Craig Pearce

Writing

Craig Pearce

Craig Pearce is an Australian screenwriter and actor. Pearce's acting credits include a regular role in soap opera The Restless Years in 1981, guest roles in Bellamy and G.P., and film roles in To Make a Killing (1988), Mad Bomber in Love (1992) and The Seventh Floor (1994). Pearce co-wrote the play Strictly Ballroom and the screenplay of the 1992 movie adaptation with Baz Luhrmann. He co-wrote the screenplay for the 1996 film Romeo + Juliet, the 2001 film Moulin Rouge!, and the 2013 film The Great Gatsby; all with Luhrmann. He received the Australian Writers' Guild Lifetime Achievement Award in 2016.

Acting credits

Nightmaster poster
4.1

By day, Robbie (Tom Jennings) and his girlfriend, Amy (Nicole Kidman) are high school students. By night, they become top contenders in highly competitive simulated war games designed to test their athletic abilities and intellectual superiority. Although Robbie is a champion of the game, he soon realizes the extent of his instructor's fanatic extremes and the once-friendly game becomes real-life... and real life becomes a deadly game.

Nightmaster

1988

The Seventh Floor poster
7.0

Kate Fletcher has the perfect apartment. Everything is computer controlled. It is the home of her dreams until a psychotic man begins to execute the violent orders he hears from his long dead sister.

The Seventh Floor

1994

The Night Club of Your Dreams: The Making of 'Moulin Rouge' poster
6.8

This made-for-tv documentary treats romance fans to a behind-the-scenes look at the making of Moulin Rouge!, Baz Luhrmann's musical tale of love between a poet and a courtesan in fin-de-siecle Paris. Includes interviews with director Luhrmann, stars Ewan McGregor and Nicole Kidman and the rest of the the cast and crew of the film, who all share their experiences from working on the project, as well as discuss the special efforts that went into bringing it to completion

The Night Club of Your Dreams: The Making of 'Moulin Rouge'

2001

Mad Bomber in Love poster
10.0

A no-budget grunge classic about the nightmares of shared accommodation with an urban terrorist as your new flatmate.

Mad Bomber in Love

1992

To Make a Killing poster
6.5

Damon Kennedy (Tamblyn Lord, The River Kings) is an impressionable young man ready to begin university life. On the other side of the tracks live Terry (Craig Pearce, co-author of Strictly Ballroom), Felix (John Godden) and Benny (Kelly Dingwall) — who get their kicks out of robbing houses and chasing girls. But they're broke and all out of cash. During a routine burglary the gang discover an innocent Damon. Brushing off the intrusion and pretending they are looking for some mates, the gang flee the scene but bored Damon follows them and joins their group for the day, hoping to find some fun.When the gang picks up two girls, things become unhinged as a drunk Damon brags about some of his family's many affluent friends. Forced to take them to one of his cash-rich contacts, Damon's nightmare has only just begun. As Terry discovers that the wealthy don't always carry cash, what starts as a burglary soon turns into a killing spree.

To Make a Killing

1988

Behind the camera

The Great Gatsby poster
7.3

Nick Carraway arrives in New York in 1922, an era of loose morals, glittering jazz and bootleg kings. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick encounters the mysterious millionaire Gatsby and his bewitching cousin Daisy. Soon, Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super-rich, their illusions, loves and deceits. Bearing witness to this new world, Nick pens a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams and unforgettable tragedy -- mirroring our own times and struggles.​

The Great Gatsby

2013

Elvis poster
7.4

The life story of Elvis Presley as seen through the complicated relationship with his enigmatic manager, Colonel Tom Parker.

Elvis

2022

Romeo + Juliet poster
6.8

In this contemporary take on William Shakespeare's classic tragedy, the Montagues and Capulets have moved their ongoing feud to the sweltering suburb of Verona Beach, where Romeo and Juliet fall in love and secretly wed. Though the film is visually modern, the bard's dialogue remains.

Romeo + Juliet

1996

Moulin Rouge! poster
7.5

A celebration of love and creative inspiration takes place in the infamous, gaudy and glamorous Parisian nightclub, at the cusp of the 20th century. A young poet, who is plunged into the heady world of Moulin Rouge, begins a passionate affair with the club's most notorious and beautiful star.

Moulin Rouge!

2001

Charlie St. Cloud poster
7.0

Accomplished sailor Charlie St. Cloud has the adoration of his mother Claire and his little brother Sam, as well as a college scholarship that will lead him far from his sleepy Pacific Northwest hometown. But his bright future is cut short when tragedy strikes and takes his dreams with it. After high school classmate Tess returns home unexpectedly, Charlie grows torn between honoring a promise he made four years earlier and moving forward with newfound love. As he finds the courage to let go of the past for good, Charlie discovers the soul most worth saving is his own.

Charlie St. Cloud

2010

Charlie St. Cloud poster
7.0

Accomplished sailor Charlie St. Cloud has the adoration of his mother Claire and his little brother Sam, as well as a college scholarship that will lead him far from his sleepy Pacific Northwest hometown. But his bright future is cut short when tragedy strikes and takes his dreams with it. After high school classmate Tess returns home unexpectedly, Charlie grows torn between honoring a promise he made four years earlier and moving forward with newfound love. As he finds the courage to let go of the past for good, Charlie discovers the soul most worth saving is his own.

Charlie St. Cloud

2010

Strictly Ballroom poster
6.6

Brave new steps put Scott's career in jeopardy. With a new partner and determination, can he still succeed?

Strictly Ballroom

1992