Elton John is heading back to the Great White Way, but instead of scoring an Egyptian queen, he’s going for a sexy vampire. With his longtime collaborator, Bernie Taupin, John is writing the music and lyrics for a musical based on Anne Rice’s ‘Vampire Chronicles’ fiction series. Joining in the production is Warner Brothers Theatre Ventures, which made two of Rice’s novels—Interview with the Vampire and Queen of the Damned—into feature films. The musical will focus on Lestat, Rice’s charismatic, tortured, and sexually ambiguous antihero (who was, of course, played by Tom Cruise in Interview). Taupin and John have said they don’t want to make a rock opera and will avoid the classic gothic ‘I vant to suck your blood’ shtick in favor of a more realistic portrayal of the character. The show should hit Broadway in 2005.
Shankman Tries to Topper Himself
White-hot, openly gay director Adam Shankman, who has made it into the Hollywood big leagues with the success of Bringing Down the House, is making another movie with silver-haired star Steve Martin. Shankman will direct Topper, a remake of the 1937 comedy classic that paired suave gay icon Cary Grant with Constance Bennett as a wealthy young couple who die in a car accident. As ghosts, they haunt a stodgy banker, Cosmo Topper, and encourage him to lighten up and live a little. In the new version, Martin is set to play Topper. Shankman and Martin have also committed to the sequel of Bringing Down the House, along with the fabulous Queen Latifah and screenwriter Jason Filardi.
Being J. Edgar
Will the fascination with closeted G-man J. Edgar Hoover never end? There have already been a few bad movies made about the infamous witch-hunter, my favorite being 1977’s laughable The Private Files of J. Edgar Hoover. Now another is in the works—investigative journalist Richard Hack has just sold the film rights for The Puppet Master: The Secret Life of J. Edgar Hoover to Stone Village Productions. Adapted from Hack’s forthcoming book of the same name and executive produced by Michael Viner and Deborah Raffin (Wilde), the film at least promises to provide more concrete information than the previous ones about the contents of J. Edgar’s closet. Maybe even the pumps.
Easing on Down … Again
Musical theater fans needing a Wizard of Oz fix will have their wish granted during the 2003-2004 theater season when The Wiz returns to Broadway. The 1975 Tony-winning musical has seen other revivals, but this one promises to be special. Producer-slash-director Des McAnuff, who helmed the snappy ’90s revival of How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, will direct the journey back down the yellow-brick road with a multi-ethnic cast, and word is that it will be an ‘environmental’ production, with the entire theater transformed into Oz. (Think the Cats junkyard—if you dare.) No word on who’ll fill Dorothy’s ruby slippers, but Romeo is thinking Margaret Cho as Glinda, the Good Witch of the North. With maybe Lil’ Kim as the lead Munchkin?
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