Project Still Not Officially Baz Luhrmann’s Next Film
Update: Deadline have now unveiled an early look at Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan with a photo taken during auditioning in early November.
So this is one of those confirmation stories that still has a question mark attached to it.
Following reports last week that Carey Mulligan was the frontrunner in the gestating “The Great Gatsby” adaptation, director Baz Luhrmann has confirmed to Deadline that he has officially given her the role. “Regarding the role of Daisy Buchanan, 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.’”
So hooray, this means production on the film will begin right away right? Not so fast. Despite spending a considerable amount of time work-shopping the film, Luhrmann has not yet figured out all the nuts and bolts to feel confident enough to push the project in front of cameras saying, “”There are a few elements that I feel need to be resolved before I would categorically state that this is my next film.”
Undoubtedly, there is a question of scheduling. Leading man Leonardo DiCaprio (as Jay Gatsby) will be tied up in the early part of the year on Clint Eastwood‘s “Hoover” which will begin shooting in January and February and while Eastwood works very quickly, the project will still make a start on “The Great Gatsby” not likely until mid-2011 at the earliest. Luhrmann also has a New York based musical on his potential slate and if he can’t overcome whatever hurdles he still sees in ‘Gatsby’ he could change directions and focus entirely.
Tobey Maguire (as Nick Carraway) is also expected to be joining the film, though the roles of Daisy’s husband Tom, their social companion Jordan Baker, Tom’s mistress Myrtle Wilson and her gas station owner husband George are all still yet to be cast. So one obstacle has been cleared but it appears there are still a few more on the path before “The Great Gatsby” can go into production.
