Jersey Boys: The Movie & The Remake of Gypsy

[FrontRowCenter2]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 6:05am

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

[TampaNative]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 8:17am

Awesome news about a possible movie of Jersey Boys! I know I would see it! Saw the play at the end of October, and am still amazed at how wonderful it is! Congrats to all involved...

Can anyone tell me how to go about purchasing a souveneir book from JB? I didn't purchase one the night my husband I attended and would love to have one...

[nobodyhome]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 8:28am

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.

[philcrosby]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 8:34am

Actually Streep would make a better Mama Rose than Streisand. Zeta-Jones (well, and La Babs for that matter) is way too old for the role. Lindsay Lohan would make a terrific Louise.

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 8:36am

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.

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

[nobodyhome]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 8:37am

Streep would make a lot more sense, I agree.

[bwayondabrain]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 8:41am

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

[ljay889]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 8:44am

I would go for Streep as Rose.

But Zeta-Jones as Louise? What the hell? She does not look youthful enough.

[JLY's Jersey Gal]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 8:48am

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......

[best12bars]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 8:57am

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.

[justafan2]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 9:47am

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.

[JLY's Jersey Gal]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 9:56am

Yeah! Also they could go through an aging process. Put some make-up for them to look younger and older! It would be so cool seeing what they would look like 20 or 30 years from now!

[popular_elphie]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 10:09am

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.

[madbrian]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 10:17am

How about Anne Hathaway as Louise?

[Hank]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 11:08am

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.

[Michael Bennett]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 11:12am

None of this is really new news: there have been serious discussions about the film of JERSEY BOYS with Spielberg et all since last year - and the GYPSY film rumours are equally old (though Zeta Jones IS also a contender for ROSE, not Louise- as Liz Smith and others previously reported. Expect Riedel to correct himself in his next column).

The only new news is that if DREAMGIRLS is a runaway box office/awards hit: we may see more musical projects put into fast track production.
Updated On: 11/22/06 at 11:12 AM

[Fosse76]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 1:02pm

"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.

[Theatreboy33]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 1:21pm

While I wish Jersey Boys wasn't made into a film at all, if it has to be I certainly think Steven Spielburg is the wrong director for the project. The gritty Jersey feel to the whole piece would be much better helmed by Martin Scorsese I would think.

As for all these other possible movies, I wish they would just leave them alone. On one level, it makes me happy that classic musicals are capable of being pushed further into the public eye. But on the contrary, this trend seems similar to all the movie musicals of the 1950s and 60s. None of them are very extraordinary. Of course there is the occasional West Side Story film masterpiece. But for each one of those there are three or four more "Oklahoma"s "Bye Bye Birdie"s "Brigadoon"s or "Guys and Dolls"s, none of which are very good on film and all of which are so much more alive and wonderful on stage. Just like for every "Chicago" there are three or four "Phantom"s "The Producers" or (possibly) "Hairspray"s. I say best leave alone what is already a masterpiece for the stage and just appreciate it as is.

[watty2006]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 1:43pm

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.

[TheatreDiva90016]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 1:47pm

Both Streep and Streisand are far too old to be playing the role of Rose at this point.

[ragdoll4390]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 2:21pm

I think making Jersey Boys a movie would be great!

[worrell4077]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 2:35pm

I think Jersey Boys could work as a movie. I did think at a time that if they made a movie out of it, how would the monologues work and stuff like that, but it's been done before where the actor turns to the screen and addresses the audiences. The only example I can think of with it, is this tv show I watched last year in health called "Life As We Know It", and the three boys in that show at points faced the camera to talk to the audience.

I've been thinking that Jersey Boys should get the movie treatment cause of the other movies about musicians like Ray and Walk The Line. I really hope they do this and maybe get John, Daniel, Christian, Bobby, and Michael to do it. It would also be cool if they actually got the living members of The Four Seasons into the movie somehow.

[JLY's Jersey Gal]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 2:40pm

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.

[hahaha7]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 4:43pm

Heres an article over the summer about the movie version of Gypsy with Zeta Jones leading the cast as Momma Rose

http://www.playbill.com/news/article/100268.html

[Trekkie2]

Posted: 11/22/06 at 8:53pm

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