Wicked Adaptation to be Split into Two Films
Earlier today, director Jon M. Chu announced on social media that his upcoming adaptation of Wicked will be split into two films. Universal Pictures will release the first movie, starring Cynthia Erivo and Ariana Grande, on December 25th, 2024. The second Wicked movie will debut a year later on December 25th, 2025. “As we prepared the production over the last year, it became impossible to wrestle the story of Wicked into a single film without doing some real damage to it,” Chu wrote in a statement. “As we tried to cut songs or trim characters, those decisions began to feel like fatal compromises to the source material that has entertained us all for so many years. We decided to give ourselves a bigger canvas and make not just one ‘Wicked’ movie but two! With more space, we can tell the story of ‘Wicked’ as it was meant to be told while bringing even more depth and surprise to the journeys for these beloved characters.”
HBO Nabs Dave Eggers’ Novel The Every for Development
HBO has nabbed the rights to Dave Eggers’ novel The Every and is now developing a series based on the book, adapted by Rachel Axler. Axler and Eggers will executive produce the potential series along with David Miner. The novel, published on October 2021 by McSweeney’s, tells the story of a woman who takes a job at tech company The Every with the intent of taking it down from the inside. “In this equally terrifying and hilarious cautionary tale, Dave Eggers shows us the increasing cost of the frictionless life that technology enables,” said HBO Programming executive VP Amy Gravitt. “As he writes, ‘Nothing described herein actually happened, though much of it likely will,’ and what better starting point for an HBO comedy script?”
Florida Man Asks Schools to Ban Bible Following State’s Efforts to Ban Books
In petitions sent to public school superintendents across the state, Florida activist Chaz Stevens has asked school districts in Florida to ban the Bible. Stevens’ petitions cite a bill signed into law last month by Governor Ron DeSantis, which allows parents object to educational materials. The bill was created in response to parents’ complaints about sexually explicit books being taught in Florida schools. Now, Stevens is arguing that the Bible is not age-appropriate for students. Stevens’s petition points to the Bible’s “casual” references to murder, adultery, sexual immorality, and fornication. “Do we really want to teach our youth about drunken orgies?” Stevens asks.