HOLLYWOOD BOUND
PARRIS ON HER BIG BREAK
Kiwi hip hop dancer and choreographer to the stars Parris Goebel has set her sights on Hollywood. Goebel revealed on Friday night that she had signed with entertainment giant Sony Pictures to direct and choreograph a big screen adaptation of her hit stage show, Murder on the Dance Floor.
The 28-year-old — who has worked with artists including Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Nicki Minaj and Rihanna, and was recently made a Member of the New Zealand Order of Merit — premiered the stage show in 2013, which featured dancers from her The Palace Dance Studio.
Confirmation of her movie deal comes just two weeks before the Super Bowl halftime show by charttopper Jennifer Lopez which Goebel has choreographed.
“For me I have felt ready to move things on where I feel I can utilise my talent more and challenge myself,” Goebel, talking from Miami, told the Herald on Sunday in an exclusive interview.
“Movies allow you to do that. “It is such a perfect fit for me to create . . . and I know I am going to shine and change the game.
“It is really exciting for me. I have been waiting to get this out for a long time. We have been working on this for a year and a half now, keeping it to myself has been really hard.”
Sell-out crowds and five-star reviews followed the 2013 season of Murder on the Dance Floor at the Vodafone Events Centre in Manukau.
Now the movie project is set to have a multi-million budget and will see Goebel work alongside some big Hollywood names.
The screenplay is being written by Los Angeles-based Elyse Hollander, while Adam Siegel from Marc Platt Productions will produce the movie. Platt earned Academy Award nominations for Best Picture in 2016 (Bridge of Spies) and 2017 (La La Land).
“It is huge,” Goebel said of working with Marc Platt Productions.
“No matter what project I work on you have to challenge what you are doing and [work with people] who will bring out the best. I am not into working with ‘yes men’ . . . but working with people who can stand up and challenge.”
Goebel said the murder mystery movie would be unlike other dance films. “It is not a classic love and hip hop story with a dance competition at the end.”
She said they had made plenty of changes since the live show and it would be fresh for Kiwi audiences.
“Some of the dance scenes we have kept but some of the characters and storylines are different. And of course in the stage show there was no dialogue.”
When asked if the move into Hollywood would be lucrative, she laughed: “I guess so. Directors make a lot more money than choreographers. But for me it is never about the money.
“And if you are good at what you do the money will always come.”
Production is expected to begin later this year.