Baz Luhrmann's The Get Down opens 'vault' on hip hop's early days
Series is among Netflix's most-expensive shows and explores origins of hip hop in The Bronx
When Baz Luhrmann asks a question, expect an epic series as the answer.
The award-winning director, known for his theatrical-style film productions Moulin Rouge and The Great Gatsby, describes sitting in a Paris café 10 years ago and contemplating the early rise of hip hop in New York City's The Bronx.
"How, in a time when there was so little, and the city was saying to this group of youth 'you are nothing and no one,' how did they manage to come up with something completely and totally new that went on to transform not only the city but the world?" he told CBC News during an interview in Los Angeles.
A decade-long quest to find the answer has become The Get Down, reportedly one of Netflix's most-expensive series to date and Luhrmann's first foray onto the small screen.
"Along the way, I became the audience but also the student."
Luhrmann says he intended to keep his distance from the project, choosing initially to be a "curator" — or "uncle" as he calls it.
But it soon became clear that his vision — one he says defied traditional television models and forced the team to re-evaluate its path (and budget) several times — wasn't going to be achieved unless he took the lead.
"I realized that if I didn't fully immerse myself and put myself in the centre, it wouldn't get made."
The Romeo + Juliet director enlisted the help of people who knew the era best, including author and music critic Nelson George and pioneer hip-hop artist DJ Grandmaster Flash.
"Baz has a way; he just sits you down and says what he's asking for. So he says to me, 'Tell me about the era,'" Flash, an associate producer on the show, told CBC. "And he would ask the question a million times, over and over and over, and he was very anal — very, very, very descriptive about certain things."
Cast members can attest to Luhrmann's meticulous approach.
"There was this room, I kid you not, 40 feet long full of timelines, pictures, artwork," said Jimmy Smits, who plays South Bronx political boss Francisco (Papa Fuerte) Cruz on the show.
"Oh my God, it was insane!" added castmate Herizen Guardiola, also referring to Luhrmann's detailed story-boarding. "Like you'd walk into this world and this is the world he's created."
To keep that world authentic, it meant the main cast, many of whom were newcomers to acting, had to go through two months of an intensive "boot camp" to learn the skills integral to their roles — like DJing, disco and breakdancing.
"The stance, like how you stand, how you walk, your swagger," said actor Shameik Moore about learning the nuances of club behaviour in the 70s. "When music came on, you needed to be the best dancer on the floor."
The series begins at the intersection of disco dominating the airwaves, with a small pocket of the city seeing the emergence of hip hop, a musical art form still in its infancy at the time, in The Bronx.
Grandmaster Flash spent months training Mamoudou Athie, who plays Flash himself in the series, to turntable like a pro.
Flash says the music was a positive outlet for young people who were filled with optimism about their place in the world.
"We didn't document it, we didn't film it, we didn't do these things," said Flash about living through the early era of hip hop in The Bronx. "So Baz has cracked open this vault."
Season one of The Get Down includes 12 episodes, with the first six being released on Netflix on Aug. 12.
The soundtrack features work from Nas, an executive producer on the show, as well as Miguel, Christina Aguilera and Grandmaster Flash, among others.