Leonardo DiCaprio’s career has been characterized by iconic scenes. This trend began with his role inTitanic, which changed his career forever. While the film is full of quotable and noteworthy moments of cinema, it is hard to name just one key moment for the actor in that film. Both Jack’s embracing of Rose on the ship’s bow, and his final goodbye to his lover, stand out among the most recognizable moments from the movie.Titanichelped launchDiCaprio’s career, and it is these key scenes that keep the film so notable.
Even in the years sinceTitanic, DiCaprio has had iconic role after iconic role. The Christopher Nolan filmInceptionhas been cited as a seminal work of science-fiction, with several of its visual sequences acting as key cinematic moments of the 21st century. In a similar vein, the lighting and cinematography ofThe Revenantis considered to be peak cinema, and DiCaprio’s bloody, snow-touched face is no doubt a memorable image from the film. While most of these key DiCaprio scenes were highly scripted, there is one iconic film moment that happened by chance.
The Great Gatsby Rain Scene Happened By Chance
The Great Gatsby Change The Book
Producer Lucy Fisher explains how one keyThe Great Gatsbyscene happened by chance. Released in 2013,The Great Gatsbyis a Baz Luhrmannadaptation of the classic American novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It tells the story of writer Nick Carraway, who is drawn into the lavish world of his auspicious millionaire neighbor, Jay Gatsby. DiCaprio steps in to play the titular Gatsby, with a supporting cast that includes Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Amitabh Bachchan, and Tobey Maguire.
The Great Gastbyis currently available to rent on Prime Video.
Speaking withThe Hollywood Reporter, Fisher reveals thatThe Great Gatsby’s iconic rain scene was unplanned. The producer explains that theGatsbyteam was preparing “to shoot the scene where Gatsby meets Daisy,” but when they got to their location, it was a deluge of rain. Even when they went back, it was still raining. So,The Great Gastbycrew decided “to pivot” and “shoot in the rain,” seeing DiCaprio walk into the shot completely “drenched.” Check out the full explanation from Fisher below:
To pivot is a huge part of our job. On [2013’s The Great Gatsby], to shoot the scene where Gatsby meets Daisy, we drove two hours to our location and it was pouring rain the entire day. We left trucks stuck in the mud; it was that kind of rain. We went back again and it was pouring again the third time. We said, ‘We’ll shoot it in the rain.’ It was not how it was in the book, but it was a great scene. We said, “We’ll shoot it in the rain.”
Leo [DiCaprio] comes in drenched. That was what we had and that’s what we used. The best producers and the best directors try to get the best from whoever they have. Newer directors — and there are some that are geniuses out of the box, God bless them — but some of them want to control it too much. For me, the biggest pleasure is when I can say, “In a million years, I could have never thought of that. Thank you.”
Our Take On The Great Gatsby Rain Scene
Rain Often Heightens Drama
Rain is an inherently cinematic tool, used in iconic scenes from movies likeThe Shawshank RedemptionandThe Notebook. As such, it works well inThe Great Gatsbyscene in the way that rain typically builds drama. It also serves a function, however, in separatingThe Great Gatsbyfrom the original novel. Through musical anachronism and other tools of cinema,Luhrmann’sThe Great Gatsbyis far from a one-to-one adaptation overall, so any scenes that differ allow the film to maintain its freshness as an adaptation.
The Great Gatsby
Cast
The Great Gatsby is a 2013 drama romance film based on the book of the same name by F. Scott Fitzgerald. The movie is one of many adaptations of the iconic 1925 novel, this time starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby and Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway. The film received a polarizing reception upon release but won two Oscars at the 2014 Academy Awards.
