Soul Train creator Don Cornelius says he has teamed with Warner Bros. Pictures to develop Soul Train: The Movie, described as a buddy comedy that revolves around two men who dance on the show.
Cornelius tells Reuters that the characters get into "a lot of good stuff and some bad stuff as well." It features "lots of music, lots of comedy," he added, as well as "a little bit of violence." He also promised it would be "more than slightly sensual."
"Soul Train has always been about sexuality," Cornelius said. "It's almost never been about guys, and almost always about girls. It's what has kept us afloat for these three decades or so."
Cornelius will serve as producer along with Darryl Porter, the executive producer of the Hughes brothers' 1995 drama Dead Presidents. The project has yet to name a director or cast, Reuters reports, but Cornelius has made it clear that he will not appear in the film. A first draft of the script is being written by rookie scribe J. Gil Williams, and is due to be turned in next month.
A former Chicago radio DJ who hosted Soul Train for its first 22 years, Cornelius said he had long planned to make a movie, but was either busy running the syndicated TV show, or had difficulty getting all the elements together at the same time.
He was able to devote more time to the effort after "Soul Train" ended its historic run in 2006. Cornelius said "Soul Train" and the show that inspired it, Dick Clark's American Bandstand, together ran for about 70 years, and it was time to rest the simple -- but lucrative -- format of kids in a TV studio dancing to music. He is developing some new "Soul Train" programming concepts for television, but declined to get into specifics, according to Reuters.
As for his recent announcement that the 22nd Annual Soul Train Music Awards would be cancelled this year, Cornelius said it was a necessary move due to the uncertainty caused by the Hollywood writers strike. The ceremony, which usually takes place in March, must line up top stars to receive honorary awards well in advance, and planning became impossible once the writers began their 100-day walkout last November.
Source: EURweb.com
Cornelius tells Reuters that the characters get into "a lot of good stuff and some bad stuff as well." It features "lots of music, lots of comedy," he added, as well as "a little bit of violence." He also promised it would be "more than slightly sensual."
"Soul Train has always been about sexuality," Cornelius said. "It's almost never been about guys, and almost always about girls. It's what has kept us afloat for these three decades or so."
Cornelius will serve as producer along with Darryl Porter, the executive producer of the Hughes brothers' 1995 drama Dead Presidents. The project has yet to name a director or cast, Reuters reports, but Cornelius has made it clear that he will not appear in the film. A first draft of the script is being written by rookie scribe J. Gil Williams, and is due to be turned in next month.
A former Chicago radio DJ who hosted Soul Train for its first 22 years, Cornelius said he had long planned to make a movie, but was either busy running the syndicated TV show, or had difficulty getting all the elements together at the same time.
He was able to devote more time to the effort after "Soul Train" ended its historic run in 2006. Cornelius said "Soul Train" and the show that inspired it, Dick Clark's American Bandstand, together ran for about 70 years, and it was time to rest the simple -- but lucrative -- format of kids in a TV studio dancing to music. He is developing some new "Soul Train" programming concepts for television, but declined to get into specifics, according to Reuters.
As for his recent announcement that the 22nd Annual Soul Train Music Awards would be cancelled this year, Cornelius said it was a necessary move due to the uncertainty caused by the Hollywood writers strike. The ceremony, which usually takes place in March, must line up top stars to receive honorary awards well in advance, and planning became impossible once the writers began their 100-day walkout last November.
Source: EURweb.com
