Baz Luhrmann and writer Nelson George rap about ‘70s New York and Netflix’s ‘The Get Down’
In making “The Get Down,†filmmaker Baz Luhrmann leaned heavily on a team of collaborators and experts, including Nelson George, the author of several books about hip-hop and R&B music. The two recently sat for a joint interview about the rich tapestry of ’70s New York City, and the importance of getting the details right.
Why this era in New York City?
Luhrmann: ’77 was a very, very important year in my life. I actually ran away from home. I don’t think I’ve ever told anyone that. I lived in a very isolated small country town. Everything great, creative, interesting came from New York. I was aware it was a dangerous, degenerate place.
Young people turned to a spray can or to records to express themselves and not so much the gun. I hope that’s the big takeaway of the show.
George: There was a general sense of chaos, but in chaos there’s opportunity. There were these legendary parties in the park, people brought giant speakers and blasted [music]. You could smoke a joint anywhere in New York. There was a lot of creativity and an incredible desire to dance. I think the show captures the spirit of fun.
I was 20 in 1977. Russell Simmons was 20. Spike Lee was 20. These were products of that same chaotic city. All of them were ambitious young people who wanted to create something.
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1977 is often thought of as this nadir in New York City history. Did you always know that this is where your story would begin?
Luhrmann: ’77 always came up as this nexus year. Elvis dies. There’s terrorism, Son of Sam. There was a heat wave, the blackout. It was the biggest year in recording history. Disco had made the music industry worth $2 billion. No one’s ever heard of this chitty-chat over records. But by the last month of the decade, there are no less than five hip-hop records in the charts. It’s a revolution that brings in the ’80s.
George: From the hip-hop point of view, the blackout was a crucial thing. In the beginning, only a few people have the equipment to really compete with [Grandmaster] Flash or [DJ Kool] Herc or [Afrika] Bambaataa. After the blackout, one of the biggest targets (for looters) was electronic stores. Kids had turntables now, they had speakers, they had mixers. So you saw a proliferation of hip-hop groups.
[To Luhrmann] As a white man from small-town Australia, did you feel like the right person to tell this story?
Luhrmann: I kept thinking maybe I should just produce it. I realized fundamentally that it wasn’t my story, but then I thought, nothing I do is my story. “Gatsby’s†not really my story. So I buy all the books, I do the research, I surround myself with people from the world.
One of my conditions was, we can’t do this unless we do this in New York. Luckily Netflix backed me. So they moved [the writers room] out of L.A. I became more and more involved, because they were unknown and African American and Latino leads, unless I put my brand on it and stood right at the center of it, it just wouldn’t have gotten made.
[To Luhrmann] You are known for making films that deal with archetypal characters and mythic storytelling. How does “The Get Down†fit into that?
Luhrmann: I am interested in primary myths and mythologizing figures. It’s a bit of a Joseph Campbell thing. This project was slightly different. I really wanted to quote the films I grew up on in the ’70s, films like “Network,†“French Connection.†People think “Saturday Night Fever†is all about John Travolta in a white suit, but it’s actually very realist.
George: There was a lot of mythmaking in that era. One of the things the show brings back to me was how big kung fu was. You couldn’t get on a New York City subway without hearing “hiiiiii-yaaaah!†People were carrying nunchuks. Bruce Lee was a hero to any minority kid of that era.
How do you respond to reports about behind-the-scenes difficulties?
Luhrmann: When it began, I truly believed I’d be one of those guys that would give the vision and the guy called the show runner would come in and the mechanisms would all work. Not only was I writing with Nas, but we had to put the music into the text. No one really understood how to do that at the outset. So I had to invent a process.
On top of all of that, we’re taking a very big leap with totally unknown young people at the center of [the story]. One of them [Tremaine Brown Jr.] was discovered rapping on the subway. So the sheer ambition of it made it more difficult than anyone could have imagined.
And unlike everything else I’ve ever done, I’m dealing with a living history. The characters are alive. They’re letting me into their community. Rightly or wrongly, I didn’t believe I could let down the people who’ve trusted me with curating this story.
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