American Idiot - The Movie?

Having recently suffered through the horror that was Spiderman: Turn Off the Dark on Broadway, I've realized that the demise of American Idiot, which closes down on April 24, is now even harder to take.  Despite mostly good reviews, two Tony Awards and Grammy win last year, the show never seemed to take off at the box office.  It's a shame, since it was a great show, and unlike a certain web-slinger hitting the boards right now, their flying scenes went off without any serious incidents and they somehow managed to make Green Day's music work just fine for the stage (hear that, U2?).

So there's some interesting news coming courtesy of Deadline tonight:  Universal Pictures is currently in negotiations to adapt the rock musical into a feature film.  Just recently, Universal dropped plans for a film version of the Broadway hit In The Heights, but with adaptations of Les Miserables and Wicked still in the works, it looks like they're definitely trying to stay in the movie musical business.  They've had success in the genre before, with 2008's Mamma Mia! grossing a whopping $609 million worldwide.

According to the Deadline article, the studio is in talks with Milk screenwriter Dustin Lance Black to write the script.  This is good news.  Not only is Black an excellent Oscar-winning writer, but he can also provide American Idiot with something it sorely needs:  a plot.  I loved the show, I'm seeing it for the fourth time tomorrow night, but even I have to admit that its lack of a strong narrative is most likely what doomed it with audiences unfamiliar with the original 2004 Green Day album which it was based upon.

The other bit of cool news, should this movie actually happen, is that Green Day frontman Billie Joe Armstrong will most likely reprise his role as St. Jimmy, the drug-crazed alter ego of the main character Johnny (aka: the album's "Jesus of Suburbia").  Armstrong is currently playing the role on Broadway for the third time, and his appearance in the show have always given the struggling box office a much-needed boost.  And he's also surprisingly amazing in the role.

So that's...good news, although I'm going to firmly stand in the 'I'll-believe-it-when-I-see-it" camp that this movie actually gets made.  Although if they can make Rock of Ages into a movie, they can certainly make an American Idiot movie, that's for sure.