Filming begins this week on Academy Award winning director Clint Eastwood’s (Unforgiven, Million Dollar Baby) film adaptation of the Tony Award winning Best Musical of 2006, Jersey Boys, which also won a Grammy Award for Best Musical Show album.
The story is a celebration of the lives, struggles, and music of Frank Valli and The Four Seasons. They were blue-collar boys in the early 1960’s from the wrong side of the New Jersey tracks. They wrote all their own rock and pop songs, became internationally famous, and sold over 175 million records before turning 30.
Many of the Broadway performers are reprising their original roles, including John Lloyd as Frankie Valli, Erica Picininni as Lorraine, and Renee Marino as Mary.
Christopher Walken (True Romance, Seven Psychopaths) will play the New Jersey Mobster Angelo ‘Gyp’ DeCarlo who was instrumental in launching the early career of the singers. Katherine Norducci from the Sopranos will play Frankie Valli’s mother. Erich Bergen (Gossip Girl, Desperate Housewives) plays Bob Gaudio. Vincent Piazzi from Boardwalk Empire will play Tommy DeVito, and Michael Lomenda is Nick Massi. Mike Doyle (Green Lantern, Shameless) plays a non-singing role as Bob Crewe, the Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons manager.
The film adaptation was written by John Logan, from the musical book by Marshall Brickmand and Rick Elice. Warner Brothers is porducing with Graham King and Rob Lorenz with Frankie Valli and Bob Gaudio executive producing.