Fans of F. Scott Fitzgerald (and to a lesser extent Moulin Rouge!) despair: it turns out that Baz Lurhmann’s long-anticipated adaptation of classic novel The Great Gatsby won’t be hitting the big screen until next summer.
In a recent statement, Warner Bros announced that they were delaying the film to ensure that “it reaches the largest audience possible”. By which, of course, they mean “releasing the film later will make us a ton of money”.
It is, it has to be said, a wise move on the part of the Warners; there are so many high-end releases coming out in December already, including the first part of Peter Jackson’s Hobbit trilogy and Tom Hooper’s film version of the classic musical Les Misérables.
But, of course, even the shrewdest marketing decisions have their price: putting the movie back to 2013 takes it out of the running for the awards season next spring.
Still, anyone looking for a fix of Leonardo DiCaprio need not fear; the end of this year will also see him star in Quentin Tarantino’s new Western, Django Unchained.
Let’s just hope that Baz Lurhmann uses the extra few months to his advantage, otherwise we’ll end up with another Romeo + Juilet.