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Craig Pearce

Australian screenwriter and actor


Summary

Australian screenwriter and actor

FieldValue
imageCraig Pearce and Emma Pearce 2013.jpg
nameCraig Pearce
captionEmma and Craig Pearce at The Great Gatsby premiere in Sydney in 2013
birth_date
educationNarrabeen Sports High School
National Institute of Dramatic Art
occupation
known forMad Bomber in Love
E Street
spouseTara Morice (1997–div.)
Emma Scott (2012–div.)

National Institute of Dramatic Art E Street Emma Scott (2012–div.)

Craig Pearce is an Australian screenwriter and actor.

Early life

Pearce was educated at Narrabeen Sports High School with Baz Luhrmann and is a graduate of National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA).

Career

Pearce's acting credits include recurring roles in soap operas The Restless Years (1981) and E Street (1993) and children's series The Miraculous Mellops 2 (1992). He made guest appearances in Bellamy (1981), Rafferty's Rules (1987) and G.P. (1989). He had film roles in I Can't Get Started (1985), Nightmaster (1988), To Make a Killing (1988), Mad Bomber in Love (1992) and The Seventh Floor (1994).

As part of the theatre ensemble team 'Six Years Old', Pearce formed a creative partnership with filmmaker Baz Luhrmann, with whom he co-wrote the play Strictly Ballroom as well as the screenplay of the 1992 movie adaptation. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1996 film Romeo + Juliet, the 2001 film Moulin Rouge!, the 2013 film The Great Gatsby, and the 2022 film Elvis; all with Luhrmann.

He wrote the screenplay for the 2010 film Charlie St. Cloud, starring Zac Efron. He also created the 2017 10-part television series Will, based on the lost years of a young William Shakespeare, which aired on TNT. He also created, wrote and executive produced all six episodes of the 2022 miniseries Pistol, based on Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones's autobiography. He also co-wrote the screenplay for the film The Power of the Dark Crystal, which was cancelled, but later adapted into a comic book series in 2017.

Pearce received the Australian Writers' Guild Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.

Personal life

Pearce's first wife was Strictly Ballroom actor Tara Morice whom he married at the Sydney Opera House in January 1997, after having worked together on the production of Romeo + Juliet in 1995 and 1996. Together they have a daughter, Ondine Morice Pearce, who is a film editor, and who was the stills photographer (at age 11) on her mother's documentary My Biggest Fan.

He married his second wife, Emma Scott, in 2012, which also ended in divorce.

Pearce divides his time between Sydney, London and Costa Rica.

Acting credits

Film

YearWorkRoleNotes
1985I Can't Get StartedMark
1988Nightmaster
1988To Make a KillingTerry
1992Mad Bomber in LoveBernard Lynch

Television

YearWorkRoleNotes
1980Spring & FallSchoolfriend1 episode
1981Menotti1 episode
1981BellamyJimmie1 episode
1981–1982The Restless YearsMichael Lee3 episodes
1987VietnamCorporalMiniseries
1987Rafferty's RulesLyle Jurd1 episode
1988Watch the Shadows DanceGuy DuncanTV movie
1992The Miraculous Mellops 2Grub13 episodes
1993G.P.Mark1 episode
1993E StreetBronco Miles13 episodes
1994The Seventh FloorEdTV movie

Stage

YearWorkRoleNotes
1983Peer GyntThe Boy / Ballon / Hussein / The Gaunt OneNIDA Theatre, Sydney
1984Welcome the Bright WorldSebastian AyaltiNIDA Theatre, Sydney
1984Pericles & The Comedy of ErrorsAntiochus / Leonine / Sea CaptainNIDA Theatre, Sydney, Playhouse, Canberra, Community Arts Theatre, Newcastle
1984Street SceneNIDA Theatre, Sydney
1985; 1989Say Goodbye to the PastBridge Theatre, Coniston, Stables Theatre, Sydney with Theatre South; Griffin Theatre Company
1985Even More Wonderful WollongongBridge Theatre, Coniston with Theatre South
1986HamletPhillip St Theatre, Sydney
1987Urban Tales of Utter DevotionStables Theatre, Sydney with Griffin Theatre Company
1987Kennedy's ChildrenExchange Hotel, Balmain, Sydney with New Mercury Theatre Company
1988Dangerous CurvePerformance Space, Sydney with Underground Theatre Productions
1988HaircutWharf Theatre, Sydney with STC & Six Years Old Theatre Company
1988AngelsWharf Theatre, Sydney with STC & Six Years Old Theatre Company
1989Romeo and JulietSydney Opera House with STC
1989New Short Works - Spoleto Fringe Program 1: Grace Among the ChristiansGilesUniversal Theatre, Melbourne

Writing credits

Film

YearWorkRoleNotes
1992Strictly BallroomScreenplay
1996Romeo + JulietScreenplay
2001Moulin Rouge!Writer / Soundtrack – lyrics
2010Charlie St. CloudScreenplay
2013The Great GatsbyScreenplay
2017The Power of the Dark CrystalScreenplayCancelled
2022ElvisScreenplay
Monster Blood TattooIn development

Television

YearWorkRoleNotes
2009Dancing with the StarsSoundtrack – lyrics1 episode
200981st Academy AwardsSketches writerTV special
2017WillCreator / Producer10 episodes
2022PistolCreator / Executive producerMiniseries, 6 episodes

Stage

YearWorkRoleNotes
1984; 1988Strictly BallroomWriter (Book / Composer)NIDA Theatre, Sydney, Wharf Theatre, Sydney
2014–2015; 2018–2019, 2023, 2024Strictly Ballroom the MusicalWriter (Book / Composer)Sydney Lyric Theatre, Her Majesty's Theatre, Melbourne, Lyric Theatre, Brisbane, Otago Boys High School, Dunedin, Cardinia Cultural Centre, Melbourne, Frankston Arts Centre, Leeds, UK, Toronto, Canada, Piccadilly Theatre, London, Crete Street Theatre, Beenleigh with Beenleigh Theatre Group

Awards

YearWorkAwardCategoryNotes
1992Strictly BallroomAustralian Film Institute AwardsBest Screenplay – Original or Adapted
1993Strictly BallroomBAFTA Film AwardsBest Screenplay – Adapted
1997Romeo + JulietOnline Film & Television AssociationBest Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium
1998Romeo + JulietBAFTA Film AwardsBest Screenplay – Adapted
2002Moulin Rouge!BAFTA Film AwardsBest Screenplay – Original
2002Moulin Rouge!Writers Guild of America AwardsBest Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen
2002Moulin Rouge!Las Vegas Film Critics Society AwardsSierra Award for Best Screenplay
2002Moulin Rouge!Film Critics Circle of Australia AwardsBest Screenplay – Original
2013The Great GatsbyINOCA AwardsHalfway Award for Best Adapted Screenplay
2013Strictly Ballroom20/20 AwardsBest Original Screenplay
2016Craig PearceAustralian Writers' Guild AwardsLifetime Achievement Award
2022ElvisAACTA AwardsBest Screenplay in Film
2022ElvisAustralian Film Critics Association AwardsBest Screenplay
2023ElvisFilm Critics Circle of Australia AwardsBest Screenplay
2023ElvisCinEuphoria AwardsBest Screenplay – International Competition

References

References

  1. [https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A4260 "Craig Pearce i(7 works by)"], [[AustLit]]. Accessed 22 January 2024.
  2. {{IMDb title. tt0096572. E Street
  3. "Craig Pearce". [[Australian Writers' Guild]] – Pathways.
  4. (6 June 2002). "Now it's an exodus of writers-by email".
  5. "Craig Pearce – Writer". Camerons Management.
  6. Edelstein, Robert. (30 May 2022). "'Pistol' Creator Reveals Inspiration Behind the Sex Pistols Biopic".
  7. [http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/breakfast/2016-awgie-goes-to-craig-pearce/7927986 "2016 Australian Writers' Guild Lifetime Achievement Award goes to screenwriter Craig Pearce"] by [[Fran Kelly]], ''[[RN Breakfast]]'', [[Australian Broadcasting Corporation]], 13 October 2016.
  8. [https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/force-of-nature-marriage-made-in-an-oscars-heaven-20020401-gdf5th.html "Force of nature: Marriage made in an Oscars heaven"], ''[[The Sydney Morning Herald]]'', 1 April 2002.
  9. [https://www.audreyjournal.com.au/arts/in-close-up-tara-morice/ "In close-up: Tara Morice"] by Elissa Blake, ''Audrey Journal'', 23 May 2018.
  10. (4 November 2008). "Strictly Ballroom's Tara Morice forges bond with fan, 75". The Courier-Mail.
  11. [http://www.imajgallery.com/blog/2012/10/29/pure-villa-i-gentle-souls-in-love-i-emma-craig "Pure Villa – Gentle Souls in Love – Emma & Craig"] by Agung, Imaj Gallery, 29 October 2012.
  12. "Craig Pearce". FX.
  13. "Craig Pearce". AusStage.
  14. "Craig Pearce". AusStage.
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