Feb
2010
Damn Yankees Movie Greenlighted
Apparently Hollywood has fallen back in love with the musical film, but will they ever cast people known for their singing abilities?
News has come out this weekend that a new version of Damn Yankees is moving forward with Todd Graff directing. This is the first big budget film for Mr. Graff, 50, and is a rather large gamble for a film studio. While he has directed some smaller budget films to critical praise, gambling what is assumed to be tens of millions on this updated version of the 1955 Broadway musical seems a rather large risk for any studio.
There have been several films in the past few years that have revived the musical film, but while a few of them have gone on to financial success, not all of them have fared as well. Here is a breakdown of five of the most notable musical films in order of release, and how each has done at the box office: (data from Box Office Mojo)
|
Domestic |
International |
Total |
Budget |
|
| Chicago | $170,687,518 | $136,089,214 | $306,776,732 | $45,000,000 |
| Rent | $29,077,547 | $2,593,073 | $31,670,620 | $40,000,000 |
| Sweeney Todd | $52,898,073 | $99,625,091 | $152,523,164 | $50,000,000 |
| Mamma Mia! | $144,130,063 | $465,711,574 | $609,841,637 | $52,000,000 |
| Nine | $19,412,000 | $13,610,783 | $33,022,783 | $80,000,000 |
As you can see, when they hit, they hit well, but one mis-step and it’s a huge loss for a studio.
For those unfamiliar with the story, Damn Yankees tells the story of a middle-aged baseball fan who is tired of seeing his team lose to the New York Yankees. He makes a Faustian pact with the Devil to make him into a young star ball player to take his team to the World Series. Along the way, the Devil tries to tempt him with assistance of his top seductress, Lola, to break his contract which would allow him to collect the fan’s soul early.
The musical started on Broadway in 1955, received a film treatment in 1958, a television production in 1967 and a Broadway revival in 1994. The new film is to have Jake Gyllenhaal in the role of the fan, and Jim Carrey as the Devil. Lola has yet to be cast.
And that brings me back to my opening thought: Why do they keep casting people not known for their singing abilities? You firing up a big budget film with a director who has not proven himself with a large budget, two actors that — while capable actors — are not known to be singers. This production seems to have a lot of strikes against it before it even starts pre-production.
I hope I am proven wrong, but this is sounding a lot more like another Nine than another Mamma Mia!.
