Hugh Jackman To Get On 'Carousel'

Fox 2000 is looking to the past. The trade publication, Variety reports that Fox 2000 is looking to remake the 1956 musical, Carousel, and wants Hugh Jackman for the project.

As well as starring in the remake of Carousel, Fox 2000 also wants Hugh Jackman to be the producer of the film, through his company, Seed Productions, along with his partner, John Palermo. As Entertainmentwise dishes up, "Jackman will play the role of Billy Bigelow, a carnival barker whose temper gets him into a whole load of troubles and eventually leads to his untimely death. While in purgatory he is given leave to return to earth and fix the problems he created while alive."

Carousel began as a Broadway stage musical in 1945. The music for the show was written by the immutable duo of Rodgers & Hammerstein. In 1956, Fox released an original film based on the musical, which starred Gordon MacRae and Shirley Jones. RTE reports that "Negotiations are currently taking place with the Rodgers & Hammerstein Organisation to use the music and lyrics the duo wrote for their original 1945 stage musical."

Musicals are not exactly new ground for the Wolverine actor. Jackman received a huge career boost when he left Australia for the West End of London, where he played the lead role in the Royal National Theatre's stage production of Oklahoma!. After Oklahoma!, Jackman performed at a tribute to Rodgers & Hammerstein, which played at Carnegie Hall on June 6th, 2002. There, Jackman sang the part of Billy Bigelow, the same part he will revive in Carousel. Jackman also won a Tony Award for his part in the Broadway show The Boy From Oz. As the show became televised, Jackman was nominated for, and won, an Emmy Award for the same performance.

Hugh Jackman made his big break in Hollywood when he was cast for the role of Wolverine in X-Men after Dougray Scott became unable to do the part. Since that role, Jackman has gone on to appear in Swordfish, X2, Van Helsing, X-Men: The Last Stand, and most recently, Woody Allen's Scoop.

Jackman's newest assignment will have to take its place behind a number of projects he already has on the go. He has been cast as the lead in Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain and he's lent his voice to the animated feature, Happy Feet, starring Robin Williams. Jackman has teamed up with members of the Batman Begins crew (director Christopher Nolan, Christian Bale and Michael Caine) for The Prestige, and then another animated feature, Flushed Away. Following that, Jackman has the Wolverine film to handle, as well as the as-yet untitled Baz Luhrmann movie, which will also have Nicole Kidman. Other movies Jackman is attached to include The Lady From Shanghai, If You Could See Me Now, and possibly Rebound Guy.

[Additional Sources: Variety, RTE, Entertainmentwise]