Martin Scorsese is widely regarded as one of the most significant and influential directors in film history, and now he’s making a musical. Scorsese is teaming up with fellow notable filmmakers Irwin Winkler and John Carney on the musical feature Fascinating Rhythm.
The project is inspired by the life and music of American composer George Gershwin. It is described as “a young woman’s magical journey through past and present New York City, inspired by the life and music of American composer George Gershwin,” as reported by Deadline (opens in new tab).
Gershwin’s compositions consisted of everything from popular to classical genres. Some of his best-known works are Rhapsody In Blue, An American In Paris, songs “Swanee” and jazz standard “I Got Rhythm”, and opera Porgy and Bess.
Fascinating Rhythm will be directed by Carney, who is a long-time musician. However, this is not his directing debut. His resume short resume includes the music-themed romance Once, the Oscar-nominated Begin Again, and the Golden Globe-nominated Sing Street. Along with directing the musical feature, Carney will also co-write the script with Chris Cluess.
Scorsese and Winkler have partnered together several times on films like Raging Bull, Goodfella, Silence, and The Irishman. They’ll now add Fascinating Rhythm to that collaboration list as producers, a project that Scorsese has wanted to make for a long time after a failed production attempt in 1993. At the time, Richard Dreyfus and Robert De Niro were considered for the leading role, but Warner Bros wouldn’t give it the greenlight. It will be interesting to see who is considered to star as Gershwin now that the project is finally happening.
While it will be sometime before Fascinating Rhythm hits theaters, Scorsese’s next feature, Killers of the Flower Moon, started filming this week and should be receiving a release date soon.
As you wait on more news for both projects, check out our guide to the best Netflix movies to find something new to watch.