It's Official, Carey Mulligan Offered Role Of Daisy In THE GREAT GATSBY

Baz Luhrman has officially given Carey Mulligan the starring role in The Great Gatsby. Mulligan will play the manipulative heroine from the classic F. Scott Fitzgerald novel that was played by Mia Farrow in the 1974 film.

Mulligan got the call this evening from Luhrman and immediately burst into tears on the red carpet at The Fashion Council Awards. Luhrman had just shown Mulligan's footage to Sony Pictures Entertainment execs Amy Pascal and Doug Belgrad, who were impressed by Mulligan's grasp of Daisy.

She will star alongside Leonardo DiCaprio, who'll play Jay Gatsby. The role of Nick Carraway, the film's narrator, is expected to go to Tobey Maguire.  As of now, Luhrman has yet to cast the other key roles for the adaptation.

In a statement to Deadline about the casting process, Luhrman said...

"The results from the workshop process on The Great Gatsby have been very encouraging, "There are a few elements that I feel need to be resolved before I would categorically state that this is my next film. Regarding the role of Daisy Buchanan, I was privileged to explore the character with some of the world's most talented actresses, each one bringing their own particular interpretation, all of which were legitimate and exciting. However, specific to this particular production of The Great Gatsby, I was thrilled to pick up the phone an hour ago to the young Oscar-nominated British actress Carey Mulligan and say to her: "Hello, Daisy Buchanan."

Mulligan most recently starred in Wall Street 2 and Never Let Me Go.  Last year she was nominated for an Academy Award for her role in An Education from director Lone Scherfig.  

PHOTO CREDIT: Carey Mulligan photographed auditioning for the role of Daisy Buchanan. New York City, November 2, 2010. Photo: Baz Luhrmann. Copyright: Bazmark