The Great Gatsby (2013 Film) Baz Luhrmann

Development

Prior to the 2013 adaptation, there were four earlier film adaptations of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel of the same name, including a now-lost 1926 version, a 1949 version, a 1974 version, and a 2000 made for TV version.[12][13] In December 2008, Variety reported that Baz Luhrmann would direct this latest adaptation.[14] Luhrmann stated that he planned it to be more up-to-date due to its theme of criticizing the often irresponsible lifestyles of wealthy people.[15]

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.[16] In late January 2011, Luhrmann showed doubt about staying on board with the project but decided to stay.[17] In 2010, it was reported that the film was being set up by Sony Pictures Entertainment.[18] However, by 2011, Warner Bros. was close to acquiring a deal to finance and take worldwide distribution of The Great Gatsby.[19]

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. It is the second time Luhrmann and DiCaprio worked together; DiCaprio costarred in Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet (1996). Tobey Maguire was cast to play Nick Carraway,[20] marking the second collaboration between Maguire and DiCaprio following This Boy's Life.[21]

Initial reports linked Amanda Seyfried to the lead role of Daisy Buchanan, in October 2010.[22] The next month Deadline Hollywood reported that Luhrmann had been auditioning numerous actresses, including Seyfried, Keira Knightley, Jessica Alba, Rebecca Hall, Blake Lively, Abbie Cornish, Michelle Williams and Scarlett Johansson, as well as considering Natalie Portman, for Daisy.[18] Soon afterward, with her commitment to Cameron Crowe's We Bought a Zoo (2011), Johansson pulled out.[23]

On November 15, Luhrmann announced that Carey Mulligan had been cast to play Daisy after reading for the part on November 2 in New York.[20] Mulligan won 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.[20] 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. 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.'"[20]

In April 2011, Ben Affleck was in talks about playing the role of Tom Buchanan but had to pass due to a scheduling conflict with Argo (2012).[24] Bradley Cooper had previously lobbied for the part,[25] and Luke Evans was a major contender.[26] In May, Joel Edgerton was confirmed in the part of Tom.[25] Isla Fisher was cast to play Myrtle Wilson.[27]

Australian newcomer Elizabeth Debicki won the part of Jordan Baker.[28][29] While casting for the supporting role of Jordan, Luhrmann said 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".[30]

In June 2011, Jason Clarke was cast as George B. Wilson.[31] Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan appears as Meyer Wolfshiem in his first Hollywood role.[32] Bachchan worked for free, as a favor to Luhrmann.[33]

Screenplay

The screenplay by Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce made five notable changes to the novel's plot: Nick Carraway writes from a sanitarium, having checked himself in some time after the summer with Gatsby; he flirts with Jordan Baker but, unlike what happens in the novel, he's "too smitten with Gatsby to notice her"; Gatsby himself makes a grand entrance, whereas in the novel some time passes as they talk before Carraway realizes who he is; some of the racism or antisemitism has been toned down or removed; finally, Gatsby dies thinking his pursuit of Daisy was successful.[34]

Filming

Principal photography was shot in Sydney. Filming began on September 5, 2011, at Fox Studios Australia and finished on December 22, 2011, with additional shots filmed in January 2012.[35][36] The film was shot with Red Epic digital cameras and Zeiss Ultra Prime lenses.[37] The "Valley of Ashes", the desolate land located between West Egg and New York was shot in Balmain, New South Wales.[38]

Manly Business School in Manly, New South Wales—known as Saint Patrick's Seminary—doubled as Gatsby's mansion.[38] Palm trees had to be digitally removed in post-production to convey a faithfulness to the Long Island setting.[38] Nick's house was located in Centennial Park.[38] Daisy's house was Gowan Brae, a historic mansion at The King's School, Parramatta.

Sets

In creating the background scenery for the world depicted in the film, designer Catherine Martin stated that the team styled the interior sets of Jay Gatsby's mansion with gilded opulence in a style that blended establishment taste with Art Deco.[39] The long-destroyed Beacon Towers, thought by scholars to have partially inspired Fitzgerald's Jay Gatsby estate, was used as a main inspiration for Gatsby's home in the film.[39][40]

The location used to film the exterior of Jay Gatsby's mansion was the college building of the International College of Management, Sydney.[41] Some inspiration was also drawn from other Gold Coast, Long Island, mansions, including Oheka Castle and La Selva Mansion.[42] Features evoking the Long Island mansions were added in post-production.[42]

The inspiration for the film version of the Buchanan estate came from Old Westbury Gardens in Old Westbury, New York.[39] The mansion exterior was built on a soundstage, with digital enhancements added.[42] The interior sets for the Buchanan mansion were inspired by the style of Hollywood Regency.[39]

The home of Nick Carraway was conceived as an intimate cottage, in contrast with the grandeur of the neighboring Gatsby mansion. Objects chosen adhered to a central theme of what the designers saw as classic Long Island. The architecture conjures American Arts and Crafts, with Gustav Stickley-type furnishings inside and an Adirondack-style swing out.[42]

The opening scene was filmed from Rivendell Child, Adolescent and Family Unit in Concord, Sydney, only a few kilometers from Sydney 2000 Olympic Stadium.

Costumes

Costume designer Catherine Martin approached many apparel designers to craft the film's costumes.[43][44] In conjunction with Miuccia Prada, Martin achieved the iconic 1920s look by altering pieces from the Prada and Miu Miu fashion archives.[44] Many of the fashions from archives were concepts from runways and fashion magazines that were never worn by women in real life.[43] Martin and Prada worked closely together to create pieces with "the European flair that was emerging amongst the aristocratic East Coast crowds in the Twenties".[44] Martin worked with Brooks Brothers for the costumes worn by the male cast members and extras.[44] Tiffany & Co. provided the jewelry for the film.[44]

Costume historians, however, noted that the costumes were inauthentic as Martin and Prada modernized the 1920s-era fashions to resemble 2010s fashions.[43] Most prominently, the women were clothed to emphasize their breasts, such as Daisy's push-up bra, in contrast to the flat-chested fashions of the era.[43] Martin admitted that she took the styles of the 1920s and made them sexier for a modern audience.[43] "If you look at the fashion illustrations, as opposed to what actually ended up being made, you will see that the '20s were all about sex," Martin stated in a Collector's Weekly interview. "It was the first time that women basically wore no undergarments and not even a [garter] belt."[43]

Alice Jurow of the Art Deco Society observed that the film's highly stylized costume designs reflected contemporary audiences' inaccurate expectations and misconceptions of 1922 fashions.[43] "When people say 'the Gatsby era,' there's definitely a mid-'20s concept that comes to mind, with the shorter skirts and the real archetypal flapper look," explained Jurow. "But 1922, it was the Jazz Age in terms of music, but the fashions hadn't quite caught up yet. The skirts were still mid-calf, even approaching ankle length. Clothes were a little more graceful and ornate and flowy. People would be startled and disturbed if anybody actually did real 1922 fashion in the production of Great Gatsby. It’s just not how we picture those characters."[43]