James Lapine and INTO THE WOODS

As the sole screenwriter for this upcoming movie version of INTO THE WOODS, I can't help but wonder if there might be some ghost writers involved with this project.

Lapine seems to have a strong grip on this show, being the book writer and only person to have directed the show on Broadway (both the original and revival).

I myself loved the revival, though I know the reviews were mixed; but I think it's mainly because I was wearing rose-colored glasses. It was the my first opportunity to see a beloved show live. I've loved the Peters recording for years and can't imagine how magical it must have been to see it in person.

Still, I wonder, with his extremely limited experience in writing for the screen; I can't imagine Lapine is doing this alone. I think I'd feel more comfortable knowing he were working alongside someone with a bit more experience in transitioning a stage musical to film.

One major fear is that this comes across as far too "stagey" (a la THE PRODUCERS in 2005).

Now Disney being as controlling as they are, I would hope the team is being very meticulous in their efforts to avoid this.

Does anyone else think Lapine may be a little too green for the silver screen?

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Updated On: 5/14/13 at 11:18 AM

LIFE WITH MIKEY is one of my favorite movies and it has Cyndi Lauper (who might be fun in WOODS somewhere)!

But that said, I have absolutely no faith that this film will be a good adaptation of my favorite musical. Between the hack director and Sondheim's ridiculous inability to just LEAVE HIS MUSICALS alone, I can't see how this is going to please a hardcore fan like me.

Yes, musicaldudepeter. But, Shanley was an Oscar-Winning screenwriter long before he transitioned DOUBT from stage to screen.

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He's got DeLuca and Marshall and Disney and other film pro's working with him on this - I'm sure he knws what he's doing. And, he has Sondheim.

"a debacle of an even greater work to my mind."

In. Your. Opinion.

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He did say "to my mind." He was acknowledging that it was an opinion. Get off his case and off of your high horses, people. Jesus.

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Well as has been mentioned on many threads here, this show is a massive undertaking to translate into a cohesive film. Most of the songs after-all are "park and bark." I'm not sure Jame's is the one that decides how they are going to frame those songs. Outside of flashbacks, how do you turn "Giants in the Sky," "Steps of the Palace," "I know things Now," "Agony" into something cinematic?

Some of the songs will work as afterthoughts "Moments in the Woods" but they don't really propel the story. You can bet there has to be some Rob Marshall "lens" to this project.

Exactly. Worked pretty good when they threw Julie Andrews up on a hill top.

I think it's a foregone conclusion we will see major cuts and alterations to the score. This will be undoubtedly marketed to families- they can't produce a two and a half hour fairy tale film.

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Really? THAT was high horse?

Just how short are you, darling?

Unreasonably so, actually. I've grown a little since then, but in freshman year of high school, I was the shortest in my class.

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Don't worry, g.d.e.l.g.i.

Pocket gays are all the rage! It's your time!

To the best of my knowledge, via a friend who has read a draft of the script, the boy as narrator concept is not being used.

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"a debacle of an even greater work to my mind." ..."In. Your. Opinion."

Thanks, g.d.e.l.g.i., my fellow gay gnome, (I'm actually 5'-5" myself) for coming to my defense a few posts ago.

Must we restate yet again that EVERYTHING we post on these boards is our own opinions?

What I meant to express was actually that I found Sweeney the movie a debacle of a stage work that TO MY MIND was even greater than Into The Woods. I hold Sweeney in the highest pantheon of stage masterpieces shared by A Little Night Music, My Fair Lady, Fiddler on the Roof, Carousel and a select few others. So yes, cutting the title song which to me is the musical throughline of the whole piece for the film is indeed a debacle of the first order. Imagine a film of Fiddler that skipped over "Tradition" to get right to the juicy trio of "Matchmaker, Matchmaker". Imagine an Into the Woods without ITS title song, and you get a sense of what the Sweeney film felt like to me.