It was said time and again that if Les Miserables made a killing in the box office then Cameron Mackintosh would focus his attention on bringing Miss Saigon to the silver screen as well. Well with that possibility becoming clearer and clearer everyday, you’d think I would go and update my wish list of what I would like to see happen with Miss Saigon. Well the truth is, not much has changed and as thus instead I’ll simply do another round up of musical productions that people are sniffing around for a big screen treatment.
RUMORED to be in DEVELOPMENT
Wicked
Considering how there is already a Wizard of Oz movie about to be released by Disney in March (Oz the Great and Powerful) that is a kind of prequel to the Wizard of Oz, I am not really entirely sure having another Wizard of Oz prequel would be overkill in the current yeah.
Thankfully out in the wonderful world of IMDB it appears that the currently slated date would be sometime in 2014.
Interesting… very very interesting.
Jersey Boys
Also… that same article mentions that the Jersey Boys appear to be in the development phase for a film adaptation. And yet… according to IMDB there is no real set date for the film to be released… but it does mention that such a film is currently in development.
FUN!
The Last Five Years
Now this is one of those possible adaptations that I will be kind of interested to see how it works. Considering that the two person (and yes two person) musical works in such a way that Cathy is singing about events in reverse chronological order and Jaime is singing in chronological… it would be interesting to see what direction a film adaptation would take.
Would it take the easy route and line everything up and put everyone in chronological order… or would it blow up the formula and try to keep the original musical as is?
It would appear that breaking up the traditional linear narrative has become more commonplace in the modern world of film making with Momento being the most prominent and the closest in comparison.
So I suppose the best thing to say is whatever way the producers and director decide to adapt this particular musical… I am sure they will do what the can to maintain the integrity of the piece.
I hope.
Miss Saigon
And the biggie… Cameron Mackintosh has been on record to say that he would producer a Miss Saigon film if Les Miserables becomes successful. How successful? Well…:
If Mackintosh’s current project, “Les Misérables” — scheduled to hit theatres Dec. 25 — pulls in $500 million or more at the box office, Mackintosh and Universal Pictures will lay the groundwork for “Saigon,” according to the New York Post.
$500 million? Just be glad it isn’t $5 billion.
Well according to Box Office Mojo… it appears that Les Miserables is hitting about half that amount worldwide.
So what does this say about the possibility of a Miss Saigon film? Honestly I am not sure, I mean to say that if Les Miserables wins the Oscar for best film but not hit the $500 million mark it may strengthen Miss Saigon’s potential. Then again Les Miserables is the stronger musical… or rather the more “beloved” musical… and as thus the stronger undertones and various messages are far easier to stomach than that of Miss Saigon.
Then again… I am also going to be one of the more critical ones when it will come to how this particular production would unfold over time. So we shall see… no?
Into the Woods
This film adaptation has been in developmental hell for the past heaven knows how long! Granted I am very happy that there was at least some sort of reading that had happened… but honestly I am not sure if this would actually see the light of day.
If it were me adapting this gem of a musical for a movie I would definitely modernize it in such a way that the “woods” is actually the big bad beautiful city (say New York)… and everyone is coming from the suburbs (or more rural areas) and coming into the city, and just take it from there. I think it could be done, I really do this it could be done… tying the fantasy into reality and see what shakes up.
George Orwell’s Animal Farm
When I first heard this spoken aloud my over active imagination finally found a home… so needless to say this is something that I would expect to be primarily CGI. now the question is would the story play out as well on film as it has as a stage reading / narration?
… And just for kicks …
Memphis
So yeeeeaaaah. I doubt that the development and eventual production of some of the above musicals would hinge on the success of Les Miserables, but it definitely wouldn’t hurt. As for me… I’ll just keep chugging along and see exactly what would come to pass… maybe… kind of… we’ll see.