On March 14th, 2013, Warner Bros. Pictures announced that Shaun “JAY Z” Carter will be collaborating with the writer, producer and director of “ The Great Gatsby,” Baz Luhrmann. The well-known book by F. Scott Fitzgerald will once again be translated to the big screen. The soundtrack will include some of the world’s top musical artists, including Jay-Z himself.
Jay- Z became an Executive Producer to capture the “Jazz Age” energy of the book. Baz Luhrmann calls the collaboration with Jay-Z “a credible and natural fit.” He also explains that, “F. Scott Fitzgerald was a pioneer, famed and controversial for using the then-new and explosive sound called jazz in his novels and short stories—not just as decoration, but to actively tell story using the immediacy of pop culture. He coined the phrase ‘the Jazz Age.’’
So, the question for me in approaching Gatsby was how to elicit from our audience the same level of excitement and pop-cultural immediacy toward the world in the same way Fitzgerald did for his audience? From my understanding, Jay-Z is a great artist and a great collaborator, and I am so excited to see how this project pans out for the movie.
Jay-Z said, “As soon as I spoke with Baz and Leonardo, I knew this was the right project. The Great Gatsby is that classic American story of one’s introduction to extravagance, decadence and illusion. It’s ripe for experimentation and ready to be interpreted with a modern twist. The imagination Baz brought to ‘Moulin Rouge’ made it a masterpiece, and ‘Romeo + Juliet’s’ score wasn’t just in the background; the music became a character. This film’s vision and direction has all the makings of an epic experience.”
“The Great Gatsby” soundtrack will be released by Interscope Records.
I am personally very excited to see what they end up doing for the soundtrack of this movie, not only because one of my favorite eras were the 1920’s. I am interested to see the work that Jay- Z will put into this soundtrack. He always seems to have a lot going on… maybe Beyonce will make an appearance, maybe even Justin Timberlake! Who’s to say?! But for now, I am extremely excited to see what is going to happen for this film. They have great actors and a great story.
What do you guys think about Jay-Z becoming an executive producer? And what other artists do you think will be on the soundtrack?
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