We reported back in September that grandiose filmmaker extraordinaire Baz Luhrmann was developing an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Great Gatsby. Early rumors for the cast posited Leonardo DiCaprio as the brooding billionaire Jay Gatsby, Tobey Maguire as the pensive observer Nick Carraway, and the role of Daisy – was a matter of debate.
Blake Lively, Scarlett Johansson, Amanda Seyfried, Abbie Cornish, Michelle Williams, Keira Knightley, Natalie Portman, and Rebecca Hall were all proposed for the role of the golden girl. However, today Vulture has revealed a new Queen Bee. Carey Mulligan, who broke through internationally last year with her Oscar-nominated performance in An Education, is the latest actress to be the epic-making auteur’s front-runner for the role of Daisy Buchanan. Apparently, former front-runner, Johansson, is no longer available as she’s signed on to Cameron Crowe’s We Bought a Zoo, and the production schedules would collide in late spring of 2011.
Now, as you may have been able to tell by my wordy character introductions, I am an ardent fan of Fitzgerald’s work – The Great Gatsby in particular. And while I often enjoy the whimsical and wide-scale showmanship of Luhrmann’s films, he is hardly known for subtly. So the idea of his take on this heartbreaking and delicate tale of status and repression gives me a migraine. Having said that, Mulligan as Daisy is compelling to me. While a lot of talented and/or beautiful actresses have been connected to the role, this is the one that intrigues me and makes me have a bit of hope about the project. Hopefully she’ll sign on.
We’ll keep you posted.
What do you think of Luhrmann’s proposed Gatsby?