#Lionel Richie movie musical in development at Disney

By Althea Legaspi, Rolling Stone

Walt Disney Studios is developing a new movie musical based on Lionel Richie’s song catalog, as Variety reports. The live-action project is tentatively titled after his 1983 song, “All Night Long,” and will utilize some of his greatest hits.

According to the report, the artist pitched the concept to the studio, where it was accepted in January and the artist is on board as the film’s producer alongside his manager Bruce Eskowitz as well as Calvary Media’s Dana Brunetti and Matt Del Piano. Screenwriter Pete Chiarelli (“Crazy Rich Asians,” “The Proposal”) has reportedly been tapped to write the script.

Richie confirmed the news via Twitter. “Big things in the works!,” he wrote, sharing a link to the Variety piece.

The film is expected to be more aligned with movies like “Mamma Mia,” which is inspired by ABBA’s songs, rather than biopic-oriented, such as the Freddie Mercury-focused “Bohemian Rhapsody” and Elton John-based “Rocketman.”

Richie recently served as a judge on Disney/ABC’s “American Idol” for Season 18, which premiered in February and then adapted with stay-at-home performances in the wake of the pandemic. Richie was also forced to postpone his 2020 European summer tour to 2021 due to the pandemic.