Steven Spielberg States That He's Not Interested in Directing Another Musical Movie

Yesterday, the Producers Guild of America held their 33rd annual awards ceremony, honoring the most acclaimed film and television directors from 2021. The event took place at the Fairmount Century Plaza in Los Angeles, California. A breakfast was held yesterday morning, March 19th, at the Skirball Cultural Center for all nominees for the Darryl F. Zanuck Award. Lisa Fisher, current president of the Producers Guild of America, ran a panel discussion, themed around Oscar winner Steven Spielberg. He was nominated for West Side Story, a new take on the 1961 musical movie. The film starred Ansel Elgort as Tony and newcomer Rachel Zegler as Maria.

According to Variety, over the course of the panel discussion, Spielberg shared that he will never direct another movie musical. However, he did mention that he is in favor of producing them, noting his upcoming role as co-producer for the remake of the 1985 film, The Color Purple. He shares the role with Oprah Winfrey and Quincy Jones. Spielberg served as director of the original 1985 film, which featured Whoopi Goldberg, Oprah Winfrey, Danny Glover, and more. The movie also had music by Quincy Jones. The film was nominated for 11 Oscars and earned Spielberg his first Directors Guild of America award.

The new film is set to star Fantasia Barrino as Celie and Danielle Brooks as Sofia. Both actresses are no stranger to the roles. Barrino played Celie in the original production on Broadway, replacing Kenita R. Miller during the spring of 2007. Brooks recently played Sofia in the Tony Award-winning revival, earning a Tony nomination for Best Performance By An Actress In A Featured Role In A Musical.

It was previously announced that Taraji P. Henson will play Shug Avery in the new film adaption. Henson will join the previously announced Corey Hawkins as Harpo and H.E.R. as Squeak. It was also reported that H.E.R. was working with the film's creative team to write a new song for the film. Blitz Bazawule will direct the movie with a script by Marcus Gardley. It will be released in December, 2023.

Pictured: Kate Capshaw and Director Steven Spielberg

Photo Credits: Charley Gallay and Jesse Grant