Craig Pearce
{{Short description|Australian screenwriter and actor}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2019}}
{{Use Australian English|date=February 2014}}
{{Infobox person
| image = File:Craig Pearce and Emma Pearce 2013.jpg
| name= Craig Pearce
| caption= Emma and Craig Pearce at The Great Gatsby premiere in Sydney in 2013
| birth_date= {{Birth date and age|1961|11|30|df=y}}
| birth_place=
| education = Narrabeen Sports High School
National Institute of Dramatic Art
| occupation= {{hlist|Screenwriter|actor}}
| known for = Mad Bomber in Love
E Street
| years_active=
| spouse = Tara Morice (1997–div.)
Emma Scott (2012–div.)
| children =
}}
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).[https://www.austlit.edu.au/austlit/page/A4260 "Craig Pearce i(7 works by)"], AustLit. Accessed 22 January 2024.
Career
Pearce's acting credits include recurring roles in soap operas The Restless Years (1981) and E Street (1993){{IMDb title|tt0096572|E Street}} 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,{{cite web|url= https://www.awgpathways.com.au/writer/craig-pearce/ |title= Craig Pearce |publisher= Australian Writers' Guild – Pathways}} 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.{{cite news |url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/movies/now-its-an-exodus-of-writers-by-email-20020606-gdfcdj.html|title=Now it's an exodus of writers-by email |date=6 June 2002 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald}}
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.{{cite web|url= https://www.cameronsmanagement.com.au/craig-pearce |title= Craig Pearce – Writer |publisher= Camerons Management}} He also created, wrote and executive produced all six episodes of the 2022 miniseries Pistol, based on Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones's autobiography.{{cite news|url=https://www.tvinsider.com/1044235/sex-pistols-biopic-craig-pearce-fx-hulu/|title='Pistol' Creator Reveals Inspiration Behind the Sex Pistols Biopic|date=30 May 2022|first=Robert|last=Edelstein}} 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.[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.
Personal life
Pearce first wife was Strictly Ballroom actor Tara Morice who he married at the Sydney Opera House in January 1997, after having work ex together on the production of Romeo + Juliet in 1995 and 1996.[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. Together they have a daughter,[https://www.audreyjournal.com.au/arts/in-close-up-tara-morice/ "In close-up: Tara Morice"] by Elissa Blake, Audrey Journal, 23 May 2018. 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.{{cite news|last1=Thompson|first1=Erica|title=Strictly Ballroom's Tara Morice forges bond with fan, 75|url=http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,24602396-5003422,00.html|work=The Courier-Mail|date=4 November 2008}}
He married his second wife, Emma Scott, in 2012,[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. which also ended in divorce.
Pearce divides his time between Sydney, London and Costa Rica.{{cite web|url= https://www.fxnetworks.com/shows/pistol/crew/craig-pearce-creator |title= Craig Pearce |publisher= FX}}
Acting credits
=Film=
| class=wikitable
! Year ! Work ! Role ! Notes | |||
| 1985 | I Can't Get Started | Mark | |
| 1988 | Nightmaster | ||
| 1988 | To Make a Killing | Terry | |
| 1992 | Mad Bomber in Love | Bernard Lynch |
=Television=
| class=wikitable
! Year ! Work ! Role ! Notes | |||
| 1980 | Spring & Fall | Schoolfriend | 1 episode |
| 1981 | Menotti | 1 episode | |
| 1981 | Bellamy | Jimmie | 1 episode |
| 1981–1982 | The Restless Years | Michael Lee | 3 episodes |
| 1987 | Vietnam | Corporal | Miniseries |
| 1987 | Rafferty's Rules | Lyle Jurd | 1 episode |
| 1988 | Watch the Shadows Dance | Guy Duncan | TV movie |
| 1992 | The Miraculous Mellops 2 | Grub | 13 episodes |
| 1993 | G.P. | Mark | 1 episode |
| 1993 | E Street | Bronco Miles | 13 episodes |
| 1994 | The Seventh Floor | Ed | TV movie |
=Stage=
| class=wikitable
! Year ! Work ! Role ! Notes | |||
| 1983 | Peer Gynt | The Boy / Ballon / Hussein / The Gaunt One | NIDA Theatre, Sydney |
| 1984 | Welcome the Bright World | Sebastian Ayalti | NIDA Theatre, Sydney |
| 1984 | Pericles & The Comedy of Errors | Antiochus / Leonine / Sea Captain | NIDA Theatre, Sydney, Playhouse, Canberra, Community Arts Theatre, Newcastle |
| 1984 | Street Scene | NIDA Theatre, Sydney | |
| 1985; 1989 | Say Goodbye to the Past | Bridge Theatre, Coniston, Stables Theatre, Sydney with Theatre South; Griffin Theatre Company | |
| 1985 | Even More Wonderful Wollongong | Bridge Theatre, Coniston with Theatre South | |
| 1986 | Hamlet | Phillip St Theatre, Sydney | |
| 1987 | Urban Tales of Utter Devotion | Stables Theatre, Sydney with Griffin Theatre Company | |
| 1987 | Kennedy's Children | Exchange Hotel, Balmain, Sydney with New Mercury Theatre Company | |
| 1988 | Dangerous Curve | Performance Space, Sydney with Underground Theatre Productions | |
| 1988 | Haircut | Wharf Theatre, Sydney with STC & Six Years Old Theatre Company | |
| 1988 | Angels | Wharf Theatre, Sydney with STC & Six Years Old Theatre Company | |
| 1989 | Romeo and Juliet | Sydney Opera House with STC | |
| 1989 | New Short Works - Spoleto Fringe Program 1: Grace Among the Christians | Giles | Universal Theatre, Melbourne |
{{cite web|url= https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/1955 |title= Craig Pearce |publisher= AusStage}}
Writing credits
=Film=
| class=wikitable
! Year ! Work ! Role ! Notes | |||
| 1992 | Strictly Ballroom | Screenplay | |
| 1996 | Romeo + Juliet | Screenplay | |
| 2001 | Moulin Rouge! | Writer / Soundtrack – lyrics | |
| 2010 | Charlie St. Cloud | Screenplay | |
| 2013 | The Great Gatsby | Screenplay | |
| 2017 | The Power of the Dark Crystal | Screenplay | Cancelled |
| 2022 | Elvis | Screenplay | |
| {{TBA}} | Monster Blood Tattoo | In development |
=Television=
| class=wikitable
! Year ! Work ! Role ! Notes | |||
| 2009 | Dancing with the Stars | Soundtrack – lyrics | 1 episode |
| 2009 | 81st Academy Awards | Sketches writer | TV special |
| 2017 | Will | Creator / Producer | 10 episodes |
| 2022 | Pistol | Creator / Executive producer | Miniseries, 6 episodes |
=Stage=
| class=wikitable
! Year ! Work ! Role ! Notes | |||
| 1984; 1988 | Strictly Ballroom | Writer (Book / Composer) | NIDA Theatre, Sydney, Wharf Theatre, Sydney |
| 2014–2015; 2018–2019, 2023, 2024 | Strictly Ballroom the Musical | Writer (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 |
{{cite web|url= https://ausstage.edu.au/pages/event/1955 |title= Craig Pearce |publisher= AusStage}}
Awards
| class=wikitable
! Year ! Work ! Award ! Category ! Notes | ||||
| 1992 | Strictly Ballroom | Australian Film Institute Awards | Best Screenplay – Original or Adapted | {{won}} |
| 1993 | Strictly Ballroom | BAFTA Film Awards | Best Screenplay – Adapted | {{nom}} |
| 1997 | Romeo + Juliet | Online Film & Television Association | Best Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another Medium | {{nom}} |
| 1998 | Romeo + Juliet | BAFTA Film Awards | Best Screenplay – Adapted | {{won}} |
| 2002 | Moulin Rouge! | BAFTA Film Awards | Best Screenplay – Original | {{nominated}} |
| 2002 | Moulin Rouge! | Writers Guild of America Awards | Best Screenplay Written Directly for the Screen | {{nom}} |
| 2002 | Moulin Rouge! | Las Vegas Film Critics Society Awards | Sierra Award for Best Screenplay | {{nom}} |
| 2002 | Moulin Rouge! | Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards | Best Screenplay – Original | {{nom}} |
| 2013 | The Great Gatsby | INOCA Awards | Halfway Award for Best Adapted Screenplay | {{nom}} |
| 2013 | Strictly Ballroom | 20/20 Awards | Best Original Screenplay | {{nom}} |
| 2016 | Craig Pearce | Australian Writers' Guild Awards | Lifetime Achievement Award | {{honoured}} |
| 2022 | Elvis | AACTA Awards | Best Screenplay in Film | {{nom}} |
| 2022 | Elvis | Australian Film Critics Association Awards | Best Screenplay | {{nom}} |
| 2023 | Elvis | Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards | Best Screenplay | {{nom}} |
| 2023 | Elvis | CinEuphoria Awards | Best Screenplay – International Competition | {{nom}} |
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- {{IMDb name|0668902|Craig Pearce}}
{{BAFTA Award for Best Adapted Screenplay 1983–1999}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pearce, Craig}}
Category:Australian screenwriters
Category:Australian male film actors
Category:Best Adapted Screenplay BAFTA Award winners