Vin Deisel in... Guys and Dolls?!?

adamblast · 01-28-03, 04:11 PM

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[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.

I really want to support the "new musical" in American movies... And I could even see Vin Deisel as a possible Sky Masterson...

BUT: Setting the movie in modern days? NO!!!! These songs, and the Damon Runyon stories, will loose ALL their original flavor if they're updated to 2003... Might as well call it a different show, and scrap all the current music! This idea sucks!

Pants · 01-28-03, 04:56 PM

Miramax is going to follow up their unprecedented hit with A REMAKE!!! Are they nuts. Chicago (which sucks) only works because people have nothing to compare it to. If they release Guys and Dolls everyone will compare it to the original.

DVDHO · 01-28-03, 05:19 PM

Vin singing would be deadly on the ears,I will pass on this right now,no need to see a tralior,thanks for the heads up.

marty888 · 01-28-03, 08:28 PM

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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? He might be the worst singer of all time, but I wouldn't make that assumption - totally unfair to do so.

Seantn · 01-29-03, 02:14 AM

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

People on this board have to complain about something, you know that!

Caoimhin · 01-29-03, 09:07 AM

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.

rfduncan · 01-29-03, 10:36 AM

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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.

Another vote against this... casting aside the entire "world" Guys and Dolls is set in is fabricated from "Runyon-land". There is no way to make the hot box girls, the mission girls, and the fascination with craps (all rooted in the Runyon characters themselves) work in modern times.

I mean this would be as bad as updating South Pacfic to take place during Dessert Storm or Operation: Enduring Freedom. YIKES!

adamblast · 01-29-03, 04:23 PM

Oh, and they've renamed it Homies and Bitches...

01-28-03, 05:19 PM	#3
DVDHO DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Apr 2002 Posts: 1,752	Vin singing would be deadly on the ears,I will pass on this right now,no need to see a tralior,thanks for the heads up. __________________ http://www.dvdaficionado.com/dvds.html?cat=1&id=crucial

01-29-03, 04:23 PM	#8
adamblast DVD Talk Legend Join Date: Mar 2001 Location: Lompoc, CA Posts: 11,381	Oh, and they've renamed it Homies and Bitches... __________________ "Regardless of law, marriage has only one definition, and any government that attempts to change it is my mortal enemy. I will act to destroy that government and bring it down."--Orson Scott Card (Nat'l Organization for Marriage LDS Liaison) Last edited by adamblast; 01-29-03 at 05:14 PM.

01-28-03, 04:56 PM	#2
Pants Banned Join Date: Apr 2000 Location: "Sitting on a beach, earning 20%" Posts: 6,154	Miramax is going to follow up their unprecedented hit with A REMAKE!!! Are they nuts. Chicago (which sucks) only works because people have nothing to compare it to. If they release Guys and Dolls everyone will compare it to the original.

01-29-03, 09:07 AM	#6
Caoimhin DVD Talk Special Edition Join Date: Dec 1999 Posts: 1,471	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.