Baz Luhrmann

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.

I love dancing.

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.

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.

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.

A life lived in fear is a life half lived.

I feel funny about owning art. I don't really want to say: 'Wow, come and see my Monet - it's in a dark room at the bottom of my cellar.'

Western films don't do very well in India.

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

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

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.