If there's one guy around Hollywood who has been aching to do a musical or that people have been aching to see in a musical, it's Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Of course, there was the musical sequence in "(500) Days Of Summer" but it was his "Make 'Em Laugh" intro on "Saturday Night Live" a few years back that woke everyone up to the potential he had as a charismatic leading man in a song-and-dance flick. We're a bit surprised it hasn't happened sooner, but it looks like his day is finally coming.
JGL is developing as a starring vehicle a remake at Warner Bros. of "Little Shop Of Horrors" that has "Glee" writer/producer and "Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark" scribe Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa set to pen the script. Originating as a 1960 Roger Corman film, 'Little Shop' turned into a phenomenon thanks to an off-Broadway musical adapation that landed on Broadway proper and went around the world. In 1986, Frank Oz teamed Steve Martin and Rick Moranis for a big screen version that was nominated for two Academy Awards, and while modestly received at the box office, became a hit on home video.
Should this all come together, JGL will take the lead role of the florist Seymour, who needs to continually feed a plant that feasts on human blood. All told, it sounds like a pretty good number for JGL to try on for a musical bow, but it's way off yet, not only because he's making his directorial debut this summer, but also because 'Little Shop' still needs a director. But with a pretty good Rolodex so far of names he's worked with, we're sure he won't have too much trouble finding someone. And bonus for 'Little Shop' fans: Frank Oz's film is arriving around Halloween in a new DVD/BluRay edition that include his long lost, original 23-minute ending. [THR]
