30 October
2011
Photos of
DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby
Late last week, Leonardo DiCaprio made
his first appearance on the Rozelle Power Station set
where filming is currently taking place in Sydney.
DiCaprio was snapped in full costume as Jay Gatsby. On
28 October 2011,
The Courier Mail/Daily Telegraph
reported the
following article revealing more information about the
shoot:
Leonardo DiCaprio is looking in
Great form on the Gatsby movie set in Sydney
The Courier Mail/Daily Telegraph, 28 October 2011
Leonardo DiCaprio made his much-anticipated first
appearance on the Sydney set of The Great Gatsby
yesterday - complete with period three-piece suit and
trim straw hat. The star, who plays mysterious
millionaire Jay Gatsby, strolled the White Bay set with
co-star Tobey Maguire, rehearsing lines, before hopping
into a vintage yellow convertible to film a scene behind
the wheel. While Leo had been conspicuous by his absence
earlier this week, he was on deck all day yesterday as
filming went into full swing in the shadows of the Anzac
Bridge. DiCaprio's stylish figure - a sharp contrast to
the grimy surrounds - had him looking every part the
Hollywood leading man.
It comes after The Daily Telegraph provided the
exclusive first look inside the Baz Luhrmann-directed
film that has seen the slums of New York and some of
Hollywood's finest actors converge on a forgotten patch
of Sydney's inner west, armed with a bulging production
budget of $88 million. Built on the grounds of Rozelle's
abandoned White Bay power station, which has been
recreated to resemble a barren wasteland on the fringes
of 1920's New York, The Great Gatsby is expected to
inject more than $120 million into the NSW economy over
the four-month shoot. A total of 1300 people will work
on the film, which is being shot in 3D, including 275
full-time crew and 150 in post-production. While much of
the movie will be shot inside the lots at Fox Studios,
the main set that remains unseen is the mansion of Leo's
millionaire character.
But Leonardo DiCaprio - in costume as his character Jay
Gatsby - appeared on the reconstructed version of a
rundown 1920s Long Island town in Sydney's inner
west yesterday. DiCaprio cut a stylish figure in the
slummy fictional village called Valley Of The Ashes,
looking every part the leading man in the Baz Luhrmann-directed
film. He and co-star Tobey Maguire wandered around the
set and rehearsed lines while their body-doubles were
used to get the lighting and camera angles perfect
before they stepped into a yellow vintage car to lock
down the scene. DiCaprio donned a period suit and a trim
straw hat, which was a hit-style of the times, to film
the scene in the car being towed by a film-truck. By his
side was Maguire, who plays the perceptive narrator and
character Nick Carraway who sees through the shallowness
and deceptiveness of a man he can't help but like.
The Daily Telegraph also posted this great video showing DiCaprio on set:
More 'Gatsby'
Set Photos
Meanwhile, other media sources have also
been
capturing lots of images from The Great Gatsby
set. Just Jared has posted several photos of Joel
Edgerton, Tobey
Maguire and Isla Fisher in character on set, as well as
shots of Baz Luhrmann providing direction. Check out
the
link for some fantastic shots!
Also, Caught On Set has
captured several on set photos of Tobey
Maguire and Joel Edgerton in character. Again, check out the
link for
some great shots!
With Gatsby mania in full swing, please feel free to
e-mail me if you see any photos that are not linked on
my fansite! :)
Callan McAuliffe a 'dead ringer' for
DiCaprio
A couple of weeks ago,
The Daily Telegraph reported the following
article about young Australian actor, Callan McAuliffe,
who has been cast as the young Jay Gatsby. It will
probably be some time before we see McAuliffe on set, as
he obviously won't be appearing beside DiCaprio.
McAuliffe said "he'd pretty much be finished his
principal photography by the time I take up my part."
Looking like Leo gets Callan
great role
The Daily Telegraph, 16 October 2011
It's easy to see why Callan McAuliffe shares a lead role
with Hollywood star Leonardo DiCaprio in the Great
Gatsby. With his piercing gaze, cool demeanour and
"boyish" good looks, the 16-year-old is a dead ringer
for a young Leonardo, who shot to fame in the movie
What's Eating Gilbert Grape. Playing a young Jay Gatsby,
the Sydney-born teen will feature in a series of
flashback scenes when he begins filming at Fox Studios
next month for the Baz Luhrmann film. But his time on
set with Leonardo is already over.
"I did rehearsals a couple of months ago with Leo and
everyone and I haven't been back since then," the
LA-based actor said. "But I think I've met him for the
last time on this film now because he'd pretty much be
finished his principal photography by the time I take up
my part, and it would be a bit of a paradox if I was
going on set with him."
McAuliffe, whose acting break came after he joined a
talent agency to earn money to buy a pet dog, has also
been cast in action flick Paradise Lost alongside
Bradley Cooper, which will be filmed in Australia later
this year. The roles are a big step from small parts in
Cloudstreet and US action flick I Am Number Four.
"Australia's not really notorious for making big budget,
expensive projects full of famous people so it's going
to be fun to be involved in something like that,
particularly Paradise Lost and Gatsby," McAuliffe said.
He will be donning blue contact lenses and a blonde mop
for his role.
28 October
2011
'Gatsby' Set Photos!
Photographers have been busy this week snapping photos
from the set of The Great Gatsby.
The Daily Mail has posted several images, while
The Daily
Telegraph has posted a photo gallery featuring 28
shots of the new set that has been built at the
abandoned Rozelle Power Station in Sydney. Some photos
feature Tobey Maguire, who plays Nick Carraway, and Joel
Edgerton, who plays Tom Buchanan, and of course Baz
Luhrmann. The photos also showcase the magnificent set,
which includes three houses, train cars and 1920s
vehicles. The Daily Telegraph has posted a video
from the set, which is narrated by Sydney
Confidential:
Tobey Maguire
and Isla Fisher On Set
While
The Daily Telegraph snapped the above photo of
Tobey Maguire in full costume as Nick Carraway, on 25
October,
The Huffington Post snapped the above photo of
Isla Fisher in full costume as Myrtle Wilson.
Also, according to the
IMDb, Gemma Ward will indeed play Myrtle
Wilson's sister, Catherine, which has been rumoured ever
since Ward's initial casting back in August 2011. There
are no pictures of Ward in costume yet, and
The Sydney Morning Herald has reported,
"It is not known if the
natural-honey blonde will be required to cut and dye her
hair to resemble Catherine's 'solid, sticky bob of red
hair,' to match her 'complexion powdered milky white,'
as Fitzgerald penned in the early 1920s."
New 'Valley
of the Ashes' Set
The above photo was snapped by
Collider.com, which gives the set some
perspective by featuring the Sydney Harbour Bridge in
the background. But it was
The Daily Telegraph that posted the following
article, accompanied by another short video and a link
to the photo gallery mentioned above, describing the
'Valley of the Ashes' set:
New city slum created for The Great Gatsby in Sydney
is magnificent
The Daily Telegraph, 26 October 2011
THE slums of New York and Hollywood's finest have found
their way to Sydney's inner-west - and the result is
more work for locals. In a major day of filming of The
Great Gatsby yesterday, cast and crew worked through the
rain on an elaborate set built on the grounds of
Rozelle's abandoned White Bay power station, which has
been recreated to resemble a barren wasteland on the
fringes of 1920's New York. The backdrop - realised
through the sketches of production designer Catherine
Martin, the wife of director Baz Luhrmann - has come out
of the film's $88 million production budget. It's a
setting Great Gatsby author F. Scott Fitzgerald called
Valley of the Ashes in his 1925 literary classic. In his
novel he described the Valley of the Ashes as a "a
fantastic farm where ashes grow like wheat into ridges
and hills and grotesque gardens". It's also the place
where Isla Fisher's character, Myrtle Wilson, is killed
.... It's understood the Rozelle set will only be
standing for about a week before being torn down. While
most of the movie is being shot inside the lots at Fox
Studios, the main set that is yet to be seen is the
mansion of mysterious millionaire, Jay Gatsby, played by
Leonardo DiCaprio.
Carey
Mulligan Talks 'Gatsby'
Carey Mulligan, who plays the pivotal
role of Daisy Buchanan, was recently interviewed by
Collider.com about The Great Gatsby:
While she was in
L.A. recently, Collider got the opportunity to speak
with Mulligan about her current and upcoming projects,
how outrageously lucky she feels about working with such
incredible talent, in front of and behind the camera,
how extraordinary it is to be in a Baz Luhrmann film,
[and] her audition with Gatsby star Leonardo DiCaprio...
What’s it like to take on such a classic American
story that is as iconic as The Great Gatsby? What is it
about Daisy that you are most looking forward to
playing?
MULLIGAN: It’s so scary! She’s such a good character.
She’s so much fun to play. She’s just whipped cream.
She’s light and fluffy with no substance, and she knows
it, and that’s her tragedy. It’s fun. I’ve not played
anyone like her, and I wanted to be in a Baz Luhrmann
film. It’s just extraordinary. He’s so amazing at what
he does. He makes the most incredible films.
How is it to work with Leonardo DiCaprio?
MULLIGAN: Leonardo is the most incredible actor, on the
planet, with a couple of people alongside him. Getting
to act with him is just [amazing]. I walked away from my
audition for that and I couldn’t believe that I’d been
acting with him. I’ve worked with amazing people, but my
friends freak out that I’m working with him. I freak out
in a geeky acting way. They freak out in a starstruck
way. He’s Leonardo DiCaprio, and his fame is so big.
That’s a complete tangent about that.
But, at the audition, we had been acting out these
scenes together. We did 15 takes of one scene. He didn’t
really have much dialogue as Gatsby, and the camera was
never on him, but he played three other characters. He’d
say a line as Gatsby, and then he’d jump up and play Tom
Buchanan. We were doing the scene with the cameras over
my shoulder, and he was lighting a cigarette for me and
looking at me. It was all me, and he didn’t have any
words, and he was improvising stuff to say, just to help
me. I was like, “Leonardo DiCaprio doesn’t need to be
helping me in this audition.” He was auditioning girls
all day. I was so blown away by how generous he was, let
alone being amazing to act with. It’s a crazy film to be
in.
'The Creek,
1977' in Melbourne
Visitors to this website will know that
I am a huge fan of Australian artist, Vincent Fantauzzo.
I particularly appreciated his multi media installation,
The Creek, 1977, which was in partnership with
Baz Luhrmann. The work was first revealed at the Hong
Kong International Art Fair in May 2010, details of
which can be found on my webpage
here.
I am very pleased to announce that this installation
will be exhibited at the Sofitel Melbourne on Collins
from 1 November 2011 to 25 November 2011, with an
opening night on 9 November 2011 from 6-8pm.
Unfortunately, I am unable to make it to Melbourne, but
feel free to
e-mail me
if you are fortunate enough to be able to attend. Check out the
press release for more information.
16 October 2011
'Gatsby'
Release Date Revealed
It has been announced by Warner Brothers that Baz
Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby will be released on
Christmas Day, 2012. Strangely, 25 December 2012 is the
same date that another Leonardo DiCaprio film, Django
Unchained, is set to open.
The Hollywood Reporter has pointed out that
"It's unusual to have two films
starring the same actor launching on the same date, but
since Dec. 25, 2012, is more than a year away, the
Christmas Day calendar could change."
Amitabh
Bachchan Talks 'Gatsby'
As the Gatsby shoot carries on,
stars continue to arrive in Sydney to portray their respective
roles. Isla Fisher, who will play Myrtle Wilson, was
snapped by
The Daily Telegraph arriving at Sydney airport
during the first week of October, and it has now been
revealed that Amitabh Bachchan begins work on the film
tomorrow (17 October).
In his
blog today,
Bachchan wrote: "Ok ... so
tomorrow is the first day of shoot and it would be in
order for all to send a little prayer for me, so that
all goes well and I do not trip over the furniture right
into the surprised arms of one Leonardo di Caprio..."
Bachchan's blog has been making media headlines lately,
including the following story from
IBN Live which features further quotes:
Big B nervous, apprehensive
about 'The Great Gatsby' shoot
IBN Live, 14 October 2011
New Delhi: Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan has flown
down to Sydney to shoot for his first Hollywood project,
Baz Luhrmann's 'The Great Gatsby', and says he is
nervous and apprehensive. The 69-year-old actor has
joined the cast of the USD 120 million film along with
Hollywood stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire.
"The shoot for 'The Great Gatsby' for Baz Luhrmann!
Butterflies as large and as huge as the Transformers
monsters in the film that I breezed through on the
flight. Apprehensions, as fearful as the raging thunder
and lightening storm that broke over the Mumbai skyline
just prior to my departure last night..." Bachchan wrote
on his blog. The actor who will join the starcast on the
sets after a few days of preparation, also wrote that he
feels like a beginner once again in front of the
Hollywood stars. "A few days of preparation before the
actual shoot and then on to the floor among stars
Leonardo di Caprio, Tobey Maguire and several others. A
stranger among the giants of the International movie
world, I feel as though I am starting off all over
again," he said.
Tiffany & Co on
board for 'Gatsby'
The famous jewellery company, Tiffany &
Co, has announced that it has signed a deal with Warner
Brothers and Bazmark to be the jeweller for The Great
Gatsby, as reported by
The Hollywood Reporter:
Tiffany & Co. To Create Jewelry
For 'Great Gatsby'
The Hollywood Reporter, 13 October 2011
The jeweler announced that it will design
one-of-a-kind pieces for Baz Luhrmann’s film starring
Carey Mulligan and Leonardo DiCaprio
When it comes to Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby, all
that glitters is Tiffany & Co. The New York-based
jeweler announced that it inked a deal with Warner Bros.
Pictures and Bazmark (Luhrmann's production company) to
be the fine jeweler for the hotly anticipated 3D film.
The retelling of F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 literary
classic, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan
(reprising the roles played by Robert Redford and Mia
Farrow in 1974), will showcase spectacular platinum-set
diamonds and endless strands of pearls to complement the
Jazz Age drop-waist dresses and pinstriped three-piece
suits by costume designer Catherine Martin. The two-time
Academy Award winning costumer designer (2001's Moulin
Rouge!), was drawn to the jeweler because F. Scott
Fitzgerald himself was a Tiffany & Co. customer and
Louis Comfort Tiffany, the brand's first design
director, ran with the Long Island social circles
portrayed in the story.
In addition to jewels, WWD reports that Tiffany & Co.
will supply china, sterling flatware and other home
accessories for the interior of Jay Gatsby's lavish Long
Island estate. "The Tiffany & Co. archives have proven
to be an invaluable resource in looking back at this
Golden Era of affluence and fine jewelry," says Martin.
"We have both created and recreated pieces that we hope
will do justice to this extraordinary novel." DiCaprio
and Mulligan recently started shooting the 3D film along
with Tobey Maguire and Isla Fisher in Australia. It
won't hit theaters until 2012, but 1920s-inspired styles
are already heating up as seen on the spring/summer 2012
runways at Marc Jacobs, Ralph Lauren and Alberta
Ferretti’s Philosophy.
Joel Edgerton
Talks 'Gatsby'
Last month, Aussie actor Joel Edgerton,
who will play Tom Buchanan in the film, continued to
talk about The Great Gatsby with the media.
Edgerton has been very vocal about his admiration for
the film for quite some time now, and these are just his
most recent comments. He chatted to
The Daily Telegraph about Leonardo DiCaprio. He
talked with
STV.tv
about the 3D aspect of the film, and also
with
Collider.com. Excerpts from the interviews are
as follows:
Leo DiCaprio is a regular
legend, says Joel Edgerton
The Daily Telegraph, 28 September 2011
Joel Edgerton has finally given an insight into the
world's most talked-about movie - describing Baz
Luhrmann's 3D reboot of The Great Gatsby as
"spectacular". Edgerton, who walked the red carpet at
Monday night's premiere of The Hunter, also lifted the
lid on what it's like to work with Hollywood's biggest
star, Leonardo DiCaprio, describing the publicity-shy
actor as "just a normal guy". "He's great, I love him,"
Edgerton, who plays carousing jock Tom Buchanan in
Gatsby, said. "I think he is fantastic ... Not that I
expected anything otherwise but he is an incredibly
level headed, down-to-earth regular guy who happens to
be a great actor and one of the biggest movie stars on
earth. There are obviously the trappings that go with
that but there's never ever any real indication that he
buys into that legend - he's just really cool and
chilled out."
On the Gatsby set for a month - and scheduled to shoot
at Fox Studios until Christmas - Edgerton added he'd
been struck by the film's lavish sets. He said: "It is
really spectacular. It's poetry. Really divine. I walked
on set the other day and just looked at this stuff and I
was getting involved just looking at it, you know? Even
scenes I wasn't involved with. That's what that period
is and I think it's what the whole thing really needs -
that elegance that Baz and Catherine Martin bring when
they get together.And the cast they have assembled is
amazing. I think it's a great book and I think they will
make a really great movie."
A one-time Sydneysider now based in LA, Edgerton said
he'd become the cast's unofficial tour guide."Which is
weird because I haven't actually spent much time here
lately. But the guys kind of come to me and say, 'Where
should we go? What should we do?' And I'm like, 'Um, OK.
Let's go here ... I guess'."
Joel Edgerton nervous about 3-D Gatsby
STV.tv, 26 September 2011
Joel Edgerton is "nervous" about being seen in 3-D in
'The Great Gatsby'. The 37-year-old actor - who is
taking on the part of Tom Buchanan in the
highly-anticipated Baz Luhrmann-directed adaptation -
thinks the reasons why it is being shot in 3-D have been
well thought out, but is worried about the audience
seeing him up-close and
personal.
He said: "I know that Baz is someone that doesn't make
choices flippantly. His reasoning and his thoughts and
feelings behind bringing the world of 'Gatsby' into 3-D is very interesting and I think it's very well thought
through. I think it's going to be
fascinating. He's got a definite clear vision. When you
get behind a guy like Baz, he's someone that you're
happy to march along with. I'm excited, but I'm nervous
for all the people out there who are going to have to
look at my face in 3-D."
Exclusive: Joel Edgerton Talks ... The Great Gatsby
Collider.com, 25 September 2011
... What’s it like to take on a story as iconic as The
Great Gatsby? How do you prepare for a role like that?
EDGERTON: Well, that’s a slightly different frame to
work from. I did A Streetcar Named Desire on stage, a
couple years ago. That is such a loved American play,
and Gatsby is such a loved American book. You’re working
from literature and you’re trying to avoid any visual
representation that’s come before. Whereas with The
Thing, we were trying to create a similar aesthetic and
achieve that same look and feeling. Whenever you’re
trying to do your own take on a classic piece of
literature, it’s almost like you’re trying to swim up
your own stream, or drive down your own path. Gatsby is
all in the words. For starters, it’s an incredible honor
to be a part of that film with that cast and with
(writer/director) Baz Luhrmann, and it’s such a
privilege to play that character. It’s got a real
electricity to it. It has that feeling of stepping into
a project where you get to bring literature to life, in
a slightly different way. It’s a different kind of
electricity than when you get to enter a world of film
that’s already been established.
Is it still the classic story that people know and love,
or will it also have some changes that surprise people?
EDGERTON: Wow, that’s interesting. Personally, I think
when you’re dealing with a book like Gatsby, it’s so
iconic and it’s great because of what it is, so I don’t
think you need to re-invent it. You just find the
inspiration within each page and bring it to life, as
best you can. It’s not Gatsby in space, or Gatsby
re-invented. It will have its own edge and world that’s
envisaged through Baz’s eyes. The other interesting
thing about bringing a play or a book to life is that
it’s been read by people before and every single person
has pictured each of those characters in their own way,
and each of those houses, the streets that they drive
down, and the cars that they’re driving down those
streets in. They’ve all been imagined a million slightly
different ways, by a million different people. This is
one group getting together to bring their vision to
life, with one person at the helm. But, I certainly
think it will be far from a disappointing
vision.
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