No that wasn’t a typo, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is about to become Beautiful: The Carole King Movie. Tom Hanks is apparently producing the big screen adaptation of the surprisingly popular Broadway show for Sony. Douglas McGrath, who wrote the musical, will write the screenplay with Paul Blake (who worked on the original production) and Gary Goetzman (who worked on Mamma Mia!) producing. There’s no word on casting but we’re praying that Jessie Mueller will reprise her role. Carole King might even be involved in some capacity. The show’s been a missive success, as a new production just opened in the West End. What’s really exciting about this news is the legitimacy of it. This isn’t a Wicked scenario where they’ve been toying with the idea for years. This is going to get made in the next two years. And this isn’t just a rumor- Tom Hanks is backing it up and Sony’s putting it on their agenda. Our question is how much they’ll invest in the movie. It’s not just a live broadcast of the stage show, but it’s probably going to be a very small release. Jersey Boys didn’t do well so Hollywood is not going to expect much from Beautiful (which lacks a strong fan base). While it’s not going to be a massive movie event like Into The Woods, we’re excited it’s going to get made. And having a movie deal after just a year on Broadway is pretty impressive. Beautiful: The Carole King Movie isn’t not going to be a blockbuster but it might be a pleasant pallet cleanser between mindless superhero flicks. Beautiful: The Carole King Movie is going to be “some kind of wonderful.”