Was Sam Mendes ever confirmed as the director for the FOLLIES film?
Was Sam Mendes ever confirmed as the director for the FOLLIES film?
#1Was Sam Mendes ever confirmed as the director for the FOLLIES film?
Posted: 11/27/08 at 1:29pm
I know it's listed on IMDB. But was Mendes ever confirmed, or is it just a rumor?
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1172993/
I'm pretty sure Sorkin was confirmed though, right?
I really hope this film happens.
Updated On: 11/27/08 at 01:29 PM
#2re: Was Sam Mendes ever confirmed as the director for the FOLLIES film?
Posted: 11/27/08 at 1:37pmWhen the Sweeney film came out, Sondheim said in an interview with the Times that Mendes and Sorkin were working on the film with him. I, too, hope it happens. I think that these men are perfect for bringing Follies to the screen.
"Sing the words, Patti!!!!" Stephen Sondheim to Patti LuPone.
#2re: Was Sam Mendes ever confirmed as the director for the FOLLIES film?
Posted: 11/27/08 at 1:40pmGreat. Yeah, I just get nervous this won't happen. Follies on the big screen would be pretty amazing.
BrodyFosse123
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/27/06
#3re: Was Sam Mendes ever confirmed as the director for the FOLLIES film?
Posted: 11/27/08 at 1:49pm
I hope you guys ARE aware that Sam Mendes is responsible for reinventing completely CABARET in 1998 and reinterpreting GYPSY in 2005, the latter being heavily attacked by fans of the musical.
Expect Mendes to completely restructure FOLLIES into his own vision which to me... is what I hope and expect from him.
Having Dainty June whip-out that cigarette and light it up on stage in his GYPSY was total genius.
#4re: Was Sam Mendes ever confirmed as the director for the FOLLIES film?
Posted: 11/27/08 at 1:55pm
It's a film. Reinvention is inevitable. Sondheim said he will approve alterations, and I am content with that.
FOLLIES isn't a musical that you can transfer to film with very little changes.
#5re: Was Sam Mendes ever confirmed as the director for the FOLLIES film?
Posted: 11/27/08 at 2:10pm
Sondheim also said they had a big star who was extremely interested in being part of the piece and he was quite excited about him/her, I really do wonder who it is. I know Meryl and him are good friends (and old friends, she did THE FROGS at Yale back in the 70s) but I doubt it's her. I'm quite intrigued.
I really hope this happens, and I really hope Mendes does a good job at adapting the musical to film. His REVOLUTIONARY ROAD is gaining buzz again and he already directed (to Oscar-winning effect) a really great critique of American life and ideals, which is of course one of FOLLIES' major themes.
"Some people can thrive and bloom living life in a living room, that's perfect for some people of one hundred and five. But I at least gotta try, when I think of all the sights that I gotta see, all the places I gotta play, all the things that I gotta be at"
#6re: Was Sam Mendes ever confirmed as the director for the FOLLIES film?
Posted: 11/27/08 at 2:20pm
I am aware, Brody, and I was actually a fan of his production of Gypsy. I'm one of the few, though. Or rather, I'm one of the few who is willing to admit that he was a fan. I would prefer it if Mendes took some liberties with Follies. Not all of the material lends itself to be adapted to the screen.
"Sing the words, Patti!!!!" Stephen Sondheim to Patti LuPone.
Updated On: 11/27/08 at 02:20 PM
#7re: Was Sam Mendes ever confirmed as the director for the FOLLIES film?
Posted: 11/27/08 at 2:49pm
Sam Mendes ruined that Gypsy.
And it was Rob Marshall's additions to Sam's concept for Cabaret that made it work in the United States. Alone neither of them might have made it so successful here; together they made it great.
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