Hello, Old Friend

The film version of Stephen Sondheim's Sweeney Todd opens this week, and today's NY Times has a multi-part interview with Sondheim about his work on the adaptation. I've already noted my qualms about this version, especially given the recent track records of Tim Burton and Johnny Depp, and the article does nothing to alleviate my concerns (especially the section on cut material). Still, Sondheim-- the most interesting and important figure in the last half-century of American theater-- is always a fascinating interview, and it's a great pleasure to get a peek into his creative process (he's a brilliant analyst of form, and if this theater thing doesn't work out, he'd make a great critic). The Christmas present at the end of the piece was the news that Sam Mendes and Aaron Sorkin are developing a film version of Sondheim's greatest work, Follies, whose intertwining of theater and film history (and theatrical and cinematic techniques) could make for a dazzling movie ("Who's That Woman?" alone could make for a dazzling movie). Just don't cut that killer score guys, ok?