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Catherine Martin (designer)

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Catherine Martin
Martin in 2013
Born (1965-01-26) 26 January 1965 (age 59)
Lindfield, New South Wales, Australia
Education
Occupations
Years active1988–present
Spouse
​
(m. 1997)​
Children2
Websitecatherinemartin.com

Catherine Martin (born 26 January 1965) is an Australian costume, production, and set designer. In a career spanning over three decades, she is recognized for her prolific work across stage and screen with her husband, Baz Luhrmann. These include their collaborations on such acclaimed films as Strictly Ballroom (1992), Romeo + Juliet (1996), Moulin Rouge! (2001), Australia (2008), The Great Gatsby (2013), and Elvis (2022). She has received numerous accolades, including four Academy Awards, six BAFTA Awards, and a Tony Award.

Martin gained international recognition with her first major film credit alongside Luhrmann on his feature directorial debut, Strictly Ballroom, which later became the first part of the "Red Curtain Trilogy". For her exceptional work on the film's aesthetic, she earned two BAFTAs for Best Costume Design and Best Production Design, among other accolades. Martin received her first Oscar nomination for art direction in the second part of the trilogy, Romeo + Juliet. She then collected both the Academy Award for Best Costume Design and the Academy Award for Best Production Design for creating the visuals in Curtain's final installment, Moulin Rouge! Martin was just the second woman to have won multiple Oscars in a single year, following Edith Head, and the first to accomplish this feat twice after winning the same categories for The Great Gatsby. Having won four awards out of nine nominations, she holds the record for the most Oscar wins of any Australian.

Early life and education

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The National Institute of Dramatic Art in Kensington, New South Wales, where Martin studied

Martin was born on January 26, 1965,[1] in Lindfield, New South Wales, to a French mother and an Australian father, both academics who met at the Sorbonne; her father was pursuing his expertise in 18th-century French literature, and her mother was studying mathematics at university.[2] She and her brother grew up in Sydney but spent a lot of time with their grandparents in France's Loire Valley, visiting "every art gallery, every museum" along the way.[2] Martin was fascinated from an early age by the vintage clothing parades occasionally thrown by her Australian grandmother and her church friends.[3] She would beg her parents to take her to London's Victoria and Albert Museum so she could dig through the costume section,[4] and recalled "being blown away by the costume gallery, being able to see a pleated lace ruff in reality" when she finally got there.[3] Her mother taught her to use a sewing machine at age 6, and by age 15 she was creating her own patterns to make herself dresses.[2] Martin cited The Wizard of Oz as her childhood inspiration and an extraordinary journey to take when she was 10, and then Gone with the Wind as the movie that, at age 13, changed her life from a fashion perspective.[5]

Martin attended North Sydney Girls High School and, while a student, got a part-time job as an usherette at the Roseville theatre.[6] She was first enrolled at Sydney College of the Arts and spent a year studying the visual arts before deciding to drop out for a career change. Then she studied pattern cutting at East Sydney Technical College.[6] She was accepted into the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) and graduated in 1988 with a diploma in design. In her last year at university, she met and started collaborating with a fellow student, Baz Luhrmann, whom she later married. At that time, Luhrmann returned to NIDA looking for young designers with whom he planned to stage his one-act play, Strictly Ballroom, and Martin did some work on that production.[7]

Career

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Martin's first professional engagement came after graduation when she began working on Luhrmann's environmental opera experiment, Lake Lost, staged at a television studio in Melbourne to celebrate the Australian Bicentenary in 1988.[3] Their collaboration continued at Opera Australia when she provided set designs for Luhrmann's 1990 production of Giacomo Puccini's La bohème as well as the 1993 production of Benjamin Britten's A Midsummer Night's Dream.[8]

Martin gained international acclaim when she entered the film industry, recreating her designs in Luhrmann's feature directorial debut, Strictly Ballroom (1992), the first part of the "Red Curtain Trilogy". It was a major financial success and received widespread acclaim from critics and audiences, who lauded the acting, direction, and production values.[7] Among other accolades, the film cleaned up at the AFI Awards, picking up leading eight wins from 13 nominations and also winning three of its eight nominations at the BAFTAs, including both the Best Costume Design and the Best Production Design for Martin's visuals.[7] She then received her first Oscar nomination for art direction in the trilogy's second installment, Romeo + Juliet (1996).

Their third feature film collaboration which concluded Curtain's Trilogy was Moulin Rouge! (2001). She earned both the Academy Award for Best Costume Design and the Academy Award for Best Production Design for her richly designed sets and dazzling costumes, which received widespread recognition from critics and audiences alike. She shared the former prize with Angus Strathie, the latter with Brigitte Broch (for the film's set decoration).[9] Martin's double wins makes her just the second woman to win multiple Oscars in a single year, after fellow costume designer Edith Head.

For their next project together, the pair teamed up adaptating Luhrmann's earlier Australian production of La bohème for Broadway theatre, which opened to critical acclaim in December 2002.[10] She won the Tony Award for Best Scenic Design and, alongside Strathie, was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Costume Design the following year.[11]

Martin went to co-produce Luhrmann's epic Australia (2008) and was also the film's production and costume designer. It earned her another Oscar nomination.[12] She has stated that the tailoring on the clothing produced for the film is one of her proudest achievements.[13]

The Great Gatsby

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Luhrmann and Martin started working on the cinematic reinvention of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic, The Great Gatsby, a novel that she had not read since adolescence and had not much appreciated as a teenager. Nevertheless, Martin ended up being the book's biggest fan after her husband's insistence that she revisit it.[14] Luhrmann thought about doing a new film version for about a decade, although he began writing a script only three years before actual filming started.[15] For their ambitious purpose of trying to achieve an authentic feeling for the film but also something connective for a modern audience, the pair consulted academic texts about the novel as well as historical analyses pertaining to both Fitzgerald and his work. In particular, they went to libraries at the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Fashion Institute of Technology to further their research on the project. Martin described herself during this time as being "like a detective".[15]

Overall, Martin was charged with creating about 500 outfits for various cast members.[16] She collaborated with Brooks Brothers and Miuccia Prada to design the costumes, as well as Tiffany & Co., which agreed to supply the film's jewelry.[17] In particular, Prada created some twenty dresses for the film's first party scene as well as an additional twenty for the second one.[17] Before filming started, Luhrmann said that since the book took place in 1922 and was published in 1925 but foreshadowed the economic crash of 1929, anything within that decade was appropriate to borrow for design purposes.[14] This approach gives Martin more room to play with trends and flattering pieces, such as her choice to dress lead actor Leonardo DiCaprio in slimmer-cut suits, a decision that otherwise would not be typical for the time period in which the depicted events are taking place. Furthermore, she erred towards the decade's end for women's clothes, wanting to focus on slimmer silhouettes.[17] She also took artistic liberties when it came to the actresses' footwear, telling Vogue that she found heels from the era to be "stumpy". Martin rationalized her anachronistic use of thinner-heeled shoes by telling herself she was copying what was found in fashion illustrations from the time.[13]

Martin created a total of 42 lavish sets for the film, which all were constructed under her vision in a span of 14 weeks.[16] Her inspiration came from the works of 1920s British designer Syrie Maugham as well as the iconic turn-of-the-century houses on Long Island, such as Beacon Towers for Gatsby's mansion and Old Westbury Gardens for the Buchanans' estate. She also gave credit to the 1920s silent film designs, particularly those of Sunrise (1927) and Speedy (1928), for inspiring Gatsby's high-gloss Art Deco visual style.[16]

Martin once again received universal acclaim for creating film's visuals, winning her two more Oscars for both Best Costume Design and Best Production Design, the latter of which she shares with Beverley Dunn.[18] Having won her fourth career Academy Award, she claimed the record for the most Oscar wins of any Australian, overtaking fellow costume designer Orry-Kelly, who won three in the 1950s.[18]

Shortly after the release of Gatsby, Martin collaborated with Brooks Brothers to release a limited edition menswear collection.[16] She has also launched a range of home wares, featuring paints, wallpaper and rugs.[19][20]

Other work

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Martin was named a Glamour Magazine Woman of the Year in 2013.[21] Discussing her and Luhrmann's progression as artists, Marin told the magazine, "We've gone from me staying up all night to paint the floor to where I am now, with 300 carpenters working for me. I feel like the Queen of England [sic]".[21] For her spread in their December issue, her husband photographed her alongside their children.[22]

Martin's work was featured in fellow costume designer Deborah Nadoolman Landis' 2013 book Hollywood Costume.[23]

Martin has stated that she prides herself on ensuring the costumes she produces are beautifully made, comfortable, and easy to take on and off. She also said that she is no longer tempted to keep any wardrobe mementos from the films she works on, telling Fashionista, "... I realised through long and hard experience the best record of your work, is the work itself."[17]

In 2016, Martin and Luhrmann developed the Netflix television series The Get Down, which takes place in 1970s South Bronx.[13] She served as an executive producer of the series.[24]

Personal life

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Martin met her husband, Baz Luhrmann, at university, and the pair married on Australia Day 1997, her 32nd birthday.[1] The couple has two children together.[25] In July 2015, the couple placed their Darlinghurst mansion on the market for $16 million AUD, in favour of establishing a more settled family life in New York City, where their family has been spending more and more time.[26]

Filmography

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Film

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List of Catherine Martin film credits
Year Title Director Credited as Notes
Costume Designer Production Designer Producer
1988 Interim Jean-Pierre Améris No Yes No Short film
1989 Out of the Body Brian Trenchard-Smith Yes No No
1992 Strictly Ballroom Baz Luhrmann Yes Yes No Co-designed costumes with Angus Strathie
Martin designed street costumes, whereas Strathie designed ballroom attire
1996 Romeo + Juliet No Yes Associate Also known as William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet
2001 Moulin Rouge! Yes Yes Associate Co-designed costumes with Angus Strathie
2004 No. 5 the Film No Yes No Short film
2008 Australia Yes Yes Co-producer
2012 Waist Up/Waist Down Yes Yes No Short film
Ugly Chic Yes No No
The Surreal Body Yes No No
The Exotic Body Yes Yes No
The Classical Body Yes Yes No
Schiaparelli & Prada: Impossible Conversations Yes Yes No
Naif Chic Yes Yes No
Hard Chic Yes Yes No
2013 The Great Gatsby Yes Yes Yes Co-designed sets with Karen Murphy as associate production designer
2014 Channel No. 5: The One That I Want No Yes No Short film
2017 ERDEM x H&M: The Secret Life of Flowers No Yes Yes
2022 Elvis Yes Yes Yes Co-designed sets with Karen Murphy

Television

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List of Catherine Martin television credits
Year Title Contribution Notes
Costume Designer Production Designer Executive Producer
1994 Great Performances Yes Yes No Episode: "La boheme"
Co-designed costumes with Angus Strathie
2016–2017 The Get Down Yes Yes Yes Co-costume designer and co-production designer (Episode: "Where There Is Ruin, There Is Hope for a Treasure")
Co-designed costumes with Jeriana San Juan
Co-designed sets with Karen Murphy

Awards and nominations

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Major associations

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Key
† Indicates non-competitive categories

Academy Awards

Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.
1996 Best Production Design Romeo + Juliet Nominated [27]
2001 Best Costume Design Moulin Rouge! Won [28]
Best Production Design Won
2008 Best Costume Design Australia Nominated [29]
2013 Best Costume Design The Great Gatsby Won [30]
Best Production Design Won
2022 Best Picture Elvis Nominated [31]
Best Costume Design Nominated
Best Production Design Nominated

BAFTA Awards

Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.
British Academy Film Awards
1992 Best Costume Design Strictly Ballroom Won [32]
Best Production Design Won
1997 Romeo + Juliet Won [33]
2001 Best Costume Design Moulin Rouge! Nominated [34]
Best Production Design Nominated
2013 Best Costume Design The Great Gatsby Won [35]
Best Production Design Won
2022 Best Film Elvis Nominated [36]
Best Costume Design Won
Best Production Design Nominated

Tony Awards

Year Category Nominated work Result Ref.
2003 Best Costume Design La bohème Nominated [37]
Best Scenic Design Won

Miscellaneous awards

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List of Catherine Martin other awards and nominations
Award Year Category Title Result
AACTA Awards[a] 1992 Best Production Design Strictly Ballroom Won
1999 Byron Kennedy Award † Received
2001 Best Costume Design Moulin Rouge! Won
Best Production Design Won
2009 Best Costume Design Australia Won
Best Production Design Won
2013 Best Film The Great Gatsby Won
Best Costume Design Won
Best Production Design Won
2022 Best Film Elvis Won
Best Costume Design Won
Best Production Design Won
Longford Lyell Award † Received
ADG Excellence in Production Design Awards 2001 Excellence in Period or Fantasy Film Moulin Rouge! Won
2013 Excellence in Period Film The Great Gatsby Won
2022 Elvis Nominated
Cinematic Imagery Award † Received
Astra Film Creative Arts Awards[b] 2022 Best Costume Design Elvis Nominated
Best Production Design Nominated
Capri Hollywood International Film Festival 2022 Best Producer Award Elvis Won
Best Costume Design Won
Best Production Design Won
Chicago Film Critics Association Awards 2013 Best Art Direction/Production Design The Great Gatsby Nominated
Costume Designers Guild Awards 2013 Excellence in Period Film The Great Gatsby Nominated
2022 Elvis Won
Critics' Choice Movie Awards 2013 Best Costume Design The Great Gatsby Won
Best Production Design Won
2022 Best Costume Design Elvis Nominated
Best Production Design Nominated
Drama Desk Awards 2003 Outstanding Costume Design La bohème Nominated
Outstanding Scenic Design of a Musical Won
Film Critics Circle of Australia Awards 2008 Best Film Australia Nominated
2013 The Great Gatsby Nominated
Best Production Design Won
2022 Best Film Elvis Nominated
Florida Film Critics Circle Awards 2013 Best Art Direction/Production Design The Great Gatsby Won
2022 Elvis Nominated
Georgia Film Critics Association Awards 2022 Best Production Design Elvis Nominated
Gold Coast Film Festival 2023 Chauvel Award † Received
Helpmann Awards 2014 Best Costume Design Strictly Ballroom The Musical Nominated
Hollywood Music in Media Awards 2022 Best Music Themed Film, Biopic, or Musical Elvis Nominated
Inside Film Awards 2009 Best Production Design Australia Nominated
International Cinephile Society Awards 2008 Best Production Design Australia Nominated
2013 The Great Gatsby Nominated
London Film Critics' Circle Awards 2022 Technical Achievement of the Year Elvis Nominated
(Costumes)
Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards 2001 Best Production Design Moulin Rouge! Won
Online Film Critics Society Awards 2022 Best Costume Design Elvis Nominated
Best Production Design Nominated
Outer Critics Circle Awards 2003 Outstanding Costume Design La bohème Nominated
Outstanding Set Design Won
Producers Guild of America Awards 2022 Best Theatrical Motion Picture Elvis Nominated
San Diego Film Critics Society Awards 2001 Best Production Design Moulin Rouge! Won
2013 The Great Gatsby Won
2022 Best Costume Design Elvis Won
Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2022 Variety Artisans Award Elvis Won
(Costume Design)
Satellite Awards 1996 Best Art Direction & Production Design Romeo + Juliet Won
2001 Moulin Rouge! Won
Best Costume Design Won
2008 Best Art Direction & Production Design Australia Won
Best Costume Design Nominated
2013 Best Art Direction & Production Design The Great Gatsby Won
Best Costume Design Nominated
2022 Best Art Direction & Production Design Elvis Nominated
Best Costume Design Nominated
Saturn Awards 2001 Best Costume Design Moulin Rouge! Nominated
2008 Australia Nominated
Seattle Film Critics Society Awards 2022 Best Costume Design Elvis Won
Best Production Design Nominated
Set Decorators Society of America Awards 2022 Best Achievement in Decor/Design of a Period Feature Film Elvis Won
St. Louis Film Critics Association Awards 2013 Best Production Design The Great Gatsby Won
2022 Best Costume Design Elvis Won
Best Production Design Won
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Awards 2013 Best Art Direction The Great Gatsby Won
2022 Elvis Nominated

Notes

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  1. ^ formerly known as "Australian Film Institute Awards"
  2. ^ formerly known as "Los Angeles Online Film Critics Society Awards" and "Hollywood Critics Association Awards"

References

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  1. ^ a b "Catherine the great". The Age. 1 April 2018. Archived from the original on 25 May 2021. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  2. ^ a b c Bullock, Maggie (3 May 2013). "Baz Luhrmann's Leading Lady". Elle. Archived from the original on 11 September 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  3. ^ a b c Hawker, Philippa (26 December 2014). "Catherine Martin is strictly sensational". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 16 November 2014. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  4. ^ Rosenfeld, Austen (19 April 2015). "The Costume Designer for "Moulin Rouge!," "Romeo + Juliet," and "The Great Gatsby" Talks Fashion". Vogue. Archived from the original on 14 July 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  5. ^ "Spotlight On: Fitzgerald, Gatsby & Catherine Martin | Tory Daily". Tory Burch. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  6. ^ a b Overington, Caroline (26 March 2002). "Two Oscars, but only one Baz". The Sydney Morning Herald. Archived from the original on 28 June 2014. Retrieved 19 November 2015.
  7. ^ a b c Bennett, Sally (15 January 2015). "20 things you didn't know about Strictly Ballroom". Herald Sun. Archived from the original on 28 May 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  8. ^ Foster, Catherine (11 August 1993). "Australian Director Baz Luhrmann Takes His Talent to Opera". The Christian Science Monitor. Archived from the original on 29 October 2020. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  9. ^ "Oscar Honors "Moulin Rouge" and Boheme Designer Catherine Martin". Playbill. 24 March 2002. Archived from the original on 3 October 2022. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
  10. ^ Marks, Peter (9 December 2002). "The 'Boheme' Next Door". The Washington Post. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  11. ^ Jones, Kenneth (9 June 2003). "Take Me Out, Hairspray Are Top Winners in 2003 Tony Awards; Long Day's Journey, Nine Also Hot". Playbill. Archived from the original on 18 August 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2018.
  12. ^ "Catherine Martin nabs Oscar nomination for Australia". The Sydney Morning Herald. 23 January 2009. Archived from the original on 30 September 2014. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
  13. ^ a b c Borrelli-Persson, Laird (20 April 2015). "Costume Designer Catherine Martin on Hip-Hop, Gatsby, and Working with Husband, Baz Luhrmann". Vogue. Archived from the original on 8 April 2017. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  14. ^ a b "The Great Gatsby's Catherine Martin on Designing the Jay-Z-Scored Party Scenes ("No Hip Thrusting") and Gatsby's "Pimped Out" Yellow Convertible". Vanity Fair. 8 May 2013. Archived from the original on 12 April 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  15. ^ a b Yang, Sarah (21 May 2013). "A Look at the Set of The Great Gatsby with Production and Costume Designer Catherine Martin". House Beautiful. Archived from the original on 10 October 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  16. ^ a b c d Whitlock, Cathy (26 April 2013). "Designer Catherine Martin Teases the Decadence of Baz Luhrmann's 'The Great Gatsby'". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on 28 April 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  17. ^ a b c d Phelan, Hayley (29 April 2013). "CATHERINE MARTIN ON CREATING THE COSTUMES FOR THE GREAT GATSBY". Fashionista. Retrieved 16 November 2015.
  18. ^ a b "Catherine Martin wins two Oscars for The Great Gatsby, makes history for most Academy Awards by an Australian". ABC. 3 March 2014. Archived from the original on 3 March 2014. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  19. ^ "Catherine Martin". Archived from the original on 24 November 2012. Retrieved 16 December 2012.
  20. ^ "Catherine Martin Rugs". Designer Rugs. Archived from the original on 18 October 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
  21. ^ a b Marshall, Alexandra (30 October 2013). "Catherine Martin: The Fashion Wizard". Glamour. Archived from the original on 2 November 2013. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  22. ^ Denley, Susan (30 October 2013). "'Great Gatsby' costumer Catherine Martin a Glamour Woman of the Year". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Archived from the original on 7 March 2016. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  23. ^ Nadoolman Landis, Deborah (2012). Hollywood Costume. New York, NY: V&A Publishing. p. 44. ISBN 978-1-4197-0982-1.
  24. ^ "Baz Luhrmann's Netflix Series 'The Get Down' To Take Production Hiatus". Deadline. 12 August 2015. Archived from the original on 2 August 2020. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  25. ^ Brow, Jason (25 January 2023). "Baz Luhrmann's Wife: Meet His Spouse Catherine Martin". Hollywood Life. Archived from the original on 22 August 2023. Retrieved 17 August 2023.
  26. ^ "Baz Luhrmann and Catherine Martin list Darlinghurst mansion for $16 million". Australian Real estate news. Archived from the original on 18 November 2015. Retrieved 17 November 2015.
  27. ^ "The 69th Academy Awards (1997) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 9 November 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  28. ^ "The 74th Academy Awards (2002) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 9 November 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  29. ^ "The 81st Academy Awards (2009) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). Archived from the original on 10 November 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  30. ^ "The 86th Academy Awards (2014) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 14 October 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  31. ^ "The 95th Academy Awards (2023) Nominees and Winners". Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Archived from the original on 14 June 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  32. ^ "The 46th British Academy Film Awards (1993) Nominees and Winners". British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Archived from the original on 29 April 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  33. ^ "The 51st British Academy Film Awards (1998) Nominees and Winners". British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Archived from the original on 14 March 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  34. ^ "The 55th British Academy Film Awards (2002) Nominees and Winners". British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Archived from the original on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  35. ^ "The 67th British Academy Film Awards (2014) Nominees and Winners". British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Archived from the original on 28 February 2014. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  36. ^ "The 76th British Academy Film Awards (2023) Nominees and Winners". British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). Archived from the original on 11 April 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  37. ^ "THE TONY AWARD NOMINATIONS / 2003". American Theatre Wing. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
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