Pop star Sabrina Carpenter is to star in an ‘Alice in Wonderland Musical’ that will be produced by Universal Pictures. The movie is to be penned and directed by Lorene Scafaria, the writer/director of ‘Hustlers’. Although no details are yet available, industry insiders familiar with the matter say that this is something Sabrina has always wanted to do, and thus it is her ‘passion project.’ This explains why she has been cast in the production and has even been made one of the producers.
The forthcoming film is bound to take up, be it in literal or less literal form, the 19th-century epic “Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland” by Lewis Carroll, wherein the eponymous heroine finds herself transported to a strange land after falling down a rabbit hole, with the possibility to present the most psychedelic visions in existence. Of course, there has been no better version thereof than Disney’s 1951 film; then again, Tim Burton converted it 60 years later into a billion-dollar live-action film featuring the talented Johnny Depp as the Mad Hatter.
Prior to her success as an international pop sensation, Carpenter was involved in acting, mostly in secondary roles in Disney Channel productions. Since the start of this decade, she has appeared in other rom-com films, such as “Tall Girl” and “Work It,” on the streaming service Netflix. Some of her latest projects include “Emergency,” a dark comedy that premiered at Sundance, and “Thanksgiving” (not the one directed by Eli Roth).
As for Scafaria, her latest film was ‘Hustlers,’ which was definitely a cultural phenomenon about six years ago. It received critical acclaim and somewhat inexplicable Academy nominations for its lead actress’ portrayal as a stripper. She has also been nominated for two Emmy Awards for her work as the director of ‘Succession’.
Other directing works include “The Meddler” and “Seeking a Friend for the End of the World.” She has recently directed the pilot episode of the forthcoming series “I Love LA,” featuring actress Rachel Sennott and HBO.
