Is Thomas Kail still working on Fiddler on the Roof?
Is Thomas Kail still working on Fiddler on the Roof?
#1Is Thomas Kail still working on Fiddler on the Roof?
Posted: 7/28/22 at 11:16am
A new adaptation of Fiddler on the Roof -- to be helmed by Thomas Kail -- was announced on May 28, 2020.
https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Thomas-Kail-to-Direct-FIDDLER-ON-THE-ROOF-Film-Adaptation-with-Steven-Levenson-Writing-the-Script-20200528
Wondering if this still happening. No recent updates on IMDb.
Jan Lisa Huttner
#2Is Thomas Kail still working on Fiddler on the Roof?
Posted: 7/28/22 at 11:48am
Was wondering recently about this too. I remember when Josh Gad posted an audition video, but I wasn’t a fan of the vocals.
#3Is Thomas Kail still working on Fiddler on the Roof?
Posted: 7/28/22 at 11:54am
Josh Gad? Audition? For which part? A bit young to play Tevye. "Right? Of course, right."
Jan Lisa Huttner
#4Is Thomas Kail still working on Fiddler on the Roof?
Posted: 7/28/22 at 12:01pm
Pretty sure Topol was younger than Gad is now when he made the film.
AEA AGMA SM
Broadway Legend Joined: 8/13/09
#5Is Thomas Kail still working on Fiddler on the Roof?
Posted: 7/28/22 at 12:12pm
Yes, Topol was 35 while filming the movie. Josh Gad is currently 41.
Also, keep in mind that Tevye and Golde are really only in their early 40s. In "Do You Love Me?" they mention being married 25 years, and they would have probably married around 18 (remember Golde is concerned because Tzeitel is almost 20 and not married yet).
Jarethan
Broadway Legend Joined: 2/10/11
#6Is Thomas Kail still working on Fiddler on the Roof?
Posted: 7/28/22 at 12:43pm
I suspect that Josh Gad wouldn’t have the gravitas to play Tevye.
#7Is Thomas Kail still working on Fiddler on the Roof?
Posted: 7/28/22 at 12:48pm
AEA AGMA SM said: "Yes, Topol was 35 while filming the movie. Josh Gad is currently 41.
Also, keep in mind that Tevye and Golde are really only in their early 40s. In "Do You Love Me?" they mention being married 25 years, and they would have probably married around 18 (remember Golde is concerned because Tzeitel is almost 20 and not married yet)."
Sure, but I think believable storytelling has to be taken into account.
I’ve mentioned this before, but I always think of an anecdote told to me by a film acting teacher I had: during a shoot they used real toast, but the director said it didn’t look “toasty” enough. So they had to artificially make it look more “toasty” so that it would read to the audience - even though they were actually using real-life toast.
The lesson: more realistic does not always mean more believable, from an audience/storytelling perspective.
Josh Gad may be 41, but he doesn’t read as old as Tevye reads. Especially since “41" doesn’t necessarily look the same today as it did in 1905, or even 1971 for that matter (also, I’d argue that Topol looked/read significantly older than he actually was, which is partly why he pulled it off).
Dollypop
Broadway Legend Joined: 5/15/03
#8Is Thomas Kail still working on Fiddler on the Roof?
Posted: 7/28/22 at 1:04pm
I have the reverse situation:
The on-again-off-again "The Spirituality of FIDDLER ON THE ROOF" project I've been involved with for a few years is on again. I'll be playing Tevye in his monologues and songs in this event, while a priest discusses the religious aspects of the musical. As I'll be 75 real soon and my hair is now white, I'm hoping that with the help of Just For Men I'll be convincing as a father and not a grandfather..
"Long live God!" (GODSPELL)
#9Is Thomas Kail still working on Fiddler on the Roof?
Posted: 1/22/24 at 4:53pm
Is this still happening?
In our millions, in our billions, we are most powerful when we stand together. TW4C unwaveringly joins the worldwide masses, for we know our liberation is inseparably bound.
Signed,
Theater Workers for a Ceasefire
https://theaterworkersforaceasefire.com/statement
Ke3
Broadway Star Joined: 6/25/20
#10Is Thomas Kail still working on Fiddler on the Roof?
Posted: 1/22/24 at 5:17pm
In the year and half to two year span before it was sold to Amazon, MGM greenlit a ton of projects. Many of them would have mined IP from their vault. My thinking is this was done partially as advertising. "Look what you'll get if you buy us!" I don't think any of the projects they announced will actually happen. Especially because Abdy and De Luca (the excuctives in charge at the time) left for WB + Amazon has completely restructured their Hollywood operations. They're reigning in their "we can afford to spend whatever" attitude.
#11Is Thomas Kail still working on Fiddler on the Roof?
Posted: 1/22/24 at 5:28pm
Well, alas, all mention of it has vanished completely from Thomas Kail's IMDb page (see link below), so Ke3's explanation sounds likely. I am very sad because IMHO *Fiddler on the Roof* really needs an onscreen update. (I have never been a fan of the film. I think Topol was badly miscast -- albeit very good on stage in his later years -- and Jewison violated the spirit of the Robbins version, mostly especially with respect to the Yente character. All of this is discussed in considerable detail in my book *Diamond Fiddler: New Traditions for a New Millennium*.) Alas! https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2371802/?
Jan Lisa Huttner
Updated On: 1/22/24 at 05:28 PM
#12Is Thomas Kail still working on Fiddler on the Roof?
Posted: 1/22/24 at 8:28pm
I'm not especially a Topol fan, but the ship has long since sailed on getting Zero Mostel in a movie version.
So for me, Fiddler on the Roof in Yiddish is the movie version I want to see.
#13Is Thomas Kail still working on Fiddler on the Roof?
Posted: 1/22/24 at 10:31pm
Norman Jewison, who directed FIDDLER ON THE ROOF for the screen, has passed away at age 97.
i mention it as I think it is one of the best Broadway-to-Film adaptations ever. The movie still works and I think it was perfect in its execution. I still watch it every year or so.
