Posted on Wednesday, April 24th, 2013 by Angie Han
20th Century Fox has just closed a deal to remake the classic stage and screen musical Guys and Dolls, and they know just who they want to be their new Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando.
While no contracts have actually been signed yet, Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are reportedly the top picks to be Nathan Detroit and Sky Masterson, and apparently the pair are interested. No writer or director is attached at this time. We’ll run down the history of the project after the jump.
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Briefly: Good news for Pitch Perfect fans is coming out of CinemaCon in Las Vegas. The head of Universal Pictures, Adam Fogelson, just revealed the studio’s plan to have the Pitch Perfect 2 in theaters in 2015. Original writer Kay Cannon is back, and one can assume based on Sunday night’s MTV performance that the cast will be, too.
No more information just yet, but check out the new video of Anna Kendrick‘s ‘Cups’ from the film below. Read More »
The musical has struggled to find new life over the past decade. Glee and similar TV shows may find success, and the occasional film, such as Chicago or Les Miserables, rises to prominence, but for the most part the musical remains a tough sell. Just look at the recent Oscar attempt to highlight great musicals of the last decade, which cast a spotlight on a bare handful of films.
Clint Eastwood, who once played an unlikely part in the comedy western musical Paint Your Wagon, and is known for composing the music for many of his films, has been trying to mount a new musical version of A Star is Born. That had momentum when Beyonce was attached, but stalled out when the singer exited the project.
Now Eastwood is reportedly turning to another musical: the big-screen version of Jersey Boys. The film would adapt the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical about the rise to fame of the classic group Frankie Vallie and the Four Seasons. Jon Favreau was developing the film, but it was put into turnaround by Warner Bros. last year. Ironically, if Eastwood signs on, Warners, which houses his production company, may be back on board.
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Posted on Tuesday, March 19th, 2013 by Angie Han
Elton John has finally chosen a director to bring his crazy history to life. Rocket Pictures revealed today commercials helmer Michael Gracey will direct Rocketman, the John-centric biopic first announced in 2011.
Scripted by Billy Elliot‘s Lee Hall, Rocketman is no ordinary biographical drama. As befits is colorful subject, the movie is described as “a biographical musical fantasy” that hits upon the most “intense” defining experiences of John’s life and career. Hit the jump to keep reading.
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With his first two features, Oscar-winning director Tom Hooper has shown a penchant towards historical dramatizations and music. Those films, of course, are The King’s Speech and Les Miserables. His third film might be a mix of the two, and the true story of a legendary musician. Hooper is currently circling the Freddie Mercury biopic with Sacha Baron Cohen attached to star. Read More »
Think about Facebook, iPods, iTunes — all things you might use every single day. They all have seeds in the “little program that could,” called Napster. Co-created by Shawn Fanning and Sean Parker in the late 1990s, the file-sharing service/social network was not only ahead of its time technologically and socially, it completely changed how the public consumes media. If it wasn’t for Fanning and Parker, who knows how long it would have taken for corporations to allow you to download music on your computer or rent one of their movies without leaving your house.
All this is at the center of Downloaded, a brand-new documentary by Alex Winter. Winter (seen above with Fanning and Parker) is best known as an actor (Lost Boys, Bill and Ted) but has been directing for some time. With Downloaded, he tackles a massive topic with authority and energy, telling the story of Napster from its earliest moments through its culture peak and long term fallout. It world premieres this week at South by Southwest in Austin and will be released by VH1 Rock Docs. After that, you’ll be able to see it on demand and online.
We spoke to Winter about Downloaded and found out it was a project he’d been developing for long time before it evolved into its current state. He talked about trying to focus such a huge topic, culling together a huge wealth of media and, of course, The Lost Boys and Bill and Ted 3. Read the interview below. Read More »
Posted on Monday, February 25th, 2013 by Angie Han
Quvenzhané Wallis went home empty-handed from last night’s Oscars, but here’s some good news for her. The Beasts of the Southern Wild star has just been confirmed for the title role in Annie, weeks after we learned that she was in the mix.
Though Wallis is the first confirmed actor, Sony’s remake of the classic musical already has some notable talent behind the scenes. Will Gluck (Easy A) is directing from a script written by Emma Thompson and rewritten by Aline Brosh McKenna, with Will Smith, Jada Pinkett Smith, and Jay-Z producing. Hit the jump to keep reading.
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Posted on Friday, February 22nd, 2013 by Angie Han
Singing groups have long been popular on school campuses, but it wasn’t until Glee came along that they started blowing up the screen. Universal’s similarly themed movie Pitch Perfect proved a big hit last year, and now DreamWorks is following suit with an a cappella feature of its own.
Like Pitch Perfect, which was very loosely based on a book, DreamWorks’ picture takes inspiration from real-life events. Specifically, it’ll be based on the unlikely rise of Indiana University’s ultra-popular choral group Straight No Chaser. Michael Sucsy (The Vow) is set to helm. Hit the jump to keep reading.
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