The physical ballet of Las Vegas’ famous stage show, Cirque Du Soleil, is planning to launch an entertainment studio, which will see their brand crossover into the movie and TV business. The company has hired former CBS and WWE executive Susan Levison to run it. Deadline reports that the first project that the studio is eyeing to adapt into a feature film is the water-based performance show simply titled O. Ridley Scott is attached to adapt the stage show with his production company, Scott Free.
Scott is currently in production with Gladiator II, while relinquishing duties of Alien over to Fede Alverez for the new installment, Alien: Romulus. However, Scott is developing the film which is based on the show which is held at the Bellagio in Las Vegas, takes places above a 1.5M gallon pool of water and includes synchronized swimming in the theater, which is designed resemble a 14th-century European opera house. Cirque Du Soleil Studio will produce with Scott Free Productions.
Levison will be overseeing all the projects, scripted and unscripted, across the cinema and TV platforms. She made the statement, “I’m thrilled to be joining the vibrant and talented team at Cirque du Soleil during such an exciting time of growth and transformation. We intend to leverage our extensive IP library to create TV and Film projects that surprise and delight our audience.”
Michael Pruss, President of Film Production at Scott Free, added his excitement for this collaboration, “We are delighted to be partnering with such a visionary and iconic brand that is Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group. We cannot wait to come together and bring the incredible world of O to the big screen for audiences around the world.”
The new entertainment studio division is being conceived with the goal to produce long-form content based on Cirque du Soleil’s IP and distinctive artistic style. The famous stage company was founded in 1984 and is behind shows such as Mystere, Ka, Corteo, The Beatles Love and Mad Apple.