Variety reports that Single Cell partners Sandy Stern and Michael Stipe and Playtone partners Gary Goetzman and Tom Hanks will joins forces to develop a romantic comedy that will showcase the song catalogue of singer/songwriter Barry Manilow. Manilow's manager, Garry Kief, will also produce according to the trade paper.
Manilow has pledged his support, and songs, to the project. The producers will take the project to Universal, where Playtone has its first-look deal reports Variety. To read the entire article click here.
With worldwide sales of more than 75 million records, Barry Manilow's success is a benchmark in popular music. His concerts and night-club performances sell out instantly. He is ranked as the top Adult Contemporary chart artist of all time, according to R&R (Radio&Records) and Billboard magazines. Rolling Stone crowned him "a giant among entertainers... the showman of our generation," and Frank Sinatra summed up Manilow best when Ol' Blue Eyes told the British press, "He's next."
Manilow calls Las Vegas his home away from home where he performs to sell-out crowds at the Las Vegas Hilton, which he has done for three years now. He opened in 2005 with huge success with Manilow: Music and Passion and recently, changed things up and has taken the show to next level. ULTIMATE MANILOW: The Hits opened in September of 2008 to rave reviews, calling it ‘the perfect mix of Manilow's hits' (Vegas.com) where Manilow opens up his expansive catalog of hits and expertly takes us on a journey that lets us know that ‘This One's for You.'
Manilow has given the gift of collections in the best-selling series of tributes to popular music. RIAA platinum The Greatest Songs Of The Fifties released January 31, 2006, which incidentally became his first #1 debut on the Billboard 200 album chart and first #1 album since the 1977 triple-platinum double-LP Barry Manilow/Live; RIAA platinum The Greatest Songs Of The Sixties released October 31, 2006, entering the chart at #2 and was the all-time highest first sales week debut chart entry of Manilow's career. With those two albums, Manilow became the first artist since 1981 to have two albums in the top two positions in one calendar year on the Billboard chart. Next came The Greatest Songs Of The Seventies, released September 18, 2007, entering the Billboard charts at #4, making The Greatest Songs of the Seventies Manilow's 33rd charting album, his 11th Top 10 and his 10th Top 10 debut and the only artist to have three Top four debuts on the Billboard 200 chart in two years.
