Director's injury halts 'Gatsby' filming

SYDNEY, Dec. 24 (UPI) -- Producers of "The Great Gatsby" said they shut down filming early this week after director Baz Luhrmann cut his head on the set in Australia.

Luhrmann apparently smacked into a camera crane while shooting a scene and required three stitches.

Anton Monsted, a co-producer of the film, told the Sydney Morning Herald Luhrmann was not seriously hurt but it was decided to knock off a day early for the holidays even though filming was already slightly off schedule.

"There's a few days owing due to rain and then there will also be what we would have shot … had we continued filming after Baz's injury," Monsted said.

"The Great Gatsby" is the latest film version of the classic U.S. novel by F. Scott Fitzgerald. It stars Leonardo DiCaprio in the title role along with Carey Mulligan and Tobey Maguire. The Hollywood Reporter said the movie is being filmed at Fox Studios and various locations around Sydney and is slated for release next Christmas.