Filming has begun on Baz Luhrmann's 3D drama The Great Gatsby at Sydney's Fox Studios.
The Great Gatsby is based on the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Joel Edgerton and Carey Mulligan. The shoot is expected to take 17 weeks, both at Fox Studios Australia and at locations around NSW, followed by 30 weeks of post-production.
It marks the first time that Fox Studios Australia has been full since X-Men Origins: Wolverine was filmed three years ago, with other productions booked into its eight sound stages including Channel Seven's The X-Factor series and Alex Proyas' sci-fi feature Paradise Lost.
The Great Gatsby is expected to inject more than $120 million into the NSW economy, according to deputy premier and minister for trade and investment Andrew Stoner, with over 400 cast and crew employed during principal photography and about 150 crew employed during post-production.
“Importantly, The Great Gatsby is helping maintain Sydney’s reputation as an international film-making destination at a time when the high Australian dollar exacerbates global competition for major productions such as this," Stoner said in a statement.
“NSW will remain on the edge of the latest 3D film techniques thanks to the envelope-pushing nature of Baz Luhrmann and his creative vision for this latest adaptation of a classic story.”
The Great Gatsby is the first Australian film to shoot using the new RED EPIC cameras, which have been used on several Hollywood blockbusters including Peter Jackson's The Hobbit films, The Amazing Spider-Man, and Ridley Scott's Prometheus (which is being worked on by local company Fuel VFX).
The Great Gatsby is understood to be one of the last productions to receive substantial government subsidies through the state's previous $20 million film and television industry attraction fund.
While several productions are underway in NSW, concerns remain that another downturn is just 12-24 months away after Screen NSW's production investment funding was cut by $5 million in the state budget.