Geoffrey Rush in Drowsy Film

I thought this one died on the vine. Is it back?

That would make me very happy.

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Can Wiig handle the singing? The Chaperone really needs to belt "As We Stumble Along." If she underplays it, it ruins the jokes about the actress' "anthems."

Also, since the Chaperone isn't required to be a particular age, I could see any number of Hollywood or Broadway actresses taking the part.

I wouldn't be surprised in the least if Nicole Kidman played the Chaperone. She's good friends with Rush. They've known each other for decades (since before fame came along), and I have a feeling this movie, if it's happening, will be made on a shoestring budget.

Geoffrey Rush is probably going to call in a bunch of favors from old friends who are willing to commit to the project for his sake while not hoping to make tons of money. I can easily see Nicole saying, "sure, I'll do it."

And she'd probably be great.

Others on his short list would be Naomi Watts, Cate Blanchett, Judy Davis ... you know, the Australian-to-Hollywood movie stars. They all knew each other and worked with each other "back in the day."

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If Catherine Zeta-Jones was younger, I'd love to see her pull off Janet. What about her as the Chaperone?

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CZJ would be hilarious as the Chaperone, plus she could probably sing it better than any of the others mentioned. I'd love to see her stagger around, saying "Where's the bar?"

They will need another movie star (preferably one with box office clout) besides Geoffrey Rush to really get the backing and push that it needs. I'm sure he knows that.

There's always that go-to gal, Meryl Streep for the Chaperone. She's in every movie now.

Janet and Robert will be tough roles to cast with big stars. "Show Off" will put a lot of actresses out of the running. And how many younger male movie stars can tap dance? Yes, you could cut his dancing, but you're starting to mess with what makes this show-within-a-show special if you dumb down the roles.

We shall see. I'm hoping Rush gets a big name for the Chaperone and casts competent (relative) unknowns for the other parts. It's a small cast, so that helps. I think it could be made fairly cheaply.

The other thing that would give it a boost is a "star director." Martin Scorsese should do it. One of his many New York movies, from yet another perspective.

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Way, way amazing.

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1) if she'd do it.

2) If Rush would ask her.

3) if the studio (or financial backers) would okay her.

4) If he found some other "box office draw" for one of the other parts, because as much as I adore Davis, and as much as she has Hollywood clout, she's not what would be considered a box office draw.

But I would LOVE to see her play the part, and she could easily earn an Oscar nomination for it, knowing what she's capable of.

EDIT: If anybody can get it done with the right cast in the right way, I think Rush can. He did wonders and was the driving force behind The King's Speech.

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Updated On: 8/24/13 at 12:27 PM

If only Madeline Kahn were still with us. God, she would be perfect for this.

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"What's wrong with Tony award winner Beth Leavel playing it in the film?"

Because no one outside of the Broadway community has heard of Beth Leavel. As talented as she is, she wouldn't draw the large audiences that movies are looking to attract.

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Rent flopped because of saturation and more so because they cast 50 year olds as Mark and Roger. I'm only slightly exaggerating. Had they cast age appropriate leads that everyone hadn't seen 50 million times already and waited a decade or so to do the film so there was a fresh young audience it would have done great.

^Or Charlize as Janet.

I do hope they change the stage musical to a film musical of the period, Man In Chair is putting in a DVD as opposed to a cast album...