PRESS CONFERENCE – Baz Luhrmann : “We cannot fail to be inspired by the story of Gatsby”

The director of The Great Gatsby, presented Out of Competition, answered questions from the press. With him were the film’s producer Catherine Martin, script writer Craig Pearce, and the film’s main actors, including Leonardo Di Caprio, Carrey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire.

Baz Luhrmann, on what inspired the film:
I was on a train in Siberia and I had a copy of the novel. I read it. That’s how everything started. In the current climate, I think we cannot fail to be inspired by the story of Gatsby, and to see it differently. It took time to get this result: I had to buy the rights to the novel, find the people to work with… very early on, Leonardo wanted to be part of the project.

Baz Luhrmann told the press about his experience at the film’s première in the United States:
At the end of the film, a woman looked at me and and said “I’ve come from Vermont to see what you did with my grandfather’s book.” I froze. She added: “I think Scott would have been proud of this film.” It’s the best compliment I’ve received.

Leonardo Di Caprio emphasised the importance of the novel in the United States:
Gatsby is compulsory reading in secondary school. People today still try to dissect this novel, to interpret every line, it’s a kind of endless quest. We wanted to re-shape the novel’s characters. It is so exciting to work with a text of this calibre.

Craig Pearce, on adaptating the novel:
We re-read the book to try and look at its different levels in depth. The decadence and drunkenness of those years are very clear. Given the current financial crisis, this book finds an echo in today’s world. It inspires readers of every age differently.
 

Quotes collected by BP