Think of it as going down a rabbit hole with a shot of espresso.
Superstar Sabrina Carpenter is set to star and produce an untitled movie musical based on Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland for Universal Pictures.
Lorene Scafaria, perhaps best known for writing and directing the Jennifer Lopez-starring crime movie Hustlers, will pen and helm the feature.
Marc Platt, the musical-loving producer behind both the Broadway and screen productions of Wicked, will produce the project. Also producing will be Leslie Morgenstein and Elysa Koplovitz Dutton of Alloy Entertainment, the banner behind shows such as Gossip Girl and Pretty Little Liars.
Carroll’s Victorian era story told of a girl named Alice who falls down a rabbit hole (and, in the second novel, goes through a looking glass) to land in a fantastical and nonsensical world of talking and human-like animals. The story was famously turned into a Disney animated movie in 1951 and a billion-dollar-grossing live-action version directed by Tim Burton in 2010 with Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter.
It is unclear what Carpenter is undertaking, but sources say the project is a passion project for the global pop star. Carpenter is said to have approached the studio about a year ago with specific ideas and a lookbook. As the concept evolved, producers and eventually Scafaria were added to the tea party.
Senior vp of production development Ryan Jones and director of production development Jacqueline Garell are overseeing the project for the studio. Katie McNicol is shepherding the project for Marc Platt Productions.
Platt, whose vast credits range from Legally Blonde to La La Land, has Wicked: For Good, the second part of the Wicked film adaptation, releasing in theaters Nov. 21.
Carpenter recently earned six nominations for the 68th Annual Grammy Awards, including album of the year and best pop vocal album for “Man’s Best Friend” and song of the year, record of the year, best pop solo performance and best music video for “Manchild.” Among her acting credits are movies The Hate U Give and Emergency and the 2010s series Girl Meets World.
Scafaria directed the pilot as well as additional episodes of I Love LA, the HBO comedy series created by Rachel Sennott that premiered Nov. 2. She also acts as an exec producer on the show. She also directed episodes of HBO’s acclaimed drama Succession and started out as a screenwriter, penning movies such as Nick and Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Hustlers, released in 2019, was lauded by many critics’ groups and earned Scafaria a nomination for best director from the Independent Spirit Awards.
