Succession star Sarah Snook and singer-actress Nicole Scherzinger were among the big winners at the 2024 Olivier Awards, which were revealed this evening at the Royal Albert Hall in London. Scroll down for the full list of winners.
Snook picked up the Best Actress gong for her multi-character performance in the Sydney Theatre Company’s version of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. The play also picked up Best Costume Design for Marg Horwell. Scherzinger landed Best Actress in a Musical for her turn as Norma Desmond in the recent revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Broadway-bound Sunset Boulevard.
Elsewhere, the Best Director award went to Jamie Lloyd for the Savoy Theatre production of Sunset Boulevard while Vanya starring Andrew Scott landed Best Revival. Mark Gatiss won Best Actor for The Motive and the Cue. Will Close nabbed Best Supporting Actor for his role in the National Theatre’s...
Snook picked up the Best Actress gong for her multi-character performance in the Sydney Theatre Company’s version of Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray. The play also picked up Best Costume Design for Marg Horwell. Scherzinger landed Best Actress in a Musical for her turn as Norma Desmond in the recent revival of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Broadway-bound Sunset Boulevard.
Elsewhere, the Best Director award went to Jamie Lloyd for the Savoy Theatre production of Sunset Boulevard while Vanya starring Andrew Scott landed Best Revival. Mark Gatiss won Best Actor for The Motive and the Cue. Will Close nabbed Best Supporting Actor for his role in the National Theatre’s...
- 4/14/2024
- by Baz Bamigboye and Zac Ntim
- Deadline Film + TV
Exclusive: Judy Craymer would just love it if Barbie filmmaker Greta Gerwig could just make herself available to complete the Mamma Mia! movie trilogy.
“Hey, Greta, if you’re free to do anymore projects…” jokes Craymer, the driving force that has kept the “Money, Money, Money” pouring into the box office for musical Mamma Mia!, featuring the songs of Swedish pop stars Abba, for a quarter of a century.
Saturday night will mark an incredible milestone for a show that has taken over $5.685 billion at the box-office worldwide in ticket sales and is responsible for a further $17 billion in supplementary expenditure from spending on hotels, restaurants, transport and merchandising globally in the 25 years since opening night at the Cameron Macintosh-owned Prince Edward Theatre on April 6, 1999.
Those figures do not include the hundreds of millions of dollars that movie offshoots Mamma Mia! and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again have amassed.
“Hey, Greta, if you’re free to do anymore projects…” jokes Craymer, the driving force that has kept the “Money, Money, Money” pouring into the box office for musical Mamma Mia!, featuring the songs of Swedish pop stars Abba, for a quarter of a century.
Saturday night will mark an incredible milestone for a show that has taken over $5.685 billion at the box-office worldwide in ticket sales and is responsible for a further $17 billion in supplementary expenditure from spending on hotels, restaurants, transport and merchandising globally in the 25 years since opening night at the Cameron Macintosh-owned Prince Edward Theatre on April 6, 1999.
Those figures do not include the hundreds of millions of dollars that movie offshoots Mamma Mia! and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again have amassed.
- 4/5/2024
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
Oscar-winning screenwriter Eric Roth produced a script for a Cher biopic – but the star has rejected the screenplay. More here.
If we go all the way back to May of 2021, it was reported that Cher had given the idea of a biopic of her life story the go ahead. It was being set up at Universal Pictures, and was being produced by Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman, along with Cher. Craymer and Goetzman had produced Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, in which Cher has a memorable cameo.
At that point it was announced that Cher’s “dear dear friend”, screenwriter Eric Roth, had been recruited to pen the screenplay. That’s the Eric Roth who won a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for Forrest Gump, and who recently matched the record for penning the most films nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award.
Eric Roth is also the latest guest on the Film Stories podcast,...
If we go all the way back to May of 2021, it was reported that Cher had given the idea of a biopic of her life story the go ahead. It was being set up at Universal Pictures, and was being produced by Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman, along with Cher. Craymer and Goetzman had produced Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, in which Cher has a memorable cameo.
At that point it was announced that Cher’s “dear dear friend”, screenwriter Eric Roth, had been recruited to pen the screenplay. That’s the Eric Roth who won a Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for Forrest Gump, and who recently matched the record for penning the most films nominated for a Best Picture Academy Award.
Eric Roth is also the latest guest on the Film Stories podcast,...
- 3/1/2024
- by Simon Brew
- Film Stories
It is so common to hear actors say they had a blast filming a movie that you're allowed to be cynical when they talk about how the cast became like a family. The big exception, of course, is the "Mamma Mia" movies. Every scene from the "Mamma Mia" movies exudes fun. Sure, they are not the most visually vibrant, and the scripts have the complexity of a paper airplane. That being said, it's hard not to get caught up in the excitement, the dancing, the burning passion exuding from Cher and Andy Garcia singing "Fernando."
The adaptation of Catherine Johnson's smash-hit Broadway stage show of the same name from 1999 focuses on Sophia (Amanda Seyfried) and her mom Donna (Meryl Streep) who live in a hotel run by Donna on a Greek Island. The first film was set in the lead-up to Sophie's wedding, as she invites three men to the ceremony,...
The adaptation of Catherine Johnson's smash-hit Broadway stage show of the same name from 1999 focuses on Sophia (Amanda Seyfried) and her mom Donna (Meryl Streep) who live in a hotel run by Donna on a Greek Island. The first film was set in the lead-up to Sophie's wedding, as she invites three men to the ceremony,...
- 10/25/2023
- by Rafael Motamayor
- Slash Film
When producer Judy Craymer persuaded Abba to allow her to make a musical out of their back catalogue, she never imagined the show would still be running twenty-five years later – not to mention spawn two hit movies starring Meryl Streep. To celebrate the stage production’s quarter century anniversary, Craymer is now bringing “Mamma Mia” to British TV screens with a new talent competition show, titled “Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream.”
Produced by Fremantle-owned Thames and set to air on ITV1 in the U.K. from this Sunday, the show aims to find a new Sophie and Sky (played by Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper in the movies) to star in the West End. After holding open auditions, which saw thousands of wannabe Sophies and Skys apply, applicants were whittled down to 500 and then to a final 14 (seven boys and seven girls) who were swiftly whisked off to...
Produced by Fremantle-owned Thames and set to air on ITV1 in the U.K. from this Sunday, the show aims to find a new Sophie and Sky (played by Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper in the movies) to star in the West End. After holding open auditions, which saw thousands of wannabe Sophies and Skys apply, applicants were whittled down to 500 and then to a final 14 (seven boys and seven girls) who were swiftly whisked off to...
- 10/19/2023
- by K.J. Yossman
- Variety Film + TV
Given Hollywood’s love of sequels, and that fact that “Mamma Mia!” and its followup, “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again”, raked in a combined $1 billion at the box office, why hasn’t Universal greenlit a third film?
“Universal would love to make a third movie, and I’ll leave it at that,” Universal Pictures chairman Donna Langley said in a new oral history of of “Mamma Mia!” for Vogue.
“We may have to call it ‘Grand-Mamma Mia!’ by the time we make it.”
Amanda Seyfried, who played Sophie in both films, agrees. “I dare you to show me one person who doesn’t want a third ‘Mamma Mia!’,” she said, but also explained why it’s unlikely to happen.
“Nobody is saying no, but nobody is saying yes either,” Seyfried added. “The powers that be probably can’t afford us to be honest. I hate to say it, because...
“Universal would love to make a third movie, and I’ll leave it at that,” Universal Pictures chairman Donna Langley said in a new oral history of of “Mamma Mia!” for Vogue.
“We may have to call it ‘Grand-Mamma Mia!’ by the time we make it.”
Amanda Seyfried, who played Sophie in both films, agrees. “I dare you to show me one person who doesn’t want a third ‘Mamma Mia!’,” she said, but also explained why it’s unlikely to happen.
“Nobody is saying no, but nobody is saying yes either,” Seyfried added. “The powers that be probably can’t afford us to be honest. I hate to say it, because...
- 9/14/2023
- by Etcanadadigital
- ET Canada
Meryl Streep would love to return as a dancing queen once more.
During a recently published Vogue oral history of Mamma Mia!, the Oscar-winning actress and a few of her co-stars shared their thoughts on a third Mamma Mia! movie.
“I’m up for anything,” Streep said. “I’ll have to schedule a knee scoping before we film, but if there’s an idea that excites me, I’m totally there.”
The 2018 sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, which debuted 10 years after the 2008 film, revealed that Streep’s character Donna had died. Her death kicks off the storyline, which sees her daughter, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), working to reopen the Hotel Villa Donna to honor her mother. Along the way, she learns more about Donna’s past, which features flashbacks of young Donna (Lily James) and how she met Sophie’s fathers. While Streep doesn’t appear in the movie much,...
During a recently published Vogue oral history of Mamma Mia!, the Oscar-winning actress and a few of her co-stars shared their thoughts on a third Mamma Mia! movie.
“I’m up for anything,” Streep said. “I’ll have to schedule a knee scoping before we film, but if there’s an idea that excites me, I’m totally there.”
The 2018 sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, which debuted 10 years after the 2008 film, revealed that Streep’s character Donna had died. Her death kicks off the storyline, which sees her daughter, Sophie (Amanda Seyfried), working to reopen the Hotel Villa Donna to honor her mother. Along the way, she learns more about Donna’s past, which features flashbacks of young Donna (Lily James) and how she met Sophie’s fathers. While Streep doesn’t appear in the movie much,...
- 9/14/2023
- by Carly Thomas
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Since “Mamma Mia!” and “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again,” Amanda Seyfried has gone from the lighthearted musical world to more serious roles like Elizabeth Holmes in “The Dropout” and Rya Goodwin in “The Crowded Room.” But she wouldn’t be opposed to a third installment in the Greek Isles.
In Vogue’s oral history of the original film, Seyfried said she would do “Mamma Mia 3” for free if she could.
“Nobody is saying no, but nobody is saying yes either. The powers that be probably can’t afford us to be honest. I hate to say it, because would I do ‘Mamma Mia 3’ for free — of course I would — but that’s not the business we’re in. What’s fair is fair, and I feel like a third film is gonna come down to something stupid like whether or not Universal wants to pay the money.”
Universal Pictures...
In Vogue’s oral history of the original film, Seyfried said she would do “Mamma Mia 3” for free if she could.
“Nobody is saying no, but nobody is saying yes either. The powers that be probably can’t afford us to be honest. I hate to say it, because would I do ‘Mamma Mia 3’ for free — of course I would — but that’s not the business we’re in. What’s fair is fair, and I feel like a third film is gonna come down to something stupid like whether or not Universal wants to pay the money.”
Universal Pictures...
- 9/13/2023
- by Dessi Gomez
- The Wrap
A new oral history on “Mamma Mia!” from Vogue magazine ends with the cast and crew all in support of making a third installment in the Universal Pictures franchise, which kicked off in 2008 with a film adaptation of the musical and continued in 2018 with “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.” Combined, the two musical films grossed over $1 billion at the worldwide box office.
“Universal would love to make a third movie, and I’ll leave it at that,” Universal Pictures chairman Donna Langley said point blank when the discussion turned to a potential “Mamma Mia 3.”
Amanda Seyfried, who leads the franchise as Sophie, added, “I dare you to show me one person who doesn’t want a third Mamma Mia!” But she also cast a bit of a doubt on a third movie since, according to her, its existence would most likely depend on Universal paying the cast what they are worth,...
“Universal would love to make a third movie, and I’ll leave it at that,” Universal Pictures chairman Donna Langley said point blank when the discussion turned to a potential “Mamma Mia 3.”
Amanda Seyfried, who leads the franchise as Sophie, added, “I dare you to show me one person who doesn’t want a third Mamma Mia!” But she also cast a bit of a doubt on a third movie since, according to her, its existence would most likely depend on Universal paying the cast what they are worth,...
- 9/13/2023
- by Zack Sharf
- Variety Film + TV
For Amanda Seyfried, “Mamma Mia 3” just might come down to how much Universal is willing to pay to reunite their Dancing Queens.
During a recent oral history of the 2008 film for Vogue, Seyfried confirmed that a third “Mamma Mia!” is the goal for the cast and crew, but no one can work “for free.”
“I dare you to show me one person who doesn’t want a third ‘Mamma Mia!,'” Seyfried said. “Nobody is saying no, but nobody is saying yes either. The powers that be probably can’t afford us, to be honest.”
The “Mean Girls” alum continued, “I hate to say it, because would I do ‘Mamma Mia 3’ for free — of course I would — but that’s not the business we’re in. What’s fair is fair, and I feel like a third film is going to come down to something stupid like whether or not...
During a recent oral history of the 2008 film for Vogue, Seyfried confirmed that a third “Mamma Mia!” is the goal for the cast and crew, but no one can work “for free.”
“I dare you to show me one person who doesn’t want a third ‘Mamma Mia!,'” Seyfried said. “Nobody is saying no, but nobody is saying yes either. The powers that be probably can’t afford us, to be honest.”
The “Mean Girls” alum continued, “I hate to say it, because would I do ‘Mamma Mia 3’ for free — of course I would — but that’s not the business we’re in. What’s fair is fair, and I feel like a third film is going to come down to something stupid like whether or not...
- 9/13/2023
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Singer-actress Cher is re-writing her biopic because it “wasn’t working out.” The 77-year-old pop veteran has been developing a movie based on her life for two years, but the project has now been scrapped and she is starting from scratch so she can make some changes to ensure the film is exactly how she wants it, reports aceshowbiz.com.
“We are kind of starting again. It just wasn’t working out, and we needed to adjust some of the things,” she told The Hollywood Reporter.
However, the film is going to face further delays because work can’t resume until after the strikes by the writers and actors unions which have brought Hollywood to a standstill. Cher added, “We’re going to have to wait (until after the strikes). I’m not going to go against my people.”
When asked whether the film is going to be a “jukebox musical” which showcases her hits,...
“We are kind of starting again. It just wasn’t working out, and we needed to adjust some of the things,” she told The Hollywood Reporter.
However, the film is going to face further delays because work can’t resume until after the strikes by the writers and actors unions which have brought Hollywood to a standstill. Cher added, “We’re going to have to wait (until after the strikes). I’m not going to go against my people.”
When asked whether the film is going to be a “jukebox musical” which showcases her hits,...
- 8/29/2023
- by Agency News Desk
- GlamSham
Cher is starting over on her biopic because it "wasn't working out".The 77-year-old pop veteran spent two years working on a movie based on her life, but the project has now been scrapped and she is starting from scratch so she can make some changes to ensure the film is exactly how she wants it.She told The Hollywood Reporter: "We are kind of starting again. It just wasn’t working out, and we needed to adjust some of the things."However, the film is going to face further delays because work can't resume until after the strikes by the writers and actors unions which have brought Hollywood to a standstill.Cher added: "We’re going to have to wait [until after the strikes]. I’m not going to go against my people."When asked whether the film is going to be a " jukebox musical" which showcases her hits, Cher insisted she...
- 8/28/2023
- by Louise Mary Randell
- Bang Showbiz
Judy Craymer is determined to make a third 'Mamma Mia!' film.The 65-year-old producer has worked on both the original stage production and the two movies in the musical based on Abba's songs and hopes that another film can be made.Speaking to Deadline, Judy said: "It's in its earliest stages. I don't want to over-egg it, but I know there's a trilogy there."The producer revealed that her ideas for the new film involve bringing back popular characters such as Meryl Streep's Donna – who had died in the events of the 2018 film 'Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again' – and Cher's Ruby, mother to Donna and grandmother to Sophie (Amanda Seyfried).Craymer said: "There is a story there, and I do think Meryl should come back – and if the script is right, she would, I think, because she really loved playing Donna."The producer...
- 5/2/2023
- by Joe Graber
- Bang Showbiz
Exclusive: As the West End production of Mamma Mia! enters its 25th year on stage, Judy Craymer, its creator and driving force, is expanding the Mm! universe with ITV’s Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream talent show. Set on an idyllic Greek island, it’s aimed at finding Mm! stars of the future. There’s definitely a desire to see Mm! back on Broadway in 2025, Craymer confirms, and she says she’s also pushing to make the dream of a third Mm! film a reality.
“It’s in its earliest stages,” she says, revealing that she has come up with a way to bring back all of the previous movie’s favorite characters. Which is no mean feat given that those parts involve stars such as Meryl Streep, who played the independent, fierce and spirited Donna Sheridan onscreen, and Cher, who played Donna’s vivacious mother Ruby in 2018’s...
“It’s in its earliest stages,” she says, revealing that she has come up with a way to bring back all of the previous movie’s favorite characters. Which is no mean feat given that those parts involve stars such as Meryl Streep, who played the independent, fierce and spirited Donna Sheridan onscreen, and Cher, who played Donna’s vivacious mother Ruby in 2018’s...
- 5/1/2023
- by Baz Bamigboye
- Deadline Film + TV
With Mamma Mia! and its sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, both becoming international box office smashes, there’s been plenty of talk about extending the franchise with a second sequel. Ol Parker, who scripted and directed the second film, has insisted that Mamma Mia! was meant to be a trilogy, and producer Judy Craymer has been quietly making plans to bring the characters back for one more story. While there’s nothing official to report, it’s been said that most of the films’ stars would be interested in returning. That would include both Christine Baranski and Colin Firth, who told us they find it difficult to explain the incredibly enduring appeal of the band whose music inspired the films, Abba.. (Click on the media bar below to hear Christine Baranski & Colin Firth) https://www.hollywoodoutbreak.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Christine-Baranski_Colin_Firth_mama_Mia.mp3 The first two...
- 12/19/2022
- by Hollywood Outbreak
- HollywoodOutbreak.com
A third “Mamma Mia!” movie is a very real possibility.
In an interview with Screen Rant, director Ol Parker, who helmed the 2018 sequel “Here We Go Again”, teased the likelihood of the series becoming a trilogy.
Read More: Amanda Seyfried Jokes That A Third ‘Mamma Mia!’ Could Be In The Works
“Judy Craymer, the genius producer behind the musical and the first two films, always plans for it to be a trilogy. That’s all I can say,” Parker said. “The first one made an enormous amount of money, and I think we made a fair amount, too. I know that there is a hunger for a third, and I know that she has a plan. Wouldn’t it be lovely?”
Craymer herself has indicated in the post she wants to get going on a third film telling The Daily Mail in 2020, “I was meant to have been getting on with that,...
In an interview with Screen Rant, director Ol Parker, who helmed the 2018 sequel “Here We Go Again”, teased the likelihood of the series becoming a trilogy.
Read More: Amanda Seyfried Jokes That A Third ‘Mamma Mia!’ Could Be In The Works
“Judy Craymer, the genius producer behind the musical and the first two films, always plans for it to be a trilogy. That’s all I can say,” Parker said. “The first one made an enormous amount of money, and I think we made a fair amount, too. I know that there is a hunger for a third, and I know that she has a plan. Wouldn’t it be lovely?”
Craymer herself has indicated in the post she wants to get going on a third film telling The Daily Mail in 2020, “I was meant to have been getting on with that,...
- 12/18/2022
- by Corey Atad
- ET Canada
Click here to read the full article.
It sounds like Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again director Ol Parker might be ready to take a chance on pursuing another film in the musical franchise.
Parker, who helmed Universal Pictures’ 2018 follow-up to director Phyllida Lloyd’s 2008 hit Mamma Mia!, told Screen Rant in an interview published online Saturday that producer Judy Craymer has always intended to make a film trilogy. Craymer has credits on both films and also the Abba-centric jukebox musical of the same name, which was the basis for the first movie and has had runs on the West End and Broadway.
“Judy Craymer, the genius producer behind the musical and the first two films, always plans for it to be a trilogy,” Parker teased. “That’s all I can say. The first one made an enormous amount of money, and I think we made a fair amount too.
It sounds like Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again director Ol Parker might be ready to take a chance on pursuing another film in the musical franchise.
Parker, who helmed Universal Pictures’ 2018 follow-up to director Phyllida Lloyd’s 2008 hit Mamma Mia!, told Screen Rant in an interview published online Saturday that producer Judy Craymer has always intended to make a film trilogy. Craymer has credits on both films and also the Abba-centric jukebox musical of the same name, which was the basis for the first movie and has had runs on the West End and Broadway.
“Judy Craymer, the genius producer behind the musical and the first two films, always plans for it to be a trilogy,” Parker teased. “That’s all I can say. The first one made an enormous amount of money, and I think we made a fair amount too.
- 12/17/2022
- by Ryan Gajewski
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
‘Mamma Mia! I Have A Dream’ Competition Set At ITV
Abba musical Mamma Mia! is seeking its next lead via an ITV entertainment show from The X Factor producer Thames and Littlestar. Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream will see contestants whittled down to two to be leads Sophie and Sky, who were played by Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper in the movie version. The show will be filmed in the Greek Islands and final will take place in London’s West End. Contestants will be mentored by guest industry stars through unique workshops and judged by a panel of well-known industry experts in both music and theater. The show has shades of BBC series Any Dream Will Do, which found the next Joseph star, and I’d Do Anything, which did the same for Oliver towards the end of the Noughties. ITV Head of Entertainment Commissioning Katie Rawcliffe said Mamma Mia!
Abba musical Mamma Mia! is seeking its next lead via an ITV entertainment show from The X Factor producer Thames and Littlestar. Mamma Mia! I Have a Dream will see contestants whittled down to two to be leads Sophie and Sky, who were played by Amanda Seyfried and Dominic Cooper in the movie version. The show will be filmed in the Greek Islands and final will take place in London’s West End. Contestants will be mentored by guest industry stars through unique workshops and judged by a panel of well-known industry experts in both music and theater. The show has shades of BBC series Any Dream Will Do, which found the next Joseph star, and I’d Do Anything, which did the same for Oliver towards the end of the Noughties. ITV Head of Entertainment Commissioning Katie Rawcliffe said Mamma Mia!
- 12/12/2022
- by Max Goldbart
- Deadline Film + TV
A Snoop Dogg biopic is in the works at Universal Pictures.
The Grammy-nominated rapped and Emmy-winning producer is behind an upcoming movie that will tell his life story. The feature is the first project under Snoop’s new Death Row Pictures production banner. Allen Hughes (who directed films like “Menace II Society” and “The Book of Eli” with his twin brother Albert) is confirmed to be directing the film from a script by Joe Robert Cole (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”). Snoop produces along with helmer Hughes and Sara Ramaker.
“I waited a long time to put this project together because I wanted to choose the right director, the perfect writer, and the greatest movie company I could partner with that could understand the legacy that I’m trying to portray onscreen, and the memory I’m trying to leave behind,” Snoop said in a statement. “It was the perfect marriage.
The Grammy-nominated rapped and Emmy-winning producer is behind an upcoming movie that will tell his life story. The feature is the first project under Snoop’s new Death Row Pictures production banner. Allen Hughes (who directed films like “Menace II Society” and “The Book of Eli” with his twin brother Albert) is confirmed to be directing the film from a script by Joe Robert Cole (“Black Panther: Wakanda Forever”). Snoop produces along with helmer Hughes and Sara Ramaker.
“I waited a long time to put this project together because I wanted to choose the right director, the perfect writer, and the greatest movie company I could partner with that could understand the legacy that I’m trying to portray onscreen, and the memory I’m trying to leave behind,” Snoop said in a statement. “It was the perfect marriage.
- 11/9/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Here we go again ... again. If you love Abba and the mixture of terrible and professional singers, this news is going to make you happy. Pierce Brosnan is jumping on the "Mamma Mia!" trilogy train. While doing a press tour to promote his upcoming turn as Doctor Fate in the Warner Bros. film "Black Adam," Brosnan told "Good Morning America" (via EW) that he is on board to participate in a third "Mamma Mia!" film.
The first entry, which premiered in 2008 starred Christine Baranski, Meryl Streep, Brosnan, Dominic Cooper, Colin Firth, Amanda Seyfried, Stellan Skarsgård, and Julie Walters. The second film, 2018's "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again" added Jeremy Irvine, Lily James, Andy García, and Cher. It's technically both a prequel and a sequel, set years after the events of the first film with flashbacks giving us a look at the past.
"GMA" host Lara Spencer told Brosnan that...
The first entry, which premiered in 2008 starred Christine Baranski, Meryl Streep, Brosnan, Dominic Cooper, Colin Firth, Amanda Seyfried, Stellan Skarsgård, and Julie Walters. The second film, 2018's "Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again" added Jeremy Irvine, Lily James, Andy García, and Cher. It's technically both a prequel and a sequel, set years after the events of the first film with flashbacks giving us a look at the past.
"GMA" host Lara Spencer told Brosnan that...
- 10/11/2022
- by Jenna Busch
- Slash Film
“Mamma Mia,” here we go again again.
Four years after sequel film “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” wowed with a soaring finale musical sequence and turned back the clock to see just how the iconic foursome of Meryl Streep’s Donna and her three potential baby daddies came to be, star Colin Firth teased that he would return for a third film in a heartbeat.
“I think it could happen,” Firth said during “Good Morning America” on May 5. “If you manage to make a second one, I guess you can make a third, a fourth, and a fifth. It was already a miracle.”
He added, “And if people want it, I would do it just to see my friends again on some beautiful island.”
Set on the Greek island of Kalokiri, the “Mamma Mia” films star Meryl Streep (and Lily James) as Donna, a hotel owner who is unsure...
Four years after sequel film “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” wowed with a soaring finale musical sequence and turned back the clock to see just how the iconic foursome of Meryl Streep’s Donna and her three potential baby daddies came to be, star Colin Firth teased that he would return for a third film in a heartbeat.
“I think it could happen,” Firth said during “Good Morning America” on May 5. “If you manage to make a second one, I guess you can make a third, a fourth, and a fifth. It was already a miracle.”
He added, “And if people want it, I would do it just to see my friends again on some beautiful island.”
Set on the Greek island of Kalokiri, the “Mamma Mia” films star Meryl Streep (and Lily James) as Donna, a hotel owner who is unsure...
- 5/6/2022
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
I was covering the red carpet for a tribute to Mike Nichols years ago when Cher arrived. She took some photos but strolled by reporters hoping — to no avail — for an interview.
Feeling courageous — or maybe more desperate — I yelled out as loud as I could, “Cher!” She turned around. When our eyes met, I screamed, “I’m gay.”
Cher smiled and came over to me. I got my interview.
I recalled that moment while talking with the music legend for the latest episode of the “Just for Variety” podcast. “You said the magic word,” she says, laughing. “And it worked. … It shows my commitment.”
Cher, whose son Chaz Bono is transgender, has been an LGBTQ icon for as long as she’s been Cher — actually from when she was a preteen and still known as Cherilyn Sarkisian. She was about 10 years old when her mom introduced her to a...
Feeling courageous — or maybe more desperate — I yelled out as loud as I could, “Cher!” She turned around. When our eyes met, I screamed, “I’m gay.”
Cher smiled and came over to me. I got my interview.
I recalled that moment while talking with the music legend for the latest episode of the “Just for Variety” podcast. “You said the magic word,” she says, laughing. “And it worked. … It shows my commitment.”
Cher, whose son Chaz Bono is transgender, has been an LGBTQ icon for as long as she’s been Cher — actually from when she was a preteen and still known as Cherilyn Sarkisian. She was about 10 years old when her mom introduced her to a...
- 6/23/2021
- by Marc Malkin
- Variety Film + TV
Today is Cher’s birthday, and she’s getting a gift that most of us will never be lucky enough (or maybe unlucky enough) to receive: a big Hollywood biopic from a major movie studio. Cher tweeted the news yesterday, revealing that the film will be produced by Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman of the Mama Mia! movies and…...
- 5/20/2021
- by Sam Barsanti
- avclub.com
In an era where everyone who has ever touched a microphone or musical instrument and released at least one hit single is getting their own biopic, it actually took a little while longer than you might think for Cher to land one of her own. However, thanks to the people behind “Mamma Mia” and an Oscar-winning screenwriter, the Cher biopic is officially in development.
Read More: Despite Rumors, Diablo Cody Reportedly Didn’t Quit The Madonna Biopic
In a caps-lock-filled tweet, Cher was excited to announce the project on Twitter and said, “Ok Universal is Doing Biopic With My Friends Judy Craymer, Gary Goetzman Producing.
Continue reading A Cher Biopic Is In The Works From The Producers Of ‘Mamma Mia’ & Writer Eric Roth at The Playlist.
Read More: Despite Rumors, Diablo Cody Reportedly Didn’t Quit The Madonna Biopic
In a caps-lock-filled tweet, Cher was excited to announce the project on Twitter and said, “Ok Universal is Doing Biopic With My Friends Judy Craymer, Gary Goetzman Producing.
Continue reading A Cher Biopic Is In The Works From The Producers Of ‘Mamma Mia’ & Writer Eric Roth at The Playlist.
- 5/20/2021
- by Charles Barfield
- The Playlist
Cher has revealed a biopic on her life is in the works. She announced the currently untitled film via social media on Wednesday.
According to Cher’s Twitter post, the Universal Pictures film will be produced by Mama Mia! producers Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman, whom Cher worked with during Mama Mia! Here We Go Again.
Ok Universal is Doing Biopic With My Friends Judy Craymer,Gary Goetzman Producing.
Theyy Produced
Both Mamma Mia’S,&
My Dear Dear Friend 4 Yrs, & Oscar Winner..Eric Roth Is Going 2 Write It...
According to Cher’s Twitter post, the Universal Pictures film will be produced by Mama Mia! producers Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman, whom Cher worked with during Mama Mia! Here We Go Again.
Ok Universal is Doing Biopic With My Friends Judy Craymer,Gary Goetzman Producing.
Theyy Produced
Both Mamma Mia’S,&
My Dear Dear Friend 4 Yrs, & Oscar Winner..Eric Roth Is Going 2 Write It...
- 5/20/2021
- by Althea Legaspi
- Rollingstone.com
On the eve of her 75th birthday, Cher tweeted out the news that a biopic about her life is in the works at Universal, with Oscar-winning screenwriter Eric Roth set to write the script.
The biopic will be produced by Cher alongside Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman, the duo behind the “Mamma Mia!” film franchise. Cher appeared in 2018’s “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.”
Cher tweeted on Wednesday, “Ok Universal is Doing Biopic With My Friends Judy Craymer,Gary Goetzman Producing. Theyy Produced Both Mamma Mia’S,& My Dear Dear Friend 4 Yrs, & Oscar Winner..Eric Roth Is Going 2 Write It.”
Ok Universal is Doing Biopic With My Friends Judy Craymer,Gary Goetzman Producing.
Theyy Produced
Both Mamma Mia’S,&
My Dear Dear Friend 4 Yrs, & Oscar Winner..Eric Roth Is Going 2 Write It...
The biopic will be produced by Cher alongside Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman, the duo behind the “Mamma Mia!” film franchise. Cher appeared in 2018’s “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.”
Cher tweeted on Wednesday, “Ok Universal is Doing Biopic With My Friends Judy Craymer,Gary Goetzman Producing. Theyy Produced Both Mamma Mia’S,& My Dear Dear Friend 4 Yrs, & Oscar Winner..Eric Roth Is Going 2 Write It.”
Ok Universal is Doing Biopic With My Friends Judy Craymer,Gary Goetzman Producing.
Theyy Produced
Both Mamma Mia’S,&
My Dear Dear Friend 4 Yrs, & Oscar Winner..Eric Roth Is Going 2 Write It...
- 5/19/2021
- by Umberto Gonzalez
- The Wrap
On the day before her 75th birthday, Cher is gifting fans with the news that an official biopic of her life is in the works.
The untitled film is set at Universal Pictures, with “Mamma Mia!” producers Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman on board to produce and Eric Roth penning the script, Variety has confirmed.
Cher announced the film in a tweet, writing: “Ok Universal is Doing Biopic With My Friends Judy Craymer,Gary Goetzman Producing. Theyy Produced Both Mamma Mia’S,& My Dear Dear Friend 4 Yrs, & Oscar Winner..Eric Roth Is Going 2 Write It.”
Ok Universal is Doing Biopic With My Friends Judy Craymer,Gary Goetzman Producing.
Theyy Produced
Both Mamma Mia’S,&
My Dear Dear Friend 4 Yrs, & Oscar Winner..Eric Roth Is Going 2 Write It...
The untitled film is set at Universal Pictures, with “Mamma Mia!” producers Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman on board to produce and Eric Roth penning the script, Variety has confirmed.
Cher announced the film in a tweet, writing: “Ok Universal is Doing Biopic With My Friends Judy Craymer,Gary Goetzman Producing. Theyy Produced Both Mamma Mia’S,& My Dear Dear Friend 4 Yrs, & Oscar Winner..Eric Roth Is Going 2 Write It.”
Ok Universal is Doing Biopic With My Friends Judy Craymer,Gary Goetzman Producing.
Theyy Produced
Both Mamma Mia’S,&
My Dear Dear Friend 4 Yrs, & Oscar Winner..Eric Roth Is Going 2 Write It...
- 5/19/2021
- by Ellise Shafer
- Variety Film + TV
Exclusive: Cher just tweeted out that on the eve of celebrating her 75th birthday Thursday, she’ll have her life story unfold on movie screens through Universal Pictures. It is a major effort with heavy hitters, and here’s what is happening.
The as yet untitled film will be scripted by Oscar-winning screenwriter Eric Roth, whose recent efforts include adapting Killers of the Flower Moon that is currently in production with Martin Scorsese directing Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, and co-writing the upcoming Denis Villenueve-directed Dune epic. The Cher film will be produced by Judy Craymer — whose brainstorm it was to turn the Abba song catalog into the stage musical smash Mamma Mia! — and Playtone’s Gary Goetzman, who produced the Mamma Mia! films with Craymer. That duo will produce with Cher, who starred in the Mamma Mia! sequel. Cher just produced Kaavan, The World’s Loneliest Elephant, which is streaming on Paramount.
The as yet untitled film will be scripted by Oscar-winning screenwriter Eric Roth, whose recent efforts include adapting Killers of the Flower Moon that is currently in production with Martin Scorsese directing Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro, and co-writing the upcoming Denis Villenueve-directed Dune epic. The Cher film will be produced by Judy Craymer — whose brainstorm it was to turn the Abba song catalog into the stage musical smash Mamma Mia! — and Playtone’s Gary Goetzman, who produced the Mamma Mia! films with Craymer. That duo will produce with Cher, who starred in the Mamma Mia! sequel. Cher just produced Kaavan, The World’s Loneliest Elephant, which is streaming on Paramount.
- 5/19/2021
- by Mike Fleming Jr
- Deadline Film + TV
Cher is getting the biopic treatment thanks to Universal and Oscar-winner Eric Roth.
Roth is set to pen the screenplay for a feature film about the life and career of the multihyphenate entertainer, whose decades-long career has spanned music, television, fashion and film. It has included multiple studio albums, a comedy variety show, and a Las Vegas residency, as well as an expansive acting career that included Silkwood, Mask, The Witches of Eastwick and Moonstruck, the latter of which earned her a best actress Oscar.
Mamma Mia! producers Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman are set to produce the project, having worked with Cher on the Mamma Mia! sequel,...
Roth is set to pen the screenplay for a feature film about the life and career of the multihyphenate entertainer, whose decades-long career has spanned music, television, fashion and film. It has included multiple studio albums, a comedy variety show, and a Las Vegas residency, as well as an expansive acting career that included Silkwood, Mask, The Witches of Eastwick and Moonstruck, the latter of which earned her a best actress Oscar.
Mamma Mia! producers Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman are set to produce the project, having worked with Cher on the Mamma Mia! sequel,...
- 5/19/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
Cher is getting the biopic treatment thanks to Universal and Oscar-winner Eric Roth.
Roth is set to pen the screenplay for a feature film about the life and career of the multi-hyphenate entertainer, whose decades-long career has spanned music, television, fashion and film. It has included multiple studio albums, a comedy variety show, and a Las Vegas residency, as well as an expansive acting career that included Silkwood, Mask, The Witches of Eastwick, and Moonstruck, the latter of which earned her a best actress Oscar.
Mamma Mia! producers Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman are set to produce the project, having worked with Cher on the Mamma ...
Roth is set to pen the screenplay for a feature film about the life and career of the multi-hyphenate entertainer, whose decades-long career has spanned music, television, fashion and film. It has included multiple studio albums, a comedy variety show, and a Las Vegas residency, as well as an expansive acting career that included Silkwood, Mask, The Witches of Eastwick, and Moonstruck, the latter of which earned her a best actress Oscar.
Mamma Mia! producers Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman are set to produce the project, having worked with Cher on the Mamma ...
- 5/19/2021
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Abba will have five new songs on the market in 2021, and has pushed back their plans to do a holographic tour to support the music because of the pandemic.
The Swedish group – Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Agnetha Fältskog and Bjorn Ulvaeus – were originally planning to release only two songs for their comeback. But the long process between the original announcement in 2018 and now has allowed them time to do more than planned. It will be the first new Abba music in 35 years.
Titles include I Still Have Faith In You and Don’t Shut Me Down.
In a statement announcing the new songs, Abba said, “The decision to go ahead with the exciting Abba avatar tour project had an unexpected consequence. We all four felt that, after some 35 years, it could be fun to join forces again and go into the recording studio.”
For the tour, Abba will appear as their younger selves.
The Swedish group – Benny Andersson, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Agnetha Fältskog and Bjorn Ulvaeus – were originally planning to release only two songs for their comeback. But the long process between the original announcement in 2018 and now has allowed them time to do more than planned. It will be the first new Abba music in 35 years.
Titles include I Still Have Faith In You and Don’t Shut Me Down.
In a statement announcing the new songs, Abba said, “The decision to go ahead with the exciting Abba avatar tour project had an unexpected consequence. We all four felt that, after some 35 years, it could be fun to join forces again and go into the recording studio.”
For the tour, Abba will appear as their younger selves.
- 7/22/2020
- by Bruce Haring
- Deadline Film + TV
A Mamma Mia 3, could be in the cards down the road.
Judy Craymer, who produced the combined $1 billion-plus-grossing feature films Mamma Mia! and Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!, as well as the original West End $4 billion-grossing Abba musical, told the Daily Mail recently, “I think one day there will be another film, because there’s meant to be a trilogy, you see.”
“‘I know Universal would like me to do it,’ the producer added, specifying that there’s four new Abba numbers Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus wrote for the virtual concert they’ve planned with Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad.
Craymer said that she intended to develop the musical during the Covid-19 shutdown.
“I was meant to have been getting on with that, in my head, during these months. But then I got hit with Covid fog,” says the producer.
In regard to potentially turning the feature sequel...
Judy Craymer, who produced the combined $1 billion-plus-grossing feature films Mamma Mia! and Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!, as well as the original West End $4 billion-grossing Abba musical, told the Daily Mail recently, “I think one day there will be another film, because there’s meant to be a trilogy, you see.”
“‘I know Universal would like me to do it,’ the producer added, specifying that there’s four new Abba numbers Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus wrote for the virtual concert they’ve planned with Agnetha Faltskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad.
Craymer said that she intended to develop the musical during the Covid-19 shutdown.
“I was meant to have been getting on with that, in my head, during these months. But then I got hit with Covid fog,” says the producer.
In regard to potentially turning the feature sequel...
- 6/21/2020
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
In the words of Abba, “Mamma mia, here I go again.”
Judy Craymer, a producer behind the original stage production of “Mamma Mia!” as well as the 2008 and 2018 film adaptations, said in an interview with Daily Mail that a third installment could be coming.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, Craymer had been planning the franchise’s third film. Both “Mamma Mia” and its sequel, “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” were hits at the box office, with the latter grossing nearly $400 million worldwide.
“I was meant to have been getting on with that, in my head, during these months. But then I got hit with Covid fog,” Craymer said. “I think one day there will be another film, because there’s meant to be a trilogy, you see. I know Universal would like me to do it.”
“Mamma Mia” is a musical set to the songs of the pop supergroup Abba...
Judy Craymer, a producer behind the original stage production of “Mamma Mia!” as well as the 2008 and 2018 film adaptations, said in an interview with Daily Mail that a third installment could be coming.
Before the coronavirus pandemic, Craymer had been planning the franchise’s third film. Both “Mamma Mia” and its sequel, “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” were hits at the box office, with the latter grossing nearly $400 million worldwide.
“I was meant to have been getting on with that, in my head, during these months. But then I got hit with Covid fog,” Craymer said. “I think one day there will be another film, because there’s meant to be a trilogy, you see. I know Universal would like me to do it.”
“Mamma Mia” is a musical set to the songs of the pop supergroup Abba...
- 6/20/2020
- by Ellise Shafer
- Variety Film + TV
“Mamma Mia!” is still going strong 20 years after its April 6, 1999, debut at London’s Prince Edward Theatre. The longevity is a testament to the band Abba and to the persistence of producer Judy Craymer, director Phyllida Lloyd and writer Catherine Johnson. The stage musical opened with low expectations; in 1983, another tribute to the Swedish quartet, named “Abbacadabra,” closed eight weeks after its debut. Plus, “Mamma Mia!” had been in workshops for 18 months, with Johnson the third writer on the project (she did seven drafts). Eight months after the debut, Variety reported that the show was “a financial gusher,” making back its £3 million ($4.8 million) cost in 27 weeks, and boasting an advance of nearly $13 million. The stage musical has earned an estimated $2 billion, and that’s not counting income from the two films. When it opened, Lloyd said: “We hope to create pure pleasure. We’re not splitting the atom.”
That sense...
That sense...
- 4/5/2019
- by Tim Gray
- Variety Film + TV
Before it was a globally successful movie franchise, “Mamma Mia!” was just one woman’s passion project. British theater impresario Judy Craymer first imagined “Mamma Mia!” in the ’80s, eventually spending years trying to persuade former Abba members Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus to let her make something out of their deep songbook. Her efforts finally yielded the eighth longest-running Broadway show in history, a 2008 movie that over half a billion dollars worldwide, and now a sequel — “Mamma Mia: Here We Again” — poised to keep the franchise alive.
“I definitely never had a business plan,” Craymer said, reflecting on the 20 years of progress. “I’ve always taken it one day at a time.” The challenge started anew after the first “Mamma Mia!” movie took off, and talk about turning the film into a franchise kicked up. As early as the fall of 2008, just months after the first film’s release,...
“I definitely never had a business plan,” Craymer said, reflecting on the 20 years of progress. “I’ve always taken it one day at a time.” The challenge started anew after the first “Mamma Mia!” movie took off, and talk about turning the film into a franchise kicked up. As early as the fall of 2008, just months after the first film’s release,...
- 7/23/2018
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
‘Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again’: The Sequel’s Best Musical Sequence Wasn’t Even in the Original Script
[Editor’s note: The following contains spoilers for “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.”]
It’s only fitting that long-awaited sequel “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” ends with a massive final song-and-dance sequence that brings together the entire cast, regardless of the timeline they inhabit in the film. Ol Parker’s film serves as both a sequel and a prequel to the 2008 film, with one timeline following Lily James as a young Donna (played in the first film by Meryl Streep) as she makes her way to the Greek island that will become her home, while another focuses on Donna’s now-grown daughter Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) as she attempts to make her mother’s dream of owning a hotel on the island come true.
The two timelines combine into one charmingly over-the-top final musical sequence, a splashy finale that blends together younger versions of characters with their older selves, including the entire cast of the first film. It’s...
It’s only fitting that long-awaited sequel “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” ends with a massive final song-and-dance sequence that brings together the entire cast, regardless of the timeline they inhabit in the film. Ol Parker’s film serves as both a sequel and a prequel to the 2008 film, with one timeline following Lily James as a young Donna (played in the first film by Meryl Streep) as she makes her way to the Greek island that will become her home, while another focuses on Donna’s now-grown daughter Sophie (Amanda Seyfried) as she attempts to make her mother’s dream of owning a hotel on the island come true.
The two timelines combine into one charmingly over-the-top final musical sequence, a splashy finale that blends together younger versions of characters with their older selves, including the entire cast of the first film. It’s...
- 7/22/2018
- by Kate Erbland
- Indiewire
The cynics are defeated; Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again has won the war. On track for a near-$40m opening weekend, critics couldn’t escape if they wanted to, and audiences have promised to love Abba jukebox musicals forevermore.
It’s another remarkable achievement for Littlestar chief Judy Craymer, who produced both films in the expanding Mamma Mia! Cinematic Universe (with Gary Goetzman) and has been the architect of bringing Abba’s music to the stage and screen for more than 20 years. She had spent a decade convincing Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus to trust her with the rights to Abba’s songs before Mamma Mia! debuted on the London stage in 1999. When I went to see the show on stage earlier this month, it was clear that interest hasn’t abated in the 19 years that have followed.
Still, mounting a sequel to the 2008 feature film couldn’t have been easy.
It’s another remarkable achievement for Littlestar chief Judy Craymer, who produced both films in the expanding Mamma Mia! Cinematic Universe (with Gary Goetzman) and has been the architect of bringing Abba’s music to the stage and screen for more than 20 years. She had spent a decade convincing Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus to trust her with the rights to Abba’s songs before Mamma Mia! debuted on the London stage in 1999. When I went to see the show on stage earlier this month, it was clear that interest hasn’t abated in the 19 years that have followed.
Still, mounting a sequel to the 2008 feature film couldn’t have been easy.
- 7/22/2018
- by Joe Utichi
- Deadline Film + TV
It’s still a great weekend at the box office here, with both Universal’s Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and Sony’s Equalizer 2 both over-performing besting their tracking, especially the latter.
The Ol Parker-directed original ABBA musical is looking at an estimated No. 1 win, with $37.3M while the Denzel Washington sequel scored $13.4M yesterday (including Thursday’s $3.1M), with an amazing $33.7M three-day.
One of the reasons why we’re seeing Mamma Mia 2 lower than the $40M+ figure we were spotting yesterday is because sometimes it’s hard for box office analysts to project off advance ticket sales, which in this pic’s case is fueled by the female demo. When are they exactly going to the movies? One thing is for sure, and that’s this bubble gum musical will have long legs this summer into the fall. The...
The Ol Parker-directed original ABBA musical is looking at an estimated No. 1 win, with $37.3M while the Denzel Washington sequel scored $13.4M yesterday (including Thursday’s $3.1M), with an amazing $33.7M three-day.
One of the reasons why we’re seeing Mamma Mia 2 lower than the $40M+ figure we were spotting yesterday is because sometimes it’s hard for box office analysts to project off advance ticket sales, which in this pic’s case is fueled by the female demo. When are they exactly going to the movies? One thing is for sure, and that’s this bubble gum musical will have long legs this summer into the fall. The...
- 7/21/2018
- by Anthony D'Alessandro
- Deadline Film + TV
[This story contains spoilers for Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.]
Worldwide musical sensation Mamma Mia! — the brainchild of British producer Judy Craymer — started out as merely an idea. An idyllic Greek island, three potential fathers, a pair of overalls and a soundtrack consisting of songs by pop group Abba.
Inspired by the theatrical potential of Abba's emotional ballad "The Winner Takes It All," Craymer utilized her production skills to put together a story built around some of the Swedish band's greatest hits.
It was nearly 20 years ago when Mamma Mia! hit ...
Worldwide musical sensation Mamma Mia! — the brainchild of British producer Judy Craymer — started out as merely an idea. An idyllic Greek island, three potential fathers, a pair of overalls and a soundtrack consisting of songs by pop group Abba.
Inspired by the theatrical potential of Abba's emotional ballad "The Winner Takes It All," Craymer utilized her production skills to put together a story built around some of the Swedish band's greatest hits.
It was nearly 20 years ago when Mamma Mia! hit ...
- 7/20/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
[This story contains spoilers for Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.]
Worldwide musical sensation Mamma Mia! — the brainchild of British producer Judy Craymer — started out as merely an idea. An idyllic Greek island, three potential fathers, a pair of overalls and a soundtrack consisting of songs by pop group Abba.
Inspired by the theatrical potential of Abba's emotional ballad "The Winner Takes It All," Craymer utilized her production skills to put together a story built around some of the Swedish band's greatest hits.
It was nearly 20 years ago when Mamma Mia! hit ...
Worldwide musical sensation Mamma Mia! — the brainchild of British producer Judy Craymer — started out as merely an idea. An idyllic Greek island, three potential fathers, a pair of overalls and a soundtrack consisting of songs by pop group Abba.
Inspired by the theatrical potential of Abba's emotional ballad "The Winner Takes It All," Craymer utilized her production skills to put together a story built around some of the Swedish band's greatest hits.
It was nearly 20 years ago when Mamma Mia! hit ...
- 7/20/2018
- The Hollywood Reporter - Film + TV
World premiere took place in London on Sunday night.
Universal top brass are preparing for the global launch of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again this week, exactly 10 years after Mamma Mia! took off en route to a $609.8m final global tally.
The musical sequel, based like the original on Abba songs, ventures into 41 territories this week, day-and-date with Friday’s [July 20] North American bow in approximately 3,200 theatres.
The UK, Australia, Germany, Spain and Abba’s home country Sweden are expected to be among the highlights in the first wave as the family tentpole rolls out through September.
The 2008 original opened...
Universal top brass are preparing for the global launch of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again this week, exactly 10 years after Mamma Mia! took off en route to a $609.8m final global tally.
The musical sequel, based like the original on Abba songs, ventures into 41 territories this week, day-and-date with Friday’s [July 20] North American bow in approximately 3,200 theatres.
The UK, Australia, Germany, Spain and Abba’s home country Sweden are expected to be among the highlights in the first wave as the family tentpole rolls out through September.
The 2008 original opened...
- 7/17/2018
- by Jeremy Kay
- ScreenDaily
They took a chance on the long-awaited sequel to “Mamma Mia,” but the rapturous reaction at Monday’s London film premiere suggested it was worth the 10-year gap. While the new film features the same A-list cast as the 2008 original, it was the introduction of Cher, playing Meryl Streep’s mother Ruby Sheridan, that made everyone starstruck.
“Acting with her was on my bucket list,” Andy Garcia told Variety on the blue carpet at the “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” launch at London’s Hammersmith Apollo theater. “The acting is one thing but the singing and all that… you have to look up to the heaven and say thank you.”
Cher was modest about the reaction, saying she was “really surprised” at how many fans had gathered to see her.
At 72, she’s only three years older than Meryl, something that amused them both. Cher was being interviewed at...
“Acting with her was on my bucket list,” Andy Garcia told Variety on the blue carpet at the “Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again” launch at London’s Hammersmith Apollo theater. “The acting is one thing but the singing and all that… you have to look up to the heaven and say thank you.”
Cher was modest about the reaction, saying she was “really surprised” at how many fans had gathered to see her.
At 72, she’s only three years older than Meryl, something that amused them both. Cher was being interviewed at...
- 7/16/2018
- by Dawn Emery
- Variety Film + TV
There was something in the air that night… or certainly today, when the huge assembly of cast members of Mamma Mia 2 (subtitled: Here We Go Again) gave not one, but Two press conferences to talk about the much anticipated new musical.
It was ten years ago when the greatest Abba songs gave Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and an all star cast the greatest movie musical of all time. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is the Abba-inspired sequel complete with Dancing Queens and Kings aplenty including Amanda Seyfried, Dominic Cooper returning as the star-crossed warblers, along with Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard, Julie Walters, Celia Imrie. Newcomers including Jeremy Irvine, Lily James and only flipping living legend herself – Cher!
Related (sort of): Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Henry Cavill & more on the Mission: Impossible Fallout red carpet – check out our interviews here.
Joining the cast for two UK press conferences were Andy Garcia,...
It was ten years ago when the greatest Abba songs gave Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan and an all star cast the greatest movie musical of all time. Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is the Abba-inspired sequel complete with Dancing Queens and Kings aplenty including Amanda Seyfried, Dominic Cooper returning as the star-crossed warblers, along with Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgard, Julie Walters, Celia Imrie. Newcomers including Jeremy Irvine, Lily James and only flipping living legend herself – Cher!
Related (sort of): Tom Cruise, Rebecca Ferguson, Henry Cavill & more on the Mission: Impossible Fallout red carpet – check out our interviews here.
Joining the cast for two UK press conferences were Andy Garcia,...
- 7/14/2018
- by Jon Lyus
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
Get ready to sing and dance, laugh and love all over again with Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.
Ten years after Mamma Mia! The Movie grossed more than $600 million around the world, you are invited to return to the magical Greek island of Kalokairi in an all-new original musical based on the songs of Abba.
With the film’s original cast returning, Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Julie Walters, Amanda Seyfried, and Christine Baranski as well as new additions including Cher, Andy Garcia and Lily James (Cinderella, Baby Driver), the musical comedy will open on July 20, 2018.
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is produced by Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman, producers of the original film. Craymer is also the creator and producer of the worldwide smash-hit stage musical.
Ol Parker, writer of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, writes and directs the sequel from a story by Catherine Johnson,...
Ten years after Mamma Mia! The Movie grossed more than $600 million around the world, you are invited to return to the magical Greek island of Kalokairi in an all-new original musical based on the songs of Abba.
With the film’s original cast returning, Meryl Streep, Pierce Brosnan, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Julie Walters, Amanda Seyfried, and Christine Baranski as well as new additions including Cher, Andy Garcia and Lily James (Cinderella, Baby Driver), the musical comedy will open on July 20, 2018.
Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again is produced by Judy Craymer and Gary Goetzman, producers of the original film. Craymer is also the creator and producer of the worldwide smash-hit stage musical.
Ol Parker, writer of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, writes and directs the sequel from a story by Catherine Johnson,...
- 12/21/2017
- by Michelle Hannett
- WeAreMovieGeeks.com
Author: Zehra Phelan
Oh, Mamma Mia!!!!!! The Abba-based musical Mamma Mia is all set for a return to our big screens next year as Universal Pictures announced a sequel to the 2008 romantic comedy which saw the legendary Meryl Streep dance and sings her way around on Greek soil whilst secretly lusting after an old flame.
Related: Meryl Streep interview on Into the Woods.
The Mamma Mia sequel is scheduled for a July 2018 release, a release which marks the ten year anniversary since Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skasgard, Dominic Cooper and Julia Waters came together in an ensemble cast in a story which saw an independent hotelier, Donna (Streep) in the Greek islands prepare for her daughter’s wedding with the help of two old friends. Meanwhile, Sophie, the spirited bride, had a plan. She secretly invites three men from her mother’s past in hope...
Oh, Mamma Mia!!!!!! The Abba-based musical Mamma Mia is all set for a return to our big screens next year as Universal Pictures announced a sequel to the 2008 romantic comedy which saw the legendary Meryl Streep dance and sings her way around on Greek soil whilst secretly lusting after an old flame.
Related: Meryl Streep interview on Into the Woods.
The Mamma Mia sequel is scheduled for a July 2018 release, a release which marks the ten year anniversary since Streep, Amanda Seyfried, Colin Firth, Pierce Brosnan, Stellan Skasgard, Dominic Cooper and Julia Waters came together in an ensemble cast in a story which saw an independent hotelier, Donna (Streep) in the Greek islands prepare for her daughter’s wedding with the help of two old friends. Meanwhile, Sophie, the spirited bride, had a plan. She secretly invites three men from her mother’s past in hope...
- 5/22/2017
- by Zehra Phelan
- HeyUGuys.co.uk
The producers of Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus' Mamma Mia, the smash hit musical based on the songs of Abba, have announced casting for the upcoming National Tour. Mamma Mia is one of the most successful musicals of all time, the eighth longest running show in Broadway history and one of only five musicals to have run for more than ten years on Broadway. The West End production is now in its eighteenth year. To date, Mamma Mia has been seen by over 60 million people worldwide in 50 productions in 16 different languages. Mamma Mia will embark on a farewell tour in the 2016-17 season, which also marks its fifteenth year on the road. Leading the cast of 30 is Sarah Wyatt as 'Donna Sheridan,' the independent single mother whose carefree past catches up with her on the eve of her daughter's wedding. Bride-to-be 'Sophie Sheridan' is played by Lizzie Markson...
- 9/7/2016
- by BWW News Desk
- BroadwayWorld.com
20th Century Fox plans to turn some of its movies into stage musicals. But Porky's 11, Die Hard and Avatar are unlikely to be on a stage near you soon. Or will they?
Dirty Dancing is back in the West End this week, a beneficiary of the unexpected demise of the unfortunately named Spice Girls musical Viva Forever!, whose run was cut short with massive losses for investors and producer Judy Craymer alike. I was at the excellent Stage One new producers workshop a couple of weeks back, where the advice was: "Don't do a musical on your first show – unless you're Judy Craymer." But it seems even Craymer, who scored a huge hit with Mamma Mia!, isn't impregnable. Maybe her mistake was to attempt two shows with an exclamation mark in the title.
Despite the failure of Viva Forever!, though, the jukebox musical certainly isn't dead, and in fact shows no signs of distress.
Dirty Dancing is back in the West End this week, a beneficiary of the unexpected demise of the unfortunately named Spice Girls musical Viva Forever!, whose run was cut short with massive losses for investors and producer Judy Craymer alike. I was at the excellent Stage One new producers workshop a couple of weeks back, where the advice was: "Don't do a musical on your first show – unless you're Judy Craymer." But it seems even Craymer, who scored a huge hit with Mamma Mia!, isn't impregnable. Maybe her mistake was to attempt two shows with an exclamation mark in the title.
Despite the failure of Viva Forever!, though, the jukebox musical certainly isn't dead, and in fact shows no signs of distress.
- 7/16/2013
- by Lyn Gardner
- The Guardian - Film News
If celebrity bipolar suffering is beginning to trigger automatic compassion fatigue, that's bad for everyone's mental health
A new book, Strictly Bipolar by Darian Leader, in part examines the "rebranding" of depression, almost as a lifestyle term, which seems rather timely. Certainly, I've come to wonder if the term "bipolar" has become a trigger for automatic compassion fatigue.
A while ago, bipolar sufferer Kerry Katona's drunken meltdown on morning television was sneered at with a viciousness that, at the time, seemed class-based, but now I wouldn't be so sure. These days, I would wonder if it were also her bipolar condition being mocked – just because people are "so tired" of bipolar being "everywhere", or, more specifically, celebrity bipolar sufferers being everywhere.
Only last week, Ronnie O'Sullivan, who suffers from depression, was back playing snooker, and ended up being reprimanded for making an "obscene gesture" at fellow player Judd Trump.
A new book, Strictly Bipolar by Darian Leader, in part examines the "rebranding" of depression, almost as a lifestyle term, which seems rather timely. Certainly, I've come to wonder if the term "bipolar" has become a trigger for automatic compassion fatigue.
A while ago, bipolar sufferer Kerry Katona's drunken meltdown on morning television was sneered at with a viciousness that, at the time, seemed class-based, but now I wouldn't be so sure. These days, I would wonder if it were also her bipolar condition being mocked – just because people are "so tired" of bipolar being "everywhere", or, more specifically, celebrity bipolar sufferers being everywhere.
Only last week, Ronnie O'Sullivan, who suffers from depression, was back playing snooker, and ended up being reprimanded for making an "obscene gesture" at fellow player Judd Trump.
- 5/4/2013
- by Barbara Ellen
- The Guardian - Film News
London, May 3: Spice Girls musical 'Viva Forever!' will be closing in June, six months after it was first shown.
Scathing reviews and audience indifference has forced the producers to call time on the musical, leaving its backers with a 5-million-dollar loss.
All five band members of the all-girl group had united for the high-profile launch of the West End show at the Piccadilly Theatre last November.
It was conceived by Judy Craymer, the person behind the global hit 'Mamma Mia!' and was written by comedy star Jennifer Saunders.
However, the show, which satirised 'The X Factor,' telling the story of an aspiring singer, who, with her best friends, gets swept up in a TV talent search, was ravaged by critics.
The.
Scathing reviews and audience indifference has forced the producers to call time on the musical, leaving its backers with a 5-million-dollar loss.
All five band members of the all-girl group had united for the high-profile launch of the West End show at the Piccadilly Theatre last November.
It was conceived by Judy Craymer, the person behind the global hit 'Mamma Mia!' and was written by comedy star Jennifer Saunders.
However, the show, which satirised 'The X Factor,' telling the story of an aspiring singer, who, with her best friends, gets swept up in a TV talent search, was ravaged by critics.
The.
- 5/3/2013
- by Meeta Kabra
- RealBollywood.com
If you haven't already spiced up your life with the musical "Viva Forever!," you won't be able to do so for much longer. It's been announced that the Spice Girls musical will end its run on June 29 and will have a net loss of $7.8 million.
"The show has evolved since we first opened and is now brighter, lighter and funnier, but despite the wonderful audiences and extremely positive feedback we just can't make it work," producer Judy Craymer says in a statement.
Craymer is also the woman behind the musical hit "Mamma Mia!," which repurposed Abba songs to coincide with a new story. She hoped to do the same with "Viva Forever!," but it didn't jive with audiences when it premiered in December.
Of the various problems with the show, the most obvious were the fact the satirical nature of the musical wasn't what audiences were looking for and that...
"The show has evolved since we first opened and is now brighter, lighter and funnier, but despite the wonderful audiences and extremely positive feedback we just can't make it work," producer Judy Craymer says in a statement.
Craymer is also the woman behind the musical hit "Mamma Mia!," which repurposed Abba songs to coincide with a new story. She hoped to do the same with "Viva Forever!," but it didn't jive with audiences when it premiered in December.
Of the various problems with the show, the most obvious were the fact the satirical nature of the musical wasn't what audiences were looking for and that...
- 5/2/2013
- by editorial@zap2it.com
- Pop2it
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