It’s official – following a recent deal with the New South Wales state government, Baz Luhrmann’s 3D adaptation of The Great Gatsby will shoot in Sydney this August. To the ire of purists/Americans the book’s palatial Long Island surrounds will relocate to Sydney’s Fox Studios (where Luhrmann shot Australia and Moulin Rouge) with a budget of over $120 million and a cast headlined by Leonardo Dicaprio (as the titular great one), Carey Mulligan (as Daisy Buchanan) and Tobey Maguire (as modest narrator Nick Carraway). They should call it The Great Gatsby 3D In Which Australia Is Wholly Responsible For The Desecration of a Literary Classic.
NSW Premier Kristina Keneally made the announcement earlier this week saying: “This comes at a good time for the film industry, Australia was thought to be losing international filmmaking due to the strong Aussie dollar – put simply, this is a big win.” Keneally also said the production will inject $120m into the NSW economy and sustain over 800 local jobs.
“We’re determined to keep skilled NSW cast and crew working right here, and we’ll work to strengthen our leadership in the film and PDV (post digital visual effects) industry both here and overseas,” said Keneally. “What better endorsement of our State’s world-class film-making capabilities – we’ve won right to produce this iconic New York story ahead of New York itself.”
Pre-production starts in March. Filming is slated to commence in August.
