Will "Sicario" actress Emily Blunt portray perhaps the most famous nanny of them all?
Blunt is reportedly in talks to take on the role of Mary Poppins for an upcoming musical film.
The movie would be a sequel set after the events of the original 1964 film starring Julie Andrews and Dick van Dyke.
Marshall, who directed Blunt in the 2014 movie musical "Into the Woods," will reportedly helm the new "Poppins" film.
Blunt received mostly positive reviews for her singing turn in "Woods," with Monitor film critic Peter Rainer[1] calling her "wonderful."
The project is the latest of Disney's new takes on their old stories. Before now, many of their recent films, including last year's "Cinderella," have been live-action versions of already-existing animated movies, but it sounds like this one will be an original storyline rather than a remake of the original "Poppins."
With Marshall the film is being led by a director who has had a large part in bringing back the popularity of the movie musical.� �
Marshall directed the 2002 movie "Chicago," which starred Renee Zellweger and Catherine Zeta-Jones and was the first musical to win the Best Picture Oscar since the 1968 film "Oliver!"
"Chicago" and the 2001 movie "Moulin Rouge!," which was directed by Baz Luhrmann, helped usher in a newfound popularity for movie musicals, a genre which had been struggling for some time. Since the success of "Rouge" and "Chicago," many more film musicals have followed, including "Hairspray," "Dreamgirls," and "Les Misérables."
While Marshall's next musical effort, 2009's "Nine," stumbled, "Woods" was a box office hit. Rainer wrote of the movie as a whole, "The Stephen Sondheim-James Lapine 1987 musical 'Into the Woods' has been transferred to the screen by director Rob Marshall with most of its complexities and light-dark tonalities intact … this is a movie musical that, for a change, never degenerates into a false wholesom eness. It's one of the rare musicals that both children and adults can enjoy."
Hollywood Reporter writer Scott Feinberg[2] wrote of Marshall recently, "The name Rob Marshall has become synonymous with the movie musical. That's because Marshall has done more than anyone to revive the genre."
The director even won a prize for this last year, with the Screen Actors Guild Foundation giving him a Patron of the Artists Award. "Each has discovered, nurtured and propelled creative talent both in front and behind the camera," SAG Foundation president JoBeth Williams said[3] of the recipients. "… Rob for reviving the musical genre and giving actors opportunities to showcase different talents."
Since Marshall has adapted famous musicals for the screen thus far, it will be interesting to see how he handles a new production like this "Poppins" sequel, which reportedly will include original music.
References
- ^ Monitor film critic Peter Rainer (www.csmonitor.com)
- ^ Hollywood Reporter writer Scott Feinberg (www.hollywoodreporter.com)
- ^ SAG Foundation president JoBeth Williams said (variety.com)
