‘Phantom 2’ to open in 2009
Gird those loins all you “Phantom of the Opera” fans. Composer Andrew Lloyd Webber says the long awaited sequel to “Phantom of the Opera” should be ready at the end of 2009.
Not only that, but he might hold simultaneous opening on three continents.
Lloyd Webber told The Times of London that he hopes the new musical, to be called “Phantom: Love Never Dies,” will open in New York, London and possibly Shanghai or another Asian city.
“We’ve been into the feasibility of rehearsing three companies at once and opening very fast in the three territories,” he said. “The one which really interests me would be China. I think to open ‘Love Never Dies’ in Shanghai would be an enormous thing.”
The locale of the sequel will be switched from the Paris Opera to New York’s Coney Island and will be set about 10 years after the original.
As for who will play the title character, Lloyd Webber said, “We are pretty clear who our Phantom is going to be – I won’t say who.”
The Times of London said possible candidates for the role include Hugh Jackman and Gerard Butler, who played the Phantom in the 2004 adaptation.
We hope the same thing
How bad was television in 2008? Here is what David Hiltbrand, TV critic for The Philadelphia Inquirer, had to say: “If 2008 wasn’t TV’s worst year ever, I sure hope I’m not around when the bottom comes.”
Losing money is no game
Familiar with the game Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon? Well, seems the game applies to the massive Ponzi scheme run by disgraced New York money manager Bernard Madoff.
Bacon and wife Kyra Sedgwick are among the many victims of the scheme. Other Hollywood victims have included a charity linked to director Steven Spielberg and his DreamWorks partner Jeffrey Katzenberg, and screenwriter Eric Roth, whose credits include “Forrest Gump” and “The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.”
Nightmare hits the ‘Dreamgirl’
A murder indictment was issued Tuesday against William Balfour, 27, the man accused of killing the mother, brother and nephew of actress Jennifer Hudson, Oscar winner for the 2006 film “Dreamgirls.” Balfour is the estranged husband of Hudson’s sister. He has pleaded not guilty in the deaths of Hudson’s mother, Darnell Donerson, her brother, Jason Hudson, and 7-year-old Julian King.
No rap like a bad one
DMX (birth name Earl Simmons), 38, has reached a plea deal on multiple drug possession, theft and animal cruelty charges. The rapper pleaded guilty Tuesday in Phoenix to one count of animal cruelty, one count of theft, and two counts of possession of marijuana and a narcotic drug. A sentencing hearing was set for Jan. 30.
The birthday bunch
Author J.D. Salinger is 90. Actor Ty Hardin is 79. Actor Frank Langella is 71. Rock singer-musician Country Joe McDonald is 67. Writer-comedian Don Novello is 66. Rapper Grandmaster Flash is 51. Actress Ren Woods is 51. Actress Dedee Pfeiffer is 45. Actress Embeth Davidtz is 43. Actor Morris Chestnut is 40. Actor Verne Troyer is 40.