As the makers of multiple Tony winners like Spamalot, Billy Elliott, and Hairspray (among many, many others) know, adapting hit Broadway musicals from movies can be quite rewarding — commercially and creatively. But since these days it seems like Broadway folk are dipping into the Hollywood playbook for just about any kind of material — nun-themed disco comedies, ’80s-set Adam Sandler pics, even the Patrick Swayze-Demi Moore romance Ghost, complete with potter’s wheel cheesiness — Movieline’s got your guide to the five most promising future movie-to-Broadway adaptations to watch for.
5. Dave
Yes, that Dave — the 1993 Ivan Reitman comedy starring Kevin Kline as the President of the United States and his everyman doppelganger is heading to the Great White Way sometime in the near future, courtesy of the original film’s producer Lauren Shuler Donner. Donner has been developing the musical since around 2008 (along with Dave director Gary Ross, who’s currently filming The Hunger Games). Stay tuned for more developments, including word on whether or not Kline might reprise his role in song and dance.
4. Rocky
From the producers of this year’s Sister Act musical adaptation will soon come the Rocky musical, complete with Sly Stallone’s blessing. Songwriters Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Ragtime) wrote the music and a spring reading went off so smashingly that the show might kick-off in Germany next year before hitting Broadway in 2013.…
· A new fan-made trailer for The Expendables is the most blatant example of counter-marketing ever created. The message: “See The Expendables, because if you don’t, Julia Roberts and her chick army win. And so does Oprah. And HER chick army.” Andrew W.K. provides a soundtrack, and I don’t think he’d be down for this (only-kind-of-winkingly) sexist party. [YouTube]
· Speaking of The Expendables, it’s being promoted with a wonderful new curio: an 8-bit game on Facebook featuring Sly Stallone and Jet Li. [Kotaku]
· The rights to Kiss of the Spider Woman, which won William Hurt an Oscar in 1985, are being sold as a piece of art. [NYT]
· Californication comes back January 10. For now, enjoy David Duchovny in his underwear. [ONTD]
· Jack Black and Reveille are turning the A.J. Jacobs book My Life as an Experiment into a sitcom. I call it Sh*t Jack Black Can Say on Primetime. [Deadline]
