Baz Luhrmann, Vol. II

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0:34Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability, amount of discounts and savings, and eligibility vary by state. Josh, I can do one thing for you. Ready? Standing by. And action! Prepare your ears, humans. Happy, sad, confused begins now.

0:54Hey guys, it's Josh. Welcome to another edition of Happy, Sad, Confused. Today on the show, a truly iconic filmmaker, Baz Luhrmann, is back on the podcast, returning to the world of Elvis with his new film, Epic. Thanks, guys, as always, for checking out the pod, enjoying us on YouTube, on Spotify, however you're doing it. I appreciate you guys. Remember to hit that subscribe button if you haven't already and spread the good word of what we do over here. Returning champion today. What a privilege to have Baz Luhrmann back on the show. So someone I absolutely grew up with, Romeo and Juliet, Moulin Rouge.

1:25These are films that are just part of my upbringing as a lover of film. I have a Moulin Rouge poster like 10 feet away from me in my place. So the fact that he came back on the pod, he was on the pod actually last for his Elvis movie starring our buddy Austin Butler. And now he's back talking about this great concert slash documentary film. It's in theaters now. It's in IMAX in some theaters. I saw it in IMAX. It's fantastic. It is called Epic. I truly, truly, highly recommend it. Before we get to more on Baz, let me just quickly mention, as always, remember, check out our Patreon. That's where we put all the content we put here a little bit early.

2:05You get early access, you get discount codes to our live events, some really exciting live events we're about to announce, merch, all sorts of cool stuff. If you like what I do, support us over there, patreon.com slash happy, sad, confused. Okay, just a little more preamble on Baz Luhrmann. He is a filmmaker like no other. That is true. His name ironically came up very recently on the podcast when we were talking to Emerald Fennell, who is certainly an acolyte of Baz's, but also with many actors who have been through his famous, very unique casting process, whether it's Kate Hudson or Amanda Seyfried.

2:39No one casts people quite like Baz does, his infamous kind of screen tests, workshops, whatever you want to call them. This is a great conversation, not only about returning to the world of Elvis Presley, and it's a fascinating story of how this documentary came about kind of in the course of making his Elvis biopic starring Austin Butler. where all this footage was found of these concerts in Vegas and beyond, as well as this, I think, 35, 40-minute audio tape of Elvis talking about his life in very frank terms. What Baz has now done in marrying it all together and working with Peter Jackson's folks to kind of refurbish the footage and look at it as bright and vibrant as possible is make a truly cinematic experience.

3:25Truly, I said this to Baz, I'm a casual Elvis fan at best, But it's quite a thing to see the king on the screen in this way, just so vital, so alive, just at the peak of his powers. Highly recommend this one. Epic is in theaters now. Check it out. We also talk about a great many other things, including Romeo and Juliet celebrating its 30th anniversary. Moulin Rouge celebrating its 25th anniversary. Close calls with a comic book character that I don't think he's talked about before that he almost did way back when. some really interesting stories from Baz here, one of the great, not only filmmakers, but conversationalists.

4:02So, so pleased this happened. So pleased you guys are here to listen and enjoy. And without any further ado, here's me and the one and only Baz Luhrmann. Here we go. Baz Luhrmann back on the podcast where he belongs, not in person, but mother nature didn't want us to be in the same space, apparently, Baz. Damn, damn it, Blizzard. Damn it. And I love New York. I got a bar in New York. I got a house in New York. I miss New York. I know. Last time you were on the podcast, it was one of the last audio-only podcasts of Happy Second Fuse we did, and you welcomed me into your home, and that was such a treat to see the pure world of Baz Luhrmann in person.

4:37Amazing. When was the last time? Congratulations, though, on this one, sir. You've been really carrying this one on your back around the world, and it's all for a good cause. I got a chance to see this in IMAX over the weekend. Good, good. Glad you started in IMAX. It's amazing, sir. It's truly a, look, as a casual Elvis fan, I took my mom, another casual fan. She came out, she insisted I say to you today, I get it now. I get what Elvis Presley is all about. I love that. I love your mom. I tell your mom I love her. Talk to me a little bit about, I mean, this one, correct me if I'm wrong, this might be the best reviewed film in your illustrious career.

5:20I don't know if you pay attention to such a thing, but you're getting stellar reviews top to bottom on this. It's possible. I mean, no detractors. I tell you something. You know what, Josh? You say you're a casual fan. Then I was talking to a chap earlier today and he said, I've got to tell you, I want to give you full disclosure. I have no interest in Elvis Presley. I never have. Not the music, not the guy. To me, he was just a Halloween costume, like basically a joke. He said, I'm in love now. And I went, well, that's about the best review I could get. But I mean, it wasn't like, it's not like I'm purposefully out there proselytizing.

6:10I did, when I made the film of Elvis, I did it. Elvis was in my life as a kid, you know, like I loved him in the movies. We had a movie theater for a while and I loved the movies. You know, probably they're not that great now when I look at them. And Burning Love was dropped when I was a ballroom dancer, so that won me a few prizes. I thought that was cool. But I very quickly opened my heart to different music, you know, opera and the David Bowies and all sorts of music, Michael's and all that. But Elvis was kind of there. But I really thought of Elvis, again, in the movie, as a sort of Amadeus movie, as an exploration between the great salesman, the carny salesman, which is one side of America, and the beautiful Orphean soul that Elvis was.

6:57Spent years down there, Graceland, made the movie, and then discovered this footage by accident, the struggle to save it from the salt mines, the struggle to then work with wonderful Peter Jackson, bring it back to life, the struggle with the music, knowing we had the voice and stuff, but we had damaged orchestrations. And then finding the tape of him talking and saying, let's let him tell the story but along the way something unexpected happened I think and that is in working with John O Redmond who was my creative partner in this but I decided to let the man tell the story and looking for you know having to do deals with collectors and stuff I felt like I got to know him and I was reminded only recently that when I was died, I'd kick him on the bus and he said, hey, I was died today.

7:56And I went, what? And in my mind, in my 10-year-old mind or whatever it was, I went, that can't be right because I was going to meet him and we were going to be friends, which is, of course, a kid's imagination. But somehow I feel like I have met him. and now I feel like I'm, something's happening here that's beyond me and maybe that's why the reviews are so like they are because all I've done is taken away all the rust, given Elvis the best possible reproduction, there's no AI and the man, the artist, the vibrating energy on stage is doing the rest. Well, it's fascinating what you allude to a bit of the journey of this film, which is unusual.

8:42You've obviously never made a film in quite this way before. We talk about you as a world builder. You're truly one of those filmmakers that creates a world. And here you're kind of handed a world. You kind of have to reconstruct a world. And I know, like Guillermo del Toro always says, the movie tells you what it is, right? You listen to the movie. And this, I think, is the extreme example of that. You couldn't come in with a preconceived notion of what this concert or doc was going to be. No, no. Was that freeing for you as a filmmaker? Yes, yes. I mean, actually, I was with Guillermo del Toro last night in front of a crazy crowd.

9:21We were watching an IMAX, and they were dancing and screaming, and Guillermo sort of said something like that. He's my brother. I mean, we are like brothers in film. And to your point, the answer is yes, yes, and yes, because it's a bit like I said to Guillermo I said, look, it's a bit like having a baby, but not having to be pregnant. Because I didn't have to shoot it. And I knew that my lead actor was 100 % going to deliver. Right? So all I had to do, I mean, it's not nothing. All John and I had to do was, it was a lot of labor. But it was the most enjoyable thing I've ever made. because when and guillemore will talk about this at dinner when you're making a movie you write it then you get there's the fight with the studio but the number and then there's shooting and then there's casting and did you get the casting right and then there's part by the time you get to post which is what this is you're spiritually exhausted right whereas i began in post you know now and And that is Guillermo's right too.

10:30It was like when Jono and I found this one 40-minute tape of Elvis just speaking, the film spoke to us. It said, let Elvis get out of the way. Let Elvis tell the story. Things about Elvis are always someone telling you about him. Right. Let him tell his story. And that was the moment of, yeah, we're doing it like a dreamscape. I think people will maybe not be surprised, but harden to know that this does feel like a Baz Luhrmann film, despite kind of like, you know, you working within that context of like receiving the material and molding it. I mean, for me, it shares with all your work, like whatever period you're working in, you make things feel so vital, so present, so in the moment, you know, whether it's whether it's Gatsby or Shakespeare or whatever.

11:20And that's really this. This is like you feel like you are seeing a vital performer in their prime in the moment. And it's so refreshing as someone that grew up, you know, like, you know, you hear about fat Elvis and dying Elvis and Elvis at the end. And it's like this is a guy at his most charming. So like so awkward and wonderful backstage. So in his element on stage, it really brings him back to life. I can only imagine for me, if it makes me feel that way, for the diehard fans to see him like this. It must be something close to... Yeah. Well, you know what? I'll tell you what, Josh. I'm not sure why, but I have a habit of doing what you're saying.

12:05But I always start with this point, which is when Fitzgerald wrote the book The Great Gatsby, and he put black street music in it, everyone went, oh my god that's a fad jazz and when jay-z and i went no no it would have been like the most edgy it's it's not nostalgia i'm not interested in nostalgia i'm interested in making it feel like there's what it was and then there's what it felt like right in the moment at the time what it felt like yeah and what did it feel like to be in the audience with elvis when he was making a show he thought he was going to take on a world tour which never happened and look I spoke to Clive Davis um about he was there at the opening night the year before and he said to this day he's never been at an opening night quite like it he said it was just so he said Elvis actually did a cartwheel and they had to stop him doing that because he was scared he'd not break his neck but like I think the energy that vibrates off the stage, the fact that no one knew what he was going to do, the fact that he conducted the music with his body, you see him constructing the orchestrations, he didn't have a stylist, you know, he's a one-off.

13:22And you're right, he's both incredibly idiosyncratic, funny, goofy, cool, dramatic, spiritual, like one minute he's like being really silly and the next moment he's saying how great thou art, as if he's actually an I acolyte connecting with God, you know? We'll be right back with more Happy, Sad, Confused. So some of you may think what you see and hear on the podcast is the total me. The truth is I get super stressed like everybody else. Work challenges, the health of a loved one, it can all feel pretty overwhelming. That's why I'm so happy Rula is an ongoing sponsor for Happy, Sad, Confused. It's one thing to find a therapist you like, but then you learn the problem of actually making sure that they take your insurance.

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16:12I mean, you've worked with some of the greatest actors on the planet in your career And musicians, actually Of course But I'm curious, like, what struck me in the film, among many other things is how he did turn into this other person on stage in front of a camera, in front of an audience. Have you experienced that with certain actors? Does, like, an actor jump out to you at, like, they're one person when they're rehearsing, when we're talking, whatever, and then when the camera turns on, something else happens? Yes, I mean, almost all the great ones are like that, you know? And it's interesting with musical icons because, I mean, I could go into the actors, but pretty much all the really you know the leonardo's and the and the nicole's i mean nicole but they are specifically transforming but with musical icons bowie who was someone i was like an icon to me and then we worked together and then towards the end of his life we became friends he lived near me um and i loved him and he would come around he was very wise and funny but he does this mime earlier in his life when he's doing working with Lindy Kemp and he goes you know forgive my bad accent but he goes when you're a little Tucker you put on the mask and people go isn't it funny and then later you put on the mask he's doing he's doing Piero mime and and you get paid to do it and then you put on the mask and you're suddenly very famous and then you put on the mask and you're at the world, come up, and you put it on the mask, and you put it on the mask, and you put it on the mask, and he chokes because he can't get the mask off and dies.

17:55And that happens to these iconic performers that are beyond just performers, their actual culture. And there's only about two or three of them at that level. And the problem is that they become the avatars they create. Right. they become like Elvis says at some point I'm so tired of being Elvis Presley others you know I went with Prince and it was very hard you know it's like never broke character was always Prince but the human being behind it gets lost and in this film Elvis says it's he's so articulate about it he goes it's very hard to live up to an image there's the image and then there's the man and and we try to show the man in this film.

18:49We try to get to know the man. And the man is kind of really sweet and humble and has empathy and funny, but the image is so overwhelming. But it also seems, my sense, again, I haven't seen nearly the footage you have, in seeing him in the concert footage, it's like the audience needs him, but he needs them. And that seems like... One thousand percent. What happens is we can all criticize, but none of us, like as another famous person I know is a musician who's kind of recluse now, she said to me, we were talking about Elvis, she said, no person, no human being is built to be that famous. And as that fame becomes so great, things that are okay for us, like just go to Hawaii and rest or fall in love with someone.

19:41What happens is the only real love you can trust and feed off is that with the audience and the one that their fans and that love that they give back to you. You really trust that because you know it's authentic and everything else outside of that is kind of, it's just interesting that all of the ones, the three I think of, let's just say will develop medical problems where they need a lot of prescription drugs to numb themselves yeah that's all i'd say about that i i saw you mentioned you did a q a with guillermo i also saw austin came out austin butler came out to your premiere the other day what did he uh what did he have to say before during or after about i mean he's seen so much footage himself we are crazy because we were running around and we're dear friends but we actually met on the carpet so we weren't doing you know photo ready hugs it was real and I love him love him so much and he saw it and he was just got smacked I mean it's a complicated thing for him because I've had people come on CG Elvis did such a good Austin Butler you know so the young ones I go no no it's the other way around but um we talked about some of the things that we like you know that super eight where we'd heard about Elvis dancing like he had a sort of an electric eel in him.

21:07And Austin just obsessively watched every frame that was available of Elvis. But some of that stuff just wasn't available. And, you know, he was a bit like, oh, I should have done that one. But I think it's a testament to Austin just how many people come out and say, oh, my God. You know, sometimes they thought of watching Austin, you know. Right. It's been obviously a few years now. You obviously made the right choice, but the lore is, as you well know, Harry Styles and I believe Miles Teller were pretty close to landing the Elvis role. Were either of them very close to being your Elvis in the end?

21:46The iWorkshop, like when I was looking for my Jeanne d 'Arc, I know what, having been a young actor and having a theater company at the same time and being at NIDA and auditioning people, I don't like auditions, I like to workshop and both of them brought so much it was such a privilege to have them work on the material for an hour or so or sometimes three hours so I never go you're right or wrong, I go my job is to help you get this but more importantly let's forget result, what can we learn about this material what can we learn and I learnt quite a bit from both of them actually but it doesn't work like a horse race, it was just like in the case of Austin he brought in kind of a full package you know the thing with austin was he he was sitting right in the pocket of being able to play there's so many reasons right that he just and it's kind of funny i don't go like okay it is you number three step forward it just sort of evolves and you just find yourself actually continuing to rehearse with that person it's it's such a privilege i would imagine to be like in your position where you know in the case of something like elvis it's like your name and Elvis's name make that movie because and similar like I you know I want to talk a little bit about Joan of Arc which you're about to embark on and you've cast a relative unknown in that where there's I would imagine in normal circumstances you're casting an Elvis movie the studio would be breathing down your neck and being like Harry Styles is right there please for the love of God take him back did you not feel that pressure from the studio I think Harry's got real chops as an actor I can tell you can't wait for the new album think the new song's great and I would be thrilled to make something with Harry.

23:30But when it comes to my movies, no, I, well, no, I have to, I mean, I make movies in a way, I try and tell them the way I would tell you a story at a dinner party, with a lot of me waving my hands about and a bit sort of jumping all over the place. Right. Maybe a bit of colour and movement. But the point being that I'm in a sort of unique position in that I've made, not unique, but I've made only a few films. They've all made their money back, and pretty much every single one of them, people would go, oh, Shakespeare, really? Is that going to do okay? Or Gatsby, who cares about a 100-year-old book?

24:14Or Elvis, you mean the Halloween costume guy? Right. So my old mission for that moment, I just decided to do them because I think the audience will need that. It'll be useful. And I just give myself completely to it. And I don't really have that. Like, I think generally speaking with studios, they just go, he's got this thing. I mean, with Austin, we made him famous before the film opened. You know, we made him, his star rose before we even opened through. I mean, I was the oldest guy on TikTok, I think, at the time. But I'll do whatever I need to do to, you know, get audiences in because I can't rely on the normal channels.

25:04I do admire your Instagram game. I was hoping in person for you to show me your action move for Instagram because I'm obsessed. And I'll do it at the end if you like. I'll hit the ending and button on the beginning. Perfect. That is, in fact, on the set, how I call action. I was going to ask. I say, settle, and we're breathing. See, the end is very important because the end is when everyone breathes in and action. But I have to really feel when everyone's locked in and settled. Like I coach everyone to sort of breathe the same moment. So we all hit it. It's a bit like music, a bit like conducting.

25:51Yeah, you have to get them into that flow state moment. You just have to get everyone ready to go to the same moment. It helps the scene. Your name comes up a lot on this podcast, and it's always good. Trust me. Actors, just in recent weeks, I mean, Kate Hudson, Amanda Seyfried. Oh, I love her. And these are actors who have screen tested for you that didn't even get the roles and yet still put you on such a pedestal, not only for your films, but going through the process. So I'm curious, like, you know, you alluded to this a little bit and we've talked before about your screen tests, the workshop that you do.

26:27Yeah, the kind of workshops is what I call them. Yeah. But I'm curious, like, how you even arrived at that process. Was that did that start with Romeo and Juliet or even strictly Ballroom? No, no, I, I, it began because I, I've always done this and I have my own process even as a kid, but then I had a theater company, an opera company and I was in, in movies. I also knew what it was to, I used to audition for, I auditioned for NIDA, which is the National Institute and I never got in. And eventually they just kind of let me in because I became so successful. I was terrible at auditioning because I was always, I think I was trying to direct myself.

27:06I was trying not to direct myself. I was trying to please someone. And so I realised that I see it as a privilege if someone comes into my room, and I see it as my job to get them the job. Even if everyone around me is rolling their eyeballs going, oh, no, that'll never be right. I don't care because they're coming in, that actor is coming in, and I'm going to learn something about the scene just by working with them. So I try to get us to forget about a result and say, okay, what can we find? Let's just rehearse like we're making a movie. What will we do and what will we discover? And for that, it becomes enjoyable for both of us.

27:47And I give my all to it and so do that. More Happy Say Confused coming up.

27:57Sierra has all the best active and outdoor brands you need. From athletic stuff, like a full-court pickup game, swish, to athletic-ish stuff, like a half-mile stroll. Get those steps in. And for morning hikes up the mountain trail, good pace, to nighttime ghost stories from the camping chair. What a twist. Whatever level of active, Sierra loves it all. Head to Sierra or Sierra.com for the brands you want at the prices that let you do it all. From athletic to athletic-ish, Sierra's got it. This episode is brought to you by State Farm. Listening to this podcast instead of doom scrolling? Smart move.

28:34Another smart move? Getting help from one of State Farm's 19 ,000 local agents when you choose to bundle home and auto. Bundling. Just another way to save with the personal price plan. Prices are based on rating plans that vary by state. Coverage options are selected by the customer. Availability, amount of discounts and savings, and eligibility vary by state.

28:57Another person that brought you up very recently, I had Emerald Fennell on the show, who just directed Wuthering Heights. And she is not shy about saying she is, you know, a student at the precipice of your work. Have you seen Wuthering Heights? Are you a fan of what Emerald's doing? I have because I interviewed her for Interview Magazine. And I got to see it early. And of course, Jacob is a local. um you know uh to be honest um you know so the two leads are like local kids from where i come um you know margot is a local too so but but yeah i really enjoyed i loved it i mean i just to me there's a lot of discourse about it right right i told i told him it was a bit like oh I'll keep out of the PR thing.

29:49I've got, you know, Jacob and Margot, they'll do all that. I said, I think you're going to be drawn into it, everyone, because the thing about it is, with Adaption, what she's doing, and I mean this in the best possible way, it's like a great pop album, like Charlie's music is fantastic. I know Charlie. I think she's done an amazing job. But don't we love it when summer comes and a great album is dropped and we know all summer long, like Brat Summer, or whatever your music taste is, that the one by Rosalia, amazing, right? Don't we love it? We go, oh, God, we've got that. It's going to make it all summer long.

30:28We've got something, you know, we're all whatever the period. And I think with what everyone's done with Wuthering Heights is she's treated it, because when these books were written, I mean, when Gatsby was written, he wasn't trying. He was trying to write it brilliantly and do his best and great. And he was a great devotee of cinema, but he was a young kind of rock star. Like it's pop. You know, he was writing something he wanted to be pop, meaning popular. Yep. And everyone's just coming at it from an audience's point of view and going, popular. She is, and I've been through this myself. I was going to say, like Romeo and Juliet, were the Shakespeare purists happy with your Romeo and Juliet at the time?