Billy Porter is reportedly being sought to voice Audrey II, the killer plant, in Greg Berlanti‘s remake of ‘Little Shop of Horrors’. The project has been simmering at Warner Brothers for three years now, but Berlanti, who produces like… every show on The CW and then some… has seemingly been too busy. The last film he directed was 2018’s low-key teen coming out story ‘Love, Simon’, but before that, his last film was ‘Life As We Know It’ in 2010. Interestingly, Berlanti’s film-directing debut was 2000’s ‘The Broken Hearts Club: A Romantic Comedy’ which featured Porter in a supporting role.
Incidentally, Porter is reportedly also being sought to star in Sony’s live-action take on ‘Cinderella’, entitled ‘Rebel/Dreamer: A New Type of Cinderella’. Kay Cannon (‘Blockers’) is set to direct, with pop star Camilla Cabello (“Havana,” “Señorita”) in the lead. Porter is reportedly being courted to play the Fairy Godfather, replacing the Godmother of old. James Cordon is a producer and it is known that he and Porter are friends, so things look good there.
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Porter has been lighting up the Broadway stage since the mid-’90s, and in 2013 won his first Tony Award for starring as Lola in ‘Kinky Boots’, and a Grammy for the show’s soundtrack. On TV, he played the warlock Behold Chablis in Ryan Murphy’s ‘American Horror Story: Apocalypse’, before shifting over to Murphy’s ’80s-set ‘Pose’, for which Porter was awarded the Emmy Award for his leading role as emcee Pray Tell. Porter has gained even greater recognition for his flamboyant red carpet looks, including wearing a long skirt to the Academy Awards, and a winged golden catsuit to the Met Gala, where he was carried in on a platform by four shirtless male models.
A revival of the stage production of ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ recently began off-Broadway, with ‘Mindhunter’s Jonathan Groff in the lead, as Seymour Krelborn. So it seems that this musical is seeing a resurgence in popularity, which means that the time is right for Berlanti to bring it back to the big screen.
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In September, word surfaced that Lady Gaga had been offered a part in Berlanti’s ‘Little Shop of Horrors’, presumably that of Audrey. In another promising sign, WB submitted ‘Little Shop of Horrors’ for California tax credits. Studios don’t do that unless a project is ready to go, so it looks like this is close to becoming a reality.
Porter will next be seen in Paramount’s comedy ‘Like a Boss’ which opens on January 10, 2020, and also stars Rose Byrne, Salma Hayek, and Tiffany Haddish. ‘Pose’ has been renewed for a third season, which should also arrive in 2020.
Source: Collider
