Baz Luhrmann & 'The Great Gatsby' Re-shoot/Money Woes

The Great Gatsby, the movie, is turning into quite the mystery.  First, Warner Bros. decided to push the movie from its prime Christmas Day opening to next summer.  The reason, according to Warner Bros. was that they wanted to give Gatsby the best opportunity to reach the biggest audience possible.  Now it seems that Gatsby director Baz Luhrmann is fishing for money to finish re-shoots on the movie.  Re-shoots Baz, really?  Usually when movies get pushed and the words re-shoots are involved, that is hardly ever a good sign.

Now, if reports are true, Warner Bros. reportedly told Baz to take a walk when he asked them for the re-shoot money.   Given that the budget ended up being around $127 million (which came in over budget), I can see why Warners would be a little hesitant.  But why does Baz want to do re-shoots?  Is this a case where a mad perfectionist like Luhrmann, given a little bit of breathing room with the release date, is making sure every little detail of the movie is to his liking?

Or, does Warners have a real dog on their hands?  So no matter what is done, re-shoot wise, it won’t help the movie, so why spend any more money on it?  And by pushing the movie to next summer, Warners thinking might be the move gives Gatsby a better shot to at least make a profit thanks to the foreign markets?  That idea may be a little far fetched, but whatever the case may be, Luhrmann is now looking to outside investors to finish what he feels needs to be finished.

The trailer for Gatsby did nothing to excite me.  Visually it looked great, but everything else felt lifeless.  I’m not completely disregarding this movie, simply because it’s coming from Baz Luhrmann, but all this news makes me a little leery that Gatsby may end up being a case of style over substance.  I guess we’ll have our answer come next summer. 

Comments

[J.Bradley]

I remember when I walked into "Australia" and noticed most of the audience was over 50, it struck me that was not a good sign. He's got a youngish cast, visual style and 3D but I think for Gatsby to make profit in THIS age he needs superpowers.

[craig dietz]

Yeah, I agree with you and moving it to next summer doesn't really help it's chances. They should just release it next fall, what's 3 or 4 extra months from summer going to matter? Warner's is probably praying this does well overseas (Australia did making over $160 million)