Strictly Ballroom
Encyclopedia
Strictly Ballroom is a 1992 Australian romantic comedy film
directed and co-written by Baz Luhrmann
and produced by M&A Productions. The film is the first installment in The Red Curtain Trilogy
, Luhrmann's trilogy
of theatre-motif-related films; the follow-ups were Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!
. The film was based on a stage play originally developed by Luhrmann and others while he was studying at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts in Sydney in the mid-1980s, and which was later expanded for a successful season at Sydney's Wharf Theatre
in 1988.
r, Scott Hastings (Paul Mercurio
), and his struggle to establish his personal style of dance in his way to win the Pan-Pacific Grand Prix Dancing Championship. Scott's steps are not strictly ballroom. Scott comes from a family with a history of ballroom dancing and has been training since childhood. Scott's mother Shirley teaches ballroom dancing, and his father Doug meekly handles maintenance chores at the dance studio.
After losing a competition to a rival pair, his dancing partner Liz Holt (Gia Carides
) leaves him for another dancer. With only weeks before the next Pan-Pacific competition, try-outs begin to find Scott a new dance partner but, unknown to his parents, Scott secretly begins rehearsing with frumpy outsider Fran (Tara Morice
), a learner dancer at his parents' studio.
Scott is initially skeptical, but when Fran introduces pasodoble
steps into their routine, Scott realises her potential. He walks her home one night and finds her Spanish gypsy family living in a tiny home next to the railway tracks, where Fran's family show him the authentic Spanish pasodoble style. As their rehearsals progress, Fran grows more attractive and self-confident.
Scott begins spending all his time rehearsing with Fran at her house, until Barry Fife (Bill Hunter
), the conniving president of the Australian Dancing Federation, tells Scott he must know "the truth" about his parents, Doug and Shirley — they too were ballroom dancing champions until they lost the Pan-Pacific Grand Prix. Fife claims this was because Doug had become self-obsessed and danced his own steps. Barry convinces Scott to dance with Liz instead of Fran so he can win "for his father's sake". However, this is later revealed as a lie, part of Barry's plot to fix the competition so Scott and Liz will lose. Scott starts training with Liz, while an unhappy Fran goes back to the beginner's class.
At the Pan-Pacific Grand Prix, Scott's father finally manages to pull Scott aside and tells the real story — Doug never danced at the competition because Barry convinced Shirley the only way to win was to dance the conventional steps with their friend Les, but Shirley and Les lost the contest anyway. After hearing his father's revelation, Scott finds Fran and asks her to dance with him. Scott and Fran return to the floor and "dance from the heart", drawing cheers and tears of joy from the crowd. A furious Barry Fife interrupts the performance and disqualifies them, but they dance anyway; finally, the music resumes and the couple's spirited dancing brings down the house. In the end, it is not revealed whether Scott and Fran win or lose, as in the story, that is not an important factor. As the performance ends, Doug asks Shirley to dance. The entire audience steps onto the dance floor and all begin dancing as Fran and Scott kiss.
s and stereotype
s, mocking and embracing them at the same time. Luhrmann has also commented that the film revolves around stories similar to David and Goliath, Cinderella
and The Ugly Duckling
.
in 1986. He invited his school friend Craig Pearce (who had studied with him at NIDA) to help him rewrite and expand the script. With its themes of artistic repression and underdogs battling against the odds, the play was a success at the festival, winning both the best director and best production awards.
This led to Luhrmann to direct more theatre productions back in Australia, and in 1988, as part of the Australian Bicentenary
celebrations, the Sydney Theatre Company
invited him to establish an experimental theatre ensemble, Six Years Old, which took up a residency at The Wharf Theatre
for that year. Alongside Luhrman and Pearce, the new company included one of the original NIDA collaborators, actor Catherine McClements
, plus production designer Catherine Martin
(whom Luhrmann subsequently married), set dresser Bill Marron and costume designer Angus Strathie
, all of whom went on to collaborate with Luhrman on his films. The group work-shopped the expanded version of play, which had a trial season at the Brisbane Expo in 1988 before opening at the Wharf Studios on 24 September 1988.
During its successful run at the Wharf, the play was seen by an influential Australian music executive. Ted Albert
was a leading record producer and music publisher, best known in Australia as the discoverer and original producer of 1960s pop sensations The Easybeats
. By the time he saw Strictly Ballroom, Albert was the managing director of his family-owned music publishing company Albert Music
(formerly J. Albert & Sons) and its subsidiary, the highly successful record label Albert Productions
, which scored a string of hits in the 1970s and 1980s with acts including John Paul Young
and AC/DC
.
Albert's wife Antoinette (known as "Popsy") took him to see the play after seeing a newspaper ad; they loved the energy, colour and musicality of the play and Ted Albert immediately saw the potential to develop the play into a film using the musical resources available to him through Alberts' publishing and recording enterprises. Soon after, Ted set up the film production company M&A Productions with ex-Film Australia
producer Tristram Miall; they tracked Luhrman down through NIDA and approached him with the offer to transform his play into a movie. In its early stages, with the involvement of writer Andrew Bovell
, the script took a more serious tone, including a subplot set around the trade union at the BHP
steelworks in the industrial city of Newcastle
. Luhrmann balked at the move towards naturalism and eventually, with Albert's agreement, the director brought in his old friend Craig Pearce, who was able to translate Luhrmann's theatrical vision into a workable screenplay.
The producers had difficuly in securing funding for the project, which mostly featured a cast of newcomers. The only "bankable names" in the cast were Barry Otto
and screen veteran Bill Hunter
, and although co-star Paul Mercurio
was well-known as a dancer through his work with the Sydney Dance Company
, Strictly Ballroom was his first acting role. With the original budget set at over $5 million, government film funding bodies were reticent to back such a left-field project with few major names in the credits. The script was then pared back and the subplot dropped, but when Miall approached the Film Finance Corporation he was told that they would not back with such a high-budget film (in Australian terms) with a first-time director. He was told to replace Luhrmann, but he refused, promising to make further cuts. Miall and Albert then pared the budget down to $3.3 million and the FFA then agreed to provide around 65%, on condition that the producers were able to raise the remaining $1 million and secure a local distributor. They sent Luhrmann to the Cannes Film Festival in hopes of finding an overseas distributor, but this came to nothing. After returning to Australia, Miall and Luhrmann had a fortuitous meeting with Andrew Pike, head of the Canberra
-based independent distribution company Ronin Films. Intrigued by Luhrmann's colourful pitch—which involved sketches, set miniatures and pieces of costume—Pike agreed to back a limited local release, although he later admitted that, had he only seen the script, he would probably have turned it down.
Although the FFC funding was now in the pipeline, the production faced its most serious challenge when, on 11 November 1990, Ted Albert died suddenly from a heart attack (the film is dedicated to him). This threw the entire project into doubt, but Ted's widow Popsy decided that it should go to completion in honour of her husband, so she took over as Executive Producer, with Miall as producer. With her blessing, Ted's family company Albert Music
invested $1 million, with the remaining $300,000 sourced from private investors. Even after completion, the team were greeted with stiff resistance from exhibitors—Luhrmann recalled that one exhibitor walked out before the film had even finished, declaring that Luhrmann was ruined and that he would never work again.
Fortunately, the film was accepted for the Cannes Film Festival
, but another tragedy struck just before its first screening—actress Pat Thomson
, who played Scott's mother, was diagnosed with cancer and sadly she died in April 1992, only one month before its Cannes world premiere in May. Strictly Ballroom had its first public screening at midnight in the Un Certain Regard
programme and proved to be an instant hit—the cast and crew received a fifteen-minute standing ovation, which was repeated the following night; it became one of the major hits of the festival, winning the prestigious Prix De Jeunesse and triggering a bidding war among international distributors.
It was a huge success when released in Australia in August, and it swept the field at the 1992 AFI awards, gaining 13 nominations and winning in eight major categories. It was also a major success at the 1993 BAFTA awards, gaining eight nominations and winning three awards for 'Best Costume Design', 'Best Original Film Score' and 'Best Production Design'. Other major accolades included a 1994 Golden Globe nomination for Best Picture, 'Newcomer of the Year' at the 1993 London Critics Circle Film Awards, the 'People's Choice' award at the 1992 Toronto International Film Festival
and 'Most Popular Film' at the 1992 Vancouver International Film Festival
.
Strictly Ballroom went on to become one of the most successful Australian films of all time, grossing more than AU$21 million in Australia and US$11 million in the United States. With the success of the film, its closing song, a remake of the John Paul Young
hit "Love is in the Air
", re-entered the Australian charts and became a Top 5 hit, peaking at #4 on the national chart in October 1992.
Luhrmann told Playbill
that he would revive the play onstage sometime in 2005, but this never happened.
In May 2011 it was announced that "Strictly Ballroom" will be adapted into a stage musical and premiered in Sydney; it will be staged at Sydney's Lyric Theatre, opening in September 2013.
Romantic comedy film
Romantic comedy films are films with light-hearted, humorous plotlines, centered on romantic ideals such as that true love is able to surmount most obstacles. One dictionary definition is "a funny movie, play, or television program about a love story that ends happily"...
directed and co-written by Baz Luhrmann
Baz Luhrmann
Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann is an Australian film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for The Red Curtain Trilogy, which includes his films Strictly Ballroom, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!...
and produced by M&A Productions. The film is the first installment in The Red Curtain Trilogy
The Red Curtain Trilogy
The Red Curtain Trilogy is the formal and official marketing title for the first three films directed by Baz Luhrmann:* Strictly Ballroom , starring Paul Mercurio and Tara Morice...
, Luhrmann's trilogy
Trilogy
A trilogy is a set of three works of art that are connected, and that can be seen either as a single work or as three individual works. They are commonly found in literature, film, or video games...
of theatre-motif-related films; the follow-ups were Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!
Moulin Rouge!
Moulin Rouge! is a 2001 romantic jukebox musical film directed, produced, and co-written by Baz Luhrmann. Following the Red Curtain Cinema principles, the film is based on the Orphean myth, La Traviata, and La Bohème...
. The film was based on a stage play originally developed by Luhrmann and others while he was studying at the National Institute of Dramatic Arts in Sydney in the mid-1980s, and which was later expanded for a successful season at Sydney's Wharf Theatre
The Wharf Theatre
The Wharf Theatre is a theatre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. This theatre is part of the Sydney Theatre Company and located on Pier 4/5 of the former Sydney port facility in Walsh Bay at Dawes Point.-History:...
in 1988.
Plot
Strictly Ballroom tells the story of an Australian ballroom danceBallroom dance
Ballroom dance refers to a set of partner dances, which are enjoyed both socially and competitively around the world. Because of its performance and entertainment aspects, ballroom dance is also widely enjoyed on stage, film, and television....
r, Scott Hastings (Paul Mercurio
Paul Mercurio
Paul Joseph Mercurio is an Australian actor, dancer and TV presenter. Mercurio is well-known for his lead role in Baz Luhrmann's Strictly Ballroom . His father was the character actor Gus Mercurio.- Biography :...
), and his struggle to establish his personal style of dance in his way to win the Pan-Pacific Grand Prix Dancing Championship. Scott's steps are not strictly ballroom. Scott comes from a family with a history of ballroom dancing and has been training since childhood. Scott's mother Shirley teaches ballroom dancing, and his father Doug meekly handles maintenance chores at the dance studio.
After losing a competition to a rival pair, his dancing partner Liz Holt (Gia Carides
Gia Carides
Gia Carides is an Australian actress. She is best known for her portrayals of Liz Holt in Strictly Ballroom, Susy Connor in Brilliant Lies, and Cousin Nikki in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.-Early life:...
) leaves him for another dancer. With only weeks before the next Pan-Pacific competition, try-outs begin to find Scott a new dance partner but, unknown to his parents, Scott secretly begins rehearsing with frumpy outsider Fran (Tara Morice
Tara Morice
Tara Morice is an Australian actress, singer, and dancer.Born in Hobart, Tasmania, Morice also lived in Sydney, Alice Springs and Adelaide as a child...
), a learner dancer at his parents' studio.
Scott is initially skeptical, but when Fran introduces pasodoble
Pasodoble
Pasodoble is a typical dance from Spain march-like musical style as well as the corresponding dance style danced by a couple. It is the type of music typically played in bullfights during the bullfighters' entrance to the ring or during the passes just before the kill...
steps into their routine, Scott realises her potential. He walks her home one night and finds her Spanish gypsy family living in a tiny home next to the railway tracks, where Fran's family show him the authentic Spanish pasodoble style. As their rehearsals progress, Fran grows more attractive and self-confident.
Scott begins spending all his time rehearsing with Fran at her house, until Barry Fife (Bill Hunter
Bill Hunter (actor)
William John "Bill" Hunter was an Australian actor of film, stage and television. He appeared in more than 60 films and won two Australian Film Institute Awards.-Early life:Hunter was a son of William and Francie Hunter...
), the conniving president of the Australian Dancing Federation, tells Scott he must know "the truth" about his parents, Doug and Shirley — they too were ballroom dancing champions until they lost the Pan-Pacific Grand Prix. Fife claims this was because Doug had become self-obsessed and danced his own steps. Barry convinces Scott to dance with Liz instead of Fran so he can win "for his father's sake". However, this is later revealed as a lie, part of Barry's plot to fix the competition so Scott and Liz will lose. Scott starts training with Liz, while an unhappy Fran goes back to the beginner's class.
At the Pan-Pacific Grand Prix, Scott's father finally manages to pull Scott aside and tells the real story — Doug never danced at the competition because Barry convinced Shirley the only way to win was to dance the conventional steps with their friend Les, but Shirley and Les lost the contest anyway. After hearing his father's revelation, Scott finds Fran and asks her to dance with him. Scott and Fran return to the floor and "dance from the heart", drawing cheers and tears of joy from the crowd. A furious Barry Fife interrupts the performance and disqualifies them, but they dance anyway; finally, the music resumes and the couple's spirited dancing brings down the house. In the end, it is not revealed whether Scott and Fran win or lose, as in the story, that is not an important factor. As the performance ends, Doug asks Shirley to dance. The entire audience steps onto the dance floor and all begin dancing as Fran and Scott kiss.
Cast
- Paul MercurioPaul MercurioPaul Joseph Mercurio is an Australian actor, dancer and TV presenter. Mercurio is well-known for his lead role in Baz Luhrmann's Strictly Ballroom . His father was the character actor Gus Mercurio.- Biography :...
as Scott Hastings - Tara MoriceTara MoriceTara Morice is an Australian actress, singer, and dancer.Born in Hobart, Tasmania, Morice also lived in Sydney, Alice Springs and Adelaide as a child...
as Fran - Bill HunterBill Hunter (actor)William John "Bill" Hunter was an Australian actor of film, stage and television. He appeared in more than 60 films and won two Australian Film Institute Awards.-Early life:Hunter was a son of William and Francie Hunter...
as Barry Fife - Lauren HewettLauren HewettLauren Hewett is an Australian actress best known for her role in Ocean Girl as Mera, and also for her role as Lara Ritchie in Echo of Thunder...
as Kylie Hastings - Pat ThomsonPat ThomsonPatricia "Pat" Elizabeth Thomson, 7 September 1940 - 18 April 1992), was an Australian television and film actor.She was best known for her role as Shirley Hastings, the over-zealous, pretentious mother of Scott Hastings in the film Strictly Ballroom, written and directed by Baz LuhrmannThomson...
as Shirley Hastings - Gia CaridesGia CaridesGia Carides is an Australian actress. She is best known for her portrayals of Liz Holt in Strictly Ballroom, Susy Connor in Brilliant Lies, and Cousin Nikki in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.-Early life:...
as Liz Holt - Peter Whitford as Les Kendall
- Barry OttoBarry OttoBarry Otto is an Australian actor with a long list of memorable roles on stage and in film. Otto received an AFI Award for Best Supporting Actor in Strictly Ballroom as well as being nominated for Bliss, Cosi and The More Things Change......
as Doug Hastings - Antonio Vargas as Rico (Fran's father) and contributed choreographic assistance and background on dance from Spain
- John Hannan as Ken Railings
- Kerry Shrimpton as Pam Short
- Kris McQuadeKris McQuadeKris McQuade is an Australian actress who has had many film, television and theatre roles.Her film credits include: The Love Letters from Teralba Road, Kostas, Fighting Back, Lonely Hearts, Goodbye Paradise, The Coca-Cola Kid, Strictly Ballroom, Billy's Holiday and December Boys.Television credits...
as Charm Leachman - Sonia KrugerSonia KrugerSonia Melissa Kruger is an Australian television presenter. She is best known for co-hosting the popular Australian version of Dancing with the Stars, hosting 10 Years Younger in 10 Days and for the role of Tina Sparkle in the hit 1992 film Strictly Ballroom.-Early life:Born in Toowoomba,...
as Tina Sparkle - Todd McKenneyTodd McKenneyTodd McKenney is an Australian entertainer. He is best known as a judge on Australia's version of Dancing with the Stars.He has won many dancing titles, and has trained in jazz, tap, acrobatics and ballroom dancing...
as Nathan Starkey - Pip Mushin as Wayne Burns
- Leonie Page as Vanessa Cronin
- Steve Grace as Luke, Kylie's Dance Partner
Style
The film plays with clichéCliché
A cliché or cliche is an expression, idea, or element of an artistic work which has been overused to the point of losing its original meaning or effect, especially when at some earlier time it was considered meaningful or novel. In phraseology, the term has taken on a more technical meaning,...
s and stereotype
Stereotype
A stereotype is a popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals. The concepts of "stereotype" and "prejudice" are often confused with many other different meanings...
s, mocking and embracing them at the same time. Luhrmann has also commented that the film revolves around stories similar to David and Goliath, Cinderella
Cinderella
"Cinderella; or, The Little Glass Slipper" is a folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world. The title character is a young woman living in unfortunate circumstances that are suddenly changed to remarkable fortune...
and The Ugly Duckling
The Ugly Duckling
"The Ugly Duckling" is a literary fairy tale by Danish poet and author Hans Christian Andersen . The story tells of a homely little bird born in a barnyard who suffers abuse from his neighbors until, much to his delight , he matures into a beautiful swan, the most beautiful bird of all...
.
Production history
The film version of Strictly Ballroom was developed from an original short play of the same name. It drew on Luhrmann's own life experiece—he had studied ballroom dancing as a child and his mother worked as a ballroom dance teacher in his teens. While studying at NIDA in the early 1980s Luhrmann and a group of fellow students devised a short comedy-drama set in the cutthroat world of competitive ballroom dancing This original 1984 NIDA production was a critical success and, after graduating, Luhrmann was invited to restage the play for the Czechoslovakian Youth Drama Festival in BratislavaBratislava
Bratislava is the capital of Slovakia and, with a population of about 431,000, also the country's largest city. Bratislava is in southwestern Slovakia on both banks of the Danube River. Bordering Austria and Hungary, it is the only national capital that borders two independent countries.Bratislava...
in 1986. He invited his school friend Craig Pearce (who had studied with him at NIDA) to help him rewrite and expand the script. With its themes of artistic repression and underdogs battling against the odds, the play was a success at the festival, winning both the best director and best production awards.
This led to Luhrmann to direct more theatre productions back in Australia, and in 1988, as part of the Australian Bicentenary
Australian Bicentenary
The bicentenary of Australia was celebrated in 1970 on the 200th anniversary of Captain James Cook landing and claiming the land, and again in 1988 to celebrate 200 years of permanent European settlement.-1970:...
celebrations, the Sydney Theatre Company
Sydney Theatre Company
The Sydney Theatre Company is one of Australia's best-known theatre companies operating from The Wharf Theatre near The Rocks area of Sydney, as well as the Sydney Theatre and the Sydney Opera House Drama Theatre....
invited him to establish an experimental theatre ensemble, Six Years Old, which took up a residency at The Wharf Theatre
The Wharf Theatre
The Wharf Theatre is a theatre in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia. This theatre is part of the Sydney Theatre Company and located on Pier 4/5 of the former Sydney port facility in Walsh Bay at Dawes Point.-History:...
for that year. Alongside Luhrman and Pearce, the new company included one of the original NIDA collaborators, actor Catherine McClements
Catherine McClements
Catherine McClements is an Australian actress.-Early life:Catherine is the third of four children, and after acting with the St Martin's Youth Arts Centre in Melbourne for a couple of years, she successfully auditioned for the prestigious National Institute of Dramatic Art when she was 17...
, plus production designer Catherine Martin
Catherine Martin
Catherine Martin is an Australian costume designer, production designer, set designer, and film producer.-Biography:Catherine Martin went to school at North Sydney Girls High School...
(whom Luhrmann subsequently married), set dresser Bill Marron and costume designer Angus Strathie
Angus Strathie
-Biography:Angus Strathie has had a long professional career in costume design. A friend and longtime colleague of Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin, one of his earliest projects was the cult favourite Strictly Ballroom, a romantic comedy produced in 1992...
, all of whom went on to collaborate with Luhrman on his films. The group work-shopped the expanded version of play, which had a trial season at the Brisbane Expo in 1988 before opening at the Wharf Studios on 24 September 1988.
During its successful run at the Wharf, the play was seen by an influential Australian music executive. Ted Albert
Ted Albert
Edward 'Ted' Albert was an early pioneer in Australian independent record production and founder of Albert Productions...
was a leading record producer and music publisher, best known in Australia as the discoverer and original producer of 1960s pop sensations The Easybeats
The Easybeats
The Easybeats were an Australian rock and roll band. They formed in Sydney in late 1964 and broke up at the end of 1969. They are regarded as the greatest Australian pop band of the 1960s, and were the first Australian rock and roll act to score an international pop hit with their 1966 single...
. By the time he saw Strictly Ballroom, Albert was the managing director of his family-owned music publishing company Albert Music
Albert Music
Albert Music, formerly J Albert and Son is an Australian company with an estimated worth in 2009 of more than A$209 million. The company has major interests in music publishing and production and it currently earns significant royalties through its subsidiary, Albert Productions which manages the...
(formerly J. Albert & Sons) and its subsidiary, the highly successful record label Albert Productions
Albert Productions
Albert Productions, a division of music publishing and recording company Albert Music, is one of Australia's longest established independent Australian record label to specialise in rock and roll music. The label was founded in 1964 by Ted Albert, whose family owned and operated the Australian...
, which scored a string of hits in the 1970s and 1980s with acts including John Paul Young
John Paul Young
John Paul Young is an Australian pop singer who had a 1978 worldwide hit with "Love Is in the Air"...
and AC/DC
AC/DC
AC/DC are an Australian rock band, formed in 1973 by brothers Malcolm and Angus Young. Commonly classified as hard rock, they are considered pioneers of heavy metal, though they themselves have always classified their music as simply "rock and roll"...
.
Albert's wife Antoinette (known as "Popsy") took him to see the play after seeing a newspaper ad; they loved the energy, colour and musicality of the play and Ted Albert immediately saw the potential to develop the play into a film using the musical resources available to him through Alberts' publishing and recording enterprises. Soon after, Ted set up the film production company M&A Productions with ex-Film Australia
Film Australia
Film Australia was a company established by the Government of Australia to produce films about Australia. Its mission was to create an audio-visual record of Australian culture, through the commissioning, distribution and management of programs that deal with matters of national interest or...
producer Tristram Miall; they tracked Luhrman down through NIDA and approached him with the offer to transform his play into a movie. In its early stages, with the involvement of writer Andrew Bovell
Andrew Bovell
Andrew Bovell is an Australian writer for theatre, film and television.-Life:Bovell was born in Kalgoorlie, Western Australia and until recently lived in Adelaide, South Australia before moving to New York. He has recently now moved back to the Adelaide Hills, South Australia...
, the script took a more serious tone, including a subplot set around the trade union at the BHP
Bhp
BHP, or bhp may refer to:*BHP Billiton, Australian based mining company renowned as being the largest mining company in the world**The Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited, company name 1885-2000**BHP Limited, company name 2000-2001...
steelworks in the industrial city of Newcastle
Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
. Luhrmann balked at the move towards naturalism and eventually, with Albert's agreement, the director brought in his old friend Craig Pearce, who was able to translate Luhrmann's theatrical vision into a workable screenplay.
The producers had difficuly in securing funding for the project, which mostly featured a cast of newcomers. The only "bankable names" in the cast were Barry Otto
Barry Otto
Barry Otto is an Australian actor with a long list of memorable roles on stage and in film. Otto received an AFI Award for Best Supporting Actor in Strictly Ballroom as well as being nominated for Bliss, Cosi and The More Things Change......
and screen veteran Bill Hunter
Bill Hunter (actor)
William John "Bill" Hunter was an Australian actor of film, stage and television. He appeared in more than 60 films and won two Australian Film Institute Awards.-Early life:Hunter was a son of William and Francie Hunter...
, and although co-star Paul Mercurio
Paul Mercurio
Paul Joseph Mercurio is an Australian actor, dancer and TV presenter. Mercurio is well-known for his lead role in Baz Luhrmann's Strictly Ballroom . His father was the character actor Gus Mercurio.- Biography :...
was well-known as a dancer through his work with the Sydney Dance Company
Sydney Dance Company
The Sydney Dance Company is one of Australia's most successful and well-known contemporary dance companies. The company was founded in 1969 as the dance-in-education group Ballet in a Nutshell by Suzanne Musitz , later changing its name to Athletes and Dancers, and Dance Company ...
, Strictly Ballroom was his first acting role. With the original budget set at over $5 million, government film funding bodies were reticent to back such a left-field project with few major names in the credits. The script was then pared back and the subplot dropped, but when Miall approached the Film Finance Corporation he was told that they would not back with such a high-budget film (in Australian terms) with a first-time director. He was told to replace Luhrmann, but he refused, promising to make further cuts. Miall and Albert then pared the budget down to $3.3 million and the FFA then agreed to provide around 65%, on condition that the producers were able to raise the remaining $1 million and secure a local distributor. They sent Luhrmann to the Cannes Film Festival in hopes of finding an overseas distributor, but this came to nothing. After returning to Australia, Miall and Luhrmann had a fortuitous meeting with Andrew Pike, head of the Canberra
Canberra
Canberra is the capital city of Australia. With a population of over 345,000, it is Australia's largest inland city and the eighth-largest city overall. The city is located at the northern end of the Australian Capital Territory , south-west of Sydney, and north-east of Melbourne...
-based independent distribution company Ronin Films. Intrigued by Luhrmann's colourful pitch—which involved sketches, set miniatures and pieces of costume—Pike agreed to back a limited local release, although he later admitted that, had he only seen the script, he would probably have turned it down.
Although the FFC funding was now in the pipeline, the production faced its most serious challenge when, on 11 November 1990, Ted Albert died suddenly from a heart attack (the film is dedicated to him). This threw the entire project into doubt, but Ted's widow Popsy decided that it should go to completion in honour of her husband, so she took over as Executive Producer, with Miall as producer. With her blessing, Ted's family company Albert Music
Albert Music
Albert Music, formerly J Albert and Son is an Australian company with an estimated worth in 2009 of more than A$209 million. The company has major interests in music publishing and production and it currently earns significant royalties through its subsidiary, Albert Productions which manages the...
invested $1 million, with the remaining $300,000 sourced from private investors. Even after completion, the team were greeted with stiff resistance from exhibitors—Luhrmann recalled that one exhibitor walked out before the film had even finished, declaring that Luhrmann was ruined and that he would never work again.
Fortunately, the film was accepted for the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
, but another tragedy struck just before its first screening—actress Pat Thomson
Pat Thomson
Patricia "Pat" Elizabeth Thomson, 7 September 1940 - 18 April 1992), was an Australian television and film actor.She was best known for her role as Shirley Hastings, the over-zealous, pretentious mother of Scott Hastings in the film Strictly Ballroom, written and directed by Baz LuhrmannThomson...
, who played Scott's mother, was diagnosed with cancer and sadly she died in April 1992, only one month before its Cannes world premiere in May. Strictly Ballroom had its first public screening at midnight in the Un Certain Regard
Un Certain Regard
Un Certain Regard is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's Official Selection. It is run at the Salle Debussy, parallel to the competition for the Palme d'Or.This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob...
programme and proved to be an instant hit—the cast and crew received a fifteen-minute standing ovation, which was repeated the following night; it became one of the major hits of the festival, winning the prestigious Prix De Jeunesse and triggering a bidding war among international distributors.
It was a huge success when released in Australia in August, and it swept the field at the 1992 AFI awards, gaining 13 nominations and winning in eight major categories. It was also a major success at the 1993 BAFTA awards, gaining eight nominations and winning three awards for 'Best Costume Design', 'Best Original Film Score' and 'Best Production Design'. Other major accolades included a 1994 Golden Globe nomination for Best Picture, 'Newcomer of the Year' at the 1993 London Critics Circle Film Awards, the 'People's Choice' award at the 1992 Toronto International Film Festival
Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival is a publicly-attended film festival held each September in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In 2010, 339 films from 59 countries were screened at 32 screens in downtown Toronto venues...
and 'Most Popular Film' at the 1992 Vancouver International Film Festival
Vancouver International Film Festival
The Vancouver International Film Festival is an annual film festival held in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada for two weeks in late September and early October...
.
Strictly Ballroom went on to become one of the most successful Australian films of all time, grossing more than AU$21 million in Australia and US$11 million in the United States. With the success of the film, its closing song, a remake of the John Paul Young
John Paul Young
John Paul Young is an Australian pop singer who had a 1978 worldwide hit with "Love Is in the Air"...
hit "Love is in the Air
Love Is in the Air
"Love Is in the Air" is a 1977 disco song sung by John Paul Young. The song was written by George Young and Harry Vanda. It became his only worldwide hit during 1978, peaking at No. 2 on the Australian charts and No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart. In the United States, the song peaked at No. 7 on the...
", re-entered the Australian charts and became a Top 5 hit, peaking at #4 on the national chart in October 1992.
Luhrmann told Playbill
Playbill
Playbill is a monthly U.S. magazine for theatregoers. Although there is a subscription issue available for home delivery, most Playbills are printed for particular shows to be distributed at the door...
that he would revive the play onstage sometime in 2005, but this never happened.
In May 2011 it was announced that "Strictly Ballroom" will be adapted into a stage musical and premiered in Sydney; it will be staged at Sydney's Lyric Theatre, opening in September 2013.
Awards
- 1992 - Won AFI AwardAustralian Film InstituteThe Australian Film Institute was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry...
for Best Achievement in Costume Design, Best Achievement in Editing, Best Achievement in Production Design, Best Actor in Supporting Role (Barry OttoBarry OttoBarry Otto is an Australian actor with a long list of memorable roles on stage and in film. Otto received an AFI Award for Best Supporting Actor in Strictly Ballroom as well as being nominated for Bliss, Cosi and The More Things Change......
), Best Actress in Supporting Role (Pat ThomsonPat ThomsonPatricia "Pat" Elizabeth Thomson, 7 September 1940 - 18 April 1992), was an Australian television and film actor.She was best known for her role as Shirley Hastings, the over-zealous, pretentious mother of Scott Hastings in the film Strictly Ballroom, written and directed by Baz LuhrmannThomson...
), Best Director, Best Film, Best Screenplay - 1992 - Nominated AFI AwardAustralian Film InstituteThe Australian Film Institute was founded in 1958 as a non-profit organisation devoted to developing an active film culture in Australia and fostering engagement between the general public and the Australian film industry...
for Best Achievement in Cinematography, Best Achievement in Sound, Best Actor in Lead Role (Paul MercurioPaul MercurioPaul Joseph Mercurio is an Australian actor, dancer and TV presenter. Mercurio is well-known for his lead role in Baz Luhrmann's Strictly Ballroom . His father was the character actor Gus Mercurio.- Biography :...
), Best Actress in Lead Role (Tara MoriceTara MoriceTara Morice is an Australian actress, singer, and dancer.Born in Hobart, Tasmania, Morice also lived in Sydney, Alice Springs and Adelaide as a child...
), Best Actress in Supporting Role (Gia CaridesGia CaridesGia Carides is an Australian actress. She is best known for her portrayals of Liz Holt in Strictly Ballroom, Susy Connor in Brilliant Lies, and Cousin Nikki in My Big Fat Greek Wedding.-Early life:...
) - 1992 - Won Cannes Film FestivalCannes Film FestivalThe Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
: Award Of The Youth for Foreign Film - 1993 - Won BAFTA Film Award for Best Costume Design, Best Original Film Score, Best Production Design
- 1993 - Nominated BAFTA Film Award for Best Actress (Tara MoriceTara MoriceTara Morice is an Australian actress, singer, and dancer.Born in Hobart, Tasmania, Morice also lived in Sydney, Alice Springs and Adelaide as a child...
), Best Editing, Best Film, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Sound - 1993 - Nominated Golden Globe AwardGolden Globe AwardThe Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy - 1993 - Won London Critics Circle Film Awards: ALFS Award for Newcomer of the Year (Baz LuhrmannBaz LuhrmannMark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann is an Australian film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for The Red Curtain Trilogy, which includes his films Strictly Ballroom, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!...
) - 1994 - Nominated Bogota Film Festival: Golden Precolumbian Circle Award for Best Film
Music
Among the songs featured on the soundtrack are:- "The Blue DanubeThe Blue DanubeThe Blue Danube is the common English title of An der schönen blauen Donau, Op. 314 , a waltz by the Austrian composer Johann Strauss II, composed in 1866...
" by "Johann Strauss IIJohann Strauss IIJohann Strauss II , also known as Johann Baptist Strauss or Johann Strauss, Jr., the Younger, or the Son , was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed over 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, and other types of dance music, as well as several operettas...
" - New versions of "Love is in the AirLove Is in the Air"Love Is in the Air" is a 1977 disco song sung by John Paul Young. The song was written by George Young and Harry Vanda. It became his only worldwide hit during 1978, peaking at No. 2 on the Australian charts and No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart. In the United States, the song peaked at No. 7 on the...
" (The Ballroom Mix) and "Standing In The Rain" by John Paul YoungJohn Paul YoungJohn Paul Young is an Australian pop singer who had a 1978 worldwide hit with "Love Is in the Air"... - A cover versionCover versionIn popular music, a cover version or cover song, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording of a contemporary or previously recorded, commercially released song or popular song...
of John Paul Young's "Yesterday's Hero" by Ignatius JonesIgnatius JonesIgnatius Jones is an Australian actor and former lead singer of punk cabaret band Jimmy And The Boys.With David Atkins, he was the creative force behind the Opening Ceremony of Shanghai 2010 World Expo and the Ceremonies of the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Winter Games... - "Perhaps, Perhaps, Perhaps" by Doris DayDoris DayDoris Day is an American actress, singer and, since her retirement from show business, an animal rights activist. With an entertainment career that spanned through almost 50 years, Day started her career as a big band singer in 1939, but only began to be noticed after her first hit recording,...
- A cover version of Cyndi LauperCyndi LauperCynthia Ann Stephanie "Cyndi" Lauper is an American singer, songwriter, actress and LGBT rights activist. She achieved success in the mid-1980s with the release of the album She's So Unusual and became the first female singer to have four top-five singles released from one album...
's "Time After TimeTime after Time (Cyndi Lauper song)"Time After Time" is a song by American singer Cyndi Lauper, released as the second single from her album She's So Unusual. It reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart on June 9, 1984, and remained there for two weeks...
" by Mark WilliamsMark Williams (singer)Mark Williams is a New Zealand-born pop/soul singer with Recording Industry Association of New Zealand number one hit singles, "Yesterday Was Just the Beginning of My Life" and a cover of Buddy Holly's "It Doesn't Matter Anymore" before he relocated to Australia later that year. His single,...
and Tara MoriceTara MoriceTara Morice is an Australian actress, singer, and dancer.Born in Hobart, Tasmania, Morice also lived in Sydney, Alice Springs and Adelaide as a child...