From the man who broke the Sunset Blvd. story...

[Dapper Dan]

Yesterday I broke the news that "Sunset Blvd." is getting remade as a musical. By Andrew Lloyd Webber, no less. Well, I've got more bad/weird news for fans of old movies.

Diane English, best known for her work writing on "Murphy Brown," is writing and directing a remake of George Cukor's 1939 classic "The Women." Candice Bergen, Anne Hathaway, Lisa Kudrow, and Meg Ryan are rumored to be in it. If I had to guess, Bergen would be in the Norma Shearer role, Anne Hathaway the Joan Fontaine role, Lisa Kudrow in the Roz Russell role, and Meg Ryan in the Joan Crawford role. This, though, is all just conjecture.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0430770/

An interesting bit is that the ending is almost certainly going to be changed to keep in line with more modern conceptions of a woman's goals in life.

 

[HadleyH]

Another one bites the dust.

 

[jitterbugdoll]

Oh, this disappoints me highly.

 

[Haversack]

What are they trying to do? Going for the Maltese Falcon Trifecta? A musical version of _The Women_ has already been made back in 1956. Even with Dolores Grey, _The Opposite Sex_ stank like a live clam in elementary school heating duct over Christmas break.

Haversack.

 

[HadleyH]

What are they trying to do? Going for the Maltese Falcon Trifecta?

Haversack.

bwaaaaaahhaa lol lol lol Yeah, a Trifecta with dual direction of Spielberg and Lucas!!! What a gem, hey?

(with apologies to all Lucas and Spielberg lovers ... )

 

[Dapper Dan]

Ah, but with The Maltese Falcon, the third one was actually the best. But I highly doubt the same thing will happen here.

 

[jazzzbaby]

I found this article very interesting indeed...and thought you would like to read it. I feel that in many ways it's indeed true and it's similar to them attempting to revive these classic films to stage.

British Playwright Says American Stars Are Ruining UK Theatre
Acclaimed British playwright Sir Alan Ayckbourn has launched a stinging attack on Hollywood stars including Madonna, David Schwimmer and Matt Damon for damaging the reputation of UK theatre.

The 67-year-old dramatist fears young homegrown talents are being sidelined in castings in favor of bigger stars whose names can pull in more crowds. Schwimmer received tepid reviews for his role in Some Girls at the Gielgud Theatre in 2005, while both Damon and Madonna were widely criticised for London stage appearances they made in 2002.

Ayckbourn says, "What is happening is that the theatre is being stuffed with the stars' fans. What they experience in the theatre is a poor performance, and they go out profoundly disappointed and disenchanted. That is another blow for the theatre. You've emptied the theatre for a whole load of people who will never go there again.

"We have tremendous talent in this country. Young actors have never been better, but they are fed up with seeing their jobs whipped away by people who've chanced by a TV camera or stood in a field taking off their clothes."

The Hollywood trend for appearing on the London stage seems destined to continue - former Miami Vice star Don Johnson has just joined the cast of Guys And Dolls in the West End.

 

[Dapper Dan]

That is interesting. On a similar topic, I read about a year back about a performance of Brecht's "Caucasian Chalk Circle" starring Meryl Streep. Well, the crowds packed the theatre to see Streep, but over half the theatre had walked out by intermission because they were confused by the play. I don't understand the kind of person who would pay hundreds of dollars for tickets to a play they knew nothing about just because a famous person was in it. And Meryl Streep, of all people! I wouldn't think she'd be the kind of actress to have loads of clueless fans.