Baz Luhrmann: Criticism is tough

(Cover) - EN Movies - Baz Luhrmann says the critical fallout from his films feels like he's committed a "heinous crime against a personal family member".

The Australian director has helmed movies including Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge! and most recently The Great Gatsby, which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival this week.

Baz says there is a downside to taking on some of the world's most beloved tales and transferring them onto the big screen though.

"The critical fallout is pretty much identical for all my films," he explained in an interview with British newspaper The Guardian.

"It's not just mild disappointment. It's like I've committed a violent, heinous crime against a personal family member."

Baz's The Great Gatsby is an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel of the same name. The filmmaker is prepared for the backlash from literary fans thanks to his modernisation of the much-loved tome.

Baz says he can relate to Fitzgerald on that level, as he was also a writer who broke boundaries.

"And all of my choices – right, wrong or indifferent; all the eyeball-rolling and easy swipes – which by the way I'm used to… well, he also suffered from that," he said. "Fitzgerald was, in quotation marks, a clown, just like I am."

Baz was born Mark Anthony Luhrmann, but changed his name while he was still at high school. The 50-year-old star has explained his reasoning for doing so.

"Well, I got beaten up a lot because of my crazy hair. Basil Brush, you know? All I can say is that I got really put upon and the nickname was just a part of it. I don't know what possessed me to take upon the name that was the source of such derision, and try to claim it as my own," he said.

"I changed my name by deed-poll when I was still at school. So I obviously had grandiose plans, even then."