Media Morsels 10.18.13



(Scroll down for exciting news about Christopher Wheeldon's latest project.)


Movie News
  • With the theatrical release less than a month away, The Wall Street Journal checks in with the creative forces behind The Wolf of Wall Street, director Martin Scorsese (Hugo) and actors Leonardo DiCaprio (Django Unchained) and Jonah Hill (Moneyball). 

  • Cameron Crowe's latest (as of yet untitled) flick keeps adding more great actors to the cast: joining Bradley Cooper (Silver Linings Playbook), Emma Stone (Crazy Stupid Love), Rachel McAdams (Sherlock Holmes) and Alec Baldwin (Orphans) is Bill Murray! The Hollywood Reporter has details.

  • Oscars: Yep, it's time to start talking Oscars. The Hollywood Reporter's Scott Feinberg is back with his weekly installments of the Feinberg Forecast, wherein the awards guru talks about what's happened in the week and what impact, if any, it has on Oscar races. This week, he notes that Broadway Idiot did respectably (for a documentary) at the box office in its first week and that the accuracy of some based-on-a-true-story flicks is being called into question. (In other Oscar news, Michael Fassbender says in a new GQ interview that he won't campaign for a nomination or win for his performance in 12 Years a Slave.)

  • Woody Allen's latest is filming in the south of France and the flick finally has a name: Magic in the Moonlight. Stars include Colin Firth (The King's Speech), recent The Newsroom guest stars Marcia Gay Harden + Hamish Linklater (Seminar), Emma Stone and Jeremy Shamos (The Assembled Parties), among others. Variety has more. 
Leotards, Tights and Legwarmers, Oh My!
The New York City Ballet dancers look glamorous on stage, but what about in the rehearsal room and on the street? The Huffington Post checks in with principal dancers Tiler Peck and Janie Taylor and corps de ballet member Gretchen Smith to find out their "dancer style." And Wag magazine talks to Sterling Hyltin about her pointe shoes and her beauty regimen. The Company just completed the fall season and though they're headed to Japan, they'll be back next month with The Nutcracker. In the meantime, the San Francisco Ballet will be taking up residence in the State Theatre, bringing with them the New York premiere of Christopher Wheeldon's Cinderella. Look for my review later this month.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Nominees
The nominees for the 2014 Rock and Roll Hall of Fame class have been announced, and, in their first year of eligibility, Nirvana made it on the ballot! (Artists are eligible 25 years after their first release; Nirvana's cover of Shocking Blue's "Love Buzz" was their first single and was released in late 1988.) Other nominees include N.W.A., Deep Purple, Yes, Linda Ronstadt and LL Cool J, among others. As last year, fans have a chance to vote for their pick.You can head to Rolling Stone's website to cast your vote (until December 10th) and to find the full list of nominees.  Here's my question: Dave Grohl is usually one of the inductors and plays in honor of the inductees. If Nirvana is inducted, who will fill Grohl's shoes? We'll find out in April 2014. (Though Grohl was not in the lineup in 1988, he will be included if Nirvana is inducted.)

An American in Paris—and Broadway!
It's been over a year since we first heard rumblings of a full stage adaptation of An American in Paris (the MGM classic movie musical starring Gene Kelly), to be directed and choreographed by the brilliant Christopher Wheeldon (After the Rain, A Place for Us). This week, it became official. With a book by Craig Lucas and a selection of Gershwin tunes, An American in Paris will have its premiere in (naturally) Paris, at the Theatre du Chatelet, in December 2014, followed by a Broadway bow in spring 2015. As this is Wheeldon's directorial debut (though not his musical debut; he choreographed a recent revival of Sweet Smell of Success), Tony-winning director Bartlett Sher (Golden Boy) will serve as a creative consultant. Making this good news even better, NYCB principal dancer Robert Fairchild is participating in a developmental workshop of the show. Visit americaninparisonbroadway.com to sign up for updates, and stay tuned to Reviewing the Drama for all the details. (Fun fact: Wheeldon's one-act ballet of An American in Paris was the first Wheeldon ballet I saw, and I saw it the first time I saw the New York City Ballet; it was when they were touring and had stopped in Washington, DC, in March 2006.)

Catching Up With...
  • Roger Rees, co-director of Peter and the Starcatcher and a The West Wing alumnus, who is now starring in Roundabout's revival of Terence Rattigan's The Winslow Boy. Head to Broadway.com for the interview, in which he talks about his next project: directing an original musical written by his husband, Tony winner Rick Elice, and Michael Patrick Walker.

  • Michael Zegen, who is back on the boards with the off-Broadway production of Bad Jews, which had a celebrated but limited run in Roundabout's Underground venue last year and is now playing another limited run in the theatre company's "upstairs" off-Broadway space. Zegen, who can also be seen as Bugsy Siegel on Boardwalk Empire, fills out Playbill's Cue and A questionnaire.

  • Philip Ettinger, Zegen's Bad Jews costar. Ettinger spoke to Broadway.com about his personal connections to the play, penned by Josh Harmon, and about being compared to another great star of stage and screen, Michael Shannon. In addition to his stage work, Ettinger was seen on last week's The Good Wife. 
All Star Team Set for Broadway
Marisa Tomei (The Ides of March), Toni Collette (The United States of Tara), Michael C. Hall (Dexter) and Tracy Letts (Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) are returning to Broadway for Will Eno's play, The Realistic Joneses. No exact dates have been announced (neither has a theatre), though the Broadway.com report says previews will begin in February 2014 and opening night will be sometime in March. According to the report, The Realistic Joneses "tells the story of John and Bob (Hall and Letts), two men who share the same last name and are both grappling with the same harrowing illness." The production will be directed by the talented Sam Gold (Uncle Vanya, The Flick). 

(Possibly) Coming to Broadway
  • A revival of On the Town might hit Broadway early next year. The Leonard Bernstein musical follows three sailors around NYC; it was conceived by Jerome Robbins, who first collaborated with Bernstein on the ballet Fancy Free, which is the progenitor of On the Town. Playbill has details about the revival, which will have a developmental workshop this December.

  • James Franco might make his Broadway debut in a production of John Steinbeck's Of Mice and Men. Picking up on a casting notice, Playbill reports that the play is aiming to begin previews March 22, 2014, with opening night "set" for April 17. The limited run would conclude on July 27. Broadway.com reports that Chris O'Dowd, who was recently seen in the HBO series Family Tree, will star alongside Franco.

  • While a stage adaptation of Woody Allen's Bullets Over Broadway is definitely coming to Broadway, the cast is not complete. Or is it? Playbill, reporting on an item in the New York Post, says Marin Mzzie (Ragtime, Next to Normal) might play female lead Helen Sinclair, a role that earned Diane Wiest an Oscar. (What's most interesting about the report is that it includes tell of Patti LuPone, Bernadette Peters and Betty Buckley still auditioning for roles.) If cast, Mazzie would join the previously announced Zach Braff (All New People, Trust) and Betsy Wolfe (The Last Five Years). Bullets Over Broadway, directed and choreographed by Susan Stroman (Big Fish) will play the St James Theatre; previews begin March 11, 2014, and opening night is set for April 10.
Dig This
  • A note to Madonna: express yourself some other time.

  • Rejoice: Amy Poehler and Tina Fey just might host the Golden Globes for the next two years. (They were great this year.) Huzzah! The Hollywood Reporter has more.

  • This week, Lin-Manuel-Miranda (Bring It On) and Thomas Sadoski (The Newsroom) were awesome on Twitter.

  • Girls will be back on January 12, 2014, at 10pm. The next week will see the debut of Looking, which stars Jonathan Groff. Variety has more.

  • The Stephen Sondheim musical Company might be coming back with a twist: Bobby is a gay man with commitment issues. Playbill has more. (And Celia Keenan-Bolger tweeted this photo from the closed reading.)

  • Your favorite Breaking Bad characters might pop up in the spinoff prequel, Better Call Saul. The Hollywood Reporter has more.

  • There's another If/Then first listen!!! The clip below is from the opening number, "If," and features Idina Menzel. If/Then is headed to DC this fall before starting previews on Broadway in March 2014. 

Comments

Post a Comment