Back in 2010, Fox 2000 won a bidding war with Universal to secure a script pitch by Erin Brockovich writer Susannah Grant, which promised to spin an original tale around the songs of California warblers The Beach Boys. Now Michael Sucsy, who has just enjoyed some box office success with The Vow, is in talks to direct the eventual film.
Grant’s completed script, which is still being kept sub rosa, apparently surfs the tale of a summer in the 1960s, and has been doing the rounds of directors recently.
The project comes clutching the rights to most of Brian Wilson and company’s back catalogue, which is largely thanks to producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who have sherpherded the likes of Chicago and Hairspray into cinemas. That's not forgetting actor/producer John Stamos, who is a friend of the band and has been known to jam with several of the members from time to time.
It's not the only Beach Boys-related film tuning up in development, with biopics of both Brian and Dennis Wilson in the works. Fox will likely be hoping this musical mash-up turns out more Mamma Mia and less Across The Universe, in terms of box office returns.
Sucsy has been in the news recently, as he’s also developing a modern-day take on Romeo And Juliet, set from the point of view of spurned girlfriend Rosaline.