By Christine Spines
The Daisy derby has been decided. Carey Mulligan, who burst into the public consciousness last year with her Oscar nominated turn as the wide-eyed gamine in “An Education,” will play Daisy Buchanan opposite Leonardo DiCaprio in director Baz Luhrmann’s adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby. Mulligan prevailed over a crowded field of contenders for the role (originally played by Mia Farrow, opposite Robert Redford, in the underwhelming 1974 big screen adaptation) including Scarlet Johansson, Rebecca Hall, Michelle Williams, Amanda Seyfried and Natalie Portman. Essentially Luhrmann ran a fishing trawler over Hollywood’s young beautiful talent pool and plucked his Mulligan from his catch.