S2 EP2: Baz Luhrmann on his iconic ‘Red Curtain’ Trilogy, living in Graceland, and his enduring love of clubbing

The Louis Theroux Podcast

Spotify Studios

Comedy, Society & Culture, Arts

4.3 • 696 Ratings

🗓️ 30 January 2024

⏱️ 82 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

In this episode, Louis meets Baz Luhrmann, the iconic director, auteur and self-described ‘Stanley Kubrick of Confetti’. Dialling in from the Gold Coast in Australia, Baz tells Louis about his remarkable life and career, including trying to reinvent the musical, living in Graceland whilst making ‘Elvis’, and his enduring love of clubbing. Warnings: Strong language and adult themes. Links/Attachments: ‘Strictly Ballroom’ (1992) – Trailer https://youtu.be/lxprz6gOmpg?feature=shared ‘Romeo + Juliet’ (1996) – Trailer https://youtu.be/8VOAxzgq42A?feature=shared ‘Moulin Rouge!’ (2001) – Trailer https://youtu.be/LVLjp3_MQIw?feature=shared ‘Australia’ (2008) – Trailer https://youtu.be/mfI4hK9I2k0?feature=shared ‘The Great Gatsby’ (2013) – Trailer https://youtu.be/rARN6agiW7o?feature=shared ‘The Get Down’ – Trailer https://youtu.be/FYcVrWDOiao?feature=shared ‘Elvis’ (2022) – Trailer https://youtu.be/vzNTHEXlw3o?feature=shared Faraway Downs (2023) – Trailer https://youtu.be/uZEbJQ3Kk7U?feature=shared Adrian Sibley’s 2001 documentary on Baz ‘The Show Must Go On’ – BBC 2 https://adriansibley.com/The-Show-Must-Go-On ‘Grease’ (1978) – Trailer https://youtu.be/qDKo8DNpwOw?feature=shared ‘The Prince musical so disastrous it was never revealed: the story of I’ll Do Anything’ – The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/ill-do-anything-musical-cut-watch-james-l-brooks-prince-nick-nolte-polly-platt-a9700661.html ‘Top Hat’ (1935) – Trailer https://youtu.be/-2KEhDYrVbw?feature=shared ‘The Sound of Music’ (1965) – Trailer https://youtu.be/UY6uw3WpPzY?feature=shared ‘Saturday Night Fever’ (1977) – Trailer https://youtu.be/i5tBXe0kSLA?feature=shared Christina Aguilera, Lil’ Kim, Mya, P!nk – Lady Marmalade – Music video https://youtu.be/RQa7SvVCdZk?feature=shared The Mask (A Mime) – David Bowie https://youtu.be/ss51eLEeJuY?feature=shared Baz Luhrmann interviews Elvis Presley’s childhood friend Sam Bell – EP Fan Archive https://youtu.be/LrFCyNMvZWk?feature=shared ‘Alexander’ (2004) – Trailer https://youtu.be/Bh6LKIdxqCU?feature=shared Elvis Presley – Are You Lonesome Tonight? – 1968 Live performance https://youtu.be/LF5u7b8pAYQ?feature=shared Credits: Producer: Millie Chu Assistant Producer: Maan Al-Yasiri Production Manager: Francesca Bassett Music: Miguel D’Oliveira Executive Producer: Arron Fellows A Mindhouse Production for Spotify www.mindhouse.co.uk Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hi. Too loud.
0:07.8	Hi, Louis Theroux here. How are you doing?
0:10.1	Welcome to my Spotify podcast called the Louis Theru podcast.
0:28.7	Thank you. So today we're speaking to a legend of cinema.
0:30.6	Yes, that's no exaggeration.
0:32.2	His name is Baz Luhrmann.
0:36.1	And, well, he's a big name.
0:56.7	So it's a privilege to have him on. He's an Australian film director, producer, writer and author known for his maximalist over-the-top style. He is the most commercially successful Australian director in history. Sit with that. Best known for his so-called Red Curtain trilogy, which we discussed in the interview, which includes his debut film Strictly Ballroom, 1992, his iconic adaptation
1:02.5	of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, starring a young Leonardo DiCaprio in the titular role,
1:07.9	and his remarkable All-Singing, all-dancing, 2001 spectacle, M all dancing 2001 spectacle mulan rouge it was while
1:14.8	working on strictly borougham that he met his lifelong creative partner and wife katherine martin or
1:19.8	c m you'll hear bazz referring to her as c m throughout the conversation but in addition he's also made the Great Gatsby, Australia with
1:31.0	Hugh Jackman, and most recently Elvis, which if you haven't seen, is a lush, incredible, deeply
1:40.0	emotional, cinematic adventure. In case you don't know, Moulin Rouge follows an English poet,
1:47.3	Christian, played by Ewan McGregor, who falls in love with the star of the Moulin Rouge,
1:50.9	cabaret artist and courtesan Sartin, played by Nicole Kidman. Nicole Kidman also stars in Baz's
1:57.1	historical epic Australia, which he has reinvented as a six-part series for Disney Plus.
2:04.8	Reinvented or basically recut in lockdown, he just got all the rushes of which there were like
2:09.8	hours and hours. And he decided to recut it as a series feeling maybe that would do justice
2:14.3	to the material in a more complete way. It came out in November of last year,
2:18.5	2023. So that really was the peg for the interview. That, and he had some familiarity with my
2:23.9	programs and was kind enough to say that he enjoyed some of them. We recorded remotely. I was in
	...

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