If yesterday’s jazzy cover of Beyoncé’s “Crazy in Love” by ever-present vocalist Emeli Sande and the Bryan Ferry Orchestra had you sashaying instead of scratching your head, “The Great Gatsby” director Baz Luhrmann would like your help. We already know the film’s going to have an absolutely thumping soundtrack (courtesy of exec producer Jay-Z), but the director is hoping the beat will keep ‘Gatsby’ on everyone’s mind through the summer.
Of course, opulence and Luhrmann’s films go hand in hand, so when the prospect of Gatsby-inspired theme parties is raised, it seems only natural. “The idea is that you don’t just come see the movie, but also celebrate that extraordinary book throughout the summer,” the director said recently (via Reuters), pointing to the “intoxication” of Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio) and his “glittering parties and mysterious gardens.”
In fact, the actual production on ‘Gatsby’ was plagued by bad weather and torrential rain, as well as Luhrmann’s unfortunate collision with a crane on-set just before Christmas 2011. “I wasn’t going to die, but I had four stitches and a concussion,” he explained. “We just had to shut down at that point.”
The film started up again in February 2012, and Luhrmann got back to work on creating his 3D adaptation. And when it came to the new format, the director found it — combined with the “live theatre” of long takes — extremely helpful in bringing the audience into Gatsby’s Roaring Twenties world, from “spectators to participants.”
Luhrmann calls the 3D in the film “poetic glue,” and also reveals (via LA Times) his use of Zelda Fitzgerald’s life and writings to develop the character of Daisy (Carey Mulligan) further. Truly, it’s an apt description, waiting to see if Luhrmann’s excessive and ambitious approach can finally hang together, but we’ll soon see if he gets “the summer of Gatsby” when the film opens May 10th. Grab your feathered skirts and tuxes just in case.