Baz Luhrmann shooting THE GREAT GATSBY down under in live-action 3D
Baz Luhrmann has finalized plans to take production on THE GREAT GATSBY down under. Luhrmann is set to begin filming his take on the story in Sydney, Australia starting this August. This is a major change of locale from the iconic story’s hometown of New York. THR reports that a deal was signed with the New South Wales (NSW) state government on Friday.
This production will be the first live-action 3D movie to be shot in NSW. Filming will done at Sydney’s Fox Studios, with Warner Bros. backing the feature and Luhrmann’s Bazmark Films producing. There have been talks about the film being shot in Sydney for several weeks. This decision comes as no surprise, since Luhrmann’s past two features (AUSTRALIA, MOULIN ROUGE) were both shot at Fox Studios.
Leonardo DiCaprio is set to play the role of Jay Gatsby, with Carey Mulligan as his Daisy Buchanan. Pre-production on the film starts next month.
This is great news for the local economy, according to NSW Premier Kristina Kenneally, as the film will inject AUS$120 million ($118 million) into the NSW economy. The shoot is scheduled to last 17 weeks and another 30 weeks will be spent on post-production.
There will be roughly 275 crew members employed during pre-production, more than 400 cast and crew will be employed during principal photography, and an estimated 150 post production and visual effects crew will also be employed.
The most beloved film version of the book (the 1974 version, starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow) is a classic and one that I can watch over and over again. I am interested to see how this film turns out, it’s hard for me to imagine this film being a good fit for the 3D format. I am sure that Luhrmann has his unique vision, but let’s hope it looks good and does justice to the novel and last film. The big question is how Australia will look doubling for New York. I am personally having trouble picturing it, but then again I have never been there.
What are your thoughts? Are you excited for this film?
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