Carey Mulligan To Star In Baz Luhrmann's Adaptation Of Great Gatsby

For most actors, any role is a coveted one. But this week, Carey Mulligan landed a coveted enough role that when she was asked about it on the red carpet, she burst into tears (LA Times). Baz Luhrmann, of Moulin Rouge! and Australia fame, will be the 4th director to attempt an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel.

With Leonardo DiCaprio cast as the title character, Mulligan overcame the swell of rumors that the role would go to Blake Lively, Scarlett Johansson, or Keira Knightley to be cast as the ever-complex, ever-seductive Daisy Buchanan. Time Magazine's blog NewsFeed wonders if Luhrmann made the right choice, but what do you think - can Carey pull off a complicated, manipulative lady of the upper crust or is she better for roles like the adolescent ingenue she played in An Education?

Comments

[psmarc93]

01:50 AM on 01/11/2011

Yay for her. I liked her in An Education very much, and god knows, she'll wipe the memory of Mia Farrow's mannered posturing simpy performance from all memory (Redford also sucked). However, everything else about the film -- Sam Watterson, Bruce Dern, Lois Chiles, Karen Freakin' Black for godssake -- the costumes, sets, music -- flawless. I think this is one of America's greatest novels, and it would be wonderful to see it finally inspire a great film.

[zest]

03:05 PM on 11/22/2010

I want Gwynth Paltrow.

[ArtisticSavant]

03:15 AM on 11/21/2010

I loved her in "an education"... excellent movie, she was brilliant.

[Lauren Kottwitz]

04:27 PM on 11/20/2010

Ooooooooooh, I can't wait. It's going to be sooooooo goooooood.

[namewithheld]

07:19 PM on 11/18/2010

Silly me. I thought there were already a couple of movie versions of The Great Gatsby.

[ziggystardust]

08:48 PM on 11/18/2010

And now there will be one more. For my money, this has the potential to be highly appreciated. The one from the '70s with Robert Redford was awful. There was a TV movie in 2000, which I never saw but many people on Netflix don't think much of it. A version from 1946 is locked up, and not available due to copyright reasons. A version from 1926 is considered "lost." ...So, really, the closest thing that novel has to a definitive screen adaptation is that crappy one from the '70s. Maybe we should let him give it a go since that's supposedly one of the great American novels...

[Aitch5]

03:14 PM on 11/18/2010

What is most interesting is the press and publicity I followed, naming all these actresses reading for this role AND which leading lady would win this "coveted" role--It seems calculated and contrived--like a true psuedo-event.

[James Napoli]

01:29 AM on 11/19/2010

Nice one. I totally glommed onto that word "coveted" as well. Spin city. Tx.

[Aitch5]

01:31 PM on 11/19/2010

They went as far as Baz Luhrmann releasing a statement for the press about his phone conversation with Ms. Mulligan when he offered the role. They are trying to drum up buzz for the film-- obviously! ---so a competitive "event" was created. Not that I blame the investors/filmmakers, -a literary adaption is a hard sell to today's audiences.

[Woods Shade]

11:10 AM on 11/18/2010

Can't wait..am a fan of hers, Di Caprio and Luhrmann's. I trust Luhrmann - who would've thought Kidman and MacGregor would've been perfect for lead roles in a musical? And that came off *rather* well!

[Dots]

10:35 AM on 11/18/2010

She will be wonderful. But DiCaprio . . . that's something else.

[triplettam]

07:26 AM on 11/18/2010

Well, I wish her the best. I've also heard that she beat out Keira Knightly for the new adaptation of "My Fair Lady," Don't see that one (even though I like the couple things she's done). But maybe I'll be pleasantly surprised.

[jdiary]

10:48 PM on 11/17/2010

She's such a cutie. Loved her in "Never Let Me Go..." Looking forward to her long career

[ver1tas]

09:36 PM on 11/17/2010

Good for her. She will do just fine.