Broadway's AMERICAN IDIOT to Be Adapted into HBO Film Starring Billie Joe Armstrong

In an interview with NME this week, Billie Joe Armstrong confirmed that Broadway's 2011 musical AMERICAN IDIOT, featuring the music of Green Day, will be adapted into a movie for HBO. As previously reported, the project has been sitting in "development limbo" for several years.

Said the Green Day frontman, "We've got a green light from HBO. The script is currently going through a couple of rewrites here and there, so I'm not sure when exactly we're going to start shooting, but it's definitely all systems go at the moment."

Armstrong will reprise his role as St. Jimmy, whom he portrayed occasionally throughout the show's Broadway run. It remains unclear if the movie version will air on HBO's cable channel or be released in theaters.

Read the interview in full here

Watch a Broadway preview of AMERICAN IDIOT below:

AMERICAN IDIOT was a stage adaptation of Green Day's rock opera of the same name. After a run at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in 2009, the show moved to the St. James Theatre on Broadway. Previews began on March 24, 2010 and the play officially opened on April 20, 2010. The show closed on April 24, 2011 after 422 performances.

The story, expanded from that of the concept album, centers on three disaffected young men, Johnny, Will, and Tunny. Johnny and Tunny flee a stifling suburban lifestyle and parental restrictions, while Will stays home to work out his relationship with his pregnant girlfriend, Heather. The former pair look for meaning in life and try out the freedom and excitement of the city. Tunny quickly gives up on life in the city, joins the military, and is shipped off to war. Johnny turns to drugs and finds a part of himself that he grows to dislike, has a relationship and experiences lost love.

The book was written by Armstrong and director Michael Mayer. The music was composed by Green Day and the lyrics were by Armstrong. The score included all the songs from the original American Idiot album, as well as additional Green Day songs from other sources, such as the album 21st Century Breakdown, and unreleased songs originally recorded for the American Idiot musical.

The musical won two 2010 Tony Awards: Best Scenic Design of a Musical for Christine Jones, and Best Lighting Design of a Musical for Kevin Adams. It also received a nomination for Best Musical. In 2011, its Broadway cast recording won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Show Album.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos