Studio:
Touchstone Pictures.
Production Company:
Unknown.
Project Phase: Greenlighted.
Who's In It:
Hank Azaria (Marc Blitzstein); John Cusack (Nelson Rockefeller); Susan Sarandon; Emily Watson; Joan Cusack;
John Turturro; Ruben Blades; Cary Elwes (John Houseman); Angus McFadden
(Orson Welles); Vanessa Redgrave; Cherry Jones.
Who's Making It:
Tim Robbins (Director, Screenwriter);
Jon Kilik, Lydia Picher (Producers); Allan Nicholls (Executive
Producer).
Premise: Centering on events that occurred when the 1930's Marc Blitzstein musical The Cradle Will Rock was barred from opening because federal bureaucrats judged it was an attack on capitalism. Blitzstein and a group of eccentric artists led by Orson Welles and John Houseman rallied to overcome enormous obstacles by staging the musical at a nearby theater, sans props, with Blitzstein playing the score on a piano.
Release Date: Unknown.
Comments: Unknown.
Rumors: Unknown.
Scoop Feedback:
[Page draft submitted by 'Deadpool'.]
July 26, 1998... Tim Robbins will direct this feature from his own script based on the banning of a stage musical by the government in the 1930's. Sources on the project that spoke to Variety back in May said the film will be a broader retelling of the story rather than a replay of BlitzsteinÆs musical which showcased artists striving for freedom of expression in a repressive climate. Robbins has been working on the project for the past year after setting it up with Disney chairman Joe Roth and Touchstone topper Donald DeLine. The film, which began shooting in New York this month is RobbinsÆ first trip behind the camera since directing Sarandon to an Oscar in Dead Man Walking, for which he was also nominated as Best Director. Robbins is also completing a starring role in Polygram FilmsÆ Arlington Road. [Scoop provided by 'Deadpool'.]
July 28, 1998... "A couple of weeks ago, they were shooting this film a couple of blocks away from where I live (at Madison Square Park), in the same location where last summer the big fisheating scene in Godzilla was shot," our scooper writes to us. "The production had transformed 3 blocks of Fifth Avenue into a scene out of the 1930s, with a fabric store, a small diner, and classic cars lining the road and sidewalk. It was great...I felt as if I was sucked into a time warp everytime I stepped out of my front door." ['Nickytosh'.]
"I saw the shooting in new york about 3-4 weeks ago on a Sunday... it looked awsome. They had two 30s busses, several cars and trucks, they 'redecorated' the place around the Flatiron building (pre-Godzilla, Deep Impact and Armageddon, yep, it is still standing :) where the shooting took place. They covered traffic lights and signs with branches and greenstuff. I talked to one of the guys who guarded the street, and since he said 'It is a Disney production' I expected some kiddy movie and did not investigate any further. He then told me that they were shooting that very day and they plan for a march of 800 people! The cars just looked too cool, I wish I had taken pictures..." [Reported by 'Caipirina'.]
September 27, 1998... A report from someone who worked on the set: "Tim Robbins was a nightmare as a director on the set of Cradle. The crew knew it was an important film that we were proud to be a part of but Tim's rudeness and inhumane behavior shocked everyone. New York crews are pretty tough but on the last day of shooting one of the A.D.'s got a voo doo doll and put Tim's face on it. Everyone stuck it to him. No one would argue he's a brilliant guy but he has no idea of how to treat people. Tim knows it himself. He wrote a letter mid-film apologizing for his outbursts but he never changed." [Scoop sent in Anonymously]
October 2, 1998... Comments from an extra: "Let's set the record straight!! I worked as a lowly extra on the set of the cradle will rock, and Tim Robbins was a DREAM! He spoke to us often, thanked us again and again, and shook our hand when the shoot was over.I was proud of the job I performed and thrilled to be a part of such an important part of film history. Tim Robbins knows how to relate to people-perhaps the AD's on the project should look for another line of work." [Scoop provided by 'addressbzbell']
October 11, 1998... Some more Robbins gossip: "To chime in on the Tim Robbins gossip ... I thought Dead Man Walking was great, but am not crazy about Robbins onscreen; I mention his so this defense of him doesn't seem like fanboyism. Over the summer Cradle Will Rock was filming on my street in Washington Hts., NYC. I wandered over to the shoot and watched for a while. Can't say that I know this was representative of the whole shoot, but I've spent years in New York and have never seen a shoot that was so placid. Not a single PA approached with 'move your ass - this is a *movie*!' surliness, nor with the oversweet 'Please go or I'll be fired' pleas. In fact, I wandered amidst the crew, including being within arm's length of Mr. Robbins. The set sure wasn't a powderkeg that day, and I credit a lot of that to Robbins, who was so easygoing that he not only let neighborhood people mingle but he even let the little kids call 'action!' through his megaphone. Hope that there were more days like mine than the unpleasant ones described." [Scoop provided by 'Inspector Li'.]
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