Rob Marshall is set to direct a film version of the highly acclaimed Broadway musical "Into the Woods" for Walt Disney PIctures. The film will feature original music by Stephen Sondheim and will be written for the screen by James Lapine. (Lapine co-wrote the stage script with Sondheim.)
Rob Marshall most recently directed Disney's Pirates of the Caribbean: On Strager Tides, which earned over $1 billion dollars in worldwide grosses. It became Disney's biggest overseas success in it's long and successful history and was the first Pirates film to be shot in 3D.
This won't be Marshall's first venture into the world of musicals as he took a spot behind the camera in 2002 to direct the Academy Award winning Chicago. He has also directed Memoirs of a Geisha, Nine, and co-directed the revival of 'Cabaret.' He is a four-time Emmy Award winner and six-time Tony Award nominee.
"Into the Woods" is a unique story that weaves together many popular fairytales (Cinderella, Little Red Riding Hood, Repunzel) into something entirely new. The story itself centers on a Baker and his wife who try to reverse a curse that has been placed on their family that makes childbearing impossible. The play was nominated for ten Tony Awards in 1988, taking home three. In 2002 the Broadway revival walked away with a Tony for best revival of a musical.
