Craig Pearce

Wikipedia

Craig Pearce
Emma and Craig Pearce at The Great Gatsby premiere in Sydney in 2013
Born (1961-11-30) 30 November 1961 (age 63)
EducationNarrabeen Sports High School
National Institute of Dramatic Art
Occupations
  • Screenwriter
  • actor
Known forMad Bomber in Love
E Street
Spouse(s)Tara Morice (1997–div.)
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).[1]

Career

Pearce's acting credits include recurring roles in soap operas The Restless Years (1981) and E Street (1993)[2] 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,[3] 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.[4]

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.[5] He also created, wrote and executive produced all six episodes of the 2022 miniseries Pistol, based on Sex Pistols guitarist Steve Jones's autobiography.[6] 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.[7]

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.[8] Together they have a daughter,[9] 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.[10]

He married his second wife, Emma Scott, in 2012,[11] which also ended in divorce.

Pearce divides his time between Sydney, London and Costa Rica.[12]

Acting credits

Film

Year Work Role Notes
1985I Can't Get StartedMark
1988Nightmaster
1988To Make a KillingTerry
1992Mad Bomber in LoveBernard Lynch

Television

Year Work Role Notes
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

Year Work Role Notes
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

[13]

Writing credits

Film

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

Television

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

Stage

Year Work Role Notes
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

[14]

Awards

Year Work Award Category Notes
1992Strictly BallroomAustralian Film Institute AwardsBest Screenplay – Original or AdaptedWon
1993Strictly BallroomBAFTA Film AwardsBest Screenplay – AdaptedNominated
1997Romeo + JulietOnline Film & Television AssociationBest Writing, Screenplay Based on Material from Another MediumNominated
1998Romeo + JulietBAFTA Film AwardsBest Screenplay – AdaptedWon
2002Moulin Rouge!BAFTA Film AwardsBest Screenplay – OriginalNominated
2002Moulin Rouge!Writers Guild of America AwardsBest Screenplay Written Directly for the ScreenNominated
2002Moulin Rouge!Las Vegas Film Critics Society AwardsSierra Award for Best ScreenplayNominated
2002Moulin Rouge!Film Critics Circle of Australia AwardsBest Screenplay – OriginalNominated
2013The Great GatsbyINOCA AwardsHalfway Award for Best Adapted ScreenplayNominated
2013Strictly Ballroom20/20 AwardsBest Original ScreenplayNominated
2016Craig Pearce Australian Writers' Guild AwardsLifetime Achievement AwardHonoured
2022ElvisAACTA AwardsBest Screenplay in FilmNominated
2022ElvisAustralian Film Critics Association AwardsBest ScreenplayNominated
2023ElvisFilm Critics Circle of Australia AwardsBest ScreenplayNominated
2023ElvisCinEuphoria AwardsBest Screenplay – International CompetitionNominated

References

  1. "Craig Pearce i(7 works by)", AustLit. Accessed 22 January 2024.
  2. E Street at IMDb
  3. "Craig Pearce". Australian Writers' Guild – Pathways.
  4. "Now it's an exodus of writers-by email". The Sydney Morning Herald. 6 June 2002.
  5. "Craig Pearce – Writer". Camerons Management.
  6. Edelstein, Robert (30 May 2022). "'Pistol' Creator Reveals Inspiration Behind the Sex Pistols Biopic".
  7. "2016 Australian Writers' Guild Lifetime Achievement Award goes to screenwriter Craig Pearce" by Fran Kelly, RN Breakfast, Australian Broadcasting Corporation, 13 October 2016.
  8. "Force of nature: Marriage made in an Oscars heaven", The Sydney Morning Herald, 1 April 2002.
  9. "In close-up: Tara Morice" by Elissa Blake, Audrey Journal, 23 May 2018.
  10. Thompson, Erica (4 November 2008). "Strictly Ballroom's Tara Morice forges bond with fan, 75". The Courier-Mail.
  11. "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.