DVDizzy Forum

How many 'A Christmas Carol' adaptations do we need?

Christmas has come early for Bill Condon. The filmmaker is reuniting with Disney for whom he directed the live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast, for a unique and musical take on A Christmas Carol.

Titled Marley, the feature aims to tell the well-known story of Christmas Carol by reinventing it, conveying it through the eyes of Jacob Marley, the deceased business partner of Ebenezer Scrooge. Scrooge, of course, is the cold-hearted miser who, in the bulk of Charles Dickens’ classic, is visited by the Ghosts of Christmases Past, Present and Future who give him a chance to change his ways. Marley’s apparition, weighed down by chains and endless torment, visits Scrooge and foretells the man of his impending ghostly visits.

Condon has already written the script, denoting the project’s advanced development stage, and will direct. Three-time Oscar winner Stephen Schwartz has written the music for Marley. Dan Jinks and Greg Yolen are producing.

Source: https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat- ... ol-1250509

The new film takes on the iconic tale from the perspective of Jacob Marley, the ex-business partner of Ebeneezer Scrooge. Marley’s ghost sends Scrooge the famed spirits of Christmas Past, Present and Future to show the miser the errors of his ways. The film is produced by Dan Jinks, Greg Yolen and Glenn Geller.

Source: https://deadline.com/2019/10/a-christma ... 202770906/

Dan Jinks is currently producing Marley, A Christmas Carol musical feature in the works at Disney with a screenplay and direction by Bill Condon and a score by Stephen Schwartz.

Source: https://deadline.com/2019/12/kristin-ch ... 202799300/

Skyler Shuler wrote:For those asking, this is a live-action project. Both the script and music has been completed.

Source: https://twitter.com/SkylerShuler/status ... 0139004928

Sounds like their are trying a new angle with the old story. But why not try a different Christmas story? There should be plenty of material out there that Disney could turn into a movie. A search on Google gave this list, and while many of the titles have been adapted into live action and/or animation more than once, others are still waiting: https://medium.com/the-mission/the-30-b ... 92c468051b

Or perhaps The Box of Delights by John Masefield, even if they would have to change the ending (it's one of those "it was all a dream" endings).

I remember the first time I saw a live action Version of A Christmas Carol on television as a kid. Back then I had never heard about the story before, neither the original one or any of the adaptations, and liked it very much. It's a classic, but there is so much else out there. Perhaps also some family friendly ghost stories set to Christmas.

Did Marley get a ghostly visit himself? I remember he says Scrooge’s chains would be heavier than his, but if he also received a courtesy Christmas call before his demise, he must have been a real son of a bitch not to change his ways. Unless he did, and the chains are a lighter punishment...

Stephen Schwartz makes this something I’ll keep my eye on.

UmbrellaFish wrote:Did Marley get a ghostly visit himself?

It doesn't seem this is an origin story for Jacob Marley but just A Christmas Carol told through his perspective as he witnesses the events with Scrooge unfold. Perhaps he'll be used as the narrator or some sort of framing device.

UmbrellaFish wrote:Stephen Schwartz makes this something I’ll keep my eye on.

That's quite literally the only thing that makes the project a bit interesting to me. I've just grown weary of A Christmas Carol adaptations. It's one of those books that have been adapted to death. There are hundreds of them in every medium, both faithful and loosely-based, straight-forward and subversive, historical and modernized, comedic and dramatic. There's nothing new left to say or do with the material. And when Hollywood does it, you know it's because it's a familiar title and they're risk-averse, not because an auteur filmmaker wants to put their own spin.

Disney already has:

Mickey's Christmas Carol
The Muppet Christmas Carol
ImageMovers Digital's A Christmas Carol
Fox's A Christmas Carol (1984)
FX's A Christmas Carol

Do they really need more? Especially at a time when another musical adaptation of the story is being produced for Apple TV+?

Bill Condon's writing it has me interested since he wrote the screenplay for Chicago. But he also directed Twilight movies and Beauty and the Beast, so...

I know there are lots of A Christmas Carols but classics getting re-adapted generation after genaration is a great thing to me. And they've never made the ultimate version, so, you never know.

This sounds really promising

From the songwriter of WICKED !

The Director of Beauty and the Beast and a whole now angle !!

We need more movie musicals in gmeral.

I gearly really like a Chrisrmas Carol. I watch the Jim Carry version every year. And in 2017 I discovered to my delight the Albert Finney movie from the 60s


This is also a huge coincidence because yesterday I listened to a cut song from that movie that was put back in the Stage version and it was sung by Marley who was played by one of The Doctors( From Doctor Who i mean) by way and it made me feel so terrible sad for Marley When heard the song it was like my heart ackad. It made me feel so really sad for Marley. In Fact even if the tune was nice the song itself made me a bit depressed because how sad it was.

Song is so godam depersing. It about how heaven isn’t really and instead the After Life is a never ending chian( pun indeed) of missery. Marley in this sing makes it clear he is stuck in a horroible postion for the rest of eitenty without any hope of Escape.

I felt so sad i hade to listen to some of Andrew Lippa’s song from The Addams Family to cheer myself up !

Bebe Neuwirth singing as Mortica is granted to cheer you up a least a bit no matter what !

‘Marley’: Sir Ian McKellen In Early Talks To Play Scrooge
https://geekvibesnation.com/marley-sir- ... y-scrooge/

Ian McKellen would make the umpteenth version of Christmas Carol worth it. Coincidentally, I've been re-watching Vicious the past week; he's hilarious on that show, if only they'd made more episodes. I wish there were more sitcoms with older characters like this, The Golden Girls, Waiting for God, etc.