Carole King Musical Heading to the Big Screen

Carole King Musical Heading to the Big Screen:

Carole King in 1971 Jim McCrary/Redferns/Getty

The musical about the life of Carole King, featuring many of the songwriting legend's most famous tracks, is already a hit on Broadway, and after conquering the Great White Way and London's West End, Beautiful: The Carole King Musical is heading to Hollywood for a big screen makeover. Sony Pictures announced plans to turn King's stage show into a film, a decision made easier considering the company's publishing arm Sony/ATV owns the musical rights to most of Beautiful's songs, the New York Times reports.

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Carole King's 'Beautiful' Opens on Broadway »

"Audiences both on Broadway and in the West End have responded to Beautiful not only to relive Carole King’s timeless classics, but to experience the ways they illustrate her triumphant and joyful life story," Sony Pictures exec Michael De Luca said in a statement. So far, no cast decisions have been made regarding the film, though Douglas McGrath, who wrote the stage production's book, will pen the script and Tom Hanks will co-produce.

Beautiful: The Carole King Musical opened at Broadway's Stephen Sondheim Theatre in January 2014. Three months later, the musical was nominated for seven Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Musical for Jessie Mueller, which the actress won. (Hedwig and the Angry Inch scored the Best Musical trophy.)

The musical features two-and-a-half hours' worth of the chart-topping hits King penned with songwriting partner Gerry Goffin, including the Shirelles' "Will You Love Me Tomorrow," the Drifters' "Up On the Roof" and Aretha Franklin's "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman." The musical also delves into tracks from King's solo career like Tapestry's "So Far Away" and "I Feel the Earth Move."

Beautiful is the latest "jukebox musical" to catch the eye of Hollywood, following the big screen adaptations of the ABBA-inspired Mamma Mia!, the Four Seasons' Jersey Boys and the Eighties' tribute Rock of Ages.