Stephen Daldry Courted To Direct ‘Wicked’, Jon Favreau In Talks To Helm ‘Jersey Boys’
As film after film gets reworked for the Great White Way, two Broadway smash hits are, in turn, inching closer to the big screen. Universal’s been trying to put together a movie adaptation ofWicked(itself the stage adaptation ofGregory Maguire’s novelWicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West) for a few years now with little to show for it, but now they’re actively courtingExtremely Loud and Incredibly ClosehelmerStephen Daldryfor the gig.
Meanwhile, over at Sony/Columbia,Jon Favreau’s gone from being the frontrunner to direct the studio’sJersey Boyspic to actually negotiating for the job. More details on both after the jump.
Daldry’s potential involvement in theWickedmovie is more unexpected, as development on it has been fairly slow-moving over the past few years. ProducerMarc Plattand Universal initially planned to turn Maguire’s book into a film several years ago, but decided to bring it to the stage first instead. Since its opening in 2003, it’s become one of the highest-grossing Broadway musicals of all time, and continues to top the charts on a weekly basis. The show explores the backstory of Elphaba, the misunderstood Wicked Witch of the West, and retells some of the events ofThe Wizard of Ozfrom her perspective.
Universal’sWickedpicture should not be confused with the Salma Hayek-produced non-musical miniseriesbrewing over at ABC, which will hew more closely to Maguire’s book than to the Broadway show. While theFrank L. Baumstory has been beloved for decades, it seems particularly in vogue at the moment. Sam Raimi’s Wizard-centric prequelOz: The Great and Powerfuldebuted atrailerat Comic-Con this week, while E! announcedDorothyjust a couple of months ago.
