By: Patricia Trutescu

The indiewire.com blog, Shadow & Act brings news that Belle Pictures and The Mark Gordon Company announced their intent to adapt the highly acclaimed Broadway Musical, Memphis to the Hollywood screen.

According to the blog, the musical’s creator, Joe DiPietro will write the screenplay for the musical and; the project is being set up at Alcon Entertainment, a company that has an agreement with Warner Bros. to distribute its films.

At the moment, there is no information on whether the film will be a verbatim adaption of the musical, or a non-musical drama based on the musical. In the meantime, watch the trailer that advertising the 2011 theatrical run.  

About Memphis:

The musical is based on story that takes place in 1950s Memphis, Tennessee, on that is loosely based on the Memphis disc jockey, Dewey Phillips. One of the main characters, white rocker and DJ Huey Calhoun falls in love with a black singer named Felicia Farrell, played by actress, Montego Glover.

Farrell’s career is on the rise in Memphis, but she can’t break out of the segregated clubs. Calhoun falls in love with her voice and decides to collaborate with Farrell. The musical’s website states the following:

 “When the two collaborate, her soulful music reaches radio audiences everywhere and the Golden Era of early rock ‘n’ roll takes flight. But as things start to heat up, whether the world is really ready for their music – or their love – is put to the test.”

About the Musical Adaption:

Just as Memphis was receiving roaring reviews in 2010, rumors about Hollywood’s interest in adapting the musical into a film started to circulate. Justin Timberlake was reportedly interested in transmitting the musical onto the silver screen; and it was also rumored that director Oliver was said to be a big fan of the show, and had been meeting and talking with David Ryan, one of the show’s creators and composers about doing the same. These two separate interests were never confirmed.