Baz Luhrmann has begun shooting his 3D adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby in Sydney with stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Macguire and Carey Mulligan, Warner announced today.
The Great Gatsby follows Fitzgerald-like, would-be writer Nick Carraway (Macguire) as he leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922, an era of loosening morals, glittering jazz and bootleg kings. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby (DiCaprio), and across the bay from his cousin, Daisy (Mulligan), and her philandering, blue-blooded husband, Tom Buchanan (Joel Edgerton). It is thus that Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super rich, their illusions, loves and deceits. As Nick bears witness, within and without the world he inhabits, he pens a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams and high-octane tragedy, and holds a mirror to our own modern times and struggles.
The film also stars Isla Fisher and Jason Clarke as Myrtle and George Wilson; and newcomer Elizabeth Debicki as Jordan Baker. Costume design will, of course, be done by Luhrmann’s Oscar-winning partner Catherine Martin with an adapted screenplay by regular collaborator Craig Pearce.
Luhrmann said in a press release: “Fitzgerald loved the movies and was a passionate believer in the power of cinema. The Great Gatsby has been adapted for the screen no less than four times. Fitzgerald’s story defies time and geography. The vision and the goal of our remarkable cast and creatives is to do justice to the deftness of Fitzgerald’s telling, and illuminate its big ideas and humanity. This is our challenge and our adventure.”
The Great Gatsby will be distributed in Australia by Roadshow Films.
