1. Judd Apatow will leave film behind (at least temporarily) and write his next project for the stage. “I have a great idea. Maybe like the best idea I’ve ever had,” Apatow said. “It requires me to create characters and situations that have absolutely nothing to do with my experience.” Reportedly, it won’t be a comedy, and will deal with “victims of the criminal-justice system and the challenges they face.” [Movieline]
2. The Broadway revival of David Mamet’s “Glengarry Glen Ross,” despite mixed reviews, has been a financial success since its opening night on December 8th. This week, the show recouped its $3.3 million investment, producers announced, making it the only new show of the Broadway season to make its money back. “The Antichrist,” another Mamet production on Broadway this season, closed after 23 previews and 17 performances, much to the dismay of cast and crew. [Artsbeat]
3. Wendell Pierce, currently co-starring on HBO’s “Treme,” has joined the cast of NBC’s upcoming Michael J. Fox single-camera comedy. Fox will star as Mike Burnaby, “a former lead anchor at a local station in New York City who decides to go back to work after Parkinson’s forced him to take time off.” Pierce will play Fox’s best friend and old boss. Will Gluck will executive produce and direct the show, with production to begin soon and a fall 2013 premiere. [Hollywood Reporter]
4. Members of the Ballet La Scala in Milan have gone on strike, “protesting having to wear costumes and make gestures without extra pay during a dance performance.” The strike has postponed the opening night of Hector Berlioz’s “Roméo et Juliette,” which features choreography by famed dancer Sasha Waltz. James Conlon, the music director of the Los Angeles Opera, was to have led the performance. [Artsbeat]
5. Watch the second, more detailed, trailer for Baz Luhrmann’s upcoming adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby.” Leonardo DiCaprio stars as the titular character, Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan, the women he’s in love with, and Tobey Maguire as Nick Carraway, the man witnessing it all. The new clip dives a little deeper into the narrative, still looks bombastic, and continues Luhrmann’s insistence of using terrible pop songs in his films. [Vulture]
Previously: Angelina Jolie, Patti Smith, “Turf,” Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra, Terrence Malick
Image: Judd Apatow/Ethan Miller/Getty Images
