The mighty Warner Bros have picked up ‘Buzz: The Life and Art of Busby Berkeley‘ by Jeffrey Spivak with the plan that Ryan Gosling will come on-board to produce and, very possibly, star.
Berkeley was the man of Hollywood’s golden era who you went to for choreography and directing if you wanted an original, elaborate dance routine from 1933 right through to 1955 and included such classics as GOLD DIGGERS OF 1933 (and ‘of 1935’) , FOR ME AND MY GAL (1942) and 42ND STREET (1933).
The big centre-piece for Busby was those classic kaleidoscopic chorus girls overhead shots, that moved them into patterns on the screen. Over his career he earned three Oscar nominations for best dance direction, an honour that no longer exists with less and less musicals being made. The great man was famed for bringing that escapism to an era that wasn’t that good for many, he positively knew of his impact and what he gave to the time, saying:
“In an era of breadlines, depression and wars. I tried to help people get away from all the misery…to turn their minds to something else. I wanted to make people happy, if only for an hour.”
Gosling would team up with Marc Platt to produce, the latter who also has great experience after backing the likes of Wicked, Legally Blonde and the upcoming Stephen Sondheim big-screen adaption INTO THE WOODS starring Johnny Depp, Anna Kendrick, and Meryl Streep.
We’ll bring you news of the Busby Berkeley Biopic as we get it and here a picture reminder of one of his famous routine’s below from 42ND STREET:
Source: THR
