I don't know about you but the Olympics really put a dent in my blogging! I have been so wrapped up in the thrill of the games I'm guilty of putting my blog on the backburner. And I'm glad I did because the drama and excitement were at least the equal of any book made into a movie. The athletes, winners and losers - although I think any athlete who made it to the Olympics is automatically a winner - were absolutely mesmerizing. I thrilled to every Michael Phelp's race in the pool and was watching when Jess Ennis captured the gold for Great Britain in the heptaphalon.
I'd also like to congratulate Britain, land of my birth, for doing such an amazing job. I've heard most of the pundits say the games were run smoothly with no major glitches. If you were there and have a different pov, I'd be curious to hear it. They were certainly a wonder to behold and it was fun being able to see the royals cheering in the stands.Yesterday, watching the marathon wind its way through the glorious streets of downtown London, had me feeling very proud indeed.
Now that the Olympics have ended it's time to get back to business. And the first order of the day is to note that the director of the closing ceremonies, Stephen Daldry, is the director that has been selected to helm
The Wicked on the big screen.
And that has me worried because frankly, last night's closing ceremonies were a bit of a mess. Actually I thought they were a spectacular mess - if you saw the flatbed trucks with the models bit you know what I mean - ; but in terms of the athletes, it did look like the kids were having a good time grooving to the music of
The Spice Girls. Some kind of retro thing, I guess.
In terms of
Wicked I understand what the producers hope Daldry brings to the equation. He did direct the film version of Billy Elliot. But beyond that he also directed last year's
Extrememly Loud and Incredibly Close which failed to live up to the novel. He also directed
The Reader and
The Hours, both very serious films - I'm just not sure he understands the fantastical world of Glinda and Elphaba.
Perhaps more worrisome though, is the writer of the screenplay. Winnie Holzman whose credits include several tv shows of the 1990's:
The Wonder Years, ThirtySomething, My So-Called Life, Once and Again and most recently, (2010)
Huge.
Not a full length feature in the lot. Does that mean she can't write one? Not at all but past credentials usually mean something and hers just don't say much about the project in hand.
Wicked is slated for release in 2014.
What do you think? Will this pair make Wicked sing on the big screen?
