The film adaptation of F Scott Fitzgerald "The Great Gatsby" has opened the 66th Cannes Film Festival on May 15 2013. Australian director Baz Luhrmann attended the festival and walked the red carpet with lead star Leonardo DiCaprio, Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire.

The film entitled, "Gatsby", is the first film to open a festival following its prior released in the US, The Independent reports.

The film continues to earn unpleasant criticism and reportedly not doing well in the box office with its $50 million tickets sales to date.

The Los Angeles Times said that "Gatsby" "suffocates beyond resuscitation any dramatic interest."

Miami Herald, on the other hand, said that the film is "a failure that should have at least been a magnificent mistake."

To all these awful criticism, director Baz Luhrmann remains untroubled. His attitude towards critics is something he took after F Scott Fitzgerald whom he admits to be his inspiration.

Luhrmann said that what is happening to him now is the very same experience that Fitzgerald has to endure during his time. "He wrote the book, and he was horrendously criticized when the book came out. The major critic of the day called him Fitzgerald, this clown, and said his characters were like marionettes."

Artists that came out of pieces way ahead of their time are usually 'welcomed' with hurtful reactions. But such works are proven to be the ones who most likely stand the test of time and withstood challenges from new and emerging artists in the industry.

Standing Tall Amidst Dire Criticism

Director Luhrmann admits not getting such strong reactions with his movies "Strictly Ballroom", "Romeo and Juliet" and Moulin Rouge as compared to the harsh words he is getting for "Gatsby."

But Luhrmann said that he is very much ready with what critics are saying right now, "I knew it would come. What about Fitzgerald? What about him writing that book? What about being called the clown? I just care that people are going out and seeing it."

A Luhrmann stand by what he knows is the charm and art of his film. Gatsby will be judged within long period of time but will only prove that it is high quality for being the first of its kind.

"Gatsby" will be classic.

During the press conference for the 66th Cannes Festival he shares that 'Gatsby' is a ten-year-journey which started from the very minute he was listening to an audio book version of the novel.

Luhrmann recall, "I was on a train in Siberia and I had a copy of the novel. I read it. That's how everything started. In the current climate, I think we cannot fail to be inspired by the story of Gatsby, and to see it differently. It took time to get this result. I had to buy the rights to the novel, find people to work with."

Craig Pearce also shares that, "We re-read the book to try and look at its different levels in depth. The decadence and drunkenness of those years are very clear. Given the current financial crisis, this book finds an echo in today's world. It inspires readers of every age differently."

Luhrmann proudly tells a story about a woman who approached him during the US premier of the film, "At the end of the film, a woman looked at me and said I've come from Vermont to see what you did with my grandfather's book. I froze. She added I think Scott would have been proud of this film. It's the best compliment I've received."

The woman was no other than Eleonor Lanahan, Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald's granddaughter.

Luhrmann said that "For me that was about as good as it could possibly get. If we've done anything, that's made it worthwhile."

Someone from the press compared "Gatsby" to "Citizen Kane". Luhrmann respond positively, "I'm alright with that. I think that Gatsby ultimately found its right home because it's in the DNA of Warner Bros, to even talk about our film in the same breath as Citizen Kane is an honour to hear."

DiCaprio Talks about Gatsby

Leonardo DiCaprio shares that he was fascinated by Gatsby's character. "I was moved by him. It no longer became a love story to me it became a tragedy about a man trying to become the new Rockefeller and along the way had lost the sense of who he was."

DiCaprio also puts emphasis on the importance of the novel in the US saying that "Gatsby is compulsory reading in secondary school. People today still try to dissect this novel, to interpret every line; it's a kind of endless quest. We wanted to re-shape the novel's characters. It is so exciting to work with a text of his caliber."