Max Martin Musical and ‘The Invention of Hugo Cabret’ Stage Musical in the Works
Tim Headington and Theresa Steele Page’s Ley Line Entertainment will also co-produce director David Lowery’s ”The Green Knight“ movie based on the Arthurian legend
Producers Tim Headington and Theresa Steele Page have teamed up to open Ley Line Entertainment, a content development, production and financing company with projects spanning film, TV and stage.
Among the first projects are two stage productions: a musical based on the chart-topping catalog of Swedish hit-maker Max Martin that’s bound for London’s West End in November 2019. Martin first rose to prominence in the late 1990s with songs for Britney Spears (“…Baby One More Time”), The Backstreet Boys (“I Want It That Way”) and Bon Jovi (“It’s My Life”).
Headington and Page are also working on a stage musical based on Brian Selznick’s illustrated children’s novel “The Invention of Hugo Cabret,” which was previously adapted into the 2011 Martin Scorsese film “Hugo” (which Headington produced).
Selznick is writing the libretto, though no composer is yet attached.
“It’s one of the projects I’ve remained the most fond of in my career, and I still feel a deep personal attachment to the story,” Headington said in a statement. “Brian is truly a genius and the stage seemed like a natural progression for his work.”
The duo, who produced Paul Harrill’s upcoming Sundance 2019 NEXT entry “Light From Light,” are also co-financing and co-producing “The Old Man & the Gun” director David Lowery’s upcoming “The Green Knight,” a re-telling of the Arthurian legend in development with A24 and BRON.
Other upcoming Ley Line projects include Brent Wilson’s untitled documentary about Beach Boys icon Brian Wilson (no relation), which is now in postproduction; an adaptation of Ronlyn Domingue’s novel “The Mercy of Thin Air;” and a film based on Atmos Games’ award-winning indie game “Pinstripe.”
In addition to “Hugo,” Headington has financed and produced such films as “The Young Victoria,” “Argo” and “World War Z.” Page is a former music industry and advertising executive who oversaw the career development of artists such as Britney Spears, NSYNC, Justin Timberlake and Backstreet Boys.
“We started this company in order to foster both new and established talent while telling unique and meaningful stories across a broad range of mediums,” Headington said. “I’m looking forward to embarking on a long and creative partnership with Theresa.”
“Tim and I have diverse and complementary professional backgrounds and artistic tastes,” Page said. “I feel really good about the current lineup of projects we have and I’m excited to find and support the next generation of artists.”
18 Things You Didn't Know About 'The Departed' for Its 10th Anniversary (Photos)
Now that 10 years have passed since it entered theaters, "The Departed" fits comfortably among the canon of all-time great films. Directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg and Vera Farmiga, the gangster film and story of its making are filled with little known facts. Here are a few of them.
Warner Bros.
1. It Took DiCaprio and Scorsese Only One Day to Decide to Do It "We read the script in one day and called each other the next day and said 'Let's do this,'" recalled Leonardo DiCaprioin an interview. He said William Monahan's script "was so well-written."
Warner Bros.
2. Nicholson Didn't Want His Role at First The three-time Oscar winner initially declined the role of Boston gang boss Frank Costello. "I always give a fast no when it's no, and originally there wasn’t a part there," Nicholson told New York Magazine. "I said, 'I'd love to work with you, Marty, I've always wanted to work with you -- and Leo -- but I just can’t do something because I like the idea. I gotta have a part that I’m interested in.'" Scorsese, along with DiCaprio and Damon -- who were already cast -- agreed to expand the part.
Warner Bros.
3. Dead Guy Easter Eggs Scorsese put a subtle "X" in the frame whenever anyone was killed onscreen as an homage to the 1932 version of "Scarface," which is one of his favorite films and first employed the X factor.
Warner Bros.
4. Sex Scenes Were Invented Nicholson suggested his character have sex scenes. "These kind of monsters, they don’t usually have a sex life onscreen, so I wanted to bring that to the part," he said in a 2006 interview. "I pushed that side pretty good. He's a mad, bad nut job, so he's evil sexually too."
Warner Bros.
5. Robert De Niro Was Initially Cast The actor, a Scorsese mainstay going back to 1973's "Mean Streets, eventually decided to ditch "The Departed" to direct "The Good Shepard."
Getty
6. A First-Time Heavyweight Team-Up While it was highly publicized at the time, it's still hard to believe the film marked Nicholson and Scorsese's first ever collaboration. Unlike DiCaprio, who has done five Scorsese films, the two haven't worked together since. Hey, there's still time.
Warner Bros.
7. Brad Pitt Was a Producer Pitt was initially attached to either one of the two lead roles eventually played by DiCaprio and Damon. Pitt eventually served as a producer on the film, one of the first projects out of his Plan B Entertainment.
8. Boston Gangster Whitey Bulger Served as Inspiration Years before Johnny Depp signed on to play Bulger in a biopic (and five years before he was caught hiding out in California), Nicholson used the infamous gangster -- and FBI informant -- as a blueprint for the ruthless Costello.
Warner Bros.
9. It Got Scorsese His Only Oscar Scorsese, one of the all-time greatest filmmakers, has won only one Academy Award in his six-decade career -- for directing "The Departed."
10. Nicholson Went Off Script -- a Lot "You never never know what to expect from him because he can go off the cuff and just say anything or do anything," DiCaprio said in an interview, recalling Nicholson's many improvisations during filming. "In character, it instills this constant fear in you."
Warner Bros.
11. It Owes a Huge Debt to Another Movie Andy Lau's 2002 Hong Kong crime thriller "Infernal Affairs," released four years prior to "The Departed," bears some uncanny similarities to the Oscar-winning Scorsese film. Like "The Departed," it is centered on a police officer who infiltrates organized crime, and also a dirty copy working for the same gang.
“'Infernal Affairs' is a very good example of why I love the Hong Kong Cinema, but 'The Departed' is not a remake of that film," Scorsese has said. "Our film was inspired by 'Infernal Affairs,' because of the nature of the story. However, the world Monahan created is very different from the Hong Kong film."
Said Lau: "Of course I think the version I made is better, but the Hollywood version is pretty good too."
Warner Bros.
12. There Was a "Basketball Diaries" Brotherhood DiCaprio said that knowing Wahlberg since their time working together on 1995's "Basketball Diaries" (pictured) made it easier to "rough each other up" in some scenes. "Although he is a big dude," said the actor of Wahlberg. "No joke. As much as I tried to work out and make myself hard-core for this film, that's a solid man."
13. The Boston Celtics Were Banned Famous for being a diehard Lakers fan, Jack Nicholsonreportedly banned all rival Celtics merchandise during filming.
14. Nicholson Also Refused to Don a Red Sox cap "First of all, they wanted me to wear a Red Sox hat," the actor grumbled during an interview with New York Magazine. "But I said, all things being equal, I don’t want to. My Yanks, they came before the Lakers, of course." Nicholson is originally from New Jersey.
Warner Bros.
15. Nicholson Didn't Like Ray Winstone, Apparently "Me and Jack did not seem to get on too well," Winstone said in 2014. He played Arnold "Frenchy" French, right-hand man to Nicholson's crime boss Costello. "Maybe he was going through a funny time ... Everyone else loves him to death -- I just wanted him to be a great guy. ... We just did not click."
Warner Bros.
16. It Marked a Departure for Both Actor and Director "I got to play somebody who was constantly in angst, having 24-hour panic attacks, which is something I never got to do before," said DiCaprio, who argued the film also marked a departure for Scorsese because it involved "intelligence, counter intelligence, the police department, FBI, Irish mobsters in Boston as opposed to Italian guys in New York."
17. Mark Wahlberg's Boston Roots Helped "My growing up there has an affect on everything that I do," said Wahlberg. "The only difference was I was playing one of the cops [like the ones] that used to arrest me all the time. You usually become a crook or a cop in Boston -- or a construction worker. There's not much in between."
Warner Bros.
18. There Has Been Sequel Chatter for Years Dating back to shortly after the release of "The Departed," reports have swirled that a sequel starring Robert De Niro was in the works. In 2011, screenwriter William Monahan reignited the idea when he described his concept for a followup film in an interview with Collider. So far, nothing has been greenlit, as Scorsese has been kept busy with acclaimed films including "Hugo," "The Wolf of Wall Street," several other producing projects and his upcoming film "Silence," about 17th century Jesuit priests, starring Adam Driver, Liam Neeson and Andrew Garfield.
Warner Bros.
1 of 19
Martin Scorsese’s Boston gangster movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson and Mark Wahlberg hit theaters in 2006
Now that 10 years have passed since it entered theaters, "The Departed" fits comfortably among the canon of all-time great films. Directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg and Vera Farmiga, the gangster film and story of its making are filled with little known facts. Here are a few of them.