Baz Luhrmann And Chris Hemsworth Talk Tom Cruise “Saving Cinema,” How George Miller Inspired Their Careers & Hemsworth’s Desire To Direct

Zac Ntim
·4 min read
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The Aussies took over Saudi Arabia’s Red Sea Film Festival this evening as Elvis filmmaker Baz Luhrmann sat down for a career Q&A with actor Chris Hemsworth.

“We’re a couple of Aussies telling Aussie stories,” Luhrmann described their chat, which was shaped around their experiences working in their home country and branching out internationally as artists.

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Hemsworth told the packed crowd here in Jeddah that he’d arrived in the city from Brazil Comic Con, where he’d debuted the first trailer for Furiosa, the latest edition of the Mad Max series from George Miller — another Aussie that the pair said inspired them both to try their hand at craft.

“45 years ago, I saw George Miller make this film as a kid in Australia and it’s what Akira Kurosawa would have referred to as an immaculate reality. That inspired me and all of us as Australians that we can have our way of telling stories,” Luhrmann said of Miller’s first Mad Max film.

Hemsworth added: “I remember watching Mad Max and have vivid memories of its messaging and the type of storytelling. It was a sort of iconic Australian vision, but post-apocalyptic and had this universal appeal. And then later on getting into acting and the fact that Mel Gibson was in the film as a young actor and created the bridge for a lot of Australians to go to America.”

The Q&A — which had initially been presented as a deep dive into Hemsworth’s career led by Luhrmann — quickly turned into a free-flowing conversation about both of their careers when Hemsworth quizzed Luhrmann on his practice and particularly, why he takes such lengthy breaks between films.

“I live these movies a bit like George [Miller]. He doesn’t make a lot of movies either,” Luhrmann said. “I’m there at the inception of the idea and evolution of the text. I’m working with CM [Catherine Martin] on developing the visual language. That’s all very absorbing. I have to get it out of my system.”

Luhrmann joked that he nicknames his time away from cinema after completing a film as his “methadone program,” where he debriefs from all the industry noise.

However, Luhrmann added that he has about a “dozen” projects in the bank that he wants to make before he dies, so he will start to “get on with it a bit more.”

Discussing the craft of directing, Hemsworth, best known for his role as Thor in the MCU, let slip that he’d “love to direct at some point.” The actor didn’t share any insights on what sorts of projects he’d like to jump behind the camera on, but he found great support in Luhrmann.

“It’s great to hear you’re thinking about directing. Not every actor wants to direct but I always say to them if you’ve got any desire whatsoever do it because there’s nothing like being on the other side,” Luhrmann said.

“It’s just storytelling in the end. No matter what you’re doing.”

When asked whether he’d observed the careers of any actors in Hollywood that he’d like to emulate, Hemsworth rattled off a series of names, including Nicole Kidman and Anthony Hopkins, but said his one north star was Tom Cruise.

“What I really appreciate about what Tom has done is that there’s always an entertainment factor to his work, but there’s a moral message underneath. I’d call it sort of accidental learning,” Hemsworth said.

Heaping the praise on Cruise, Luhrmann added: “With Tom, it’s so interesting because it’s the longevity. Even now, he works so hard. He’s still got this unbelievable work ethic. When we did the rounds on Elvis, he had Top Gun. Let’s be honest, everyone had said the cinema was over. And then Tom comes flying in on a jet and saves Cinema. It was a phenomenon.”

The pair ended the discussion by pledging to work together at some point.

“I’ll give you my resume,” Hemsworth joked to Luhrmann, who said he would certainly work with the actor in the future.

Luhrmann, whose last pic Elvis screened in Cannes and garnered eight Oscar noms, is the head of the competition jury this year at Red Sea.

Discussing the quality of films in the competition, Luhrmann said he’d been inspired to get back into the directing chair by the work he’d seen here in Jeddah.

“I’ve never been on a jury before. I’ve never actually had to see three or four films a day,” Luhrmann said.

“I’ve been reminded just how powerful, magical, moving, meaningful, humanizing it can be. You escape into a new world.”

The Red Sea Film Festival runs until Dec 9.

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