I wanted Rebel Wilson to play Little Red in the Into Woods feature film to be produced soon. But alas, those dreams got dashed away when I got word that Miss Sophia Grace has been cast in that part.
I was taken aback and a little confused, but it looks pretty legit. Sophia Grace - Youtube sensation and Ellen Show guest star - will play Little Red in the Into the Woods movie.
For the uninitiated, Litte Red, is NOT a little part. She is one of the main characters in this Fairy Tale epic. She has to sing those complicated Sondheim songs, and she has a bunch of scenes with the wolf (played by Johnny Depp in the film) that are downwright creepy in the original libretto. She is usually played by a teenage girl. Sophia Grace wasn't anyone's choice for this part.
But I trust director Rob Marshall. I am in love with his work. I loved how he directed Annie, Chicago, Memoirs of a Geisha and Nine. (I think I'm the only one who loved Nine though) And his work was amazing in musical films like Gypsy and Cinderella. I don't think he would've cast Sophia Grace if he didn't think she could do the part.
Movie musicals have a grand tradition of differing from the source material. Grease, Sound of Music, Hairspray the Musical... all of those movie musicals are very different from their stage incarnations and they still work... as films. I have no idea what Rob Marshall is going to do with Into the Woods. I really wish I did. The show itself is not easily adaptable to the screen. Rob Marshall has a lot to do in order for this film to work and I trust with his background in theater and movie musicals that whatever he does will be classic.
Also, I look at this from Sophia's perspective. Here's a little girl with big dreams and now she gets to star in a movie with Johnny Depp and Meryl Streep. She's going to be getting an education from the best in the business AND she gets to star in a movie musical version of one of the greatest fairy tale musicals of all time. I have to applaud Miss Sophia Grace and pray that the film succeeds if not for that alone - and I was already excited no matter who was cast in it.
