Originally Posted By Rsey103 From Playbill.com: >>Spielberg May Remake "Mary Poppins" Film By Andrew Gans 29 Dec 2005 Academy Award-winning director Steven Spielberg is currently in talks with stage director Sir Richard Eyre for a film remake of "Mary Poppins." London's The Independent reports that Eyre, who directed the acclaimed London stage version of Mary Poppins, has chatted with Spielberg, who is currently represented on screens with the controversial film "Munich." Eyre told the London paper, "We've talked about it a lot. It will be hard to outdo the original, but kids love the story and I'm sure that the remake will be a real success." The stage version of Mary Poppins, which will open at Broadway's New Amsterdam Theatre in October, features Richard M. Sherman and Robert B. Sherman's original songs from the film as well as new songs and additional music and lyrics by George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. Julian Fellowes wrote the show's book. Laura Michelle Kelly played the beloved nanny in the original London cast; Broadway casting has yet to be announced. About possible casting for a film remake, director Eyre told the Independent, "The studio will use the success of the Broadway show to decide whether to use the British cast for the film. But I would hope to use as much of the West End cast as possible and keep Mary English rather than have a big American star name." The beloved 1964 Disney film "Mary Poppins" starred Julie Andrews in the title role opposite the Bert of Dick Van Dyke. Directed by Robert Stevenson, the movie boasted a score by the Sherman brothers and featured such tunes as "A Spoonful of Sugar," "Jolly Holiday," "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious," "Feed the Birds," "Chim Chim Cher-ee" and "Let's Go Fly a Kite." Nominated for an Academy Award as Best Picture, the film garnered Oscars for Julie Andrews as well as those for Best Special Visual Effects; Best Film Editing; Best Score; and Best Song ("Chim Chim Cher-ee"). <<
Originally Posted By StillThePassHolder Some films don't need to be "re-made" by anyone. This is one of them. Have an idea for a change.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA Anyone know why the Sherman Brothers didn't provide the new songs for the stage version of 'Mary Poppins.'? Any you do realize that since the stage version of 'The Producers' has done so well, that all the studios will now be looking at musicals that they can turn into movies. Like sheep, they follow the herd...
Originally Posted By TALL Disney Guy As soon as I saw this thread title I said out loud "Youuu are *joking*..." If only that were the case.
Originally Posted By Kar2oonMan Any you do realize that since the stage version of 'The Producers' has done so well, that all the studios will now be looking at musicals that they can turn into movies.<< Maybe they are taking the message of The Producers -- that you can sometimes make more money with a flop than a hit -- and bringing it to life. Spielberg gets a bunch of financial investors to pony up for this new Mary Poppins. Then, when audiences discover that Mary in this version is an Al Queda operative, the film flops, and Spielberg makes a fortune! Or does it flop.......?
Originally Posted By Shooba My gut reaction is - why bother & is this for real? Still, there's a lot about Mary Poppins that might be fun to see modernized - The special effects of course, and the dialogue/storytelling does feel a bit hokey by todays standards. But is there anyone who could perform this better than Van Dyke & Andrews? Will the animation be CG? Will there be a crossover appearance by the Madagascar Penguins a la Roger Rabbit?
Originally Posted By woody Spielberg has been making a bunch of terrible films lately. I think he will ruin Mary Poppins. He has a heavy hand in his direction. His movies are manipulative. I think he will mess up Mary Poppins since it only requires a light touch.
Originally Posted By gardenrooms I would love to see a remake if the purpose was to make a movie that was truer to the Mary Posppins books, but it sounds like they are just going to remake the movie. Though I enjoyed the original movie, I loved the books (I could hardly bring myself to read the last story, knowing Mary would never return) and was disappointed that the movie was so different from what the stories made me visualize. I had looked forward to it very much. Oddly enough, though, when I tried to read the stories to my son when he was small, they just didn't seem to convey the same magic - maybe you had to be able to read them yourself.
Originally Posted By jasmine7 This story isn't on Playbill's site any more (comes up as story not found when you click the link), so maybe it's just a rumor. One can only hope because you cannot improve upon perfection. Julie was completely perfect in every way as Mary.
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA This is from a Spielberg fansite. <a href="http://www.spielbergfilms.com/" target="_blank">http://www.spielbergfilms.com/</a> <December 28, 2005 Updates -‘Mary Poppins’ rumors are Supercalafragalisticexpialabullcrap In a flight of fancy that would have Uncle Walt spinning in his cryogenic chamber, UK rumor mill ContactMusic kick started a contagious piece of gossip today claiming that Steven Spielberg is developing a film version of the “Mary Poppins†musical currently on stage in London. Sir Richard Eyre, director of the musical “Mary Poppins,†is quoted (or perhaps misquoted) by ContactMusic as saying that, “Spielberg wants to make a new film of Mary Poppins and we’ve talked about it a lot. It will be hard to outdo the original, but kids love the story and I’m sure that the remake will be a real success.†While P.L. Travers “Mary Poppins†books would seem ripe for rediscovery as a franchise (in the “Harry Potter,†“Lord of the Rings,†“Chronicles of Narnia†kind of vein), Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment says its not going to happen, at least not with Spielberg as ContactMusic reports. “I think a spoonful of sugar went down the wrong way,†Spielberg’s public relations rep Marvin Levy told SpielbergFilms.com “I never heard of this and couldn't imagine Steven ever doing a remake of a classic - and a [Walt Disney] classic at that. There's a Broadway show from Disney but nothing involving us in any way.†Hope I didn’t bring anyone’s tea party on the ceiling crashing down by debunking this wacky rumor, but there you have it, folks.>
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA <Spielberg has been making a bunch of terrible films lately> You consider these recent movies terrible? I don't. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001) Minority Report (2002) Catch Me If You Can (2002) The Terminal (2004) War of the Worlds (2005) Munich (2005)
Originally Posted By cstephens I absolutely, passionately hated "A.I.", especially since the original short story was so moving. I used to be a huge Spielberg fan, but that's waned (sp?) over the past numerous years. Of the list, I've only seen "A.I." and "Minority Report". I'm still deciding on "Munich", which I had wanted to see when I thought it was actually about the events at Munich rather than the aftermath. /cs
Originally Posted By Jim in Merced CA 'The Terminal' is a wonderful movie -- sort of a Frank Capra-esque, warm-hearted movie. Tom Hanks is great. And Catherine Zeta-Jones is too. 'Catch Me If You Can'is very good too. Leonardo DiCaprio is excellent.
