[size=3]Is 'Guys and Dolls' Next for Miramax?[/size]

by Andrew Gans, Playbill On-Line

Now that the film of "Chicago" seems on its way to be a major success - it won three Golden Globes Jan. 19 including Best Musical or Comedy - Miramax is looking toward other stage-to-screen musical projects.

Liz Smith reports that the film company headed by Harvey Weinstein is interested in bringing Damon Runyon's mythical group of saints and sinners to the screen. The gossip maven writes, "It drifts down to me from a Vin Diesel insider that the bicep-laden movie star and Miramax are talking now of bringing the epic 'Guys and Dolls' to the big screen. Estate rights are being negotiated." Smith also explains that Miramax plans to reset the classic musical comedy in modern times.

Capturing the gritty, streetwise spirit of New York, Guys and Dolls features a score by Frank Loesser and a book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows that was based on Damon Runyon's story and characters. The classic Loesser score includes such tunes as "If I Were a Bell," "I've Never Been in Love Before," "My Time of Day," "I'll Know," "Sit Down, You're Rocking the Boat," "A Bushel and a Peck," "Luck Be a Lady" and the title tune.

The original Broadway production of Guys and Dolls opened at the 46th Street Theatre in Nov. 1950, running 1,200 performances before closing Nov. 28, 1953. Among the premiere cast were Robert Alda as Sky Masterson, Isabel Bigley as Sarah Brown, Sam Levene as Nathan Detroit and Vivian Blaine as Miss Adelaide. Blaine re-created her role for the 1955 film, which also starred Marlon Brando as Sky Masterson, Jean Simmons as Sarah Brown and Frank Sinatra as Nathan Detroit.

The most recent Broadway revival was mounted at the Martin Beck Theatre in March 1992. Directed by Jerry Zaks, the Tony-winning production cast Peter Gallagher as Sky, Josie de Guzman as Sarah Brown, Nathan Lane as Nathan Detroit and Faith Prince as Miss Adelaide. Prince won a Tony for her performance in the musical, which ran 1,143 performances.

Originally posted by DVDHO
[B]Vin singing would be deadly on the ears, [/
B]

And on what do base that opinion? Have you heard him sing?

Originally posted by Caoimhin
I agree that a modernization of this material would be deadly. I don't necessarily have a problem with Vin Diesel in the part, because many actors have better singing voices than anyone knows. However, the show and music are rooted in a particular period and would seem anachronistic at best if brought into a contemporary setting.

Fox Seals ‘Guys And Dolls’ Rights; Wants Channing Tatum, Joseph Gordon-Levitt To Fill Frank Sinatra And Marlon Brando Shoes

By MIKE FLEMING JR | Wednesday April 24, 2013 @ 12:24pm PDT

EXCLUSIVE: At long last, 20th Century Fox has closed movie rights to Guys And Dolls, and the studio will soon start the process of developing a remake of the stage and movie classic for what Fox hopes will be a killer pairing of Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the roles made famous by Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando. There is no writer or director yet, but those guys are interested.

While we are all waiting for the eventual movie adaptation of stage hits like Wicked and The Book Of Mormon, I don’t think I’ve ever seen a musical adaptation get the kind of rise out of movie stars that Guys And Dolls has each time a movie deal was rumored. Years ago, it looked like Harvey Weinstein was getting the rights, with his Chicago exec producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron producing the film. Thesps from Russell Crowe to Vin Diesel, Hugh Jackman and others all tossed their hats into the ring to play the leads. Trouble was, Jo Loesser, the widow of songwriter Frank Loesser, never found a deal to her liking and declined to sign over the rights. Until just recently.

The musical was taken from Damon Runyon’s short stories that captured the rogue gangsters and gamblers of the 1920s and 1930s. Here, Nathan Detroit (Sinatra) has a town full of captive gamblers and wants to set up a floating crap game but needs money to do it. He bets his pal Sky Masterson (Brando) that Sky can’t get the wholesome Sarah Brown (Jean Simmons) — who runs a mission — to go with him to Havana. Frank Loesser wrote the music and lyrics, and Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows wrote the book. It won the Tony Award for Best Musical when it premiered in 1950, and won the 1951 Pulitzer for Drama, until the troubles Burrows was having with the House Un-American Activities Committee caused the Trustees of Columbia University to veto the selection. Guys And Dolls was then turned into the 1955 movie. The classic Loesser songs included Luck Be A Lady, and Sit Down, You’re Rocking The Boat.

Fox’s intention to go young is intriguing, and while there is no deal with either guy and there won’t be one until a script and filmmaker are in place, Tatum and Gordon-Levitt are about the two hottest young guys out there. And both of them are versatile with the singing and dancing, as they showed during Seth MacFarlane’s opening number at the Oscars (yeah, the one with Bill Shatner and the ill-advised “We Saw Your Boobs” thing). Tatum was elegant as he spun around the dance floor with Charlize Theron, and Gordon-Levitt sang with MacFarlane and Daniel Radcliffe. Here’s a look at the latter performance of the Sinatra tune High Hopes. Now, this YouTube feed seems to have been provided by a guy who does not have cable TV reception, but you sort of get the idea:

After two and a half years of negotiations were completed earlier this year, 20th Century Fox is at last moving forward with its remake of Guys And Dolls. The studio has set Danny Strong to write the script adaptation. Strong scripted the final two installments of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, after scripting Lee Daniels’ The Butler and adapting the Dan Brown Da Vinci Code sequel The Lost Symbol. This is the project based on Damon Runyon’s short stories that captured the rogue gangsters and gamblers of the 1920s and 1930s, which starred Marlon Brando and Frank Sinatra. Over the years, those interested included Bob Fosse, Baz Luhrmann, and Hugh Jackman, and I reported earlier this year that the studio was intrigued by the potential pairing of Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, though there is no shortage of actors who want this. First, of course, they need a script.

Fox just turned Samuel Goldwyn’s The Secret Life Of Walter Mitty into the Ben Stiller-directed remake with Goldwyn’s son, Sam Jr and grandson John Goldwyn among the producers. They will be the producers of Guys And Dolls.

dstrongIn the musical, Nathan Detroit (Sinatra) has a town full of captive gamblers and wants to set up a floating crap game but needs money to do it. He bets his pal Sky Masterson (Brando) that Sky can’t get the wholesome Sarah Brown (Jean Simmons) — who runs a mission — to go with him to Havana. Frank Loesser wrote the music and lyrics, and Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows wrote the book. It won the Tony Award for Best Musical when it premiered in 1950, and won the 1951 Pulitzer for Drama, until the troubles Burrows was having with the House Un-American Activities Committee caused the Trustees of Columbia University to veto the selection. Guys And Dolls was first turned into the 1955 movie with classic Loesser songs included “Luck Be A Lady”, and “Sit Down, You’re Rocking The Boat”. Deals were completed with the various estates including Samuel Goldwyn, Frank Loesser, Abe Burrows and Jo Swerling.

The Strong hire marks the first real creative momentum on a project that long has captivated Hollywood. Years ago, it looked like Harvey Weinstein was getting the rights, with his Chicago exec producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron producing the film. Thesps from Russell Crowe to Vin Diesel, Hugh Jackman and others all tossed their hats into the ring to play the leads. Trouble was, Jo Loesser, the widow of songwriter Frank Loesser, never found a deal to her liking and declined to sign over the rights until years later. Strong is repped by CAA and Sweeney Entertainment.

EXCLUSIVE: At long last, 20th Century Fox is moving forward with Guys And Dolls. The studio has set Michael Grandage to direct the picture, and casting is just getting underway on the remake of the stage and movie classic. John Goldwyn is producing the picture with Working Title. Bernie Telsey is casting.

This is sure to set in motion a lot of lust from leading men and ladies who can sing and dance. When Deadline revealed that Fox finally tied down the rights a couple years ago, the studio was eyeing a killer pairing of Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the roles made famous by Frank Sinatra and Marlon Brando. It is unclear whether these guys are still in the mix. A lot of time has passed, and a number of actors have coveted these roles in past attempts to adapt Guys And Dolls, each time a movie deal was rumored. Years ago, it looked like Harvey Weinstein was getting the rights, with his Chicago exec producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron producing the film. Thesps from Russell Crowe to Vin Diesel, Hugh Jackman and others all tossed their hats into the ring to play the leads. Those deals never happened because Jo Loesser, the widow of songwriter Frank Loesser, never found a deal to her liking. That finally happened in 2013.

Grandage directed a stage version of the musical in the West End in 2005, a production that starred Ewan McGregor as Masterson and Douglas Hodge as Nathan Detroit. Grandage directed Genius, the John Logan-scripted adaptation of the A. Scott Berg book about Max Perkins, the legendary literary editor who oversaw works of Thomas Wolfe, Ernest Hemingway and other great writers. That film stars Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Jude Law, Guy Pearce and Laura Linney, for Lionsgate and Roadside Attractions releasing June 10.

Guys And Dolls was taken from Damon Runyon’s short stories that captured the rogue gangsters and gamblers of the 1920s and ’30s. In the 1955 movie, Nathan Detroit (Sinatra) has a town full of captive gamblers and wants to set up a floating crap game but needs money to do it. He bets his pal Sky Masterson (Brando) that Sky can’t get the wholesome Sarah Brown (Jean Simmons) — who runs a mission — to go with him to Havana. Frank Loesser wrote the music and lyrics, and Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows wrote the book. The musical won the Tony for Best Musical when it premiered in 1950, and won the 1951 Pulitzer for Drama, until the troubles Burrows was having with the House Un-American Activities Committee caused the Trustees of Columbia University to veto the selection. Guys And Dolls was then turned into the 1955 movie. The classic Loesser songs included “Luck Be a Lady” and “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ The Boat.”

CAA reps Grandage.

“Guys and Dolls,” the venerable Broadway musical, is set to return to the big screen.

TriStar Pictures has purchased remake rights to the original Damon Runyon short stories about gamblers and gangsters that inspired the shows, as well as the rights to the Broadway musical with its book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows and its music by Frank Loesser. The studio has also acquired remake rights to the previous 1955 film adaptation from the Samuel Goldwyn company. That version of “Guys and Dolls” starred Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra, and Vivian Blaine, and was directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz, who also wrote the screenplay.

Movie musicals have been robust box office performers in recent years. Hit adaptations of stage shows include “Hairspray,” “Chicago,” and “Les Miserables,” and original musicals such as “The Greatest Showman” and “La La Land” have also been successes. In the case of “Guys and Dolls,” the show boasts one of the greatest collection of showtunes. Its list of highly hummable numbers includes “If I Were a Bell, “Sit Down, You’re Rockin’ the Boat,” “Luck Be a Lady,” “Adelaide’s Lament,” and “A Bushel and a Peck.”

“Guys and Dolls” first premiered on Broadway in 1950, where it ran for three years and captured five Tony Awards, including the best musical prize. It has been oft-revived over the years, including an acclaimed 1992 version that helped make a stage star of Nathan Lane.

John Goldwyn (“I’m Not There”) and Marc Toberoff (“Bottle Shock”) are set to produce the new adaptation for TriStar, and Meyer Gottlieb (“Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World “) will executive produce. Hannah Minghella and Nicole Brown will oversee for TriStar.

EXCLUSIVE: TriStar Pictures long-awaited new retelling of the musical smash hit Guys And Dolls looks to be moving closer to a reality as the studio has tapped Oscar-winner Bill Condon to direct the latest adaptation. Condon had been weighing several projects to take on as his next but over the last month, Guys And Dolls rose to the top of his list following a meeting with the studio on how excited they were to get the project off the ground. TriStar purchased remake rights to the original Damon Runyon short stories in March of 2019 about gamblers and gangsters that inspired the shows, as well as the rights to the Broadway musical with its book by Jo Swerling and Abe Burrows and its music by Frank Loesser. At the same time, the studio also acquired remake rights to the previous 1955 film adaptation from the Samuel Goldwyn company. John Goldwyn and Marc Toberoff are producing. Nicole Brown and Shary Shirazi are overseeing for the studio.

Guys and Dolls premiered on Broadway in 1950, where it ran for 1,200 performances and won the Tony Award for Best Musical. The musical has had several Broadway and London revivals, as well as a 1955 film adaptation starring Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, Frank Sinatra, and Vivian Blaine. The 1992 revival, starring Nathan Lane and Faith Prince, was nominated for 7 Tony Awards, winning 3 including Best Direction for a Musical and Best Performance by a Leading Actress.

Hollywood has been trying to remake Guys And Dolls for some time with 20th Century most recently taking a shot when they held the rights with hopes that Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the roles of Brando and Sinatra. This film would be tripped up after the Fox-Disney merger, leading to the time lapsing on the rights ownership with the project hitting the market with it quickly becoming one of the hottest projects at the time with TriStar aggressively moving in to land them.

Condon has quite the track record when it comes to successful movie musicals and has become one of the go to directors for any major musical in town. His first big success in the genre was the Oscar-winning Chicago, which he wrote and Dreamgirls, which he wrote and directed. He most recently helmed the box-office smash hit Beauty and the Beast, which went on to gross more then a billion at the global box-office. He also co-wrote The Greatest Showman.

Condon is repped by WME and Anonymous Content.