Cameron Mackintosh says 'My Fair Lady' remake is not happening.

[beautywickedlover]

Posted: 5/3/14 at 11:39am

Today, Mackintosh just confirmed that the remake of 'My Fair Lady' is not happening after all. He said, "it didn't happen due to various things with the rights and the studio." Honestly, I'm kind of glad because the original is a classic and even if Eliza does not end up with Freddy it's fine.


Cameron Mackintosh Shares Update on MISS SAIGON & MY FAIR LADY Films - One is OFF!

[hundredsofhats]

Posted: 5/3/14 at 11:53am

My Fair Lady is fine as it is. I just wish Miss Saigon wasn't being remade, too. Ugh...

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 5/3/14 at 1:08pm

"I just wish Miss Saigon wasn't being remade, too"

I'm sure that myself and pretty much every other poster on this board would like to be pointed in the direction of the first Miss Saigon film that is being "remade."

[Elfuhbuh]

Posted: 5/3/14 at 1:43pm

This is sad, but it would have been weird to see someone besides Rex Harrison in the role of Henry Higgins anyways.

[Scarywarhol]

Posted: 5/3/14 at 1:51pm

Fine by me. Would have been truly pointless. Maybe a decent candidate for one of these live TV musicals...

[mrsyaj]

Posted: 5/3/14 at 1:53pm

I'd love to see a new film version of "Pygmalion" that goes back to Shaw's original stage play with its "Doll's House" style ending rather than the romantic one Shaw always hated. Benedict Cumberbatch would be a natural for Higgins. My dream cast though would feature Hugh Laurie as Higgins and Stephen Fry as Pickering.

[best12bars]

Posted: 5/3/14 at 3:24pm

I would love a Pygmalion remake, but I"m glad a redo of My Fair Lady died on the vine.

As for Miss Saigon, I think it lends itself to a film adaptation even more so than Les Miserables. I'm actually looking forward to that one (assuming it happens).

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 5/3/14 at 3:46pm

How about trotting out the old perennials for a remake?

Guys & Dolls
Man Of La Mancha

Let us not do a revival of a show rarely done. Heaven help us if that happens.

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 5/3/14 at 4:33pm

I'd love to see Benedict Cumberbatch as Higgins. His Sherlock persona would suit the role very well.

[CurtainPullDowner]

Posted: 5/3/14 at 5:30pm

We certainly don't need a MY FAIR LADY remake but there are plenty of Actors who could do Higgins justice. And face it, Harrison was terrific but not many people even know who he is (except for that performance) these days.

And I agree Miss Saigon (in the right hands) could be an exciting movie. The combination of that music, the Love story and the history of the Viet Nam War lends itself to promising Cinema.

[AEA AGMA SM]

Posted: 5/3/14 at 5:43pm

"The combination of that music, the Love story and the history of the Viet Nam War lends itself to promising Cinema."

I very much agree. Whenever I listen to the original cast recording I see far more cinematic shots in my head, rather than remembering what I saw onstage. Like during the "This Is the Hour" choral piece after Kim shoots Thuy I just see these wide sweeping shots showing statues and propaganda of Ho Chi Minh intercut with shots of Kim standing over Thuy's body. And the fall of Saigon sequence offers the opportunity to be absolutely thrilling on the screen.

[The Other One]

Posted: 5/3/14 at 6:16pm

I think "Miss Saigon" was just about the worst show I've ever seen. I saw it in London, with an understudy going on for Lea Salonga. The endless recitative, those lousy lyrics, the scenes which all seemed stolen from other (and vastly superior) musicals, the helicopter which seemed to exist just to top "Phantom"'s chandelier...I don't remember how it went over critically in NY, but it did run for a while so maybe there would be an audience for a film version. I doubt I'd be joining them.

I'd gladly see a remake of "Guys and Dolls" or"Man of La Mancha."

[Eris0303]

Posted: 5/3/14 at 7:01pm

I would have loved to have seen Hugh Laurie as Higgens but I'm glad this isn't being remade.

[david_fick]

Posted: 5/3/14 at 11:31pm

best12bars wrote: As for MISS SAIGON, I think it lends itself to a film adaptation... I'm actually looking forward to that one (assuming it happens).

Completely agreed. Let's just hope that they shift the fall of Vietnam to its chronological position, where it always should have been.

[ggersten]

Posted: 5/4/14 at 6:44am

>>Completely agreed. Let's just hope that they shift the fall of Vietnam to its chronological position, where it always should have been.<<

I used to think that - sort of. But at last night's preview, the placement felt right. It is an Act 2 dramatic moment - and as staged last night - as part of the dream/nightmare - it made perfect sense. If its in Act 1 - even in a movie - there is no major moment prior to the denounement. After all, Sophie's Choice is shown at the end - not in the beginning. You are so much more invested in Kim in Act 2 - in seeing what she has gone through since the Fall of Saigon that you care more about the chaos and confusion and heartbreak. If it comes just after Last Night of the World - it just happens. You are not emotionally ready for it. So, it is not just the Act II spectacle - it is dramatically appropriate. Just my opinion.

[KathyNYC2]

Posted: 5/4/14 at 7:09am

I love Miss Saigon..and I am hopeful that this will finally take place. I don't see the reason for updating it though ..it's called Miss Saigon so it pretty much has to take place in VietNam...and themes of war are pretty universal. It could be very powerful regardless.

[South Florida]

Posted: 5/4/14 at 8:35am

Maybe they can get Russell Crowe to play Chris and Anne Hathaway to play his wife. Let's see how he turns this one into garbage.

[hundredsofhats]

Posted: 5/4/14 at 9:49am

[I'm sure that myself and pretty much every other poster on this board would like to be pointed in the direction of the first Miss Saigon film that is being "remade."]

Whoops, I meant making the musical into a film.

[Phantom of London]

Posted: 5/4/14 at 10:21am

After seeing Miss Saigon in London, last night, which was excellent, I think Cameron Mackintosh would want to bring Saigon to Broadway first, before doing the film, having a Broadway production running, will add to its box office, like Phantom of the Opera did when the film came out.

Expect Miss Saigon on Broadway in the fall 2015/spring 2016.

[hundredsofhats]

Posted: 5/4/14 at 10:23am

[Expect Miss Saigon on Broadway in the fall 2015/spring 2016.]

Hooray, I know what show not to go see. If this show prevents Allegiance from finding a theater that will be very frustrating.

[ray-andallthatjazz86]

Posted: 5/4/14 at 12:05pm

I was excited about MY FAIR LADY since Emma Thompson wrote the screenplay and at one point they had Carey Mulligan as Eliza. I strongly dislike the original film so I'd have welcomed a remake, at the same time, I never for a second thought it'd actually see the light of day. I just don't see a marketplace for this kind of musical today.

[tazber]

Posted: 5/4/14 at 5:46pm

I read somewhere recently (maybe here on BWW, but I can't remember) that Clive Davis is bringing My Fair Lady back to Broadway.

The article implied he had the rights and was set to move forward. Maybe that's why the film version isn't happening.

[HorseTears]

Posted: 5/4/14 at 6:18pm

Last year, I saw My Fair Lady on the big screen at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion. My first time seeing the film since I was a kid. As a kid I fell madly in love with Audrey Hepburn's Eliza -- how could I not? -- I was a preteen boy who loved everything glamorous and slightly over the top, if you know what I mean. Rex Harrison, frankly, bored me at that time and I longed for moments when Audrey Hepburn returned to the screen. When I saw the film again last year, I was struck by what a brilliant film musical it was, how well it stood up today (unlike, frankly, the majority of film musicals), how lovely Audrey Hepburn loooked in those iconic moments like at the Ascott opening day, but how the film actually truly belonged to Rex Harrison, not Audrey Hepburn. The entire Dorothy Chandler Pavilion roared -- I mean roared -- with laughter at every Higgins bon mot he dropped. I was struck by not only what a funny, but intelligent and at times deeply sensitive portrayal he gave. Audrey, as lovely as she looked and as on-point as she was in certain scenes, could never quite keep up with Harrison. Even so, this one feels almost as perfect as a film musical could be. So glad they're not touching it -- even if Emma Thompson and other quality luminaries were to be involved.

Updated On: 5/4/14 at 06:18 PM

[Mr. Nowack]

Posted: 5/4/14 at 6:37pm

I'm always completely divided as to whether or not I love or hate the original film. There are parts where it seems perfect, but others where it just seems sub-par or not right or something like that.

MAN OF LaMANCHA really needs a film that would do it justice. I think the play as it is is very movie-like in structure, and it's a pity the original film is so bad.

[EricMontreal22]

Posted: 5/4/14 at 7:02pm

Honestly, and this is a cynical take, but I see the best place for these older musicals as being on TV.