In the latest entry to the “everyone out of ideas” sweepstakes, there’s trade-rag-worthy movement regarding the remake of Bye Bye Birdie, the beloved-by-me 1958 musical where a pop star decides to give his career a boost by giving a girl a smooch—on TV!—before he’s shipped off to serve the country. Whether or not the concept will be severely tweaked is still up in the air (what TV show could possibly stand in for The Ed Sullivan Show as far as something everyone watches—the Super Bowl? CSI: Miami?), but Adam Shankman, who directed the film of the musical version of Hairspray and the “Vin Diesel as aggrieved dad” vehicle The Pacifier, is the latest person to sign on for behind-the-camera duties.
This, of course, brings up a key question: Who will play Conrad Birdie—the “Birdie” in the title, for those of you who weren’t active in drama club back in the day—in the remake? Given that Shankman’s Hairspray had teen scream Zac Efron as its resident hottie, one would think that the definition of “cute” will be pretty straight-and-narrow. But are there really any heartthrobs out there who could pull off “One Last Kiss”?
My answer to this question is, of course, Ne-Yo, what with his ability to dance and sing and bump and grind and etc. But you’re probably not surprised by that. Feel free to make your own guesses in the comments!
ONE LAST KISS [Dailymotion]
Adam Shankman in for ‘Birdie’ remake [Hollywood Reporter via leilacohan]
I can’t believe that I can’t find a non-high-school-production version of “Honestly Sincere” on the Internet. That would make my case so well!
Talented though he may be, Ne-Yo is seriously challenging on the eyes. Gimme Chris Brown any day.
You know, yeah — Chris Brown might not be a bad choice either.
Just, goodness — no Disney alums!
Wouldn’t the most obvious choice be American Idol?
@the rich girls are weeping: By which I mean, no Disney alums EXCEPT Justin Timberlake.
@Mike P.: Hahahaha. What does it say about American Idol that I didn’t even think of it?
I’ve been waiting for a Jamie Walters comeback vehicle and this would be perfect.
What, the 1995 remake with Vanessa Williams wasn’t good enough?
Hm…I am quite up with the Chris Brown suggestion…
Honestly though, upon rethought, they should really just remaster and rerelease the original. Unlikely,sure, but it would be fab.
Thanks for the link, Maura! I too must cast my vote for Chris Brown, I think.
I think Justin Timberlake already starred in something like this: 2 pop stars decide to boost their careers when they contrive to expose one of the female star’s breasts -on TV!- at the Super Bowl!
Jeff Goldblum?
No current starlet could bring the hotness of a young Ann Margaret, however.
@Sniffle: Man, think of all the Drunk Jeff Goldblum videos that would come out of that.
David Archuleta?
Sanjaya Malakar?
In the indana jones movie he looks a little like early 80s Dave Gahan in that leather jacket, but still,I think old shea labouf would be a good “fit”.
Full frontal during “How Lovely To Be a Woman”?
@MayhemintheHood: From your lips to God’s ears:
[www.calendarlive.com]
I’ve got an idea: DON’T make another bad movie from this very, very bad musical. But if you must, consider Neil Patrick Harris. Dude can sing, dance and do comedy.
@Nicolars: The agent is technically the star of the show. Not that I can remember who he is.
@K-Rex: Albert Peterson!!! Mr. Phi Beta Kappa Peterson!
Oh man I am so mad at myself for not using the Paul Lynde tag on this post. Bahhhhh
For my money give the job to Johnny Depp…let the boy stretch into the musical genre
The Super Bowl is clearly the only event (besides American Idol) that would stand a chance. I’m thinking it will be a remake of Justin Timberlake and Janet Jackson… and he’s trying to flash America before getting sent to Iraq. Flashing is sort of like kissing, but for adults.
@simonglickman: You’re totally wrong on the musical’s quality (c’mon, “Kids”? “Telephone Hour”???), but I do like the NPH suggestion…
So much of the charm of the original derives from its datedness… if they *do* go ahead with a remake, I really hope they don’t try to shoehorn the concept into the 21st century.
NPH is fantastic, but given how Hollywood casts movies he would more likely be cast as Conrad’s agent since he’s (gasp!) over 30.
This will suck. It will suck a lot. Unless they use Neil Patrick Harris. I think he’s got the chops to do this well. People underestimate the particular combination of talent and cheese that goes into musical theatre, and Birdie is one of the best.