Baz Luhrmann has talked about the difficulties that he faced and the decisions that had to be made in adapting The Great Gatsby.
Next month sees Luhrmann return to the director's chair as he turns the F. Scott Fitzgerald novel into a lavish film.
This is the first film for Luhrmann since Australia and he had some very big decisions to make as he went through production.
Speaking to Life+Times the director said: "We know for a fact that if you read the whole book or perform it that it takes seven hours... so we had to make choices and we chose to stay very focused on the linear plot of the book.
"One of the big devices in the book is that the story is told from inside the mind of Nick Carraway... [he is] a watcher of and a participator in the story. In fact, in the novel, Fitzgerald very deftly alludes to the fact that Nick is writing a book about Jay Gatsby.
"So Craig and I were looking for a way that we could show, rather than just have disembodied voiceover throughout the whole film, show Nick actually dealing with the writing, dealing with his experience of Gatsby, as he does in the novel."
The Great Gatsby is only the fifth feature film for Luhrmann as he reunites with actor Leonardo DiCaprio for the first time since Romeo and Juliet.
DiCaprio is joined on the cast list by Isa Fisher, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton and Tobey Maguire.
The Great Gatsby is released 16th May.
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