Can you see Tom Cruise combining the bartending skills he mastered in Cocktail with ‘80s hair rock for what Alan Partridge would surely describe as a “rocktail”? Us neither, but New Line apparently thinks it could be fun to get the actor for a supporting role in the adaptation of the Broadway musical Rock of Ages.
The rock-centric show sees a girl from small town Kansas following her dreams to Los Angeles and the fabled Bourbon Room, which has been targeted for demolition along with the rest of the Sunset Strip by gentrification-happy German developers. There, she meets and falls for a busboy who dreams of becoming a rock god and… Well, you can probably figure out the rest. Suffice to say that lots of classic guitar tunes are featured.
New Line grabbed up the rights to the musical back in late 2008, with Tobey Maguire attached to produce. Original book writer Chris D’Arienzo is working on the screenplay, with Adam Shankman announced last year as director (though the pair might work together to direct). Very little his been heard of it since then, but the news that the studio is now looking at casting means that the amps might finally be powering up for this one, with a shoot pencilled in for early 2011.
While we seriously doubt he'll do it, we have to say it: Cruise with a full-on mullet? You want to see that. Search your feelings... You know it to be true.