Hey folks, Harry here... Given that we are about to be hit, anew, with the Campaign to Cast MICHAEL CRAWFORD in the film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, I figure I'll just go ahead and start off by mentioning it. At the moment though, I'm more curious if Jennifer Connelly can sing and if she would be right for Christine? Hmmm... Personally, I loved Antonio Banderas' turn in EVITA, he sung with an incredible amount of passion, but there is a part of me that would cast Monica Bellucci as Christine... and Vincent Cassel as The Phantom. Make it French like it is supposed to be. As for Joel Schumacher directing... I'm not going to gripe. Joel has shown a recent and seemingly sincere attempt at making quality film after the debacle that was BATMAN & ROBIN, a film... that at the very least caused such a stir, that it forced everyone in the industry to re-examine the Superhero Franchise and figure out where they were going wrong. In a way, without that disaster, I very much wonder if Marvel would be doing so well today. As for Joel... TIGERLAND was an exceptional film. 8MM was a pretty good film, not great like I had hoped from the script. And we've had very good reports on PHONEBOOTH. I'm actually curious to see what Joel will do with a gothic musical. I just can't help but wonder what Cocteau would have done with PHANTOM OF THE OPERA... That would have been something. Here ya go...
Hey, Harry. Billy Flynn, in Chicago, here to report that Screendaily.com and Playbill.com are each reporting that Joel Schumacher will be directing the feature film adaptation of Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera. Lloyd Webber told Screendaily.com, "I'm thrilled to have the rights back for the film version of Phantom and to have such a brilliant director on board. We now have the opportunity and the freedom to make the film that Joel and I have always talked about making." Apparently, Austin Shaw, the managing director of Really Useful Films, is now in Los Angeles to begin the casting process. He, of course, told Variety last week that Antonio Banderas and Hugh Jackman still head the list of possible stars for the title role in the projected $50-60 million film.
Now, as a fan of the musical itself, I'm not sure what I think about this choice. Joel Schumacher? It seems to me that he's screwed up way too many big projects in the past, and this one just seems too easy for him to send down the crapper! I was thrilled when reports were surfacing all the time that Shekhar Kapur was in the running. But Schumacher? I guess the only saving grace is that he and Lloyd Webber seem to have been talking about it for quite a while, and hopefully they're on the same creative page. But then it's also possible that Schumacher will turn around and give the Phantom a costume with latex pecs and a codpiece.
Anyway, let's hope the whole thing works out well. I gotta get down to the courtroom and take care of some real business. Chicago is one crazy hell of a town, I'll tell ya that!
All I care about it is love,
Billy Flynn
