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http://tampatrib.com/Entertainment/MGBF9RQKX6E.html Here is the article :
Godfather!: The Musical' Celebrates Family Life
By Bob Ross Of The Tampa Tribune
Published: Apr 1, 2005
It worked well for ``The Producers,'' ``Hairspray'' and ``Chicago.'' So it seems natural that the newest movie-musical conversion looms as inevitable as it is uncalled for.
Thirty-three years after emerging as one of America's most beloved film classics, the all-time gangster-family favorite ``The Godfather'' is being developed as a Hollywood musical.
Combining the miracle of computer-generated imagery with the latest in pop-music sensibilities, the big-budget, song-and-dance filled ``Godfather! The Musical'' will bring the Corleone clan closer to today's young moviegoers, many of whom think ``gangster'' yarns are confined to hip-hop conflicts and clothing lines.
Producer Albert S. Ruddy and director Francis Ford Coppola have already passed the highest hurdle facing their project: The filmmakers have obtained rights (not cheaply, of course) from the Marlon Brando estate to use the legendary actor's image to reprise his Oscar-winning role as Don Vito Corleone.
Using digital re-creations of Brando's famous face and voice, Coppola will turn the jowly crime boss into a singing inspiration for his wife (``I'll Take Care of Everything''), his daughter (``Keep Carlo at Home'') and his fiery eldest son (``A Real Man Spends Time With His Family'').
To create Brando's vocal parts, sound technicians will sample his songs from ``Guys and Dolls,'' so that ``Luck Be a Lady'' will find new life as, say, ``Luca, Be a Friend.''
In another ``Guys and Dolls'' homage, big-shot producer Jack Woltz will greet Don Corleone's emissary Tom Hagen with an updated version of ``Fugue for Tinhorns,'' best known for its round-robin lyric ``I got the horse right here.''
Because this ``Godfather'' is a musical, you can expect less gore than in the 1972 original. The violence will be stylized a la ``West Side Story,'' with gun battles staged as tasteful showdowns. Even James Caan's notorious demise at a New Jersey toll booth will be reworked more as a ballet than a bloodbath.
``From the opening wedding banquet to the final, tentative understanding between Michael and Kay, this story is rich with lyrical potential,'' says Coppola, who adds that he hopes his director-daughter Sofia will be available to help him bring the venerated ``Godfather'' archetype into a context that younger audiences will appreciate.
Even Al Pacino and Diane Keaton are expected to return as the war hero and schoolteacher whose love is challenged by conflicting family obligations. Their big musical number will be ``You Must Believe, That's My Family, Not Me.''
Reporter Bob Ross can be reached at (813) 259-7916.
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Don Cardi
