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Front Row: JJ Abrams, musicals moving from stage to screen, Derek Owusu

JJ Abrams, musicals moving from stage to screen, Derek Owusu

BBC Radio 4 - Front Row, JJ Abrams, musicals moving from stage to screen, Derek Owusu

JJ Abrams on directing The Rise of Skywalker - the last film in the 42-year Star Wars saga

JJ Abrams on directing The Rise of Skywalker, the epic conclusion of the 42-year Star Wars saga, and Derek Owusu talks about his debut novel That Reminds Me.

JJ Abrams on overcoming his initial qualms about directing The Rise of Skywalker, the epic conclusion of the 42 year Star Wars saga. A huge juggling act, the film must satisfy fans, financiers and critics while tying up the many themes and plotlines of its eight predecessors. How did he do it?

The long awaited film of Cats starring national treasures Dame Judi Dench and Sir Ian McKellen has been slammed by the critics, even getting zero stars in The Telegraph. Cats is a musical that has strayed from stage to screen; others wander off in the opposite direction. The critics Matt Wolff and Sarah Crompton tease out what works in the theatre but not on screen, and on film but not live on stage.

Writer, poet and podcaster Derek Owusu talks about his coming of age debut novel That Reminds Me, one of the first books to be published by Merky Books, the publishing house launched by Stormzy in partnership with Penguin Random House.

Presenter:  John Wilson
Producer: Hilary Dunn

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JJ Abrams, musicals moving from stage to screen, Derek Owusu

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