare’s Romeo + Juliet, and the Oscar-nominated films
Moulin Rouge!, Australia, and
The Great Gatsby—Australian writer-director Baz Luhrmann is an internationally known brand name. His name has even entered the English language as a verb, as in “to Baz things up, ” meaning “to decorate them with an exuberant flourish.” Celebrated by some, loathed by others, his work is underscored by what has been described as “an aesthetic of artifice” and is notable for both its glittering surfaces and recurring concerns.
In this collection of interviews, Luhrmann discusses his methods and his motives, explaining what has been important to him and his collaborators from the start and how he has been able to maintain an independence from the studios that have backed his films. He also speaks about his other artistic endeavors, including stage productions of
La Bohème and
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, and his wife and collaborative partner Catherine Martin, who has received two Academy Awards for her work with Luhrmann.
About the author
Tom Ryan is a former cinema studies lecturer and an Australian critic who has been a regular contributor to film magazines and the arts pages of newspapers for almost forty years. He is author of The Films of Douglas Sirk: Exquisite Ironies and Magnificent Obsessions and editor of Alan J. Pakula: Interviews, Baz Luhrmann: Interviews, and Fred Schepisi: Interviews, all published by University Press of Mississippi, and has contributed to numerous anthologies about film and sport.
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