Who would have thought one day could actually bring two bits of casting news regarding Cher? Cher, the woman that won an Oscar for Best Actress for Moonstruck back in 1988. Cher, the woman whose face I saw plastered all over Las Vegas when I was down there this past March. Cher, the woman that has now landed a role opposite Christina Aguilera in the upcoming musical Burlesque while at the same time she lays her voice down for Kevin James’s comedy The Zookeeper.
Ladies and gentlemen… I give you Cher!
First off, Variety reports Cher will take on her first feature acting role in a decade (Tea With Mussolini in 1999) as Tess in the contemporary musical Burlesque starring Christina Aguilera as an ambitious small-town Iowa girl with a big voice who comes of age in a neo-burlesque club on Sunset Boulevard that’s run by Tess, a former dancer who struggles to keep the club open and gives the young girl a chance to shine. On top of that, Cher will sing onscreen.
Steven Antin will direct from a script he wrote that was revised by Susannah Grant. Production begins in November.
To add to that new, Variety also reports Cher is among many set to lend their voices to The Zookeeper starring Kevin James and Rosario Dawson. Along with Cher, other names added to the voice cast include Adam Sandler, Cher, Jon Favreau, Sylvester Stallone, Faizon Love, Judd Apatow, Jim Breuer and Bas Rutten.
The film centers on zoo animals trying to teach the keeper (James) their methods of dating and mating to help him win back the woman of his dreams (Dawson). Sandler will voice a capuchin monkey. Cher’s voicing a giraffe, Favreau a bear, Stallone a lion and Apatow an elephant.
Frank Coraci (Click) is directing from a screenplay by Jay Scherick and David Ronn, James, Rock Reuben and Nick Bakay. Shooting’s set to start in late summer for an Oct. 8, 2010, release.
