20th Century Fox to create musicals from its films

NEW YORK — Get ready for more stage versions of your favorite movies — 20th Century Fox has formed a new joint venture to turn the studio's vast arsenal of films into musicals.

The studio said Thursday it has joined up with Tony Award-winner producer Kevin McCollum, film producer John Davis and entertainment executive Tom McGrath to develop at least nine musicals based upon the studio's films over the next several years.

The three will continue to work on other projects while collaborating with Fox.

The move takes 20th Century Fox from a licenser of films into a player on Broadway, adding its heft to already established film studios operating in Times Square, including Disney, Warner Bros., Sony and MGM.

But 20th Century Fox — which includes the units Twentieth Century Fox, Fox 2000 Pictures, Fox Searchlight Pictures, Fox International Productions and Twentieth Century Fox Animation — has a mouth-watering list of films that range from "Cocoon" and "Carmen Jones" to "Zorba the Greek" and "There's Something About Mary."

McCollum put together the Broadway hits "Rent," ''Avenue Q" and "In the Heights." Davis was behind the movies "Predator," ''The Firm," ''Grumpy Old Men" and "I Robot." McGrath, a former executive with Viacom Entertainment Group, currently helps lead Crossroads Media, Inc.

They will be aided by Isaac Robert Hurwitz, the executive director and producer of The New York Musical Theatre Festival, who will act as a consultant.