Another Gatsby?

12 Comments to “Another Gatsby?”

1. 

   Patricia SierraDecember 21, 2012 at 8:40 am

   It doesn’t tempt me either, PG. The music is terrible.
2. 

   James Scott BellDecember 21, 2012 at 8:50 am

   Gatsby may be unfilmable. So much of its strength is Fitzgerald’s style. The plot is not, as they say, high concept. But as that is how Hollywood rolls these days, this is an attempt to make it look high concept.

   I don’t know how DeCaprio will do (he’s a fine actor) but I will say the best Gatsby was Alan Ladd in the rarely seen black & white version. They also added Hollywood stuff to the script, but all in all it was pretty faithful and Ladd just the right mix of tough and vulnerable.

   • 

     Passive GuyDecember 21, 2012 at 11:01 am

     I haven’t seen that one, James. Thanks for the tip.
   • 

     Sophia RyanDecember 21, 2012 at 3:51 pm

     Please indulge me for a moment while I squeal in fanatical appreciation… I’ve read your books and it’s a thrill to “see” you here. OK. I’m done. Thank you.

     • 

       James Scott BellDecember 21, 2012 at 4:22 pm

       Thank you, Sophia.
   • 

     Diane WhitesideDecember 21, 2012 at 9:20 pm

     Susan Bell’s “The Artful Edit: On the practice of editing yourself” teaches how to edit fiction by showing how Perkins and Fitzgerald edited The Great Gatsby in successive stages. Priceless, priceless book.

     Diane, echoing Sophia’s fan-girl squee at seeing James Scott Bell here
3. 

   Sarah McCabeDecember 21, 2012 at 11:22 am

   Is it just me or does DiCaprio sound ridiculous every time he attempts an accent?
4. 

   Jane GeorgeDecember 21, 2012 at 11:59 am

   It took me three times to watch Moulin Rouge. I kept falling asleep due to sensory overload. But I finally made it through and ended up loving the film. Once I got over my expectations, I also really enjoyed the use of anachronistic music. Now it’s one of my visual favorites. I will go see Baz Lurhman’s Gatsby on the big screen and try to leave my expectations at home.
5. 

   BarbaraMorgenrothDecember 21, 2012 at 12:29 pm

   Leonardo DiCaprio is this era’s Robert Wagner. He looks like a boy, except Robert Wagner had boyish charm.

   This is a movie full of actors with immature faces.
   It’s not for me.

   (Happy Together? How about Janie’s Got a Gun? How about a scene with Jay Gatz I mean Gatsby of course is in Harlem to go to the Cotton Club and on the street corner 4 guys are singing doo-wop. It could work.)
6. 

   Sophia RyanDecember 21, 2012 at 3:42 pm

   I like the hard-edged music, I like DiCaprio, I like the director, and I like the time period. I’ll go see the movie, not looking at it as a Gatsby, but as a time-period piece with DiCapriohunkalicious. I saw the movie w/Robert Redford in the starring role in an English class years ago. The acting wasn’t great (don’t care for Mia F-what’s-her-name), but RR will always be Gatsby to me. He was as handsome and classy as they come when he was young. Wowza! or is it yowza? Hot!
7. 

   SuburbanbansheeDecember 21, 2012 at 5:13 pm

   I hate Gatsby with the massy boredom of a billion black holes, but I love Luhrmann.

   Ow, ow, mental dysjunction, ow!

   On the bright side, it’s startling to see Gatsby played as if he has a few brains in his head and some charisma, instead of just being Annoying Boring Guy with Money.
8. 

   Christian KDecember 23, 2012 at 8:22 am

   Crash Course English Lit:

   Like Pale Gold – The Great Gatsby Part I

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xw9Au9OoN88

   Was Gatsby Great? The Great Gatsby Part 2

   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cn0WZ8-0Z1Y

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