We've known for a few years that there are dueling Fred Astaire films in development — one starring Tom Holland playing the legendary entertainer, the other featuring Jamie Bell as Astaire and Margaret Qualley as Ginger Rogers. Both are seeing some new moves today, with The Hollywood Reporter bringing word that the Holland film now has Paddington's Paul King as director and Lee Hall re-writing the script.
The untitled, Holland-starring film has Lee Hall also now on board as writer. It'll focus on Astaire and his sister, Adele Astaire. The two were inseparable for more than 20 years, moving out of a simple Midwestern vaudeville act in the early part of the 20th Century to Broadway and London’s West end in the 1920s. Adele Astaire was initially the face of the act but eventually, Fred Astaire’s consummate stage skills eclipsed hers. The duo parted in 1932 when his sister married, which was a blow to Fred, but it also thrust him onto the path of Hollywood dance musicals, and subsequently into cinema immortality.
King, of course, brought us both wonderful Paddington movies and has more recently been dabbling in musical territory himself thanks to Charlie And The Chocolate Factory origin story Wonka, due out at the end of the year. And Hall has his own connection to both Astaire film leads — he wrote Billy Elliot, which starred Bell and helped launch Holland's career when he appeared in the stage musical version.
Which brings us neatly to that version of the Astaire story starring Bell. That one already had a director (Jonathan Entwistle) and writer (Arash Amel) and will boast Grammy-winning music producer Marius de Vries, who will work alongside Tony-winning choreographer Christopher Wheeldon and Grammy-winning songwriters Abigail Barlow and Emily Bear and Emmy nominee Mark Sonnenblick to recreate the music and dance numbers which made Astaire and Rogers famous. They starred in 10 movies together, starting with Flying Down To Rio in 1933 and ending with The Barkleys Of Broadway in 1949. The duo revolutionized the musical film genre and dazzled audiences with their inventive flair. This movie focuses on a life-defining point in their early careers when their contrasting dance styles and competitive rivalry threatened to destroy their legendary partnership.
“Margaret and Jamie were born to portray this legendary dance duo,” producer Fred Berger tells Deadline. "We’re so excited to give people a big joyous event – brimming with spectacle and heart — that will leave you smiling, crying, and dancing out of the theater."
Let the sound of tap shoes signal: this was the start of the Astaire wars!