Breaking News: BEAUTY & THE BEAST's Bill Condon Will Direct Stage Adaptation of A STAR IS BORN

Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures has just announced that Academy Award winner Bill Condon (Disney's Beauty & the Beast, Gods and Monsters, Chicago and Dreamgirls) will direct the first stage adaptation of A Star is Born, based on the 1954 Warner Bros. motion picture. The new musical is in early development and Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures will announce a production timeline in the near future.

The new stage adaptation of A Star is Born, the story of a young ingénue taken under the wing of a former matinee idol in 1950's Hollywood, will feature classic Harold Arlen and Ira Gershwin songs from the 1954 film including "The Man That Got Away" and "Gotta Have Me Go with You." The 1954 motion picture starred Judy Garland and James Mason.

Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures will be represented on Broadway this season with Roald Dahl's CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (directed by Jack O'Brien). Other titles in development for the stage include BEETLEJUICE, DAVE, DOG DAY AFTERNOON, NIGHT SHIFT and 17 AGAIN.

Bill Condon (Director) is a celebrated film director and Oscar®-winning screenwriter. His most recent projects includes the musical film adaptation Disney's BEAUTY AND THE BEAST, starring Emma Watson and Dan Stevens (premieres in the US on March 17th) and the drama MR. HOLMES, starring Ian McKellen as an aging Sherlock and Laura Linney as his long-suffering caretaker, and, on stage, the celebrated revival of the musical SIDE SHOW, which premiered at Washington D.C.'s Kennedy Center before coming to Broadway. Condon's film adaptation of the Broadway smash DREAMGIRLS won two Academy Awards® and three Golden Globes® including Best Picture - Musical or Comedy. Condon directed from his own screenplay and was nominated for a Directors Guild of America Award. The cast featured Jamie Foxx, Beyoncé Knowles, Eddie Murphy and introduced Jennifer Hudson, who was honored with numerous critics prizes, as well as the Oscar®, Golden Globe, BAFTA, and Screen Actors Guild Award® for her performance. Condon also wrote and directed KINSEY, for which he won the 2005 Best Director Award from the British Directors Guild. An uncompromising portrait of one of the 20th century's most influential and controversial figures, KINSEY also earned a Los Angeles Film Critics Best Actor Award for its star, Liam Neeson, as well as an Academy Award® nomination for Laura Linney as Best Supporting Actress. He also wrote and directed GODS AND MONSTERS, which earned Condon an Academy Award® for Best Adapted Screenplay. The film also won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Feature and was named Best Picture of 1998 by the National Board of Review. The film, a poetic meditation on the final days of Frankenstein director James Whale, also garnered Oscar® nominations for its stars, Ian McKellen and Lynn Redgrave. Condon wrote the screenplay for the big-screen version of the musical CHICAGO, for which he received a second Oscar® nomination. The film, which starred Renée Zellweger, Catherine Zeta-Jones and Richard Gere, won six Academy Awards®, including Best Picture of 2002. Condon also directed the two-part finale of the blockbuster TWILIGHT film series BREAKING DAWN, as well as THE FIFTH ESTATE, starring Benedict Cumberbatch, Daniel Brühl and Alicia Vikander. Born in New York City, Condon attended Columbia University, where he graduated with a degree in Philosophy. An analytical piece he wrote for Millimeter magazine brought him to the attention of producer Michael Laughlin. Condon subsequently co-wrote the feature film STRANGE BEHAVIOR with Laughlin, who also directed the film. The movie became a cult hit, leading to the unofficial sequel, STRANGE INVADERS. Condon made his directorial debut with SISTER, SISTER, which starred Jennifer Jason Leigh, Judith Ivey and Eric Stoltz. Condon has served on the Board of Film Independent and on the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Warner Bros. Theatre VENTURES continues Warner Bros.' mission of presenting the finest entertainment across all media and platforms to global audiences. Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures is the company's live stage play division, which develops and produces first-class musicals and other stage productions. With access to Warner Bros.' vast library of iconic film and television properties, as well as extensive relationships with top theatrical talent, the division is well-positioned as a dynamic and resourceful creative entity in the live theater arena. The division's roster of upcoming projects includes dramas, comedies and musicals based on both library titles and original concepts. This season on Broadway will feature Roald Dahl'S CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (directed by Jack O'Brien). Other titles in development include BEETLEJUICE, DAVE, DOG DAY AFTERNOON, NIGHT SHIFT and 17 AGAIN for the stage. Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures has previously been represented on Broadway with the Tony Award-winning musical THE BRIDGES OF MADISON COUNTY as well as MISERY and the holiday hit ELF, which broke box office records at the Al Hirschfield Theatre during its initial run. The division also co-produced the original musical SECONDHAND LIONS at Seattle's 5th Avenue Theatre and co-produced the licensed production of NORTH BY NORTHWEST and the Broadway production of the Tony and Olivier Award-winning Best Play THE CURIOUS INCIDENT OF THE DOG IN THE NIGHT-TIME. In London, Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures was represented by the hit West End musical Roald Dahl'S CHARLIE AND THE CHOCOLATE FACTORY (directed by Sam Mendes), which ran for four seasons at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane. Warner Bros. Theatre Ventures also licenses third-party stage rights to the various properties held within the studio's vast media library, including such productions as 42ND STREET, THE BODYGUARD, THE COLOR PURPLE, DINER, HAIRSPRAY, HONEYMOON IN VEGAS, SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, TOP HAT and THE WIZARD OF OZ.