Jake Gyllenhaal began, Gyllenhaal praised his encouraging direction of the actors and sensitive approach to the material. At the Directors Guild of America Awards on January 28, 2006, Gyllenhaal also praised Lee for "his humbleness and his respect for everyone around him". When asked about his kissing scenes with Heath Ledger in "Brokeback Mountain", Gyllenhaal said, "As an actor, I think we need to embrace the times we feel most uncomfortable." When asked about the more intimate scenes with Ledger, Gyllenhaal likened them to "doing a sex scene with a woman I'm not particularly attracted to". Following the release of "Brokeback Mountain",
Moulin Rouge! In this way, Christian would appear to the other characters to be ahead-of-his-time as a musician and writer. Leonardo DiCaprio, who worked with Luhrmann on "Romeo + Juliet", auditioned for the role of Christian. Luhrmann also considered younger actors for the role, including Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal before Ewan McGregor won the part. Courtney Love auditioned for the role of Satine and assisted in clearing licensing rights for "Smells Like Teen Spirit" to be used in the film. Production began in November 1999 and was completed in May 2000, with a budget of $52.5 million. Filming generally went smoothly,