Negotiations are underway to turn Broadway musical into a full feature.
Deadline reports that Universal Pictures is negotiating to turn the Broadway musical ‘American Idiot’ into a film. The musical was optioned by Tom Hanks and his Playtone partner Gary Goetzman before it’s opening last spring.
Using songs from Green Day’s album of the same name, ‘American Idiot’ the musical tells a coming of age story about three small-town guys forced to choose between their dreams and the safety of suburbia.
Oscar-winning writer Dustin Lance Black (‘Milk’) is in talks to write the screenplay. Michael Mayer, who directed the stage run of the musical, is being eyed to direct the feature film.
Green Day lead singer/songwriter Billie Joe Armstrong is set to play the role of the drug dealer St. Jimmy. Each time he did a stint in the role on Broadway, the grosses rose considerably at the St. James Theatre.