The Great Gatsby will open Cannes 2013

This has been a pretty slow week so far, but we got word today that The Great Gatsby, starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan, will open the 2013 Cannes Film Festival in France. Gatsby was one of many victims of schedule changes by the studios and was originally set to be released on Christmas last year. The film was delayed until May 10, 2013.

This is a bit of an odd move seeing that the release date is 5 days before Cannes even starts, so it kind of defeats the purpose of "premiering" a film to open the festival. This will mark the second film directed by Baz Luhrmann to open Cannes and the third to be screened. In 1992 his film Strictly Ballroom was screened and in 2001 Moulin Rouge opened the festival.

Jay-Z to compose score for The Great Gatsby

Let's ring in 2013 with some... interesting news.

It was announced that Jay-Z is currently composing an original score for the upcoming adaptation of The Great Gatsby starring Leonardo DiCaprio. As you might know we originally were supposed to get The Great Gatsby last week for a Christmas release, but they delayed it until May 10th. Jay-Z is working with an artist known as Bullitts to complete the score.

Personally, I think Hollywood is taking the hint after Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross earned Oscars and Golden Globes (along with a SAG award and Critic's Choice) for their original score to The Social Network in 2010. They also got repeat nominations for the score to The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo in 2011, but they lost hard to The Artist at just about every single awards show. More directors are trying to get current artists to take the plunge and do the music for their films. However, that doesn't mean it will work every single time. We will just have to see how this one plays out. I'm not the biggest Jay-Z fan but I'm curious.

The Great Gatsby pushed back to 2013

The upcoming 3D film adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic, The Great Gatsby, has been pushed from Christmas 2012 to summer 2013 by Warner Bros. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, and Isla Fisher and is directed by Baz Luhrmann (Moulin Rouge, Romeo + Juliet).

WB president of domestic distribution Dan Fellman released this statement about the scheduling move:

"Based on what we've seen, Baz Luhrmann's incredible work is all we anticipated and so much more. It truly brings Fitzgerald's American classic to life in a completely immersive, visually stunning and exiting way. We think movieogers of all ages are going to embrace it, and it makes sense to ensure this unique film reaches the largest audience possible."

*sigh*
This is why we can't have nice things.