Luhrmann Workshops 'The Great Gatsby' with DiCaprio, Mcguire & Hall

Livejournal.com reports today that Leonardo DiCaprio, Toby Mcguire and Rebecca Hall led a workshop of Baz Luhrmann's The Great Gatsby remake in the roles of Jay Gatsby, Nick Carraway and Daisy Buchanan, respectively.  The roles were last made famous on screen by Robert Redford, Sam Waterston and Mia Farrow in Francis Ford Coppola's adaptation, directed by Jack Clayton. Luhrmann is co-writing this new adaptation alongside Craig Pearce.  Luhrmann, of course, will also direct.

Amanda Seyfried had been rumored to be a top choice for the role of Daisy.  Reports are now circulating that Luhrmann is also eyeing Natalie Portman for the role. No word as to whether a production timeline has been put in place, as Luhrmann is still working on the text.

To read the full report in the Livejournal, click here.

The Great Gatsby is a novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. First published on April 10, 1925, it is set on Long Island's North Shore and in New York City during the summer of 1922. It is a critique of the American Dream. The novel takes place following the First World War. American society enjoyed having unprecedented levels of prosperity during the "roaring" 1920s as the economy soared. At the same time, Prohibition, the ban on the sale and manufacture of alcohol as mandated by the Eighteenth Amendment, made millionaires out of bootleggers. After its republishing in 1945 and 1953, it quickly found a wide readership and is today widely regarded as a paragon of the Great American Novel, and a literary classic.

Luhrmann is best known for hit "Red Curtain Film Trilogy," including Strictly Ballroom, William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge. In 2008, he released his film Australia, starring Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman. On Broadway, he produced and directed La Bohème in the 2002-2003 season.

Photo Credit: Genevieve Rafter-Keddy