It seems Baz Luhrmann isn’t as ardent as the NSW government when it comes to discussing the details of The Great Gatsby.
Baz was the king of evasion in a recent interview with NY Mag’s Vulture – withholding production deets and reiterating his noncommittal attitude to the whole thing. Which is very odd, considering the noise made by both the Australian media and NSW state government. With the latter predicting a $120 million injection into the NSW economy and more than 800 jobs if the production goes ahead as planned.
The line of questioning was aimed sharply at Luhrmann’s vagueness. Namely his refusal to pin-point a location or offer a loose start date. When asked why he was shooting in Australia when the majority of his team was based in Brooklyn, Baz replied: “That’s a great question. I’m not doing Gatsby right now for this reason. Because despite what might be out there, I have made no comment about anything. So until I say it, it’s not said, you know.”
The novel is set on Long Island in New York – a fairly distinct location – and you’d think in order to accurately capture the zeitgeist you would film it on Long Island. Not on a back-lot at Fox Studios in Sydney’s Moore Park.
NSW has a sketchy background when it comes to championing production coups before the check has been signed on the dotted line. In 2009, then Premier Andrew Rees announced with impetus that the state had successfully bagged the production rights for the Green Latern. The film was shot in Louisiana. Could the same fate befall Gatsby?
Via Encore
Title Image by Lisa Maree Williams via Getty
