Posted on Wednesday, January 4th, 2012 by Angie Han
That Hugh Jackman loves musicals and the theater isn’t a secret, so it’s not surprising that he’s set to make his return to Broadway in the 2013-2014 season. What makes this particular appearance extra special, however, is that he’ll be hitting the stage as the lead of Houdini, the librettist debut of Aaron Sorkin. (This is a completely separate project from the other Houdini, a film by director Francis Lawrence.) Three-time Tony Award winner Jack O’Brien is slated to direct, with Stephen Schwartz writing the music. More details after the jump.
Read More »
.
Please Recommend /Film on Facebook
Posted on Monday, November 21st, 2011 by Angie Han
From the files of “so crazy it just might work” comes Rocky: The Musical, a new stage show being developed by star Sylvester Stallone and world champion boxing brothers Wladimir and Vitali Klitschko. And though my initial reaction was to dismiss it as another Broadway disaster — Rocky belting out showtunes? Really? — there’s something about the idea that actually makes a weird sort of sense. The fact that Stallone’s getting together a crack team to bring the story to the stage doesn’t hurt matters, either. More details after the jump.
Read More »
Take four of the best actors working today, throw them into a room and let the cameras roll. That seems to be the claustrophobic vibe director Roman Polanski is going for in his film adaptation of the Yasmina Reza play Carnage. The film stars Jodie Foster, Kate Winslet, Christoph Waltz and John C. Reilly as two sets of parents who meet for an awkward, civil discussion that soon devolves into madness. It’s scheduled to open December 16. Check out the trailer after the jump. Read More »
Posted on Friday, September 30th, 2011 by Angie Han
Despite a very positive critical reception and the considerable talents of cast members Nick Nolte, Tom Hardy, and Joel Edgerton, Gavin O’Connor‘s MMA drama Warrior didn’t exactly set the box office on fire when it opened earlier this month. But the director doesn’t seem too concerned with dwelling on the commercial disappointment. He’s already moved on to his next two projects, and they both sound pretty interesting. The writer/director is reportedly working on a film project titled The Samurai for Warner Bros., as well as a stage adaptation of The Hustler. More details after the jump.
Read More »
Posted on Wednesday, September 21st, 2011 by Angie Han
There are some films that seem like logical inspirations for Broadway musicals — such as Sister Act, Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, and The Lion King, to name just a few of the shows currently playing on the Great White Way. Barry Levinson‘s 1982 coming-of-age dramedy Diner doesn’t seem like one of them. Although the film boasts an impressive soundtrack of midcentury classics, with hits by Elvis Presley, Fats Domino, Chuck Berry, and Bobby Darin, the talky, meandering picture doesn’t seem like a natural fit for the flashy song-and-dance numbers of a typical Broadway production.
Nevertheless, a musical production based on the movie is currently in the works, to be directed by Tony-winning choreographer Kathleen Marshall. Levinson is set to write the book, with — here’s another surprise – Sheryl Crow writing music and lyrics. More details after the jump.
Read More »
Posted on Wednesday, August 31st, 2011 by Angie Han
Al Pacino‘s known for many memorable roles — most notably, Tony Montana in Scarface and Michael Corleone in The Godfather — but it turns out one of the parts nearest and dearest to his heart is one that few film buffs have seen. Pacino has a little-known obsession with Oscar Wilde’s play Salome, and has played the part of King Herod in multiple stage productions. When he reprised the role in 2006, he brought along a film crew to collect footage for a documentary he was directing about his attempt to understand one of his favorite works and the iconic writer behind it.
Five years later, Pacino’s film is ready to make its debut at the Venice Film Festival. Wilde Salome follows Pacino all over the world as he explores his passion for Wilde and his work, much as 1996′s Looking for Richard saw him examine William Shakespeare’s Richard III. Watch the trailer after the jump.
Read More »
How To Train Your Dragon fans won’t necessarily have to wait until 2014 to see their favorite characters again. Hiccup, Toothless and the whole crew could soon be flying into to an arena near you. DreamWorks and a live entertainment company named Global Creatures just announced that the How To Train Your Dragon Arena Spectacular will premiere in Australia in March 2012 before hitting New Zealand and then landing in the United States by June 2012. The show will tell the story of the first film but in a live-action setting featuring 80 cast members and 24 unique animatronic dragons.
Read more about the show and watch a video of one of the dragons in action after the jump. Read More »
Perfect casting. Hugh Jackman is currently in talks to star in Tom Hooper‘s upcoming musical adaptation of Les Miserables, and while we don’t know which role it’s for yet, it’s perfect casting either way. For most of us, Jackman is best known as the clawed mutant Wolverine but his true passion lies on the stage, where he’s a Tony award winning actor who can sing and dance. Now imagine combining the gritty nature of Wolverine with singing and dancing (but not in a campy way) and you’d have either Jean Valjean or Javert, the two male leads of the classic story by Victor Hugo which was famously turn into a Broadway standard. Read more after the break. Read More »
