Miramax is close to signing a deal with Catherine Zeta-Jones and Renée Zellweger to star in a movie version of the hit Broadway musical Chicago, according to FoxNews.com’s Roger Friedman. At one time, when it appeared that Madonna, Goldie Hawn and Rosie O’Donnell would star in the film, several movie writers observed that it was difficult enough attracting audiences to a musical nowadays — let alone to musicals starring middle-aged performers playing sexy twenty-somethings. Friedman suggested in his column that Zellweger remains a questionable choice because it’s not known whether she can sing or dance. He said the final decision on that score will be made by choreographer Ann Reinking. “Without Reinking,” Friedman commented, “there is no Chicago. So she must be satisfied with these choices.”
