Earlier in the month, Baz Luhrmann wasn’t sure if he was going to continue pre-production on his proposed adaptation of The Great Gatsby, which is set to star Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, and Carey Mulligan. Luhrmann is known for extensively workshopping his productions, testing them out and continually reworking them before he decides whether to make them or not, and it seemed that despite the fact there had even been an image released for the film (of Carey Mulligan as Daisy, taken at one of the auditions/workshops), the director might abandon the flick.
However, soon after he declared his indecisiveness in regards to moving ahead on the project, Warner Bros. announced they were picking up the distribution rights on the film. Now it has been announced that Baz Luhrmann will indeed move forward on what he calls a “very personal project”. And it will be shot in his hometown of Sydney, Australia, at Fox’s studio there. It’s an interesting move, as whie Luhrmann is an Aussie who’s shot all his earlier movies in the country, The Great Gatsby is a quintessentially American tale, set in New York and Long Island.
THR reports that The Great Gatsby will begin shooting later this year, with the director utilising 3D for the first time in his career (it’ll also be the first live action 3D movie shot in New South Wales). In March, he will continue with pre-production, and then in August he will shoot for seventeen weeks. This will be followed by 30 weeks of post-production work.
Australian Premier Kristina Keneally announced the decision to shoot in Sydney a “big win” for the country, saying “This comes at a good time for the film industry. Australia was thought to be losing international filmmaking due to the strong Aussie dollar. The Great Gatsby will be a boon for the NSW film industry, particularly given Baz Luhrmann ‘s commitment to maximizing use of local cast, crew and visual effects expertise.”
The film should arrive in cinemas next year.