Ever since Baz Luhrmann announced his plans to do a remake of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic novel, The Great Gatsby, there’s been tons of speculation on how he’ll choose to tell the story and how the roles will be casted. Most importantly, which two actors will Luhrmann choose to play the male leads, Nick Carraway and Jay Gatsby.
There’s been some buzz about Luhrmann bringing back actors he’s collaborated with in the past to help tell the epic story of Jay Gatsby and his long lost love, Daisy Buchannan. However, Luhrmann says he’s not currently focusing on casting, but rather the overall direction of the film. If he is casting from a pool of actors he’s worked with before, though, there’s a chance that Leonardo DiCaprio may be brought in to play the film’s narrator, Nick Carraway.
If this is the case, casting DiCaprio to be the film’s driving force instead of the tragic antagonist, Jay Gatsby, would be sort of strange. The 1974 version of The Great Gatsby used film great Robert Redford to play Gatsby. DiCaprio has the same sort of presence, acting abilities and looks to make an already sympathetic character beloved once again for a new generation.
Luhrmann has also said that he’s currently focusing on the relevance of the story in today’s current economic climate. Luhrmann revealed to MTV News:
“It’s a great story,” he said. “A great iconic story and if you think about it, it truly reveals the time we’re in. It might explain a bit of what we’ve been through. If you reread it now you’ll see how powerful and meaningful it is in this time.”
Regardless of who Luhrmann casts in the film, one thing’s for sure: Luhrmann will do (IMO) what he does best and create a film that pays homage to a period in time, while still upholding the integrity of the story’s initial intent. Let’s hope this actually happens. Most of the time when a classic story is adapted for film the intent of the author is sacrificed in order to create a box office smash.
What’s your take on Baz Luhrmann directing The Great Gatsby? Do you think Leonardo DiCaprio would make a better Gatsby, Carraway, or neither? Let us know in the comments!
source: MTV Movies Blog
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