The Great Gatsby Information

The Great Gatsby is an upcoming 2013 romantic drama film. An adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel of the same name, the film is co-written and directed by Baz Luhrmann, and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher and Jason Clarke. It follows the life and times of millionaire Jay Gatsby and his neighbor Nick, who recounts his encounter with Gatsby at the height of the Roaring Twenties.

Filming began on September 5, 2011, in Sydney, Australia. Originally scheduled for a December 2012 release, on August 6, 2012, it was reported that the film was being moved to a summer 2013 release date, due to conflicts in the production schedule. In September 2012, this date was confirmed to be May 10, 2013. The film is scheduled to open the 66th Cannes Film Festival.

Cast

• Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby
• Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway
• Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan
• Joel Edgerton as Tom Buchanan
• Isla Fisher as Myrtle Wilson
• Jason Clarke as George B. Wilson
• Adelaide Clemens as Catherine
• Elizabeth Debicki as Jordan Baker
• Amitabh Bachchan as Meyer Wolfsheim
• Brendan Maclean as Ewing Klipspringer
• Callan McAuliffe as Young Jay Gatsby
• Sam Davis as a Barman
• Gus Murray as Teddy Barton
• Stephen James King as Nelson
• Jens Holck as a Monk
• Max Cullen as Owl Eyes
• Kasia Stelmach as Geraldine Peacock
• Felix Williamson as Henry
• Alison Benstead as Anita Loos
• Chris Proctor as William
• Kate Mulvany as Mrs. McKee
• Conor Fogarty as Gatsby's Butler

Production

Development

Prior to this film there had already been a Broadway play and numerous film adaptations of F. Scott Fitzgerald's acclaimed 1925 novel of the same name. In December 2008, Variety magazine reported that this film adaption of the book was to be made with Australia filmmaker Baz Luhrmann set to direct it.

When asked about the movie, Luhrmann stated that he planned the remake to be more timely due to its theme of criticizing the often irresponsible lifestyles of wealthy people. In order to commit to the project, in September 2010 Luhrmann moved with his family from Australia to Chelsea, New York, where he had intended to film The Great Gatsby. While Luhrmann was at the Consumer Electronics Show in January 2011, he told The Hollywood Reporter that he had been workshopping The Great Gatsby in 3D, though he had not yet decided whether to shoot in the format. In late January 2011, Luhrmann showed doubt about staying on board with the project, before deciding to stay.

In 2010 it was reported that the movie was being set up by Sony Pictures Entertainment but by 2011 Warner Bros. was close to acquiring a deal to finance and take worldwide distribution of The Great Gatsby, according to Deadline Hollywood.

Casting

Luhrmann said the results from the movie's workshop process of auditioning actors for roles in The Great Gatsby had been "very encouraging" to him. Leonardo DiCaprio was cast first in the title role of Jay Gatsby, the 32-year-old mysterious millionaire with shady business connections and an obsessive love for 23-year-old Daisy Buchanan, whom he met when he was a 27-year-old officer and she as an 18-year-old at the beginning of World War I. Tobey Maguire has been cast to play 29-year-old bond salesman Nick Carraway, Daisy's once-removed cousin and narrator of the story.

Reports linked Amanda Seyfried to the lead role of Daisy Buchanan, an attractive, effervescent and superficial young woman, in October 2010. The next month Deadline Hollywood reported that Luhrmann had been auditioning numerous actresses, including Keira Knightley, Rebecca Hall, Amanda Seyfried, Blake Lively, Abbie Cornish, Michelle Williams and Scarlett Johansson, as well as considering Natalie Portman, for Daisy. Soon after, with her commitment to Cameron Crowe's We Bought a Zoo, Johansson pulled out of the running due to potential scheduling conflicts with her upcoming film. Not too long later it was reported that British actress Carey Mulligan had not only become a contender, but the front runner for the part.

On November 15, Luhrmann announced that Mulligan had been cast to play Daisy after reading for the part on November 2, in New York. She got the role shortly after Luhrmann showed her audition footage to Sony Pictures Entertainment executives Amy Pascal and Doug Belgrad, who were impressed by the actress' command of the character. Mulligan burst into tears after learning of her casting via a phone call from Luhrmann, who informed her of his decision while she was on the red carpet at an event in New York. Regarding the casting of Daisy, Luhrmann said "I was privileged to explore the character with some of the world's most talented actresses, each one bringing their own particular interpretation, all of which were legitimate and exciting. However, specific to this particular production of The Great Gatsby, I was thrilled to pick up the phone an hour ago to the young Oscar-nominated British actress Carey Mulligan and say to her: 'Hello, Daisy Buchanan.'"

In April, Ben Affleck was in talks about playing the key role of Tom Buchanan, but had to pass due to a scheduling conflict with Argo, an Iran political hostage thriller he planned to direct next. His project was supposed to begin production in September, while The Great Gatsby is expected to begin a month earlier. Several weeks later, Affleck was replaced by Joel Edgerton. Bradley Cooper had previously lobbied for the part and Luke Evans was a major contender for Tom. Another Australian actor to land a part was Isla Fisher who was cast to play Myrtle Wilson. Australian newcomer Elizabeth Debicki won the part of Jordan Baker, love interest of Nick Carraway (Maguire), right after graduating from Victorian College of the Arts. When casting for the supporting role of Jordan, the filmmaker said that the character must be "as thoroughly examined as Daisy, for this production, for this time", adding, "It's like 'Olivier's Hamlet was the right Hamlet for his time. Who would Hamlet be today? Same with a Jordan or a Daisy". In June 2011, Jason Clarke was cast as George B. Wilson.

Filming

Initially, The Great Gatsby was planned to be filmed in New York, where the novel is set, starting in June 2011. Several months earlier the director instead opted to have the principal photography happen in Sydney, some part of filming took place in Manly at the International College of Management, Sydney. According to the then Premier of New South Wales Kristina Keneally, the movie will earn the NSW economy A$120 million (US$125 million), with the shoot expected to last seventeen weeks and another thirty weeks to be spent on post-production. A reported 275-person crew will be employed during the pre-production stage with more than 400 cast and crew being employed during principal photography. Another estimated 150 post-production and visual effects crew will also be employed. Filming began on September 5, 2011 at Fox Studios Australia in Sydney.

The shoot finished on December 22, 2011 with additional shots filmed in January 2012.

Marketing

The first trailer for The Great Gatsby was released on , 2012, almost a year before the film's release. The songs featured on the trailer were "No Church in the Wild" by Jay-Z and Kanye West and a cover of U2's "Love Is Blindness" performed by Jack White.