PAUL WILLIAMS & SAM PRESSMAN TELL MOVIEMAKER MAG THEY ARE WORKING ON A PHANTOM STAGE MUSICAL
An excerpt from a MovieMaker Magazine exclusive article by Tim Molloy:
Phantom of the Paradise, the cult classic 1974 Brian de Palma film that reworked Phantom of the Opera and starred songwriting icon Paul Williams as the manipulative music producer known as Swan, is being made into a stage musical by Williams and Sam Pressman, whose father, Ed Pressman, produced the original.“I’m excited about having a chance to deliver what fans have been suggesting for years… POTP as a stage musical,” Williams said in a statement to MovieMaker. “I think it’s time has come!”
In addition to starring in the film, which De Palma wrote and directed, Williams composed the score and wrote the songs. Pressman told MovieMaker that he and Williams have spoken to multiple potential writers for the stage musical, including American Psycho and The Shards author Bret Easton Ellis — though no commitments have been made.
Pressman told MovieMaker that he, Williams and Ellis had “such an amazing dinner — Bret’s such a true fan of Phantom and of Paul, and it was awesome to introduce the two of them in person.”
Ellis has also mentioned the meeting on his podcast, though again, nothing is settled in terms of the stage musical’s writer.
Asked about De Palma’s potential involvement in the new stage play, Pressman said there were potentially “different paths… it’s just so early.”
De Palma has been considering a Phantom of the Paradise stage musical for decades. Pressman noted that he recently revisited a libretto, or book, that De Palma wrote for a prospective stage version of the film back in 1987. Pressman has also discussed the project with De Palma.
“We certainly want Brian to feel honored,” Pressman said. “I went to go see Brian last fall, to talk about the dream. Phantom was an early and significant film for him and I’d say the favorite film of my father in his career. I think the chaos and originality of the whole experience was deeply inspiring.”
Pressman noted that the plan is to open the stage play “not on Broadway” but “building to that stage.”
Ari Kahan of The Swan Archives is also quoted in the article - read the rest of it at MovieMaker.