When I first saw a touring company
production of the Tony-winning Broadway smash
Jersey Boys
several years ago, my first reaction was, “this show would make a
great movie!” I know that's an odd plaudit to bestow upon a
piece of live theatre, especially a jukebox musical that follows the
tired old showbiz & stardom narrative of
rise-then-fall-then-rise-again, but there was something about this
play's fluid pageantry and explosive musicality that just sparkled
with cinematic potential. Naturally, my thoughts went to playing
armchair producer as I imagined all the dynamic filmmakers I'd love
to see run with this material (Martin Scorsese, Baz Luhrmann, and
Bill Condon are just a few that came to mind).
But probably the last name I'd have
considered to fill the director's chair on this project was Clint
Eastwood. The American journeyman's staid formalism didn't seem like
it would jive with the infectious rhythms of Frankie Valli and the
Four Seasons' bustling pop-rock hits, let alone the almost
caricatured energy of the stage show's characters. So it's
understandable that I was nervously intrigued when it came to light
that The Man With No Name himself would be producing and directing
the film adaption.
