Jay-Z confirms Great Gatsby executive producer role

Grammy Award-winning rapper Jay-Z has confirmed his involvement in the new Great Gatsby film starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan.

He has been acting as executive producer, helping director Baz Luhrmann put together the jazz performances on screen and arrange the soundtrack.

Jay-Z's producer, The Bullitts, first revealed the news of his involvement with the project in December.

Baz Luhrmann is behind films like Australia and Moulin Rouge.

He and Jay-Z were introduced by Leonardo DiCaprio, who plays the lead role of Jay Gatsby in the adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel set in the 1920s.

The rapper worked with Baz Luhrmann and composer Craig Armstrong on the music in the film for two years.

He describes the songs as "1920s meets now" and says they include hip-hop, jazz, music contemporary and period influences.

"As soon as I spoke with Baz and Leonardo, I knew this was the right project," he said.

"The Great Gatsby is that classic American story of one's introduction to extravagance, decadence and illusion.

Baz Luhrmann, editor-in-chief of Vogue Anna Wintour and designer Miuccia Prada

"It's ripe for experimentation and ready to be interpreted with a modern twist.

"The imagination Baz brought to Moulin Rouge made it a masterpiece, and Romeo + Juliet's score wasn't just in the background; the music became a character.

"This film's vision and direction has all the makings of an epic experience."

The Great Gatsby soundtrack will be released by Interscope Records.

It also stars Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan, Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Jason Clarke and star of Indian cinema Amitabh Bachchan.

The film follows would-be writer Nick Carraway (Maguire) as he leaves Midwest America and goes to New York in the spring of 1922.

He ends up next door to a mysterious, party-loving millionaire, called Jay Gatsby, and is drawn into his world of champagne, dancing and illegal speakeasies.

The Great Gatsby opens in UK cinemas on 17 May.

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