Jennifer Lopez and partners to develop film and TV based on Rodgers & Hammerstein musicals and more Broadway classics
Jennifer Lopez is set to develop a slate of original content based on classic musicals from Rodgers & Hammerstein and other theater giants.
The triple threat, 51, is teaming up with Skydance Media and Concord Theatricals, which owns the rights to a catalog of Broadway musicals that includes Wizard Of Oz, A Chorus Line, Hello Dolly, Bye Bye Birdie, Dreamgirls, Hair and Gypsy.
Lopez, who will have an option to star in at least one of the projects, gushed about her new projects, telling The Hollywood Reporter: ‘Musicals were a part of the tapestry of my childhood.’
‘We’re so excited to begin our association with Skydance and Concord in reinterpreting some of the most classic musicals and bringing them to life in new ways for a new generation.’
Stage presence: Jennifer Lopez is teaming up with Skydance Media and Concord Theatricals to develop film and TV musicals from Concord’s extensive catalog of Broadway hits. Seen in 2019 above
This agreement is an extension of a previous partnership between Concord and Lopez and Elaine Goldsmith-Thomas’ Nuyorican Productions, who were working to develop a TV series based on Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma.
Lopez, along with partners Goldsmith-Thomas and Benny Medina will executive produce all projects under the new deal while a team from Skydance and Concord will oversee things.
Skydance TV president Bill Bost said he’s thrilled about the partnership, tellin reporters: ‘Jennifer Lopez is an international icon in every sense of the word, and we are thrilled to expand our relationship with Concord to partner with such a creative powerhouse.’
‘Skydance aims to create stories that appeal to audiences around the globe, and Jennifer is the perfect partner to reimagine these beloved, classic musicals for a twenty-first century audience.’
Lopez has been making big business moves lately.
Last month she signed a huge multi-year, first-look deal with Netflix via her company Nuyorican Productions.
The singer/actress has already been announced at the lead of two Netflix projects.
Classics: Concord owns the Rodgers And Hammerstein catalog, which will likely be a focus of the screen adaptations. Composers Richard Rodgers (left) & Oscar Hammerstein (right) pictured in 1946 above
Partners: Lopez, along with partners Goldsmith-Thomas and Benny Medina will executive produce all projects under the new deal while a team from Skydance and Concord will oversee things
She’ll play a deadly assassin in the action flick The Mother directed by Niki Caro of Mulan.
Jennifer will also appear as FBI Special Agent Nina Guerrera in crime thriller The Cipher, based on the novel of the same name by Isabel Ojeda Maldonado.
Upon announcing the partnership, Lopez released a statement saying: ‘I am excited to announce my new partnership with Netflix.
‘Elaine, Benny and I believe there is no better home for us than a forward-leaning content creation company that seeks to defy conventional wisdom and directly market to the millions across the globe who no longer view art and entertainment with the kind of boundaries and limitations of the past.’
‘We at Nuyorican Productions are thrilled to find like-minded partners in Ted Sarandos, Scott Stuber, Bela Bajaria and the whole team and look forward to getting to work right away.’
Production on The Mother is set to begin this fall, with Lopez currently training for the high-intensity role. The film is planning to be released in the fourth quarter of 2022.
Upcoming: Lopez is already attached to two Netflix projects – the action flick The Mother and the crime-thriller The Cipher, adapted from the book of the same name