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"view slideshow\n\nBaz Luhrmann is hardly the first movie director to be seduced by The Great Gatsby, F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic Jazz Age tale of love and ambition set on the Gold Coast of Long Island, New York. Since its publication in 1925, the novel has been made into at least four celluloid adaptations, none of which is thought to be truly successful, with the '74 version, starring Robert Redford and Mia Farrow, often described as beautiful but dull. Considering Luhrmann's track record of such ebulliently styled films as Strictly Ballroom, Moulin Rouge, and Australia, it's safe to say that whatever criticisms are lobbed at this Gatsby\u2014and given the book's cherished place in the American canon, scrutiny will surely be ruthless\u2014dull isn't likely to be among them.\n\nAnticipation for the movie, which opens May 10, is high, thanks in part to a cast that includes Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby, Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan, and Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway, the story's narrator. It also was shot in 3-D, features costumes by Miuccia Prada, and has a soundtrack created with hip-hop mogul Jay-Z. As with past Luhrmann pictures, expect a lively mash-up of musical styles. \"Jazz was such a revolution in that era,\" says the Australian-born filmmaker, \"so I looked to a blend of jazz and hip-hop to help the audience understand through their own receptors what it might have been like to live during that time.\"\n\nLuhrmann may take liberties with musical conventions in Gatsby, but he and his wife, designer Catherine Martin, strove for greater period authenticity\u2014a dazzling version, to be sure\u2014in the lavish sets. Over the past 20 years Martin has headed production and costume design on nearly all of Luhrmann's projects, and as such has been key in fashioning his films' visual pizzazz (she won two Oscars for her work on Moulin Rouge). For Gatsby, she oversaw 42 individual sets created in and around Sydney, both on location and on soundstages. It took her team 14 weeks just to build, paint, and decorate Gatsby's mansion, which called for a grand ballroom, library, master bedroom, entrance hall, and terrace, as well as a garden.\n\nDesigns for the residence were based on the great early-20th-century houses of Long Island's North Shore\u2014places like Oheka Castle, La Selva, and Beacon Towers. \"Looking at images of Beacon Towers, there's something that gives it the feel of the Disneyland castle, and Baz referenced that\u2014the idea that Gatsby was building a fantasy,\" Martin says. Just as the music plays a key role in establishing the tone, the sets are central to establishing character, \"showing the inner world in an outer way,\" she adds.\n\nView Slideshow1 / 9*[The Great Gatsby](http://thegreatgatsby.warnerbros.com/)* stars (from left) Tobey Maguire, Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan, and Joel Edgerton.\n\nFor the exterior shots of Gatsby's estate, the Gothic Revival building of the former St. Patrick's Seminary in Sydney was used, with faux ivy applied to the first two floors and a temporary fountain constructed in the courtyard; plus, in postproduction, soaring turrets were added digitally. As for the interiors, the grandest creation is Gatsby's vast ballroom, the site of his legendary parties. Consistent with turn-of-the-century mansions, the space features a gold-filigreed ceiling hung with ornate crystal chandeliers, a marquetry floor (with Gatsby's monogram inlaid at the center), towering columns between the windows, and a serpentine staircase\u2014a flourish presumably installed by Gatsby. \"We talked about somebody coming in with a lot of money and what changes he would make to certain rooms,\" Martin says.\n\nThough Gatsby's bedroom has traditional arched windows, the decor is all up-to-the-minute '20s glamour, with richly polished hardwoods, a harlequin-pattern wall covering of silk crisscrossed with ribbons of wood, and a gray and gold Art Deco\u2013style rug designed by Martin.\n\nThe over-the-top splendor of the Gatsby mansion stands in contrast to Nick's neighboring residence, envisioned as a homey cottage. Outside, a porch with an Adirondack swing overlooks flower beds and a small lawn, while Stickley-esque furniture, quartersawn oak beams, and moss-green tiles conjure an Arts and Crafts vibe inside. \"It was all about finding what we thought were quintessential Long Island motifs,\" explains Martin. And materials that reflect Nick's innocent nature.\n\nThen there's the Georgian redbrick manor where Daisy\u2014Nick's cousin and Gatsby's obsession\u2014lives with her unfaithful husband, Tom. Inspired in part by Old Westbury Gardens on Long Island, the home (whose exterior was built on a soundstage, with enhancements added digitally) instantly conveys establishment status. The luxurious Hollywood Regency\u2013 and Deco-inflected furnishings in the sitting room, the contemporary art, and the formal gardens are all intended, Martin says, \"to contrast Daisy with the new-money fantasist that is Gatsby.\"\n\nEven the team working on the film was in awe of all the detail and craftsmanship. \"On set the crew would have their camera phones out, shooting the scenes to remember them,\" Tobey Maguire says. \"Baz and his team built this spectacular world that brings you back to a version of the 1920s\u2014one that also kind of contemporizes it. It's the '20s as the characters might have experienced them. The film is an amazing, immersive experience.\"\n\nClick here to tour the lavish sets of Baz Luhrmann's film The Great Gatsby.\n\nClick here to read AD's exclusive interview with Tobey Maguire about working on the most anticipated film of the year."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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