With the wild success of TV’s Glee (what with its stars selling magazines, music, and ads with ease) it’s little wonder that Hollywood is to beginning buzz with musical news. While Rob Marshall (Chicago), James Mangold (Walk the Line), J.J. Abrams (Star Trek), and Ryan Murphy (Glee) duke it out to direct the film adaptation of the hit Broadway musical Wicked, which will be going into production next year, Rob Reiner and Robert Downey Jr. are looking to leap into musicals thanks to the Broadway musical melodrama Next to Normal.
According to Playbill (via The Playlist), the director who helmed The Princess Bride and This is Spinal Tap, “would love to make” Next to Normal into a film. Reiner explains, “It is a completely and utterly unique project and I’ve been dying to make a musical. It’s done brilliantly and it’s very uplifting.”
The rock-infused musical centers on “an American family in crisis and a mother coping with depression and bipolar disorder,” and has already won several Tony awards, and a Pulitzer Prize. And while Playbill is optimistic that this is the perfect time for an adaptation as the musical is touring the country and garnering much love as it goes, Reiner’s talk seems to be just that at present. Beyond that, Reiner’s record has been spotty as a director. Yes, he made This is Spinal Tap, The Princess Bride and A Few Good Men but he’s also responsible for The Story of Us, Rumor Has It… and The Bucket List. So, some fans of the show are less than thrilled by this proposed adaptation. However, Reiner’s latest film, the coming of age love story Flipped, garnered good reviews, and could be a sign of Reiner’s return to relevance. Right now, it’s too soon to say.
In other news, Deadline announced Warner Brothers has just signed a deal with the writers of Next to Normal, Brian Yorkey and Tom Kitt, to pen a musical vehicle for Robert Downey Jr. The story, which had been developed between the acclaimed musical duo and Downey and his wife/partner Susan Downey, follows two failed Broadway songwriters, who can sing beautifully but find themselves broke and creatively blocked. Desperate for inspiration and cash, they become counselors at a performing arts camp, where they teach kids as enthusiastic about the arts as they once were. While Downey is attached to star, there is no word yet on who will be his foil.
Are you looking forward to the next wave of movie musicals?