Last week, "Star Trek" fans were momentarily ruffled when Zachary Quinto revealed that he'll be taking a two-year hiatus from all things "Trek." Given his fantastic portrayal of Spock in J.J. Abrams' May '09 reboot, the revelation caused a little bit of a ruckus.
Quinto later clarified, reaffirming his commitment to the franchise in a post on his personal blog. The guy just wants to make sure that, coming off of "Trek" and sci-fi TV series "Heroes," he isn't pigeon-holed as a genre player. Can you really blame him? Now there's word that Quinto may be settling in for a much more grounded blockbuster: a George Gershwin biopic for none other than Steven Spielberg.
The news comes from Deadline Hollywood, who have it on the authority of "a DreamWorks insider." Spielberg is apparently anxious to work again after last year's "Harvey" fakeout, and plans have reportedly progressed far enough for Quinto to already be meeting with accent and dialogue coaches. If all goes as planned, Spielberg could begin directing Doug Wright's ("Quills") script as soon as April.
For those of you who aren't up on your musical theater, George Gershwin and his brother Ira were behind some of the most memorable Broadway shows of the 1920s and 1930s, including "Show Girl," "Funny Face" and the opera "Porgy and Bess." He died at the young age of 38, the victim of a brain tumor. Personally, I think Quinto could nail this role. He hasn't had much of an opportunity to stretch himself so far, but there have been glimmers of what he's capable of, especially in some of the wackier -- odd as it is to say -- "Heroes" episodes.
The DreamWorks source indicates that there are three possible projects that Spielberg is currently looking at, including this one. If Spielberg really does want to get moving on whatever's next and the talk of Quinto working with voice coaches is true, then Deadline Hollywood's prediction that we'll hear something soon, perhaps even this week, could well be an accurate one.
Are you familiar with the life and work of George Gershwin? Do you think Quinto is a good fit for the role? Would you like this to be Spielberg's next one?
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