"So, what is creative freedom? We can make what we want, how we want. The only constraint is: not for any budget."
Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962) is a BAFTA-winning Australian screenwriter, director, and producer known for his highly stylized films, such as Moulin Rouge!.
He has also been involved with various theater productions.
Works Luhrmann has been creatively involved with:
- The "Red Curtain Trilogy
", a series of films about theatre tropes.- Strictly Ballroom (1992); dance.
- William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (1996); poetry and language.
- Moulin Rouge! (2001); song.
- La Bohème (2002)
- Australia (2008)
- The Great Gatsby (2013)
- The Get Down (2016)
- Elvis (2022)
Tropes:
- Anachronistic Soundtrack: A common element in some of his movies: Both Moulin Rouge! and The Great Gatsby are period pieces that featured a lot of music contemporary to when they were made (the early 2000's and the early 2010's respectively).
- Anachronism Stew: In addition to his liberal usage of Anachronistic Soundtrack, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet gives the story a Setting Update in the 90s but keeps most of the original dialogue from the play.
- California Doubling: Most of his films are usually shot in his native Australia, regardless of where they're set.
- Creator Couple: Baz Luhrmann's wife Catherine Martin is the production designer for all his films. Although being a director he's considerably more famous than she is, he has never won an Oscar, while she's won more Oscars than any other Australian (two each for Moulin Rouge! and two more for The Great Gatsby, plus she got nominated for Romeo & Juliet), meaning that in terms of Academy Awards he is Overshadowed By Her Awesome.
- Fake American: Aside from the lead actors, his films set in America are often made up largely of Australian actors playing American characters, due to often being filmed down in Oz.
- Foregone Conclusion: Happens both in Moulin Rouge! and The Great Gatsby, already revealing the way in which both movies will end from the very beginning. The same is true of Elvis due to being based on a true story and being told as a flashback.
- Melodrama: The plot of his movies tend to feature many elements from this genre, with the main romantic leads often being Star-Crossed Lovers in a World of Ham.
- World of Ham: All his films double as competitions to see what actor can chew the most scenery and the results are glorious to behold.
