Principal Photography Begins on ``Moulin Rouge''

Business Wire, Nov 10, 1999

SYDNEY, Australia--(ENTERTAINMENT WIRE)--Nov. 10, 1999--

Principal photography has begun on the motion picture "Moulin Rouge" starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor, and directed, co-written and produced by Baz Luhrmann.

"Moulin Rouge" re-invents the motion picture musical through its use of contemporary music in a period setting at the cusp of the 20th century.

The story follows a young poet (McGregor) who defies his father by moving to Montmartre, Paris. He falls into the absinthe-soaked, amoral and bohemian world of Toulouse-Lautrec and his entourage, whose lives center around a fantastical nightclub -- a seedy, but glamorous, haven of sex, drugs and electricity.

The young poet begins a passionate but ultimately doomed love affair with the club's highest-paid star and the city's most famous courtesan (Kidman).

Luhrmann co-wrote the screenplay with Craig Pearce, with whom he collaborated on two previous films, "Strictly Ballroom" and "William Shakespeare's Romeo Juliet." Luhrmann, Martin Brown, who was co-producer on "William Shakespeare's Romeo Juliet," and Fred Baron are producing.

A Bazmark Film production, "Moulin Rouge" is being shot entirely at Fox Studios Australia. It will be released by Twentieth Century Fox in late 2000.

Luhrmann's artistic background is also marked by successes in theater, opera and music. His album "Something for Everybody," co-produced with the head of Bazmark Music, Anton Monsted, reached gold sales in the United States, driven by the unprecedented radio phenomenon "Everybody's Free to Wear Sunscreen."

Luhrmann first earned widespread acclaim in film with the release of "Strictly Ballroom," a romantic fable set in the colorful, capricious world of ballroom dancing. The independent feature became a stunning critical and box-office success.

His next film, "William Shakespeare's Romeo Juliet," was a completely fresh cinematic look at this classic story. Starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes, the film went on to become one of Twentieth Century Fox's biggest successes of 1996, grossing more than $140 million worldwide.

"William Shakespeare's Romeo Juliet" won four British Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Adapted Screenplay, as well as the Berlin Film Festival's Award for Direction and the Silver Bear for DiCaprio as Best Actor.

Twentieth Century Fox is a unit of Fox Filmed Entertainment, a unit of Fox Entertainment Group.