Culture
THE GREAT GATSBY
By Samantha Costanza / Assoc. Culture Editor
Character Web
One of the main catalysts of this whirlwind story is the relationships among the characters. All of the characters are connected, forming a complicated web of relationships – some friendly, some romantic – that ultimately collide, causing lots of exciting drama as some people are brought together and others torn apart.
Daisy Buchanan-Carey Mulligan
A beautiful, insecure young socialite. She has a deep need to be loved and often behaves superficially to mask her true emotions.
Married
Tom Buchanan-Joel Edgerton Extremely wealthy, powerfully built man. He is extremely arrogant and often makes sexist and racist remarks. He shamelessly cheats on his wife, and she clearly knows it.
Cousins
In Love
Lovers
Nick Carraway-Tobey Maguire
Myrtle WilsonIsla Fisher
Friends
Jay GatsbyLeonardo DiCaprio
A fabulously wealthy, handsome young man. He throws lavish parties, yet beneath the surface he is deeply flawed, deceitful and dishonest.
The narrator. A young World War I veteran. People often confide their secrets in him because of his honest and tolerant nature.
Romantically Involved
Jordan BakerElizabeth Debicki
A young, boyish girl. She is a competitive golfer, representing one of the “new women” of the ’20s. She is very cynical, self-centered, and dishonest. 36
Married
Beautiful, vivacious young girl. She desperately seeks something more than the life she has, yet ends up putting herself into one bad situation after another.
George WilsonJason Clarke
Lifeless, tired owner of a run-down auto shop. He is completely and utterly consumed by his love for his wife.
May 2013
The Great Gatsby is an American classic, dripping with the glitz and glamour of socialite life in New York in the 1920s. Featured on countless high school reading lists across the country, it is timeless, beautifully written, and one of my absolute favorite books. If you haven’t read it yet, I suggest you put down this issue of The Gavel and resume reading this article only after you have devoured that novel from cover to cover. Done reading? Good. Now we can be friends. The newest film adaptation of The Great Gatsby hits theaters on May 10. Now I may be wrong, but I’m guessing the producers obviously picked the day after my birthday to release this film as a birthday present to me. The release date was pushed back from Christmas Day 2012 all the way to May 2013, further heightening the already skyhigh anticipation. Pushing back a film’s release date often causes speculation on whether or not the film is too weak to release. However, the exact opposite may be the case with “Gatsby.” This past December featured many enormous hit movies, including Zero Dark Thirty, The Hobbit, Les Miserables, and even Gatsby star Leonardo DiCaprio’s film Django Unchained. By delaying the Gatsby release until May, the film will be able to stand out instead of blending in to the giant black hole of Oscar contenders that are all released in a mad rush every winter. Following Oscar season, there tends to be a “dry spell” of good movies, leaving theatergoers itching for a smash hit come summer. DiCaprio’s last big summer hit, Inception, grossed a staggering $825 million worldwide, setting an extremely high bar for Gatsby.
Screenshots by Samantha Costanza/ Gavel Media
With films like James Cameron’s Avatar that extra dimension skyrocketed the film to another level, bringing the scenery to life and placing the audience directly into the movie. Sadly, not all 3-D work is as perfectly executed and often becomes distracting and unnecessary, leaving audiences annoyed that they had to wear a piece of uncomfortable plastic on their faces for two hours. The choice to make The Great Gatsby 3-D is a very risky decision. If it is done poorly, it may detract from the audience’s ability to enjoy the actual substance of the film. If done well, it could be a revolutionary decision that
I’m guessing the producers obviously picked the day after my birthday to release this film as a birthday present to me.
3-D stroke of genius or huge mistake? It’s no secret that everyone and their mother is trying to get in on the 3-D movie craze. Unfortunately, making a film in 3-D is extremely “hit or miss.” www.bcgavel.com
will give depth to the movie and allow the audience to immerse themselves in the marvelously extravagant world of Jay Gatsby. Baz Luhrman, a director with a vision The upcoming film adaptation of The Great Gatsby may have a few elements that will surprise viewers and seem a tad unconventional. Just judging by the trailer, it will feature bright colors,
fast-paced editing, and over-the-top elements – all of which are distinct trademarks of director Baz Luhrman. Luhrman is best known for his hit films Moulin Rouge! and the 1996 adaptation of Romeo and Juliet starring Leonardo DiCaprio. These films feature the aforementioned techniques as well as contemporary music, which juxtaposes the pre-20th/21st century settings. Luhrman is definitely keeping his penchant for modern music alive, recruiting Jay-Z as the executive producer for the film’s soundtrack. Trailers for the movie thus far have featured songs by Jay-Z and Kanye West, Florence + the Machine, and Jack White, setting the tone for a soundtrack stacked with contemporary songs. Luhrman crafted a new term for his signature style of filming: red curtain cinema. Gatsby is expected to follow this style, featuring bright colors, unexpected music choices, and most of all, a sense of heightened realism that is interrupted by surreal elements. The intention of red curtain cinema is to tell a story of whichthe audience already knows the ending, and to encourage the audience to “become a part” of the film, all while reminding them that they are in fact watching a work of cinema, and not real life.
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