Welcome to Rumorville! Here you can learn about casting news that’s about to break in Hollywood. These speculations might be only rumors, but that doesn’t mean you can’t follow the trail all the way to the audition room.
“Follies”
Here they come, those beautiful girls! Heyday Films and BBC Films have nabbed the film rights to Stephen Sondheim and John Goldman’s Broadway musical “Follies.” Dominic Cooke, the director of the 2017 West End revival at London’s National Theatre, will be helming the production; a writer has yet to be attached. The London revival, which initially ran until January 2018 before mounting a return engagement this year, was nominated for 10 Olivier Awards and won two, including Best Musical Revival. There have been several attempts to make a “Follies” film over the years, including a version directed by Rob Marshall and one written by Aaron Sorkin, but several of Sondheim’s works have been recently put into development, including film versions of “Merrily We Roll Along” and an updated “West Side Story,” by Steven Spielberg. Cooke has previously directed 2017’s “On Chesil Beach,” with casting by Nina Gold. Gold has previously cast other musical film adaptations, including “Les Misérables,” so she may be the most natural fit for the film.
“MacGruber” TV Series
Of all the SNL sketches that could potentially get its own spinoff show, there’s one above the rest: MacGruber! In a recent visit to Vulture Festival’s video studio, Will Forte and John Solomon confirmed they are close to mapping out their dream season for the character. There is still no network attached, but according to Forte, “By this time next year, it will have hopefully been out.” There were talks for a while about a sequel to the 2010 comedy written by Forte, Solomon, and Jorma Taccone, but the original film did not perform at the box office. However, Taccone and Forte both confirmed earlier this year—Taccone to The Daily Beast and Forte on The Tonight Show With Jimmy Fallon—they were pitching the show as a series. Original stars Kristen Wiig, Ryan Phillippe, and Val Kilmer are all expected to return. Sheila Jaffe was the casting director for the film.
“Party Down”
Everyone was having fun at this year’s Vulture Festival, especially the cast of “Party Down,” who appeared on a reunion panel, which brought together stars Adam Scott, Lizzy Caplan, Megan Mullally, Jane Lynch, Martin Starr, Ryan Hansen, and Ken Marino, as well as show creators Jon Enbom, Dan Etheridge, and Rob Thomas. Fans have been hoping for a film following the two-season series, which, in a current climate of reboots and revivals, was a major topic of discussion. Said Thomas, “I don’t think a movie’s in the cards, but in the next year or two we’ll explore some ways to bring the gang back together.” This will, of course, come as good news to fans. Colloff/Nicolo cast the original Starz series and, being the team behind another big reboot, “Veronica Mars” (and Thomas’ go-to), would be the likely choice to cast the potential “Party Down” reboot, as well.
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