When a filmmaker like Baz Luhrmann—Moulin Rouge and Australia, among others—decides to take on novel such as The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald's story about opulence, scandal, and the nouveau riche in 1922, there is no other option but full-throttle spectacle. While the film's cast—Leonardo DeCaprio, Carey Mulligan, Tobey Maguire—does much to boost the razzle-dazzle quotient, the effect, no doubt, relies a lot on the film's high-gleam interiors. Architectural Digest recently revealed a few of the sets from the film (due out May 10) including the pièce de résistance: the ballroom (above), where the consummate host Jay Gatsby threw his decadent parties amid a broad stone staircase, wafting curtains, dozens of lit candelabras, and some ridiculously shiny parquet floors.
For many of his films, Luhrmann relies on his wife, costume and production designer Catherine Martin, to bring in the design panache. Martin, who won two Oscars for Moulin Rouge, spent 14 weeks building and decorating the Gatsby mansion, which meant not only crafting the ballroom, but also the library, master bedroom (below), garden, terrace, and entrance hall.
? In Gatsby's bedroom: rich wood paneling, diamond wall treatments, a spiral staircase, and an Art Deco-style rug. "Baz and his team built this spectacular world that brings you back to a version of the 1920s—one that also kind of contemporizes it," Maguire told AD.
? As for the exterior, St. Patrick's Seminary, in Sydney, was treated with faux ivy and a temporary fountain; digital turrets were added later on.
· The Sets of The Great Gatsby [Architectural Digest]
· All Set Design posts [Curbed National]
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