Filmmakers who adapt a novel are not beholden to the major themes of that novel.  They’re free to take away what they want to see and leave the richer aspects of the material behind.  Such is the case with Baz Luhrmann‘s adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald‘s The Great Gatsby.  Where Fitzgerald saw the relationship between Jay Gatsby and Daisy Buchanan as a laughable excuse to escape into the past, Luhrmann sees a doomed romance because Baz Luhrmann likes stories about doomed romances*.  And like his previous movies—Romeo + Juliet, Moulin Rouge!, and Australia—Luhrmann is too afraid of actual intimacy, and covers it up in glitter and other shiny objects while laboring under the delusion that it makes the story operatic.  With The Great Gatsby, Luhrmann isn’t adapting Fitzgerald as much as he’s remaking Baz Luhrmann.

One of the most anticipated films of the summer is Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher and Elizabeth Debicki.  The film is an adaptation of the classic American novel of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald that has become English 101 in high schools the country wide.  The story of the enigmatic Gatsby and his quest to win over his one true love Daisy Buchanan comes to life in 3D this May with grandiose party scenes even Fitzgerald would have enjoyed.

At the recent press day for the film in New York, Collider was present as the director and stars DiCaprio, Maguire, Mulligan and Fisher, along with producers Lucy Fisher, Douglas Wick and Catherine Mann (also the production designer and Luhrmann’s wife) held a press conference to speak about the film.  They revealed the literary influences behind many of the lines of dialogue, the surprising choice of a Jay-Z heavy soundtrack (he’s also an EP of the film) and the chemistry between the actors and director that led to the performances in the film.  Hit the jump to read our coverage of the press conference.

Your favorite stars have signed on to two exciting television projects:

• Kristen Wiig and Tobey Maguire will star opposite Will Ferrell in the six-episode IFC miniseries The Spoils of Babylon, produced by Ferrell and Adam McKay.
• John Krasinski will guest star on season four of Arrested Development.  The impressive guest roster also boasts Wiig (hey), Ben Stiller, Seth Rogen, Conan O’Brien, Isla Fisher, Andy Richter, John Slattery, and Terry Crews.

More after the jump.

We’ve been reporting on the film adaptation of The Great Gatsby since fall of 2010; the film will finally open in just a couple of weeks.  While you’ve probably seen a fair portion of the movie due to all the images, clips and trailers that have been released over the last year or so, we have a gallery of over 60 hi-res images for you to peruse at your leisure!

Baz Lurhmann’s adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire, Isla Fisher, Joel Edgerton, Jason Clarke and Adelaide Clemens, and opens in 3D on May 10th.  Hit the jump to view the images.

Warner Bros. has released 7 clips (almost 5 minutes of footage) from director Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby. For those unfamiliar with F. Scott Fitzgerald‘s source material, the story centers on a would-be writer (Tobey Maguire) chasing the American dream who moves to New York City in the spring of 1922 and encounters a mysterious millionaire named Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio). The film also stars Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke and Adelaide Clemens.

If you weren’t aware, Luhrmann shot Gatsby in 3D, so I’d advise paying the extra money to see it in that format.  Also, I saw some of the film in 3D and it looked like Luhrmann used the format to help tell the story.  Hit the jump to watch the clips.  The Great Gatsby opens May 10th.

Warner Bros. has released a new extended TV spot for director Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming adaptation of The Great Gatsby.  This TV spot appears to be geared towards the younger crowd, as it plays up the “Jazz Age” aspects of the film while highlighting Gatsby’s (Leonardo DiCaprio) lively parties and the flashier moments from the film.  While I’ve mostly been onboard with the new music Luhrmann has showcased in the previous trailers, Fergie’s “jazz-pop” track that accompanies this new TV spot is just plain awful.  Here’s hoping it doesn’t have a major showcase within the narrative of the film.

Hit the jump to watch the new extended TV spot, which also includes quite a bit of new footage.  The film also stars Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Adelaide Clemens, and Jason Clarke.  The Great Gatsby opens in 3D on May 10th.

Warner Bros. has released three more posters for The Great Gatsby because they’re Warner Bros. and they always release about 394 posters for every movie they do.  Every character deserves at least 4 different posters featuring the actor in various poses or in combination with their co-stars.  Eventually, extras will get their own posters if they’re in a Warner Bros. movie.  I look forward to seeing the Great Gatsby poster for Flapper #4.

Hit the jump to check out the posters.  The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire, Elizabeth Debicki, Isla Fisher, and Joel Edgerton.  The Great Gatsby opens in 3D on May 10th.

Warner Bros. has released a new trailer for director Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby.  For those unfamiliar with F. Scott Fitzgerald‘s source material, the story centers on a would-be writer (Tobey Maguire) chasing the American dream who moves to New York City in the spring of 1922 and encounters a mysterious millionaire named Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio).  This new trailer has a heavy focus on the relationship between Gatsby and Daisy (Carey Mulligan), while also giving us a strong dose of Joel Edgerton‘s Tom Buchanan.  Again Luhrmann’s vibrant visuals look fantastic, but the trailer also showcases a bounty of original music that the director has commissioned for the film from artists like Beyonce, Andre 3000, Lana Del Rey, and Florence + The Machine.  There’s a strong Romeo + Juliet vibe in this trailer, and I’m very much looking forward to seeing this thing on the biggest screen possible.

Hit the jump to watch the new trailer and to take a look at the full soundtrack listing.  The film also stars Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, and Adelaide Clemens.  The Great Gatsby opens in 3D on May 10th.

Warner Bros. has released the first TV spot for director Baz Luhrmann’s (Moulin Rouge) adaptation of the classic F. Scott Fitzgerald novel The Great Gatsby.  For those unfamiliar with the source material, the story centers on a would-be writer (Tobey Maguire) chasing the American dream who moves to New York City in the spring of 1922 and encounters a mysterious millionaire named Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio).  This TV spot features quite a bit of new footage, and I’m incredibly eager to see Fitzgerald’s novel adapted for the screen by way of Luhrmann’s bombastic, colorful, and vibrant vision.

Hit the jump to watch the new TV spot.  The film also stars Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke, and Adelaide Clemens.  The Great Gatsby opens in 3D on May 10th.

Warner Bros. has released a batch of new high-resolution images from some upcoming summer films.  Briefly:

• The Hangover Part III – A new image from Todd Phillips’ trilogy-closer teases a familiar scene as Zach Galifianakis, Bradley Cooper, and Ed Helms ride an elevator.  The film opens on May 24th.
• The Great Gatsby – A couple of new images from director Baz Luhrmann’s colorful adaptation highlight Leonardo DiCaprio’s titular character flanked by his new friends.  The film also stars Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire, and Joel Edgerton and opens in 3D on May 10th.
• The Conjuring – Director James Wan’s new horror film debuted a ridiculously creepy teaser trailer earlier last month, and these new images feature Patrick Wilson and Vera Farmiga’s psychic investigator characters.  The film also stars Lili Taylor and Ron Livingston and opens on July 19th.
• Getaway – A new image from this car-set thriller gives us a canted look at Ethan Hawke and Selena Gomez’s lead characters.  The film opens on August 30th.

Hit the jump to check out the images and synopses.

The Western Jane Got a Gun has gotten off to a bit of a rough start.  The film was to begin production this past Monday, but director Lynne Ramsay abruptly left the project by reportedly not showing up for the first day of filming, leaving the pic in a state of uncertainty.  Gavin O’Connor (Warrior) was quickly brought in to replace Ramsay, but then Jude Law dropped out of the project as a result of Ramsay’s departure, leaving the film without a villain.  Natalie Portman is poised to star as a woman whose outlaw husband returns home riddled with bullets, spurring her to team up with her ex-lover (Joel Edgerton) in order to seek revenge against the man responsible (the villain role yet to be cast).

With production apparently back underway, O’Connor and the film’s producers are scrambling to replace Law as quickly as possible.  A new report has surfaced suggesting that they’re casting a pretty wide net to fill the role, as Jake Gyllenhaal, Tobey Maguire, and Jeff Bridges are among those being considered.  Hit the jump for more. 

A new trailer for director Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of The Great Gatsby has been released online.  The trailer opens with Leonardo DiCaprio‘s Gatsby telling Tobey Maguire‘s Nick Carraway his life story, complete with colorful flashbacks and fast cuts.  We see much more of the individual performances in this trailer, and DiCaprio plays Gatsby with a slightly sinister quality that makes me curious to see more.  The visuals again look spectacular; if there’s one thing that can be gleaned from the two trailers we’ve seen thus far, it’s that Luhrmann has brought the Jazz Age to the big screen in a way that we’ve never seen before.  The second half of the trailer switches out the hip-hop for a hard rock version of The Turtles‘ “So Happy Together,” and it’ll be interesting to see what kind of contemporary music the ambitious filmmaker uses in the actual film.

Hit the jump to watch the new trailer.  The film also stars Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Jason Clarke, Isla Fisher, and Elizabeth Debicki.  The Great Gatsby opens in 3D on May 10, 2013.

Warner Bros. has slowly been releasing character posters for director Baz Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby over the last couple of days, but now the poster featuring Leonardo DiCaprio (Titanic) as the title character has finally become available. Along with DiCaprio are new character sheets featuring Carey Mulligan (Drive) as Daisy Buchanan and Tobey Maguire (Spider-Man) as Nick Carraway. Be sure to check out the previously released posters here and here.

Also starring Joel Edgerton, Elizabeth Debicki, Isla Fisher and Jason Clarke, The Great Gatsby opens May 10, 2013. Hit the jump to view the new posters. 

[This a re-post of my review from the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.  The Details opens today in limited release.]

The Details is a darkly comic tale that can never quite seem to get a handle on its tone. The film plays with notions of fate but only a fate that will deal out punishment and retribution no matter how much good you do or if you even receive a kindness. That’s not a problem for a black comedy, but The Details grinds to a halt as its main character receives valuable life lessons or as he heads into another predictable comic set-up. Director Jacob Aaron Estes’ best attempt to tie it all together is with an insufferable Danny Elfman-esque score. Stars Tobey Maguire and Laura Linney do a great job handling the comedy, but even their scenes eventually feel repetitive. The Details has a lot to offer, most notably frustration.

Johnny Depp is in negotiations to lead Transcendence, the directorial debut from The Dark Knight Rises cinematographer Wally Pfister.  When the project was announced back in March, details were being kept under wraps.  The plot is still being kept under wraps other than the film now having a title.  So what does “Transcendence” refer to and why keep the logline secret?  Perhaps it could be too confusing or difficult to distill into a single sentence, although when Inception was announced, all we knew was it was a thriller “set in the architecture of the mind.”  It was intriguing even though it explained absolutely nothing.

Depp will next be seen in Gore Verbinski‘s The Lone Ranger, which opens July 3, 2013.  Hit the jump for the press release regarding Transcendence, which is scheduled to begin shooting early next year.  [Update: Hit the jump for more details about the project.]