It tentatively appears that the Sunset Boulevard powers-that-be agree with AfterEllen.com readers. Fifty-five percent of those of you who expressed an opinion chose Glenn Close as the lead — as opposed to 27 percent who wanted Meryl Streep and 18 percent who chose Barbara Streisand. According to the MTV movies blog and IMDb.com, Glenn Close will play the lead in the movie — when it's eventually filmed.

The poky speed of the project is the thrust of the MTV post. Close is reputed to be frustrated that it's taking so long for the project to move. "'It's going very slowly,' sighed Glenn Close." She sighed. That kills me. However, she's optimistic that the success of Chicago and Hairspray will bode well for this project. Notably, she did not mention the last Andrew Lloyd Webber movie musical, Phantom of the Opera, which was not such a big hit.

Thanks to all of you who expressed your opinion. Of the Close-voters, I think notl33t put it best:"I'm all for Glenn Close. I think the sheer manic qualities of her Cruella De Vil are enough of a testament to her abilities to be believably crazy on screen."

If it were your job to choose Glenn Close, Meryl Streep or Barbra Streisand to star in your movie, you might be the luckiest person on earth.

But you would also be faced with an obscenely difficult decision. According to London's Daily Telegraph, Andrew Lloyd Webber is considering each of these award-winning actresses for the role of Norma Desmond in the movie of his musical of the movie Sunset Blvd. (Trying to describe that makes me think of Julie Andrews in the movie Victor/Victoria: "I'm a woman, pretending to be a man, pretending to be a woman.")

The role will be a challenge for any of the three. Norma Desmond is utterly and completely owned by the original star, Gloria Swanson.

The original movie is so iconic and heavily quoted, it can almost seem like a parody of itself. The musical remake — especially as conceived by Andrew Lloyd Webber — may not be great. But whoever is cast gets to deliver the line,"All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up."

So let's play casting director for a moment and consider each option: … continue reading