Stanley Donen May Get Back In The Director’s Chair, Peyton Reed Is ‘The Fifth Beatle’ & More

It’s been a staggering twenty-nine years since legendary “Charade” and “Singin’ in the Rain” director Stanley Donen last had a film on the big screen—the 1999 Laura Linney and Steven Weber-starring TV movie “Love Letters” is last his directorial credit—but at age 89 he’s considering getting back behind the camera and into the director’s chair.

Showbiz 411 reports Donen has co-written a comedy with his significant other and the great director behind “Ishtar” and “The Heartbreak Kid,” Elaine May, that will be produced by fellow icon Mike Nichols, no less. What’s it about? “The making of a movie and everything that goes wrong” said a source to the site. A private reading was held a few weeks ago that included Christopher Walken, Charles Grodin and Ron Rifkin. Count us in.

It was in the summer of 2011 that “The Fifth Beatle,” one of two competing biopics of legendary Beatles manager Brian Epstein, finally secured financing and rights to the Beatles catalog. Here we are two years later and a director has finally signed on—so says Deadline—in the form of “The Break-Up” and “Bring It On” helmer Peyton Reed. Given Reed’s background in comedy, we’re curious to see what the tone will be.

Another day, another adaptation of a series of young adult novels. Variety reports Universal has nabbed first-time director and visual-effects veteran Michael Gracey (the forthcoming Elton John biopic “Rocketman“) to helm the Stuart Beattie-written adaption of “Daughter of Smoke and Bone.” The Laini Taylor-penned novel is the first part of a planned trilogy—the last novel is due next spring—that “follows a young art student who embarks on an unusual quest where she encounters ethereal spirits.” Will this just be another franchise non-starter or will it go the distance and end with a two-part final chapter like the successful adaptations do?