Speilberg to Bring Jersey Boys to the Big Screen?

According to The New York Post's Michael Riedel, Jersey Boys, the 2006 Tony Award-winner for Best Musical, might be headed for the big screen.

Although Harvey Weinstein, Tom Hanks, and executives from Disney and Warner Brothers are all reportedly interested in the property, Riedel writes that multi-Oscar-winner Steven Speilberg (E.T., Jurassic Park, Saving Private Ryan) is the producer most likely to succeed at bringing Jersey Boys to cinemas.

"There's a rumor that Des McAnuff, who staged the musical, has a contract that gives him first crack at directing the movie. Brickman says that's not the case, though he'd be happy to have McAnuff on board. But could he say 'no' to Spielberg, who, sources say, wants to produce and direct? 'In a word - no,' says (Marshall) Brickman. 'But I don't know whether he feels this is his metier,'" writes Riedel, who also notes that the show's bookwriters Brickman and Rick Elice--both screenwriting veterans--would be very likely to write the screenplay of the prospective film version.

Also uncertain is the time frame for shooting a Jersey Boys film.  With the resurgence of the movie musical--and the upcoming Dreamgirls movie gathering increasing Oscar buzz--some are advising the Jersey Boys creators to sell the film rights now.  However, Brickman said they have decided "not to entertain any offers for a while, so that we don't cannibalize the potential of the thing theatrically."  Jersey Boys will likely become an even hotter property as it heads out on its national tour, which kicks off in San Francisco in December.

Jersey Boys, currently running at the August Wilson Theatre, is the Tony Award-winning story of the Four Seasons. Directed by Des McAnuff, it also stars Tony Award-winner John Lloyd Young, Daniel Reichard, J. Robert Spencer and Tony Award-winner Christian Hoff.  Jersey Boys features music by Bob Gaudio, lyrics by Bob Crewe, as well as a book by Brickman and Elice.

The national tour will star Deven May, Erich Bergen, Christopher Kale Jones and Michael Ingersoll.

Jersey Boys is "about a group of blue-collar boys from the wrong side of the tracks who became one of the biggest American pop music sensations of all time. They wrote their own songs, invented their own sounds and sold 175 million records worldwide - all before they were thirty," state press notes.

Visit www.jerseyboysbroadway.com for more information.