"Mamma Mia!" is finally happening! - And starring Meryl Streep!

[Damien]

I can't wait for French and Saunders to take on Notes On A Scandal.

[Penelope]

Has anybody seen French and Saunders' parody of ABBA? What a scream!

Haven't seen that, but French and Saunders' parody of Bananarama is hilarious.

[Reza]

Has anybody seen French and Saunders' parody of ABBA? What a scream!

I was a big fan then and still enjoy their catchy music. Tried getting tickets for Mamma Mia during the summer of 2003 in Times Square but it was always sold out. So looking forward to the movie version.

[Uri]

I hated ABBA back in the 70s -- mindless, stupid pop slush in an era when, if you looked for it, there was so much interesting music being created. No serious music person gave then a second thought back then -- they were one half step up from the Bay City Rollers. And I never got the late 90s revival in interest in them. Sitting through Mama Mia on Braodway seems like torture to me -- even when a friend was appearing in a lead role. So I have no interest in the film version, although I know some people who have worked with Pierce Brosnan and say he's a genuinely nice person, so I'm glad that post-Bond he's getting a high profile project.

Pffff, you narrow minded Americans. You keep acting as if football, real, original, football, the thing you call soccer is not the number one sport in the world and ABBA was not the most successful pop group in history. OK, so I don’t care much for either, but that’s irrelevant. As a proud pseudo European, and one who came of age during the ‘70s, I’m puzzled. Next you’ll say you don’t know by heart all the winners of the Eurovision Song Contest. Shame on you.

[Penelope]

Damien, you should know that the greatest pop hook of all time is Yvonne Elliman's version of the Bee Gees' "If I Can't Have You."

I'll grant you "Miss You," "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing," "Turn the Beat Around," "Dancing in the Moonlight," and the oeuvre of KC and the Sunshine Band, but, Damien, sweetie, I'd rather hear "Knowing Me, Knowing You," "Money, Money, Money," "Lay All Your Love On Me," "One of Us," "The Name of the Game," "Eagle," "Head Over Heels," etc., over all the others you mentioned.

[Big Magilla]

Damien is right. Abba was considered blander than bland by anyone who followed popular music in the 70s. I have to say, though, that they've warn me down in my old age. I can tap my tow to them now, but I still don't know if I can take a whole show built around their music.

[Damien]

Oh Lord have mercy.

I was there in the 70s and if you want great hooks, look not to the painfully bland ABBA -- Bo Donaldson and The Haywoods with a passport -- but, to name just a small smattering, The Ramones' "I Wanna Be Sedated," Gil-Scott Heron's " Johannesburg" The Clash's "London Calling," Eddie Kendricks' "Truckin," Feetwood Mac's "Rhiannon," "Miss You" by the Stones, Elvis Costello's "The Angels Want To Wear My Red Shoes," and the song with the greatest hook of all greatest "Best Of My Love" by the Emotions. Or in a more pop vein, "Heartbeat It's A Lovebeat" by the DeFranco Family, featuring Tony DeFranco, "You Make Me Feel Like Dancing" by Leo Sayer, Vicki Sue Robinson's "Turn The Beat Around," "Dancing in The Moonlight" by King Harvest, The Bee Gees' "Jive Talkin,'" "It Never Rains In Southern California" by Albert Hammond and "Last Song" by Edwrad Bear, "Kung Fu Fighting" by Carl Douglas. Karen Young's brilliant "Hot Shot," and the entire ouevre of K.C. and The Sunshine Band. Great pop records one and all.


But Pen I'm sure Kate Winslet looks sooooooo adorable flopping her fat ass around on the dance floor any time "Fernando" gets played :p

[Penelope]

Too bad they are well-known only for their "Dancing Queen". I believe they were bigger in the UK and Europe, right?

Absolutely MASSIVE in Australia (witness Muriel's Wedding and Adventures of Priscilla)--heck, the ABBA movie (1977) was a filmed tour of Australia.

I believe 10 or more #1s in the UK, Europe, Australia, etc. But only "Dancing Queen" made it to #1 in the U.S.

Yeah, their lyrics aren't much, but it's those classic pop hooks that are simply brilliant.

[VanHelsing]

Their lyrics are definitely not top-notch perhaps due to them being Swedish. But you can't deny that their music have that "pop hooks" which can just make you wanna dance instantly.

Too bad they are well-known only for their "Dancing Queen". I believe they were bigger in the UK and Europe, right?

[Penelope]

I hated ABBA back in the 70s -- mindless, stupid pop slush in an era when, if you looked for it, there was so much interesting music being created. No serious music person gave then a second thought back then -- they were one half step up from the Bay City Rollers. And I never got the late 90s revival in interest in them. Sitting through Mama Mia on Braodway seems like torture to me -- even when a friend was appearing in a lead role. So I have no interest in the film version, although I know some people who have worked with Pierce Brosnan and say he's a genuinely nice person, so I'm glad that post-Bond he's getting a high profile project.

[Damien]

I hated ABBA back in the 70s -- mindless, stupid pop slush in an era when, if you looked for it, there was so much interesting music being created. No serious music person gave then a second thought back then -- they were one half step up from the Bay City Rollers. And I never got the late 90s revival in interest in them. Sitting through Mama Mia on Braodway seems like torture to me -- even when a friend was appearing in a lead role. So I have no interest in the film version, although I know some people who have worked with Pierce Brosnan and say he's a genuinely nice person, so I'm glad that post-Bond he's getting a high profile project.

[Franz Ferdinand]

Is there anyone that could seriously disagree with Helsing? ABBA is one of the finest pop bands of all time, their songs are ridiculously catchy, and any movie that could creatively utilize their songs will be a crowd-pleasing smash. At this point, the only people that would have a grudge with ABBA are jaded cynics who have a problem with mass-produced pop that sounds good three decades after the fact.

[VanHelsing]

I like Abba's songs. They're very catchy. So I'm looking forward to this.

[Penelope]

Y'all can have your Sweeney Todd. THIS is the movie musical I can't wait to see! :;):

Brosnan set for 'Mamma Mia!'
Actor cast opposite Streep in ABBA musical
By MICHAEL FLEMING
Brosnan

Pierce Brosnan will star opposite Meryl Streep in "Mamma Mia!," the film adaptation of the hit musical for Universal and producing partners Playtone and Littlestar.
Pic begins shooting June 25 in London and Greece.

Brosnan sang a few Irish standards in the indie drama "Evelyn," and sang onstage early in his career. But this will be a decided departure for an actor best known for playing the steely James Bond.

Brosnan will play Sam, one of three men summoned to a Greek isle by a young woman who believes one of them is her father.

For Brosnan, the opportunity to belt out such ABBA standards as "S.O.S.," which will be a duet with Streep, was irresistible.

"I said yes right away because it meant working with Meryl Streep," Brosnan told Daily Variety. "Secondly, I saw the show with my family in London, and found it just so wonderfully happy and joyful, and so pitched in time forever in the 1970s. What a kick in the pants, to be able to go off and spend time with Meryl on some Greek island, singing ABBA songs."

"Mamma Mia!" is being produced by Littlestar's Judy Craymer and Playtone's Gary Goetzman and Tom Hanks. Rita Wilson will exec produce with Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus, latter of whom wrote the tunes when they were the creative catalysts for ABBA.

"Pierce brings a certain smooch factor, and we think he'll have great chemistry with Meryl in a romantic comedy," Craymer said. "He is just the perfect choice."

Phyllida Lloyd, who directed "Mamma Mia!" in its London and Broadway runs, is helming the picture, which was scripted by Catherine Johnson. She wrote the book for the stage musical, which recently surpassed $2 billion in ticket sales in more than 140 cities since opening in 1999.

Brosnan takes the job while preparing a sequel to "The Thomas Crown Affair," which John Rogers scripted and Brosnan is producing under his Irish DreamTime banner. A director will be set shortly and production will begin before year's end.

Brosnan recently completed "Butterfly on a Wheel," a co-production between Irish DreamTime and Icon that will be distributed by Lionsgate, and he also recently shot "Married Life," a Sidney Kimmel Entertainment pic that will be released by MGM.

[FilmFan720]

anonymous, chances are quite slim for that. He may still hit a homerun, but the film is still filming and already he has an 0-2 count against him, and it is a powerful pitcher he has never faced before.