Leonardo DiCaprio will be the Great Gatsby.
The actor plays the character in a new film adaptation of the classic novel by American writer Scott Fitzgerald; the $150 million super-production is being filmed in Australia and is scheduled for release in 2012.
247 - Filming has already begun on the feature film The Great Gatsby (still untitled in Portuguese), starring Leonardo DiCaprio. This new film adaptation of Scott Fitzgerald's novel, published in 1925 and considered a landmark of 20th-century American literature, is directed by Baz Luhrmann (Oscar-nominated for Moulin Rouge) and stars Carey Mulligan, from An Education, as Daisy Buchanan (a role previously played by Mia Farrow). The Great Gatsby follows aspiring writer Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire) as he leaves the American Midwest and arrives in New York in the spring of 1922, an era of moral laxity, dazzling jazz, and rivers of bootlegged goods.
Pursuing his own American dream, Nick moves across Hudson Bay to live with his cousin Daisy and her philandering, blue-blooded husband, Tom Buchanan. He becomes neighbors with the mysterious and flamboyant millionaire Jay Gatsby (DiCaprio), played by Robert Redford in the 1974 version. Thus, Nick is drawn into the captivating world of millionaires, their illusions, loves, and deceptions. Witnessing events from both inside and outside his own world, Nick writes a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams, and tragedies that mirror our own conflicts in modern times.
Baz Luhrmann directs the film in 3D from a screenplay co-written with his frequent collaborator Craig Pearce. "Fitzgerald loved films and passionately believed in the power of cinema. The Great Gatsby has been adapted for the screen no fewer than four times. Fitzgerald's story defies time and geography. The vision and goal of our remarkable cast and creative team is to do justice to the prowess of Fitzgerald's story and illuminate his great ideas and humanity. This is our challenge and our adventure." The Great Gatsby is being filmed in Australia, Luhrmann's home country. The film will be distributed in 3D and 2D.