Karl Mondon | MBR | MCT

Baz Luhrmann, best known as the director of “Moulin Rouge!,” is pictured in July 2002 in San Francisco, California.

You’re a great director. “Romeo + Juliet” was great. “Moulin Rouge!” is one of the best musicals in modern times. Even “Australia” was a good movie, despite the fact that it could have used a tiny bit of editing. And I have to admit, when I first heard that you had acquired the rights to “The Great Gatsby,” I was excited. Who better to capture the decadence of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Jazz Age than the director of “Moulin Rouge!”? The famous party scene at Gatsby’s House in West Egg was practically written to be interpreted in your grandiose style.

But now I’m starting to have second thoughts. You cast Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby, which was a solid choice. He might be a little old for the part, but he’s one of the most undervalued actors today; he regularly turns in great performances but doesn’t receive praise for them. But then you had a very public casting search for the role of Daisy Buchanan. You passed over talented actresses like Scarlett Johansson and Michelle Williams for the Brit “It Girl,” Carey Mulligan. Don’t get me wrong—I loved her in “Never Let Me Go” and thought she deserved an Oscar for “An Education.” But Daisy Buchanan is the quintessential American beauty, and I would have rather seen that part go to an up-and-coming American actress.

Still, everything was great—until you cast Tobey Maguire as Nick. I believe that he should have been blacklisted from any part after the dance scene that turned to debacle in “Spiderman 3.”

Now, you’ve been cleared to film in Australia. “The Great Gatsby” is so connected to New York and the American Dream that I can’t fathom any reason for this other than money. Granted, the New York of today looks nothing like the New York of the 1920s. Filming is probably expensive there as well, but to take a production about the American Dream out of America is like filming the movie “Australia” in Mongolia.

I hope you’ll rethink your casting decisions and filming locations, Baz. I still have faith that you will turn out a good movie…but will it be the masterpiece that “The Great Gatsby” deserves?

Love,

Georgie