Showbiz411

Yeesh. Warner Bros. has moved Baz Luhrmann’s 3D version of “The Great Gatsby” out of Oscar contention. It’s going to come out in Summer 2013 instead of this Christmas. This means a few things. One is that “Gatsby” is a mess and has no place at the Oscars. Two, Christopher Nolan is insisting on an all out push for ‘The Dark Knight Rises” and doesn’t want “Gatsby” in his way. Or both. And I’ll tell you what: Nolan would be right. With ten films up for Best Picture, I would back “The Dark Knight Rises” for the 10th spot, and Nolan for Best Director. Why not? This is no different than “Lord of the Rings.” WB should go all out for him.

As for “Gatsby”: the trailer looked horrifying. Leo looked horrified in it. Luhrmann has turned F. Scott Fitzgerald’s epic of class distinction into a pop up book about the Roaring 20s. Releasing it in the summer is like saying. We don’t know what do, so on top of “Superman” we’re going to slide this one by you. Too bad. DiCaprio misses a chance at Best Actor. But at least he can go up for Supporting in Quentin Tarantino’s “Django Unchained.” And that’s good news, because– like Cate Blanchett in “The Aviator”–he’s guaranteed that win. The Academy knows how hard he’s worked. So other Best Supporting Actors mau have to accept this. It’s good news and bad news for everyone except F. Scott Fitzgerald, who could never catch a break in Hollywood.

Roger Friedman

Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News. Friedman previously wrote the Intelligencer column at New York Magazine, He writes for Parade magazine and has written for Details, Vogue, the New York Times, Post, and Daily News and many other publications. He is the writer and co-producer of a film about R&B Music called “Only the Strong Survive,” which was released by Miramax in 2003 and was a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals.