• Leonard Rosenman (1924-2008) - Oscar-winning composer of the scores for Barry Lyndon and Bound for Glory. He also received nominations for his scores for Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home and Cross Creek. Other scores he composed include those for East of Eden, Rebel Without a Cause, RoboCop 2, Fantastic Voyage, Beneath the Planet of the Apes, Battle for the Planet of the Apes, Race with the Devil, Hell is for Heroes, Hellfighters, A Man Called Horse, The Car, the 1980 remake of The Jazz Singer and the 1978 animated adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. He died of a heart attack March 4, in Woodland Hills, California. (Variety)

• Carole Barnes (1944-2008) - British television newsreader who appears as herself in Shaun of the Dead. She died following a stroke March 8, in Brighton, England. (The Guardian)
• Sidney Beckerman (1920-2008) - Producer of Marathon Man, Kelly's Heroes, Joe Kidd, Red Dawn and Inchon. He also was president of Allied Artists, where he oversaw the production of Cabaret, and he was executive producer of The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension and The Sicilian. He died of cancer February 25, in Los Angeles. (Variety)
• John Bliss (1930-2008) - Actor who appears in A Face in the Crowd, Intolerable Cruelty, The Miracle Worker, The Thing with Two Heads, Imaginary Heroes and Art School Confidential. He died of complications related to an abdominal aneurysm February 28, in Los Angeles. (Variety)

I love the music of ABBA more than any allegedly heterosexual male should. And I'm not just talking "Dancing Queen" here, I celebrate their entire catalog. I am not ashamed to tell you that I am pretty excited about the feature film adaptation of Mamma Mia!. And they're putting together an exceptional cast for this thing. We already reported that Meryl Streep, Amanda Seyfried, and Pierce Brosnan would play the lead roles, and it was just announced that Colin Firth, the very funny Christine Baranski, and authentic Swede Stellan Skarsgard have joined the cast. You probably know Skarsgard from Good Will Hunting, you probably know Baranski from The Birdcage, and you probably know Firth from your girlfriend asking you to be more like him.

I saw the show on Broadway and found it extremely dumb but a lot of fun. The story centers on a bride-to-be (Seyfreid), and her formerly slutty mom (Streep). Mom has never told the daughter who her father was, so the daughter invites three possible candidates to the wedding. Swedish-scored hijinks ensue. Firth, Skarsgard, and Brosnan will play the three potential dads, and Baranski will play "a plastic surgery-loving party girl in her 40's who is bossy and boozy." If you're looking to brush up on your ABBA before the movie hits theaters, the best place to start is with their greatest hits album, Gold -- it certainly lives up to its name. Go ahead and laugh, but if you're not drying your eyes by the final chorus of "Chiquitita," you're a stronger man than I. Chiquitita, tell me what's wrong! British theater director Phyllida Lloyd is directing Mamma Mia!, which is set for release on July 18th, 2008.

Now that Michelle Pfeiffer remembered she can sing and dance and, as a result, took the Hairspray gig, she may be poised to become a real, live dancing queen. According to reports in the British press, Pfeiffer is one of a handful of names being seriously considered to play Donna, a single mother who is reacquainted with a trio of exes when her daughter invites them her a wedding, in the screen version of the ABBA musical, Mamma Mia!. The film is still in the very early stages: Catherine Johnson, who wrote the script for the musical, is currently at work on the screenplay with producer Judy Craymer, and it's thought that stage director Phyllida Lloyd may ultimately helm the movie.

Other names allegedly in the mix to play Donna are Kim Basinger (?!), Nicole Kidman and Meryl Streep; production begins next summer.

[via Film Experience]