Fitzgerald gets the Luhrmann treatment.

Pictured (from left): Tobey Maguire is Nick, Leonardo DiCaprio is Gatsby, Carey Mulligan is Daisy, and Joel Edgerton is Tom in Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby


Baz Lurhmann, with his upcoming film of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby has the unique and difficult position of being not only the director attempting to adapt a work that is more of a cultural icon than a book, but he is attempting to do so while retaining his hard-earned status as an auteur filmmaker. Many have entered this realm before him, but few with as important a work as Gatsby. For example, the majority of Hitchcock’s films take their source material from literature, but we do not measure the success of Psycho in its closeness to Robert Bloch’s novel, nor do we condemn Stanley Kubrick for straying from the original texts of The Shining or A Clockwork Orange.

This of course is not to assume Luhrmann’s Gatsby will be a cinematic landmark as those films are, but he does share an important trait with them: he is a director defined by his unique style, and anything he directs must be taken as a Baz Lurhmann film as opposed to an adaptation of another author’s words. This is not F. Scott Fitzgerald’s film of The Great Gatsby, it is Luhrmann’s, which will likely entail all the bizarre extravagance we would expect it to. And judging by the trailer, it seems to deliver on this promise.

The immediate “backlash” to the first trailer is predictable as it is completely well-founded. When one pictures The Great Gatsby, one does not immediately conjure the hyper-stylized universe that Lurhmann seems to be creating (one that remains set in 1922 yet contains the music of Jay Z and Jack White). Then again, how many of us read Romeo and Juliet and thought of bright Hawaiian shirts set in an exaggerated mash-up of Mexico City and Venice Beach. If there is one thing Baz Luhrmann has never seemed to be concerned with, it’s making everyone happy. This of course has worked both for and against him (usually with equal fervor from both sides). And Gatsby will probably be no different. Hardcore traditionalist fans of the book will likely balk at it, hardcore fans of Luhrmann will probably love it (if simply because they feel obligated to) but as one analysis of the trailer aptly put, “when it comes to Luhrmann, the opinions of traditionalists are irrelevant.”

This is a director with a very distinct, loud, and often ridiculous voice. If there is one thing that can almost assuredly be said about his interpretation of The Great Gatsby, it is probably nothing like any of ours. Whether that worries or excites you is a different matter.

Movie News!: "Black Swan" trailer, "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" casting, and more!

The trailer for Darren Aronofsky's latest film, "Black Swan," has debuted on Apple Trailers. The story is of Nina (Natalie Portman), a young New York City ballet dancer, whose status is threatened by the arrival of Lily (Mila Kunis). As the two compete with each other for the spotlight in Swan Lake and their director's affections, Nina taps into an inner darkness that she cannot contain as it strives to overcome her.

View the trailer here!



In other news, actress Rooney Mara has officially been selected for the highly coveted role of Lisbeth Salander in the American adaptation of the popular Stieg Larsson novel "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" and its sequels "The Girl Who Played With Fire" and "The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet's Nest." Speculation has gone on for months over which Hollywood ingenue would nab the role. Many were predicting Kristen Stewart or Carey Mulligan, but ever since the director announced he wanted a relatively unknown actress, all bets have been off. Mara has most recently been seen in the remake of "Nightmare on Elm Street" and will soon be starring in "The Social Network" along with fellow up-and-comer Andrew Garfield.



Ian McEwan's 2007 bestseller "On Chesil Beach" is headed for the big screen in what I can only call a collaboration the likes of which I could usually only fantasize about. McEwan has written the screenplay himself (which is good because I don't know how this novel can be adapted without an NC-17 rating, anyone who's read it knows what I'm talkin' bout). He has long said in interviews that his dream team for the film version is Sam Mendes at the helm with Carey Mulligan as its lead. And Ian McEwan is a man who gets what he wants, this case being no exception.

The novel is about a young married couple on their wedding night facing their fears and insecurities as they move ever closer to what will be their first sexual encounter. Carey Mulligan will portray the young bride, Florence, and is in fact learning how to play the violin in preparation for the role (which is that of a gifted concert violinist). Her husband, Edward, has yet to be cast. Filming will most likely begin in late fall.

I suppose that's all for now. I really just wanted an excuse to post that "Black Swan" trailer. (Does that not look crazy?)

First trailer released for 'Never Let Me Go'

This is the kind of trailer that makes my mouth water. It has pretty much everything I love in a movie: dramatic romance, an incredible cast, and what appears to be an extremely emotionally and intellectually complex plot. Not to mention lots and lots of British people. Personal preferences aside, I think it's safe to consider this trailer an early glimpse at what is sure to be a very serious Oscar contender. I mean, look at that cast. Knightley, Mulligan, Hawkins, Rampling, even Andrew Garfield, who got some very good reviews for his work in the experimental film series 'Red Riding.' The novel is supposed to be wonderful and I can't wait to read it in anticipation for this film. Definitely something I will be keeping track of.

Movie News!

So let’s dive right in here with a story I literally just read but am very jazzed about. Several months ago, the History Channel announced that they would be airing their first scripted drama in 2011 in the form of an 8-part miniseries about the life of JFK called “The Kennedys”. Some people (myself included) have expressed some concern over the fact that it is being written and produced by the people who made 24 as they are openly conservative. However, I have faith that the History Channel is aware of how much hype this thing is already getting and they’ll make sure it’s as legit as it can be. And with the new announcement of casting, it sounds like they will be successful. John F. Kennedy will be played by Greg Kinnear with Katie Holmes as Jackie. They have also cast Barry Pepper as Robert F. Kennedy and ultimate mini-series actor Tom Wilkinson as Joseph Kennedy. Personally, I am stoked. Kinnear is one of my favorite actors and I never actually realized how much he looks like JFK until just now. And finally, FINALLY Katie Holmes has found her chance to actually prove herself as an actress and not just the brain-washed kept woman of a psychopath.

= ? Really?

Other casting news, Penelope Cruz has dropped out of Lars Von Trier’s upcoming film “Melancholia” to be replaced by…Kirsten Dunst? This is where the info gets fuzzy because Charlotte Gainsbourg is also cast and I have a much easier time believing that she could take over a Penelope Cruz role than Kirsten Dunst, who I’m pretty sure is the complete visual opposite of Penelope Cruz. Not surprisingly, Cruz has opted to do the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film over Von Trier’s film. On the one hand, I’m sad because I’m sure she would be phenomenal in it and I’m always looking to see her in meaty roles, but on the other, a gal’s gotta make money. And she is literally the only reason I will see the Pirates movie so I think it’s for the best.

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Now for some DEVASTATING casting news. As you recall, in my last Movie News post, I expressed utter glee and delight at the news that Christoph Waltz would be playing Sigmund Freud in the upcoming film “The Talking Cure.” Well….now he isn’t. It’s Viggo Mortensen. I love Viggo, I really do, but if there was ANYONE who was truly meant to play Freud it is Christoph Waltz. On top of this, they’ve changed the name of the film to “A Dangerous Method” which, at the risk of sounding stupid, sounds really stupid.



In lighter events, Carey Mulligan has now officially been cast in Emma Thompson’s remake of My Fair Lady AND an English version of The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Not sure what’s happening with the film of The Seagull, but if I find out it’s been scrapped I will probably injure someone. This Christoph Waltz business is bad enough.

"The life I want - there's no shortcut." : An Education.

Pictured (from left to right): Dominic Cooper, Rosamund Pike, Peter Sarsgaard, Carey Mulligan.

The year is 1961 and Jenny (Carey Mulligan), a 16-year-old English schoolgirl, is feeling anxious about her future. She is an A student (except in Latin) and a gifted cellist. Her father (Alfred Molina) is determined to see her off to Oxford in the fall where she intends to “read English.” However, Jenny imagines a life for herself more satisfying than that of her teachers and other adult role models. Enter David (Peter Sarsgaard), a suave 30-something playboy ready to sweep her off her feet to Paris and anywhere else he and his sophisticated comrades Danny (Dominic Cooper) and Helen (Rosamund Pike) care to go.

An Education is sharply written and superbly acted with delicate direction from Lone Sherfig. It examines the options of a young woman in the early 1960s with a fresh perspective. Most often in film and television we see women of the 1960s in adulthood having either gone to college or not and reflecting on that choice with regret or gratitude to their younger self. In this film, we are watching that younger self choose between what she sees as a dead-end (college education) and a life of fun and excitement (being with David).

Her views on both options shift throughout the story, after all, Jenny is an intelligent girl and despite her self-professed self-awareness, knows that the others around her speaking caution are doing so with good reason. She sees the extremes before her: the teacher, Ms. Stubbs (Olivia Williams) who wants to help her, and Helen, leading the jet-setting life Jenny dreams of but with little to no worldly knowledge. When trying to salvage her academic prospects Jenny tells the Headmistress (Emma Thompson), “I suppose you think I’m a ruined woman,” to which Thompson coldly, yet aptly responds, “You’re not a woman.” I have many more thoughts on this, but I’m making a point to avoid too many spoilers in my reviews, so I shan’t discuss the plot any further.

Carey Mulligan is a revelation. I recall seeing her in Pride & Prejudice in 2005 as Kitty Bennet, who didn’t so much speak as giggle uncontrollably. However, her work on the television show Dr. Who and onstage in The Seagull (in which she costarred alongside Sarsgaard), earned her attention in the performing world. Now she is being primed for Oscar glory, and it is no mystery why. Most critics are likening her to the young Audrey Hepburn, an appropriate comparison. She carries herself with a sensibility that speaks to an old soul but maintains that utterly endearing quality of a youth discovering life for the first time.

The supporting players are on par. Sarsgaard is wonderfully charming, we fall in love with him as quickly as Jenny does and understand exactly why. Cooper and Pike are engaging as his prim yet hedonistic pals. As the voice of reason, Olivia Williams allows Ms. Stubbs to come across to the audience and to Jenny as someone who wants to help, not someone intent on trapping her in a seemingly dull and rigid future, as portrayed by Emma Thompson and Alfred Molina’s characters. Sally Hawkins of last year’s comedy Happy-Go-Lucky, though her screen time is no more than a full minute, gives her character (whose identity is too crucial a plot point to reveal) all the baggage one would expect this individual to have.

An Education is a real treat. It’s intelligent, humorous, and overall very intellectually and emotionally stimulating to watch. When I finally get around to making my Best of the Year list (which will happen once I see Broken Embraces, Up in the Air, and Avatar), I guarantee this will be on it.