Baz Luhrmann Fun Facts, Quotes and Tweets

10^th April 2014

Fact: Director Baz Luhrmann has been nominated at the Australian Directors Guild Awards for The Great Gatsby. Also in the feature film category is Ivan Sen for detective drama Mystery Road, Jonathan Teplitzky for The Railway Man, Kim Mordaunt for drama The Rocket, and Zak Hilditch for thriller These Final Hours. The winner will be announced on 2 May (14) in Sydney.

27^th February 2014

Fact: Australian director Baz Luhrmann has teamed up with alcohol brand Absolut Vodka to release a limited edition variety of the spirit called Absolut Oz. Luhrmann became fascinated with cocktails while making The Great Gatsby, which is set during prohibition-era America, and he has worked with the vodka brand to create four special drinks to be made with Absolut Oz.

8^th May 2013

Quote: "Hamlet. To me, Gatsby is the American Hamlet. What else could we possibly do as a follow-up? It's just a dream at this point." Director Baz Luhrmann wants to team up with his The Great Gatsby leading man Leonardo Dicaprio for a third time to make a film version of William Shakespeare's play Hamlet.

1^st May 2013

Quote: "I've been told he might come to the premiere and I'm freaking out because he's the one person I'm going to meet and have no idea how to talk to. I've never met him. I'm genuinely nervous already. He's just this huge, like, genius. And I never in a million years thought I'd be in a Baz Luhrmann film with Leonardo DiCaprio, but with a soundtrack by Jay Z? Yeah, it's pretty amazing." Carey Mulligan is excited at the prospect of meeting Jay Z, who created the soundtrack to Baz Luhrmann's upcoming adaptation of The Great Gatsby, at the film's U.S. launch.

30^th April 2013

Fact: Jake Gyllenhaal has voiced an audiobook version of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby to coincide with the release of Baz Luhrmann's highly anticipated movie adaptation. Gyllenhaal tackles the role of narrator Nick Carraway for the audiobook, which was released in the U.S. earlier this month (Apr13). The role is played by Tobey Maguire in the new film.

12^th March 2013

Fact: Baz Luhrmann's new movie adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel The Great Gatsby will open the Cannes Film Festival in France on 15 May (13). The director previously opened the prestigious festival with Moulin Rouge! in 2001. The Great Gatsby stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan.

10^th February 2011

Fact: Director TOM HOOPER and filmmaker Baz Luhrmann were among the guests at a dinner in honour of Geoffrey Rush's Oscar-nominated performance in THE KING'S SPEECH at New York's Mandarin Oriental Hotel on Tuesday (08Feb11).

25^th September 2009

Fact: Moulin Rouge! and AUSTRALIA director Baz Luhrmann is to sit in for absent dancing expert Len Goodman when the Dancing With The Stars judge takes a week off from the U.S. show next week (beg28Sep09).

5^th February 2009

Fact: The Jonas Brothers have asked Aussie filmmaker Baz Luhrmann to direct their next video. Joe Jonas, who appeared in the Australia director's 2003 Broadway production of La Boheme, tells Entertainment Weekly magazine, "We tried to reach out to him. I think eventually well connect with him. Id love to work with him again."

17^th December 2008

Quote: "He dressed me up on a couch and had me pretending to ride a house. Baz is very, very different to anyone I have ever worked with. He's completely original. He whispers things to me - he has ways in which he accesses my emotional life." Nicole Kidman on working with moviemaker Baz Luhrmann.

5^th December 2008

Quote: "I would walk over hot coals through fire for him. I deeply love him; he's brilliant and inspiring, words can't describe my devotion to him." Nicole Kidman is dedicated to her working relationship with AUSTRALIA director Baz Luhrmann.

7^th May 2007

Fact: Baz Luhrmann and Nicole Kidman's new movie epic, Australia, has been given a AUSD$200,000 ($164,200) grant from the Australian government. The period film, which will be shot in Bowen and Darwin over the next four months, is being dubbed "Australia's Gone With The Wind."