Is Gwyneth Paltrow joining the cast of the upcoming feature film adaptation of Rock of Ages? According to EW.com, the Oscar winner is interested! “It sounds cool,” Paltrow says of the project, “I just got the script and I will read it on the plane home tomorrow. But it sounds like it could be fun.”
Paltrow has been offered an unspecified role in the movie by Jenno Topping, producer of the Oscar-winner's upcoming release Country Strong as well as Rock of Ages. Topping fanned the rumor mill by saying that Tom Cruise is "in discussions" to join the movie tuner, as well. "It's real," she said of Cruise. "Although it's not cemented."
Paltrow is no stranger to carrying an on-screen tune, having performed in the 2000 film Duets, a killer guest-appearance on Glee and a recent performance at the Country Music Awards of a song from Country Strong. Her many other film credits include Shakespeare in Love, Iron Man, The Talented Mr. Ripley and The Royal Tenenbaums.
In addition to Paltrow and Cruise, singers Taylor Swift and Mary J. Blige have reportedly been in talks to play leading lady Sherrie and strip club owner Justice, respectively, while Seth Rogen has also expressed interest in the project.
Rock of Ages is set in 1987 on the Sunset Strip, where a small town girl meets a big city rocker in L.A.’s most famous rock club. Their love story is told through the hits of Journey, Bon Jovi, Styx, Pat Benatar, Foreigner, Twisted Sister, Asia, Whitesnake and many more. The musical, which is currently running at the Brooks Atkinson Theatre, received five Tony nominations (including Best Musical) after opening on April 7, 2009.
Adam Shankman, who helmed the movie version of Broadway musical Hairspray, will direct the film version of Rock of Ages, and librettist Chris D’Arienzo is signed on as the screenwriter. The movie is expected to begin filming in January 2011 and to be released in 2012.