Leo DiCaprio on Partying 'Gatsby' Style in Cannes

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The romantic drama The Great Gatsby kicked off the 66th Annual Cannes Film Festival

in France this week and Leonardo DiCaprio revealed to ET that a party held to celebrate the debut rivaled the glitzy bashes thrown by his character Jay Gatsby himself.

"I sort of stood upstairs like Jay Gatsby and watched the party from afar," DiCaprio said. "It was amazing. There were fireworks outside... there were also some incredible performances from the actual film inside the tent in Cannes -- it was a good time."

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"I just came from the party," joked co-star Tobey Maguire. "It was a fun party in the Gatsby style, with fireworks and (a musical performance from the soundtrack by) Florence + the Machine. Carey Mulligan -- who portrays Leo's love interest Daisy Buchanan -- said she had to miss most of the party due to feeling ill, making her the "anti-Gatsby glamor girl" for the night.

"Ultimately I'm so connected to this novel. I remember reading it as a youth when I was 15 years old," DiCaprio said about the F. Scott Fitzgerald classic. "I connected with the Gatsby character in a lot of ways and I looked at it as a traditional love story. But then to pick it up again as an adult... I really got what an amazingly, intricately woven novel this is."

VIDEO: Inside the Music of The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby follows writer Nick Carraway (Maguire) as he heads to New York in search of the American Dream in 1922. He ends up next door to mysterious, party-giving millionaire Jay Gatsby (DiCaprio) across the bay from his cousin Daisy (Mulligan) and her philandering husband Tom (Joel Edgarton). Soon, Nick is drawn into the captivating world of the super-rich, along with their illusions, loves and deceits.

Watch the video to also hear Mulligan explain why her audition for the film with director Baz Luhrmann was the best she's ever had!

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