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0:00:00
New York, 1922. The tempo of the city had changed sharply.

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The buildings were higher.

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The parties were bigger. The morals were looser and the liquor was cheaper. The
restlessness approached hysteria.

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Sally, who is this Gatsby?

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Do you know him?

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You've missed it. Gatsby would like to speak to you alone.

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Everything we know about Jay Gatsby, we know from Nick's point of view, from his
perspective, you know, kind of from him first hand. One day when your story is
told, if someone you know was going to be writing your story, from whose
perspective would you be most interested in seeing what they have to say about you?

1
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Ironically, the person that plays Nick in this story.

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Really?

1
0:01:00
Yeah, I mean he's somebody that, you know, Toby I've known for 25 years. You know,
we grew up in this industry together. I've watched him becoming the father that he
is, the man that he is, also create his own career and vice versa. We've known each
other since we were 13 years old, which is pretty amazing. I don't have that many
long-lasting friendships in my life. And ironically, he'd be the Nick Carraway that
would, I'd be curious to see his interpretation

4
0:01:32
of what my life was and vice versa. We were just talking about the fact that I'm a
big fan of The Great Gatsby and a few years ago after years of searching I found a
book called uh Trimalchio yeah which you know I guess you could call it the
director's cut of great it's a little bit darker a little bit sinister and I felt
that that was the Gatsby that you kind of went after very much so I was kind of
curious if you're on set you have Trimalchio on one hand you have The Great Gatsby
in the other which is more sacred to you as an actor? I think we
1
0:01:57
gave them both equal respect the truth is that what makes Trimalchio is a great
book, but The Great Gatsby is a masterpiece because of what is edited out of
Tremalchio, what's left unsaid, what's left for you as a reader to sort of fill in
the blanks and interpret in your own way. But I think that when you make a film
version of a great novel like this, you as an actor, as a detective, you get more
insight into the character's thought process or what Fitzgerald originally intended
for these characters' interactions to be. So I gave them sort of equal weight in a
lot of ways,

1
0:02:36
but it gave me a lot of insight into what, you know, the great tragedy that Gatsby
was and Fitzgerald's intent for, you know, a lot of these scenes. And so it was a
huge benefit for us. And we really carried it on set every single day in making
this movie.

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0:02:54
If you could sit in a theater with F. Scott Fitzgerald and watch The Great Gatsby
and when it's done, kind of lean over and say, did I get this part about him right?
What is the aspect that you would want to ask him about?

1
0:03:03
Well to me, reading this novel as a 15 year old and then rereading it as an adult,
it was a completely different experience. It really is, I remember it being this,
you know, sort of, you know, this romance, this man that was obsessed with this
woman named Daisy, and they came from different class structures and Gatsby created
himself according to his own imagination. But I didn't quite get the hollowness of
Gatsby. He's really this empty shell and he's holding on to this relic that is
Daisy, this illusion, this green light.

1
0:03:35
She's basically a mirage and he's completely not in touch with reality. And that
was a real awakening for me as an actor and as a reader to pick the novel up again
as an adult and that's what I really wanted to infuse into this performance and
this version of The Great Gatsby.

4
0:03:55
Mr. DiCaprio, if you ever come to Houston I have a very comfortable fold-out couch
so you're always more than welcome to it my friend. An honor to get to sit across
from you. Thank you very much for your time. Thank you.

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Your time is limited, so I appreciate it.

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When I made the pleasure of Mr. Gatsby's acquaintance, I discovered a man of fine
reading.

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Very interesting.
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Is everything alright?

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Oh yes.

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So, you know, we always talk with actors that are in movies based on classic books,
and they always say, oh yes, I read the book, and I did so much research and
everything, and I was wondering, could there ever be a benefit to not reading the
book would you ever consider going into a movie like this and just completely?
ignoring the source material I

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0:04:31
Don't think so

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0:04:33
You know I certainly think that a lot of this is is Working with you know your
collaborators. So working with Baz and Leo and and Katherine Martin and the other
actors But the truth is you're sifting through this really rich material to to get
hints and clues and also actually use the material so much of what we did was
informed by the book and is the book, you know. So it would be hard for me to
imagine doing that. It's like, you know, ignoring a great resource. Right, exactly.

4
0:05:13
That's true. I was just kind of curious, experiment-wise.

3
0:05:16
It's possible. It's possible, particularly like when you're talking about tonally,
because you could really take a leap or make a great departure. But if you're
adapting something or if you're making something that is from source material, it'd
be hard to do if you weren't familiar with the source material.

4
0:05:34
That's true. That's true. Now, obviously for Nick Carraway, the events that take
place during the Great Gatsby are the most important events of his life. That's why
he sits there and writes that whole story. If you were today going to sit down and
just write a story about the most important events in your life that made you who
you are, what are the events you'd write about today?

3
0:05:51
Well I think there would be a lot of events that I would write about. Certainly my
childhood and the kind of circumstances I grew up in and then a few pivotal moments
in my life that were turning points. You know, some of that was in my teenage years
when I kind of figured out my direction in life and then had certain teachers who
helped develop some attitudes for me. And then of course meeting my wife

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and having my kids, you know, going through the sort of seminal moments in my life.

4
0:06:24
Where in your book will I be?

3
0:06:28
You will be, I think we should start it out with you.

4
0:06:31
Nice, and then just do like a flashback. That's right. Really quick, I just wanted
to ask, I always love this idea of voiceovers and the fact that voiceovers can kind
of tell what characters are really thinking that in the moment you may not be able
to tell. If you were going to do a voiceover of me looking at you, you looking at
me, what would your voiceover right now be saying?

3
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Well, first of all, let me say that whether this is voiceover or not, what I was
thinking of as you were saying that is actually with the way you think and what
your abilities are, you could be the voiceover of my life.

4
0:06:58
That would be the best thing ever. There you go. Oh my god, I could talk to you all
day, Mr. McGuire. Seriously, an honor. Me too. When you come to Houston, man. All
right, excellent.

3
0:07:05
You're in. Thank you. Hold that couch. Hold that couch. All right, brother. I'll
talk to you soon.

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0:07:08
I'm certainly glad to see you again.

2
0:07:14
I'm certainly glad to see you as well.

1
0:07:17
All the details that we know about the characters from Gatsby, we kind of get from
Nick's perspective.

4
0:07:21
If he doesn't see it, we really don't know about it. So I was wondering, what is
something you'd like to know about Daisy that we just can't because Nick didn't see
it first hand? We had one scene really where Joel and I, Tom, Buchanan and Daisy
get to have

2
0:07:35
kind of this sort of teasing dynamic and I loved that. I loved how she tries to
rile him up and he sort of puts her down. But they, as much as you know it's a
really sad relationship they have, it's kind of fun and I think they kind of like
it. Right. And I would have loved to have done more of that. I think seeing Daisy
and Tom just living their lives, you know, before this whole whirlwind starts, I
think it'd be kind of interesting

2
0:08:04
Spin off. I mean, I think yes, potentially Joel's available and available exclusive
in this interview right now. All right. I thought so

4
0:08:11
Honestly, it's so beautifully tragic to see everything that Gatsby does for Daisy
Then the parties and the shirts and the cars in the house and everything What is
the most incredible thing a guy has done to impress you? Oh this shirt

2
0:08:22
Would probably be the most honestly, I don't think anyone's ever done anything too
specifically, I'm very easily impressed.

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I'm both complimented and liked.

4
0:08:32
No, no, no, no.

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0:08:33
I'm not quite sure.

2
0:08:34
This is standing out as a pivotal moment. We would be a beautiful couple.

4
0:08:37
And your hair. I'm just saying, I gotta be professional.

2
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I will say you are the most pristine person who's walked in this room today. If I
weren't mic'd into this chair,

4
0:08:47
I would come over and just hug the heck out of you right now. Just because, wait
till the cameras are on, wait till the interview's over. You know, so much of this
movie is about this idea of not being able to let go, not being able to move on. So
I was wondering, what is that role that you've had or that movie that you've been
in that you had the hardest time walking away from?

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100% The Seagull.

2
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I did a production of The Seagull in London and on Broadway and I played Nina and
it was my favorite experience of my, I mean, it was my favorite job ever.

4
0:09:13
What was it about the role that was hard to let go of?

2
0:09:17
It was just, it's the most well-written role for an actress in her 20s or 30s, just
ever written. And that was what was so amazing about Gatsby is that the, you know,
sometimes you get to play a part where the language that you get to use is just
such a privilege. And to be able to say things like, that's all a girl in this
world

2
0:09:35
should be a beautiful little fool like in most films you don't get that kind of you
know the dialogue is not like that so I really relished that in the seagull and I
really relished it in Gatsby. It's so funny you

4
0:09:47
bring up that line because it happens to be the line that's the next aspect of my
question it's almost like we planned it. It's obviously one of the most famous
lines in the book and most beautifully written so I was wondering in this business
and what is it beneficial to to maybe be a little bit of a fool in this business?

2
0:10:02
No, I think you have to be pretty savvy. I mean, I don't really sort of, I'm very
kind of un-business minded, and I don't make choices about sort of business. I do
things that I really love and that have amazing directors or kind of amazing cast.
But I think, no, I think you've got to be pretty smart, and I think you've got to
be kind of tough.

2
0:10:22
And I think, you know, people, even if they're, you know, they seem to be
incredibly beautiful, they're all sort of smart, smart, hardworking people. I think
you've got to work hard or you just sort of fall away. And that's why you are where
you are.

4
0:10:33
I could talk with you all day. I'd ask you to marry me if I thought you'd say yes.
Thank you so much for your time. Thank you. Love is blindness.

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I don't want to see. Won't you wrap around me?

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You always look so cool.

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The man in the cruel beautiful shirt.

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She has to tell him she never loved him.

1
0:10:54
I would love to see Bazz's version of anything.

4
0:10:57
The fact that he took on Greg Gatsby and he's taken on Romeo and Juliet is
gorgeous. If you could see Bazz's version of a film that you've done in the past,
which one would you like to see his version of? His version of? That's an awesome
idea. I did a movie called the night we called it a day and it was it had a
different title here It was called all the way right and it was about a true time
in Australian history when Frank Sinatra came to Australia and Was boycotted by the
unions because he was supposedly spat on a female journalist

4
0:11:29
I want Baz to remake that story. I've never heard that story before It's almost
like too perfectly true uh... perfectly set for a movie i mean and i'm gonna shut
up right now that's awesome

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0:11:43
i had to go to the shop a holic because even now it was it was that we'd love the
costumes and you know film everything such a sparkly way it would be beautiful

4
0:11:52
now guys i have to be honest my entire life even as a kid i was always obsessed
with kinda like the jazz age like america in the nineteen twenties so i was
wondering what is that aspect from that era that you think would best suit you and
what is the aspect that you'd be like you know what

6
0:12:03
can't do it. The aspect of the era that would best suit me would be economic
growth. I'd love it if we had a big right now boom and we didn't have so much
unemployment everywhere. Nice. That's a much better answer. I thought it was going
to be like

4
0:12:19
dresses or something. That's a much better answer than I thought it was going to
be. No that's great. That's a great answer.

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0:12:23
Yeah now I'm under a lot of yeah right yeah don't be really relevant the cars I
don't know all I know is that if I was living in that I probably have issue with
liver disease

4
0:12:39
you wouldn't like where's Joel he's in this big easy get out of there let's be
honest that's not coffee in that Starbucks cup is it no any of these vessels he
puts them in different bottles so we're all like oh look he wants a little bit of
water, he wants a little bit of coke. Yeah we hung out in Houston man, I got you. I
got your back. Yeah you know him, he knows. I know him, we've had good talks.
Honestly, between this movie coming out and then last year we got Les Mis and Life
of Pi, my entire high school reading curriculum is now up on the big screen. So
what is that book that you read in high school that you would love the new big
flashy on-screen version of? Summer the 17th Doll? I've never read that.

5
0:13:17
Um that was a good, that was a good one. It's Australian. What did you like to?
It's written in English. Okay, okay, good to know. Actually, you write that
generally? I don't know if there's, you know, like I'd be very honest right now and
say that I'm not an avid reader. So, okay, you know. What's wrong with that? Some
of those early books you know that might be a short movies like the one i mentioned
earlier

4
0:13:43
what would you do it

6
0:13:44
covered the cat about everything and i want to have a but as little holes in the
pages because it's all i have a great movie actually

5
0:13:52
really would be quite a capital

4
0:13:54
and i think about five yet wallace and because but i think you know

5
0:13:58
uh... that's a little shot

6
0:14:01
Oh, shocks. See what I did there?

5
0:14:03
We're having a moment. We're having a moment.

4
0:14:05
Let's get a room.

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0:14:06
Actually, we're in one.

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0:14:07
Go away, Joel.
17
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You're in the plaza.

4
0:14:09
I'm leaving. Yeah, right?

16
0:14:11
I'll just not.

4
0:14:12
We're in the Plaza Hotel in New York City. You guys carry on. Guys, I could talk to
you all day. Come back to Houston. Come see Houston. See you.

15
0:14:18
I have a very comfortable fold-out couch, so you guys are more than welcome.

4
0:14:19
All right, I'm out. I'll see you in New Orleans in a few weeks.

5
0:14:21
Guys.

4
0:14:22
Let's exchange numbers now. All right, we're in.

14
0:14:24
All right, see you guys soon.

13
0:14:25
Take care.

12
0:14:26
I've just heard the most shocking thing.

9
0:14:29
It all makes sense.

11
0:14:31
Will you come home to us?

10
0:14:33
We need you.

9
0:14:35
I wish we could just run away.

8
0:14:37
Mr. Gatsby said. Not now.

4
0:14:41
I feel like one of the themes of the novel is the fact that Gatsby builds up Daisy
so much in his mind that it's impossible for Daisy to actually live up. Do you ever
fear that we're talking about people that you know this book belongs to that
they're just they're gonna talking about people that you know this book belongs to
that they're just they're gonna build it up so much like Gatsby does with Daisy
that there's just gonna be no

Transcribed with Cockatoo