Which Hollywood Heavyweight Is Itching to Make Next to Normal into a Movie?

Will Next to Normal be made into a movie? One hotshot Hollywood director is dying to take on the project: Rob Reiner is telling anyone who will listen about his desire to turn the Pulitzer Prize-winning musical, which just opened at L.A.'s Ahmanson Theatre, into a feature film.

“I'd love to do Next to Normal,” Reiner, who was in attendance at the show's November 28 L.A. opening, recently told The Malibu Times. “It's funny and dark and uplifting.” Earlier this year, Reiner told Moviefone that the show “has the most glorious, beautiful music, and that's what a great musical needs.” He even told Peter Bart in a TV interview on In the House that "the best way to describe it is a musical Ordinary People, but it is a completely and utterly unique project." He added, "I've been dying to make a musical, and I've been lobbying for this since it went on Broadway."

Reiner, who became a household name with his Emmy-winning portrayal of Archie Bunker’s “meathead” son-in-law on All in the Family, is co-founder of Castle Rock Entertainment and has directed the films This Is Spinal Tap, Stand By Me, The Princess Bride and more.

Next to Normal features music by Tom Kitt, book and lyrics by Brian Yorkey and direction by Michael Greif. The Broadway production, starring Marin Mazzie and Jason Danieley, is set to close on January 16. The Los Angeles engagement of the show’s national tour, headlined by Tony winner Alice Ripley, is scheduled to end on January 2.