Jersey Boys: The Movie & The Remake of Gypsy

According to Riedel, looks like there's going to be a movie of Jersey Boys and he also mentions that Streep and Streisand are being considered for the remake of Gypsy.

November 22, 2006 -- WITH the movie of "Dreamgirls" about to be released - and get ting fantastic word of mouth - can a big-screen version of an other Broadway blockbuster about a famous singing group be far off?

Steven Spielberg is said to be in hot pursuit of the movie rights to "Jersey Boys," the musical about Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons. He's seen the show and is known to be a huge fan of the music, the era and the expertly constructed script by Rick Elice and Marshall Brickman.

But Spielberg isn't the only Hollywood mogul in the hunt. Harvey Weinstein and Tom Hanks, as well as execs from Disney and Warner Bros. have all been spotted at the August Wilson Theatre in recent months.

He also says:

"Jersey Boys" isn't the only Broadway show that's captured Hollywood's attention. Weinstein has his eye on "Gypsy," arguably the greatest musical of all time. Rob Marshall ("Chicago") would direct, with either Meryl Streep or Barbra Streisand starring as Momma Rose and Catherine Zeta-Jones playing Rose's daughter, Gypsy Rose Lee.



http://www.nypost.com/seven/11222006/entertainment/theater/phone_home__jersey_boys_theater_michael_riedel.htm

Updated On: 11/22/06 at 06:05 AM

Well, if there's a movie of Gypsy directed by Rob Marshall and starring Streisand, at least I'll know I can save my money.

My God, who's playing Dainty June... Bernadetee Peters?

Does this casting sound just a bit "old" to anyone else?

The three strippers could be Betty White, Bea Arthur and Rue McClenahan... and Herbie might as well be Clint Eastwood.

EDIT: As for Jersey Boys, it's not as easy of a transfer to film as you might think. There's TONS of exposition in the form of monologues and character's lines spoken directly to the audience. That's what keeps the plot moving forward (similar to Ragtime), and it's how they can cover a lot of ground in the narrative story. But you can't do that on film, and if you chose to use THAT much voice-over (with them speaking these lines off-screen), it would pull everyone out of the story far too many times.

Someone's got to come up with a good script first, and figure out a way to make that work.

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Updated On: 11/22/06 at 08:36 AM

i was always thinking JERSEY BOYS would make a great film
glad to hear that it is in talks
:)

I think alot of us will be looking forward to seeing the JB's movie. How about you?

best12bars, it might be hard. But look at some films such as Goodfellas. I know it's not a play but mostly he's talking at the camera so......

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I would LOVE to see Jersey Boys preserved in a movie----who do you speculate would be in the cast? The broadway cast now???
That would be amazing.

I think that part of the magic of Jersey Boys is that it's staged, and how the actors can age on stage by just their movements. The lights in "Dawn" wouldn't be as powerful as they are when you're sitting in the audience.

I'd be curious to see it though.

re: "I'm sure thet can figure out a way to make it work".

Aside from being a great musical, The Four Seasons have a fascinating story to tell. Having grown up here in NJ during their hey-day, we never heard about the personal lives of pop stars like we do now, with all the tabloids and shows like ET, etc.
The movie should not be an exact copy of the stage show, maybe show more of the characters, their families and backgrounds. And I'm sure they can find neighbourhoods in Toronto that can pass for North Newark and Belleville.

"I'm sure they can figure out a way to make it work. In Amadeus all of Salieri's monologues were turned into his confessions to the priest in the asylum.

...although I'm not recommending that route for Jersey Boys!

With a lot of expository dialogue, it's tricky though. And Jersey Boys is PACKED with it."

They can do it as if the boys are being interviewed.

As for your last comment about making musicals into movies, I disagree somewhat. I live in the Midwest, in the middle of nowhere. The closest theatre that has any type of musical ever is more than 3 hours away. The likelihood that I will ever be able to visit New York is pretty much zero percent. I'm in college, so that tells you how much money I have. So...a movie alternative for people like me is great, although I also see your viewpoint since you have the opportunity to see the actual show, whereas I do not.

I think making Jersey Boys a movie would be great!

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Yeah that would be cool if they got The 4 Seasons in it! They could play their fathers or some of the characters like the Judge and the other older male roles that some of the males in JB's play.

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Both of those would be nice, but it could kill the genre.

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