(Left) Michelle Williams as Molly in ‘Dying for Sex’. Photo: Sarah Shatz/FX. (Right) Director Damien Chazelle on the set of ‘Babylon’ from Paramount Pictures.
Preview:
Michelle Williams is joining the cast of Damien Chazelle’s new movie.
The as-yet-untitled film is reportedly set in a prison.
Paramount is backing the project.
The last we heard of ‘La La Land’ and ‘Babylon’ filmmaker Damien Chazelle mysterious next project –– a big vote of confidence from Paramount after ‘Babylon’ didn’t perform at the box office –– he had Daniel Craig and Cillian Murphy circling the lead roles.
That’s among the big questions for the new movie –– neither Chazelle nor studio backers Paramount Pictures have revealed anything official about the storyline.
There have been reports that it’s set within the walls of a prison (an ironic coincidence given that ‘Babylon’s performance nearly saw Chazelle thrown into director jail), that it’ll be more of a two-hander (so the new potential casting makes sense) and that it’ll have “action elements,” so read into that what you will.
More concretely, Chazelle will also produce the movie alongside Olivia Hamilton under their Wild Chickens Productions banner.
Where else can we see Michelle Williams?
Michelle Williams as Mitzi Fabelman in ‘The Fabelmans,’ co-written, produced and directed by Steven Spielberg.
Aside from ‘Dying for Sex,’ which has been making the awards rounds in recent months, with Williams receiving plenty of kudos and a new dramatic legal thriller movie called ‘A Place in Hell,’ she mostly has projects in development at this point.
Perhaps not so coincidentally, Williams has been attached to the other project that Chazelle has been considering, ‘Evel Knievel on Tour,’ which has Leonardo DiCaprio considering the lead role, but due to scheduling issues is still idling on the side of the production canyon. It might still rev up, but for now Chazelle is focused on the prison pic.
There are also movies including ‘This is Jane’ and ‘Fever,’ one about singer Peggy Lee, but they’re both still floating.
When will Damien Chazelle’s new movie arrive on screens?
With the casting starting to come together, Chazelle is looking to kick off filming later this year, so we can likely expect its release in 2027.
Shailene Woodley will play singer Janis Joplin in a new movie.
She’s also producing the film.
The biopic is benefitting from a $2.5 million tax credit handed out by California.
Given her albeit tragically short-lived but storied contribution to the world of music, it’s shocking that no-one has been able to bring a movie about Janis Joplin to screens yet.
Still, that isn’t stopping Shailene Woodley, who has plans to star in and produce exactly that.
Few details have emerged about who else is involved –– we don’t, for example, know who the writer or director are yet –– but production company Temple Hill is backing the film, which has now received $2.5 million in funding from the California Film and Television Tax Credit Program.
Who was Janis Joplin?
Janis Joplin in the 1974 documentary ‘Janis’. Photo: Universal Pictures.
Joplin was a musical icon of the 1960s, known as much for her searing blues songwriting and powerful voice as she was for her turbulent rock-and-roll lifestyle. The powerhouse behind ‘Mercedes Benz’ and a variety of respected covers, she died of an overdose in 1970, aged 27, shocking the music world.
Her life has been brought to screens in a couple of TV movies, but so far, big screen attempts have all faltered (see below).
20072860
Who else has tried to make a Janis Joplin biopic?
‘Wayne’s World’ director Penelope Spheeris.
At this point, it might be easier and quicker to fill a list of who hasn’t tried to make a film about, or star as, Joplin.
‘Wayne’s World’ director Penelope Spheeris had first Pink attached in 2004 and then Zooey Deschanel in 2006, looking to get ‘The Gospel According To Janis’ into theaters ahead of an effort by Lakeshore Entertainment, which boasted of landing Renee Zellweger to star.
Sean Durkin, who most recently made ‘The Iron Claw’, took a stab at the idea back in 2012, with Tony winner Nina Arianda playing Janis, but nothing came of that one. Durkin popped back up again with an effort in 2016 that seemingly landed Michelle Williams to star, only for things to go very quiet once more.
You’ll forgive us, then, for not holding our breath until the movie is actually in theaters.
Woodley seems excited that her version of the story now has a boost for its funding.
Here’s her statement:
“I have a feeling Janis would be smiling ear to ear, zipping down the PCH in her psychedelic Porsche knowing her story is bringing opportunities and funding to the city and people that held so much significance to her. Thank you to the California Film Commission’s Film & Television Tax Credit Program — myself and the other producers on this project believe California is the only place to film a slice of Janis’s life with authenticity and truth — and we are so grateful to have received the green light to do so!”
(L to R) Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle), Mitzi Fabelman (Michelle Williams), Burt Fabelman (Paul Dano), Natalie Fabelman (Keeley Karsten), Reggie Fabelman (Julia Butters) and Lisa Fabelman (Sophia Kopera) in ‘The Fabelmans,’ co-written, produced and directed by Steven Spielberg.
Opening in theaters in limited release on November 11th (ahead of a wider screen count around Thanksgiving), ‘The Fabelmans’ marks Steven Spielberg’s most autobiographical film to date. And it’s a masterclass in digging out emotion from the smallest moments while also serving as a pean to the power of cinema.
The director has never been shy about infusing himself, particularly his youthful inspirations, into his movies. ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark’, for example, is he and George Lucas pouring their obsession with classic serials into a new adventure series.
Other movies, such as ‘E.T.’ channeled divorce trauma, while ‘Schindler’s List’ and ‘Munich’ see him interrogating aspects of his Jewish background.
But none of them are quite as close to the filmmaker’s actual background than ‘The Fabelmans’, which sees Spielberg making a rare foray into also co-writing the script with regular collaborator Tony Kushner.
Gabriel LaBelle as Sammy Fabelman in ‘The Fabelmans,’ co-written, produced and directed by Steven Spielberg.
Inspired by Spielberg’s own childhood and young adulthood in Arizona, the movie kicks off initially in New Jersey, where young Sammy Fabelman (with Mateo Zoryon Francis-DeFord playing him at age seven before Gabriel LaBelle takes over for his troubled teenage years) has his eyes opened and his mind slightly blown by 1952’s ‘The Greatest Show on Earth’.
Though he’s also scared by the experience, it leaves a stamp on his soul and he becomes fascinated with recreating the train crash from the movie. It’s a passion that is indulged by his mother Mitzi (Michelle Williams), a pianist who has put her own dreams on hold to support her husband (Paul Dano’s Burt) and who realizes that her son has a giant creative streak that mirrors her own.
Burt, meanwhile, a successful, genius computer engineer, sees his son’s cinematic focus as a hobby that should be put aside alongside other childhood things as Sammy grows up. And the clash between art and science is one that only intensifies, especially when Burt moves the family to Arizona so he can take a big new job.
Uprooted and in a new school, Sammy goes through some familiar life moments – he falls for a girl, is a nerd bullied by jocks and starts to figure out who he should be. His love of moviemaking only grows, and in the recreation of some of Spielberg’s own youthful experiments, the movie comes truly comes to life. Showing both the process and the result, the home movies boast more impressive filmmaking than some of the blockbusters in theaters this summer.
(L to R) Burt Fabelman (Paul Dano) and Sammy Fabelman (Gabriel LaBelle, back to camera) in ‘The Fabelmans,’ co-written, produced and directed by Steven Spielberg.
Which is not to say that the family drama is shortchanged. Far from it; with established actors such as Williams, Dano and Seth Rogen surrounded by a well-cast supporting group of largely young newcomers, the Fabelmans are a compelling brood.
Burt is quiet and logical, while Mitzi is wild and dramatic, passionate and driven, but also haunted by addiction issues and depression. It could all come across as cliché, but Spielberg and his cast dig into the real feelings that swirl.
And despite the surface appearance of domestic bliss, this family has deeper problems – Mitzi is in love with Burt’s best friend Bennie, who serves as a de facto uncle to the kids. She lobbies to have him move with them to Arizona, but it’s Sammy’s home movies that eventually reveal the truth.
His camera skills also come into play towards the end of the movie, where Sammy is tasked with filming his high school year’s “ditch day” at the beach, which once again brings him into contact with his primary antagonist, Logan (Sam Rechner), a jock who ruthlessly torments young Sammy and is confused – and therefore upset – when Sammy lionizes him in the ditch day film shown at their senior prom.
Michelle Williams as Mitzi Fabelman in ‘The Fabelmans,’ co-written, produced and directed by Steven Spielberg.
After a clash, Logan stalks away, and Spielberg offers probably the heaviest wink towards this being his story, as Sammy offers that it’s not like he can’t make a movie to have the last laugh. Which is just what Spielberg has done.
There are plenty of laughs to be found in ‘The Fabelmans,’ but the director is also unafraid to probe deeply into the trauma too. While some might have used a movie like this to lionize themselves and their family, Spielberg instead focuses on the pain that surrounded the wonder.
Dano and Williams are, of course, excellent, the latter handed the juiciest role while the former does a lot with the quietly logical father figure whose influence continues to resonate through his son’s career.
LaBelle, as our primary focus, is also impressive, carrying the weight of this complicated character ably, no easy task when you’re bringing to life a version of the director guiding your performance. You can only imagine the pressure he must have been under, even with a good-natured sort such as Spielberg.
Seth Rogen as Bennie Loewy in ‘The Fabelmans’, co-written, produced and directed by Steven Spielberg.
Yet his Sammy is a watchable protagonist, and you’ll experience the highs and lows in his life right alongside him.
Rogen, meanwhile, in a smaller role as Benny, nevertheless delivers a funny, emotional role fairly far removed from his usual gross-out work.
And talking of smaller roles, a cameo by Judd Hirsch as Sammy’s estranged great-uncle, Boris appears for roughly two scenes but dominates every moment he’s on screen with magnetic, cranky energy. “Family, art, life – it will tear you in two,” Boris, who claims to have his own film world experience, tells Sam. “It will tear your heart out and leave you lonely.”
‘The Fabelmans’ might not quite tear your heart out, but it will certainly engage it. And it’s infused with a real love of the cinema in way that another upcoming release – Sam Mendes’ ‘Empire of Light’ – never quite reaches.
Steven Spielberg has (mostly) laid his life bare in a way that many in Hollywood wouldn’t dare, and though the result doesn’t boast giant dinosaurs or alien spaceships landing (well, except on a slightly cheaper scale), it’s definitely one of his best.
(L to R) Gabriel LaBelle and co-writer/producer/director Steven Spielberg on the set of ‘The Fabelmans.’
Steven Spielberg is, by any definition, among the masters of modern moviemaking. Able to switch between popular blockbusters and Oscar-winning dramas the way other people change shoes, he’s been responsible for some of the most famous and beloved films in the last few decades.
And now he’s back with a movie that aims to (partly) explore how he himself fell in love with films and filmmaking. The semi-autobiographical new drama ‘The Fabelmans’ had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival this weekend, and the first trailer is now online.
Co-written by the director and regular collaborator Tony Kushner (who earned Oscar nominations for ‘Lincoln’ and ‘Munich’), the basic story for this one is as follows: “Growing up in post-World War II era Arizona, a young man named Sammy Fabelman discovers a shattering family secret and explores how the power of films can help him see the truth.” Of course, there’s a lot more to it than that – there’s tension between his artistic mother Mitzi (Michelle Williams) and his more straightlaced, scientific father Burt (Paul Dano). Mitzi encourages her son’s creative side, while Burt wishes he’d keep his eye on more practical matters.
Gabriel LaBelle, seen in movies such as ‘The Predator’, plays Sammy, who is essentially Spielberg’s stand-in here (though that “semi” in “semi-autobiographical” gives the director plenty of wiggle room).
(L to R) Paul Dano, Gabriel LaBelle and Michelle Williams in Steven Spielberg’s ‘The Fabelmans.’
The cast also includes Seth Rogen as Bennie Loewy, Burt’s best friend and honorary “uncle” to the Fabelman children, and Judd Hirsch as Mitzi’s Uncle Boris, Julia Butters as Sammy’s sister Reggie, Robin Bartlett as Sammy’s maternal grandmother Tina Schildkraut, and Keeley Karsten as Sammy’s sister Natalie. There’s also a cameo from fellow director David Lynch.
“When COVID hit, we had a lot of time and we had a lot of fear,” Spielberg said at the premiere. “I don’t think anyone knew in March or April of 2020 what was going to be the state of art or the state of life even a year from then. As things got worse and worse, I felt that if I was going to leave anything behind, what was the thing that I need to resolve and unpack about my mom, my dad and my sisters?”
As well as that solid cast, Spielberg recruited a typically solid line-up of collaborators for this one, including John Williams on score duty, Janusz Kaminski bringing his painterly style to the visuals, and costume design by Rick Carter.
“It was very spooky. It was terrifying,” LaBelle said at the premiere. “You get on set and you’re surrounded by masters. Writing, directing, acting, producing, cinematography, costumes, props, music, editing, everything. Just masters of this art. And there’s me. I’m that kid with the good audition.”
‘The Fabelmans’ will be in select theaters from November 11th before opening wide on November 23rd. So if you need something to distract your family on Thanksgiving this year, why not spend time with a version of Spielberg’s?
Early on in ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ alien symbiote Venom (Tom Hardy) laments to his partner Eddie Brock (also Hardy), “I’m sorry I can’t mend a broken heart. Emotional pain lasts longer,” cementing its commitment to building on the queer themes from 2018’s ‘Venom’.
In the previous film, directed by Ruben Fleischer, investigative journalist Eddie Brock thwarts a deadly experiment by unhinged scientist Carlton Drake (Riz Ahmed), while becoming entangled with the titular symbiote and losing his fiancé Anne (Michelle Williams). In a post-credits sequence, we’re introduced to serial killer Cletus Kasady (Woody Harrelson), whose one request is to tell his story to Brock.
The latest entry in the franchise, in which Hardy not only plays the dual roles of Venom and Brock, but he also produced and has a story by credit, picks up right where we left off. Brock is still a bit of a loser, living in a beat up apartment in San Francisco’s Tenderloin neighborhood. Only now he’s forged a deep relationship with his symbiote Venom. They squabble like any couple – and even have a pair of chickens as pets, because you simply cannot separate Sonny and Cher.
Towards the end of the first film, Venom must use Anne’s body to get back to Brock, culminating in the film’s wonderfully pansexual erotic kiss. Building on this complicated relationship, ‘Let There Be Carnage’ finds Anne on the brink of marrying her new boyfriend Dan (Reid Scott). The dynamics at play between all four characters prove to be the beating heart of the film as they all navigate their feelings for one another.
Woody Harrelson as Cletus Kasady in ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’
But, this is still a comic book action film! Finally visiting Cletus in prison, Venom uses his super alien intellect to help Eddie make a break in Cletus’ case, sending him directly to death row. In a flashback at the start of the film, we learn that Cletus was a troubled kid, whose only love Frances Barrison aka Shriek (Naomie Harris) was violently removed from him. Everything he’s done since is to try to find her again. Harris and Harrleson have such chemistry in their scenes together, even just as they share passionate glances. They make you believe they are all they have in the world, a latter-day Bonnie and Clyde.
After receiving a cryptic postcard from Cletus, a guilt-ridden Eddie visits him on death row. As Cletus insults Eddie, Venom’s protective nature takes over and in the ensuing fight Cletus bites them. Thus, Carnage is born – a symbiote birthed from violence, who grafts on to a heartbroken serial killer. You know things are going to get messy messy messy.
Carnage
The action set pieces are a bit muddled and hazy, like most films that rely heavily on CGI. That said, it is fun to watch Carnage wreak havoc everywhere he goes, growing into a larger and larger phalanx of red flesh after each bout of destruction. At first Harrleson’s Cletus effortlessly accepts the chaos, but as it becomes clear that what Carnage wants is at odds with his relationship with Shriek, the actor imbues the killer with impassioned sorrow and rage.
The one action sequence that truly worked also leans into the film’s strongest asset: Hardy’s bonkers take on Venom and Eddie’s tempestuous relationship. After yet another petty quarrel, Venom has had enough and asks Eddie to leave their apartment, throwing his stuff out the window like a clichéd beleaguered wife would a cheating husband’s. It’s on the nose fan service, but it works, much like the previous film’s iconic lobster scene, because of Hardy’s absolute commitment to the bit and the emotional weight with which he performs these two characters.
A later scene in which a now-free Venom finds solace and support at an EDM concert, only to end up wishing Eddie could be there with him got me right in the feels. Venom and Eddie are a perfect match. The film allows us to witness the growing pains of them realizing their love, and that’s just beautiful.
Director Andy Serkis and Tom Hardy on the set of ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’
Director Andy Serkis also finds time to flesh out supporting characters from the first film. Mrs. Chen (Peggy Lu), whose bodega Eddie and Venom frequent, has several wonderful scenes, including a particularly tender post-breakup moment with Venom. Anne’s new boyfriend, now fiancé, Dan no longer feels like a stock character. Given time to breathe, their relationship now feels real, their love as pronounced as Eddie and Venom’s. Lastly, Detective Mulligan (an always stellar Stephen Graham, in an exquisitely terrible wig) serves as a bridge between the two storylines.
At its core, ‘Venom: Let There Be Carnage’ is a film about the power of relationships, of finding strength in deep connections, and the dangers of misalignment. Expertly fusing comedy, romance, action, and violence, Serkis and Hardy have crafted a perfectly thrilling, thoroughly queer comic book extravaganza. Best date night movie of the year, hands down.
Hollywood likes high-stakes stories, so making a movie about a US President immediately fits that bill. We’ve put together a list of eight great movie Presidents that have done everything from balancing budgets to stopping alien invasions. And just by way of comparison, we’ve thrown in one president that maybe wasn’t so great. All of these movies are currently streaming, so pick your favorite movie President and give yourself an Executive Order to watch their movie.
Dave Kovic: Dave (1993)
Kevin Kline in ‘Dave’
“Hail to the Chief, he’s the one we all say hail to.” It’s no wonder Dave (Kevin Kline) is singing, since being a dead ringer for the sitting President is a pretty good side gig–especially when the President’s staff approaches you to work for the White House directly. But when the President suffers a stroke, Dave takes over the Oval Office and all the responsibilities that come with it–including being the husband of a very angry wife (Sigourney Weaver). Dave is charming, warm, and totally un-Presidential, so it’s no surprise that everyone ends up loving him.
8060
Thomas Whitmore: Independence Day (1996)
Bill Pullman in ‘Independence Day’
Bill Pullman is the Prez in charge when the world gets invaded by pushy aliens who have a fondness for blowing up landmarks and people holding signs of welcome. He’s more of a rough-and-tumble guy, and even withstands a psychic attack from the aliens in Area 51. But once he knows their plan, he helps mobilize forces against them, and gives an unforgettable speech that is even more badass than how he hops into a fighter jet of his own right after wrapping it up.
2318
James Marshall: Air Force One (1997)
Harrison Ford in ‘Air Force One’
Harrison Ford, at a fancy dinner in Moscow, declares that the United States will not negotiate with terrorists, and that the capture of Russia’s dictator Ivan Radek (Gary Oldman) was just. That’s all it takes for Radek to enact his dastardly plan for his team to take over the President’s plane with himself, his staff, and his family still on it. As a Medal of Honor winner and veteran, Marshall is not one to back down from a fight. And even though the space on a plane is limited, somehow this movie manages to be a riveting cat and mouse game, with Marshall (and the writers of the screenplay) delivering one-liners that land with…well, the force of an explosion on Air Force One (too soon?).
4298
Dwayne Elizondo Mountain Dew Herbert Camacho: Idiocracy (2006)
Terry Crews in ‘Idiocracy’
Say what you will about President Camacho’s intellect, but man, can that guy wear a puffy red white and blue blouse. Terry Crews plays this President leading a troubled, dumb-as-rocks United States as they face a critical food shortage in 2505. Bleak times don’t stop Camacho from wowing the crowd with a State of the Union address, though, that we secretly hope is how they go down in 484 years. Or next year. Whatever.
25980
Mays Gilliam: Head of State (2003)
Chris Rock in ‘Head of State’
Plenty of people can get behind the idea of comedic genius Chris Rock being President–especially in the form of Mays Gilliam, a Washington D.C. alderman who turns hero and Democratic nominee for the highest office in the United States. Of course initially, the Dems thought they had already lost the race and chose Gilliam as a token candidate, but as soon as he starts spouting truths that the people want to hear, his campaign picks up steam, and audiences are left with rousing speeches yelling “That ain’t right!” on their couches.
14031
James Sawyer: White House Down (2013)
Jamie Foxx in ‘White House Down’
In the second Roland Emmerich-directed film on the list (the German fellow has a real thing for American patriotism), Jamie Foxx plays the President that terrorists are actively hunting within the White House walls. Only one man stands between them: the guy from Magic Mike (Channing Tatum). But Sawyer is no shrinking violet: he can scale elevator shafts, handle a rocket launcher, and keep any bad guy’s hands off his Jordans.
10085035
Matt Douglas & Russell Kramer: My Fellow Americans (1996)
James Garner and Jack Lemmon in ‘My Fellow Americans’
Two, two, two Presidents in one! Kramer (Jack Lemmon) and Douglas (James Garner) have a long-standing history of duking it out for the Presidency. As they seem to be entering the twilight of their lives, spending time writing books and doing pointless speaking engagements, Kramer is asked to investigate a series of bribes under code name “Olympia” as a favor. Well, no good deed goes unpunished. The plot keeps thickening and thickening, drawing in Douglas, and threatening both of their lives. The banter is off the charts in this one, as is the convoluted plot that has a surprising ending.
3315
Richard Nixon: Dick (1999)
Dan Hedaya in ‘Dick’
This film explores how Woodward (Will Ferrell) and Bernstein (Bruce McCulloch) “really” got all their inside information during the Watergate Scandal from two teens named Betsy (Kirsten Dunst) and Arlene (Michelle Williams). Every noteworthy event during that period of time in the administration, including Vietnam peace protests and the Nixon-Breznhev accord, were accidentally masterminded by these two girls who just liked walking the President’s dog and accidentally baked marijuana into their cookies. Dan Hedaya plays a great Richard Nixon, but the movie is much more about the two teens that bring him down in the name of what’s right. Since he was known as “Tricky Dick,” we stand by our choice.
6054
FX’s biographical miniseries “Fosse/Verdon” premieres in April, and in the meantime, the official trailer has been unveiled.
The preview shows Michelle Williams and Sam Rockwell as Broadway legends Gwen Verdon and Bob Fosse, respectively. It follows them from their early days of working together through five decades in the entertainment industry. Along the way, their personal and professional lives go through extreme highs and lows. The trailer shows both the beginnings of their relationship and their separation years later.
FX promises “show-stopping choreography,” and we get glimpses of it, too. Both Rockwell and Williams put on their dancing shoes for the role. Watch below.
The limited series is produced by Fox 21 Television Studios and FX Productions, and its executive producers include Williams, Rockwell, Thomas Kail, Steven Levenson, Lin-Manuel Miranda, Joel Fields, and George Stelzner. Fosse and Verdon’s daughter, Nicole Fosse, serves as a creative consultant and co-executive producer. Meanwhile, Andy Blankenbuehler co-produces and serves as choreographer with Susan Misner, and Erica Key is also a producer.
“Fosse/Verdon” premieres April 9 on FX. The miniseries consists of eight episodes.
“Venom 2” will be slithering into theaters in the not-too-distant future.
A sequel to Sony’s mega hit super anti-hero movie is in the works, with Kelly Marcel — who co-wrote the original along with Jeff Pinkner and Scott Rosenberg — on deck to pen the script.
Tom Hardy will return as lobster-diving journalist Eddie Brock and his alien symbiote Venom, as will Michelle Williams as love interest Anne Weying. A new director will come aboard, as Ruben Fleischer is busy with “Zombieland 2.”
“Venom” was a surprise hit last fall. Despite receiving lukewarm reviews, it premiered to record-breaking $80 million and went on to earn more than $855 million worldwide.
The sequel will likely expand Woody Harrelson’s role. He made a cameo in a mid-credits scene as Cletus Kasady, a serial killer known as Carnage who becomes a major archnemesis for Venom.
Sony hasn’t set a date for the “Venom” sequel, though the studio’s open slot on October 2, 2020 looks very likely.
The first teaser trailer for the network’s upcoming limited series “Fosse/Verdon” debuted during the Golden Globes broadcast Sunday night.
The drama stars Sam Rockwell as famed Broadway choreographer and filmmaker Bob Fosse and Michelle Williams as dancer Gwen Verdon, his frequent collaborator and romantic partner.
The atmospheric teaser is a stylish and sexy mash-up of finger snaps, tapping feet, silhouetted dancers, and unzipped dresses. The only dialogue is Fosse counting off “five, six, seven, eight” and then sighing, “Again.”
The series also stars Norbert Leo Butz as Paddy Chayefsky, Margaret Qualley as Ann Reinking, Aya Cash as Joan Simon, Nate Corddry as Neil Simon, Susan Misner as Joan McCracken, Bianca Marroquin as Chita Rivera, Kelli Barrett as Liza Minnelli, Evan Handler as Hal Prince, Rick Holmes as Fred Weaver, Paul Reiser as Cy Feuer, Ethan Slater as Joel Grey, Byron Jennings as George Abbott and Laura Osnes as Shirley MacLaine.
FX has ordered an eight-episode series on the romantic and creative partnership between legendary choreographer/director Bob Fosse and legendary Broadway dancer Gwen Verdon.
You should be more excited about this, even if you’re already into it. This is the real “La La Land.”
According to Variety, Steven Levenson will serve as showrunner. He wrote the premiere episode, which is being directed by fellow executive producer Thomas Kail. Nicole Fosse, daughter of Fosse and Verdon, also serves as a co-executive producer.
“Based on ‘Fosse,’ the biography written by Sam Wasson, this eight-part limited series tells the story of the singular romantic and creative partnership between Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon. He was a visionary filmmaker and one of theater’s most influential choreographers and directors, she was the greatest Broadway dancer of all time. Together they changed the face of American entertainment – at a perilous cost. Featuring Fosse’s choreography, the series explores the hidden corners of show business, the price of pursuing greatness, and the suffering inflicted in the name of art.”
And now for some statements…
Nick Grad, co-president of original programming for FX Networks and FX Productions:
“We are over the moon about this dream team we’ve assembled for this incredible series. Tommy, Steven, and Lin are the perfect team to tell the story of Bob Fosse and Gwen Verdon, and we’re so thrilled to have Sam and Michelle playing these iconic roles.”
Levenson, Kail, and Miranda in a joint statement:
“Bob Fosse ignited a revolution in American dance, theater, and film. But, in contrast to the well-worn myth of the visionary artist working in solitude, Fosse’s work would not have been possible without Gwen Verdon, the woman who helped to mold his style – and make him a star. We are honored to work with the incredible team at FX and Fox 21, and these two extraordinary actors, to tell the story of this remarkable couple, and the complicated, fascinating relationship between them.”
Production starts this fall, with the series set to premiere on FX in 2019.
