Leonardo DiCaprio made Jay-Z meet Baz Luhrmann

Los Angeles: Actor Leonardo DiCaprio was instrumental in making rapper Jay-Z come on board to compose the musical score for Baz Luhrmann`s upcoming film ‘The Great Gatsby’.

DiCaprio, who plays the title role in the movie, introduced Jay-Z to Luhrmann. The meeting led to a two-year`s collaboration between the rapper and director to create a "modern twist" for the soundtrack of the film, which is a big screen adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald`s 1925 novel of the same name. "As soon as I spoke with Baz and Leonardo, I knew this was the right project. `The Great Gatsby` is that classic American story of one`s introduction to extravagance, decadence and illusion," contactmusic.com quoted Jay Z as saying. "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 the `Romeo + Juliet` 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," he added. Luhrmann, who believes the rapper is a "natural fit" for the film, said: "(Jay-Z is) a credible and natural fit. Fitzgerald was a pioneer, famed and controversial for using the then-new and explosive sound called jazz in his novels and short stories - not just as decoration, but to actively tell story using the immediacy of pop culture. He coined the phrase `the Jazz Age`." "Not only is Jay-Z a great artist, full stop, but I had heard that he was a great collaborator. Leonardo and I were lucky enough to be present in a recording session over two years ago as Jay-Z was recording `No Church in the Wild,` and the collaboration grew from there," added Luhrmann. IANS