The budget of 'The Great Gatsby (2013)'

The Great Gatsby (2013)

• Budget: 105 million USD.

• Co-written and directed by award winning Baz Luhrmann.

• Production for the film commenced in 2011.

• Catherine Martin, the wife of director Baz Luhrmann, created the costumes and set designs.

• Some of the film’s party scenes had close to 300 extras on set — each one was dressed in his or her own uniquely designed costume. —> Brooks Brothers (partnered with Catherine Martin for the film) supplied 1,200 costumes in total.

• Miuccia Prada (daughter of the founder of Prada, Mario Prada) collaborated with designers for the films’ costumes and real Tiffany jewellery was worn by the actresses (of which were worth millions).

• Miuccia designed a total of 40 of the background dresses for the party scenes. —> She also made one of the protagonists (Daisy,  portrayed by Carey Mulligan) chandelier dresses & fur for a scene at one of Gatsby’s parties.

• Costumes that didn't end up retreating to the archives at Warner Brothers were displayed and priced for sale at Harrods and Brooks Brothers.

• The movie was filmed in a total of 12 locations, all of which were in Australia. —> The director would have had to search for suitable locations to ensure they matched the films requirements.

• The film was based on a novel (also titled ‘The Great Gatsby’) by Scott Fitzgerald. This meant that director, Luhrmann, would have had to negotiate a contract in order to buy the rights to using the book.

• As of 2016, The Great Gatsby is Luhrmann’s highest-grossing film —> earned over $360 million worldwide.

• The first trailer for the film was released on May 22, 2013. It featured songs from various artists such as Jay-Z, JackWhite, Beyonce, Lana Del Rey and many more big stars.

• The soundtrack to the film was later available to buy on iTunes including a deluxe version which featured 3 extra tracks. —> The film score was executive-produced the american artist Jay-Z.

•   It is estimated that the film made a profit of $58.6 million.

•   The film won several awards including best film at the Academy Awards (2014) and was nominated for multiple awards.

• The film included many well known and highly respected actors including Leonardo DiCaprio who was paid $20 million for playing the protagonist role of ‘Jay Gatsby’.

• The films rich colour and variety of lighting required a lot of attention by visual artists and other experts (including Chris Godfrey, the VFX supervisor) when completing the post-production.  —> Many of the scenes in the film contained green screens, so that objects, structures and various buildings could later be edited in (such as the Queensboro Bridge & the view to Gatsby’s pier).

What was the task?
To find out how and what the budget of a film of my choice was spent.

What did you learn?

I learnt how the films budget was broken down and how much the film needed in order to be made.

How will this help you prepare for your exam?

This research gave me a better understanding of how films spend their money and how much goes into creating a film. This will be helpful if I am asked to explain or discuss the different things that must be considered and necessary when making a film.