Baz Luhrmann exclusive: The director talks 'Strictly Ballroom' and whether he'll ever direct an episode of 'Glee'

Image Credit: WireImage.comIn a new bonus feature on the recently-released special edition DVD of his feature directorial debut, 1992′s Strictly Ballroom, Baz Luhrmann revisits the struggle of taking the story he first conceived as a 30-minute drama school production — the tale of a would-be-ballroom champion daring to do his own steps and partner with an ugly duckling beginner — from the stage to the screen. Nothing was easy: finding financing and a distributor, filming the climactic scene during the lunch break at a real competition (in front of an audience that didn’t feel obligated to stay when shooting ran long), even designing the poster. EW chatted with Luhrmann about his signature style, and why he may never actually get around to doing the two things you’d think it’d make him perfect for — directing an episode of Glee, and a comic book movie.

ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY: Hearing what you went through to get Strictly Ballroom made reminded me of Sylvester Stallone’s fight with the first Rocky. Did you draw any inspiration from Rocky for Strictly Ballroom?
BAZ LUHRMANN: Yes, I did. I was at drama school. This might sound wafty, but god knows I’m known for wafty. I was steeped in Brecht and Bartow, but also increasingly interested in Joseph Campbell and primary myth. I was in drama school in the ’80s, that wasn’t long after Star Wars. The idea of primary myth had really taken hold, meaning universal storytelling, meaning the kind of simple hero’s journeys stories that had been very present in early Hollywood and yet, had been displaced, rightly so, by French New Wave and more observational storytelling. I was really into this universal storytelling mythology, and we were able to do our own projects, and I had grown up in the world of ballroom dancing. What were the main primary myths? One of them is the hero’s journey, or the triumph over oppression and the impossible. This is what, at the time, Sylvester Stallone had drawn upon to make Rocky. So the idea was to meld the hero’s journey with the ugly duckling. I wanted to bring those two myths together. The ugly duckling is a misunderstood universal myth. It’s not about turning into a blonde Barbie doll or becoming what you dream of being; it’s about self-revelation, becoming who you are. It’s too simplistic to say its “Rocky goes to the dance floor,” but it was really present. I remember thinking how the story of Rocky was a very good example of the hero’s journey, and always, in the back of mind, when I was trying to get the film made, remembering what Sylvester Stallone went through. You’re right: When [producer] Tristram Miall and Ted Albert [who'd die right before filming began, leaving his wife, Antoinette Albert, a short time to decide whether to invest in the film, which she did] said, “Hey, we think Strictly Ballroom is a great play, can we buy the rights?,” I said, “Well, I’m gonna make the movie.” And that’s the same thing Sylvester Stallone said when he’d written the screenplay to Rocky. He said, “I’ve got to play the main role.” Had he said, “Oh, I really need the money,” he would have had a different journey. 

Your heightened theatrical style of filmmaking wasn’t understood at the time. Some wanted the script to be more naturalistic to the point it’d become Dirty Dancing. You even had comic book-style storyboards done to convey the feel of the film. Will you ever do a comic book movie?
Look, I had a passion for comic books growing up. I got very close once to doing The Silver Surfer. I really loved it when I was a kid. I really admire where Chris Nolan, where Tim [Burton] went with Batman. They prove that [comic books are] like our contemporary Greek mythologies. People do them badly, and people do them well, and when people do them well, they have great universal resonance. I guess the short answer is I have considered it. I just have a room full of projects that I’ll never get done before I die. I come to the moment and I go, wouldn’t it just be good to play inside the sandbox, meaning the current popular genre? And you couldn’t get a more popular genre than the comic book. Unfortunately, I seem to find myself going, Yes, but I really want to see this [other story] up on the screen and won’t that make a rich creative life, and it tends to be an unpopular genre — until 10 years later. The musical was a very unpopular genre [when I was working on] Moulin Rouge!. And ballroom dancing, I mean, honestly, if I had a dollar for every executive at Cannes when I was trumping along with my little comic book saying “It’s ballroom dancing!” who said, “Ballroom dancing will never be popular in the United States, it’s not possible.” That was 20 years ago. I think there might be a little popular show on TV now.

I love the story on the DVD about how some people walked out of the film’s first midnight screening at Cannes, but those who stayed gave you a 15-minute standing ovation at the end.
I think I tell that story on the DVD where the security guard said, “Monsieur, your life will never be the same again.” And it wasn’t. It really was a majestic moment. You don’t have that many of those in your life. No one starts out to make a bad film or a film that doesn’t work. I am particularly wedded to people who have creative ambition. I relate to that. I’m particularly sensitive when people with creative ambition step outside the box and from Day One, they’re attacked for that. That just comes with the territory. Goodness knows I’m used to it. No film of mine was universally accepted or embraced across the board the day it came out, including Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge!, and goodness knows Australia. I’m not saying any of those films are perfect, but all of them are outside the current vernacular of cinema. I’m not motivated by Gee, don’t I want to upset the apple cart, or don’t I want to upset the cinematic landscape, or don’t I want to be derided publicly or by pundits. I just set out to make something I really want to see. I loved musical form. I really believe musical form will go on. There’s got to be a way of making musical form in cinema live again. I wasn’t the only one — there were a lot of people contributing to that — but here 10 years later, the biggest television phenomena is musical form. Glee is a natural growth. But the truth is that I know, Day One when I’m creating a work, that I’ve got to do a lot of work to get it over the hump of commentators whose formative years were formed in the [naturalistic] French New Wave, and no matter what happens, they’re never gonna look at Glee and go, “Glee. Isn’t that really great?” They might appreciate its popular success, but they’ll never really button into it because, understandably, it never got greater than François Truffaut. And by the way, I’m a mad Truffaut fan. Mad Truffaut fan. I’m a fan of anything great. If I was a chef, I’d just like great, great cooking.

Since you brought up Glee, have you ever been asked to direct an episode? I’m surprised we haven’t seen a “Come What May” duet yet.
I should really clarify this. I was on the carpet for The Social Network in New York. I was asked a question about Glee, and I responded, and, of course, it got mangled. Probably my own fault. It sounded like I’m trying to direct. But what actually happened was, when Glee first started, Ryan Murphy invited me to do an episode of it. Very, very early on. I really admire what Ryan’s done, and I think it’s a fantastic thing. I tried to make it work in schedule, and this was before it broke big, and we could never get it together. I was in the middle of working on my own new musical film, and I was working on Gatsby. I’d still love to do an episode, just for fun. But right as I speak to you now, I’m working on the live stage production of Strictly Ballroom in the afternoon, and I’m casting Jordan [in his film adaptation of The Great Gatsby] in the morning. I just find myself a busy man. So the answer is yes, if there were two of me, I’d love to do it. But I feel like they don’t need me. That’s what I really feel like. Ryan does it so well. All those kids are so gifted. It’s a cultural phenomenon. Good on them. I think my job is to look at what is the next step in the musical form. That’s what I’m interested in. That’s where my focus is at this time.

Read more:
Baz Luhrmann’s Great Gatsby update: He’ll reveal his research reading list on his website this week