Wicked

Paramount has just dated the Ridley Scott directed follow-up for Nov. 22, 2024. Aftersun Oscar nominated Best Actor Paul Mescal is in talks to be in the film, as Deadline first told you. Scott produces with Michael Pruss, Doug Wick and Lucy Fisher off David Scarpa’s screenplay. As Justin Kroll first reported, Mescal isn’t replacing Russell Crowe’s Maximus from the first film, who died. He’s playing Lucius, the son of Lucilla ( Connie Nielsen ), who now is a grown man as the story takes place years after the first film ended. Lucius also was the nephew of Commodus ( Joaquin Phoenix ), the son of Roman leader Marcus Aurelius, who murdered his father seized the throne. Commodus wound up in the gladiator ring with Maximus — who, though mortally wounded, skewered the emperor before fading into the great beyond to reunite with his slain wife and son. Maximus saved the boy and his mother while avenging his own family, and left a strong impression on the young Lucius. … [Read more...] about ‘Gladiator 2′ Gets Pre-Thanksgiving 2024 Release

Two years ago to this very day, Seth Rudetsky , the Broadway composer, musician, podcaster, host of a show on SiriusXM radio, fundraiser , musical cruise host, conveyer of pop culture trivia and, now, “source music consultant,” received a text from Craig Mazin, the screenwriter, director and producer. Mazin was friends with Ted Griffin, who is married to Sutton Foster, who knows, as does seemingly everybody else in musical theater, Rudetsky. “I get this text,” Sudetsky remembers, “in all capital letters, saying IT’S EMMY AND GOLDEN GLOBE AWARD WINNING CRAIG MAZIN. STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOING. I NEED YOUR HELP.” Specifically, Mazin needed a song for a TV episode he was working on, a show tune along the lines of “I Miss The Music” from the 2006 Kander & Ebb musical Curtains , only older. If you’ve seen the third episode of HBO’s The Last Of U s, the post-apocalyptic drama created by Mazin and Neil Druckmann (based on a 2013 video game), you’ll know where this is … [Read more...] about ‘The Last Of Us’ Has Made A New Hit Of Linda Ronstadt’s 53-Year-Old Song ’Long Long Time’ – All Because Seth Rudetsky Knows Everything