Baz Luhrmann is in tough negotiations between rival studios Sony and Warner Bros. to bring his remake of “The Great Gatsby” to the screen.
At a dinner for “The King’s Speech” actor Geoffrey Rush, Luhrmann told Page Six he’s in the middle of deciding which studio would be best for the ambitious new movie version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s classic American novel. While it was reported last week that he might walk away from the project, he told us, “I am in the middle of deciding which . . . studio relationship is [best] . . . I’m making a big decision about ‘The Great Gatsby’ by the end of the week.”
Luhrmann wants to start filming in June in New York with Leo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan. Costumes and set design will be overseen by Luhrmann’s wife, Catherine Martin, who won two Oscars for her work on his “Moulin Rouge.”
In September, Luhrmann and Martin moved here from Australia to work on “Gatsby,” settling in Chelsea and enrolling their two children in school.
Oscar-nominated Rush, who plays speech therapist Lionel Logue in “The King’s Speech,” was celebrated at the Mandarin Oriental by guests Lawrence O’Donnell, L’Wren Scott, Emily Mortimer, Patricia Clarkson, Time magazine managing editor Richard Stengel and “King’s Speech” director Tom Hooper.
Rush is starring in a new version of the play “The Diary of a Madman” at BAM. As Luhrmann introduced Stengel — who led a panel discussion with Rush, Hooper, “King’s Speech” writer David Seidler, “Madman” director Neil Armfield and Mark Logue, Lionel’s grandson — Martin had to dash out early to “finish painting the ceiling at BAM” for Rush’s new play.
Meanwhile, Hooper, who is also nominated for an Oscar, swapped notes on Nelson Mandela during the dinner. Hooper is said to be considering making a movie on the legendary South African leader. Stengel collaborated with Mandela on his autobiography, “Long Walk to Freedom,” and later served as co-producer of the 1996 Oscar-nominated documentary, “Mandela.”