Joseph Gordon-Levitt Developing New 'Little Shop of Horrors' Film

[jvcarroll]

Joseph Gordon-Levitt Developing 'Little Shop of Horrors' as Acting Vehicle ​

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, the playwright behind Broadway's "Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark," is coming on board to write the script.​

12:34 PM PDT 5/3/2012 by Borys Kit - The Hollywood Reporter​

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is developing with an eye to star in Warner Bros.’ remake of Little Shop of Horrors.

Marc Platt, the producer behind Broadway’s Wicked and such films as Wanted and Legally Blonde, is producing the redo, to which Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa, the playwright behind the Broadway's Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark, is coming on board to write the script. There is no director set.

Little Shop originally was a quirky 1960 movie from Roger Corman that featured a milquetoast florist who discovers success with a human-eating plant. It was turned into an off-Broadway musical, which led to a second movie in 1986, directed by Frank Oz and starring Rick Moranis and Steve Martin.

If the project comes together in an ideal fashion, Gordon-Levitt would play Seymour, the nerdy florist who is forced to feed the beast in order to keep his fame and popularity rising.

Gordon-Levitt, who has developed a following at Warners after key turns in Inception and this summer’s The Dark Knight Rises, is repped by CAA and Jackoway Tyerman.

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Discuss...​

 

[bandit]

Wow! Joseph Gordon-Levitt. You know, normally I would have my doubts about a remake but I can really see him pulling it off. I love him and he has talent. This could be exciting.

 

[Drtooth]

I dunno... are they remaking the musical, or are they re-imagining the original movie to be less satirical and a little darker?

 

[jvcarroll]

I'd think it would be a musical considering that we know Levitt is capable from the musical 3rd Rock episode. I just don't know what one could do to improve upon the classic Frank Oz version based on the Ashman/Menken off-Broadway re-imagining of the B movie. Maybe they'll make it in 3D.

 

[Drtooth]

All the other articles I've seen about this are "too soon to tell" in the information department as well.

JGL doesn't come off as nebbishy as either Jonathan Haze or Rick Moranis. And even though it's too soon to tell, there's quite a bit of evidence to go around that trends in the media that everything's getting a "gritty reboot." Which basically means "let's Twilight and emo everything up." It's far too soon, and a little jaded to say the film will indeed turn out like that, though. But it's a pretty fair hypothetical approximation. \

Still, both versions were very satirical. And I have to admit, the original Roger Corman one was much, much subtler with the humor. I still like the Musical version every which way better, but that one's pretty out and open about being a comedy.

 

[jvcarroll]

The Roger Corman version is terrible except on the level of disposable B-movie kitsch. It's use is that it inspired better things.

 

[Drtooth]

It couldn't hold my attention the way the musical one did when I was younger... I've since learned to appreciate what Corman did with it. It's very much 1950's style humor that just doesn't appreciate with value, unless you read a LOT of 1950's Tales Calculated to Drive You MAD (Mad before it became a magazine)... you know... excessive Yiddish words, Jewish stereotype characters. jokes about hypochondira... crazy flower eating guy. it's not so much a standard B-movie as a B-movie that mocks other B-movies. But of course, since then, our humor has changed substantially.

Where as the musical is about a subtle as the subtle sounds of an entire kitchen set falling down a flight of stairs. It just about mocks everything it can, basically parodying a parody to begin with, in a more modern sense that more people can appreciate. "Somewhere that's Green" alone slaughters 1950's conformist culture (not to mention the old "our technology was impressive back then" reference to the 12" TV screen). I can't even remember how meta the film was. Quite obviously, the musical version has leagues more fun than the original, and it shows. It is a better film overall as a film, but it's basically saying that something's better than a Roger Corman film.

Now, he was a director famous for making crap. Fun crap in cases, fun to make fun of crap. He's clearly a lot more talented than some of today's schlock directors that are only famous for making schlock (if Michael Bay isn't the first name that pops into your head when I say that, shame on you... though I'll except Uwe Bowl).

Though it's arguable if his Fantastic Four was any worse than the ones we had recently

 

[jvcarroll]

It couldn't hold my attention the way the musical one did when I was younger... I've since learned to appreciate what Corman did with it. It's very much 1950's style humor that just doesn't appreciate with value, unless you read a LOT of 1950's Tales Calculated to Drive You MAD (Mad before it became a magazine)... you know... excessive Yiddish words, Jewish stereotype characters. jokes about hypochondira... crazy flower eating guy. it's not so much a standard B-movie as a B-movie that mocks other B-movies. But of course, since then, our humor has changed substantially.

Where as the musical is about a subtle as the subtle sounds of an entire kitchen set falling down a flight of stairs. It just about mocks everything it can, basically parodying a parody to begin with, in a more modern sense that more people can appreciate. "Somewhere that's Green" alone slaughters 1950's conformist culture (not to mention the old "our technology was impressive back then" reference to the 12" TV screen). I can't even remember how meta the film was. Quite obviously, the musical version has leagues more fun than the original, and it shows. It is a better film overall as a film, but it's basically saying that something's better than a Roger Corman film.

Now, he was a director famous for making crap. Fun crap in cases, fun to make fun of crap. He's clearly a lot more talented than some of today's schlock directors that are only famous for making schlock (if Michael Bay isn't the first name that pops into your head when I say that, shame on you... though I'll except Uwe Bowl).

Though it's arguable if his Fantastic Four was any worse than the ones we had recently

I had to watch a wide variety of movies as a film student and I respect Corman's place in low budget film making, but can't watch his work for more than a minute or two before shutting it off. Ironic or not, his Shop of Horrors holds much more tedium than subtext. The Oz film, on the other hand, has many layers beneath the camp.

 

[Drtooth]

I had to watch a wide variety of movies as a film student and I respect Corman's place in low budget film making, but can't watch his work for more than a minute or two before shutting it off. Ironic or not, his Shop of Horrors holds much more tedium than subtext. The Oz film, on the other hand, has many layers beneath the camp.

Definitely. They're films only someone who can enjoy the truly terrible. Though I will say as far as B-movies go, I've seen some real stinkers. And not even fun, ironic to make fun of stinkers... ones where something happens 2 minutes from the end of the film that the movie is titled after and the rest of it is mundane talking scenes.

I can't quite recall the title, but there was something I saw on a late Night Monster movie thing a year or so ago (it's long gone now) and I was excited because Vincent Price was in it... but his role was mainly talking to boring old Biddies who took up 90% of the movie.

Still, total agreement of the layers of the musical. It's one of those few times where the remake is actually more iconic than the original. Even the lousy cartoon series version had an Audry 2 with an African American's voice that sang a lot. That and Oz's remake of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. They made a musical based on that one.

 

[Speed Tracer]

JGL doesn't come off as nebbishy as either Jonathan Haze or Rick Moranis.

Really? Watch 50/50 or (if you don't mind sitting through a movie that hates and fears women) 500 Days of Summer. More than nebbishy enough, just doesn't have glasses.