Per the always reliable Mike Fleming at Deadline.
http://www.deadline.com/2011/03/barbra-streisands-gypsy-movie-dead-then-why-is-universal-finalizing-a-deal/
And how do we know he's telling the truth?
She's still too damn old.
Part of the problem is that Laurents will do an interview with anyone and what he says is likely to change hour to hour - day to day. Blame it on his being 100 or blame it on his being crazy, but I feel bad for any reporter who goes on on a limb based on what Laurents says.
Like Laurents, this project seems unwilling to die.
One new piece of information in that article is that the project has shifted from Warner Brothers to Universal.
What more than likely happened was that WB decided they didn't want to move forward on a remake, Laurents pivoted, saying that the decision was actually his (making Sondheim look somewhat a co culprit). I expect we will get an announcement soon that tells us how Laurents "saved" the project by taking it instead to Universal and that Streisand and Sondheim should be deeply indebted to him.
Broadway Star Joined: 6/5/03
Well, Frank whatshisname in Hartford is a B- critic at best, so I'm not surprised he was wrong.
They should change Rose to Roz and have Dustin Hoffman should play Herbie.
Hartford Courant is a reputable newspaper and I would assume he has proof of some sort to back up what Laurents said. Don't most people use a recorder these days for such things?
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/20/03
I've said it before and I'll say it again. This movie will not be made unless Roz Kind gets to play Rose.
This is from a Barbra news website http://barbranews.blogspot.com/2011/03/gypsy-dont-believe-what-you-read.html so now time will tell.
Updated On: 3/21/11 at 02:56 PM
Ya gotta love Mike Fleming, who was a reporter/columnist for years at Variety. Not only does he put Arthur Laurents in his place, he also raises the flag of good ol' reporting over blogging:
Laurents is also quoted as saying that The King’s Speech helmer Tom Hooper was keen to direct, but I’m told that isn't in the cards, either.
It seems that the reason Warner passed and it went to Universal was that Laurents (or Laurents/Sondheim) wanted greater approvals than Hollywood like to give writers. Arthur probably turned down Warner's offer and gave the interview to the Hartford Courant so another studio would see the "buzz" and rush to pick it up:
Multiple sources said that the deal that’s closing gives the show creators a strong say over the screenwriter, director, choreographer and who’ll play the roles of Herbie and Louise. Warner Bros retains the rights to be co-financier after it rejected a deal that would have granted those same approvals to heirs.
"Heirs"? Who is Arthur's heir?
Of greater concern to me is the slippery slope that has been created on the web, and the willingness of outlets to accept any and every piece of reportage as fact without taking the time to verify.
Except in this case, the "disinformation" seems to have been spread by the subject himself.
Broadway Legend Joined: 7/22/03
Given Universal's long history of monster movies, this could get interesting.
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
>>>"Well, Frank whatshisname in Hartford is a B- critic at best, so I'm not surprised he was wrong."<<<
Let me defend a fellow writer:
A journalist writes what the person he is interviewing tells him. He can try to check out certain aspects of the story, but in an interview like this one, one assumes the information is correct because it's coming from "the horse's mouth" so to speak.
I try to be very accurate in the articles I write for BWW, but on at least one occasion, I received feedback indicating that what I was reporting was pure balderdash on the part of the person I had interviewed.
I'm sensing there that Laurents was the culprit, not the writer.
I'm actually really hoping that this is true - I'd love to see a modern take on Gypsy.
Regarding the mention of heirs: I would guess that Jule Styne's widow, Margaret lobbied to have the same approvals over casting, director, screenwriter etc that Laurents and Sondheim are apparently demanding and was likely rejected.
Broadway Legend Joined: 12/31/69
The key thing to remember is that Arthur Laurents is crazy and will say anything to anyone.
I'm over it too. It feels Spiderman-ish at this point.
I really hope this happens. I don't think Barbra's too old at all for Mama Rose as she looks good for her age. Gypsy really needs a big movie done by an admirable singer and actress. Roz Russell completely blew in the first movie and the Bette Midler tv movie was forgettable. The only thing people will remember Gypsy by is the original movie, which like I said was done poorly. This show deserves to last through the ages and reviving it every 5 years won't do the deed. Plus, Barbra is a legend :)
Personally, I think Roz was a KILLER Rose on the acting front. Just me, I guess.
Feels like SPIDERMAN? Say what? All that's happened has been three completely uncomfirmed gossip reports about the project replayed over and over in the media. I fail to see the comparisons.
PS - Mike Fleming is very very reliable. Much more so than the Hartford Courant
Updated On: 3/21/11 at 03:59 PM
Who is the audience for a big-budget Barbra remake of Gypsy?
Same audience as all musicals - old people and gay men
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