Tom Cruise Circling ‘Bob The Musical’, Michel Hazanavicius Courted To Direct
Tom Cruisecould follow up his string of action movies with something completely different. The A-lister is reportedly circling the title role inBob the Musical, a Disney comedy about a guy whose life turns into a musical after he receives a blow to his head.Michel Hazanavicius(The Artist) is being courted to direct. More about the possible Tom CruiseBob the Musicaldeal after the jump.TheWrapreports Disney has been eyeing Cruise for a few months, but that he isn’t officially attached just yet. A musical would be an unusual move for Cruise, but not an entirely unprecedented one. A couple of years ago he played rock star Stacee Jaxx in the big-screen adaptation of the stage productionRock of Ages(seen above).
The script byAllan Loeb(also fromRock of Ages) follows an ordinary guy suffering from an extraordinary affliction. After getting hit on the head, he suddenly gains the ability to hear the song in everyone’s hearts. Bob is initially dismayed by this turn of events, but I’m guessing he comes around eventually.
Bob the Musicalhas been in development for over a decade. In that time, several creative teams have come and gone. There was an early draft withMike BenderthatAdam Shankman(Rock of Ages) was going to direct, withMarc Shaimanproviding music and lyrics. ThenBabaloo MandelandLowell Ganzdid a script for directorMark Waters(Mean Girls). Then it wasMatt Fogelwriting forPhil LordandChris Miller.
Lord and Miller dropped out some time ago, but development onBob the Musicalhas kept going.Last year, Loeb signed on to pen the script andRobert LopezandKristen Anderson-Lopez(Frozen) to write the music and lyrics.
Hazanavicius is best known for helmingThe Artist, which won five Academy Awards in 2012 including Best Picture and Best Director. Since then he’s re-teamedThe Artiststar (and his wife) Bérénice Bejo for the wartime dramaThe Search.
Cruise is coming off of two sci-fi actioners,Edge of TomorrowandOblivion. He’ll appear later this summer inMission: Impossible – Rogue Nation, which isn’t technically sci-fi but might as well be. Also coming up for him is the Doug Liman thrillerMena.
