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One of my favorite things in the world is a musical gone wrong. I don't know, there's just something particularly funny about watching a musical number go down in flames -- and the more awkward the better. Well, at least I know I'm not the only one who feels this way, because Over at Den of Geek they have compiled a list of the Top 10 Worst Musical Moments in Movies. Now, they didn't just limit themselves to straight musicals, but the results are a trip down memory lane for me and a nightmare for most people. Taking the number one spot was a pretty obscure moment starring Hollywood Legend Mae West and Timothy Dalton (the much-maligned Bond) in the 1978 musical, Sextette. There are plenty of cringe-worthy moments in this film, but the highlight is Geek's selection: Dalton and West singing (and I use the term loosely) Love Will Keep Us Together. There's really nothing more to say, mainly because I seem to have lost the power of comprehension after watching that clip.

So who else managed to make the list? Well, we've got Vanilla Ice in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II, Pierce Brosnan ruining ABBA songs in Mamma Mia, Neil Diamond in black face for The Jazz Singer, and my personal favorite -- a clip from Rhinestone starring Sylvester Stallone as a NYC cabbie turned country singer. But, after looking at Geek's list, I noticed a few omissions (at least in my opinion) so I decided to do a little listing of my own.

After the jump: my top 5 worst moments in Musical history...

Let's face it -- whether we like it or not, almost every beloved film from our past is going to get, at the very least, an attempt to morph it into a musical, whether that be on stage or screen. Heathers. Footloose. Hairspray. Evil Dead. The Breakfast Club. Legally Blonde. Bubble Boy. (Hit the jump for a clip of Pushpop singing "It's an elk." No joke.) Practically every film seems to be on its way towards song and dance; if there's at least a small handful of fans who love a film, the spotlight will inevitably find it. It can be horror, comedy, or hell, even drama since we've now got a musical for The Color Purple. No genre is safe.

And the latest in this musical rush -- Groundhog Day. MTV talked with Harold Ramis recently, and he said the gossip surrounding a possible musical remake is true, and "Danny Rubin, who wrote the original script, has been working on a book for a musical." It's an idea that even Stephen Sondheim seems to have liked (according to Ramis), so who are we to judge? Although it might get annoying if they have to sing the same song every time the clock sets back...

I've ranted about musical remakes before, but I wanted to change things up this time. We can't stop them -- Hollywood loves them too much. In fact, I'm now of the mind that no matter what wild idea we can come up with, it's already been schemed up somewhere, or someone will get to it quite soon. But it can still be fun to muse.

Can you imagine Indiana Jones flicking his whip whilst singing and dancing? Chariots of Fire running right down the theater aisle and onto stage? The House of Yes channeling the Kennedys in song? A Clerksian talk about oral sex set to music?

What's the most ridiculous movie you can think of for the musical treatment?

Not long ago, I posted a Monday Morning Poll asking which summer films you think will surprise us the most. For awhile now I've been in the minority in predicting that New Line's Hairspray will wind up shocking a lot of people when it turns out to be one of the more entertaining films this summer has to offer. I'm not sure why I felt that way; sometimes you just get this vibe and you either run with it or keep it to yourself for fear you could be completely wrong. I've always liked Hairspray (saw the original movie a bunch, as well as the Broadway musical); it's colorful, campy and fun -- and if director Adam Shankman can find a way to update the film so that it appeals to a wider audience, while still managing to retain Hairspray's awesome quirkiness, then pic should have no problem pleasing just about everyone when it arrives in theaters on July 20.

That said, I discovered an early review of the film over at Fox News that leads me to believe my initial instincts were right on the money. Not only does it refer to John Travolta's performance, in drag, as Edna Turnblad, as "remarkable," but it also calls the film "a big colorful carnival, with loads of cotton candy." The review goes on to rave about the various cast members -- with Queen Latifah (who they say could wind up with a few more awards and nominations) being their favorite -- and Travolta, Christopher Walken, Michelle Pfeiffer and newcomer Nikki Blonsky all turning in "excellent" performances in their respective roles. But don't expect Hairspray to break any box office records right out of the gate. Since it will face some pretty heavy competition from the Adam Sandler comedy I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry, as well as Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (which will be in its second week), it might take a little while for Hairspray to build buzz. Nevertheless, come this fall, I wouldn't be surprised if Hairspray is one of only a handful of summer flicks people are still talking about.

We've been following the Mamma Mia! trail for quite a while now, from when it was first brought up to its official stamp in the trades yesterday. And, in between, we even reported on a few of those casting rumors -- the most important being (it seems) the actress who will take on the role of Mamma. Early rumors suggested Michelle Pfeiffer might take on the part, what with her involvement in the new film version of Hairspray and, well, I'm sure no one has forgotten about her fantabulous performance in Grease 2. Other names floating about the pot were Nicole Kidman (odd, but I can see why), Meryl Streep (odder) and Kim Basinger (oddest).

Now, only a day after Mamma Mia! once again swept through our office, comes word that Meryl Streep will play Donna -- a single mother who looks to reunite her daughter on her wedding day with a trio of ex-boyfriends, one of which might be the long lost father she never knew. Now before you start jumping down my throat for saying Streep is an odd choice for the role, I will acknowledge that the woman is known for occasionally belting it out, most recently in Robert Altman's A Prairie Home Companion. And, out of the four women mentioned above, I feel Streep is probably the best choice -- not the perfect choice -- but one that will definitely entice folks into splurging on a ticket.

Hey, it's better than John Travolta in a dress, right?

Broadway will give High Fidelity the boot after only a tiny ten-day run, as the show will close its theatre doors on Sunday, December 17 after receiving bland reviews and crippling box office sales. The play was adapted from its most original form -- a novel written by Nick Hornby --then turned into a film back in 2000. The film, unlike the musical, received rave reviews and big box office sales that subsequently helped it take home a lot more than its production costs -- especially honorable for being an independent film. High Fidelity (the film, not the musical)stars heavyweights John Cusack and Jack Black; story revolves around a music snob and record store owner who struggles with his life's top five breakups (women, not bands). He spends the film relating periods of his life back to the musical greats and figuring out the universal human crisis of what is love and where is ones place in it.

High Fidelity is probably one of my favorite films of all time -- actually, as you read this, it's sitting in my DVD player. In fact, I may even turn it on for inspiration. When I heard awhile back that they were making a musical about it, I had mixed emotions. First of all -- I hate musicals. I hate them. The only musical that I do enjoy is Cabaret. I'm convinced that in order for me to enjoy a musical the actors have to be in their underwear -- not any underwear, mind you -- but underwear circa the 1930s. Then it also has to involve the Holocaust. I've tried others. I saw Rent. Hated it. I saw Boy from Oz. I don't even want to talk about it. Musicals and I simply do not mix.

The one glimmer of hope for me was the film's already incredible soundtrack. If they were somehow able to incorporate what was already done music-wise in the film to the stage then maybe I would have liked it.

Well, if High Fidelity were to stay open longer then I would have probably made an attempt to see it during my trip back to New York. But Kevin McCollum and Jeffrey Seller -- producers of High Fidelity: The Musical -- saved me from my abusive relationship with such theatre productions. I'll simply have to wait until its revival pops up somewhere in Los Angeles ... where theatre is even better.

It's an exciting time for those of you who are fans of Finding Nemo and/or Walt Disney World, as the popular animated film is getting ready to follow in the footsteps of flicks like Beauty and the Beast, Tarzan and The Lion King by turning its magical underwater environment into a fabulous-looking staged musical. However, unlike the other three, it will only play exclusively within Disney World's Animal Kingdom and not on Broadway.

Finding Nemo: The Musical marks the first Pixar film and non-musical animated feature to be adapted for the stage and presented to a live audience. The show itself is a half hour long and features a host of original songs by Robert Lopez, co-composer-creator of Avenue Q. (Yeah, something tells me the song Everyone's A Little Bit Racist will not be included here.) A slew of pics from the show (which begins its preview performances on November 12, before its official opening this January) have just arrived online for all you Disney freaks to check out and gush over. Time to start planning that Disney World vacation mom and dad.

[via Upcoming Pixar]

Two years ago, Warner Brothers apparently announced plans to release Batman: The Musical, music and lyrics by Jim Steinman and direction by none other than Tim Burton himself. Burton obviously enjoys a good musical and has good Batman background, so it seemed like a rather good fit to all involved. Then Dance of the Vampires collapsed, which gave the studio cold feet. Not long thereafter the Batman film franchise was (very successfully) relaunched by Chris Nolan, and the musical project was left to curl up in a corner and die.

But wait ... this is the age of the Internet, when nothing truly dies! Granted, the project will almost certainly never see the light of day (at least not in anything resembling the last incarnation), but lyricist/musician Jim Steinman is now hip to the world of blog, and he has a few sample recordings from back when everyone was working hard to make this sucker happen. If you swing on over to his blog (Words by Jim Steinman), you can dig the newly shared Joker's Song ... which is more or less just what it sounds like. I'm not sure exactly how I feel about this, but for some reason the concept of Batman: The Musical is exciting to me. It may be for the best that we never got to see it, but I sort of wish we could have.

[via Modern Fabulousity]

After turning his film The Producers into one of the most successful Broadway musicals of all time, it's being rumored that Mel Brooks might be looking to do the same thing with Young Frankenstein. Easily a classic and definitely one of my favorite Brooks films, Frankenstein starred Gene Wilder as the grandson of Dr. Victor von Frankenstein who, after discovering granddad's diary and inheriting his spooky castle, makes an attempt to create his own monster.

However, comedy ensues after the doctor inserts a faulty brain into his creation and, well, Mel Brooks-style hilarity takes over. I'm one of those people who absolutely loved The Producers when I saw it on Broadway and would certainly welcome a musical version of Young Frankenstein. Casting would be tricky though and I don't think Matthew Broderick and Nathan Lane would fit in well here. And who would play the poor hunchback Igor? Jason Alexander? Hey, as long as the musical doesn't lead to a re-make of the original film, then I'm down with just about anything. Young Frankenstein was nominated for two Academy Awards (Best Sound and Best Adapted Screenplay) and is set to hit the streets of New York in 2007.

 

According to Contact Music, Steven Spielberg is in talks to remake the classic musical-movie Mary Poppins. Supposedly, GODberg (that too much?) has approached the director of the staged British version of Poppins, Sir Richard Eyre, in hopes to kick-start the project. Eyre goes on to explain, "Spielberg wants to make a new film of Mary Poppins and we've talked a lot about it. It will be hard to outdo the original but kids love the story and I'm sure that the remake will be a real success."

Oy vei, say it ain't so Steve! Do we really need another Mary Poppins flick? C'mon, the whole spoon full of sugar thing? Seriously? While the article does use the word "helm," the quote does not. This leaves me thinking that, if anything, he'll be producing it. I mean, can you see Steven Spielberg directing a Mary Poppins remake? However, he did do Hook, but that was far from the sing-songy delight that is Mary Poppins. What about Indiana Jones 4? What about another film featuring Tom Hanks? Heck, I'll even take a dinosaur fighting an alien in Israel over some cheesy Mary Poppins remake any day. What do you think?

You all know about the Christmas musicals: Meet Me in St. Louis, White Christmas, etc. That's where you go if you want your holiday fix tinged with song (or, in the case of Meet Me in St. Louis, deep depression). This list is just an offering of seven wonderful (non-holiday) musicals from someone who is a complete sucker for the genre and actually likes to spend the holidays singing along with people on the TV.