Baz Luhrmann set to film THE GREAT GATSBY down under in 3D

Baz Luhrmann has finalized plans to shoot his take on The Great Gatsby in 3D down under. Filming begins in Sydney, Australia this August and is a definite change of locale from the iconic story's home town of New York. The deal was signed with the New South Wales (NSW) state government Friday, reports THR.

This marks the first live-action 3D movie to be shot in NSW. Filming will done at Sydney's Fox Studios, with Warner Bros. backing the feature and Luhrmann's Bazmark Films producing. There have been talks about the film being shot in Sydney for several weeks. This decision fits in with Luhrmann's past two features (Australia, Moulin Rouge), which were both shot at Fox Studios.

Leonardo DiCaprio will play the role of Jay Gatsby and Carey Mulligan is slated for the role of Daisy Buchanan with pre-production starting next month.

This is great news for the local economy, according to NSW Premier Kristina Kenneally, the film will inject AUS$120 million ($118 million) into the NSW economy. The shoot is scheduled to last 17 weeks and another 30 weeks will be spent on post production.

There will be roughly 275 crew members employed during pre-production; more than 400 cast and crew will be employed during principal photography; and an estimated 150 post production and visual effects crew will also be employed.

I really enjoyed the original film and am interested to see how this film turns out. It is hard for me to imaging this film being a good fit for the 3D format, but this is Baz Luhrmann, so I am sure he has a vision. Many cities have doubled for New York, but I am having trouble picturing Australia for New York. 

What are your thoughts on this news? Are you excited for this news?