Adaptations of big, famous Broadway musicals seem to be very big in Hollywood right now. The end of last year saw the release of Tom Hooper's Les Miserables - which wound up making more than $400 million worldwide - and we just learned that a Guys and Dolls remake is in the works, potentially starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Channing Tatum. And now it appears that one of the biggest directors to come out of Sundance in recent years is ready to adapt a film version of Pippin.
The Hollywood Reporter says that James Ponsoldt, who most recently directed the critically-beloved The Spectacular Now, has been hired by The Weinstein Company to script a new version of the classic musical for the big screen. The trade notes that the studio has actually been holding on to the rights for about a decade and are only now finally moving forward with it. For those unfamiliar with the play, which was directed by Bob Fosse when it hit broadway in 1972, the story follows a young prince named Pippin who goes on a journey on a search for meaning.
Said Harvey Weinstein in a statement, “James has rightfully become one of the most buzzed about young writer-directors in the business. After flying to New York to catch a preview of Pippin recently, he met with us and exchanged his ideas on adapting the script for film. Smashed and The Spectacular Now showed his talent for telling stories of self-discovery, and we’re confident he will have the same success rewriting this story."
The Spectacular Now will be arriving in theaters on August 2nd.
