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Leonardo DiCaprio Filming The Great Gatsby In Sydney, by Greg Tingle - 1st November 2011

Leonardo DiCaprio had enjoyed his first appearance on the Sydney set of The Great Gatsby yesterday.

The megastar, who portrays millionaire Jay Gatsby, walked around the White Bay set with co-star Tobey Maguire.

It's understood they worked on matters such as rehearsing lines. They two were also seen in a vintage yellow auto to shoot a scene while driving.

DiCaprio was looking dashing in this three-piece suit. Make no mistake, he's the picture perfect Hollywood leading man, but is anyone looking to topple 'Our Leo', we wonder.

The Great Gatsby is a Baz Luhrmann-directed film which has some key scenes shot in Sydney's inner west (Balmain - Rozelle region), with production budget in the region of $88 million. Word is budget may be raised if need be, such is the importance of the project.

Rozelle's abandoned White Bay power station has been recreated to resemble a wasteland on the outskirts of 1920's New York.

Insiders understand the movie will pour about $120 million into the New south Wales economy over the four-month shoot.

The project is a real shot in the arm for the entertainment industry with about 1300 people working on the film in some capacity, including 275 full-time crew and 150 in post-production.

Film locations in Sydney include Fox Studios at Moore Park, Rozelle - White Bay, but we're yet to know the location of the mansion which will home 'Our Leo's' character.

DiCaprio and co-star Tobey Maguire have been enjoying their time on set and have been rehearsing lines and leaving nothing to chance.

DiCaprio looked dashing in a period suit and trim straw hat, right out of the 20s. Maguire was right there next to him, playing perceptive narrator and character Nick Carraway, seeing right through the deceptiveness and flaws of Jay Gatsby.

Sydney appears to have caught Leonardo DiCaprio fever in a big way. Expect to hear all sorts of gossip on the man today - Melbourne Cup Day. We're betting that The Great Gatsby will prove to be some of the greatest work ever by DiCaprio, much of the cast and of course by celebrated director, Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann.

Australia the movie

Baz Luhrmann official website

Mark Anthony "Baz" Luhrmann (born 17 September 1962) is an Oscar- and Golden Globe-nominated Australian film director, screenwriter, and producer.

Personal life

Luhrmann was born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, to a ballroom dance teacher/dress shop owner mother, and Leonard Luhrmann, a farmer. He was raised in Herons Creek, a tiny rural settlement in northern New South Wales, where his father ran a petrol station and a movie theatre, both of which would influence his son's filmmaking career. He attended St. Joseph's Hasting Regional School, Port Macquarie 1975-1978 and Sydney Grammar School. He graduated from St Augustines College in Sydney, after leaving St Pauls College at the end of Year 10. His nickname was given to him due to a perceived resemblance to the character Basil Brush.

Luhrmann married Catherine Martin, the production designer on all of his films, on 26 January 1997. They have two children, Lillian Amanda Luhrmann and William Alexander Luhrmann.

Films

After theatrical successes, including the original stage version of "Strictly Ballroom", Luhrmann moved into film, and has directed four so far:

Strictly Ballroom (1992), starring Paul Mercurio and Tara Morice
Romeo + Juliet (1996), starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Claire Danes
Moulin Rouge! (2001), starring Nicole Kidman and Ewan McGregor
Australia (2008), starring Nicole Kidman and Hugh Jackman

His first three films are now formally marketed as 'The Red Curtain Trilogy'.

]Awards and nominations
Luhrmann received Directors Guild of America and Golden Globe nominations for Best Director - Motion Picture for his work on Moulin Rouge!, but did not receive an Oscar nomination for directing (Academy Award host Whoopi Goldberg joked "I guess it just directed itself"). However it did receive an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.

Future projects

Luhrmann is reported to be directing the film version of the hit musical Wicked. It has also been confirmed that he has acquired rights to The Great Gatsby, which will be his next project.

Influences

Luhrmann has cited Italian grand opera as a major influence on his work including Moulin Rouge!. He has also listed other theatrical styles like Bollywood films as having had an influence on his work like Moulin Rouge!. Luhrmann was a ballroom dancer as a child, and his mother taught ballroom dancing, which was an inspiration for Strictly Ballroom.

Other work

A young Baz Luhrmann can be seen in an early acting role in the 1981 film Winter of Our Dreams, directed by John Duigan. Baz has a small part playing opposite Judy Davis.

In 1990, Luhrmann staged his interpretation of Benjamin Britten's version of A Midsummer Night's Dream, set in colonial India, for the Australian Opera. After successful seasons in Sydney and Melbourne, the production went on to win the Critics' Prize at the Edinburgh Festival. Music extracts can be heard on his album Something for Everybody.

The CD, Something for Everybody, was released in 1997 and features music from Luhrmann’s films and operas. Including his version of Britten’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream.

In 2003 Luhrmann brought his production of Puccini's La bohème to The Broadway Theatre in New York City. Originally produced in Sydney in 1990, once in New York it eventually garnered 7 Tony Award Nominations, including Best Revival of a Musical, Best Direction (Luhrmann), Best Orchestrations (Nicholas Kitsopoulos), Best Costume Design (Catherine Martin) and won Best Set Design.(Catherine Martin), Best Lighting Design (Nigel Levings), and the special award for Excellence in Theater (Principal Ensemble Cast).

In 2004, Baz Luhrmann directed a lavish multi-million-dollar commercial for Chanel N° 5 titled N° 5 the Film, inspired by his Red Curtain trilogy, starring Nicole Kidman and Rodrigo Santoro. Luhrmann told interviewer Charlis Rose on Charlie Rose that he based the commercial on the 1953 film Roman Holiday.

Luhrmann is also credited with a 1999 UK number one single, released by EMI's Catalogue division entitled "Everybody's Free (To Wear Sunscreen)".
He directed a video for John Paul Young's Love is in the Air which was re-released to coincide with the release of Strictly Ballroom (in which the song was featured prominently).

He assisted in the election campaign of former Australian Prime Minister Paul Keating in 1993.

Luhrmann was appointed an Ambassador for the Australian Theatre for Young People in 2005.

In 2008, he was tasked by prime minister Kevin Rudd to make new ads to promote Australia as a tourist destination. (Credit: Wikipedia).

Profiles

Moulin Rouge

Australia the movie

Actors, Producers and Directors

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