Richard Linklater is a filmmaker who commits to ambitious projects: witness Boyhood, which was shot over the course of 12 years. He's ready to go one further, hiring old friends Beanie Feldstein and Ben Platt for an adaptation of Stephen Sondheim's Merrily We Roll Along.
"But Empire", we hear you say, "that doesn't sound all that ambitious." But wait! With the story of the musical – itself based on George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart's 1934 play – taking place across 20 years, Linklater's plan is to stay true to the timeline. The film will follow Franklin Shepard (Platt), a talented Broadway composer who abandons his theater career in New York and all his friends in order to produce movies in Los Angeles. Like the play, the musical (and now the movie) will begin at the height of his Hollywood fame and moves backwards in time, showing snapshots of the most important moments in Frank’s life that shaped the man he is today. Feldstein is his best friend, a theatre critic called Mary Flynn. And that timeline means it'll be shot in reverse chronological order.
Platt is a Broadway veteran who has appeared in several films including Ricki And The Flash, Billy Lynn's Long Halftime Walk and the first two Pitch Perfect entries. He'll next show up in Ryan Murphy's Netflix series The Politician. Feldstein, meanwhile, has the likes of Lady Bird and this year's Booksmart in her credits and will be found in How To Build A Girl. The pair has been friends for years, which will help power their connection on screen.
According to Collider, which broke the news, the Blumhouse team are also involved. We can't wait to see the end result... But we'll have to.