Baz Luhrmann Quotes

I've always loved the old epics that tell a simple emotional story, whether it's the tumultuous relationship between Rhett and Scarlett or Lawrence of Arabia's passion to get lost in a faraway place.

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.

I wouldn't take a directing job if I didn't think it was enriching life.

I've tried to make 'Strictly Ballroom' impossible to date. It does feel a bit '80s but I consciously made sure there was no technology in the movie that could date it.

All good, clean stories are melodrama; it's just the set of devices that determines how you show or hide it.

Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you wanna do with your life; the most interesting people I know didn't know at 22 what they wanted to do with their lives; some of the most interesting 40 year olds I know still don't.

Opera was the cinema of its time, so to bring back that popular appeal, you just need to unleash its visceral immediacy and excitement. Most productions don't manage that - but when an opera does do it, you never forget it.

Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh never mind; you will not understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded. But trust me, in 20 years you'll look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now how much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked. You're not as fat as you imagine. Don't worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm on some idle Tuesday. Do one thing everyday that scares you. Sing. Don't be reckless with other people's hearts, don't put up with people who are reckless with yours. Floss. Don't waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you're ahead, sometimes you're behind, the race is long, and in the end, it's only with yourself. Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you succeed in doing this, and tell me how. Keep your old love letters; throw away your old bank statements. Stretch. Don't feel guilty if you don't know what you want to do with your life.

But there are also those who are in the category that I hope stories like La Boheme can help with, and they say, "It was beautiful, it was extraordinary, it was exquisite, it was naïve, and it was perfect. But it could only be for a certain amount of time.

There's a whole system in Hollywood where the director never speaks to the studio, but I like to engage them in a discussion. I listen.

Hurt him. Hurt him and save him

I feel like a member of any group comprised of outsiders.

I wish I'd done everything on Earth with you.

Don't expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund, maybe you'll have a wealthy spouse. But you never know when either one might run out.

Some of the greatest relationship films of all time, the two stars have hated each other, but mostly you see that chemistry.

Understand that friends come and go, but for the precious few you should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you knew when you were young. Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel. Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will philander, you too will get old, and when you do you'll fantasize that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were noble and children respected their elders. Respect your elders. Don't expect anyone else to support you.

I really believe musical form will go on. There's got to be a way of making musical form in cinema live again.

One of the great things about Sydney is that it has a great acceptance of everyone and everything. It's an incredibly tolerant city, a city with a huge multicultural basis.

I understand that anything actors are doing, good or bad, is motivated by fear.

In the '80s, everyone wanted to be in opera. It was groovy.

I feel a kinship with anyone who feels that their road, their life or who they really are is not good enough. I really relate to that.

I grew up around jazz. I love jazz.

My wife is the fact-checker, I'm in the story telling business.

I often think to myself, at the end of an interesting life it's maybe not such a bad thing to spend your last days with your friends sitting by the blue, blue ocean reliving the story of your life while sitting in the dangerous sun.

Look, I had a passion for comic books growing up.

Historically, epics are set in Africa or Asia or the Wild West, but if you make an epic today it's hard to disassociate from the contemporary realities of those places.

The party is a true art form in Sydney and people practise it a great deal. You can really get quite lost in it.

My father made sure that I had lots of levels of education - from ballroom-dancing to painting, commando training, theatre and magic.

Trust yourself that you can do it and get it

Western films don't do very well in India.

I think dance in any culture, in any form, is a true leveler.

You really think that on my films people tell me what to do? I don't think so. On my films I decide.

In terms of the mechanics of story, myth is an intriguing one because we didn't make myth up; myth is an imprinture of the human condition.

I never see things I make in the same way that the audience does. You can never do that.

Sydney is rather like an arrogant lover. When it rains it can deny you its love and you can find it hard to relate to. It's not a place that's built to be rainy or cold. But when the sun comes out, it bats its eyelids, it's glamorous, beautiful, attractive, smart, and it's very hard to get away from its magnetic pull.

Fitzgerald coined the phrase the 'Jazz Age,' and now we're living in the Hip-Hop Age.

If Paris is a city of lights, Sydney is the city of fireworks.

When you're in theater or the circus or film - to me it's all one - affairs happen. People fall in love.

Australia, to the rest of the world, is just far away, and Australia in the Thirties was the faraway of the faraway.

Everything I make starts very personally.

My gift is my song

The race is long but in the end it is only with YOURSELF ...

I do find walking is fundamental to my creative process.