Friday Morning Links and News, Part II

WSJ Links

Section M (Mansion): I never read.

Section D (Arena):

• This should be fun. Baz Luhrmann's ("Moulin Rouge") "The Great Gatsy."

Baz Luhrmann's sumptuous 3-D adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's "The Great Gatsby," to be released May 10, cost about $100 million to make. It's full of the dazzling visuals of the 1920s—Art Deco jewelry by Tiffany & Co., flapper dresses designed by Prada, custom suits by Brooks Brothers, speak-easies, and a yellow Duesenberg—with the musical trappings of 2013. A Midwestern war veteran (Tobey Mcguire) finds himself drawn to the past and lifestyle of his millionaire neighbor (Leonard DiCaprio). This should be fun.

• Making a western for less. This should be even more fun.

In certain scenes, the indie western "Dead Man's Burden" looks like a million bucks, which is an accomplishment, since that amount would more than double the film's entire budget. Writer-director Jared Moshé says the picture came in for "low six figures." On Friday it has a theatrical premiere just as tiny (it opens only at the Village East Cinema in New York, with other cities and home video later).  Shot on film (not digital), in 18 days, in New Mexico with tax incentives.

This has been done before, by the way. Robert Rodriguez pioneered the idea.

Section C (Money & Investing):

• This puts Apple's $17 billion in bonds in perspective. CNOOC sold $4 billion in bonds on Thursday, the largest ever for a Chinese company.

Section B (Marketplace):

Section A:

• Petraeus will teach at my alma mater, USC.

LA Times

• US jobless rate drops to 7.5%. The February figure, revised upward, is quite nice:

The labor market rebounded last month as the U.S. economy added 165,000 net new jobs and the unemployment rate dropped to 7.5%, its lowest level in more than five years, the Labor Department said Friday.

The April jobs figure exceeded analyst expectations of about 148,000 net new jobs and helped counter concerns that hiring was significantly slowing after a disappointing report in March.

The government also issued major upward revisions for job creation in March and February.

The initially disappointing 88,000 figure for March was revised to a more respectable 138,000. The February figure was revised up to 332,000 from the initial report of 268,000. That was the most new jobs added in a month since May 2010.

• I am very impressed. I did not think I would see this. California tax revenue yields multibillion-dollar surplus and puts California on course for an economic recovery (remember earlier story about all those massive distribution centers in the desert? Something is afoot in America).