Abby Mueller in Beautiful. Douglas McGrath, film director (Emma, Infamous), screenwriter (Bullets Over Broadway, Nicholas Nickleby) and occasional actor (The Insider, Small Time Crooks), was skeptical when first approached about writing Beautiful: The Carole King Musical. But then so was singer-songwriter King. “I didn’t want to do it,” he says bluntly, sitting on the couch … [Read more...]
Director of ‘Marguerite’ explores themes of self-delusion, celebrity
Catherine Frot in Marguerite. French screenwriter-director Xavier Giannoli knows precisely when the idea for his latest film occurred to him. “Fifteen years ago, I heard on the French radio the voice of an opera singer, completely off-key,” he recalls. “And it was incredibly funny, but I felt embarrassed too. Because it was very ridiculous.” He learned that the voice … [Read more...]
Director finds joy in bringing Gordy’s story to stage in ‘Motown’
As even Charles Randolph-Wright concedes, he was hardly the logical choice to direct Motown, the Musical, the tale of how Berry Gordy created the Detroit rhythm-and-blues empire that brought Diana Ross, Michael Jackson and so many other superstars into the international spotlight. A member of the original cast of Dreamgirls — the fictional history of The Supremes — … [Read more...]