Disney sets Rob Marshall to adapt "Into the Woods"

[Sawyer]

http://www.deadline.com/2012/01/disney-sets-rob-marshall-to-direct-adapation-of-into-the-woods/

Disney Sets Rob Marshall To Direct Adapation Of ‘Into The Woods’
By THE DEADLINE TEAM

Rob Marshall has been tapped to direct Into The Woods, a film adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim Broadway musical, Disney announced today. Marshall is producing with John DeLuca via their LUCAMAR Prods banner, which has has a new multi-year producing deal at the studio. James Lapine, who wrote the stage musical with Sondheim, is writing the script. Marshall directed Pirates Of The Caribbean: On Stranger Tides for Disney, with the film earning more than $1 billion worldwide and becoming the eighth-highest-grossing film of all time. His wheelhouse is musical features, though, having helmed the 2003 Best Picture Oscar winner Chicago and 2009′s Nine, the latter also a LUCAMAR production. Into The Woods won a slew of Tony Awards for its original 1988 run as well as a 2002 revival. It revolves around a baker and his wife who must reverse a curse on their family in order to have a child, with their journey weaved among the fairytale stories of Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Jack and the Beanstalk, and Rapunzel.

I've never seen Into the Woods in person, but I watched it on video once. It was good, I hope they do the film justice.

 

[danoyse]

I was just listening to Into the Woods this morning. A movie version could be interesting.

 

[Sawyer]

Johnny Depp Will Play The Baker

 

[CGHulk]

It looks like Kathy got her hubby a movie deal.

 

[Sawyer]

That's Frank Marshall you're thinking of, so... nope.

 

[Sawyer]

Possibly Meryl Streep Too!

 

[CGHulk]

That's Frank Marshall you're thinking of, so... nope.

I misread the name, I was up all night doing two nine page reports, I posted that while I was really tired.

 

[Project862006]

Pine and Gyllenhaal joins cast

Jake Gyllenhaal and Chris Pine are in discussions to join Johnny Depp and Meryl Streep in Disney’s adaptation of the Broadway musical Into the Woods, The Hollywood Reporter has learned.


http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/broadway-star-joins-johnny-depp-520809Deal-making hasn’t quite begun but the two actors met and even sang for director Rob Marshall for their respective parts and are expected to receive offers to join the star-studded cast.



If deals close, Gyllenhaal and Pine would play their first on-screen singing roles.


Into the Woods is a darkly comic mash-up of classic fairy tales that revolves around a childless baker and his wife, who attempt to lift a family curse by journeying into the woods to confront the witch that put the spell on them. Along the way, they encounter a group of characters including Rapunzel, Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood.
Streep will play the plum role of the vain and charismatic Witch while Depp will play a hungry and sexy variation of a fairy tale wolf.
Sources say that Gyllenhaal and Pine would play the musical’s two princes, Cinderella’s Prince and Rapunzel’s Prince, brothers who are pompous and self-absorbed.
A fall production start is being eyed. The project is expected to attract more big names. John DeLuca is producing.
James Lapine wrote the screenplay, based on his book for the 1986 musical. The Tony-winning original score is by Stephen Sondheim while frequent Marshall collaborator David Krane is working on the music arrangements for the film.


Pine, repped by CAA, John Carabino Management and attorney Michael Gendler, is gearing up for this weekend's bow of Star Trek Into Darkness, in which he reprises the role of James T. Kirk. He next stars in Jack Ryan for Trek studio Paramount.
Gyllenhaal, repped by WME and Bloom Hergott, last starred in the acclaimed police thriller End of Watch and next stars opposite Hugh Jackman in Prisoners, which Warner Bros. will open Sept. 20. He also is starring in and producing the indie crime drama Nightcrawler, which is eyeing a fall production start.

http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/chris-pine-jake-gyllenhaal-circling-522404

 

[flickchick85]

Dammit, I do NOT trust Rob Marshall with this musical. But with this cast, I can't ignore it, either.

 

[Project862006]

Emily Blunt is The Female Lead

Disney has been furiously casting director Rob Marshall’s (Chicago) musical adaptation Into the Woods over the past few weeks, and now a couple more exciting cast members are being added. Variety reports that Emily Blunt is in talks to play the female lead in the film, which centers on a Baker and his wife as they venture into the woods to confront the witch responsible for putting a curse on the childless couple. Broadway actor James Corden is set to play the film’s male lead, the Baker, while Meryl Streep is set as the witch and Johnny Depp is signed on in an unspecified role.
We learned last night that Chris Pine and Jake Gyllenhaal are also in talks to play the love interests of Cinderella and Rapunzel in the film (yes, they’ll sing), and The Wrap adds that Christine Baranski (The Good Wife) is in talks to reteam with her Chicago director on the pic. Production is expected to get underway this fall on what is turning out to be one hell of a musical ensemble.

 

[terry78]

That's a good ass cast if they all come on.

 

[Sawyer]

Tracy Ullman In Talks To Play Jack's Mother

 

[mclay18]

I wonder if Disney will release under their Touchstone Pictures banner (like they do with their DreamWorks releases), or will they have the balls to slap their beloved castle logo on it.

 

[Sawyer]

What reason would they have for not using the castle?

 

[mclay18]

What reason would they have for not using the castle?

A lot of their live-action output, excluding Jerry Bruckheimer, usually goes through their Touchstone banner (usually PG-13 and R-rated films). I don't know, with that Disney logo on that film... it might turn some older folks away.

But then Meryl Streep has a big, devoted fan base that turns out for everything she does nowadays.

 

[terry78]

I doubt this will be any higher than a PG-13, which Disney still uses.

 

[sueb1863]

Considering the mature themes that run through the show, including mutilation, adultery, death, and sex, I don't think they'd use the castle.

 

[Sawyer]

Anna Kendrick In Talks For Cinderella

 

[terry78]

Do it, baby.

 

[ThePowerCosmic]

Dammit, I do NOT trust Rob Marshall with this musical. But with this cast, I can't ignore it, either.

Why not? Chicago was excellent and Annie was great too. On Stranger Tides was a bore but the man is talented with musicals. I was just watching Chicago last night and I'm still amazed by the puppet scene. It is so damn impressive. The best musical to me right behind Grease.

[YT]SBM82Ju2kJU[/YT]

 

[flickchick85]

Why not? Chicago was excellent and Annie was great too. On Stranger Tides was a bore but the man is talented with musicals. I was just watching Chicago last night and I'm still amazed by the puppet scene. It is so damn impressive. The best musical to me right behind Grease.

[YT]SBM82Ju2kJU[/YT]

Because of the hatchet job he did on Nine. I enjoyed the performances in that film immensely, but it was a horrible bastardization of the fantastic stage musical. It seems the only way he can conceive of translating a musical to the screen is by putting all of the musical sequences into the characters' heads, which was not the case in the actual stage versions of Chicago OR Nine, even though I'll admit it worked much better in the former. It still smacks of an utter lack of imagination/creativity, though, imo. Oh well, I like pretty much everyone in this cast, so I'm crossing my fingers for the best, regardless.

Also, I think Kendrick's casting is essentially a done deal based on her exchange with Rian Johnson on Twitter about it (which I can't post here since they both use salty language, lol).

 

[ThePowerCosmic]

Because of the hatchet job he did on Nine. I enjoyed the performances in that film immensely, but it was a horrible bastardization of the fantastic stage musical. It seems the only way he can conceive of translating a musical to the screen is by putting all of the musical sequences into the characters' heads, which was not the case in the actual stage versions of Chicago OR Nine, even though I'll admit it worked much better in the former. It still smacks of an utter lack of imagination/creativity, though, imo. Oh well, I like pretty much everyone in this cast, so I'm crossing my fingers for the best, regardless.

Also, I think Kendrick's casting is essentially a done deal based on her exchange with Rian Johnson on Twitter about it (which I can't post here since they both use salty language, lol).

I think Into the Woods will be external when it comes to the musical sequences. Where the other movies were more set in "reality", the fairy tale setting seems perfect for sequences that are actually happening and aren't in the characters' heads. Good news about Kendrick. I was sold on her after Pitch Perfect.

 

[flickchick85]

I think Into the Woods will be external when it comes to the musical sequences. Where the other movies were more set in "reality", the fairy tale setting seems perfect for sequences that are actually happening and aren't in the characters' heads. Good news about Kendrick. I was sold on her after Pitch Perfect.

I certainly hope you're right about that, and I think you probably are. As I said, crossing my fingers for the best, since this musical is awesome as is, and any dramatic "re-imagining" to work for the screen would be completely unnecessary, imo. While I agree that Kendrick is great, she's ironically now in two upcoming adaptations of all-time favorite musicals of mine, both of which have me equally worried about their stage-to-screen translations, lol.

 

[ThePowerCosmic]

I certainly hope you're right about that, and I think you probably are. As I said, crossing my fingers for the best, since this musical is awesome as is, and any dramatic "re-imagining" to work for the screen would be completely unnecessary, imo. While I agree that Kendrick is great, she's ironically now in two upcoming adaptations of all-time favorite musicals of mine, both of which have me equally worried about their stage-to-screen translations, lol.

Yeah, I hope I'm right too. Like you, I love Into the Woods as well and there's no reason to change the story or the way it is being told. This movie has the potential to be fantastic as long as its translated properly. What's the other musical that Kendrick is in?

 

[sueb1863]

Honestly, I wouldn't have thought there was any need to make an ItW movie since we already have a fully filmed version of the stage show with the original Broadway cast available on DVD.

But I can't see Marshall messing with the setup of the original show, having fairy tale characters sing is much more believable than those doing so in a 'real' setting. And wouldn't that concept be the responsibility of the screenwriters anyway? Was it Marshall's decision to adapt 'Nine' that way or was it the decision of the screenwriters?