First there was Glee. Then there was The Glee Project. Then there was Pitch Perfect. And soon, there will be Straight No Chaser.
First off, watch this delightful video:
That performance of acapella group Straight No Chaser is from 1998. The group formed at Indiana University in ’96, and disbanded in ’99. But when one of the members uploaded that video in 2006, and it subsequently accrued millions of views, the group re-formed and signed a deal for five albums. They’ve so far released three of these albums, all of which cracked the Billboard Top 50.
Inspirational, no? DreamWorks certainly thinks so, as the studio has bought Straight No Chaser’s story, and is making it into a feature film. Jack Amiel and Michael Begler are set to write the script, and Michael Sucsy (Grey Gardens, Big Miracle) is attached to direct. The movie will be produced by Anonymous Content in partnership with Atlantic Records CEO Craig Kallman, the man who got the group back together in the first place.
I’m totally game for this. I like Straight No Chaser, and I like entertainments based on show choirs (like Pitch Perfect and the first half-season of Glee). We’ll see how this project develops going forward.