Baz Luhrmann on bringing Moulin Rouge! to life 20 years ago as musical debuts in Sydney
As Moulin Rouge The Musical prepares for its Sydney debut, director Baz Luhrmann reflected on the behind the scenes struggles from the movie more than two decades ago.
Watching the look on Baz Luhrmann’s face when he talks about Moulin Rouge!, it’s clear 20 years hasn’t chipped at a sliver of his passion for the film.
Whether it be his muse, Nicole Kidman, the dazzling costumes expertly designed by his wife and collaborator Catherine Martin, the beloved music or the enchanting story he created; every discussion point I pitch has the Australian director seeing stars.
As Moulin Rouge The Musical prepares for its Sydney debut on May 28, we take a look back at how Luhrmann achieved the cinematic feat more than two decades ago.
Luhrmann, 59, took a risk making a musical film in 2000, a time when action thrillers, gross-out comedies and dramas were ruling the box office.
Pressure to resurrect the genre, combined with the gruelling process of making a movie of this calibre, was an exhausting combination of blood, sweat and cheers.
“You’ve got to remember, the Moulin Rouge has a different history. There was a lot of mocking of the Moulin Rouge. ‘Musicals will never be popular again’ … I can’t tell you how many times I was told that,” Luhrmann told news.com.au last year, ahead of the musical's Melbourne showing.
“There were times of beautiful moments, but there were times where we were like, ‘This is so hard’.
“And I’m not saying we were heroes … But we really got lost in it.”
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Moulin Rouge was ‘freeing’ for Kidman
Getting lost in it was a euphoric distraction. Luhrmann says the film came at a trying time for him, with his father dying on the first day of shooting.
A then 33-year-old Kidman was also suffering personal setbacks, as she navigated one of the most high-profile Hollywood splits ever from her husband, blockbuster star Tom Cruise.
Moulin Rouge! became their combined fixation.
“Nicole was going through her struggle in her personal life, I don’t need to tell you what that was …” Luhrmann says.
“But we became the closest of friends. We have a great romanticism about the world at large.
“It was absolutely (freeing for Kidman),” he adds.
“We both probably went deeper into the show itself. It was a metaphor for our own journey. “The ethos of the Moulin Rouge is incredible inclusiveness. It doesn’t matter who you are, what you are, what your background is … In the Moulin Rouge, everyone is equal in their pursuit of truth, beauty, freedom and love.
“That isn’t a corny ethos. That bohemian spirit was truly alive in the show. It just effortlessly spilt into the world of Iona (Luhrmann’s Sydney house).
“The way we made the movie is the way the movie is. And it’s kind of always been the way. That’s why I make them (movies) so rarely, because I kind of live them too.”
Why Luhrmann doesn’t make countless films
It’s almost unbelievable to think Moulin Rouge! is one of only five Luhrmann big screen directorial credits – the sixth being the upcoming Elvis Presley biopic featuring Tom Hanks (more on that later).
Luhrmann drowns himself in his passion projects to such a degree he needs time to decipher the next chapter of his wondrous journey.
His ideal way to describe his approach to making movies strikes parallels with lead Moulin Rouge! character Christian (Ewan McGregor).
“It’s a journey of a young man who doesn’t want to give up on that idealism and looking for an ideal love,” he said.
“He goes into an underworld and meets the king of the underworld and the creatures of the underworld, and falls in love with a ridiculous, impossible love.
“It wouldn’t matter whether Satine lived or not, they could never really sustain, but it’s the idea of it. And that love passes and Christian returns to the real world scarred but having grown.
“We all have a youthful idealism that has to undergo a growth process, so I can relate to that.
“That’s why I was happy to let it (the movie) go, because I’m not that person anymore.”
Epic Moulin Rouge parties
Gossip ran rampant during filming that Luhrmann and his wife Catherine threw unbelievable parties at their home in Darlinghurst.
Luhrmann clarifies: “They were particularly legendary”.
Catherine, who has won four Oscars for her work on Luhrmann’s films, said there was one party in particular that pioneered a modern event trend, thanks to the help of a party planner and a technical director.
“They put together a night market in the backyard, and before this idea even existed, they put food stalls all around the garden in Darlinghurst, strung lights everywhere, had smoke machines, had a dance floor, and it was like going to some kind of underground market,” Catherine told news.com.au.
“We do like a good party and Baz is a great party giver and encourager of parties,” she said.
Throwing that line to Luhrmann, his answer makes it clear why he was the dream visionary behind The Great Gatsby.
“Leonardo da Vinci liked painting but he thought it was a greater art form to do parties,” Luhrmann says.
“They’re not unlike theatre or film. They create a space in which everyone can leave their bullsh*t outside and commune, be it through music or dance or being inebriated.
“We do parties as an art form. People think that’s frivolous, well actually, the Greeks would disagree with you.
“We all have a difficult life in different ways, it isn’t some magic carpet ride party. But I love to see people united and uplifted and exulted. It’s a privilege to be a part of helping people find that.”
He adds, “But the photos are in the vault. We could talk forever about that. We’ll do a book one day.”
‘Fairy godmother’ to the musical
Moulin Rouge! The Musical is finally set to premiere at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney on May 28, after debuting in Melbourne last year.
While Luhrmann’s finesse will be sprinkled throughout, he felt it vital to take a step back to let the emerging creative team – led by director Alex Timbers – shine.
“The team have totally respected the original show and kept all the key musical moments that you’re going to love,” he says.
“They also took strong leaps which I may have been more cautious about doing. But I was able to remember when I was Alex’s age, all I ever wanted was older generations to trust me. So that’s what I gave him.
“This is a bad Baz comparison, but it’s like being a grandparent. You just get all the fun bits. You turn up and give your opinion but you don’t have to do the blood sweat and tears day in, day out.”
He adds, “The fact that an audience is going to pile in, shoulder to shoulder, and commune with other audience members … That is not happening anywhere else in the world.”
First movie in eight years
Luhrmann's Elvis biopic, starring Austin Butler and Tom Hanks, is set to premiere in June.
It’s his first movie since The Great Gatsby in 2013, which made more than $353 million worldwide.
“I can say that we have had to create lots of different worlds, and there was no world we were challenged in creating,” he says.
“We went to a lot of effort, but it’s all there.
“The performances are remarkable. Austin Butler, I think he’s really going to surprise people. And Tom … (enough said).”
Elvis was shot on the Gold Coast in Queensland in 2020, when Oscar-winner Hanks and his wife Rita Wilson infamously contracted COVID-19. And it seems the local film industry has Queensland premier Annastacia Palaszczuk to thank.
“The Gold Coast is an awesome filmmaking environment. We just immediately connected with it,” Luhrmann says.
“We were initially going to film in North Carolina but I met with the Queensland premier in London and she said, ‘You’ve got to try the Gold Coast’.
“My memory of the Gold Coast was like, meter maids. But she said, ‘It’s the hipster capital of Australia’.
“So I decided to come out and saw it had amazing food, music, an art scene going on. The attitude, energy and the people … It is just awesome.”
Moulin Rouge The Musical premieres at the Capitol Theatre in Sydney on May 28, before returning to Melbourne in August. Get tickets at moulinrougemusical.com
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