The Great Gatsby (2012 film)
Encyclopedia
The Great Gatsby is an upcoming drama romance film
adaptation of writer F. Scott Fitzgerald
's highly praised 1925 novel of the same name
. It will be directed by Baz Luhrmann
, starring Leonardo DiCaprio
as Jay Gatsby and Carey Mulligan
as Daisy Buchanan, as well as Tobey Maguire
as Nick Carraway. Amitabh Bachchan
as Meyer Wolfsheim and Brendan Maclean
as Klipspringer are set to make their Hollywood debuts in this film.
Filming began on September 5, 2011 in Australia
. The film is set to be released on December 25, 2012 by Warner Bros. Pictures.
's acclaimed 1925 novel of the same name
, There had also been another film project that halted when a rival movie with director Oliver Stone
and actor Colin Farrel made it into production first. In December 2008 Variety magazine reported that this film adaption of the book was to be made with Australia
(2008) filmmaker Baz Luhrmann
set to direct it. The publication reported that the director intended to focus on the remake, which was without a script and studio at the time, after Australias awards run concluded. 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.
. He is to play the lead male role of Jay Gatsby, a young, mysterious millionaire who has shady business connections and an obsessive love for Daisy Buchanan, whom he had met when he was a young officer in World War I
. Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire
has been cast to play DiCaprio's character's friend, Nick Carraway, a bond salesman who serves as the narrator to 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 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 plans 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.
Romance film
Romance films are love stories that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate involvement of the main characters and the journey that their love takes through courtship or marriage. Romance films make the love story or the search for love the main plot focus...
adaptation of writer F. Scott Fitzgerald
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
's highly praised 1925 novel of the same name
The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby is a novel by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. First published in1925, it is set on Long Island's North Shore and in New York City from spring to autumn of 1922....
. It will be directed by Baz Luhrmann
Baz Luhrmann
Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann is an Australian film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for The Red Curtain Trilogy, which includes his films Strictly Ballroom, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!...
, starring Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator , and has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television...
as Jay Gatsby and Carey Mulligan
Carey Mulligan
Carey Hannah Mulligan is an English actress. She made her film debut as Kitty Bennet in Pride & Prejudice . She had roles in numerous British programmes and, in 2007, made her Broadway debut in The Seagull to critical acclaim....
as Daisy Buchanan, as well as Tobey Maguire
Tobey Maguire
Tobias Vincent "Tobey" Maguire is an American actor and producer. He began his career in the 1980s, and has achieved his greatest fame for his role as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films.-Early life:...
as Nick Carraway. Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan
Amitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...
as Meyer Wolfsheim and Brendan Maclean
Brendan Maclean
Brendan Maclean is a Sydney, Australia based national radio announcer, actor and critically awarded songwriter.-Music and Acting Career:In 2007 Maclean won Australia's National Youth Week People's Choice award for his debut record "Airport People"...
as Klipspringer are set to make their Hollywood debuts in this film.
Filming began on September 5, 2011 in Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
. The film is set to be released on December 25, 2012 by Warner Bros. Pictures.
Cast
- Leonardo DiCaprioLeonardo DiCaprioLeonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator , and has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television...
as Jay Gatsby - Tobey MaguireTobey MaguireTobias Vincent "Tobey" Maguire is an American actor and producer. He began his career in the 1980s, and has achieved his greatest fame for his role as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films.-Early life:...
as Nick Carraway - Carey MulliganCarey MulliganCarey Hannah Mulligan is an English actress. She made her film debut as Kitty Bennet in Pride & Prejudice . She had roles in numerous British programmes and, in 2007, made her Broadway debut in The Seagull to critical acclaim....
as Daisy Buchanan - Joel EdgertonJoel EdgertonJoel Edgerton is an Australian film and television actor.-Early life:Edgerton was born in Blacktown, Sydney, to a homemaker mother and a solicitor/property developer father, Michael. His brother, Nash Edgerton, is a stuntman and filmmaker...
as Tom Buchanan - Isla FisherIsla FisherIsla Lang Fisher is an actress and author. She began acting on Australian television, on the short-lived soap opera Paradise Beach before playing Shannon Reed on the soap opera Home and Away...
as Myrtle Wilson - Elizabeth DebickiElizabeth Debicki- External links :...
as Jordan Baker - Jason ClarkeJason Clarke (actor)Jason Clarke is an Australian actor.-Life and career:Clarke has made many television appearances, including Murder Call, Wildside, Home and Away, Blue Heelers, All Saints, Farscape, White Collar Blue and Stingers...
as George B. Wilson - Brendan MacleanBrendan MacleanBrendan Maclean is a Sydney, Australia based national radio announcer, actor and critically awarded songwriter.-Music and Acting Career:In 2007 Maclean won Australia's National Youth Week People's Choice award for his debut record "Airport People"...
as Klipspringer - Callan McAuliffeCallan McAuliffeCallan McAuliffe is an Australian actor. He starred in the American feature films Flipped and I Am Number Four. He will also star in the 2012 films, The Great Gatsby and Paradise Lost.-Life and career:...
as Young Jay Gatsby - Amitabh BachchanAmitabh BachchanAmitabh Bachchan is an Indian film actor. He first gained popularity in the early 1970s as the "angry young man" of Hindi cinema, and has since appeared in over 180 Indian films in a career spanning more than four decades...
as Meyer Wolfsheim - Sam Davis as a Barman
Development
Prior to this film there had already been a Broadway play and numerous film adaptations of F. Scott FitzgeraldF. Scott Fitzgerald
Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...
's acclaimed 1925 novel of the same name
The Great Gatsby
The Great Gatsby is a novel by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. First published in1925, it is set on Long Island's North Shore and in New York City from spring to autumn of 1922....
, There had also been another film project that halted when a rival movie with director Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
and actor Colin Farrel made it into production first. In December 2008 Variety magazine reported that this film adaption of the book was to be made with Australia
Australia (2008 film)
Australia is a 2008 epic historical romance film directed by Baz Luhrmann and starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman. It is the second-highest grossing Australian film of all time, behind Crocodile Dundee. The screenplay was written by Luhrmann and screenwriter Stuart Beattie, with Ronald Harwood...
(2008) filmmaker Baz Luhrmann
Baz Luhrmann
Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann is an Australian film director, screenwriter, and producer best known for The Red Curtain Trilogy, which includes his films Strictly Ballroom, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!...
set to direct it. The publication reported that the director intended to focus on the remake, which was without a script and studio at the time, after Australias awards run concluded. 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
The Hollywood Reporter
Formerly a daily trade magazine, The Hollywood Reporter re-launched in late 2010 as a unique hybrid publication serving the entertainment industry and a consumer audience...
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
Sony Pictures Entertainment
Sony Pictures Entertainment, Inc. is the television and film production/distribution unit of Japanese multinational technology and media conglomerate Sony...
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 stated that the results from the movie's workshop process of auditioning actors for roles in The Great Gatsby had been "very encouraging" to him. Despite this movie being an adaption of an American book, most of the actors cast are Australian. The first person to be cast was Leonardo DiCaprioLeonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator , and has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television...
. He is to play the lead male role of Jay Gatsby, a young, mysterious millionaire who has shady business connections and an obsessive love for Daisy Buchanan, whom he had met when he was a young officer in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. Spider-Man star Tobey Maguire
Tobey Maguire
Tobias Vincent "Tobey" Maguire is an American actor and producer. He began his career in the 1980s, and has achieved his greatest fame for his role as Peter Parker/Spider-Man in Sam Raimi's Spider-Man films.-Early life:...
has been cast to play DiCaprio's character's friend, Nick Carraway, a bond salesman who serves as the narrator to the story.
Reports linked Amanda Seyfried
Amanda Seyfried
Amanda Michelle Seyfried is an American actress, singer-songwriter and former child model. She began her career as a child model when she was 11, and at 15 began her career as an actress, starting off with uncredited roles and moving on to recurring roles on As the World Turns and All My...
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
Keira Knightley
Keira Christina Knightley born 26 March 1985) is an English actress and model. She began acting as a child and came to international notice in 2002 after co-starring in the film Bend It Like Beckham...
, Rebecca Hall
Rebecca Hall
Rebecca Maria Hall is an English actress.In 2003, Hall won the Ian Charleson Award for her debut stage performance in a production of Mrs. Warren's Profession...
, Amanda Seyfried
Amanda Seyfried
Amanda Michelle Seyfried is an American actress, singer-songwriter and former child model. She began her career as a child model when she was 11, and at 15 began her career as an actress, starting off with uncredited roles and moving on to recurring roles on As the World Turns and All My...
, Blake Lively
Blake Lively
Blake Christina Lively is an American actress and model who stars as Serena van der Woodsen in the television teen drama series Gossip Girl...
, Abbie Cornish
Abbie Cornish
Abbie Cornish is an Australian actress. She is well known in Australia for a number of film and television roles, particularly her award-winning lead performance in 2004's Somersault, and internationally for her role as Fanny Brawne in Bright Star and her appearance as Sweet Pea in Sucker Punch.-...
, Michelle Williams
Michelle Williams (actress)
Michelle Ingrid Williams is an American actress. After starting her career with television guest appearances in the early 1990s, Williams achieved recognition for her role as Jen Lindley on the WB television teen drama Dawson's Creek, which she played from 1998 to 2003...
and Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson
Scarlett Johansson is an American actress, model and singer.Johansson made her film debut in North and was later nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her performance in Manny & Lo . She rose to further prominence with her roles in The Horse Whisperer and Ghost World...
, as well as considering Natalie Portman
Natalie Portman
Natalie Hershlag , better known by her stage name Natalie Portman, is an actress with dual American and Israeli citizenship. Her first role was as an orphan taken in by a hitman in the 1994 French action film Léon, but major success came when she was cast as Padmé Amidala in the Star Wars prequel...
, for Daisy. Soon after, with her commitment to Cameron Crowe
Cameron Crowe
Cameron Bruce Crowe is an American screenwriter and film director. Before moving into the film industry, Crowe was a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine, for which he still frequently writes....
's We Bought a Zoo, Johansson pulled out of the running due potential scheduling conflicts with her upcoming film. Not too long later it was reported that British actress Carey Mulligan
Carey Mulligan
Carey Hannah Mulligan is an English actress. She made her film debut as Kitty Bennet in Pride & Prejudice . She had roles in numerous British programmes and, in 2007, made her Broadway debut in The Seagull to critical acclaim....
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
Red carpet
A red carpet is traditionally used to mark the route taken by heads of state on ceremonial and formal occasions, and has in recent decades been extended to use by VIPs and celebrities at formal events.- History :...
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
Ben Affleck
Benjamin Géza Affleck-Boldt , better known as Ben Affleck, is an American actor, film director, writer, and producer. He became known with his performances in Kevin Smith's films such as Mallrats and Chasing Amy...
was in talks about playing the key role of Tom Buchanan, but had to pass due to a scheduling conflict with Argo, an Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
political hostage thriller he plans 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
Joel Edgerton
Joel Edgerton is an Australian film and television actor.-Early life:Edgerton was born in Blacktown, Sydney, to a homemaker mother and a solicitor/property developer father, Michael. His brother, Nash Edgerton, is a stuntman and filmmaker...
. Bradley Cooper
Bradley Cooper
Bradley Cooper is an American film, theater, and television actor. He is known for his roles in the films The Hangover, The A-Team, and Limitless. In 2011, People magazine named Cooper "Sexiest Man Alive".-Early life:...
had previously lobbied for the part and Luke Evans
Luke Evans (actor)
Luke Evans is a Welsh theatre and film actor. He is known to theatregoers for his stage roles in Rent, Miss Saigon Small Change and Piaf, and to filmgoers for his roles in The Three Musketeers, Clash of the Titans, and Tamara Drewe.-Early life:Luke Evans was born and raised in Aberbargoed, a small...
was a major contender for Tom. Another Australian actor to land a part was Isla Fisher
Isla Fisher
Isla Lang Fisher is an actress and author. She began acting on Australian television, on the short-lived soap opera Paradise Beach before playing Shannon Reed on the soap opera Home and Away...
who was cast to play Myrtle Wilson. Australian newcomer Elizabeth Debicki
Elizabeth Debicki
- External links :...
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
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
was the right Hamlet for his time. Who would Hamlet be today? Same with a Jordan or a Daisy". In June 2011, Jason Clarke
Jason Clarke
Jason Clarke is a writer and web developer living in Orono, Maine.His first book, Michael Moore Is a Big Fat Stupid White Man, co-written with David T. Hardy, was released in June 2004 and spent six weeks on The New York Times Bestseller list for Hardcover Nonfiction...
was cast as George B. Wilson.