The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies
The Star Online: Entertainment: Movies |
- Baz Luhrmann takes on 'The Great Gatsby'
- Free The Great Gatsby Tickets
- Paul Walker drives into trouble in his latest film Vehicle 19
| Baz Luhrmann takes on 'The Great Gatsby' Posted: 06 May 2013 09:20 PM PDT NEW YORK (Reuters) - It is hailed as "the great American novel," but so far The Great Gatsby has defied attempts by some of Hollywood's top filmmakers to bring its lyrically romantic story and tragic characters to cinematic life. But that didn't faze director Baz Luhrmann. Luhrmann (pic), known for his lavish productions, assembled a roster of stars led by Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire in the latest incarnation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's mournful ode to the carefree, hedonistic 1920s and its youthful, wealthy and self-absorbed denizens. One of the year's most anticipated films, The Great Gatsby opens in U.S. theaters on Friday and has been accorded the prestigious opening-night slot at the Cannes Film Festival on May 15. As far back as 1926, just a year after the book was published, Hollywood has tried to capture and project Fitzgerald's artful prose onto the silver screen. A 1949 version starring Alan Ladd focused on Gatsby's criminal connections and even took significant liberties with the ending. The last effort, apart from a TV film, in 1974 featured Robert Redford and Mia Farrow atop the marquee. Critics slammed it as lifeless and lugubrious, and the box office was a dismal US$20.6 million. Luhrmann aims to change its checkered history with a lush 3-D production rendered in his trademark eye-popping visual style that first dazzled fans in the surprise 2001 hit Moulin Rouge, which went on to win several Oscars. But the challenges of adapting The Great Gatsby were mired in both its period source material and its cinematic failures. MASTERS OF ILLUSION Jay Gatsby is an enigmatic hero pining for a lost love in the person of the not always sympathetic Daisy Buchanan, played by Mulligan. The tragic love story is built around illusion, but illusion might well be said to be Luhrmann's stock-in-trade. Due to budgetary restraints, the Australian director abandoned his plan to shoot in New York, where the book is set, and moved the entire production to his native country. In the end, he said: "It was great plus. We felt that we could create this grand illusion." Even so, the production was plagued by everything from rain-drenching weather to on-set accidents, one of which resulted in a concussion for Luhrmann and shut down filming while he recovered. Early on, the filmmakers asked themselves how they could make the classic story, indelibly linked to the 1920s, "feel like it was about now," as producer Douglas Wick put it. Luhrmann agreed that the challenge lay in making the story relevant for today's audiences, while respecting what DiCaprio called "American Shakespeare ... one of the most celebrated novels of all time." "I wanted the film to feel like it would have felt to read Fitzgerald's novel in '25," Luhrmann told Reuters, noting that Fitzgerald infused his novel with African-American street music and coined the term "Jazz Age." "It made ... the book extremely pop cultural, extremely of the moment. It summed up the crazed, intoxicating times," he said of that music, adding, "But it doesn't do it for you now." Enter Jay-Z, who was executive producer of the soundtrack. In what Luhrmann called "a great collaboration," Jay-Z brought to fruition his idea of translating jazz into hip hop, with the help of music from Beyonce, Bryan Ferry, Fergie, Lana Del Ray and will.i.am. Despite the 21st century concept of filming the movie in 3-D and driven by contemporary music, Luhrmann remains confident that Gatsby's story is a timeless one. "It plays in any place at any time. And the central idea of Gatsby is universal," he said. HOLLOW OR GREAT ROMANTIC? Even so, it can also be in the eye of the beholder, as DiCaprio said he discovered upon rereading the book as an adult. "Everyone who reads it has their own interpretation of who these people are," the actor told reporters at a recent news conference, explaining how his own view on Gatsby had changed from his schoolboy impression of a great romantic, to one of a hollow figure of great sadness. "It's incredibly nuanced, it's existential, and here at the center is this man that is incredibly hollow. He's searching for some sort of meaning in his life, and he's attached himself to this relic known as Daisy. She's a mirage," said DiCaprio. "That's what's very difficult about making a movie about it. Everyone has their own personal attachment to this book and they feel like they know these characters on a very intimate level." Maguire, as the movie's moral compass, Nick Carraway, reflected that even without updating, The Great Gatsby - which ends with the line "So we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past" - remains timeless and cautionary. "In a lot of ways this book predicted the great (1929) crash," he said. "It's a book that talks about great opulence and wealth in America ... and the idea that the future is endless, and that we can keep consuming and living the way we do without any consequences." "We've encountered it again in our modern era, and it's something that we keep doing," Maguire said. "And it's not just an American novel in that regard. It's something that's happening worldwide." Catch The Great Gatsby on us. We're giving away free tickets to a special screening. Details here. |
| Posted: 06 May 2013 08:45 PM PDT Midwesterner Nick Carraway is lured into the lavish world of his neighbour, Jay Gatsby. Soon enough, however, Carraway will see through the cracks of Gatsby's nouveau riche existence, where obsession, madness, and tragedy await. The Great Gatsby with Leo DiCaprio opens in cinemas here on 16 May. We have 50 pairs of tickets to give away for a special screening on 15 May. All you have to do is print this page and bring it along with you to our redemption table at GSC Mid Valley. Please see details below. Please note that tickets will be given on a first come, first served basis. Each person will be given only one pair of tickets. Redemption Details Date: 15 May 2013 (Wednesday) Time: 8.30pm Venue: GSC Mid Valley Screening Details Date: 15 May 2013 (Wednesday) Time: 9.30pm Venue: GSC Mid Valley Rules & Regulations 1. This redemption is open to all eCentral fans. 2. Print out the contest page and redeem it at the venue given in this article. 3. Each page entitles you to two movie tickets only. Each person is allowed to redeem only once. 4. Tickets are given out on a first come, first served basis. 5. Queue-jumping and reserving places in line during the redemption are strictly prohibited. The organizers reserve the right to refuse tickets to anyone found doing so. 6. Tickets are not exchangeable for cash. 7. This movie is not yet rated.. Movie ratings will strictly apply for this movie. The organizers reserve the right to refuse entry to the cinema hall to those not within the permitted age limit. No exceptions will be made at any time for any reason. 8. I hereby expressly consent to the collection, collation, use and/or disclosure of all my personal data by Star Publications (M) Berhad for the purposes of the The Great Gastby contest. 9. For enquiries, please e-mail ecentralmy@gmail.com |
| Paul Walker drives into trouble in his latest film Vehicle 19 Posted: 06 May 2013 05:03 PM PDT There are plenty of things that can go wrong when hiring a rental car – hygiene being a big issue for most of us. For Michael (Paul Walker), however, things take a turn for the unusual when he finds a gun under the seat and a handphone in the glove compartment of the mini-van he hired. Worse, the phone rings and a stranger on the other end is not at all happy with Michael. The odd events keep piling up when, stuck in a traffic jam, Michael finds another surprise in the car – an unconcious woman, bound and gagged. This is the scenario Michael – an ex-convict who wants no more trouble with the law – finds himself in in the film Vehicle 19. What he does next makes up for the content of the film. With Vehicle 19, director/writer Mukunda Michael Dewil wanted to make Michael's internal journey just as exciting as what's happening around him. In the production notes, Dewill said: "I wanted to take (the audience) on a journey with a man who has to overcome seemingly insurmountable obstacles – and not just the external obstacles but the internal ones, the life-long bad habits, the conditioning, the embarrassing, weak parts of us." Actor Walker – who is probably best known for his role in the Fast & Furious franchise – took on the role because he likes playing guys who have all these bumps on the road, with seemingly no way out. The handsome actor said of his character: "He's screwed up a lot in life. I think a bit of a raincloud follows him around wherever he goes – no matter how hard he tries to do right, it always ends up wrong." As a highly skilled driver, who races cars for a hobby, Walker did almost all of the driving in the film (precision steering, weaving in and out of traffic, sliding up on a curb and smashing through scaffolding). About the only thing Walker left to the stunt drivers was flipping the car over on its side. But one thing that remained challenging for this experienced driver was filming in Johannesburg, South Africa. Walker recalled: "There were sections where it called for empty roads and we'd block off alleyways, but there were a lot of times when I was driving in downtown Johannesburg in rush hour and I had (camera crew) crawling all over my van. "I'm literally weaving in and out of traffic. I remember driving against oncoming traffic at a pretty high speed at one point and the gaps started out pretty wide but as you start finding the flow, it's a dance, you start getting closer and closer. You're avoiding head-on collisions by inches! "Because the camera is on me, I have to act ... So I'm driving and acting simultaneously and the guys who are coming head on towards me see this panicked face and they're used to seeing cool, precise stunt drivers in my place. "At one point, a couple of guys at the end said, 'Man, you really got into it, there were times when we thought we were going to hit you!' To me, that's the biggest compliment." > Vehicle 19 opens in cinemas nationwide on May 9. |
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