Friday, September 11, 2009

Michael Stipe and Barry Manilow, Low, Low

And Tom Hanks too:
Looks like he's finally made it! Barry Manilow will soon write the songs that make the cinematic world sing.* Oh, yes. Variety reports that Michael Stipe and Sandy Stern of Single Cell are joining Playtone's Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman to create a romantic comedy focusing on Manilow's extensive song catalog.

But we're not talking about some Mamma Mia! sort of flick where famous folks get together and try to belt out songs like they're Abba. Why get some stand-ins when you can get the real thing? The film will be a character-driven smorgasbord of Manilow fans heading to Las Vegas to see the icon headline Mandalay Bay. His music will drive the piece, and there will even be a performance or two by the man himself.
Stipe has never really Advanced, but he does have a solid record of embracing music that you wouldn't expect him to like, especially if it's sweet and from the 1970s.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

I'm thinking Michael's been flirting with advancement over the years. I have a hunch that like most Advanced artists, he doesn't listen to his own work, with the exception of the stuff that NO ONE else listens to.

Anonymous said...

At first I had read Barry White, and I was like "FUCKING ADVANCED!", then I re-read it and was slightly disappointed. Only slightly though.

Unknown said...

More sign's of R.E.M. members flirting with Advancement- Peter Buck's involvement in The Baseball Project. An entire album devoted to baseball and it's history.