MISS SAIGON next for Lee Daniels?
Producer Paula Wagner is taking on a big project, and she’s eyeing Lee Daniels to be her helmer. Wagner plans to turn the classic Broadway musical Miss Saigon into a motion picture with the show’s original producer, Cameron Mackintosh, on board to produce with her. Variety is reporting that she wants the Precious director (and future Oscar nominee?) to take the project. Miss Saigon is a musical tragedy based on Puccini’s Madame Butterfly. The show follows two lovers, an American solider and a Vietnamese bar girl, before the fall of Saigon in 1975. While I’m excited that a motion picture based on Miss Saigon is moving forward (it certainly is about time), I can’t help reminding Ms. Wagner that she needs to hire a choreographer to co-direct. There are some big dance numbers here and someone who can’t handle...
Read MoreABC’s V skywriting promo to invade US cities
There’s been so much turmoil around the release of V, an ABC sci-fi series based on a 1980s NBC show and mini-series, that I started to dismiss it. ABC broke up the premiere so that the show would debut as a mini-series before going to full series in the spring. That news came after production came to a halt for a complete series overhaul. Something was going very wrong. At least ABC’s marketing team seems confident enough in the show to pull out all the stops, promo-wise. THR reported yesterday on a skywriting promo that will feature a red “V” over US cities. Now ABC has released the list of cities, including New York, Boston, Minneapolis and Los Angeles. (Not shockingly, Cleveland is absent from the list. Oh well.) Check out the complete list of cities after the jump....
Read MoreAdam Shankman wants to ROCK
Adam Shankman may have made one of the best movie musicals to hit screens in the last decade when he directed Hairspray. Now he’s set to direct and choreograph Rock of Ages, another movie musical based on a Broadway hit. The show is set on the Sunset Strip and features 80s rock anthems from Journey, Whitesnake, Bon Jovi, and more. Back in June, a rumor hit that Zac Efron was going to take the lead in the film, something that would make sense if his Hairspray director were to join the picture. But he was going to have competition, with Jake Gyllenhaal up for the lead as well. Variety’s article doesn’t say anything about casting. It’s the Shankman show today, and that’s alright with me. Remember rule No. 1 of making a movie musical: A director should also choreograph....
Read MoreQuotables: Gossip Girl – Episode 306
“You’re supposed to say everything is going to be fine. Where did you learn to give a pep talk? Guantanamo?” –Blair’s reaction to Lily confirming that Blair did, in fact, mess...
Read MoreAt last! One reason to see LITTLE FOCKERS
If you’re like me and don’t really care that there’s a threequel to Meet the Parents coming out next summer, then maybe this news will get you to pay attention a bit. THR says that Laura Dern is set to play the little Fockers’ elementary school headmistress. Could be good, even if she’s limited to one or two scenes. Ben Stiller, Teri Polo, Robert De Niro, Blythe Danner, Owen Wilson, and Jessica Alba have already joined the cast of Little Fockers. Paul Weitz...
Read MoreVon Donnersmarck wanted for Jolie thriller THE TOURIST
Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, the man who directed one of the best motion pictures of 2007 (or 2006 depending on when you saw it), is apparently the guy Jolie wants to boss her around on the set of The Tourist. Variety is reporting that Jolie’s decision to make The Tourist her next job hinged on finding a director that Spyglass Entertainment hire the right director. That right director, according to Spyglass Entertainment, is von Donnersmarck. The Tourist is a remake of the 2005 French thriller Anthony Zimmer, which starred Sophie Marceau as a young woman who plots with her criminal lover to throw off an Interpol detective by making them chase a look-a-like. The Hollywood remake puts Jolie in the role of both the young woman AND the Interpol agent. More at...
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