Whether you hated or adored Baz Luhrmann’s film Australia, are you looking forward to his remake of The Great Gatsby?
My sense is that Baz’s fans are eager to embrace his reinterpretation of the classic F.
Scott Fitzgerald novel, which was adapted on screen most memorably by director
Jack Clayton in the 1974 movie which starred Robert Redford and Mia Farrow.
But will folks who haven’t been enamoured of Luhrmann’s previous, highly theatrical
efforts, or those who loved the novel and earlier screen versions accept his transition
to a more conventionally-framed romantic drama set in the 1920s, albeit in 3D?
Luhrmann’s extravaganza (reported budget $127 million) opens in Australia on May
30 after its US debut on May 10 and the international premiere opening the Cannes
Film Festival on May 15. There seems to be genuine excitement among executives at
Warner Bros. and Village Roadshow, the co-producers, who saw a 2D cut of the
movie in Los Angeles last month.
That optimism is backed up by one member of the crew who tells SBS Film, “I think
it’s the real deal. It might turn a lot of heads. It’s an unusual Baz Luhrmann film, the
straightest and most normal film he’s ever done.” But he adds a caveat, “For those
who aren’t fans of Baz Luhrmann, I’m not sure this will change their minds.”
That person has seen the 2D version but quotes a colleague who has seen the 3D
rendering as saying “it’s a smack in the face,” meaning a positive impact. The
technician describes the performance of Joel Edgerton as the wealthy Tom
Buchanan, whose wife Daisy (Carey Mulligan) has an affair with Jay Gatsby
(Leonardo DiCaprio), as a “tour de force”.
Insiders say one of the most impressive scenes is a confrontation in New York’s Plaza
Hotel where all the principal characters gather to escape the “heat” of the Buchanan
house. However, some of the CGI-created shots were described as “painterly” and not
realistic, similar to the fake scenes of Darwin in Baz’s Australia.
The on-screen chemistry between DiCaprio’s Gatsby and Mulligan’s Daisy is said to
have quite a frisson, far more credible than the romance between Nicole Kidman and
Hugh Jackman’s characters in Luhrmann’s last film. One sequence in which the two
actors ad-libbed, with spontaneous laughter, impressed the crew, as did another
scene in which Gatsby throws his coloured shirts around his bedroom.
Baz and Leo reportedly disagreed at times over how the actor should play Gatsby,
hardly an unusual occurrence on a film set when highly-strung creative types don’t
see eye to eye.
Some of the more mature crew members watched Clayton’s movie during the
production. A few of their younger colleagues tried to sit through the
Redford/Farrow version but gave up after 20 minutes, possibly bored by the
filmmaking style of the 1970s.
Elizabeth Debicki is said to be a knockout as golfer Jordan Baker, who is pursued by
the book’s narrator Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire), a bond trader and former Yale
classmate of Tom’s.
Veteran actor Amitabh Bachchan, who plays Jewish mafia head Meyer Wolfsheim,
gave a glowing account of his experiences during filming. “The sets were an eye
opener for me,” the Indian actor wrote on his blog.
“Grand and colossal in its presence and opulence… All about was like an imagination
fructifying to reality. The sincerity of all that worked, including the main stars, the
earnestness of the director, his crew and the unimaginable detail of authenticity, all
added up to an experience which when I returned to my room, could not fathom!!… I
can say that in my 44 years and 180 films I had never worked in such a set up.”
But the expectations among many filmgoers in the US and here are, to put it mildly,
are mixed. When Deadline.com posted the latest trailer, the reactions were sharply
divided.
The positive comments ranged from “No other word for it – sensational!,” and “Not
sure I want to see it in 3D, but this looks spectacular” to “Leo’s a hard worker and
this seems to be a really creative for him and Baz. Pumped!”
The naysayers were vitriolic. ”An overblown, confusing and boring movie made from
the most overrated piece of fiction of the last century. Sounds like a winner!” said
one.
“This will end up exactly like every other Baz Luhrmann film – an indecipherable hot
mess. All style, no substance,” opined another sceptic. “Awful would be too kind…
poor Scott … another film travesty of his great American novel! So, so sad,” said
another.
So what might the romantic drama earn at Australian cinemas? Well, for all its detractors and carping critics, Australia raked in $37.5 million, a fine result, although Rupert Murdoch admitted 20th Century Fox ended up making a small profit on the film thanks to the Australian taxpayer via the 40 percent producer rebate.
The Gatsby remake is said to skew heavily towards females, which might limit its box
office potential slightly. Roadshow is banking that the film, which runs nearly two
and a half hours, will appeal to Baz’s admirers who enjoyed Strictly Ballroom,
Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge!, if not Australia quite so much, as well as the
legion of DiCaprio fans and those who read the novel.
On the upside, no other female-oriented mainstream film is opening in June so
Gatsby has a lot of clean air. Maybe $25 million-$30 million is achievable.
Aaddendum: Box Office Mojo/Wikipedia on Baz’s global takings [in $US, not
counting DVD etc]:
1992 Strictly Ballroom: Budget: $3m – US + Aust Box Office: $33m.
1996 Romeo + Juliet: Budget: $14.5m – Global Box Office: $147m
2001 Moulin Rouge: Budget: $52.5m – Global Box Office: $179m
2008 Australia: Budget: $130.5m [but $78m after Australian Government rebates] –
Global Box Office: $211m.
Don Groves / 15 April 2013 / SBS FILM