File this one in the “It’s So Crazy That It Just Might Work And Even If It Doesn’t It Might Still Be Rad In A Showgirls Way” category: Indie auteur Steven Soderbergh wants to make a big-budget musical called Cleo starring Hugh Jackman and Catherine Zeta-Jones. Cleo would follow the love affair of Cleopatra and Mark Antony. It would also be scored by the music of Dayton’s own Guided By Voices. And it would be in 3-D, because why not?
Today, Anne Thompson of Variety reconfirmed the whole thing with Soderbergh, who said that it will be fashioned after the Rita Hayworth musical, Gilda, which is very glamorous and classy and not very chintzy. Huh. Does the world need another Moulin Rouge or Across the Universe? Probably not, but I’m all for new ideas. Bring on Hugh Jackman’s Antony belting “Pimple Zoo”!
Soderbergh: Che and Cleo [Variety; HT: CHUD]
Soderbergh preps 3D musical Cleo, GBV pens score [Paste]
is he going to get GBV to reform? to paraphrase Mark E. Smith, if it’s Bob Pollard and yer granny on bongos, it’s Guided by Voices (if he calls it that and not Boston Spaceships, or Lifeguards, or Space Tractor or whatever), so it’s not out of the question. but it’s hard to imagine Pollard trotting out the name just to score this movie - i’m sure he’d be happy to do it under his own name. or will it be re-worked old GBV songs? or not re-worked old GBV songs?
my GBV fanboy head is spinning at the prospect of this awful god damn thing.
@westartedthis: I get the vibe that it will use older songs.