Tuesday, November 16, 2010

"I hope she'll be a fool..."

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"... that's the best thing a girl can be in this world -
a beautiful little fool." - Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby

(pic by Baz Luhrmann) JA from MNPP here. Deadline reported a little earlier today that Carey Mulligan will presumably play Daisy Buchanan for Baz Luhrmann's Gatsby, you know, if he gets around to making a Gatsby. (Who knows with Baz?) But for now as the Magic Eight Ball says signs point to yes. And perhaps the best visual I'll be given today is in their article:

"Mulligan was on the reception line for The Fashion Council Awards in New York when she got the call on her cell phone from Luhrmann, just a few minutes ago. She burst into tears on the red carpet in front of Karl Lagerfield and Anna Wintour."

Thanks for that, Deadline. They forgot to mention the part where the tears of an innocent caused those two's fangs to burst forth.

Anyway I think she's a great choice. What about y'all? And will Baz really get around to making this movie for real? And what do we think about Leo DiCaprio as Jay and Tobey Maguire as Nick?
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21 comments:

Stella said...

I'm completely annoyed about the entire cast and movie. Wish Baz would leave the book alone.

Robert said...

I'm intrigued. I don't think the book is so religious as to never be touched, and the 1970's film certainly didn't do it justice.

I for one nominate Tom Hardy for Tom and Rebecca Hall for Jordan.

Kurtis O said...

"She burst into tears on the red carpet in front of Karl Lagerfield and Anna Wintour."

That is SO incredibly great.

Volvagia said...

If he's going for Carey Mulligan for Daisy, I think they're making some STUPID casting decisions. Leo DiCaprio as a character who, by all the cues, is only in his mid twenties? Why not, even though he looks easily as old as he actually is (36), if not slightly older at this moment Maguire as Nick is plausible. Me, personally: Serious Romantic Lead in the Mid 20s: Cera and Eisenberg stretching opportunity or Henry Hopper. I'm not saying that casting older than the actual age is a bad thing (see also: Eli Wallach looks 30 in The Good, The Bad and The Ugly and 20 in Baby Doll, even though he's actually 50 and 40 respectively at the time of making those movies), but they should at least look the age, which DiCaprio, frankly, doesn't. In essence: This is going to be nassstttyyyyyy.

Andrew R. said...

Meh...I never finished the book, and I'm on the "hate" side of Romeo + Juliet. (And I love Baz.)

Nel said...

I really wanna be excited for this movie but I think Lurhman's grandiose vision (i.e. ego) will ruin it. Also the cast just leaves me feeling 'meh'. It is strange this project should have squealing but something feels wrong about it. Maybe it is the fact that he first dropped Rebbecca Hall for Mulligan. Sorry!

NATHANIEL R said...

This is my favorite book of all time. And I don't want it made into a movie at all. Which is a strange set of competing feelings because I love Baz Luhrmann.

I just so wish he'd chose a different project. He takes so long inbetween movies and now a movie I don't even want made.

some books are too perfect to become movies. they are that they are.

Stella said...

He's just not the right director. I just don't see him tackling the complex themes of the book with much interest or nuance.

Aaron said...

It's a really great book, and the thought of Baz Luhrmann directing is intriguing (albeit a bit daunting, perhaps). Carey Mulligan is fine for Daisy, although personally I think she's a little bland. I would've loved to have seen what Michelle Williams or even Rachel McAdams would've done with the role. I actually think the casting of Tobey Maguire is SPOT ON, and I feel like I'm the only one in that camp....Leonardo DiCaprio as Gatsby is a big NO NO NO NOOOOOO!!!! I just do not see him capturing the nuisances and insecurities of Gatsby. DiCaprio is an A-C-T-O-R if you know what I mean...he's not really one for subtlety, which I think the character calls for at times....

...and @Robert...Tom Hardy would be PERFECT for Tom. And I could definitely see Rebecca Hall as Jordan (or even someone like Leelee Sobieski...is she even working anymore???)

Scott said...

Not feeling Tobey and Leo at all. Not remotely. But Carey could kill as Daisy. And Tom Hardy as Tom is a good idea indeed (actually Leo would make much more sense as Tom than he does as Gatsby).

Volvagia said...

That's another reason it should be Cera, Eisenberg or Henry Hopper, but the look is all wrong too. The narrator is thirty and supposedly calls Gatsby young. That insinuates it has to be someone who could look like they are in their MID-20s and/or younger than the narrator. Here's the math: 17 year old cadet at 1914, 20 year old lieutenant by 1917, 25-26 year old gun runner during the time of the book. The youth may be slight, but no way does DiCaprio look like he's either in his mid 20s or younger than Tobey Maguire. Dream Gatsby? By: I think Baz can do it, but the big thing is that he needs a younger looking Gatsby. (If the narrator thinks of Gatsby as young, he can't look older than Tobey Maguire or the entire illusion gets shattered. Which is why I say Cera, Eisenberg or Henry Hopper.)

Volvagia said...

That's another reason it should be Cera, Eisenberg or Henry Hopper, but the look is all wrong too. The narrator is thirty and supposedly calls Gatsby young. That insinuates it has to be someone who could look like they are in their MID-20s and/or younger than the narrator. Here's the math: 17 year old cadet at 1914, 20 year old lieutenant by 1917, 25-26 year old gun runner during the time of the book. The youth may be slight, but no way does DiCaprio look like he's either in his mid 20s or younger than Tobey Maguire. Dream Gatsby? By: I think Baz can do it, but the big thing is that he needs a younger looking Gatsby. (If the narrator thinks of Gatsby as young, he can't look older than Tobey Maguire or the entire illusion gets shattered. Which is why I say Cera, Eisenberg or Henry Hopper.)

Volvagia said...

I think Maguire could be good. But avoiding the fact that people weigh what young means against their own age and looks is a costly mistake here. If this is going to be a romantic illusion (it's Baz, so that would be check, check, check), how the actors look relative to one another age wise is pretty important, so the illusion can be maintained and not shattered.

Amory Blaine said...

It is bothering me so much how many people are mixing up the ages of characters in Gatsby. Gatsby, Nick, and Tom are not in their early twenties. Also, there is a much greater span in the five main characters' ages than most people are accounting for. Their ages stretch from 21 to 31/32. To sum it up most of the central male characters are in their late twenties or early thirties, whereas the female characters are in their early twenties.

Fitzgerald describes Gatsby in the text as "a year or two over thirty." I don't think Leo is the best choice, but he is much closer to being the right age than Cera is, for example.

Nick is only slightly younger than Gatsby. When the books starts he's 29 and he turns 30 over the course of the novel. I don't like the idea of Tobey Maguire at all, but that ship has probably sailed. My first choice would probably be Joseph Gordon-Levitt or Andrew Garfield (who are 29 and 27 respectively).

Tom graduated from Yale the same year as Nick, so casting the widest reasonable net he would be somewhere between 28 and 31. I completely agree with the Tom Hardy suggestion. He would be an excellent choice. (He is 33, which is a little older than Tom would be, but close enough).

Now to the female characters. When Jordan tells Nick the story of her first meeting with Gatsby she states "One October day in nineteen-seventeen...[Daisy] was just eighteen, two years older than me." The action of the Great Gatsby takes place in the summer of 1922.

Since Jordan describes Daisy as "just eighteen" in October, 1917, she is probably still only 23 years old. (At 25 Carey Mulligan is actually a little old to play Daisy.) Jordan, being "two years" younger than Daisy means she is probably only 21. (Rebecca Hall who is 28 is way too old to play Jordan)

Anonymous said...

It's more important to me the actors fit the characters than match their exact chronological ages. It's strange to hear that Leo is too old when he still looks about 12 to me.

I think Mulligan and Maguire are well cast. As for Baz directing, if nothing else we should get a few great jazz age party scenes...

Danielle said...

I don't think it's the best casting. On the shallow end, by no means does Mulligan have the looks or the beauty to play Daisy. On the acting front, we've never seen Mulligan do flightiness, and all of her film performances suggest this intelligence and knowingness in her eyes, voice, and mannerisms that I hope she will not bring to Daisy. Daisy is not a tragic figure in the sense that we should sympathize with her, and I worry that Mulligan will imbue her with too much gravitas.

Janice said...

What both Stella and Daniella said. That's all.

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Peggy Sue said...

Tobey and Leo are so wrong for the characters!
Carey can be a good Daisy but the whole project bores me although Catherine's costumes will be pure heaven