Baz Luhrmann

Bazmark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann (born Mark Anthony Luhrmann; 17 September 1962) is an Australian film director, producer, writer and actor whose various projects extend from film and television into opera, theatre, music and the recording industries. He is regarded by some as a contemporary example of an auteur[2] for his style and deep involvement in the writing, directing, design and musical components of all his work. He is the most commercially successful Australian director, and four of his films are in the top ten highest worldwide grossing Australian films ever.[3][4]

On the screen, he is best known for his Red Curtain Trilogy, comprising the romantic comedy film Strictly Ballroom (1992) and the romantic tragedies William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet (1996) and Moulin Rouge! (2001). Following the trilogy, projects included Australia (2008), The Great Gatsby (2013), Elvis (2022) and the television period drama The Get Down (2016) for Netflix. Additional projects include stage productions of Giacomo Puccini's La bohème for both Opera Australia and Broadway, and Strictly Ballroom the Musical (2014). In September 2025 his first documentary, EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival[5].

Luhrmann is known for his Grammy Award-nominated soundtracks for Moulin Rouge! and for The Great Gatsby, as well as his record label House of Iona, a co-venture with RCA Records.[6] Serving as producer on all his musical soundtracks, he also holds writing credits on many of the individual tracks. His album Something for Everybody features music from many of his films and also includes his hit "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)".

Early and personal life

Mark Anthony Luhrmann was born in Sydney, New South Wales, on 17 September 1962. His mother, Barbara Carmel, was a ballroom dance teacher and dress shop owner, and his father, Leonard Luhrmann, ran a petrol station and a cinema.[7][8] He was raised in Herons Creek, a tiny rural settlement in mid-northern New South Wales. He attended St Joseph's Hastings Regional School, Port Macquarie (1975–1978); St Paul's Catholic College, performing in the school's version of Shakespeare's Henry IV, Part 1; and Narrabeen Sports High School, where he met his future collaborator Craig Pearce.[9]

Luhrmann received the nickname "Baz" at school, given to him because of his hairstyle, the name coming from the puppet character Basil Brush. While still in high school, Luhrmann changed his name by deed poll to Bazmark, joining his nickname and birth name together.[10] In 1980 Luhrmann graduated from high school, and in the same year was cast opposite Judy Davis in the Australian film Winter of Our Dreams.[11] In 1982, using the money he had earned from film and television work, he co-founded, with Nell Schofield, Gabrielle Mason, and Julia Little, their own theatre company, The Bond Theatre Company.[12] The four had recently been turned down by NIDA.[13] In March the company performed American Days at the pavilion at Sydney's Bondi Beach.[14] At the same time, he conceived and appeared in a controversial television documentary, Kids of the Cross, where Luhrmann, embedded as a character, lived with a group of street kids.[15] In 1983 he enrolled in an acting course at the National Institute of Dramatic Art. He graduated in 1985 alongside Sonia Todd, Catherine McClements and Justin Monjo.[16]

On 26 January 1997 he married Catherine Martin, a production designer, costume designer and film producer; the couple have two children.[17] When asked in interviews about his sexuality, Luhrmann has said that he sees all sexual possibilities.[2][18][19]

Luhrmann supports the Melbourne Demons in the Australian Football League.[20]

Career

Filmography

Other ventures

Luhrmann, who started appearing on TV screen in 1981, appeared in Winter of Our Dreams, directed by John Duigan. By 1992, he had directed the music video "Love Is in the Air" by John Paul Young. The next year, Luhrmann staged his interpretation of A Midsummer Night's Dream by Benjamin Britten. In 1997 when the CD of Something for Everybody was released, it featured Luhrmann's films and operas. Following the success, he created and managed a company Bazmark along with his wife, Catherine Martin.

In 1997 as a music producer, Luhrmann was credited on "Everybody's Free", a spoken word song in Europe, Australia and the Americas. Luhrmann directed a 2004 commercial for Chanel N° 5 entitled N° 5 the Film. On Charlie Rose interview, he told Rose that the commercial was based on the 1953 film, Roman Holiday.[59] The next year 2005, Luhrmann was appointed an Ambassador for the Australian Theatre for Young People, and in next three years, he was asked by the Prime Minister of Australia Kevin Rudd to make adverts for the promotion of tourism in Australia.[60] In 2009 during the 81st Academy Awards in February, Luhrmann put together a number dedicated to musicals which consisted of Hugh Jackman, Beyoncé, Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Dominic Cooper and Amanda Seyfried. In September of same year, he appeared as a guest judge on Dancing with the Stars.

He produced Christina Aguilera and Nile Rodgers' 2016 single "Telepathy", along with Elliott Wheeler.[61]

Luhrmann and the 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 17th century forts in 2010.[62] He also shot the campaign film The Secret Life of Flowers. Though mostly hands-off with the stage production of Moulin Rouge!, Luhrmann produced its Broadway cast recording in 2019.[63]

Luhrmann led the jury at the 2023 Red Sea International Film Festival held in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.[64]

In January 2025, Luhrmann collaborated with wife Catherine Martin and Jon Neidich of Golden Age Hospitality on Monsieur, a new bar in New York City's East Village with a gothic medieval aesthetic, inspired by the East Village nightlife in the late 1960s and early 70s.[65]

In 2025 the couple has designed the private carriage Celia for the Belmond British Pullman luxury train, rebuilt from a former Brighton Belle motorcar. The vehicle features a capacity of 12 passengers, a bar, a dining and a lounge area. It's scheduled to run from Summer 2026.[66]

Influence and legacy

Luhrmann has cited Italian grand opera as a major influence on his work and has also given a nod to other theatrical styles, such as Bollywood films, as having influenced 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 favourite films are Star 80, 8½, War and Peace, Medium Cool and Fitzcarraldo.[67]

Luhrmann's influence has extended outside the traditional realm of media and entertainment. Deeply involved in the fashion and art worlds, Luhrmann's No. 5 the Film for Chanel not only holds a Guinness World Record for the highest budget for an advertising commercial ever produced,[68] but pioneered the now commonplace genre of fashion film and branded content. Luhrmann works closely with the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Anna Wintour Costume Center, having chaired the annual Met Gala as well as producing a short film for the museum, celebrating Miuccia Prada and Elsa Schiaparelli.[69] More recently, he and his wife Catherine Martin have adapted their style for projects in events, retail, architecture and design with Barneys New York[70] and developer and hotelier Alan Faena.[71][72]

In November 2022, Lurhmann featured in Desert Island Discs on BBC Radio 4; his choice of favourite track, book and luxury item were "Che gelida manina" from Puccini's La bohème (sung by Pavarotti), Tolstoy's War and Peace, and a silk eye mask respectively.[73]

Awards and honours

Luhrmann was appointed a Companion of the Order of Australia in the 2025 King's Birthday Honours for "eminent service to the arts as a filmmaker, to the theatre, to cultural heritage, and to the development of artistic talent".[74]

Media appearances

• In September 2009, Luhrmann made an appearance as a guest judge on Dancing with the Stars.[75] Luhrmann participated on the NPR radio quiz program Wait Wait... Don't Tell Me! in 2013.[76]
• Luhrmann's song "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)" was discussed in March 2020 on the BBC Radio 5 Live Chiles on Friday programme with Charlotte McDonald. It featured an interview from the documentary with Australian voice over artist, Lee Perry.[77]

In popular culture

In 2022, the writers of the Israeli satirical TV program The Jews Are Coming made a tribute in Hebrew to Luhrmann's version of "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)" with Moses standing before the Israelites and quoting the Ten Commandments with the background music from "Sunscreen" and several parts closely translated from Luhrmann's text, such as getting to know your parents before they disappear.[78]

External links