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Short Cuts: Gatsby Goes Down Under, Oz Gets A Good Witch, Reynolds Goes Green
By
Jen Carlson
Published May 18, 2011
Modified May 18, 2011
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By
Jen Carlson
Published May 18, 2011
Modified May 18, 2011
Share
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Short Cuts will be a regular feature here, delivering some recent bits of news from the big screen.

- Not too long ago we took a stab at casting The Great Gatsby, when Ben Affleck was rumored to be cast as Tom Buchanan. This week it was announced that Aussie Joel Edgerton has been given the job. What's more... the Baz Luhrmann (possibly 3-D) blockbuster will NOT be filmed in New York, but rather Australia. Edgerton is Australian, as are two other cast members: Isla Fisher (as Myrtle) and Elizabeth Debicki (as as Jordan Baker).
- Sam Raimi's Wizard of Oz prequel (titled Oz: The Great and Powerful) has possibly the best looking cast in movie history. Michelle Williams was just cast as Glinda the Good Witch (beating out Blake Lively—phew!). She joins James Franco as the Wizard (of Oz!), Rachel Weisz as the Wicked Witch of the East, and Mila Kunis as the Wicked Witch of the West. For whatever it's worth, Kristin Chenoweth (who played Glinda in "Wicked") wanted Reese Witherspoon to be cast.
- Will Ferrell has starred in a lot of sports flicks, and his latest project is centered around football. It's called Turkey Bowl and will reportedly also star Mark Wahlberg, his co-star from The Other Guys.
- Ryan Reynolds discusses his role as the Green Lantern, which will make him one of the heroes this summer.
- Did you know that Gus Van Sant and Sofia Coppola both wanted to direct the new Twilight movie (Breaking Dawn)? Van Sant told MTV, "I got very nervous. There were like 15 people [in the room]. I had never really auditioned or gone into a job interview in that way since maybe 1988 or '87. I guess I was unprepared for that. Usually people just hire me." It was Robert Pattinson who recommended him (and speaking of Pattinson, check out this recent performance of him singing “It’s All On You,” from the first Twilight soundtrack).
Tagged
baz luhrmann
james franco
mark wahlberg
michelle williams
movie news
movies
Short Cuts
the great gatsby
will ferrell
Jen Carlson
Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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