It appears that luck is a lady for screenwriter Danny Strong, the writer of The Hunger Games: Mockingjay and Lee Daniels’ The Butler. Building on a career that has already landed him some stellar writing gigs, Strong has now been tapped to put pen to paper for 20th Century Fox’s proposed remake of the 1955 musical Guys and Dolls.
We say remake, but of course that’s not quite accurate. Guys and Dolls was a Broadway show several years before it became a major motion picture starring Frank Sinatra and (inexplicably) Marlon Brando. Set in a candy-colored Broadway world of gamblers and criminals, the musical tells the story of Sky Masterson, a high-rolling gambler who bets his friend Nathan Detroit that he can get a Salvation Army sergeant to go to Cuba with him. Populated with catchy musical numbers, a strong dose of comedy, and a few sweet romances, Guys and Dolls won the Tony Award for Best Musical. When it was adapted to the screen, a few numbers were added to showcase Frank Sinatra’s voice, while Brando proved that he could do comedy.
Fox closed a deal to remake Guys and Dolls last year and there has already been talk of Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in the lead roles. The addition of Danny Strong as writer means that the studio is pushing ahead with the film, so we should be hearing something more about casting choices before long.
While Guys and Dolls does not really need a remake, it will be interesting to see what Fox does with it. If they can land talented stars like Tatum and Gordon-Levitt in the leads, I’d certainly have more interest in the final product.
As always, we’ll keep an eye on developments and let you know how the dice come up for Guys and Dolls. You can let us know what you think about the remake and the addition of Strong in the comments below.
