
The Hollywood Reporter announced that Baz Luhrmann has officially acquired rights to The Great Gatsby. Luhrmann sees the pre-Depression story as a wake-up call as the economy comes crashing down and another gilded age, as he sees it, comes to an end.
"If you wanted to show a mirror to people that says, 'You've been drunk on money,' they're not going to want to see it. But if you reflected that mirror on another time they'd be willing to."
He added, "People will need an explanation of where we are and where we've been, and The Great Gatsby can provide that explanation."
He said that he wants to move quickly on the Gatsby project because of that timeliness. "I'm going to move faster than I have before. I'd be surprised if it's another seven years," he said, referring to the period between Moulin Rouge and Australia.
The project also might not be with Fox. The director said he's "talking to everyone, and they're all interested" -- and paused a full 10 seconds when asked if his experience with Fox was a satisfactory one, before offering a noncommittal answer.
To us, The Great Gatsby will always belong to Robert Redford, and the remakes of yesteryear is getting a little out of hand, but...Baz and Fitzgerald? Doesn't sound too shabby.