Sudah banyak film yang dikabarkan akan menjadi pembuka Festival Film Cannes yang ke-66, seperti Only God Forgives, 12 Years a Slave, The Bling Ring sampai Lowlife tapi hari ini akhirnya sudah diputuskan bahwa film arahan sutradara Baz Luhrmann, The Great Gatsby akan membuka festival ini. Film ini akan diputar pada tanggal 15 Mei di Grand Theatre Lumiere of the Palais des Festivals. The Great Gatsby tidak masuk kompetisi di Cannes hanya menjadi bagian dari Official Selection.

The Great Gatsby bercerita tentang seorang calon penulis, Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire), ketika ia meninggalkan daerah Midwest dan datang ke New York di musim semi tahun 1922. Nick yang sedang mengejar impiannya bertemu dengan milyarder tukang pesta bernama Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), serta Daisy Buchanan (Carey Mulligan) dan sang suami yang suka selingkuh, Tom (Joel Edgerton). Ketika Nick menyaksikan kehidupan kehidupan orang-orang super kaya yang menakjubkan sekaligus kelam di saat yang bersamaan ini, ia pun menulis sebuah kisah tentang cinta, impian, serta tragedi.

Berikut rilis resmi dari pihak Cannes Film Festival:

It is on The Great Gatsby by Australian director Baz Luhrmann, that the curtain will rise at the inauguration of the 66th Festival de Cannes, on Wednesday 15th May, in the Grand Théâtre Lumière of the Palais des Festivals, out of Competition in the Official Selection.

Adapted from the famous novel by American author Francis Scott Fitzgerald and set against the roaring twenties on the East Coast of the United States, the film depicts the romantic and tragic figure of Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), as narrated by his friend Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire). Carey Mulligan is Daisy Buchanan, whose husband is played by Joel Edgerton. This prestigious occasion will also be graced with the presence of Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan, as well as the American pop star, rapper Jay-Z.

“It is a great honor for all those who have worked on The Great Gatsby to open the Cannes Film Festival. We are thrilled to return to a country, place and festival that has always been so close to our hearts, not only because my first film Strictly Ballroom was screened there 21 years ago, but also because F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote some of the most poignant and beautiful passages of his extraordinary novel just a short distance away at a villa outside Saint-Raphaël.”

Produced by Warner Bros. Pictures and Village Roadshow Pictures, the film was scripted by Baz Luhrmann and his faithful co-screenwriter Craig Pearce, based on Fitzgerald’s 1925 novel.

The opening film will be screened in 3D – for the second time during the history of the Festival, following Up by Pete Docter, in 2009.
On the same day the Festival gets underway – Wednesday 15th May – The Great Gatsby will also open in cinemas nationwide. Both in France and internationally, the film will be distributed in 2D and 3D by Warner Bros. Pictures and in certain regions by Village Roadshow Pictures.

Born in 1962 in Australia, Baz Luhrmann has twice been honoured by the Festival de Cannes for Strictly Ballroom (Un Certain Regard in 1992) and for Moulin Rouge! at the 54th Festival, in 2009, at an opening which is unlikely to be forgotten any time soon.

Leonardo DiCaprio (Jay Gatsby) has rarely been seen on the Croisette. He returns to Cannes for the first time since the 2007 presentation of The 11th Hour, a documentary on ecological issues which the actor himself produced.

The Great Gatsby adalah film drama yang disutradarai oleh Baz Luhrmann. Naskah film ini ditulis oleh Baz Luhrmann dan Craig Pearce berdasarkan novel dari F. Scott Fitzgerald. Film ini dibintangi oleh Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Isla Fisher, Joel Edgerton, dan Jason Clarke. The Great Gatsby akan dirilis tanggal 10 Mei 2013 di Amerika Serikat, 5 hari sebelum rilisnya di malam pembuka Cannes Film Festival.