Hi, everyone. "Moriarty" here with some Rumblings From The Lab...

Variety ran a story today about how Bill Condon’s going to be directing his screenplay for DREAMGIRLS, and I have to say... it’s news that’s been in the works for a while, and I’ve had my fingers crossed that everything would work out. Now, thankfully, it has.

Condon’s screenplay for CHICAGO was the thing that solved the long-malingering development issues on that film and finally got it the greenlight, and as much as Rob Marshall got lionized for that picture, it was Condon who made all the choices that turned that into a film and not just a stage revue in front of a camera. The idea that he’s going to direct a musical that he scripts is pretty tremendous. I’m enormously fond of KINSEY, and I think he’s one of those guys who grows as a filmmaker each time out. I know he’s an enormous fan of the musical form in general, and he’s very particular about what he likes and what he doesn’t. He shares my admiration for Alan Parker’s criminally underrated EVITA, for example. DREAMGIRLS is a great foundation, and I can’t wait to see what he makes of it. David Geffen’s been enormously protective of this material for a long time, so it speaks volumes that he’s finally ready to let someone step up and make the movie.

For those not familiar with the piece, which is basically a fictionalized account of the story of the Supremes and Diana Ross, here's the description of it from the VARIETY piece:

The film will retain Tom Eyen's book and lyrics and Henry Krieger's music.

Director-choreographer Michael Bennett, whose work was considered groundbreaking at the time, died in 1987.

[Condon said he expects] to cast a star in the role of Curtis Taylor Jr., the Svengali who discovers singing group the Dreams and guides them to fame. They'll likely taptap the rich crop of young singers for at least one member of the Dreams trio, but said they are open to creating a star, as the original musical did with Jennifer Holliday, who won a Tony for her show-stopping turn as Effie Melody White.