Trailer
Plot summary
Scott Hastings has trained in ballroom dancing since he was six, and he wants to win the Pan-Pacific Grand Prix Dancing Championship with steps of his own. The Australian Dancing Federation and its head, Barry Fife, insist on strictly ballroom. After Scott and his partner Liz Holt lose the Southern Districts Waratah Championships, Liz teams up with Ken Railings, and Scott has three weeks to find a new partner. His mother Shirley and his coach Les Kendall hunt for one. Fran, an overlooked beginner at the same studio, asks to dance with him, drawn by his willingness to try his own steps.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about Strictly Ballroom (1992)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- When Miall approached the Film Finance Corporation he was told they would not back such a high-budget film, in Australian terms, with a first-time director, and was told to replace Luhrmann. He refused, and he and Albert pared the budget down to AUD 3.3 million, after which the FFA agreed to provide around 65%.
- On 11 November 1990 Ted Albert died suddenly from a heart attack, throwing the entire project into doubt. His widow Popsy decided it should go to completion in honor of her husband and took over as executive producer; Ted's family company Albert Music invested AUD 1 million, and the film is dedicated to him.
- Actress Pat Thomson, who played Scott's mother, died on April 18, 1992, only one month before the Cannes world premiere. There the cast and crew received a fifteen-minute standing ovation, repeated the following night, and the film won the Prix De Jeunesse and triggered a bidding war among international distributors.
- In its early stages, with writer Andrew Bovell involved, the script took a more serious tone and included a subplot set around the trade union at the BHP Newcastle Steelworks. Luhrmann balked at the move towards naturalism and brought in his old friend Craig Pearce instead.
