I heard that they were making a new The Great Gatsby movie. I also heard that Baz Luhrmann is planning to direct it. And that he thinks he might do it in 3D. Oh please don't! Gatsby is perfect as it is, we don't need an over colored and over filmed in high speed re-enactment. This was so much bad news that I had to do more research to find out if it was true. It's unconfirmed truth, meaning that they' re talking about it and possibly planning on it, but they're not quite certain yet. Other unconfirmed truths have Leonard DiCaprio and Tobey Maguire may act in it.
So you may ask yourself, why is this all bad news? I'm about to tell you.
First, let me start out by saying that I loathed The Great Gatsby when it was required high school reading. But wouldn't you know it, the summer that I graduated I read it again. It was the only non-bodice ripper in the box of books at the drive thru coffee stand where I worked. It filled only one long, hot day, but it was a good day. I enjoyed it so completely that I've read it a few times since and still find something more wonderful about it each time. And I like the movie adaptation because it is incredibly accurate, right down to the presence of the color green in the story. My fear is that they won't be able to recreate the same detail and accuracy and complexity of the story without completely duplicating the original movie but with different actors, like Psycho.
That brings me to the director. And for the purpose of this blog I will retract my previous statement about not caring who directs a movie. I do. Baz Luhrmann is not my kind of director and I find myself turning most of his movies off because I get tired of seeing bright colors and close ups revealing the pores on the actors nose. When I was fifteen and Romeo and Juliet came out in theaters, I was first in line. I devoured it and I loved it, but in retrospect I think it was only because it was a requirement in my social circle, and the bitchin' soundtrack. Now, fifteen years later, I can't watch it all and the music is only nostalgic. I lose interest when Juliet's mother is preparing for their masquerade and the camera moves so many times in so many different directions that it actually has an impact on my balance. Moulin Rouge isn't any better and I've never seen Strictly Ballroom simply because I'm afraid. Australia is better, as far as cinematography goes and it gives me a glimmer of hope that this won't be another of Luhrmann's spectacles. I'm hoping with all of my hopes that he respects Fitzgerald's vision of the roaring twenties, and keeps the freak show out of it.
Now, 3D. 3D is awesome. They've made huge advances in the technology very recently and the 3D theater experience is catching up with the price of the tickets. Scenes have more depth, the viewer is more involved in the story. And in some movies, objects pop out at the audience, creating an all encompassing experience. But, not every movie needs to be 3D. And if Luhrmann follows through with what he's been talking about, we'll be seeing Gatsby, face down in a pool, in the middle of a theater. Please no. Gatsby is an experience in itself. It doesn't need to have access to addition dimensions to make it more enjoyable. What would be the point, other than to create depth? And if he does make it in 3D, it won't be filmed in 3D, so there won't be as much of the depth as we're getting from the other live action 3D movies. It's not necessary. I won't pay more to see it that way. I will pay more to see it in DLP though, because that's a sharp picture.
So, I'm not excited, and almost worried about the new Gatsby movie. I hope that Baz does a good job telling the story so that the people who've never been to East Egg will get the right idea about it. I hope that he does Mr. Fitzgerald proud and doesn't make it into an unsightly mess of color and close ups like he's done to other classic tales in the past.
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