NEWS
VARIETY: Florence Welch Writing ‘Great Gatsby’ Musical
Florence Welch will journey into the Jazz Age for her new musical project, one that will offer up fortune seekers and flappers, rum runners and rich dilettantes, self-made men and high society standard bearers.
In short, it’s F. Scott Fitzgerald’s glittering masterwork, “The Great Gatsby,” which will provide the spine of a new stage show that is eyeing a Broadway run. It will feature lyrics from Welch, best known as the leading force behind the Grammy-nominated Florence + the Machine, as well as music by Welch and Oscar and Grammy Award nominee Thomas Bartlett. Bartlett previously worked as a producer with Florence + The Machine on the song “Jenny of Oldstones,” and has released four albums as Doveman. READ MORE.
GUARDIAN: Florence Welch to Adapt The Great Gatsby for Broadway Musical
F Scott Fitzgerald’s novel of love, class friction and callousness in 1920s New York will be adapted for the stage by Martyna Majok, who won the 2018 Pulitzer prize for drama for her play Cost of Living. She and Welch will write lyrics for songs composed by Welch and Thomas Bartlett, the musician and producer also known as Doveman.
“This book has haunted me for a large part of my life,” Welch said in a statement. “It contains some of my favourite lines in literature. Musicals were my first love, and I feel a deep connection to Fitzgerald’s broken romanticism. It is an honour to have been offered the chance to recreate this book in song.” READ MORE.
FORBES: TETRIS Movie Review: At Last, It’s All Falling Into Place
The legal battle surrounding Tetris is something of a games industry legend. So it was inevitable that the story would receive the movie treatment at some point. However, unlike other recent Hollywood movies about video games, this one has its heart in the right place.
The video game Tetris was created by Alexey Pajitnov back in 1984, in the heart of the Soviet Union. The game was shared amongst his friends and then exploded in popularity across Russia, so much so that it impacted productivity at various workplaces.
The subsequent international licensing and the obvious issues fraught with that due to the way that the Soviet Union was structured underpins the immense complexities of its now legendary legal battle. READ MORE.
THE NEW YORK TIMES ‘Critic’s Pick’: “TETRIS Review: Falling Blocks and Rising Freedom: Like its namesake, this film is clever, crafty, and shockingly entertaining.”
Both origin story and underdog dramedy, the movie presents a fictionalized account of Henk’s epic quest to obtain licensing rights to multiplatform versions of the game. Assembling a story that’s equal parts astonishing and bamboozling, Baird and his screenwriter, Noah Pink, pit communism against capitalism and individual passion against corporate greed. Hacking gleefully into the deal-making weeds, the filmmakers refuse to shy away from wordy conference-room negotiations and head-spinning double-crosses as Henk bets his home, and at one point his freedom, on a long shot. READ MORE.
DEADLINE: “Alitude Boards Documentary ‘Mad About the Boy – the Noel Coward Story’ from Barnaby Thompson.”
Altitude has picked up international sales and UK and Irish distribution rights to Mad About the Boy — The Noël Coward Story, a feature documentary about the life of Noël Coward from Barnaby Thompson (St. Trinian’s).
From Gregor Cameron of Unigram: “Unigram is thrilled to help Barnaby Thompson unravel the enigma of Noel Coward and bring to the screen the first ever feature documentary about one of the most talented, accomplished and multi-faceted artists of the 20th Century. An award-winning actor, writer, and director, Noel Coward was also a songwriter who wrote many of the most iconic and evergreen recordings of the 20th century and it’s a joy to incorporate Warner Music’s catalogue of Coward’s music into the film and hear Adam Lambert bring his version of “Mad About The Boy” in to the 21st Century.” READ MORE.
VARIETY: “Adam Lambert Contributes ‘Mad About the Boy’ Cover for Noel Coward Documentary”
Contributing a cover of the title song, which was first released in 1932, is Adam Lambert, whose version — produced by Amanda Ghost and Johnny Coffer — is due out on Oct. 7. The former “American Idol” finalist and touring vocalist in Queen called Coward “an inspiration.” A committed bachelor and a gay man, Coward was the ultimate socialite who was known for his lively and spirited parties — which included such guests as the Queen Mother. Knighted in 1970, he received a Tony Award that same year. Among his stage and screen credits are “Brief Encounter,” “Blithe Spirit” and “Private Lives.” READ MORE.
