It was set to be a Leonardo DiCaprio showdown come Christmas Day 2012, only a few short months ago. That was before Warner Bros. pushed the DiCaprio-starring adaptation of “The Great Gatsby” back to May 10, 2013. While DiCaprio may still be weeping over the loss of that potentially magnificent double feature, as he's set to star in Quentin Tarantino's "Django Unchained" as well, director Baz Luhrmann appears to be handling it all quite well.
While rumours recently swirled that Luhrmann was attempting to gather funds to finish shooting 'Gatsby' once Warner Bros. turned him down, it appears he’s already moving on according to THR, as he just inked a two-year development deal with Sony Pictures Television. It’s another move made in the game of major filmmakers moving to the small screen, with Luhrmann set to develop broadcast and cable projects for the studio through his Bazmark Films production shingle. Certainly with opportunities that cable and even network television are now affording filmmakers who don't want to make movies based on toys, it will be interesting to see what comes out of this union.
While there may be many Luhrmann detractors out there, it’s hard to deny that the filmmaker who brought us the likes of “Moulin Rouge!” and “Romeo + Juliet” wouldn’t be able to bring a little sizzle to our television screen. In fact, perhaps a shortened format would allow Luhrmann to hone his skills for going all over-the-top and silly on us in the best of ways. Then again, he may only be writing and producing, which in that case, we could still see him at least bringing some odd or quirky concoction our way. We’ll have to wait and see.