Into the Woods Coming to the Silver Screen

Written by Kyle Slagley

There has long been a crossover between Hollywood and Broadway—whether it be actors like Neil Patrick Harris, Nathan Lane, Hugh Jackman, or most recently Tom Hanks jumping from the stage to the screen, or directors like Sam Mendes who flit from behind the curtain to behind the camera. Stories themselves also transcend mediums and anyone who knows anything about theatre can also rattle off a half a dozen shows that are also movies: Sound of Music, Lion King, Big Fish, Legally Blonde, Chicago, and yes, even Shrek.

Although it got very mixed reviews from critics and theatergoers—which are pretty much the same thing since theatre fans are some of the most critical people I know—the box office success of Les Miserables has more than likely opened the floodgates from a steady trickle to what will be a full-out tsunami of shows turned movies and movies turned shows.

One that I am looking forward to in particular is the Christmas 2014 release of Into the Woods, which looks to have a powerhouse Hollywood cast lined up. The show takes the storylines from Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, Little Red Riding Hood, and Rapunzel and weaves them all together using original characters The Baker and his wife, who are pitted against a witch. I mean, you can’t have a good fairy tale without a witch, right?

So far, casting reports are that the following stars are in some stage of negotiation: Johnny Depp playing the Wolf, Chris Pine and Jake Gyllenhaal as the princes of Rapunzel and Cinderella, Emily Blunt as The Baker’s Wife, James Corden as The Baker, Meryl Streep as The Witch, and Anna Kendrick as Cinderella. Quite the lineup if you ask me! Also, Rob Marshall, who directed the Oscar-winning film Chicago, is slated to direct.

It seems to me that films like this—ones that take a very well-known musical with a hyper-devoted following and put it on screen—usually appeal to only one audience, either the film crowd or the theatre crowd, but rarely both. In order to make money at the box office, filmmakers are now padding the cast with Hollywood A-listers. It seems to me that this will further entice moviegoers to see it, but in the long run as the trend continues, it will alienate the theatre crowd. Though there is obviously a lot more money in getting movie buffs to the movies than getting theatre buffs to the movies.

It remains to be seen how much of the original Stephen Sondheim music from the stage production makes it into the film, or how much the actors will sing. Rest assured, though, that if the film makes money (and with a cast like that, it will), it’s only a matter of time before we see Russell Brand taking on the role of Rum Tum Tugger.

In Memoriam: Richard Matheson

Written by Jon Williams

Well-known American writer Richard Matheson passed away on Monday. He was 87.

Matheson was a screenwriter and author of novels and short stories in the horror, fantasy, and science fiction genres. He was most recognized for his 1954 vampire novel I Am Legend. He also wrote the notable novels Hell House, What Dreams May Come, and A Stir of Echoes, among others.

I Am Legend, about a lone human survivor of a pandemic that has turned the populace into bloodthirsty vampires, has been adapted into a movie three separate times: The Last Man on Earth starring Vincent Price (1964), The Omega Man with Charlton Heston (1971), and I Am Legend with Will Smith (2007). Interestingly, it also influenced the development of zombie films, as it served as the inspiration for Night of the Living Dead, which has been a major influence on the horror genre. Matheson himself influenced many horror writers in his own right, among them Stephen King, Joe Hill, and Anne Rice. King and Hill teamed up to write the story “Throttle” in homage to Matheson’s story “Duel”; the two stories can be found together in an audio compilation entitled Road Rage.

In addition to his acclaimed novels and short stories, Matheson also wrote and adapted stories for film and television.  He wrote several episodes of the classic TV series The Twilight Zone, as well as the classic Star Trek episode “The Enemy Within,” in which a transporter malfunction creates an evil manifestation of Captain Kirk. He adapted his own novels into the films The Incredible Shrinking Man, The Legend of Hell House, and Somewhere in Time, while What Dreams May Come came to the silver screen as well. More recently, the movies The Box and Real Steel were based on short stories by Matheson.

Matheson’s most recent novel, Other Kingdoms, was published in 2011. His voice will surely be missed by the genres he worked in and heavily influenced. For a full list of Richard Matheson audiobooks offered by Midwest Tape, click here.

Hot This Week: June 24

Four new titles leap atop this week's DVD list, headed by spinoffs of classic fantasy tales Hansel and Gretel and The Wizard of Oz. Heavy metal legends Black Sabbath take the music chart's top spot with 13, their first album with original lead singer Ozzy Osbourne since 1978. The top two fiction titles remain the same, but five new titles make the list; the non-fiction titles just shuffle their spots.

DVD

1. Hansel & Gretel: Witch Hunters
2. Oz the Great and Powerful
3. Cloud Atlas
4. Snitch
5. Warm Bodies
6. Escape from Planet Earth
7. Safe Haven
8. Mama
9. Gangster Squad
10. Parker

 CD

1. Black Sabbath, 13
2. Daft Punk, Random Access Memories
3. Justin Timberlake, The 20/20 Experience
4. Big Time Rush, 24/Seven
5. Florida Georgia Line, Here's to the Good Times
6. Darius Rucker, True Believers
7. Blake Shelton, Based on a True Story...
8. Goo Goo Dolls, Magnetic
9. Man of Steel Soundtrack
10. The Lonely Island, The Wack Album

Fiction

1. Inferno, Dan Brown
2. And the Mountains Echoed, Khaled Hosseini
3. Bad Monkey, Carl Hiaasen
4. The Silver Star, Jeannette Walls
5. The Eye of Moloch, Glenn Beck
6. The King's Deception, Steve Berry
7. The Last Original Wife, Dorothea Benton Frank
8. Revenge Wears Prada, Lauren Weisberger
9. The Hit, David Baldacci
10. Zero Hour, Clive Cussler and Graham Brown

Non-Fiction

1. Happy, Happy, Happy, Phil Robertson and Mark Schlabach
2. American Gun, Chris Kyle and William Doyle
3. Lean In, Sheryl Sandberg and Nell Scovell
4. Dad Is Fat, Jim Gaffigan
5. Keep It Pithy, Bill O'Reilly
6. Eleven Rings, Phil Jackson and Hugh Delehanty
7. The Guns at Last Light, Rick Atkinson
8. Let's Explore Diabetes with Owls, David Sedaris
9. The Duck Commander Family, Willie and Korie Robertson and Mark Schlabach
10. The Unwinding, George Packer

Kanye Making Waves with Yeezus

Written by Kyle Slagley

Rapper and hip-hop artist Kanye West is nothing if not unconventional, and his latest album, Yeezus, which hit shelves on June 18, is no exception. Not only did West keep sales (including pre-orders) on the album completely closed until the scheduled street date, even the casing is something we’ve never seen. Below is a photo of what you’ll get when you buy it.

As you can see, there is no cover art on either the front or the back and there is no booklet included, simply the orange sticker that seals the case under the standard shrink-wrap. The back of the case does include a nearly transparent sticker indicating the track listing and various credits. The disc itself has small white print around the outer edge with basic album information.

In an effort to best represent the album as West intended, Midwest Tape customers whose processing package includes digital cover art will receive the album with the cover art pictured below. The spine will show a copy of the barcode sticker so the album is identifiable.

If you have any questions, please contact our Customer Service department at (800) 875-2785 or by email at info@midwesttapes.com.

Loss of Giants

Written by Jon Williams

The entertainment world was rocked on Wednesday night by the tragic passing of actor James Gandolfini. He was 51.

Gandolfini was best known for his role as mob boss Tony Soprano in HBO’s hit series The Sopranos. Playing the part demanded a mix of violence and vulnerability, and Gandolfini was more than equal to the task. He won three Emmy Awards (and was nominated for Outstanding Lead Actor each season) for his portrayal of the character during its six-season run. The show itself was recently named the Best Written TV Show Ever by the Writer’s Guild of America.

Gandolfini’s co-stars have expressed their shock and sorrow at the actor’s passing. “He was a man of tremendous depth and sensitivity,” said Edie Falco, who played Tony Soprano’s wife Carmela. Steven Van Zandt, who played the Soprano family’s consigliere Sil Dante, said, “The world has lost one of the greatest actors of all time.” And Sopranos creator David Chase called Gandolfini “…a genius…he was my brother in ways I can’t explain and never will be able to explain.”

Since The Sopranos ended in 2007, Gandolfini kept himself busy, appearing in recent movies such as The Incredible Burt Wonderstone and Zero Dark Thirty. For a full selection of titles featuring this talented, beloved actor, click here.

Sadly, that wasn’t the only loss the media industry suffered on Wednesday. Vince Flynn, author of political thrillers featuring agent Mitch Rapp, lost a battle with cancer on Wednesday. He was 47.

Former Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush counted among Flynn’s fans. In fact, his portrayal of the CIA and its methods were known for being so accurate that President Bush once asked him where he got his information.

Flynn’s first novel, Term Limits (which is not a Rapp story), was published in 1997. His second novel, Transfer of Power, was the first to feature Rapp, and there are currently 13 novels in the Rapp series. The fourteenth, The Survivor, will be published in October.  He also consulted on the fifth season of the Fox series 24. Click here for a complete listing of Flynn’s novels.