La La Land could be the gift that keeps on giving to Liongsgate, according to The Hollywood Reporter. After an enchanted festival run, a record-setting night at the Golden Globes, a viable path to top honors at the Oscars, and a ton of other award nominations, the co-president of Lionsgate Motion Picture Group, Erik Feig, told investors on Tuesday, “If we want to do a stage show, we can do a stage show.” While not quite the prestige picture of Damien Chazelle’s Hollywood darling, Feig cited the live adaptation of Step Up, which is currently active in Dubai, as a precedent for the possible business move. Of course, a screen musical moving to the stage is clearly not the most outlandish idea, but before you seize the impulse to roll your eyes or toss off another incarnation of La La Land as cashing in or a speeding train towards over-saturation, consider the casting possibilities. A broad complaint about the movie was its positioning of Ryan Gosling’s Sebastian as the hopeful “white savior” of jazz, but with the single stroke of not making Seb white a stage version could get started dancing on a less problematic foot. Look at that, La La Land 2.0 is already getting you excited for a better future.
