Working Title News

THQ Inc. (NASDAQ: THQI) and Syfy, the premier destination for imagination-based entertainment, today announced a first-of-its-kind transmedia deal to debut Red Faction: Origins, (working title) a two hour live-action movie pilot scheduled to air in March 2011 on Syfy. The story of Red Faction: Origins follows the lineage of rebel hero Alec Mason and the Mason family, set during a period between the critically acclaimed Red Faction Guerilla(TM) video game and the recently announced and highly anticipated Red Faction Armageddon(TM) video game, also scheduled for release in March 2011.

According to a recent People.com article, Meryl Streep and Tina Fey may be collaborating on a new film.

Universal Pictures Stage Productions, Working Title Films and Old Vic Productions in association with Weinstein Live Entertainment are announcing, with Broadway In Chicago, that tickets for the finAl Block of BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL in Chicago will go on sale Friday, July 16, 2010. After a successful 10-month run, BILLY ELLIOT will play its final Chicago performance on January 15, 2011. This finAl Block of performances runs from October 26, 2010 through January 15, 2011 and includes popular holiday performances.

BABALU was a fine night at the theater. I am not positive yet if it is a revue, a nightclub act, or a Broadway musical trying to find its way. Filled with the music of Desi Arnaz, and a few others, this show is a love letter from Lucie Arnaz to her much adored father, Desi. She talks a lot about her father, sings and dances to music from his career and spends the performance as a charming host. Lucie looks beautiful, and her singing is wonderful. She appears to be having a fine time, and certainly wants the audience to have a great time.

Universal Pictures Stage Productions, Working Title Films and Old Vic Productions in association with Weinstein Live Entertainment announced today that the first national tour of Billy Elliot the Musical, the 2009 Tony Award-winning Best Musical featuring music by Elton John, book and lyrics by Lee Hall, choreography by Peter Darling and direction by Stephen Daldry, will play its final performance in Chicago on Saturday, January 15, 2011 at the Ford Center for the Performing Arts, Oriental Theatre (24 W. Randolph Street).

Universal Pictures Stage Productions, Working Title Films and Old Vic Productions in association with Weinstein Live Entertainment are announcing, with Broadway In Chicago, that tickets for the finAl Block of BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL in Chicago will go on sale Friday, July 16, 2010. After a successful 10-month run, BILLY ELLIOT will play its final Chicago performance on January 15, 2011. This finAl Block of performances runs from October 26, 2010 through January 15, 2011 and includes popular holiday performances.

Imago Theatre is holding auditions for actors 18 and older for a summer production of a new original work titled 'Hero' (working title) on July 7th at 6PM at Imago Theatre, 17 SE 8th Avenue.

According to the New York Times, Nick Jonas just can't seem to shake his squealing fans. In an article titled 'Swoons Follow Nick Jonas, on and Off the London Stage', the paper reports

Ramin Karmiloo, Samantha Barks, Alfie Boe, Nick Jonas, Norm Lewis, Matt Lucas, Lea Salonga, Jenny Galloway, and Camilla Kerslake have completed the principal casting for the Les Miserables 25th anniversary concert at the O2. Nick Jonas has extended his role as Marius at the Queen's Theatre until July 24.

As BroadwayWorld has reported, producer Cameron Mackintosh will present a 25th Anniversary production of LES MISERABLES this fall. Together with the current production at the Queen's Theatre in the West End and a 25th Anniversary concert of the show in the works, this new production - which will play the Barbican Theatre - will mark the first time 3 renditions of the same show has run simultaneously in the UK. The 25th Anniversary production will tour the US beginning this fall.

As BroadwayWorld has previously reported, the musical version of Helen Fielding's popular novel, 'Bridget Jones's Diary,' is in the works with aspirations to open in the West End. Fielding is working with British recording artist Lily Allen and Greg Kurstin on the musical's score and lyrics and is working on the book with assistance from Julian Webber. Stephen Daldry, the director of BILLY ELLIOT, directed the recent workshop alongside Webber and choreographer Peter Darling; Working Title is producing the project.

Imago Theatre is holding auditions for actors 18 and older for a summer production of a new original work titled 'Hero' (working title) on July 7th at 6PM at Imago Theatre, 17 SE 8th Avenue.

On Monday, June 20, Jonas Brother Nick Jonas joined the West End production of LES MISERABLES, now playing at the Queen's Theatre, as 'Marius.'. BroadwayWorld brings you a first look at Jonas in the production below!

TBS and Just For Laughs have announced the lineup and airdate for a new TBS special that will be taped during the second-annual edition of TBS PRESENTS A 'VERY FUNNY' FESTIVAL: JUST FOR LAUGHS this June in Chicago.

Working Title presents 'Once Upon a Tiger!' Will fairy tales in the near future begin, 'Once Upon a Tiger ...! Will the tiger too be heard of only in stories, never to be seen again? The tiger is dying - what does that mean to us? The play takes you to the jungle in search of the missing tiger.

The Little Prince from Planet BB88 has a strange problem. He has a rose and a goat on his planet. He loves them both. But how to protect the rose from being eaten up by the goat??? A fun-filled play with many songs, dance and...Magic!

This August, COMEDY CENTRAL is setting fire to David Hasselhoff in 'The COMEDY CENTRAL Roast of David Hasselhoff,' chilling with loser friends in 'Big Lake' and wondering if Whitney Cummings really just said that in her new stand-up special. The only all-comedy network also has the movie premieres of 'Good Luck Chuck,' 'The Cable Guy' and 'Strange Wilderness.' New episodes of 'Tosh.0,' 'Futurama,' 'It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia,' 'Russell Simmons Presents Stand-Up at The El Rey,' 'The Daily Show with Jon Stewart' and 'The Colbert Report' also continue throughout August.

When Kinan Valdez, the producing artistic director of El Teatro Campesino (ETC), began planning El Teatro's 2010 season, he was inspired to use the working-title 'Raices/Roots' because many of the pieces this season are classic works-or inspired from the classic works-created in the beginnings of San Juan Bautista's world-renown, all original, theater company. At the same time, Valdez is also creating new works to add to the company's artistic arsenal. The newest work created by Valdez is ‘Corridos!!! Tales of the Mexican Revolution,' which begins June 18 at El Teatro Campesino's playhouse in San Juan Bautista.

Actress Kristen Bell is in talks to star with Drew Barrymore in the upcoming film 'Whales,' contactmusic.com reports. The film is based on a true story of a journalist and a charity worker who worked together to free whales trapped in Arctic ice, while dealing with tension between Russia and the United States. Bell would play the journalist, who relies on her looks to create a story.

A Whirlwind of Comedy Prepares to Descend on Chicago for a Second Year as TBS PRESENTS A 'VERY FUNNY' FESTIVAL: JUST FOR LAUGHS - Ellen DeGeneres, Cedric The Entertainer, Denis Leary, Russell Peters, Greg Giraldo, Jim Norton, Aziz Ansari and Bob Odenkirk Lined Up for Festival Taking Place June 15-19, 2010, With More Exciting Talent to be Announced Soon.