The film score for Evita, starring Madonna, will fairly closely resemble the stage version, with a few significant changes, according to a source close to the production.
The film's release date also has been postponed again, this time to "late December" 1996, according to Jeff Ehmer, spokesperson for the film's production company, Cinergy.
* The song "The Lady's Got Potential," which was on the original "white" studio album, but omitted from stage versions, has been restored, but with different lyrics. It is sung by Che.
* A new song, tentatively titled "You Must Love Me," has been written to take the place of the "Dice Are Rolling" sequence near the end of the film, when Evita is dying. Madonna will sing it.
* "Another Suitcase, Another Hall" will be sung by Madonna, as Evita, instead of by Peron's mistress, as in previous versions. * Most of the song "The Art of The Possible" has been cut.
Moviegoers may be checking leading lady Madonna's profile even more closely than usual.
The singer reportedly is pregnant by her trainer, Carlos Leon, and that camera angles are being adjusted so the First Lady of Argentina will look in character.
Final shooting is underway (May 16) in London, having wrapped in Buenos Aires and Budapest.
The long-awaited film version of Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Evita also stars Jonathan Pryce as Juan Peron, Antonio Banderas as Che Guevara, and Jimmy Nail as Magaldi.
The film is being directed by Alan Parker ("Fame," The Commitments, "Pink Floyd: The Wall"), who also wrote the screenplay. Cinematography is by Darius Khondji. The production has been designed by Brian Morris; costumes are by Penny Rose. Both designers worked on Parker's The Commitments and Pink Floyd: The Wall.
Evita wants to "be a part of B.A. -- Buenos Aires," and it looks like B.A. will be a part of Evita," despite protests against the musical's portrayal of the Argentine former first lady's rise from poverty to power.
Madonna is known for her recording career that has included the hit CD "Like a Virgin," films including Desperately Seeking Susan, and the erotic photo book Sex.
Pryce has established himself in American popular culture from his moody black-and-white Infiniti car commercials. But he's had a major career on stage, most notably as the Engineer in the original Miss Saigon in London and on Broadway. His casting in the half-Asian role earned the British actor protests when the show came to New York. Pryce also appeared in Comedians on Broadway and the London revival of Oliver! earlier this year. His film career includes Glengarry Glen Ross and Age of Innocence.
Banderas is a Spanish actor who has appeared in five Pedro Almodovar films, but his better known to American audiences from Interview With a Vampire and the recent Assassins. He's also made a splash in tabloids recently as consort of actress Melanie Griffith.
Robert Stigwood (Grease, Tommy, Saturday Night Fever), Alan Parker and Andrew G. Vajna are the producers of record on the film. It will be released by Hollywood Pictures in the U.S and Latin America; and by Paramount in Germany and Japan.
Few film adaptations have had as many false starts as Evita, which opened on Broadway September 25, 1979. At various times it was announced as a vehicle for Barbra Streisand and other stars, and several scripts have been written and passed over.
