The film adaptation of the Broadway musical Sunset Boulevard has found a director.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Tony-winning choreographer Rob Ashford will make his feature debut with the film, with Glenn Close reprising the role she played twice to great acclaim on stage.
With a book and lyrics by Don Black and Christopher Hampton, and music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, the musical takes its basis from Billy Wilder’s Oscar-winning 1950 film of the same name.
Close will play Norma Desmond, a now-faded star of the silent screen era, attempting to hold on to her former glory by locking herself away in her decaying mansion.
When she crosses paths with a young screenwriter named Joe Gillis, she believes she’s found her path back to the big screen.
The musical first opened in London in 1993 and has since enjoyed several long runs internationally.
Close won her third Tony Award when she played Desmond in 1994, later returning to the role in 2016. Production is set to commence in fall.
Ashford won a Tony for best choreography for 2002’s Thoroughly Modern Millie and earned nominations for The Wedding Singer, Curtains, Cry-Baby, Promises, Promises, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, and Evita.
