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Today marks the 20th anniversary of the Columbia Pictures film Center Stage, which was released on May 12, 2000 and launched the feature careers of Zoe Saldana and Amanda Schull.
Center Stage, a follow-up series to the cult film, has now been put in development by Sony Pictures Television. It comes from Sweet/Vicious creator Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, Laurence Mark, producer of the 2000 movie and its two sequels, and Temple Hill Entertainment.
Written by Robinson, who also executive produces and will direct the potential pilot, Center Stage is a series continuation of the original film set today within the highly competitive world of dance. It follows a new, inclusive class of dancers as they work to stay at the academy and clash against the traditional students and style the ABA is known for. Ballet has always been a conformist world, but with Cooper Nielson now at the helm of the ABA and the ABC, change is on the horizon in more ways than one.
There is no talent attached to the series, which is still in development. In the three Center Stage movies, Cooper was played by Ethan Stiefel.
Mark and Temple Hill’s Marty Bowen and Adam Fishbach also executive produce. Julie Waters serves as producer.
The 2000 film, written by Carol Heikkinen and directed by Nicholas Hytner, centers on a group of young dancers from various backgrounds who enroll at the fictitious American Ballet Academy in New York City. It explores the issues and difficulties in the world of professional dance, and how each individual copes with the stresses. The original movie was followed by two sequels, Center Stage: Turn It Up in 2008 and Center Stage: On Pointe in 2016.
Robinson recently made her feature directorial debut with Netflix’s Someone Great, for which she also penned the screenplay. She is currently co-writing the screenplay, together with Taika Waititi, for Marvel’s Thor: Love and Thunder. She created and executive produced MTV’s well received dark comedy Sweet/Vicious and executive produced dark comedy Obsessed, which was in development at the CW this season. She’s repped by CAA, Gotham Group and Morris Yorn.
Mark is the Oscar- and Emmy-nominated and Golden Globe winning producer of such films as The Greatest Showman, Julie & Julia, Dreamgirls, I, Robot, As Good As It Gets and Jerry Maguire. He is currently producing Vivo, an animated movie musical for Sony Pictures with music and lyrics by Lin-Manuel Miranda who is also voicing the lead character.
Temple Hill is currently producing series The Outsider for HBO; FX Networks’ Dave, which was just renewed for a second season; Love, Victor (Hulu), as well as the upcoming Grease: Rydell High for HBO Max.
