Choreographer-turned-filmmaker Adam Shankman has fortunately found another musical to direct following his success with the "Hairspray" remake. Variety reports that he's set to helm the movie version of Broadway's "Rock of Ages," which incorporates popular '80s rock anthems, such as Journey's "Don't Stop Believin'" and Twisted Sister's "We're Not Gonna take It," into a Sunset Strip-set love story about an aspiring musician and a girl who's just off the bus.
Shankman, who also made the hilarious online short "Prop 8: The Musical" and will be doing a "Hairspray" sequel, feels he knows the material well enough from having worked on an Extreme video back in the early '90s and from growing up with a dad in the music biz. He also was a choreographer on "Boogie Nights," which means he probably has experience setting a scene to Night Ranger's "Sister Christian," one of the songs appropriated for one of the numbers in "Rock of Ages." Read more...
"Bedtime Stories" director Adam Shankman may do what no one in Hollywood has managed so far -- bring back big screen musicals. With "Hairspray" under his belt and a deal to direct "Bob: The Musical," Shankman is stepping in to help Columbia revive its remake of "Bye Bye Birdie." According to The Hollywood Reporter, he'll be producing and developing the film, but isn't set to direct just yet.
"Birdie" debuted on Broadway in 1958, but probably is best known for the 1963 movie version that starred Ann-Margret and Dick Van Dyke. It centers on a popular singer named Conrad Birdie (who was loosely based on Elvis Presley) who is about to be shipped off to the army, but decides to give one lucky girl from his fan club a farewell kiss. Of course, love, mayhem, and musical numbers follow. Read more...
Last month, we broke big news on John Waters’ bizarre, top-secret script treatment blueprinting the upcoming “Hairspray 2.” The details were so weird, in fact, that as news spread across the Web some people thought composer/producer Marc Shaiman was joking.
Naturally, we had to take the story to the man himself, “Hairspray” director Adam Shankman – who not only confirmed it all, but also told us about a title possibility and the big-name star who won’t be returning when the sequel hits theaters in July 2010.
“It’s crazy,” Shankman laughed. “[The treatment] is amazing, but it’s crazy. There are things in there that I was like ‘Can we do that?’ It’s real John Waters-y stuff, and it was more like a sequel to his movie than to our movie. Which I love, because then that becomes re-interpreted.” Read more...
Comedy superstar Adam Sandler dips into more whimsical fare this week with the release of "Bedtime Stories," a considerably more family-friendly flick than his recent jaunt to Israel in "You Don't Mess With The Zohan." The film, opening tomorrow, features Sandler as a handyman whose bedside stories told to his niece and nephew suddenly become true.
The actor teams with "Hairspray" helmer Adam Shankman for "Bedtime Stories," which took Sandler in a new direction. "You know, it's interesting. I think he had to conform to me more than I had to conform to him," Shankman told MTV News. "This is Adam inside of a Disney movie. Although I've handled comedy, he hasn't done family."
After the jump, check out an exclusive clip from the film featuring Russell Brand as Sandler's best friend. And for more of our "Bedtime Stories" interview with Sandler and Shankman, along with a second exclusive clip, click here. Read more...
First it was a movie. Then it became a musical. Then, it became a movie based on a musical. Now, according to Queen Latifah, “Hairspray” is on its way to becoming a sequel.
“I got a secret e-mail about that recently,” the Queen has revealed to us, insisting that her character of Motormouth Maybelle is in for a comeback alongside co-stars John Travolta, Zac Efron, Amanda Bynes and others.
“I got an e-mail from people connected to the last movie,” the Oscar-nominated actress/hip-hop legend added. “It said: ‘Keep your ears peeled.’”
Based on John Waters’ 1988 cult classic, 2007’s hit musical told the story of a pleasantly plump teenager battling racism, an evil local Mom, and an undeniable desire to simply dance. A sequel would not only seem to necessitate a post-civil rights plotline, but also a bunch of brand-new songs as catchy as “Good Morning Baltimore” and “You Can’t Stop the Beat.” Read more...
