‘Gladiator’ And ‘Hugo’ Screenwriter John Logan To Write ‘Jersey Boys’
Late late year, the rights to one of Broadway’s biggest hits went up on the auction block.Jersey Boys: The Story of Frankie Valli & The Four Seasonswas coveted by Steven Spielberg, Tom Hanks, Warner Bros. and Twentieth Century Fox. They all lost out. GK Films paid over seven figures for the musical and after a year without any movement, they’ve finally hired a screenwriter.John Loganwill adapt the real life rags to riches story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, a legendary musical group who went from the street corners of New Jersey to massive musical success with songs such asOh What A Night, Big Girls Don’t Cry, Rag Doll, Sherry,andCan’t Take My Eyes Off of You.Recently, Logan wroteHugofor Martin Scorsese but he also wroteGladiatorfor Ridley Scott,Any Given Sundayfor Oliver Stone,Sweeney Toddfor Tim Burton andRangofor Gore Verbinski. Two of his latest scripts, Steven Spielberg’sLincolnand Sam Mendes' James Bond filmSkyfall, are currently in production. Wow. What a resume.
Read more about the film after the jump.
The Hollywood Reporterfirst posted the news of Logan’s involvement withJersey Boys, which is expected to be distributed by Columbia Pictures once all is said and done.
When the news of the sale initially broke, the writers of the book for the Tony-winning Broadway musical were said to be writing the adapted screenplay. Now, there’s no indication if that happened or if Logan’s will be the first draft. With the mysterous year in between that and this, I’d venture to guess they turned something in and GK Films wasn’t happy. But that’s total speculation.
As a huge fan of the musical, I hope Logan’s version is in line with the work he’s done for Scorsese (he also wroteThe Aviator). Both that andHugowere slick stories, but had a sort of down and dirty quality.Jersey Boysneeds that.
Do you think Logan is a good match to this material? Who should direct?
Here’s a little bit I wrote about the show last year along with a video to give you an idea:
Jersey Boysis one of the most successful shows still running on Broadway. It opened in 2005 and has sold over $1 billion in tickets not only in New York, but all over the world. The show’s success is partially because of its relatable, inspiring story of working hard and fulfilling your dreams but more so because it’s the rare musical where almost everyone who sees it knows all the songs before stepping in to the theater. Below is an example of what the show is like. Notice the awesome way it incorporates live performance and what it would have been like to experience this moment as an audience member on TV. I love this show.
