“Heathers”
Get ready for “Heathers: The Musical.”
The influential 1988 teen dark comedy, which launched the careers of Winona Ryder, Christian Slater and scribe Dan Waters, is stagebound in a production being developed by Andy Fickman, director of “Race to Witch Mountain,” who is making a return to his musical roots.
Fickman, who helmed the musical “Reefer Madness,” is working with “Reefer” partner Kevin Murphy, who is writing the “Heathers” lyrics and the book, and composer Larry O’Keefe, who earned a Tony nomination for best score for the Broadway version of “Legally Blonde.”
The trio has worked on the production under the radar for some time, even doing readings this week in Endeavor’s screening room. The readings saw “Veronica Mars” star Kristen Bell playing the lead and Christian Campbell as J.D., with Jenna Leigh Green (“Wicked”), BrokeDown Cadillac lead singer Corri English and Christine Lakin (the CW’s “Valentine”) as the three Heathers.
The actors doing the reading will not necessarily do the musical; that depends on their availability when the play is mounted.
Andy Cohen, J. Todd Harris and Amy Powers are producing with Fickman, Murphy and O’Keefe.
Denise Di Novi, who produced the movie, is executive producing the musical. Lakeshore Entertainment also is creatively involved.
The project has the blessing of Waters, who controls the underlying rights to the material. Fickman said he sat down with Waters early on “to make sure we were on the same page” and that Waters has seen the readings.
“He understood that our goals were to be creatively attuned to his original work,” said Fickman, who is repped by Endeavor and Evolution.
The film offered many over-top-moments as well as choice lines, something Fickman is eager to bring out musically.
” ‘I love my dead gay son,” Fickman quoted. “If you can get that into a song, then that is just perfect.”
The creative team hopes to have a fully mounted regional production ready for 2010, followed ideally by a Broadway run. The next step would see the stage show adapted for the big screen — the way John Waters’ 1988 film “Hairspray” became a Broadway musical that was then adapted into a hit movie musical.
source: hollywoodreporter.com
MTV caught up with Kristen on the set of Party Down to talk about the Veronica Mars movie.
Astro Boy ran out of dough last month, but now Nicolas Cage’s animated robot movie has returned to production with plans to hit theaters in October.
Created by Osamu Tezuka in the mid-’60s, the Japanese TV character gets a shot at the big screen, thanks to an infusion of $25 million rounded up from new investors by Imagi Entertainment, according to Variety.
Cage heads the voice cast, which also includes Bill Nighy, Freddie Highmore, Eugene Levy, Donald Sutherland and Kristen Bell.
source: blog.wired.com
A movie version of the cancelled television series Veronica Mars is, it seems, much more than just another fan fever dream. Speaking to EW show creator Rob Thomas revealed that he’s preparing to pitch the movie to Warner Bros. and producer Joel Silver within the next week or two.
The television version first debuted on the now defunct UPN network back in 2004. It carried over to UPN’s successor, the CW network where it was cancelled in May of 2007. The show starred Kristen Bell as Veronica Mars, a high school student (and later college student) who moonlights as a private detective under the tutelage of her detective father.
Thomas has a few more plot details to work out, but EW says the movie version will involve the fem detective in solving a crime at college. This conflicts somewhat with statements made by Thomas last month when he said he was considering a movie which would start with Veronica’s college graduation.
For now the plot is not important. Focus people. We’ll get to that later. A Veronica Mars movie may actually happen. It’s rare that a cancelled television series gets any kind of second life, let alone one as a major movie franchise. Of course once Thomas makes his pitch they may say no, but at least for now there’s hope.
source: cinemablend.com
The “Veronica Mars” and Forgetting Sarah Marshall hottie Kristen Bell took some time from her busy schedule (right after an audition �€“ she wouldn’t say for what) to chat about her new film, Fanboys. She plays Zoe, the rare female diehard Star Wars fan, who joins her buddies in an attempt to break into Skywalker Ranch so their terminally ill comrade can watch Episode I before its release.
As she pauses to scarf down her vegetarian lunch, we touch on topics ranging from her fave Star Wars character to her upcoming projects, including Astro Boy and a possible Veronica Mars movie.
Fandango: What was it about Fanboys that brought you on board?
Bell: It was so fun and quirky�€”a legitimate love letter to Star Wars fans, and there were so many obscure references that subculture would enjoy. It was just about time that a movie like that was made.
Fandango: How did diehard fans react while Fanboys was filming?
Bell: The cool thing was, they all came out of the woodwork to help with props, set and costumes because it’s part of the culture to make your own costume. It was high-end stuff, like pouring the plastic, making the Jedi costumes�€”the real deal. They drove to where we were�€”shooting in Albuquerque�€”to let us use the costumes, which I thought was amazing and so supportive
Fandango: Besides re-watching the Star Wars films, did you do anything else for preparation, like meet George Lucas or tour Skywalker Ranch?
Bell: No, I wish. The director had some contact with George �€“ I mean, Mr. Lucas. He was really, really kind because Skywalker Sound mixed it for us. We got to use all the real Wookie and Chewbacca sounds from their archives.
Fanboys Fandango: Any scenes that didn’t quite go as planned?
Bell: None of the scenes with four boys in it really ever go as planned, but they were all a lot of fun! I think the after-hours were even more fun than shooting. I remember they turned my entire room upside down at one point because they had gotten a key. The bed, the desk, all the shampoo bottles, shoes �€“ everything was completely upside down. They’re all absolutely hysterical.
Fandango: Who’s your favorite Star Wars character?
Bell: I like Chewie because he looks so cuddly. It makes me want to jump into his arms.
Fandango: Your �€œHereos�€� friend Zachary Quinto is in the upcoming Star Trek movie. Did you have any debates on Star Wars fans versus the Trekkies?
Bell: Oh no! I didn’t even think about it! Do we have to stop being friends now? Maybe we�€™ll once and for all settle the debate and get Star Wars fans and Trekkies to finally unite and just be friends. Between Zach and I, it’ll all be water under the bridge, so hopefully they’ll follow our lead.
Fandango: There are fans voting online that they want you resurrected on “Heroes.” What do you miss most about the show?
Bell: That’s so nice! I miss the people and the stunts. It’s really fun to go to work and have blood splattered all over you. It makes you feel like you’re a mob boss or a gangster. There’s something really dorky and cool about it.
Fandango: You’ve got the animated Astro Boy coming up�€”what was it like voice acting and which character do you play?
Bell: Astro Boy was really fun because I’ve always dreamed of being a cartoon voice. I play a girl named Cora who Astro hooks up with toward the beginning of the film. They become best friends, then get into a turbulent relationship when they find out that he’s actually Astro Boy.
Fandango: Are you down for a possible Veronica Mars movie?
Bell: I’m really excited about the prospect of a Veronica Mars movie because we’ve been talking about it for so long. If they write it, I’ll do it. Absolutely.
Fandango: What’s one of your favorite vegetarian dishes?
Bell: Can you hear me eating? [Laughs] I’ve been really into using the crock pot lately, which is amazing because you can put anything fresh or frozen in there and it cooks for 10 hours and you have a stew. It’s fantastic! I actually cooked meat for the first time the other day. I made a dish that was somehow fried chicken with Italian dressing and A1 sauce. It was so weird and the reviews were stellar�€”I made it for my roommates and they really liked it. [Laughs] I didn’t eat it, but I figure it’s about time I learned to cook it.
Fandango: Do you find yourself getting recognized a lot more in public?
Bell: I think I have one of those faces where people think, if they do know me, they think I might just be friends with their sister. I don’t have that much of a problem with it and I�€™m thankful for that.
