Baz Luhrmann

While best known as a filmmaker, Baz Luhrmann also reached the pop charts in 1999 with the spoken word novelty hit "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)." A native of Australia, Luhrmann attended the prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Arts in Sydney, making his film debut in front of the camera in 1982's The Winter of Our Dreams; a role in The Dark Room followed two years later.

In 1986, he wrote and directed the stage play Strictly Ballroom, which his independent theatrical troupe the Six Years Old Company revived internationally on numerous occasions in the years to follow; additional Luhrmann stage productions of the period included an update of La Boheme and the musical Crocodile Creek.

In 1992, Luhrmann wrote and directed the film version of Strictly Ballroom, an international smash that earned eight Australian Film Institute Awards, three British Academy Awards, and the Cannes Film Festival's Prix de Jeuness. After first tackling the Bard in 1994 with an Australian Opera production of A Midsummer's Night's Dream, in 1996 he scored another film hit with William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet, a hip, contemporary retelling of the classic love story starring teen heartthrob Leonardo DiCaprio.

Three years later, Luhrmann released the album Something for Everybody, a collection of ambient-styled recordings of themes from his films; the spoken word single "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)," based on the proclamations of a widely disseminated e-mail mistakenly attributed as a collegiate commencement speech delivered by author Kurt Vonnegut, became a surprise hit that spring.

~ Jason Ankeny, Rovi

'Moulin Rouge!' director Baz Luhrmann has boasted he ''reinvented the musical'' genre.

(BANG) -

Baz Luhrmann believes he "reinvented the musical".

The 'Moulin Rouge!' director is not concerned about the possibility of making an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgeralnd's 'The Great Gatsby' because he likes to challenge himself, and he believes the risks often pay off.

Asked if he felt he was setting himself up for failure by attempting to work on the project, he said: "I don't really care about that. I go towards things that are challenging for me and scary for me - but I want to see them up there. If I'd walked away from that I wouldn't have tried to reinvent the musical or had a go at making Shakespeare popular or done a ballroom-dancing film.

"Nobody turns around and goes, 'Yes, ballroom dancing, definitely! We want that!' "

Baz believes his interpretation of 'Moulin Rouge!' - which starred Nicole Kidman and Ewen McGregor and grossed $178 million worldwide - led to the success of musical TV show 'Glee'.

He told The Independent newspaper: "'Glee' co-creator Ryan Murphy has been very nice about acknowledging that it was 'Moulin Rouge' that inspired him. I wish I had a dollar for everyone that said, 'The musical will never be popular in America,' 10 years ago."