'Groundhog Day' Movie to Be Turned Into Musical
With Hollywood doing reboots of movies such as "The Karate Kid," "Annie," "Cinderella" and the like, it's no surprise that an iconic movie, 'Groundhog Day', is about to hit the stage soon.
Broadway composer Tim Minchin shared via Twitter that he will be recreating the Bill Murray movie for the stage.
"Danny (Rubin) himself is writing the book. I'm writing music and lyrics, and Matthew Warchus is directing," wrote Minchin.
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Minchin is the lyricist and composer behind the Tony Award winning stage adaptation of Matilda, and Rubin is the writer behind the original screenplay for "Groundhog Day."
"Groundhog Day" is a comedy about an arrogant weatherman Phil Connors (Murray) who is sent to Pennsylvania to cover the Groundhog Day event, who finds himself repeating the same day over and over again. After a few days of debauchery, angst, and several failed attempts to commit suicide, Phil begins to re-examine his life and priorities, and spends each day trying to learn something new and to better himself.
Though many consider "Groundhog Day" as an excellent movie, Minchin promised that their version will be "both instantly recognizable and utterly different."
"The 1993 Sony Pictures film was directed by Harold Ramis and starred Bill Murray and Andie McDowell, and is a true comedy classic," Minchin wrote. "However, it would be impossible to try to translate the style and tone of the movie to stage ... and even if it were possible, it wouldn't interest me."
Stephen Sondheim is also linked to the musical, and Minchin revealed that he has been "tossing the idea" of the musical around.
Minchin is aiming for a summer workshop for the show, with the full production projected to hit the stage in a few years. There is no confirmation whether the musical will premiere in London or in Broadway.
As for the chances that the project might not push through, Minchin wrote, "But who knows? Maybe the whole project will get caught in a temporal vortex and we won't be able to finish writing it until we've achieved wisdom."
