# Luhrmann to tackle Gatsby **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 10, 2010, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luhrmann-to-tackle-gatsby/560197 "2010-11-10T17:45:56Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luhrmann-to-tackle-gatsby/560197/1 "2010-11-10T17:45:56Z")
Baz Luhrmann – director of _Strictly Ballroom, Romeo + Juliet_, and _Moulin Rouge!_, as well as _Australia_, is [going to tackle _The Great Gatsby_.](http://www.theatlantic.com/culture/archive/2010/11/how-to-make-a-good-great-gatsby-movie-a-guide-for-baz-luhrmann/66204/) I like Luhrmann just fine – I’m immensely fond of _Moulin Rouge!_ – but he is not unflawed as a director. He has a tendency to dump herky-jerky-played-for-laughs scenes into his movies (I turned off _Australia_ 15 minutes in when he did one), and I’m not convinced drama is his metier. Interesting casting, though – DiCaprio and Maguire seem like a good start. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luhrmann-to-tackle-gatsby/560197/2 "2010-11-10T17:52:48Z")
On the HBO series _Entourage_, the main character Vincent Chase was asked by Martin Scorcese to star as Nick Carraway in an obviously fictional film version of that novel. I think it was titled “G”. ---
**Author:** ![AutumnLeaves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@AutumnLeaves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AutumnLeaves)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luhrmann-to-tackle-gatsby/560197/3 "2010-11-10T18:24:57Z")
First off, I don’t really understand the need to tread over this ground again. Aren’t there enough Gatsby productions? Though, I loved what Baz Luhrman did with Romeo + Juliet and that’s been done once or twice before. But I worry he’ll use it as an opportunity to cast a bunch of pretty, ticket-selling actors and water down the story and make it Lurhman-style flashy. I have little hope for this adaptation if he casts any of the generic male and female leads whose names are being thrown around. Second, I find DiCaprio the most blandly competent actor around. His line readings are fine, his performances fine, but I can’t remember the last time I watched a movie with him in it and didn’t think that the movie would not suffer one bit with another actor, and could indeed only be improved with another leading man. Look at _Inception_. He was perfectly alright in the lead role. His bland competence didn’t take anything away from the movie, or add anything to it. But his Inception character didn’t need to be fully fleshed out. Jay Gatsby needs to be many things at once, and DiCaprio doesn’t really seem able to pull that off. Third, I don’t know if I can think of an actress working right now who would play Daisy perfectly. The few who could manage are a little too old now. Anyone else able to suggest a name? ---
**Author:** ![infinitii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e8c25b/32.png) [@infinitii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infinitii)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luhrmann-to-tackle-gatsby/560197/4 "2010-11-10T18:34:55Z")
> [@AutumnLeaves](#): > > Third, I don’t know if I can think of an actress working right now who would play Daisy perfectly. The few who could manage are a little too old now. Anyone else able to suggest a name? Michelle Williams or Kirsten Dunst? (It’s been a while since I’ve read the novel – I can’t recall how old she was). ---
**Author:** ![AutumnLeaves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@AutumnLeaves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AutumnLeaves)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luhrmann-to-tackle-gatsby/560197/5 "2010-11-10T18:41:55Z")
> [@infinitii](#): > > Michelle Williams or Kirsten Dunst? (It’s been a while since I’ve read the novel – I can’t recall how old she was). About 23, if I rememeber correctly? I do quite like Michelle Williams but I think her and Dunst would have the same problem; both actresses have a very sweet quality that comes out on screen. Daisy is beautiful and can act bubbly sometimes, but is cold. You need someone who can be sarcastic and steely underneath elegance. In the book Daisy is dark-haired, so the actress needn’t be fair-haired. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luhrmann-to-tackle-gatsby/560197/6 "2010-11-10T18:45:12Z")
The linked article, in fact, mentions that fact (that Daisy is a brunette) in the lead. Natalie Portman, maybe? ---
**Author:** ![AutumnLeaves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@AutumnLeaves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AutumnLeaves)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luhrmann-to-tackle-gatsby/560197/7 "2010-11-10T18:53:51Z")
Oh I know, but after so many castings of a blonde as Daisy even I default to that in my mind. Just throwing it out there. My intense dislike of Portman makes it hard for me to consider her! Damn mental block. ---
**Author:** ![Zsofia](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/7bcc69/32.png) [@Zsofia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zsofia)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luhrmann-to-tackle-gatsby/560197/8 "2010-11-10T19:06:14Z")
I’ve heard they may cast Blake Lively. I love Blake Lively but the idea is ridiculous. ---
**Author:** ![infinitii](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/e8c25b/32.png) [@infinitii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infinitii)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luhrmann-to-tackle-gatsby/560197/9 "2010-11-10T19:13:50Z")
> [@Zsofia](#): > > I’ve heard they may cast Blake Lively. I love Blake Lively but the idea is ridiculous. Interestingly, her co-star on Gossip Girl, Leighton Meester, might be a perfect choice… ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luhrmann-to-tackle-gatsby/560197/10 "2010-11-10T19:14:09Z")
Ugh. I’ve never liked Luhrmann’s movies, so if I were looking for someone to adapt The Great Gatsby it definitely wouldn’t be him. But to be honest, in the years I’ve been a Gatsby fan I’ve never really tried to track down any of the movie versions. The book is self contained and there’s nothing that really begs to be expanded in movie form. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 7:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luhrmann-to-tackle-gatsby/560197/11 "2010-11-10T19:39:33Z")
I’ve only seen Blake Lively in one thing, and thought she was quite good in it: \*[The Private Lives of Pippa Lee.\*](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1134629/) I do hope they find a brunette, though. the raven-haired Ms. Twicks ---
**Author:** ![Dangerosa](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/22d042/32.png) [@Dangerosa](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dangerosa)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 7:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luhrmann-to-tackle-gatsby/560197/12 "2010-11-10T19:58:04Z")
Anna Kendrick is a brunette who may be able to act. She is charismatic. Anne Hathaway? A brunette who can act. Really the trick with Daisy is to play a self absorbed but oh, so beautiful and charismatic and vulnerable BITCH. Daisy is really interested in no one but Daisy, but “oh, poor Daisy.” ---
**Author:** ![AutumnLeaves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/45deac/32.png) [@AutumnLeaves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AutumnLeaves)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luhrmann-to-tackle-gatsby/560197/13 "2010-11-10T20:11:47Z")
I found reading Hemingway’s _A Moveable Feast_, with its description of one Mrs. Zelda Fitzgerald, completely changed my views on Daisy. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luhrmann-to-tackle-gatsby/560197/14 "2010-11-10T20:49:33Z")
> [@Dangerosa](#): > > Anne Hathaway? A brunette who can act. Interesting suggestion. ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 9:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luhrmann-to-tackle-gatsby/560197/15 "2010-11-10T21:08:58Z")
Hmmm. Interesting. Maybe Keira Knightley? Here she is looking a bit Daisy-like in _Atonement_: [Photo and Video Storage | Photobucket](http://media.photobucket.com/image/knightley%20atonement/fashionising/keira-knightley-atonement.jpg) Here’s Mia Farrow in the role in the 1974 film: [http://www.moviemarket.com/library/photos/251/251926.jpg](http://www.moviemarket.com/library/photos/251/251926.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![pepperlandgirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/f17d59/32.png) [@pepperlandgirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pepperlandgirl)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luhrmann-to-tackle-gatsby/560197/16 "2010-11-10T21:16:56Z")
Well, I’m psyched. Not necessarily because I love Luhrmann. In fact, my first thought was “This work is too subtle for that ham-handed maniac.” On the other hand, I really love DiCaprio, and I think he is _perfect_ for the role of Gatsby. As for being “blandly” competent, as somebody suggested upthread, I disagree vehemently. He’s a very smart, nuanced actor. Compare his various performances in the past decade– **Gangs of New York** , **The Departed** , **Shutter Island** , and **Inception** for starters–and I think you get a pretty good idea of his range and abilities. ---
**Author:** ![pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/a9a28c/32.png) [@pseudotriton\_ruber\_ruber](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pseudotriton_ruber_ruber)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luhrmann-to-tackle-gatsby/560197/17 "2010-11-10T21:21:55Z")
I was just discussing Daisy’s hair-color with another Fitzgerald scholar Sunday night, when we attended the Public Theater’s version of Gatsby, called GATZ, an eight-hour-long verbatim reading of the novel (sold out for the run, unfortunately for you—although the $300 tickets that the scalpers got for my ticket is pretty intimidating, too). Anyway, my friend asked me if Daisy’s hair is specified as blonde or what, and I told him to listen to the dialogue when the baby makes her appearance. Daisy claims that her baby’s hair color is both identical to her own and is “yellow,” so I don’t see how Daisy is a brunette in the novel. (In GATZ, she was played by a very dark-haired Latina, though they often cast contrary to type in this production. Gatsby himself, for example, was bald, which oddly enough worked.) ---
**Author:** ![SaharaTea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e9a140/32.png) [@SaharaTea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SaharaTea)\ **Post date:** [November 10, 2010, 10:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luhrmann-to-tackle-gatsby/560197/18 "2010-11-10T22:30:17Z")
> [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](#): > > Hmmm. Interesting. Maybe Keira Knightley? Here she is looking a bit Daisy-like in _Atonement_: [Photo Storage](http://media.photobucket.com/image/knightley%20atonement/fashionising/keira-knightley-atonement.jpg) Keira Knightley is probably sick of doing costume dramas, but she’d be my first choice. Or maybe Emily Blunt. She played bitchy really well in _The Devil Wears Prada_. I also read that [Amanda Seyfried](http://www.imdb.com/media/rm1518964480/nm1086543) is in the running. Not sure about her acting chops, but she has a good look for the character. ---
**Author:** ![twickster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ec9cab/32.png) [@twickster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/twickster)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luhrmann-to-tackle-gatsby/560197/19 "2010-12-04T00:10:28Z")
Bump to say he went with [Carey Mulligan.](http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2010/nov/16/carey-mulligan-luhrmann-great-gatsby) I liked her in _An Education_ – anyone know how her American accent is? ---
**Author:** ![Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/7cd45c/32.png) [@Elendil\_s\_Heir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Elendil_s_Heir)\ **Post date:** [December 4, 2010, 2:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luhrmann-to-tackle-gatsby/560197/20 "2010-12-04T02:55:47Z")
She had one in _Wall Street 2: Money Never Sleeps_, and it sounded OK. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/luhrmann-to-tackle-gatsby/560197.md?page=2)