It’s not dead yet. First, it was a movie, then it was a musical, and now it is going to be a movie musical. Spamalot has been acquired by Paramount Pictures and intends to make a movie out of the popular Broadway musical.
Spamalot is a comedic telling of the story of King Arthur and his knights of the round table. The Broadway musical version won the Tony for Best Musical and also for its director, Mike Nichols (who has since passed). It draws heavily from the original movie Monty Python and the Holy Grail, but also does its own thing at points, including utilizing the song Always Look on the Bright Side of Life from Monty Python’s Life of Brian.
Originally the project was in the works at Fox. At the time current chairman/CEO of Paramount Jim Gianopulos and Paramount’s Motion Pictures Group president Emma Watts both were working there. However, with the purchase of Fox by Disney, Spamalot lost momentum. Now, with it coming to Paramount it can move forward.
Spamalot has been already been developed so can move forward quickly. Monty Python member Eric Idle wrote the screenplay. It has songs by Idle and John DuPrez. Casey Nicholaw will be directing. He was the choreographer on the original Broadway production. Nicholaw has become quite a hit director and choreographer on Broadway. He has worked on Book of Mormon, Aladdin, Mean Girls, The Prom, The Drowsy Chaperone, and Something Rotten!
This film will be produced by Dan Jenks and Eric Idle. Jon Gonda, Meg Lewis, and Mike Ireland are executive producers for the film. The current plan is to start casting and filming later this year.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail, from which Spamalot was inspired, was released in 1975.
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