The Great Gatsby (2013)

Isla plays Myrtle Wilson

Director: Baz Luhrmann
Writer(s): Baz Luhrmann and Craig Pearce, based on the novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Genre: Drama, Romance
Filming: Filmed in Sydney, Australia from August – December 2011. Isla did some re-shoots in May 2012.
Budget: $127m
Box Office:
Runtime:
Rating:

 

“The Great Gatsby” follows Fitzgerald-like, would-be writer Nick Carraway as he leaves the Midwest and comes to New York City in the spring of 1922, an era of loosening morals, glittering jazz and bootleg kings. Chasing his own American Dream, Nick lands next door to a mysterious, party-giving millionaire, Jay Gatsby, and across the bay from his cousin, Daisy, and her philandering, blue-blooded husband, Tom Buchanan. It is thus that Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super-rich, their illusions, loves and deceits. As Nick bears witness, within and without the world he inhabits, he pens a tale of impossible love, incorruptible dreams and high-octane tragedy, and holds a mirror to our own modern times and struggles.

 

Co-Starring

Leonardo DiCaprio … as Jay Gatsby
Tobey Maguire … as Nick Carraway
Carey Mulligan … as Daisy Buchanan
Joel Edgerton … as Tom Buchanan
Elizabeth Debicki … as Jordan Baker
Amitabh Bachchan … as Meyer Wolfsheim
Jason Clarke … as George B. Wilson
Gemma Ward … as Catherine, sister of Myrtle Wilson

 

International Release Dates

US – May 10th 2013

 

Character Information

Isla plays Myrtle, a small but pivotal supporting role. Myrtle lives in the Valley of Ashes in Queens, New York and is married to George Wilson, who owns a run-down garage. Myrtle is insecure, emotional and volatile. She is having an affair with Tom Buchanan, and enjoys how this relationship elevates her into a higher social class and allows her access to luxury, something which she is desperate for.

 

Media

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Photos: Gallery at Isla Fisher Web
Videos: Videos at Isla Fisher Web

 

Trivia

• The film was shot and will be released in 3D.

• Tiffany & Co provided the jewellry for the film.

• Isla jetted to and fro between Australia to film this, and New York City to film Bachelorette, in August and September 2011.

• Isla describes working on this film as “the best experience ever”.

• Was originally scheduled to be released on December 25th 2012, but in August 2012 the release was pushed back to Summer 2013 for undisclosed reasons.

• Opened the Cannes Film Festival in 2013.

 

Quotes: Isla, Cast & Crew

Isla Fisher: “On my first day he had Jay-Z pumped up full and we did the entire scene with, you know, Jay-Z in our ear on full blast while acting and it was just so liberating. He really understands actors and how self-conscious we feel at times, and how exposed we are and how we never know where anything lands. Just the complexity of being vulnerable every minute when you’re acting and he just makes you feel so safe.” (on director Baz Luhrmann)

Isla Fisher: “I had a great time. I loved it. It was an incredible luxury. We did a play workshop that was three weeks long. Before we even started rehearsals we were immersed entirely in [the 1920’s]. It was just the best experience ever.”

Isla Fisher: “Oh, I’m so excited – It’s just sort of been a dream come true. I can kind of feel like I can retire now. All I’ve ever wanted is to work with Baz Luhrmann, because he’s such a genius and I love that material. I grew up studying that book at school, and so it’s kind of just been like eating the most delicious and delicate cake every day. Going to work was like an out of body experience. I loved every second.”

Isla Fisher: “I love the story and the class contrasts in the book. I wanted that, and he has kept all the heart and a lot of the horror of the book, but he’s just made it breathe. He’s given it that ’20?s, Flapper girl spirit, when people just really let loose in a way that they hadn’t, after the industrial revolution. I haven’t seen the movie, so I’m nervous to talk about it, but I bet it’s going to be brilliantly Baz.”

Isla Fisher: “Such great news, because it’s supposed to be hot, it’s Gatsby, it’s set in the summer! It should come out when it’s nice and hot.” (speaking about the pushed back release date to Collider in 2012 when promoting Bachelorette)

Isla Fisher: “It was just so surreal and fun. Everything from the costumes to working with Baz Luhrmann in Sydney … it was a dream come true.”

Isla Fisher: “I was so nervous because I thought, ‘If talk at all, he’s going to see my real personality and I won’t get the job, because I’m just not like Myrtle at all… so when I went for the audition I just totally didn’t say a word. I let him project the character onto me. I was a mute, like (famed French mime) Marcel Marceau, not one word came out of my mouth, and I got the job!” (on auditioning for Baz Luhrmann)

Isla Fisher: “I remember the moment I saw Romeo + Juliet, thinking he was my dream director. I’ve only ever had a shortlist of people I’ve wanted to work with, and he was at the top of it. I feel like I ticked that box and just feel so happy to have had that experience. I honestly couldn’t stop smiling the whole time. They’d say “action” and I’d have to remind myself to go into the moment because I was so pleased.”

Isla Fisher: “Leo is the most perfect Jay Gatsby. He brings to it a childlike innocence. His obsession with Daisy doesn’t feel mentally ill. It’s just sort of passionate and misguided, but still romantic. Leo’s fabulous in everything – he’s one of the greatest actors of our generation. But he has gone further than you could ever have imagined with this character, and really made [Gatsby] so multi-dimensional, and so flawed and so vulnerable, and yet so macho and sexy – everything that you want in Gatsby.”

Isla Fisher: “I felt like there was a whole building devoted to Catherine Martin and the costumes. You could just go from room to room looking at beautiful sketches and seeing silks and lace and feathers. But my character, obviously being working class, she couldn’t afford to be in beautiful costumes. I think she made her own costumes. So, there was a lot of lycra. I still loved my character’s costumes, even though the plastic bangles drove me a little bit nuts by the end.”

Isla Fisher: “Myrtle mistakes violence for masculinity and I’m sure there are a lot of women who can relate to that. It’s a tragic thing.”

Isla Fisher:

(director): “”

 

Quotes: Character

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Reviews

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Fisher Fantastic

 

Promotion

Isla Fisher Web‘s Press page (related: 2012 interviews)
Isla Fisher Web‘s 20 Appearances Gallery
Isla Fisher Web‘s 20 Magazine Scans Gallery
Isla Fisher Web‘s 2013 video interviews
Isla Fisher Web‘s 2013 talk show video interviews



 

Related Links

• News & Updates for The Great Gatsby at Isla Fisher Web

Official Site

IMDB
Wikipedia
Yahoo! Voices – Myrtle character analysis
Carey Mulligan – fansite
Leonardo DiCaprio – fansite

Amazon.com – purchase on Amazon Video
Amazon.com – purchase the Blu-ray
Amazon – purchase the DVD
Amazon.co.uk – purchase the Blu-ray
Amazon.co.uk – purchase the DVD
EzyDVD.com.au – purchase the Blu-ray
EzyDVD.com.au – purchase the DVD

 

Last Updated: July 25th 2016