'The Color Purple' Broadway Musical to Get Movie Adaptation Photo: Matthew Murphy ...
Photo: Matthew Murphy
Warner Bros. is developing the Tony Award-winning stage musical version of ‘The Color Purple’ into a movie-musical, an individual with knowledge of the project tells TheWrap.
Scott Sanders, who produced the Tony-winning Broadway version, will produce the big-screen musical with Oprah Winfrey and Quincy Jones. Spielberg is back as well, as producer. The project is in the early stages of development and is currently out to writers.
Based on Alice Walker̢۪s 1982 novel, the story centers on a black woman named Celie, who grows up in intense poverty in the American South and endures harsh treatment from her stepfather, husband and others in her life, which tests her faith in God and humankind. Walker won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction, becoming the first black woman to do so.
Also Read: 'The Color Purple' Broadway Review: Jennifer Hudson, Cynthia Erivo Lead Sexy Revival
The book was previously adapted as a 1985 feature film directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Whoopi Goldberg in her film debut as Celie. It received 11 Oscar nominations, including best actress for Goldberg, but was shut out.
The 2005 Broadway musical, with a book by playwright Marsha Norman, earned 11 Tony nomination but didn̢۪t win best musical. The 2016 revival won two Tonys, including best musical revival, as well as both a Grammy and an Emmy. The musical has grossed more than $350 million.
The Hollywood Reporter first reported the news.
20 Highest Grossing Movie Musicals of the Last 40 Years, From 'Grease' to 'La La Land' (Photos)
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Who said the musical is dead? The last 40 years have produced box office hits out of film adaptations of Broadway smashes, original movie musicals and a few, beloved, all-time classics. Here are the 20 top-grossing live-action movie musicals of the last 40 years based on domestic box office. (All figures courtesy of BoxOfficeMojo)
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20. "Moulin Rouge!" (2001) - $57.3 million
Baz Luhrmann didn't invent the jukebox musical, but his film's exuberant, garish mash-up of original songs with everything from Christina Aguilera to David Bowie to Rodgers & Hammerstein certainly helped popularize it for the 21st century.
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19. "Coal Miner's Daughter" (1980) - $67.1 million
Sissy Spacek played the legendary country singer Loretta Lynn in Michael Apted's biopic that went on to be one of the Top 10 box office hits of 1980 and a Best Picture nominee.
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18. "The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas" (1982) - $69.7 million
Burt Reynolds and Dolly Parton starred in this adaptation of a stage hit about a sheriff fighting to keep a local brothel open after it's called out by a TV reporter. The film performed well enough at the box office to knock the long-running "E.T." from the No. 1 spot.
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17. "Ray" (2004) - $75.3 million
Jamie Foxx won an Oscar for capturing the mannerisms of Ray Charles on stage, and though Foxx can sing himself, all the songs are Charles' original vocals.
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16. "Annie" (2014) - $85.9 million
Instead of the freckled red head, the modern update to "Annie" starred "Beasts of the Southern Wild" star Quvenzhane Wallis in the lead role alongside Cameron Diaz and Jamie Foxx.
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15. "The Muppets" (2011) - $88.6 million
The Muppets had a big box office slump in the '90s and disappeared entirely in the 2000s. Jason Segel's musical helped make them relevant again.
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14. "High School Musical 3: Senior Year" (2008) - $90.5 million
The first two "High School Musical" films were such massive, surprise hit TV movies on the Disney Channel that they went all out for a theatrically released threequel that made over $90 million.
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13. "Dreamgirls" (2006) - $103.3 million
Jennifer Hudson won an Oscar for her work in this Broadway-based drama about a trio of female soul singers who rose to the top of the charts. The cast included Beyonce, Jamie Foxx, Eddie Murphy, Anika Noni Rose and Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson.
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12. "Hairspray" (2007) - $118.8 million
It's the film adaptation of the stage musical adaptation of John Waters' campy kitsch movie, and somehow, Adam Shankman's film not only turned out to be a hit, it was a joyous, colorful and fun experience that critics loved, even with John Travolta dressed in drag.
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11. "Walk the Line" (2005) - $119.5 million
Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon star in this emotional biopic on the life of Johnny Cash and his wife June Carter.
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10. "Enchanted" (2007) - $127.8 million
The movie that made Amy Adams a star is finally getting a long-awaited sequel, the announced "Disenchanted."
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9. "Into the Woods" (2014) - $128.0 million
Meryl Streep and Chris Pine stole the show in Rob Marshall's adaptation of the Stephen Sondheim musical sending up classic fairy tales.
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8. "Mamma Mia!" (2008) - $144.1 million
The first "Mamma Mia!" film, an adaptation of the stage hit featuring the songs of ABBA, made a whopping $144 million, opening on the same weekend as "The Dark Knight."
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7. "Les Misérables" (2012) - $148.8 million
Tom Hooper followed up his Best Picture-winning "The King's Speech" with this lavish and dizzying musical that won Anne Hathaway an Oscar. He'll go back to the Broadway musical well for his next film, "Cats."
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6. "La La Land" (2016) - $151.1 million
The almost-Best Picture winner from Damien Chazelle was also runner-up as the highest grossing Best Picture nominee of 2016, falling behind "Hidden Figures."
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5. "Chicago" (2002) - $170.6 million
Rob Marshall's "Chicago" won six Oscars, including Best Picture, and helped launch the genre's revival on the big screen this century.
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4. "The Greatest Showman" (2017) - $174.3 million
Hugh Jackman's factually loose biopic about the life of P.T. Barnum and the formation of the circus catapulted to success on the heels of its Oscar-nominated song "This is Me" by the "La La Land" songwriters Benj Pasek and Justin Paul.
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3. "Straight Outta Compton" (2015) - $161.1 million
F. Gary Gray's biopic about N.W.A did a wonderful job making the legendary rap crew's music vital and timely and even balanced the three stories of Eazy-E, Ice Cube and Dr. Dre nicely.
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2. "Grease" (1978) - $188.7 million
Though its box office total is inflated somewhat by a re-release, "Grease" still holds up not just as one of the best musicals of the last 40 years but also the most successful (certainly given inflation).
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1. "Beauty and the Beast" (2017) - $504.0 million
Disney struck gold with its live-action adaptation of the animated hit "Beauty and the Beast," lovingly re-created to minute detail by director Bill Condon with a cast led by Harry Potter alum Emma Watson.
Can “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again†match the box office success of the original?
Who said the musical is dead? The last 40 years have produced box office hits out of film adaptations of Broadway smashes, original movie musicals and a few, beloved, all-time classics. Here are the 20 top-grossing live-action movie musicals of the last 40 years based on domestic box office. (All figures courtesy of BoxOfficeMojo)
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