How to Make a Good 'Great Gatsby' Movie: A Guide for Baz Luhrmann

A&E

2000: Straight-to-TV

Produced by A&E to air on the network, the most recent film-length adaptation has the least production value of the four but still boasts a cast with a fair amount of name recognition. Yet despite its competent production and talented cast, the casting choices all seem off, and the performances are wooden or mannered. Though an odd choice for Nick, Paul Rudd is perhaps the most likeable. Toby Stephens, on the other hand, looks uncomfortable playing Gatsby—all toothy-grin and no depth—despite his success in other literary adaptations. And Mira Sorvino, so good in Mighty Aphrodite, is perhaps the most miscast of all. Her Daisy doesn't seem like Fitzgerald's Daisy at all—charming, yes, but too assured and one-dimensional; Sorvino plays her as if she's the heroine of the film, which she was never intended to be.

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