Slog
News & ArtsThursday, January 12, 2012
Film / Theater Sondheim + Disney = A Film Adaptation of "Into the Woods"
Posted by Brendan Kiley on Thu, Jan 12, 2012 at 1:49 PM
It's true. And Rob Marshall (Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides, Chicago, others) will direct. Sondheim says he's writing new lyrics for the film.
Marshall is also working on a new version of The Thin Man, starring Johnny Depp as Nick Charles—which gives me an excuse to post my favorite moment from the original film. Some boys want to be astronauts when they grow up. Some want to be construction workers. Some want to be stars of stage and/or screen. When I saw this scene as a boy, I decided I wanted to be Nick Charles:
I'm still trying to talk my wife into the idea of an indoor shooting range.
1
Very bad news indeed, if either of these projects comes to fruition. Rob Marshall is the worst director in film history. May whatever God is actually out there put a stop to his career before Sondheim and Hammett are defiled.
2
No... I like Johnny Depp but I do NOT want to see him as Nick Charles *sigh*. Why can't these people leave well enough alone? If it ain't broke, etc.
3
Indoor shooting is derivative of Sherlock Holmes as is Nick's drug problem (yes, alcohol is a drug). I loved "The Thin Man" series as a teenager but after awhile the drinking just wasn't funny anymore, especially with a kid in the mix. That said, I'd love to see Johnny Depp's version of this.
Special to Hollywood: Did you know that there are many fine writers living today who write original stuff? Weird but true!
Special to Hollywood: Did you know that there are many fine writers living today who write original stuff? Weird but true!
7
I say Sondheim is welcome to defile himself however he likes. He could spend the rest of his time on earth purposely embarrassing himself, speaking only in fart noises and writing only Danny Kaye-style patter songs, and that would be fine with me. That motherfucker has earned it.
8
@2:
The short answer to your presumably rhetorical question is that studios own dozens of these properties that sit languishing, sometimes literally for decades. Execs periodically comb through their holdings and occasionally decide it's a good time to trot one out and see if it can once again generate some revenue.
Reinvigorating a property the studio already owns the rights to is infinitely less expensive on the front end than going through the process of acquiring the rights to some other property, and has the added benefit of involving fewer "partners" (i.e. other rights holders) with which the studio may have to share potential profits.
The short answer to your presumably rhetorical question is that studios own dozens of these properties that sit languishing, sometimes literally for decades. Execs periodically comb through their holdings and occasionally decide it's a good time to trot one out and see if it can once again generate some revenue.
Reinvigorating a property the studio already owns the rights to is infinitely less expensive on the front end than going through the process of acquiring the rights to some other property, and has the added benefit of involving fewer "partners" (i.e. other rights holders) with which the studio may have to share potential profits.
9
I'm listening to Black Flag Rise Above and that opening shot of Nora...perfection. I wonder if I started Thin Man and Damaged at the same time there would be some sort of Pink Floyd/Wizard of Oz synergy.
10
Spouse-subsidized urbane inebriation and Veblenesque consumption, just the escapist thing for a Depression-Era America freshly freed from the failed social experiment of Prohibition. No wonder William Powell and Myrna Loy on the Box Office heap for most of the 1930s...
11
There's already a perfectly good screen version available on DVD, and with the original cast, no less.
12
George Clooney would make a far better Nick Charles than Depp. (Plus, I'd rather see the Coen brothers take on The Thin Man instead of Marshall.) I wonder who gets Myrna Loy's part.
I hope that they at least create an original plot with these characters, rather than just revisiting the original Thin Man plot.
I hope that they at least create an original plot with these characters, rather than just revisiting the original Thin Man plot.
13
Ye Gods how I love those old Thin Man movies!
Although my liver barely survives the experience when I watch the first one... Drinky Drank Drunk they were, Drinky Drank Drunk!!
Although my liver barely survives the experience when I watch the first one... Drinky Drank Drunk they were, Drinky Drank Drunk!!
14
Over the years, I've learned to trust Johnny Depp, even when at first I thought it would be awful.
This is one of those times.
That said, the movie I'm waiting for right now is the one about the black flying aces in WW II.
This is one of those times.
That said, the movie I'm waiting for right now is the one about the black flying aces in WW II.
15
It doesn't matter how many times a film is remade or a song is covered. If it isn't any good people will just stick with the original.
I absolutely adore the Thin Man movies with William Powell and Myrna Loy, but people are free to try to improve on the original. If they succeed, great. If not, we still have the originals.
I absolutely adore the Thin Man movies with William Powell and Myrna Loy, but people are free to try to improve on the original. If they succeed, great. If not, we still have the originals.
16
Reading that Johnny Depp is going to play Nick Charles just ruined my week. I knew they would eventually remake this already perfect film, but pretentious, played-out, tired Johnny Depp? Ugh. Let me guess: Keira Knightley (or someone named Kate/Cate) will play Nora.
17
The abomination that was _The Front Page_, with Matthau and Lemon trying to remake _His Girl Friday_ is one of those memories I'd gladly burn out of my brain.
That being said, not all remakes suck, the latest reincarnation of Sherlock Holmes (the BBC production, not the other one) is quite tasty.
That being said, not all remakes suck, the latest reincarnation of Sherlock Holmes (the BBC production, not the other one) is quite tasty.
18
I love that scene! I own all of the Thin Man movies, and used to, back in the day, when I was feeling nervy, put one on before bed and fall asleep to them.
Also, yes George Clooney, and maybe Johnny Depp, but who for Nora?
Also, yes George Clooney, and maybe Johnny Depp, but who for Nora?
19
Not Depp, not Clooney. Bill Murray. Let's go back in time and make a Thin Man film with Bill Murray ca. 1995.
Advertisement
Most Commented on Slog
-
Hating People Doesn't Make Them Thinner by Jen Graves
-
Los Angeles Gay Bar Bans Bachelorette Parties Until Marriage Equality Is Attained by David Schmader
-
Fill in the Blank by Grant Brissey
-
This Reminds Me of the Great Calculator Scare of the Late '70s/Early '80s by David Schmader
-
Idiot Tries to Defend Bigoted Anti-Gay-Marriage Preacher on Anderson Cooper by Paul Constant
-
Six Moms with Too Much Time on Their Hands and a Shitty Website Decide to Fight Gay Superheroes by Paul Constant
-
What the Hell Is Wrong With Seattle's Pride Parade? by Dominic Holden
-
The Saturday Morning News by Unpaid Intern
-
Why Mayor McGinn's Wife Canceled Her Family's Seattle Times Subscription by Eli Sanders
-
The Sunday Morning News by Unpaid Intern
RSS
Facebook
Twitter
Comments (19) RSS