the buzz log
Rain Man Goes to London
"Rain Man" was an Oscar-winning film about an autistic man and his self-absorbed brother getting to know each other. Now, in an acknowledgement that the theatrical community is just as starved for ideas as Hollywood, the film is being adapted for an on-stage production at London's West End.
Near as we can tell, it's not a musical. So, you needn't worry about a ballad dedicated to Judge Wapner or a rousing refrain on "excellent drivers." Phew! Here's what we do know: Entertainment Weekly reports that former "it-boy" Josh Hartnett will play Tom Cruise's role. The part of Raymond (aka Rain Man) will be tackled by Adam Godley best known for his work in "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" and the upcoming "X-Files" film. The curtain goes up this September.
For many, the 1988 movie with Cruise and Dustin Hoffman marked the first time they'd ever heard of autism. The disability is still very much in the news due to concerns that childhood vaccines may somehow cause autism. Could that anxiety have played a part in bringing the film to the stage? We're not sure, but terms like "autism causes," "what is autism," and "autism symptoms" continue to be big in Search.
Filed under: Celebrities, Broadway
Hollywood Strike Song-and-Dance
A Hollywood writer goes on strike, and summer television overflows with the stench of reality TV. Who knows then what horrors await should the Screen Actors Guild strike in July.
The New York Times reports that while the writers' strike actually helped some TV shows get ahead, major film projects may be endangered. We can imagine: Would director Ridley Scott be forced to defy Hollywood tradition and hire an actual Englishman to play Robin Hood for his film "Nottingham"? Will all comic-book ensemble movies end once and for all if the Justice League project dies? The upside: A delay could help knock Judd Apatow off the Farrelly and Wachowski brothers' creative downward spiral.
Slate doesn't believe any walkoffs will happen, but in the event they do, Tinseltown talent could take up a summer project: Follow the Weinsteins down the Great White Way. The movie producers plan to make Broadway shows, including "Finding Neverland," "Shakespeare in Love," and "Chocolat." Check off-Broadway for Michael Myers for his chainsaw serenade in "Phantom of the Opera: Halloween Special."
One Way to Broadway
Break out your Broadway best -- several new shows are set to open in Search. But before we offer "bravo," let's take a backstage look at their Buzz.
Julia Roberts is getting ready to unleash Three Days of Rain. Searches on the life-loving Oscar winner are down 8% this month, but searches on her show, which previews next week, are starting to accumulate. Julia Roberts on stage? How Nicole Kidman of her.
Switching gears from toothy actresses to shows with bite, Lestat is also sucking up its share of searches. Based on the Anne Rice books and with music by Elton John and Bernie Taupin, Lestat hopes for a bloody good opening when it premieres this week. Goths get in for half price on Tuesdays.
If you think Anne Rice and Broadway is a strange combination, wait until you get a load of The Wedding Singer. The show mixes the Adam Sandler comedy with singing and dancing. Here's a frightening thought -- if it works, more of Sandler's greatest hits might make it to Broadway. Rodgers and Hammerstein, we know you're dead, but your country needs you.
The Boys and Girls of Broadway
Winners from the 2006 Tony Awards (+865%) quickly danced to the center stage in the Buzz this week, all to great applause. While we usually prefer our song-and-dance routines performed by Muppets, even Kermit and Fozzie know there's nothing quite like a big Broadway production.
Some of the top shows in Search include Best Musical winner "Jersey Boys" (+521%) and "The History Boys" (+36%), which earned Best Play accolades. Other showstoppers in Search include classics like "The Pajama Game," "Threepenny Opera," and "Sweeney Todd," as well as new singular sensations like "The Drowsy Chaperone."
But the stars on Broadway shine brightly in the Buzz, even brighter than the shows do. The illustrious Darth Sidious, aka Ian McDiarmid (+953%), won a Tony for his role in "Faith Healer," and "Sex and the City" star Cynthia Nixon (+648%) grabbed a little gold statue for her part in "Rabbit Hole." Maybe Hollywood talents popping up on New York stages—Julia Roberts (better luck next time, kid), Fran Drescher, Harry Connick Jr., Alan Cumming, and Lynn Redgrave, among others—helped to fill Broadway's record 12 million seats and garner $862 million in ticket sales this season.
A musical version of "The Wedding Singer" (+143%) should mean the end of the world is nigh, but it appears the big Broadway show—in Search and on stage—will indeed go on.
Filed under: Broadway, Tony Awards
From Broadway to the Buzz
 The Producers |
Of course, The Producers was a 1968 Oscar-winning film prior to Mel Brooks's 2001 Broadway production, which swept up a boatload of Tony Awards. In the film, Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane reprise their stage roles as accountant Leo Bloom and down-on-his-luck producer Max Bialystock. Will Mel Brooks have another hit on his hands with the film remake? We're seeing searches on "the producers trailer" and "the producers movie." If the prerelease buzz is any indication, we'll all be singing Springtime For Hitler soon.
Rent, rising 66% in Buzz over the past week, chronicles a group of New York artists struggling to succeed through poverty, AIDS, relationships, and paying the rent. One of the longest-running Broadway hits, the musical has finally made it to the silver screen. Anticipation is building -- searches on "rent movie" have inflated 59% in the past month. With related searches like "rent lyrics" up 116% and "rent soundtrack" up nearly 750%, it looks like the landlord will definitely get his check this month.
top movers
| Rank | Subject | 1-Day Move |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kara Dioguardi | Breakout! |
| 2 | Brooke Mueller | Breakout! |
| 3 | Genie Francis | Breakout! |
| 4 | Goliath Grouper Fish | Breakout! |
| 5 | Hari Puttar | Breakout! |
| 6 | Tropical Storm Gustav | Breakout! |
| 7 | Mia Hamm | 33250% |
| 8 | Ellen Barkin | 26799% |
| 9 | Luciana Barroso | 20830% |
| 10 | Giant Squid | 16720% |
top leaders
| Rank | Subject | Move | Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Amanda Peet | +542 | 549 |
| 2 | Dancing With The Stars | +304 | 327 |
| 3 | 2008 Olympics | -377 | 323 |
| 4 | Ellen Barkin | +273 | 274 |
| 5 | Luciana Barroso | +245 | 246 |
| 6 | Mia Hamm | +229 | 229 |
| 7 | Hi-5 | -17 | 219 |
| 8 | Jessica Biel | +160 | 198 |
what's the buzz?
A subject's buzz score is the percentage of Yahoo! users searching for that subject on a given day, multiplied by a constant to make the number easier to read. Weekly leaders are the subjects with the greatest average buzz score for a given week.
For more detailed information, visit our FAQ.