Published: 3/5/2023 6:55:34 PM
AMHERST — The three Amherst High graduates who have had a hand in two Academy Award-nominated documentary films are not the only former students to shine at this year’s Oscars.
Sam Bromell, a 2004 ARHS graduate, is one of the screenplay writers for “Elvis,” the Elvis Presley biopic that’s received eight Academy Award nominations, including Best Picture and Best Actor.
Bromell, who has also written for the Netflix series “The Get Down,” is one of four people credited with the screenplay for “Elvis,” including the movie’s director, Baz Luhrmann.
According to IMDb (Internet Movie Data Base), Bromell also has written a series of short films, starring Judy Davis, that were exhibited as part of the Met Gala.
In a recent interview on the new NEPM show “The Fabulous 413,” Bromell told hosts Monte Belmote and Kaliis Smith that he’s known Luhrmann for about 10 years and has worked with him on a number of projects, including “The Get Down” as well as Luhrmann’s 2013 film “The Great Gatsby,” based on the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel of the same name.
Luhrmann “handed me a copy of the book and said ‘Your job is to know this book better than anyone,’” Bromell told the hosts.
Steve Pfarrer can be reached at spfarrer@gazettenet.com.