EXCLUSIVE : Rob Minkoff ( The Lion King ) is set to direct Tenor by Night , a live-action comedy musical fantasy based on the Chinese-themed stage musical of the same name, created and produced by James Chiao.
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Written by Peter Barsocchini ( High School Musical franchise), the film is described as a whimsical, cross-cultural comedy about a Chinese American businessman who gives up his dreams of becoming a world-famous singer to build a successful mannequin business to support his family. Through a series of magical misadventures, a group of mannequins are brought to life which leads to a second chance to fulfill his dreams.
The project is believed to be the first Chinese-themed musical coming up for production in Hollywood since Flower Drum Song in 1961. Hope is for it to draft on the success of such recent Chinese American-themed box office hits as Everything Everywhere All at Once and Crazy Rich Asians . Casting for the pic is now underway.
Arthur Sarkissian ( Rush Hour franchise, While You Were Sleeping ) and Julia Jay Pierrepont III ( Good ) will produce the film, with Chiao serving as its executive producer.
Stated Sarkissian, “ Tenor by Night is a rollicking tale complete with a dad’s mid-life crisis, a mom’s marital woes, a tyrannical mother-in-law, and a mortifying meltdown on TikTok. The film speaks to the familiar yearning in all of us to fulfill our dreams at any age.”
Added Minkoff, “What attracted me to the story was its universal themes of love and family, and the magic of bringing a crew of dancing mannequins to life!”
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Minkoff is best known for co-directing Disney’s classic animated feature The Lion King , which won two Academy Awards, three Golden Globes and a BAFTA Award in 1995. Also the director of the Oscar-nominated Stuart Little and its sequel, he’s more recently directed the 2014 animated feature Mr. Peabody & Sherman for DreamWorks and Fox, also co-directing Paws of Fury: The Legend of Hank .
Barsocchini is best known for scripting all three films in Disney Channel’s huge hit series High School Musical , which launched the careers of Zac Efron and Vanessa Hudgen and served as the basis for Disney+’s more recent High School Musical: The Musical: The Series .
In addition to the globally successful Rush Hour franchise, starring Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker, Sarkissian has produced titles like Memory , starring Liam Neeson; The Protégé , starring Maggie Q and Michael Keaton; and While You Were Sleeping , starring Sandra Bullock, Bill Pullman, and Peter Gallagher.
Pierrepont III is best known for exec producing the 2008 drama Good , starring Viggo Mortenson, an adaptation of Cecil Philip Taylor’s play of the same same.
Minkoff is represented by Independent Artists Group, Gotham Group, and Gang, Tyre, Ramer. Barsocchini is repped by Inspired Entertainment, and Kleinberg, Lange, Cuddy & Carlo.
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