September 10, 2018
News and Press Releases
August 10, 2018
‘Flint’ Producers on Bringing Real-Life Water Crisis to the Screen: “There Was Not a Happy Ending”
As the real fight continues in Michigan, Lifetime’s TV movie, starring Queen Latifah and Betsy Brandt, chronicles three women who join forces to save their hometown during the devastating saga.
Lifetime’s Flint follows three women — LeeAnne Walters (Betsy Brandt), Melissa Mays (Marin Ireland) and Nayyirah Shariff (Jill Scott) — who join forces after disc
overing that the drinking water in Flint, Michigan, is contaminated and causing a slew of devastating medical problems for their families.
June 18, 2018
Craig Zadan & Neil Meron: ‘Jesus Christ Superstar,’ Figuring Out ‘Hair’ Nudity, and ‘Smash’ on Broadway — Turn It On Podcast
The producers say “Smash” may be one step closer to revival on stage. Also, they say Aaron Sorkin continues to work on a major rewrite of “A Few Good Men” for their live NBC play, hopefully next year.
Click here to listen to Podcast
Craig Zadan and Neil Meron knew “Jesus Christ Superstar Live in Concert” was a success when they noticed something unusual on social media: No snarky tweets.
“This is the first time we had love tweets,” Zadan said. “On some of the others, even though we didn’t think we deserved them, we got hate tweets, because people didn’t want it to be done the way they were done. Same thing happened to us at the Oscars!”
July 12, 2018
JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR Emmy Nominations
JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR LIVE IN CONCERT has been nominated for 13 Emmys. Congratulations to the entire JCS team! More
July 12, 2018
FLINT Emmy Nomination
FLINT has been nominated for an Emmy for OUTSTANDING TELEVISION MOVIE. Congratulations to the entire Flint team!
https://www.emmys.com/sites/default/files/Downloads/70th-nominations-list-v2.pdf?2018=
June 15, 2018
Neil Meron & Craig Zadan On ‘Jesus Christ Superstar!’, Reviving Live TV Musicals And Making The Oscars Work – Behind The Lens
Watch Craig and Neil’s interview with Pete Hammond’s “Behind the Lens” at Deadline:
Craig Zadan and Neil Meron are one of the top producing teams in show business with a vibrant career covering all the bases from movies (Chicago, Hairspray, Footloose, The Bucket List) to Broadway (revivals of Promises Promises, How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying) and television. where they have become the go-to team for the new craze of live musicals that began with their ratings smash The Sound of Music, and followed by Peter Pan, Hairspray Live!, The Wiz Live! and upcoming next spring Hair Live!. This past Easter the guests of this week’s Deadline video series Behind the Lens had perhaps their biggest critical success in the genre to date with the concert staging of Jesus Christ Superstar! which aired to great success on NBC.
May 24, 2018
‘Hair’ Set as NBC’s Next Live Musical
“Hair” will be NBC’s next live musical, the broadcaster announced Thursday.
Coming on the heels of the critically-acclaimed NBC live staging of “Jesus Christ Superstar” on Easter Sunday, “Hair Live” is currently slated to air in spring 2019. Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who have executive produced each of NBC’s live musicals since “The Sound of Music,” will executive produce the telecast.
May 23, 2018
EMA Awards 2018 – ‘Flint’ Nominated (Feature Film)
Feature Film
Ferdinand (20th Century Fox)
Downsizing (Paramount Pictures)
Flint (Sony Pictures Television for Lifetime)
Geostorm (Warner Bros. Pictures, Skydance, and Electric Entertainment)
May 14, 2018
New Musical Version of ‘Some Like it Hot’ Is Headed for Broadway
“Some Like it Hot,” the classic cross-dressing caper often hailed as among the best movie comedies ever, is being re-adapted as a Broadway
-bound musical six decades after it first hit the big screen.
The project is the first result of a development deal announced in 2014between the Shubert Organization, which is the largest landlord on Broadway, and the producers Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, who have backed a number of musical-themed stage, film and television projects, including last month’s successful live concert version of “Jesus Christ Superstar.”
April 2, 2018
TV Ratings: ‘Jesus Christ Superstar Live’ Tops Easter Sunday With 9.4 Million Viewers
“Jesus Christ Superstar Live” carried NBC to a win in the Nielsen overnight ratings on Easter Sunday.
Airing from 8-10:23 p.m., “Jesus Christ Superstar Live” drew a 1.7 rating in adults 18-49 and 9.4 million viewers. NBC’s last live musical, “Hairspray Live,” drew a 2.3 rating in adults 18-49 and 9 million viewers back in December 2016. It is also up slightly over Fox’s live version of the religious-themed “The Passion” musical from March 2016, which drew a 1.6 and 6.6 million viewers. However, as “Jesus Christ Superstar” ended at 10:23 p.m., its initial numbers will be subject to adjustment later today.
April 2, 2018
NY Times Review: In ‘Jesus Christ Superstar,’ an Old Story for (Yet Another) New Millennium
A conceptual and artistic triumph, NBC’s live telecast of “Jesus Christ Superstar” on Easter Sunday may have finally justified the recent live musical fad on network TV. Some technical flubs and one mixed-bag lead performance aside, the production was genuinely thrilling, taking chances with the staging of a classic but controversial Broadway show, much more daring than previous live musical broadcasts like “The Sound of Music” or “Peter Pan.”
March 5, 2018
The Oscar went to ‘Coco,’ but Mary J. Blige had the winning performance
Craig and Neil recently produced the musical number at The Oscars for Mary J. Blige’s “Mighty River”:
Listen closely, future Academy Awards performers: Do. Not. Let. Mary J. Blige. Sing. Before. You.
One of pop music’s most deeply committed performers, the veteran R&B artist almost always operates at 110%. And on Sunday’s Oscars telecast, where she gave the first of the night’s performances of the tunes nominated for original song, Blige made the acts that followed look like outmatched beginners.
Singing “Mighty River” from “Mudbound” — in which her screen performance led to a second Oscar nod, for supporting actress — Blige dug deep into the gospel-fired composition written by her, Raphael Saadiq and Taura Stinson.
February 28, 2018
Fox 2000 Wins Hans Christian Andersen Musical By ‘Wicked’s Stephen Schwartz, David Magee, Zadan & Meron; ‘Baby Driver’ Ansel Elgort Circling
Fox 2000 emerged from a bidding battle that resulted in a substantial seven-figure deal for an untitled original musical fantasy about Hans Christian Andersen. It’s the first original musical from composter/lyricist Stephen Schwartz since Wicked, and it will be scripted by David Magee, the Life of Pi scribe whose latest is the Rob Marshall-directed Mary Poppins Returns which Disney releases Christmas Day. The film will be produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, the team behind Chicago and the upcoming Jesus Christ Superstar Live! which they are producing with Marc Platt. Schwartz will also be producer. Magee is exec producer with Mark Nicholson, who runs development and production for Zadan/Meron Productions.
February 11, 2018
Barbara Stepansky wins WGA Long Form Original Award for Flint
Jordan Peele’s Get Out and James Ivory’s Call Me By Your Name won the marquee film awards tonight at the 70th annual WGA Awards, in concurrent shows in New York and Los Angeles. It puts both screenplays on the frontrunner list for the Oscars.
On the TV side, Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale won twice – in the Best Drama category and for New Series, joining drama series wins for the Emmys and the Globes, while HBO’s Veep won Best Comedy. Last year, FX’s Atlanta pulled off the double-win feat too, taking Comedy and New Series.
January 14, 2018
NAACP Image Awards: Jordan Peele,Tiffany Haddish, Idris Elba Among Winners In Non-Televised Categories
The winners of the 49th NAACP Image Awards in the non-televised categories were announced tonight during a gala dinner celebration at the Pasadena Conference Center. Winners of the evening included Jordan Peele’s Get Out as well as Tiffany Haddish for her breakout role in Girls Trip and Idris Elba for his role the Marvel Studios blockbuster Thor: Ragnarok.
Hosted by The Real’s Adrienne Houghton, Loni Love, Jeannie Mai, and Tamera Mowry-Housley, winners for a whopping 47 categories were announced, honoring outstanding representations and achievements of people of color in motion pictures, television, music, and literature. Winners for the remaining nine categories and the prestigious Entertainer of the Year award will be announced at 9 PM, Monday Jan. 15 during the live TV One telecast of the 49th NAACP Image Awards hosted by Anthony Anderson.
November 10, 2017
Throwback to Craig and Neil Winning The Peabody Award for Serving in Silence: The Margarethe Cammermeyer Story (1995) and Annie (1998)
November 2, 2017
Check out the article from Shondaland honoring the 20th Anniversary of Cinderella!
When shooting began for Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Cinderella” in July of 1997, the closest Disney had come to showcasing a black princess were the muses from “Hercules.” In fact, it would be another 12 years before an (animated) black girl got the lead in “The Princess and the Frog.” But megastar Whitney Houston didn’t want to wait. Instead, the Grammy and Emmy Award-winning artist set out to make a diverse, multicultural “Cinderella,” starring a young Brandy Norwood — who would become Disney’s first black princess.
Remaking “Cinderella” had been on Houston’s mind for years; long before any footage was shot, before glass slippers were fitted, before anyone thought that Cinderella could have microbraids. Houston and her co-producers knew how important it was for each modern generation to have their own “Cinderella” — and for many young black girls growing up in the 90s, Brandy was ours.
October 11, 2017
ABC Nabs ‘The Real Fairy Godmother’ Comedy Starring Kristin Chenoweth From Craig Zadan & Neil Meron As Put Pilot
In a competitive situation, ABC has landed The Real Fairy Godmother, a single-camera comedy starring Kristin Chenoweth and executive produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron, which has received a put pilot commitment.
Written by Alan Zachary & Michael Weiner, with ‘Til Death creators Cathy Yuspa and Josh Goldsmith serving as showrunners, The Real Fairy Godmothercenters on a self-absorbed “real housewife” (Chenoweth) who learns that she’s descended from a secret order of Fairy Godmothers and has an inescapable destiny to use her magical abilities to help those in need. As she begrudgingly executes her assigned weekly FGM missions, she slowly begins to realize just how superficial and morally bankrupt her actual life is and — to the confusion of her dysfunctional family and friends — tries to get them all to be better people. More