A "Soul Train" movie is on track to
arrive in movie theaters next year, the creator of the
venerable urban dance television show said on Thursday.
Don Cornelius told Reuters that he has teamed up with
Warner Bros. Pictures to develop a buddy comedy that he hopes
will spawn multiple sequels.
The project, currently called "Soul Train: The Movie,"
revolves around two male dancers on the show who get into "a
lot of good stuff and some bad stuff as well," said Cornelius,
who will serve as a producer.
It features "lots of music, lots of comedy," he added, as
well as "a little bit of violence." He also promised it would
be "more than slightly sensual."
"'Soul Train' has always been about sexuality," Cornelius
said. "It's almost never been about guys, and almost always
about girls. It's what has kept us afloat for these three
decades or so."
A first draft is being written by rookie scribe J. Gil
Williams, and is due to be turned in next month. No director or
cast are attached yet. Cornelius declined to disclose a budget.
Although he hosted "Soul Train" for its first 22 years, the
former Chicago radio DJ will not appear in front of the camera.
Also producing is Darryl Porter, the executive producer of
the Hughes brothers' 1995 urban crime drama "Dead Presidents."
Cornelius said he had long planned to make a movie, but was
either busy running his syndicated TV show, or had difficulty
getting all the elements together at the same time.
He has a bit more time on his hands these days, because
"Soul Train" ended its historic run in 2006. The show, which
claimed to be the longest-running show airing in firstrun
syndication, served as an important promotional springboard for
black music's biggest stars since launching nationally in 1971.
Cornelius said "Soul Train" and the show that inspired it,
Dick Clark's "American Bandstand," together ran for about 70
years, and it was time to rest the simple -- but lucrative --
format of kids in a TV studio dancing to music. He is
developing some new "Soul Train" programming concepts for
television, but declined to get into specifics.
Cornelius also hoped to be back in 2009 with the Soul Train
Music Awards, which did not go ahead with their 22nd annual
installment this year because of uncertainty caused by the
Hollywood writers strike.
The ceremony, which usually takes place in March, must line
up top stars to receive honorary awards well in advance, and
planning became impossible once the writers began their 100-day
walkout last November.
Most of the winners in the competitive categories did not
turn up to last year's event, continuing a trend that has
dogged the show for the last decade. Cornelius was
philosophical, noting that other awards shows have similar
problems, and that it is difficult to put together events when
the music industry itself is struggling for survival.
(Reporting by Dean Goodman)
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