LATEST NEWS
'Flipped' Star Callan McAuliffe Joining Baz Luhrmann's 'Great Gatsby'
by Ethan Anderton
August 31, 2011
Source: Variety
The actor showed some true talent with his turn in the charming coming-of-age romance Flipped and even pulled his weight in I Am Number Four (even if the film wasn't all that impressive). Now young Callan McAuliffe is poised to make his star rise a little higher as Variety reports the actor will play a young Jay Gatsby in Baz Luhrmann's adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel The Great Gatsby. With Leonardo DiCaprio playing the older version of the titular character, McAuliffe certainly has his work cut out for him to measure up to the caliber of the elder Gatsby, but I think he's got the talent to pull it off.
In addition, EW has learned that model Gemma Ward, who most recently played the creepy mermaid queen in Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, has also landed a role in the adaptation. It's not known what character she'll play, but The New York Observer points out that she could end up playing Catherine, Myrtle Wilson’s sister who accompanies Nick Carraway and Tom Buchanan to the party at the McKee’s apartment on Fifth Avenue. It would be a fitting role for the model-turned-actress, but we'll have to wait for official confirmation. Either way, with Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan and Joel Edgerton also involved, you can't deny the power of this cast.
3 Comments
1
I'm excited for this. Baz is a brilliant director. Sure, Australia wasn't his shining moment, but it was an interesting failure. I think the Gatsby material is perfectly suited to him.
equustel on Aug 31, 2011
2
Unfortunately, Baz is actually an awful director. All his films have been crass, lightweight pieces of frippery. In fact, calling him a director is too much of a complement, he is more like a really powerful art director, or a costume designer who is fucking the director. And Australia wasn't his shining moment because it was his first film that didn't have some sort of non-filmic hook to distract from his fuckery. Strictly Ballroom had dancing, Romeo + Juliet had the gimmick of (gasp!) a modern day Shakespeare tale, and Moulin Rouge had singing. Strip away the tinsel, and Luhrmann is basically a much less successful version of Andrew Loyd Webber. /end rant.
Lebowski on Sep 1, 2011
3
Eh, he's probably just ahead of his time (joke). Some might say his approach to gunslinger editing and ''need-to-see-twice-to-catch'' nuances in his camerawork are brave and creditable signs of unique directing technique. And looking back, all of his pre-Australia efforts were incredibly similar, meaning there really was no single ''gimmick'' employed, but rather a style and flair present along with certain single elements in each film that stood alone when finished. And the song adaptations in Moulin Rouge? Forget about it, shit was great. But I'm quibbling. Guess I just enjoy Baz more than some-- and that's just fine.
Cracky on Sep 1, 2011
New comments are no longer allowed on this post.
FEATURED POSTS
FOLLOW FS HERE
Follow Alex's main account on Twitter:
Add our posts to your Feedly › click here
Get all the news sent on Telegram 
LATEST TO WATCH