Ever since it was delayed from a Christmas 2012 release to May 2013, speculation has pegged Baz Luhrmann’s splashy 3D adaptation of “The Great Gatsby” to be eyeing the Cannes Film Festival Opening Night slot, and today the festival has made it official.
Luhrmann and his all-star cast – Leonardo Dicaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher and Jason Clarke – will walk up the famed red carpeted stairs to the Grand Theatre Lumiere and kick off the 2013 festival on May 15th. The film, based on F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic American novel set in the roaring 20s, will screen in the Out of Competition category. “It is a great honor for all those who have worked on The Great Gatsby to open the Cannes Film Festival,” said Luhrmann. “We are thrilled to return to a country, place and festival that has always been so close to our hearts, not only because my first film Strictly Ballroom was screened there 21 years ago, but also because F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote some of the most poignant and beautiful passages of his extraordinary novel just a short distance away at a villa outside Saint-Raphaël.”
Luhrmann’s 2001 musical extravaganza “Moulin Rouge” also opened Cannes. This year’s festival runs from May 15th-May 26th and once again, we hope to bring you exclusive coverage straight from the Croisette. The full lineup of films will be announced on April 18th. Meanwhile, “The Great Gatsby” will actually be released in the US theaters five days prior to its big Cannes premiere, on May 10th.
The post Baz Luhrmann’s “The Great Gatsby” to Open 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival appeared first on Up and Comers.