Sunset Boulevard musical film adaptation ‘moving forward’

More details have been teased about a long awaited film adaptation of Sunset Boulevard the Musical.

Work on a big screen version has been underway since 2005 and production may finally be getting closer.

Glenn Close, who won a Tony for her role as Norma Desmond in the original Broadway production, told Us Weekly: “It’s moving forward. The movie is in the works and I’m not giving up on that one.”

The Oscar nominee added of the character Norma Desmond: “It’s so beautiful to me that she’s always still so relevant. The time passes, but that character is always important,” she said. “We’re trying to find a director, we have a great script.

“That character of Norma is so heartbreakingly beautiful and will never not have relevance, it’s been a great blessing to play her and I’m not willing to let her go yet without one more tribute.”

Speaking previously in 2020, Close said the team were “ready” to begin filming.

She told Vogue magazine: “We have a fantastic script. I’m starring as well as producing, so I’ve been in the trenches with that one. We’re just waiting for an absolute green light, and I hope it’ll happen in the new year because we’re ready.”

Close added: “I used to think I needed to play Albert Nobbs before I died, but now I think I need to do this. I can’t really put Norma to rest until I’ve explored her on film, so I hope that that happens.”

The three-time Tony Award winner also spoke about recreating the character for the screen.

She explained: “In theater, if you analyze the songs, some of them are very internal. It’s what’s going on in her head. So that, to me, will be fascinating, because how your face looks when you’re singing a high note in front of a theater will look very different when you see it in close-up.

“To me, it’ll be a great experiment. I personally think it’s Andrew’s most beautiful score. To bring the emotionality of the music with that iconic story to the screen would be simply hair-raising. That’s something I’m looking forward to.”

It was previously reported that Rob Ashford would direct the film with a screenplay by Tom MacRae.

Sunset Boulevard features music by Andrew Lloyd Webber with lyrics and book by Don Black and Christopher Hampton.

Based on the 1950 film of the same name, it follows a faded silent screen star Norma Desmond who has a chance encounter with a screenwriter Joe Gillis that leads to romance, drama and tragedy.

The Tony award-winning musical, which first opened in the West End in 1993, features songs including With One Look, As If We Never Said Goodbye and Perfect Year.