The cast of Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby is firming up, and it appears the Australian director’s critique of the American Dream may feature some international personnel: Carey Mulligan, the British starlet who was nominated for an Oscar for An Education, is now the front-runner to play effervescent East Egg–er, Daisy Buchanan.
Insiders tell Vulture that, after testing for the part in New York last week, Scarlett Johansson was still very much being considered by Luhrmann and Gatsby star Leonardo DiCaprio. But now, we hear, because of Johansson’s recent commitment to star in Cameron Crowe’s We Bought a Zoo at Fox — Zoo starts shooting in the late spring of next year; Luhrmann’s Gatsby goes before cameras next summer — she won’t be available, and Mulligan is the top candidate.