Baz Luhrmann Loves Sydney
Published by Kaonashi January 12th, 2007 in News.
You can take the boy from Oz, but you can never take Oz from the boy.
Baz Luhrmann, the director of Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet, and Moulin Rouge (AKA The Red Curtain trilogy), waxes philosophically about his beloved Sydney, Australia in the CNN series "The Scene". Essentially a series of glorified travel advertisements, every week “The Scene” features a different famous person discussing a specific city they love. For example, a past segment followed designer Giorgio Armani in Milan, Italy. Next week’s episode involves actress Paz Vega fawning over Seville, Spain.
In an exclusive interview with “The Scene”, Luhrmann discusses his love affair with Sydney, his current film project, and Leonardo DiCaprio’s favorite pancakes. The interview can be read in its entirety by clicking here.
An excerpt from the interview can be read after the jump.
The Scene: What do you think makes Sydney so special?
Baz Luhrmann: One of the great things about Sydney is that it has a great acceptance of everyone and everything. It’s an incredibly tolerant city, a city with a huge multicultural basis. It has this very dynamic relationship with Asia and China and Shanghai, my second favorite city. One of the biggest events in Sydney is the gay and lesbian Mardi Gras which happens in February every year. Everybody comes out to watch that, it’s one of the big showstoppers of the year. When Leonardo takes the magical love potion in “Romeo + Juliet” and you go into “Young hearts run free”, the Mardi Gras was a bit of an influence on that. It’s a city where you can be anyone you want to be. It’s certainly got its own edge.
On the same page as the interview is a short video that follows Luhrmann around Sydney. Watch the director as he bodyboards, reminds people to wear sunscreen, explores Sydney nightlife, and zips around Sydney harbor on a motorboat.
Luhrmann’s latest project, titled simply, Australia, is a further testament for the director’s love towards his homeland. Starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman, Australia takes place during World War II. An English aristocrat (Kidman) is forced to unite with a cattle driver (Jackman) to protect her newly inherited ranch from a takeover plot. As the unlikely duo drive 2,000 herd of cattle across the merciless Australian outback, they experience firsthand the bombing of Darwin, Australia, by Japanese forces. Australia is due out in 2008.
After reading Luhrmann’s interview and watching the video, I’m ready to pack my bags and fly to Australia myself! However, while Luhrmann’s little love letter to Sydney is a great endorsement for the city, I’m more pleased to hear about his latest film, Australia. I wish that he spoke a little more about it. Although Luhrmann has acheived critical acclaim with Moulin Rouge!, it came out in 2001, and Luhrmann is long overdue for another hit. Let’s hope that Luhrmann’s upcoming period piece, featuring the beauty of the Outback and Kidman and Jackman’s combined star power will do the trick.
Technorati Tags: Baz Luhrmann, The Red Curtain Trilogy, Strictly Ballroom, Romeo+Juliet, Moulin Rouge!, Sydney, Australia, The Scene, CNN, Leonardo DiCaprio, Nicole Kidman, Hugh Jackman, Australia movie
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