See what 'Great Gatsby' looked like before the visual effects

Everyone knows that movies like Man of Steel or White House Down are filled with special effects. As convincing as they are, people understand they didn't blow up the Capitol building or demolish skyscrapers. I'm most entranced by the special effects in movies that don't look like they have any at all. In The Great Gatsby, I was sure that they filmed in a real mansion, and that they at least closed down some streets and made them look like they were from the 1920s. Turns out I should have known better. The visual effects supervisor behind The Great Gatsby released a four-minute demo reel (set to some Lana Del Ray music) showing just how much of the movie was smoke and mirrors. Green and blue screens abound in the reel, which also brings to mind an effects reel for HBO's Prohibition-set "Boardwalk Empire" that was floating around the Internet a while ago.

One thing I'm curious about is where they're getting the images that they fill in with the green and blue screen. I'm guessing there is compositing involved, where a mansion is combined with other background elements--they don't show the creation process for these images. It seems like using foreground foliage and a green screen in the background is a common trick to maintain the illusion of depth. And unlike the early use of rear projection, there's no line around the actor's face or body that gives away the background. For a director like Baz Luhrmann, who likes to cram as much visual pleasure into his shots as he can, effects are likely a way to achieve this kind of opulence on (something) of a budget. On the other hand, I think the ease with which people can fill a frame contributed to Luhrmann making Gatsby look a little too jam-packed with imagery, at least in my opinion. Take a peek at the visual effects reel and see what you think.

The Great Gatsby VFX from Chris Godfrey on Vimeo.

'Gatsby' goes over the top with a $51 million opening

There were hints that The Great Gatsby was not going to open big. Critics have been a bit mixed on the movie, and Warner Bros. moved it from a December release date to May, which some took to mean the studio was making a vote of no confidence. After opening to $51 million, about 25% higher than most estimates, Warner Bros. likely feels their decision to move the Baz Luhrmann-directed film paid off. Really, it's just more of a fkuffy summer spectacle than the kind of movie that could make an awards play. Since Gatsby is required reading for most American high schoolers, the content was extremely familiar while being presented as a visual feast. Music from Jay-Z and the casting of Leonardo DiCaprio gave the movie an extra boost. However, it turns out the audiences agreed with critics, giving the feature a so-so "B" rating in exit polls, so Gatsby may fade faster than if it had been a hit among audiences.

Beating the opening weekend of Gatsby, Iron Man 3 brought in another $72.4 million,
a 58% decline from the previous week. For a movie that opened so high,
that's actually a decent hold. Receipts from foreign territories will
help bring the picture over $1 billion worldwide before next Friday.

Is it possible that black audiences might have chosen to see The Great Gatsby (with its Jay-Z-produced soundtrack) instead of Peeples this weekend? Despite two well-known TV stars, Craig Robinson and Kerry Washington, and a "Tyler Perry Presents" label, the comedy bombed with just $4.8 million. Lionsgate should be able to do better than that, given its experience marketing Perry's works, but maybe that was just the problem--the audience for Perry's work didn't care for this feature, which was only produced by him. In 2011, a similar black-targeted wedding comedy about class differences, Jumping the Broom, opened to $15 million, so this is way off the target.

Playing in two U.S. markets, the highly regarded documentary Stories We Tell averaged $15,000 per location, a great start for the feature, which will likely play well on VOD and beyond.

On Thursday, the second mega-blockbuster of the season, Star Trek Into Darkness, will start peeling off the audience for Iron Man 3.

Will the glitter of 'Gatsby' outshine the second weekend of 'Iron Man 3'?

This weekend, Iron Man 3 will continue to coast back down from its sky-high debut. Given its incredible $175 million opening weekend, even week two is likely to exceed the opening of the overstuffed, glittery The Great Gatsby (3,535 theatres), the latest from director Baz Luhrmann, who specializes in visual excess. It's also Mother's Day on Sunday, and it's likely that this movie will beat Iron Man 3 when families choose Mom's pick. The light wedding comedy Peeples will also stand to benefit from Mother's Day outings.

Critics have been divided about Gatsby. It's currently tracking 45% on Rotten Tomatoes, and a positive or negative review seems to hinge on the author's opinion of Luhrmann's excess. Our critic Rex Roberts predicts that his take on F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel will "generate a buzz with young audiences," especially since it's required reading in most high school classrooms. "Bold, brazen and splendiferous," it's "gorgeous to watch if you enjoy this sort of spectacle." Whatever the result of the final product, interest in Gatsby is high, and it could reach $40 million.

Craig Robinson from "The Office" stars opposite "Scandal's" Kerry Washington in Peeples (2,041 theatres), a Meet the Parents transported to the milieu of the African-American elite. As a man (Robinson) prepares to propose to his girlfriend (Washington) on her family's gilded turf, he uncovers crazy secrets about the supposedly refined family. They're so outrageous, critic David Noh wonders "how any of them got away
with their behavior for so long: secret, sometimes kinky sex lives;
denied breast augmentation; kleptomania; booze and drug addiction;
and a hidden nocturnal life for the Judge as he prowls the
beach." That's just a hint of the humor in store for viewers. An opening in the $15-20 million would be right on target for the comedy.

After success in limited release, Mud will undergo a second expansion into 854 theatres this week. The Matthew McConaughey-led feature has already earned $5 million, and it could add at least 50% to that total in its third week.

On Monday, we'll see how Gatsby's visual feast went over with audiences, and how much progress Iron Man 3 made towards the $1 billion mark.

First look at Baz Luhrmann's 'The Great Gatsby'

The most important thing about a Baz Luhrmann movie is seeing it. Although a few cast photos circulated of Carey Mulligan in '20s gear, that's nothing compared to the visual feast that's present in the trailer for The Great Gatsby. Warner Bros. has high hopes for the adaptation of the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel, giving it a prime Dec. 25 release date. As a big fan of Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet and Moulin Rouge, it looks like there will be plenty more sumptuous costumes, extravagant party scenes, and emotionally charged moments. Though the online trailer is in 2D, the film itself will release in both 2D and 3D. Leonardo DiCaprio stars as Jay Gatsby, Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway, and Carey Mulligan as Daisy.

I love how Luhrmann's vision of the '20s isn't real, but hyperreal. Times Square is covered with more neon than the actual Times Square, an achievement in itself. It's also worth noting that, in a historical nod to the Harlem jazz clubs that were so popular during Prohibition, he includes black faces in his tale--too often historical pictures are lily-white.

The Australian-born Luhrmann is coming off a flop, Australia, but that film didn't have the supercharged visuals of his previous hits, Moulin Rouge and Romeo + Juliet. I have a feeling that this film will be a megahit--and become a popular shortcut for high school students ducking their sophomore reading list.

Here's the trailer:

Carey Mulligan to play Daisy Buchanan in 'The Great Gatsby'

By Sarah Sluis

Director Baz Luhrmann has a knack for colorful epics that seem to move in a parallel universe to their original historical context--Moulin Rouge! or Romeo + Juliet, anyone? I'm still harboring disappointment that his version of Alexander the Great didn't get made (and Oliver Stone's so-so Alexander did).

So I'm willing to see the Australian take on the great American jazz age novel The Great Gatsby, which, like Romeo + Juliet, is part of the high school assigned-reading canon. He just announced that he cast the British actress Carey Mulligan as the female lead, Daisy Buchanan. The role was apparently in hot demand, with much of young Hollywood auditioning for the role, according to Deadline Hollywood. In the end, he chose the spritely Mulligan, whose career has exploded since her Oscar-nominated performance in last year's An Education.

During a workshop of the screenplay, Leonardo DiCaprio (who was Luhrmann's Romeo) played Jay Gatsby and Tobey Maguire the narrator, Nick Carraway. Tom Buchanan, the third main male role, has not been cast.

Now that he's cast his female lead, there's the question of when the movie will start production. Mulligan just completed Drive with Ryan Reynolds, so it appears her schedule is fairly clear, and both DiCaprio and Maguire have mainly producer credits in their "in-production" sections on IMDB. My guess: soon.

Luhrmann's last film, Australia, was a bit of miss at the box office, in spite of its massive Oprah endorsement (I guess she has more sway with her book club). For Americans, at least, The Great Gatsby has more appeal, especially because it's so widely assigned in schools--I know that had an impact on all the teens who caught Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet (or perhaps saw it instead of reading the play).

The character of Daisy has been called superficial and manipulative, as evidenced by a couple of choice lines she recites in The Great Gatsby, which may or may not appear in Luhrmann's script.

After the birth of her child: "All right...I'm glad it's a girl. And I hope she'll be a fool -- that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool."

"I KNOW. I've been everywhere and seen everything and done everything�Sophisticated - God, I'm sophisticated."

If Mulligan can manage to give these lines the innocent yet willful spin she succeeded in conveying in An Education, maybe we'll end up with a Daisy that's a bit less of an enigma and more someone with whom the audience identifies.

(Photo of Carey Mulligan during a screen test from Deadline.com)